1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

Seeing that Zhou Lan was too angry to speak, Qiao Wanqing didn't even pause and laughed, "Oh... I see, Auntie, I was wondering why you were acting so strangely, now I understand!"

The people around her were excited. "What? Girl, what do you understand? Tell us!"

Qiao Wanqing explained with a smile, "Dear sisters and aunts, I know Aunt Chen. Our two families have some interaction, but not much. Now that I'm older, my elders are considering my marriage. They must be asking around about the younger generation, including her son, Chen Jin. But my family is just asking; we haven't made any agreements with anyone. Marriage is based on free choice, and if we're really going to get engaged, I'll definitely have to agree."

"Aunt Chen thinks her son is the best in the world, and that our family should be eager to marry me off to him. A while ago, my dad quit his job to recuperate at home because of health problems. Aunt Chen, being a snob, thought my parents were no longer good enough for her son because they were unemployed. My parents used to have high salaries; they just wanted my dowry, but they also wanted to control me. They were afraid I would cling to them, but they couldn't bear to part with my dowry, so they wanted me to beg them. But unexpectedly, I married someone else without even begging them! They lost their power, and their prize flew away, so of course they were furious!"

"Otherwise, you can ask around. Aunt Chen has definitely been hiding away from the army these past few days, trying to avoid me and give me the cold shoulder for a few days. She must have just come back and heard about my wedding. Auntie, did you just get back?"

Everyone around Zhou Lan turned to look at her.

Zhou Lan was so angry she almost choked. This little bitch was trying to confuse the issue.

"You...you...is what you call a little mistake at work? Your whole family has been..."

"shut up!"

The newcomer interrupted Zhou Lan in time. The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Chen's father returning. Chen's father had a gloomy face and came over to pull Zhou Lan aside. "Don't talk nonsense. The Qiao family is fine. Where did you hear these rumors?"

Zhou Lan was stunned, speechless. "I..."

"Alright!" Mr. Chen interrupted her, preventing her from speaking.

Mr. Chen turned to look at Qiao Wanqing, his eyes filled with a dark and gloomy expression. He had been away on official business for the past two days, and of course, he had also been intentionally avoiding the Qiao family's affairs. He was indeed afraid of getting involved with the Qiao family, and he only returned today.

When he got back, he asked about the situation with the Qiao family and found out that Bai Zhengxiong was dead!

Bai Zhengxiong is dead! He just died like that!

Not only did they die, but they also caused so much trouble. The Bai family is currently overwhelmed with problems and has no time to deal with the Qiao family. Besides, the Bai family is in a state of chaos right now. If they continue to hold a grudge against the Qiao family, it will definitely provoke a crazy retaliation from the Qiao family. It's better to avoid trouble. So, the matter with the Qiao family was just let go so easily.

He just lost his job, but on the surface, he resigned voluntarily, leaving no stain on his record. The Qiao family hasn't fallen, and it's only a matter of time before Qiao's father gets back to work.

At this moment, he dared not go too far with Qiao Wanqing, for fear of offending the Qiao family. Moreover, Lu Mingzhou had now been added to the mix.

They had rejected the marriage proposal before, and now he even wanted to improve relations with the Qiao family, at least to avoid things getting too tense. So why would he make things difficult for Qiao Wanqing at this time?

That brat, she's so lucky!

Now, Chen's father is also in a state of great turmoil. He is worried that his son will be soft-hearted and risk his future, so he arranged for his son to go on a mission. When his son comes back, if he finds out that Qiao Wanqing has gotten married, and the Qiao family is still doing nothing, who knows what kind of trouble he will cause!

Mr. Chen tried his best to suppress his anger and spoke to Qiao Wanqing in a gentle tone, "Girl, your aunt has been troubled by things at home lately and isn't in a good mood. Don't take it to heart. What happened between you and Chen Jin is in the past. Now that you're married, then..."

"Uncle Chen, your son and I are just acquaintances, nothing more. You need to make that clear. Our families know each other, and Chen Jin and I have known each other since childhood, that's a fact. I'm a young woman, and you're a grown man, an officer, please don't use such ambiguous words to cause misunderstandings. It will affect my reputation. I used to be a soldier, and now I'm a military wife. I'm not someone you can just bully."

Mr. Chen frowned; he disliked Qiao Wanqing's aggressive manner.

Seeing Qiao Wanqing's firm stance even in front of Chen's father, Zhou Lan could no longer hold back. Pointing at Qiao Wanqing, she said, "You see? This girl's previous obedience and sensibility were all an act. Look at her sharp tongue; she can argue back ten times over for every word an elder says. No wonder she could do such a thing. You..."

"Comrade Zhou Lan, please watch your words. Don't think that just because you're older I'll let you spread rumors and seriously hurt me without fighting back. Don't pretend to be my elder here. You're not worthy. Stop trying to scare people with your insignificant past relationship. My family knows plenty of people, you're not an exception. If my uncle finds out that you dared to slander me like this while my parents are away, he definitely won't let you off the hook, and he certainly won't acknowledge you as my elder."

"You two, supposed to be leaders, have been babbling on and on, trying to drag your son into a relationship with a married woman like me. Is your son so shameless, so unwanted, that he has to cling to me?"

Mr. Chen's face immediately turned ashen. "You... shut up, Qiao Wanqing! What kind of tone is that? Can't a young lady be allowed to say a few sharp words to you? You..."

"Enough!" Qiao Wanqing felt that was enough and was too lazy to argue with them anymore. She said angrily, "I'll say it again, I have nothing to do with your son. I'm not familiar with him. Stop trying to pull this on me. If your son is unwanted, go back and reflect on yourselves. Don't come here to cause trouble for others. I'm already married, and to a brigade commander no less. If the military finds out about your attempts to frame me like this, they won't let you off the hook. When my son Mingzhou comes back, I will definitely tell him how you framed me. And my uncle, I will definitely call him."

She'll tell on you!

"Stop trying to confuse the issue with these vague and ambiguous statements, as if I've gone too far. You've been the ones dragging me into this from beginning to end. I spoke firmly and logically, and instead of providing evidence to refute me, you just put on airs as an elder and call me sharp-tongued. You can't produce any evidence, can you? Did I arrange a marriage with your son? If so, who was the matchmaker? Is there a marriage contract? Is there a marriage certificate or token? If so, show it! You can't provide any substantial evidence, so you're just trying to ruin my reputation with these sarcastic and ambiguous statements. Deputy Director Chen, is this how you usually do things? If you two continue like this, I'm going to report you to the military."