Li Mei pondered for a moment and realized there was truth to it.
Seeing that she had taken these words to heart, Granny Cai’s tone grew even more earnest.
“As for this child, just take good care of him for now. It won’t cost much.”
“Later, I’ll find you a folk remedy. You can properly nourish your health, and sooner or later, you’ll have a son of your own.”
With just a few coaxing words from Granny Cai, Li Mei’s mind was completely swayed.
Before leaving, she kept thanking the elderly couple profusely.
“Are you out of your mind? Why bring up folk remedies for no reason?”
Once Li Mei was out of earshot, Old Man Cai shot his wife a disapproving look.
“If she has her own son, what kind of life will our little grandson have?”
After all, the child was their own flesh and blood—and a boy at that!
If it weren’t for his congenital deafness, he would never have agreed to give him away.
“What do you know?”
Granny Cai withdrew her gaze and said calmly, “I delivered that child myself. Do you think I don’t know whether she can even conceive?”
As they spoke, the two exchanged a glance.
Finally, they shared a knowing smile.
Meanwhile, as soon as Li Mei returned home with the child in her arms, she ran into Old Lady Xiang, who was packing her belongings.
The moment Old Lady Xiang saw her, she slapped her across the face.
“You wrote that anonymous complaint letter, didn’t you?”
Indeed, those letters had been penned by Li Mei.
But there was no way she would admit it now.
“Mom, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
“Acting dumb again, are you?”
Old Lady Xiang snapped, “You think sending me back to the countryside means I can’t do anything to you, is that it?”
“Hmph! Don’t get your hopes up. Once Chunsheng returns, this marriage of yours is over!”
Divorce, divorce, divorce—always threatening her with it!
If it weren’t for this wretched old woman,
she would never have considered swapping the child in the first place.
Thinking of all the things Old Lady Xiang had done over the years, Li Mei couldn’t resist provoking her.
“Mom, whether we divorce or not isn’t up to you. Take your time packing.”
“I’m not feeling well, so I won’t see you off.”
Old Lady Xiang trembled with rage. “You—!”
“Oh, one more thing.”
Li Mei turned back and gently pushed Old Lady Xiang’s pointing finger aside.
“I won’t keep these matters a secret for you. You’d better think carefully about how to explain everything to Chunsheng.”
Old Lady Xiang was livid. She grabbed Li Mei by the hair and shrieked, “You shameless wretch! How dare you threaten me!”
Her movements were too quick—Li Mei barely had time to react.
Instinctively, she raised her arms to defend herself.
The children in the yard burst into tears at the sight of them fighting again.
Luckily, the eldest child reacted swiftly, sprinting to the neighboring building to bang on the door.
Director Pan heard the commotion and hurried outside, finding the little girl sobbing uncontrollably.
“Huahua, what’s wrong?”
Xiang Xiaohua gasped between sobs, “Grandma… Mom… they’re fighting… Auntie, please go see…”
Hearing that the two were at it again, Director Pan couldn’t help but sigh.
“Alright, let’s go take a look.”
But as she turned the corner, she saw a crowd gathered outside the Xiang family’s courtyard.
Director Pan rushed over. “What happened? Is everything alright?”
A neighbor from next door answered, “These two started fighting over something, and in the scuffle, the baby fell. There’s a huge bump on his head!”
At that moment, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were still hurling accusations at each other.
Director Pan was so furious she wanted to kick them both. “What’s the point of arguing now? Hurry up and get the child to the hospital!”
Ten minutes later, at the military hospital.
After examining the infant, Doctor Tong from the pediatric department was at a loss for words.
The baby was barely ten days old, yet he already had such a severe injury. Without wasting time, Doctor Tong quickly filled out the forms.
“First, get a blood test. Then, we’ll do an X-ray.”
Given the urgency, the lab and radiology departments promptly delivered the reports.
“What is it?”
Noticing the hesitant look on the nurse’s face, Doctor Tong glanced up.
“Is there a problem with the report?”
The nurse hesitated before speaking. “Doctor Tong, the baby’s blood type… it doesn’t match.”
Doctor Tong frowned. What did that mean?
How could a blood type “not match”?
“Doctor Tong, take a look at this.”
The nurse pulled out a document from the folder and handed it over.
“This is Li Mei’s prenatal records from her previous hospital visits. Li Mei has type O blood, but this child is type AB…”
No further explanation was needed. Doctor Tong understood immediately.
According to the basic principles of genetics, no matter the father’s blood type,
a mother with type O blood could never give birth to a child with type AB.
In other words, this child was not Li Mei’s.
Just then, Doctor Jiang arrived.
Seeing his colleague frowning at the report, he asked, “How’s the child? Is it serious?”
She had only just come downstairs when she overheard the other military families gossiping and learned that Li Mei's child had taken a fall.
"See for yourself."
Doctor Tong didn’t know how to respond, so she simply handed over the report.
Doctor Jiang took it and glanced at it.
The result didn’t come as much of a surprise to her.
"What do you plan to do about this?" Doctor Jiang asked.
Unaware of the complexities of the situation, Doctor Tong said indignantly, "Swapping a military wife’s child is a heinous crime. Of course, we must report it to the military district."
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Doctor Jiang casually opened it.
Seeing Li Mei and her mother-in-law, she gave them a faint nod.
Li Mei turned her face away, unwilling to engage further.
"Doctor Tong, how is my son? When can I take him home?"
"The child needs to stay for observation a while longer."
As she spoke, Doctor Tong turned a solemn gaze toward her.
"Comrade Li Mei, there’s something I need to tell you. Please brace yourself."
At those words, Li Mei’s already uneasy heart grew even more frantic.
She instinctively wanted to refuse.
But Doctor Tong didn’t give her the chance to speak. "Comrade Li Mei, this child isn’t yours!"
Li Mei was stunned. "…"
Her voice trembled. "He… he’s the one I gave birth to. How could he not be mine…?"
"I’m serious. I’m not lying to you."
Doctor Tong patiently explained the basics of blood type compatibility.
Finally, she added, "Don’t worry. I’ve already reported this to the military district. Such a malicious act—swapping a military wife’s child—will be dealt with severely…"
Before she could finish, there was a loud thud—
Li Mei suddenly collapsed, cutting off Doctor Tong’s words and startling her badly.
"Comrade Li Mei, what’s wrong—?"
How could she faint out of nowhere?
After a moment’s thought, it suddenly dawned on her, and she turned to Doctor Jiang. "It’s nothing. She’s just… overjoyed."
Doctor Jiang: "…"
…
Secrets don’t stay buried for long. As the incident was reported, news that Li Mei’s child had been swapped—and worse, replaced with a deaf-mute child—spread like wildfire through the Fourth Division.
The military took the matter extremely seriously.
That very afternoon, they sent investigators to the hospital to gather details and even filed a report with the police.
But when they dug deeper, they discovered the reality was nothing like what they had imagined.
First, the county hospital confirmed that not only had no one named Li Mei given birth there in the past ten days, but there were no records of her delivering a child there in the last six months.
The hospital’s records were solid proof—there was no faking them.
Next, the investigators went to the county inspection team to ask about the specifics of that day.
When the inspection team’s captain heard the news, he was completely dumbfounded.
During that period, the entire county had been stockpiling supplies due to the typhoon. They wouldn’t have dared to arrest anyone at such a critical time.
With the investigation at a dead end, the team shifted their focus to Li Mei herself.
At first, Li Mei tried to lie her way out, but with so much evidence stacked against her, the psychological pressure became too much.
In the end, she confessed everything.
The police acted swiftly, arresting Granny Cai and Old Man Cai overnight.
The couple never dreamed the truth would come to light so quickly.
Back in the military housing complex, the families were left in shock when they learned the full story.
A few days later, Li Mei’s punishment was handed down.
For crimes including child trafficking, causing severe injury to a child, and abandonment, Li Mei was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Granny Cai and Old Man Cai received the same sentence for their involvement.
Old Lady Xiang’s actions indirectly constituted the crime of undermining military marriages, along with negligence leading to a child’s injury. She was sentenced to three years.
Even Deputy Battalion Commander Xiang, who was away on a mission, couldn’t escape repercussions.
According to the PLA’s disciplinary regulations, officers bear supervisory responsibility for their families. However, since Deputy Battalion Commander Xiang had no direct involvement in the matter, the military took a lenient approach.
He was demoted one rank and transferred to a local unit.
Though the sentences were finalized, discussions about the incident continued unabated.
Jiang Si, however, wasn’t particularly interested in the gossip. She had her hands full at the moment.
Listening to his wife clattering away on the abacus in their room for over half an hour, Huo Tingzhou set down a bowl of bird’s nest soup he had prepared.
"Darling, what are you calculating?"
