Chapter 46: The Evil Stepmother of the 1970s 13

Chapter 46: The Evil Stepmother of the 1970s (13)

The village head immediately ordered Xu Xiuyun to be tied up and locked away, assigning several people to guard her.

Normally, when someone in the village made a mistake, the village head would mediate to avoid involving outsiders, as it could damage the village's reputation. But this time, it nearly cost an officer his life—a serious matter. It also involved writing an anonymous letter to deceive Battalion Commander Fang into returning to the village. The village head didn’t dare make a rash decision. When Xu Ziyan demanded to call the police, he immediately sent someone to report the incident.

Xu Xiuyun was stunned. How had things escalated so badly? Before she could even react or say anything, she was already convicted. She cried and begged, feeling panic for the first time, but it was useless.

The Xu Family rushed over. Old Man Xu angrily confronted Xu Ziyan, "Isn’t Fang Lihai fine now? It was just a misunderstanding. Why involve the police? We share the same surname—how can you disgrace the Xu name like this?"

Xu Ziyan retorted, "If everyone thought like you, what would be the point of having police? The world would be in chaos! Why don’t you reflect on how you raised your granddaughter? You raised such a troublemaker who almost destroyed my family. You’d better change your ways before you ruin the younger generation too."

The Xu family's third branch shot suspicious glances at the first branch. Xu Xiuyun was from the first branch—what were her parents teaching her to raise such a wicked daughter? If even their own family thought so, outsiders would judge them even more harshly. The villagers present looked at the first branch of the Xu Family as if they were villains, making their faces turn livid with anger.

Granny Xu jabbed a finger at Xu Ziyan, "Don’t forget you’re our granddaughter too. If you say we raised bad granddaughters, aren’t you insulting yourself? Oh, so we’re all bad people, and you’re the only good one? Do you think anyone believes that? If you say we’re wicked, then you’re no saint either."

Fang Lihai frowned and stepped in front of Xu Ziyan, wanting to shield her. But before he could speak, Xu Ziyan pushed him aside and snapped at Granny Xu, "Don't make yourself sound so important! When did you ever teach me anything? You used to call me a wild child, say I was born bad, a debt collector. You told everyone I wasn’t like your family.

Now you’re claiming you raised me? Trying to lump me in with you? Your family is either stupid or evil. I used to endure it all for the sake of family ties—even when you kicked our second branch out, I never said a word. But today, a man’s life was at stake, and you still shielded the culprit? What’s wrong with you? Do you even have any humanity?

To take this further, you’re protecting Xu Xiuyun for attempting to murder a national officer. Who put you up to this? What’s your political background?"

The Xu Family gasped, their faces instantly paling. The third branch quickly waved their hands, "Don’t say such things! We’re innocent—three generations of poor peasants, clean backgrounds, loyal to the core. We had nothing to do with this. It was all Xu Xiuyun’s doing!"

The third branch pulled the old couple aside, "Shut up already! Do you want to drag the whole family down? This is life and death!"

The old couple didn’t dare speak, and even the other villagers hushed their discussions. Who would’ve thought there could be another angle? If Xu Xiuyun tried to kill Fang Lihai over a petty quarrel, it was absurd. But what if she had been recruited by enemy spies? Wouldn’t that make more sense?

Even the four officers who had just arrived found this reasoning plausible. After greeting Fang Lihai, they began investigating the incident, then took Xu Xiuyun and the entire Xu Family away.

The Xu Family loudly protested their innocence, and Old Man Xu was so scared he dropped his pipe. The police sternly said, "If the investigation proves you’re innocent, you’ll be released soon. No need for this commotion. Given the circumstances, we must proceed carefully. Cooperate properly."

After the police took everyone away, the villagers whispered among themselves, wondering if they had ever offended Xu Xiuyun. If a wild boar attacked them next, they wouldn’t be as tough as Fang Lihai—they’d be lucky to just pass out.

Xu Ziyan and her family returned to the Fang household. Fang Lihai was speechless at the sight of the towering courtyard wall. What were they guarding against? He had never seen such a high wall in his life.

Once they closed the gate, Xu Ziyan frowned at Fang Lihai, "Didn’t I tell you not to go? How did you still get hurt?"

Fang Lihai thought this was all part of her plan, but he explained, "The boar was charging toward the village. If I hadn’t stopped it, someone else—especially a child—could’ve been hurt. But I knew what I was doing. Don’t worry."

He thought that although this was his first meeting with this Xu Ziyan, she was kind-hearted and genuinely cared about his safety—a rare quality.

Then he heard Xu Ziyan’s regretful inner voice, *"Ugh, if I’d known he was this strong, why did I bother calling the battalion commander? I missed the epic fight—Fang Lihai taking on a wild boar barehanded must’ve been amazing to watch."*

Fang Lihai’s parents, however, were already used to Xu Ziyan’s personality and smoothed things over, "What matters is you’re fine. Just don’t do it again. Come on, rest inside. We’ll kill a chicken to calm your nerves and nourish you."

Xu Ziyan, exhausted from her trip to town, nodded and showed Fang Lihai to their room.

Fang Lihai stood awkwardly in the very girly room, but when he saw the desk piled with textbooks and workbooks, he was surprised, "You’re studying? Why start studying now?"

Few people revisited textbooks after graduation, especially with the college entrance exams canceled. What was the point? In the village, it was useless—better to learn farming.

Xu Ziyan said casually, "Obviously, to teach your boys. They’ll start school this fall—one starting first grade, the other preschool. I need to study first so I can tutor them. Besides, if we relocate to the base later, my education might help me become a teacher there."

Fang Lihai nearly choked. Tutoring? Moving to the base? Was this Xu Ziyan planning this far ahead? Did she actually want to build a life together?

Xu Ziyan thrust a book into his hands, "You should study too. The military isn’t just about combat, right? Don’t you need to learn strategy? If you get promoted, you’ll need education and vision. If you’re sent for advanced training, you’ll have to be academically capable.

So now that you’re a battalion commander, it’s time to hit the books. Read up, and if you don’t understand something, ask me. I’m going to lie down for a bit."

001 excitedly chimed in, *"Host, go for it! He’s your rightful husband, and he’s such a good catch—don’t waste this!"*

Xu Ziyan rolled her eyes, *"Whether I keep him or not isn’t the point. The point is, the college entrance exams will resume this fall. If he studies, he might get promoted further, and I can enjoy being an officer’s wife. Got it?"*

Fang Lihai’s grip on the book tightened. The exams will return? Impossible! But today, a wild boar had attacked him, and Xu Xiuyun really had tried to harm him—Xu Ziyan’s inner voice had been accurate. Could it really happen soon?

If so, maybe he should review his studies. He had no connections in the military, and becoming a battalion commander at his age was already impressive. Advancing further would be tough. If this was an opportunity, he couldn’t waste it.

In the afternoon, Xu Ziyan’s parents returned from selling goods in town. Hearing about the wild boar incident, they panicked and kept asking if Fang Lihai was hurt, insisting on taking him to the hospital. Fang Lihai finally managed to reassure them.

They shuddered at the thought—if Fang Lihai had died, their daughter would’ve been widowed. Since they hadn’t consummated the marriage, the talk would’ve been cruel. Thank goodness he was fine.

But Xu Xiuyun, who caused all this, was utterly despicable. They used to think she was kind—how wrong they were. It's the quiet ones you watch for, and Xu Xiuyun was capable of anything. They apologized to Xu Ziyan again, believing she must’ve suffered silently under Xu Xiuyun’s malice.

Their daily trips to town to sell goods, having to boldly peddle their goods and interact with all sorts of people, had changed them. At least now they could think for themselves and no longer spoke meekly.

Seeing their transformation, Fang Lihai finally understood why his parents had written that they’d misunderstood Xu Ziyan before. This Xu Ziyan had successfully cleared her name. But one thing puzzled him—why couldn’t Xu Ziyan’s parents hear her inner voice?

After dinner, Fang Lihai went to his parents’ room to talk, bringing Fang Nan and Fang Bei with him. The family naturally had much to discuss, so Xu Ziyan stayed out of it. She returned to her room to write the next chapter of her novel.

Though she’d just mailed the first draft, she was confident it would be accepted. The follow-up chapters had to be ready in case it got serialized—she couldn’t risk falling behind on deadlines.

Deep in her writing, Xu Ziyan didn’t notice the hushed exchange next door as Fang Lihai and his family shared "intel," recounting the inner voices they’d heard and the events that had unfolded.

Fang Lihai pieced together all the details and boldly drew conclusions, instructing his family to play along with the "plot" to avoid a tragic ending.

Just as they finished, noise erupted next door. Song Dongbo had returned. Exhausted from a day’s work, he’d bought some meat as a treat, only to have a neighbor bring his child home and inform him that Xu Xiuyun had been arrested.

The child burst into tears upon seeing him, sobbing, "Stepmother killed someone… She’s a murderer! I don’t want a murderer as a stepmother! I don’t want her!"

Song Dongbo reflexively said, "Did this have something to do with the neighbors again?"

The neighbor helping out rolled her eyes, "Why don’t you ask your wife why she’s always fixated on them? What business did she have writing to Battalion Commander Fang? And using her left hand—she knew it was shameful! If not for Xu Ziyan’s cleverness, she’d have gotten away with it."

Song Dongbo wanted to go to the police station, but the child cried uncontrollably, refusing to let anyone else near them. Since his child was his priority, Song Dongbo promised to stay home and comfort them.

Xu Xiuyun, who had never been to a police station before, was terrified and waited desperately for Song Dongbo to rescue her. But no one came. Instead, she faced interrogation—relentless questions that exposed secrets she never wanted to reveal, making her seem even guiltier.

After a sleepless night of questioning, she finally broke down, collapsing onto the table in tears, "I admit it! I wrote the letter to trick Battalion Commander Fang into coming back. I was jealous that Xu Ziyan married an officer—I just wanted to cause trouble for them."