Chapter 19 The So-Called "Wife"
After the competition ended, Lu Zhanting was granted a few days of rare vacation.
The tension that had hung over the entire Tiger Camp finally dissipated, and life returned to a long-lost peace and warmth.
This tranquility is the best nourishment for Lu Zhanting, whose mind and body have been tested to the extreme.
For Su Wanqing, this peace and tranquility with her lover by her side was a happiness she had never experienced in either of her lives.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting warm, dappled patterns on the floor.
In the kitchen, Su Wanqing was busy.
The millet porridge in the pot was bubbling and bubbling, filling the air with its aroma.
She quietly added two drops of spiritual spring water to the porridge, and then handed the towel that had been soaked in the spiritual spring water to Lu Zhanting, who had just finished a set of boxing moves in the courtyard.
After the space was upgraded, she began to subtly use the spiritual spring water to treat the man's body.
Lu Zhanting himself might not have realized it, but Su Wanqing could clearly feel that his body was recovering much faster than before. The hidden injuries and fatigue accumulated from high-intensity training were being quietly repaired by a gentle force.
He slept more soundly at night and was more energetic during the day.
Lu Zhanting took the towel and wiped his face; the cool spring water invigorated him.
He watched his wife bustling about for him in the morning light. She was wearing a simple cloth dress, and her black braids hung down in front of her chest. The sunlight cast a soft glow on her silhouette.
Peaceful and serene.
At this moment, the word took on its most concrete form.
At the dinner table, the two talked about Su Wanqing's upcoming studio.
"I've already painted the walls for you. The logistics department has approved a few old tables and a bench. I'll bring some people to move them back for you this afternoon." Lu Zhanting said, sipping his porridge with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
The millet porridge was cooked to perfection, soft, sweet, and with a subtle, refreshing flavor that whetted his appetite, prompting him to have another bowl.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Su Wanqing's eyes lit up. "What about the fabric?"
"I asked around, and the military factory does have a batch of cotton fabric in its warehouse that has dyeing defects and cannot be used to make military uniforms. I have already submitted a report, and I should get news in a couple of days."
Lu Zhanting spoke casually, but Su Wanqing knew that he must have gone through a lot of trouble behind the scenes.
"Lu Zhanting, thank you." She said sincerely.
The man looked up at her, his eyes showing a hint of displeasure.
"My wife's affairs are my affairs."
"Why are you making such a clear distinction between me and you?"
Su Wanqing's heart was filled with a warm current, so sweet it felt like it was burning. She didn't say anything more, but just lowered her head and silently put the fried egg from her bowl into his bowl.
The peaceful and sweet days passed by one by one.
Together they tended the vegetable garden in the courtyard, planned the future of the studio, and strolled hand in hand in the military compound in the evening.
Su Wanqing felt as if she were living in a beautiful dream she didn't want to wake up from.
She even naively thought that such good days could go on forever.
That peace was shattered by a letter from the capital.
That afternoon, the couple had just moved the tables and chairs into the studio and were enthusiastically discussing how to arrange them.
At the gate of the courtyard, there came the sound of bicycle brakes screeching.
Xiao Zhang, a communications officer at the military post office, leaned on his cart and called out into the courtyard.
"Battalion Commander Lu! There's a letter for you!"
Xiao Zhang's expression was different from any other time before. It was a mixture of seriousness, tension, and even a hint of fear.
What he took out of his bag was not an ordinary letter.
It was a large, sturdy kraft paper envelope, sealed without a stamp, only with a dark red wax seal.
On the seal was a seal script character “陆” that Su Wanqing had never seen before.
The brushstrokes are sharp and powerful, exuding an aura of overwhelming force.
The smile on Lu Zhanting's face vanished the moment he saw the envelope.
He reached out and took the envelope, his hand momentarily stiffening.
His once relaxed brows furrowed tightly, and the gentle aura of a soldier dissipated, replaced by the cold, rusty smell of the battlefield.
"Thanks." He nodded to the communications officer, his voice flat and emotionless.
"You're welcome! Battalion Commander Lu, I'll be going now!"
As if he had been granted a pardon, Xiao Zhang quickly hopped on his bike and rode away without looking back, as if staying even a second longer would cause him to be frozen by that invisible pressure.
The atmosphere has changed.
Su Wanqing looked at the envelope in Lu Zhanting's hand, then at his profile that had suddenly hardened like iron, and her heart clenched inexplicably.
"Who sent the letter?" she asked softly.
Lu Zhanting did not answer.
He simply clutched the envelope, turned, and went into the house.
Su Wanqing followed him in and saw him sitting on the sofa, his back ramrod straight, like a silent stone sculpture.
He didn't open the letter immediately, but instead repeatedly rubbed the sealing wax seal with his fingertips, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
After a long time, as if he had finally made up his mind, he took out a paper cutter from the drawer and cut open the seal with precise and neat movements.
He pulled out the letter inside.
It was a sheet of Xuan paper of excellent quality, on which were written powerful and vigorous regular script characters.
Lu Zhanting read the letter without saying a word.
Su Wanqing stood to the side, her throat tight, not daring to make a sound to disturb him.
She could only stare nervously at his face.
As his gaze moved, the color drained from his face, leaving behind an almost deathly pallor.
His jawline was taut into a stiff straight line, his lips were tightly pressed together, and his eyes, which were always full of warmth, were now like an icy winter field, devoid of any warmth.
The air in the room became heavy and thin, making it almost impossible for Su Wanqing to breathe.
Something happened.
She was acutely aware of it.
Finally, Lu Zhanting finished reading the letter.
He didn't just put the letter down casually. Instead, he slowly and meticulously folded it back up along the original creases and put it back in the envelope.
Then he just sat there quietly, motionless, his gaze fixed blankly on the white wall in front of him.
The comforting, familiar aura emanating from him had vanished.
Instead, there is a huge, unsettling sense of alienation.
An invisible wall suddenly rose between him and the world.
"Zhan Ting..." Su Wanqing finally couldn't bear it any longer. She walked over and sat down beside him, her voice trembling, "What happened? What...did the letter say?"
Lu Zhanting's eyes moved, and his gaze slowly focused, landing on her face.
That look in his eyes was so complex, it contained pain, struggle, suppressed anger, and a trace of... weariness and despair that she couldn't understand.
"It's nothing," he said, his voice hoarse. "It's about the military."
He's lying.
The thought flashed through Su Wanqing's mind. His eyes darted away.
The intimacy and trust they had painstakingly built between them suddenly cracked at this moment.
"You lied to me." Su Wanqing didn't cry, but felt as if her heart was being gripped by an icy hand, a dull ache.
She reached out and placed her hand on the cold back of his hand.
"You've never been like this before. Is... something happened at home?"
Lu Zhanting's body stiffened for a moment.
He slowly shook his head, then grabbed her hand with his backhand, his grip so tight it felt like he was about to crush her bones.
"Not this home."
He closed his eyes, as if using all his strength, to squeeze out a few words through his teeth.
"It's the one in the capital."
capital.
These two words were like a boulder, crashing heavily into Su Wanqing's heart, stirring up a stormy sea.
"Is it...your grandfather?" she asked tentatively.
Lu Zhanting did not answer.
He simply opened his eyes, and in those dark eyes was endless darkness.
He let go of her hand, stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to her.
"Zhan Ting, what happened? Tell me, and we'll figure something out together." Su Wanqing chased after him and hugged his strong waist tightly from behind.
She could feel that his muscles were taut like a piece of cold iron.
This hug seemed to melt a corner of his frozen fortress.
“Go back.” Lu Zhanting’s voice was low and hoarse, as if it were being ground out from the depths of his throat. “He told me to go back.”
"Go back? Back to the capital?"
"Um."
"Why? Why are you suddenly being asked to go back?" Su Wanqing's heart sank, a strong sense of foreboding gripping her.
Lu Zhanting remained silent.
He didn't want to talk about it.
He didn't want to lay bare his dirty, complicated, and disgusting past before this girl who was as clean as a blank sheet of paper. He wanted to protect her and let her live forever in this simple and pure world.
But when he looked at her eyes, filled with worry and determination, reflected in the windowpane, he suddenly understood.
He could no longer keep her out.
She is his wife.
From the moment she married him, they were bound together by fate.
“Wanqing,” he turned around, cupped her face, and forced her to look at him, “what I’m about to say might be completely different from what you imagine me to be. You might regret it after you hear it…”
"I won't."
Su Wanqing firmly interrupted him.
"No matter what you say, no matter what kind of person you are, you are my husband. That will never change."
The trust and determination in her eyes were like a key that finally unlocked Lu Zhanting's tightly locked heart.
He forced a smile that was more like a grimace, pulled her back to sit down, and began the statement he had never told anyone before.
“I was born in the capital and am the eldest grandson of the Lu family. To outsiders, the Lu family is incredibly powerful and prestigious. But to me, it’s not home; it’s a huge, cold cage built with power and interests.”
His voice was calm, yet it conveyed a deep-seated disgust.
“In that family, there was no kinship, only scheming. Everyone, including me, was just a pawn in the family’s interests. My life and my marriage were planned from the moment I was born.”
“When I was eighteen, my grandfather, the head of the Lu family, arranged a marriage for me. The other party was the daughter of the Song family, another top wealthy family in the capital. It was a political marriage from beginning to end.”
Su Wanqing's heart clenched painfully.
The Song family...their daughter...arranged marriage...
Every word was chillingly cold.
“I didn’t want to. So, I had a huge fight with my family, almost to the point of breaking ties. I gave up my status as the eldest grandson of the Lu family and went to the most arduous northern frontier to start as a new recruit. I just wanted to prove to him that even without the Lu family, I, Lu Zhanting, could still live a decent life.”
"Over the years, I thought I had succeeded. I got to where I am today through my own blood and sweat. I've put down roots here, I have my own camp, my own soldiers, and..."
He paused, looking intently at Su Wanqing.
"...With you, I thought I could finally get rid of all those things from the past."
“But I was wrong.” His eyes dimmed completely. “I was too naive. As long as I am surnamed Lu, I will never escape that cage.”
"The letter said that the 'goods' I intercepted during my last mission at the border threatened the interests of certain people in the capital. And the Song family was involved behind those goods. Now, things have blown up, and the Song family and my grandfather's political enemies are making a big deal out of it. I, the eldest grandson of the Lu family who has been 'missing' for many years, have been pushed into the eye of the storm."
Lu Zhanting picked up the letter and handed it to Su Wanqing.
Su Wanqing took it with trembling hands and unfolded it.
The last few lines of the letter were like poisoned needles, piercing her eyes.
"The engagement with the Song family girl cannot be broken."
"The nonsense on the frontier should end."
"I'll give you a month to deal with that so-called 'wife' over there, and then get back to the capital immediately."
"Otherwise, you know what I'm capable of."
The signature was two bold characters that seemed to penetrate the paper: Lu Zhen.
The so-called "wife".
Nonsense.
Handle it properly.
Su Wanqing felt a sudden dizziness, and the letter in her hand fluttered to the ground.
The happiness she had worked so hard to build, the marriage she thought was unbreakable, was nothing more than a farce that could be "disposed of" at any time in the eyes of this man she had never met, named "Lu Zhen".
It turns out that he wasn't bad at expressing himself; he had simply carried his heaviest secret alone for so many years.
It turns out that he was not an omnipotent hero; he also had his own cage and shackles.
It turns out that the security she thought she had was, from the very beginning, a castle built on the beach.
Night fell, and the lights in the house were not turned on.
The two remained silent, the immense silence like a net, tightly enveloping them, suffocating them.
Su Wanqing finally understood why he had become so distant after his return.
This letter not only dragged him back into the quagmire he hated, but also placed a knife between him and his marriage.
What should he choose?
Is it to give up everything he had gained with his life, to abandon her, and to return to that glittering cage to continue being the eldest grandson of a wealthy family?
Or should he fight to the end, only to watch helplessly as his powerful grandfather, with his overwhelming influence, uses ruthless methods to destroy everything he cherishes, even... her?
This is a dead end.
Outside the window, the last rays of sunset were swallowed by darkness.
This little home, which they had decorated with their own hands and was full of warmth and hope, seemed so fragile and vulnerable at this moment.
A storm from the capital, carrying the force of thunder, is sweeping towards them.
And they seemed utterly powerless to fight back.
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