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

Fang Chu's mind suddenly cleared up! All the doubts connected!

When he investigated the wedding banquet attendees, Shen Shan and Shen Xing, the brother and sister, were indeed not among them. He only investigated those who were present and didn't delve deeper. Now, thinking back, it was clearly a meticulously planned "alibi" on her part!

She first used the shoe-giving incident to portray herself in the public eye as an innocent admirer who only had "brotherly feelings" for him, completely clearing herself of any suspicion of "unrequited love".

Then, at the crucial moment of planning the drugging, she and her brother deliberately missed the wedding banquet, creating a perfect alibi.

Finally, after the deed was done (or rather, after she discovered that Zhixia had inadvertently benefited), she immediately used the irreproachable excuse of "her mother breaking her leg" to quickly extricate herself and disappear from everyone's sight.

He proceeds cautiously, is meticulous in his thinking, and is shrewd in his methods!

This is definitely not something an ordinary girl could think of or do! There is likely someone behind it guiding her, or perhaps Shen Xing herself is hiding an extremely terrifying side.

Fang Chu's expression turned extremely serious.

He realized that he was facing an extremely cunning and dangerous opponent.

Seeing Fang Chu's frustrated and helpless expression, Zhao Lili knew exactly what was going on. She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and teased him with a hint of schadenfreude:

"Why are you asking so many questions about her... has she done something bad that got you into trouble?"

Fang Chu raised his eyes and met Zhao Lili's knowing gaze. Knowing that he couldn't hide it from his shrewd sister-in-law, he could only smile wryly and admit, "I have no evidence. It's all just speculation."

"Hehe..." Zhao Lili chuckled knowingly, shook her head, and said with a hint of sympathy and "if only I had known," "Then it's all over. If you fall for her, you'll truly be wronged. This girl is incredibly cunning! You're at least a bit smarter than my silly Chun'er. My Chun'er was completely fooled by her pitiful act, and even now, when she talks about Shen Xing, she still thinks we misunderstood her and spoke well of her!"

Fang Chu, hearing this hardly comforting "consolation," forced a smile and said, "Sister-in-law, you really don't need to 'comfort' me like this."

Zhao Lili was amused by him and chuckled again.

Wang Jianguo, who had been listening intently for a while, couldn't help but feel his curiosity piqued. He finally interrupted and asked, "Fang Chu, what exactly did she do? Why is it taking you so long to realize this, and why are you being so... cryptic?"

Fang Chu stood up, straightened his collar, glanced at Wang Jianguo's curious face, and uttered only four words in a heavy tone:

"A matter of life and death."

He paused, then said no more, "Alright, I've finished asking. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he ignored Wang Jianguo's anxious curiosity behind him, turned around and strode away from the Wang family.

Wang Jianguo watched his retreating figure, scratched his head, and muttered to his wife, "A matter of life and death? What could have happened that could have caused Fang Chu to fall? Is Shen Xing... really that powerful?"

Zhao Lili rolled her eyes at her husband and said irritably, "Alright, stop asking! Some things, knowing too much about them will keep you up at night!"

In the courtyard, only Wang Jianguo's head was covered in fog and the festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet dissipated, forming a subtle contrast with the heavy chill that Fang Chu had brought.

Meanwhile, Zhilin arrived at Shen Shan's house early in the morning.

Shen Shan and Zhi Lin are the same age, both in their early thirties, but Zhi Lin is one rank higher than him. They were recruits in the same year and knew each other when they were in the company.

Shen Shan had always given the impression of being honest and simple, without much guile. When he saw Zhi Lin, he seemed a little reserved, yet also somewhat familiar: "Old Zhi, what brings you here? Is there something you need?"

Zhi Lin wore the usual New Year's greeting smile and said in a relaxed tone, "It's nothing, it's the New Year, I just happened to have some free time, so I came over to visit and see you."

Shen Shan quickly ushered Zhi Lin into the house: "Okay, okay, come inside and let's talk." He deftly poured Zhi Lin a cup of hot water. "Here, have some water."

Zhilin took the water glass and casually glanced around the somewhat deserted room: "Where are your sister-in-law and the children? Aren't they home?"

"They went out to visit relatives and friends early this morning; the kids can't stay still," Shen Shan said with a simple smile.

Zhi Lin held the warm water cup, his gaze falling on Shen Shan's weathered yet still simple face. He said with a touch of emotion, "We've been friends for over ten years now, time really flies." He then naturally changed the subject, "By the way, is your mother feeling better? I heard she fell and it was quite serious."

Mentioning his mother, Shen Shan smiled sincerely: "Alright, alright! Thank you for still thinking of me. After more than half a year of recuperation, it basically doesn't affect my walking and working anymore, it's just that my legs still feel a little weak on rainy days."

"How did you fall? You were so careless," Zhi Lin asked with concern, her eyes carefully observing Shen Shan's reaction.

"Sigh, you know how those roads are in the countryside. I didn't see clearly at night and stepped into a ditch." Shen Shan sighed, his tone filled with pure fear and heartache, without any evasiveness.

Zhi Lin nodded in understanding, then steered the conversation to a more crucial figure: "Speaking of which, when your sister came here, she was hoping you could help her find a suitable husband while she was in the military, right?"

"Yes!" Shen Shan's tone became more natural when he mentioned his sister. "She's not young anymore, and there weren't any suitable families back home, so I thought I'd have her come and visit. But who knew that, by sheer coincidence, she hadn't even settled in for a few days when my mother had an accident, and she had to rush back to take care of her. She didn't even get to meet her future in-laws..." His tone carried a clear sense of regret, which didn't seem feigned.

After their conversation, Zhilin carefully observed Shen Shan's every subtle expression and tone of voice.

He found that Shen Shan's reactions to the series of events—his mother's fall, his sister's arrival to stay with him, and his sister's hasty return home because of his mother's accident—were very natural and genuine, reflecting the most normal emotions that ordinary families experience when faced with such changes—worry, fear, and regret.

It is highly likely that Shen Shan was completely unaware of what Shen Xing had done behind the scenes.

Shen Xing's choice to leave at this time, using her mother's real accident as an excuse, was even more brilliant.

Zhi Lin made his judgment. He chatted with Shen Shan about some trivial matters in the army without showing any emotion, then got up to take his leave.

On the way back, Zhilin's mood became even heavier.

If Shen Shan was unaware of the situation, then all of this was meticulously planned and executed by Shen Xing alone. This woman's cunning and audacity far exceeded his imagination.