Married but Untouched! Her Soldier Husband Came Home Dumbfounded! - Chapter 49

Today was Shen Zhanqiang’s first day at his new school, and Ye Fangfei personally took him there.

After dropping him off, she headed straight to the free market.

The night before, Shen Cuijuan had mentioned that it was their father-in-law’s birthday today, and Shen Cuilan would be coming over. Fangfei took the opportunity to buy some meat and vegetables.

The market was bustling and well-stocked. Beyond the usual street vendors, villagers from nearby areas brought their own farm produce to sell.

Fangfei bought a chicken, two fish, and a variety of small vegetables. But as soon as she returned to the shop, Ye Erhu delivered news that it was like a thunderbolt:

Zhou Hongqi and his mistress… beat Shen Cuilan?

Fangfei froze. What kind of monstrous words were these? How could these characters even form such a sentence?

She looked at her father-in-law, his face ashen, and her mother-in-law, nearly fuming with rage. That fleeting thought she had weeks ago suddenly flashed through her mind again.

She remembered from the book Sweet Wife, So Tender: Shen Cuilan and Shen Zhanqiang had a few scenes mentioned, but Shen Cuilan was only referred to once.

It was the year after she had jumped into the river with her daughter. Zhou Hongqi and his wife were involved in a theft case in the city.

In normal circumstances, it wasn’t serious. At most, a brief detention, a fine, and the matter would be settled.

But that year happened to coincide with a nationwide crackdown. By the time Shen Cuilan jumped, the Zhou family had already paid a heavy price.

To save Zhou Hongqi and his wife, the Zhou and Wei families essentially sold everything they could, calling in every favor they had. Yet, in the end, it changed nothing.

One was sentenced to death, the other to life imprisonment—and the executions were carried out swiftly.

According to the book, it was all orchestrated by Shen Zhanxun.

Fangfei could only think: Well done. Scum and trash like that living is only a waste of society’s resources, twisting its values.

Lost in thought, Fangfei’s heart leapt. She grabbed Ye Erhu’s arm. “Erhu, where is Cuilan?”

Her heart raced. She hasn’t jumped into the river, has she? Not like in the book, where a few lines sum up her tragic life…

Seeing her sister’s worried expression, Ye Erhu hurriedly explained, “I don’t know for sure either. This morning, while we were eating, Qiuyue from Third Uncle’s family came with the news. By the time I arrived, Mom had already gone over.”

Fangfei noticed her in-laws hastily preparing to leave. She shouted at the still-crying Shen Cuijuan, “What are you waiting for? Grab your weapons! Let’s go fight!”

Shen Cuijuan wiped her tears and nodded fiercely. “Sister-in-law, you’re right. Let’s go! We’ll avenge my eldest sister!”

Shen Jianhua didn’t realize the situation was so serious—or that his daughter might be so distraught she could do something drastic.

Seeing his daughter-in-law and granddaughter about to leave, he said, “Fangfei, the shop can’t be left unattended. How about Mom and I go instead, you stay here?”

“Dad, are you serious? When has business ever been more important than this?” Fangfei glared, thinking: People’s lives are at stake! Don’t talk about the shop now.

Ye Laifu added, “In-laws, don’t worry about the shop. This is serious. Da Hu, Er Hu, Xi Hu, you all go back with them. I’ll stay here and watch the oven.”

Xi Hu nodded and turned to Shen Jianhua. “Uncle, Zhou Hongqi has seven or eight cousins. You should go back to the village and get some help.”

In the countryside, scandals like this weren’t uncommon. Forget about what would happen between Zhou Hongqi and Shen Cuilan later—once something like this happens, the instigator must be taught a lesson.

Otherwise, Shen Cuilan wouldn’t be able to hold her head high, not in the village, nor even in her in-laws’ house.

Shen Jianhua, no fool, understood the subtle dynamics. He gratefully thanked his in-laws.

Fangfei pushed a bicycle toward Shen Jianhua. “Dad, Mom, go ahead and gather some people at Shenlou Brigade. I’ll borrow two bicycles from Chen Qian, and we’ll meet at Xiao Zhoukou.”

“Good.” Shen Jianhua and Sun Xiujü nodded and hurried off.

Fangfei turned to Shen Cuijuan and Zhang Meiling. “Eldest sister, Cuijuan, ride Xi Hu’s bicycles to Xiao Zhoukou. Keep a close eye on Cuilan. Don’t let her do anything rash.”

Shen Cuijuan nearly collapsed in fright. “Sister-in-law… my sister won’t—”

The eldest sister quickly held her. “Don’t worry. We’re going to watch over her right now.”

Fangfei herself was anxious. Shen Cuilan wasn’t her blood sister, but she was the daughter of her in-laws and Cuijuan’s eldest sister. These people had treated her well, and she couldn’t stand by while they were in danger.

Before leaving, Fangfei instructed Ye Laifu, “Dad, we don’t know when we’ll be back. Stop the oven later and sell the remaining egg cakes, then close up. But don’t leave—someone must stay here.”

Ye Laifu waved his hand. “Got it. Go ahead, hurry.”

Fangfei’s shop wasn’t far from the supply and marketing cooperative. She and her three brothers pedaled there quickly. Chen Qian, seeing her out of breath, assumed something had happened. When she explained she needed to borrow bicycles, Chen Qian handed over the keys without hesitation and even helped her borrow one from a colleague.

Before leaving, Fangfei said to Chen Qian, “I’m heading into a fight. If it escalates to the police station, could your brother help us out?”

She had just remembered that she had some connections at the police station.

Chen Qian was shocked. “You? Fight? What happened?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I get back,” Fangfei replied with a smile. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up. It might not even come to that.”

Chen Qian stared at her in astonishment, then leaned closer and whispered, “If it doesn’t get too serious, my brother can probably help. Even if he’s just a low-ranking officer, he has a formidable brother-in-law. I can ask him to intervene.”

Fangfei clasped her fists. “Thanks in advance, sister.”

Chen Qian patted her shoulder. “Watch yourself in the fight. Don’t let anyone scratch that pretty face of yours.”

“Of course not.” Fangfei bared her teeth and hurried off on the bicycle.

The ride from the city to Shenlou Brigade was twenty li—normally about twenty minutes by bike—but Shen Jianhua and Sun Xiujü managed it in fifteen.

Sun Xiujü, worried about her daughter, didn’t enter the village. She sent Shen Jianhua ahead to gather people, and rode to Xiao Zhoukou herself.

Ye Dàsao, Shen Cuijuan, and Fangfei arrived at Shen Cuilan’s house at the same time. Before they even entered, a woman’s voice scolding Shen Cuilan drifted out:

“Cuilan, you’ve been married into our family for two years. Be honest, how have I treated you? Mom knows this time it’s Hongqi’s fault, but you can’t just make a scene in public!”

“Even if you don’t think about yourself, think of Tingting! She’s still young and naïve. When she grows older, the village gossips will drown her in slander. How will she live then?”

“Sister-in-law, how can you say that? How can this be Cuilan’s fault?” Zhou Hongyu couldn’t hold back. If it weren’t for her own family being involved, she would have shouted at her.

Yu Chunxia’s brow flickered imperceptibly. Zhou Hongyu was meddling in their family matters—what business did she have being here? But since this was a girl from their village, she had to give her some face and politely deflected, though her glare toward the dumbfounded daughter-in-law was sharp.

From morning until now, Shen Cuilan had sat there, unmoving. After this morning’s scene, Yu Chunxia was irritated, but she restrained herself from saying anything excessive in front of outsiders.

She secretly glared at Shen Cuilan and snapped, “Don’t get upset. Later, I’ll talk to Hongqi. You two behave from now on—don’t cause trouble and make others laugh at you.”

Outside, Sun Xiujü lost her temper. She threw her bicycle to the ground, rushed inside, grabbed Yu Chunxia by the hair, and started hitting and scolding her.

“You old, shameless woman! You raised such a worthless beast, yet instead of teaching her, you scold my daughter here! Let’s see if I don’t rip your filthy mouth to shreds today!”