âIâve been knocking on the door for a long time. What are you doing so early in the morning?â Mrs Lin glanced at the opposite door before she went in after Jiang Yao.
âIâm doing some handicrafts,â Jiang Yao explained. Since she was focused on the task, Mrs Lin had knocked on the door for quite a while before Jiang Yao heard it.
When she realized that Mrs Linâs expression did not look quite right, Jiang Yao asked, âDid something happen?â
Mrs Lin nodded, then pulled Jiang Yao to sit on the sofa. It was obvious that she had something to tell Jiang Yao. âYou havenât gone out today, right? So two things happenedâone good thing and another bad thing!â
âWhat good thing? What bad thing?â Jiang Yao did not like to go out in the cold weather, so she could not guess what Mrs Lin wanted to say.
âThe good news is that Sergeant Lu has been promoted. Now heâs a Captain! The military announcement has been posted!â Mrs Lin said, âLet me congratulate you and Sergeant Lu first!â
Jiang Yao was delighted. âThatâs great!â Lu Xingzhi did say that he would make her a captainâs wife that year, and he had done it.
However, when she thought about Lu Xingzhiâs outstanding achievements in the past two years, he was worthy of that rank. Every mission was an important and arduous one, especially the last time when he rescued a few generals. It had been a narrow escape.
âWhat about Colonel Lin?â Jiang Yao asked.
âWhen he has reached this rank, it is even more difficult for him to advance. There is currently no movement yet,â Mrs Lin said. âThis is something that weâve known for a long time. Old Lin said that it would probably be another two years before he could use his connections.â
After she said that, Mrs Lin waved her hand. âBut thereâs one thing that you need to know. You have to keep calm. I came here to tell you as soon as I heard the news.â
Mrs Lin got angry when she said that. âIn the morning, the military leaders received two reports detailing that you and Sergeant Lu were not behaving properly. They also said that Sergeant Lu had an illegitimate child. They said that you snatched Sergeant Lu from the hands of the woman who gave birth to his son. This morning, many people in the military said that the other woman sent the child here yesterday to Sergeant Lu. They said that she was pitiful, and her life was miserable because of you and Sergeant Lu, and so on.â
âWho has such a bad mouth to spread such irresponsible rumors?â Jiang Yao was so angry that she slapped the coffee table; it was quite painful. It was so painful that she almost cried.
âWhat exactly is going on? They are spreading such rumors!â When Mrs Lin heard the news, she was extremely anxious. âThey might get you and Sergeant Lu for questioning today. Of course, it is still fine if they spread it in private. However, someone had written a letter to report it, and I wonder who those people are!â
Lu Xingzhi had only been promoted to captain, and someone had already reported him for personal reasons. Who would not feel bad about that? Someone had messed up something good; even an outsider like Mrs Lin was furious when she heard that.
âLast night, Chen Lanying, the woman we met in the city yesterday, the one who wanted to kill the child, brought the child here. The soldier didnât let her in, so she left the child at the entrance. She even said some ambiguous words deliberately smear Xingzhiâs name. Yesterday, when the soldier brought the child in, Old Madam He was watching from the side, so she was most likely the one who had spread those words!â