After her body was transformed by the spiritual spring, Lin Zhilan was now in excellent physical condition and possessed considerable strength. Huang Ying tried to push past her, only to find she couldn't budge her at all.
"What exactly do you want?"
Lin Zhilan smiled. "Nothing much. I just came to confirm a few things."
Jiang Xiaohong nervously tugged at her sister-in-law's clothes, but her hand was swatted away.
Huang Ying said, "I wasn't the one who said you abused Jiang Chengzhou, alright?"
Lin Zhilan raised an eyebrow. "Who said I came to ask about that?"
"You..." Huang Ying choked on her words. "Then what do you want to ask?"
Lin Zhilan's gaze shifted, sweeping past Jiang Xiaohong's hand gripping Huang Ying's arm, before finally meeting Jiang Xiaohong's eyes. "Before I even arrived at the military base, why did you describe me as a wicked woman to our Chengzhou? Had we ever met before?"
Meeting Lin Zhilan's piercing gaze, Jiang Xiaohong panicked and hastily explained, "We were just teasing the child, we didn't mean anything by it."
Huang Ying turned her head and glared fiercely at her sister-in-law.
Didn't her words just now mean she admitted to saying those things?
Lin Zhilan revealed a cold smile. "Our child is honest. When others tease him, he takes it seriously. I'll have to trouble you to explain it to him and apologize."
"Why should we?" Huang Ying's eyes widened, her ferocious expression completely ruining her otherwise pretty face.
Lin Zhilan looked down and asked the child, "Chengzhou, what should someone do when they make a mistake?"
Holding his aunt's hand, Jiang Chengzhou replied, "Acknowledge the mistake and correct it, and... and apologize."
Lin Zhilan gave him a praising look, then turned to Huang Ying and Jiang Xiaohong.
"Even a child understands this logic, but you don't? Or..." Lin Zhilan said meaningfully, "Because you're a relative of the division commander, it doesn't matter if you make mistakes?"
"What did you say?" Huang Ying panicked. Looking around at the crowd of onlookers, she pushed Jiang Xiaohong forward. "You said it, you go apologize!"
Pinching the hem of her shirt, Jiang Xiaohong squeezed out the words through her teeth: "I am sorry."
Jiang Chengzhou leaned his ear toward her. "What did you say? I didn't hear you."
Lin Zhilan: "..."
This kid was still so cheeky.
But why was it somewhat funny?
Faint laughter also came from the surrounding crowd.
Jiang Xiaohong's face flushed red. She squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, "I am sorry!"
Lin Zhilan and the child didn't say whether they forgave her or not. She continued asking, "I heard that recently someone has been spreading rumors again that I abuse Chengzhou..."
Jiang Chengzhou interrupted her. "Auntie, what does abuse mean?"
"It means bullying you, hitting you, and not giving you food."
"Oh."
Jiang Chengzhou's sudden interruption gave Huang Ying and Jiang Xiaohong time to recover.
They took the opportunity to exchange a glance, and Jiang Xiaohong spoke up, "We weren't the ones who said that."
Lin Zhilan smiled. "Is that so? Then perhaps I misunderstood. I thought you were just teasing everyone again."
When the police station investigates suspects, they also have to ask if there's a prior criminal record.
For someone with a prior record, when something happens, you can't complain if people suspect you first.
Huang Ying had never been so humiliated at the military base before. She gritted her teeth, turned around, pushed through the crowd, and ran away.
Lin Zhilan chuckled lightly at the crowd and left, leading the child by the hand.
Everyone drew in a breath.
Commander Su's new wife was truly beautiful, but she was also someone not to be trifled with.
Soon, the so-called news of Lin Zhilan abusing her nephew quickly died down. Now, the focus of everyone's discussion had shifted to the clash between Huang Ying and Lin Zhilan.
This was exactly the effect Lin Zhilan wanted to achieve.
Faced with such fabricated rumors, diverting the conflict was much more useful than trying to prove one's innocence.
Huang Ying didn't even go home; she went straight to Division Commander Qin to complain.
Division Commander Qin listened for a long time before letting out a deep sigh. "Yingying, was there anything untrue in what Lin Zhilan said?"
Huang Ying had no way to argue her way out of the matter regarding Jiang Chengzhou.
At that time, Lin Zhilan had just arrived and didn't know her at all; it was that little brat Jiang Chengzhou who had exposed it.
Huang Ying's mind raced. She lowered her head and wiped her tears. "I know I shouldn't have used those words to tease the child back then. I was wrong.
But Lin Zhilan questioned me in front of so many people and implied that I was the one who spread the rumor about her abusing Jiang Chengzhou. How will people out there look at me now?"
Seeing her uncle remain silent, Huang Ying sniffled. "I was originally going to argue with her based on reason, but she dragged you into it. I was afraid it would have a bad impact on you, so I swallowed my anger."
Division Commander Qin nodded and asked her again, "You said you weren't the one who spread the rumors about her abusing Jiang Chengzhou. Do you think the matter is true?"
Huang Ying: "I don't know."
Division Commander Qin laughed. "Huang Ying, how could you not know? Didn't you even teach Jiang Xiaohong to write the report letter?"
It was the first time her uncle had spoken to her in such a tone. Huang Ying inexplicably felt a bad premonition in her heart. She asked in surprise, "Uncle, the report letter was written by Jiang Xiaohong?"
Seeing her still playing dumb, Division Commander Qin's face turned cold. "Jiang Xiaohong is inseparable from you, and you don't know?"
"Uncle, you suspect me?"
"Yes," Division Commander Qin said bluntly. "Do you know why? Because you had her hand the letter over to the Family Committee. This is the first report letter the Family Committee has ever received!
Huang Ying, how many years has Jiang Xiaohong been on the island? Would she know how to write a report letter? Would she know that this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Family Committee?
You've outsmarted yourself. You schemed too much!"
The military wives who came to accompany the army were from all over the country, but there were not many like Huang Ying who grew up in the military base. For Jiang Xiaohong to do such a thing, Huang Ying must have played a role in it.
Yet from the very beginning, she claimed she knew nothing about it.
She had already exposed herself in front of Division Commander Qin long ago.
Huang Ying wanted to say that perhaps Jiang Xiaohong had heard it from someone else, but under Division Commander Qin's disappointed gaze, she suddenly couldn't speak, only lowering her head and sobbing.
Division Commander Qin sighed. "Later, take Jiang Xiaohong with you and go apologize to Comrade Lin Zhilan."
"I won't go. Why should I go? The things in the report letter are true, I didn't speak nonsense. Why should I apologize?" Huang Ying tried to argue.
Division Commander Qin said angrily, "How are you certain it's true? Isn't it just hearsay? If everyone in the military were like this, believing every rumor they hear, suspecting one another, and writing report letters at the drop of a hat, how could the base remain stable?
You don't need to say anything else. Right now, take your sister-in-law and go apologize to Comrade Lin."
Huang Ying stood up abruptly and cried, "I won't go! The matter is true, and I didn't write the letter. What does it have to do with me?"
Division Commander Qin slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Why are you being so disobedient now?!"
In her heart, Huang Ying had always treated her uncle as her father. Seeing him being so strict with her now, she spoke without thinking: "It's all that vixen Lin Zhilan's fault. If I were your biological daughter, she definitely wouldn't dare cause trouble for me..."
Slap!
With a loud sound, Huang Ying covered her cheek, looking at her uncle in disbelief.
Division Commander Qin's finger trembled slightly as he pointed at the door. "Get out of here!"
