Marriage in the 1970s: The Political Commissar's Contract Wife

In the evening, Zhang Meili helped clean up the dishes and then took her two sons, who were tired from playing and dawdling, to go home.

She walked to the door, but her steps felt like lead. She looked back at her mother-in-law, Chao Huaihua, several times, her face filled with a conflicted expression of unspoken words.

Chao Huaihua noticed that her daughter-in-law seemed troubled and asked softly, "Meili, is something else?"

Zhang Meili took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind.

She released her son's hand and carefully pulled a slightly crumpled letter from the inside pocket of her cotton-padded coat. The envelope was worn at the edges, clearly having traveled a long distance.

She handed the letter to her mother-in-law, her voice extremely low, carrying an indescribable mix of emotions:

"Mom...this is...just forwarded by my second brother. It's...a letter from Zuo Qi to Zhi Xia."

Upon hearing the name "Zuoqi," Chao Huaihua's hand trembled violently as she took the letter, as if burned. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she looked at her daughter-in-law in disbelief: "Zuoqi?!"

"Yes." Zhang Meili nodded heavily, confirming the name that was almost buried by the dust of time.

Left Banner.

That was Zhixia's childhood sweetheart, the boy Chao Huaihua watched grow up, the child who ran with Zhixia in the alley.

He was intelligent, handsome, and very close to Zhixia, almost like they were one person.

When he was fifteen, the Zuo family suddenly suffered a great change. Their property was confiscated and they were sent to a remote and harsh place.

On the day he left, amidst the chaos, young Zuo Qi secretly found Zhi Xia, who was crying her eyes out. He held her hand tightly and whispered a vow in her ear: "Zhi Xia, wait for me! Wait for me until I'm twenty! If I can come back then, I will definitely marry you!"

That was the most powerless yet most sincere promise that two teenagers could make in the face of the torrent of the times.

From then on, they were separated by vast distances and lost all contact with each other.

Chao Huaihua thought that this past event would fade with time. She watched her daughter struggle with grief, and then, by a twist of fate, marry Fang Chu, just as life seemed to be settling into a peaceful routine…

But fate can be cruel.

Just when Zhixia was nineteen, when she was pregnant with another man's child and about to become a mother, when she had almost accepted her fate, a letter from the past, like a belated bugle call, suddenly rang out, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers and years of time.

Chao Huaihua held the thin letter in her hand, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

It is more than just a letter; it is a piece of youth that has been put on hold, a forgotten promise, and a heavy hammer that could shatter the daughter's current life.

As she looked at the letter, and then glanced at her daughter in the inner room, who was completely unaware of everything and was chatting and laughing softly with Wang Chun, her heart sank.

Seeing her mother-in-law's shocked and bewildered expression, Zhang Meili hardened her heart and clearly conveyed Zhilin's meaning:

"Mom, Zhilin specifically instructed us to give this letter to Fang Chu. As for whether or not to show it to Xiaxia, that's up to Fang Chu. After all, they're husband and wife now."

"Give it to Fang Chu?!" Chao Huaihua blurted out, her face filled with disbelief. Give this letter, capable of causing a huge uproar, to that "culprit"?

"Mom!" Zhang Meili's tone was resolute, with a do-or-die calm, "We can't be the bad guys! We gave it to Xiaxia, and if something happens to her and she has a miscarriage, we can't bear the responsibility, and our conscience won't allow it!"

She paused, a complex emotion flashing across her face, her tone even carrying a hint of despair:

"Besides, hasn't Fang Chu done enough bad things to Xia Xia? One more won't make a difference! He should take the fall!"

Chao Huaihua was stunned by her daughter-in-law's words, her lips trembling as she stammered, "Then..."

"When Fang Chu returns tonight, give it to him directly." Zhang Meili gave clear instructions, her tone leaving no room for argument. "As for whether he keeps it a secret or exposes it, let him decide for himself! He is Xiaxia's rightful husband and the child's father. If he doesn't take this hot potato, who will?"

Hearing her daughter-in-law's almost cruel arrangement, Chao Huaihua felt a mix of emotions. In the end, all her reluctance and struggle turned into a long, heavy sigh.

She looked at the thin yet incredibly heavy letter in her hand, and reluctantly gave in, her voice weary:

"Alright... he has to do this bad thing... someone has to be the villain."

In that instant, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reached a consensus, and with a heavy, yet perhaps only reasonable, push of a secret and choice that could affect the fate of many people toward the man they had such complex feelings for, yet who, in terms of law and reality, should bear the most responsibility—Fang Chu.

That evening, Fang Chu returned home chilly. He had barely taken off his coat, and before he could even look at Zhi Xia, his mother-in-law, Chao Huaihua, beckoned him to the courtyard with a single glance.

"Mom, is something wrong?" Fang Chu asked, somewhat puzzled. Looking at his mother-in-law's solemn expression, he felt a little uneasy.

Chao Huaihua didn't speak, but silently took the letter out of her bosom and quickly stuffed it into his hand, as if the letter was burning her hand.

She lowered her voice and spoke very quickly, as if she wanted to unload this heavy burden as soon as possible:

"Fang Chu, Xia Xia... had a childhood sweetheart named Zuo Qi. The two families were close, and they were... verbally betrothed as children."

She observed Fang Chu's face freeze instantly, and forced herself to continue, "Later, the Zuo family got into trouble; their property was confiscated and they were sent to the countryside. Before that boy left, he made a promise with Xia Xia: if he could be exonerated before he turned twenty, Xia Xia would marry him. If he couldn't come back... he told Xia Xia not to wait, to get married and have children, and that he wouldn't hold her back."

Fang Chu gripped the thin letter tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His mind went blank, a sudden "buzz" filling his head.

A marriage arranged when they were young? Childhood sweethearts? A promise made when they turned twenty?

These words, when put together, struck him like a blow to the heart.

He never imagined that Zhixia's past contained such a profound and... fateful story.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, forcing himself to calm down, his voice a little dry: "Does he... know Xiaxia is married now?"

"When your second brother forwarded the letter, he should have... already told him." Chao Huaihua's tone was uncertain.

Fang Chu's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes sharpening as he grasped the most crucial issue. His voice deepened:

"Since he already knew Xiaxia was married, why... did he still write this letter to her?"

This is illogical. A simple greeting? Or... a tentative probe born of resentment? Either way, the very appearance of this letter signals a disruption to the peace.

Chao Huaihua was stumped by the question. She sighed, with a hint of annoyance and helplessness: "How would I know what these young people are thinking? I've given you my trust. You're Xiaxia's husband now. Whether you give it to her or not, and when you give it to her, is up to you."