Chapter 264: Birds of a Feather
“It is entirely because of that Sheng Wanyan that our relationship with the Liang family has unraveled like this!” Aunt Du shrieked, pacing the floor. “Chief of Staff Liang severed ties with Liang Qian right in public… What on earth is going to happen to your career now, my son?”
The old woman was beside herself with anxiety. Without the backing of the Liang family, what was the point of having Liang Qian as a daughter-in-law?
“No!” she barked, turning toward the door. “I am going to march right over and settle the score with Sheng Wanyan this instant!”
Aunt Du was practically shaking with rage, but before she could take a step out of the courtyard, Captain Du firmly grabbed her arm, blocking her path.
“Mom! Stop trying to ruin my life!”
“How am I ruining your life? I am trying to get you justice!” Aunt Du snapped, so furious that she felt as if smoke were about to pour from her ears.
If they lost the Liang family’s favor, what would become of her eldest and youngest sons’ jobs and futures? Now her second son was actively standing in her way. It seemed he didn’t care about his brothers’ well-being at all.
“Mother!” Captain Du yelled, his voice rising in frustration. “If you march over there right now, do you honestly think Political Commissar Xie will let me off? Lest you forget, our household is already at the center of a storm! If you provoke Sheng Wanyan again, I might as well pack my bags, hand in my uniform, and go back to the village to farm!”
Aunt Du flinched, thoroughly startled by her son’s explosive temper. It was the first time she had ever seen her second son lose his composure to this degree. The sudden threat of being sent back to the countryside to break her back over farmland terrified her.
“Is… is it really that severe?” she stammered, her confidence wavering. In her mind, she couldn’t understand why a squabble between women was such a massive crisis.
“Mom, have you forgotten that Sheng Wanyan is a state-recognized intellectual?” Captain Du rubbed his temples, trying to steady his breathing. “The regiment’s leadership is currently keeping a sharp eye on our household!”
Anxiety gripped Aunt Du once more. She couldn’t demand justice from the Sheng family, and her high-ranking in-laws had formally disowned her daughter-in-law. Was there truly nothing they could do?
“Then… then what are we supposed to do?” She wrung her hands, pacing in tight circles.
Captain Du narrowed his eyes, calculating their options until a pragmatic strategy formed in his mind. “Mom, think about it. Xiaoqian and my father-in-law share an unbreakable bond of blood. My father-in-law only severed ties with her in public so that my brothers-in-law’s military careers wouldn’t be dragged down by the scandal. As long as Xiaoqian keeps her distance and doesn’t provoke Sheng Wanyan again, Chief of Staff Liang will never truly abandon his own daughter.”
Aunt Du clapped her hands together, the tight lines of worry on her face instantly relaxing. “You’re absolutely right!” she beamed. “They are father and daughter—that is an unalterable fact. My father-in-law is merely acting out of anger right now. Once a bit of time passes and the dust settles, he’ll soften.”
She nodded rapidly, actively constructing a comfort zone in her mind to restore her confidence. “Son, shouldn’t we find a way to pull a few strings and get Xiaoqian out of custody? If she stays locked up… I dread to think what the neighbors will start whispering about our family.”
Her expression soured again. The thought of the entire compound pointing fingers at their household humiliated her. If Liang Qian hadn’t been so ungrateful and insisted on stirring up trouble everywhere she went, they wouldn’t have been subjected to this public disgrace.
“Mom, she was taken away under the personal orders of the political commissar,” Captain Du sighed, his tone heavy with exhaustion. “How could we possibly have the influence to override him?”
He found his mother’s naive, wild expectations entirely baffling. Political Commissar Xie wielded immense authority within the regiment. If he attempted to negotiate or demand her release, wouldn’t he just be inviting the commissar to dismantle his career?
“So… she’s just going to stay locked up?” Aunt Du frowned. “Even if she’s technically estranged from her family right now, without her around, we have absolutely no way to bridge the gap with the Liangs.”
“Mom, she’ll be perfectly fine,” Captain Du reassured her. “Liang Qian didn’t inflict any actual physical harm on Sheng Wanyan. At most, the tribunal will detain her for a short while, give her a severe reprimand, and mandate ideological education.”
“Is that the truth?” Mrs. Du peered at him, wanting confirmation.
Captain Du nodded firmly. “Yes. Don’t lose sleep over it.”
Relief finally washed over the old woman. As long as Liang Qian was eventually released and returned to their household, the situation was salvageable. If she disappeared into a labor camp permanently, their connection to the Liang family would be severed forever.
“Son,” Aunt Du whispered, her voice shifting into a conspiratorial hiss. “Does your wife truly harbor feelings for another man in her heart?”
The question caused Captain Du’s face to instantly darken, a stormy, murderous look clouding his features. No man could ever tolerate the humiliation of being cuckolded, let alone having his wife’s infidelity exposed so spectacularly to the entire regiment.
Seeing his thunderous expression, Aunt Du didn’t need a verbal answer. Good heavens! She reeled back in disgust. Liang Qian had actually treated her brilliant son with such disrespect, utterly looking down on their family from the moment she crossed their threshold.
“Son! What an absolute sin this is!” she cried out. “To think you married a woman whose heart belongs to another man! The moment Liang Qian sets foot back in this house, I am going to give her a thorough thrashing!”
“Enough!” Captain Du snapped, his head pounding from his mother’s shrill voice. “If you lay a single finger on Liang Qian, do you think the Liang family will ever lift a hand to help us again?”
Aunt Du’s tirade died instantly. She clamped her mouth shut, her eyes wide with realization. “Then… I’ll wait and discipline her later,” she muttered defensively.
Mrs. Du was far from a generous or gentle mother-in-law. Her previous daughter-in-law had been subjected to her vicious tongue every single day, eventually fleeing the marriage because she couldn’t endure the psychological torment. The only reason Aunt Du had checked her abusive instincts around Liang Qian was due to the immense political leverage of the Liang family name. Now that Chief of Staff Liang had publicly renounced his daughter, her willingness to tolerate the girl’s attitude had plummeted.
After all, their potential benefits had been cut in half, and there was no telling if they could ever successfully mend fences with the chief of staff. If they couldn’t, what would become of her eldest and youngest sons’ livelihoods?
The eldest son’s family was destined to inherit her primary care in her golden years, and the youngest son was her absolute favorite. According to the customs of their rural hometown, the eldest son bore the primary responsibility of supporting the elderly; however, if that household fell on hard times or proved incapable, the duty automatically shifted to the youngest.
As for her second son… she had never harbored much maternal affection for him, viewing him as a dry, uninteresting child. But the cruel irony was that the only child who had actually achieved any success in life was this neglected second son. Aunt Du felt thoroughly conflicted, knowing she had to rely entirely on his career to pull his brothers’ households out of poverty.
Swallowing her resentment, Aunt Du turned on her heel. Catching sight of Captain Du’s five-year-old daughter hovering near the doorway, she unleashed her lingering malice on the child.
“What are you standing there for? Are you waiting around to die instead of cooking dinner?” she screeched, jabbing a finger at the little girl. “Are you trying to starve your father and me to death?”
Even with Liang Qian in a cell, the household still required a meal.
Hearing his mother’s vicious cursing, Captain Du retreated to his bedroom, closing the door as a sharp headache throbbed behind his eyes. Sitting in the quiet room, an unexpected wave of nostalgia washed over him. Before he had divorced his first wife, their household of three had been incredibly warm and peaceful. Even though his ex-wife had been treated harshly and constantly berated by his mother, the three of them had maintained a quiet, happy bond.
He found himself vividly recalling his ex-wife’s gentle demeanor, her sensible nature, and the sight of her standing by the stove with their daughter, laughing and sharing soft jokes.
Captain Du sharply shook his head, forcing the memories down. What was the point of dwelling on the past? What use was a gentle, sensible wife if she lacked the family background to advance his military rank?
Besides, his mother’s words carried a practical truth: daughters eventually married out, rendering them incapable of supporting parents in their old age. They were ultimately financial burdens. He needed to focus on fathering a son as quickly as possible. Once Liang Qian bore him a boy, that child would be Chief of Staff Liang’s biological grandson, and the family would naturally reap endless rewards.
Meanwhile, across the lane, Sheng Wanyan sat quietly at her dining table, turning the morning’s dramatic events over in her mind as she ate.
She was fully aware that because Liang Qian hadn’t managed to inflict any physical harm, the military court wouldn’t hand down a severe criminal sentence. At most, the girl would face a brief period of solitary confinement and a series of stern educational lectures. Once she was released, she would likely keep her head down and behave herself out of sheer self-preservation.
Still, with her pregnancy advancing into the final trimesters, Sheng Wanyan recognized her own physical limitations. If Maodou hadn’t been standing guard beside her today, the confrontation could have taken a catastrophic turn for her and the baby.
It looks like I’ll need to limit my excursions and stay indoors for the time being, she resolved silently. Even if she absolutely had to step out into the compound, she would ensure Maodou was tethered strictly to her side.
