Chapter 40: The True Lie

  Wang He looked at his daughter-in-law, who was tall and beautiful, and couldn't help but sigh silently: what a good girl, it's a pity she married that rascal Wei Ye.

  Wang He couldn't care about the little rascal at home for now. Since he had to acknowledge this daughter-in-law, as a father-in-law, he couldn't be rude in front of her. When he heard the introduction from the little rascal, that this newlywed daughter-in-law was surnamed Sima, Wang He's heart skipped a beat. The surname Sima is not common in China, and during his time in the army, one of his long-time comrades had the same surname.

  The daughter-in-law has already called out "Dad", and Wang He's face immediately reveals a smile. He warmly says to Sima Youlan: "At home, don't be restrained at all, this will be your home from now on. This little rascal didn't even tell us that you were coming home, and as the father, I wasn't prepared for anything either. Since your mother has brought out her treasure, just take good care of it, and jumping a few more times is also Dad's treat. In a few days, Dad will have his secretary buy some nice things to give to you as a gift for meeting."

  Liu Dongmei sat on the sofa, hearing her husband giving away her jewelry as gifts, she was unhappy and immediately began to mock him: "I said old Wang, you really know how to be a good person. Think back when I bought these jewels, you didn't spare any criticism of me, saying I had serious petty-bourgeois thoughts, now you know the benefits of these jewels, humph."

  For this wife who was more than ten years younger than him, Wang He had no way to deal with her. The three children at home all stood on her side, and he felt that being a person at home was a complete failure. Wang He didn't pay attention to his wife's sarcasm, and quickly changed the subject, saying to Sima Youlan: "You're surnamed Sima, this surname is not common. There's an old comrade-in-arms of mine named Sima You, I wonder if you know him?"

  Simayoulan heard her grandfather mention Sima You's name, she immediately replied: "Dad, that is my uncle, my father's name is Sima Liang."

  Haha……, “This is really a case of 'the dragon king's temple being washed away by a big flood', where family members don't recognize each other. I've heard your father's name from your uncle. Due to work-related reasons, I haven't met him before. But your father must know me. How's your uncle doing now? It's been over ten years since we last saw each other.”

  Now that Sima Youlan's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, has finally landed on solid ground. When she first entered Wang Weiye's home, she had a somewhat uneasy feeling in her heart. Although her family was also very prestigious, compared to the wealthy and powerful Wang family, it was like a small sorcerer meeting a great one. Now that she heard that her father-in-law not only knew her uncle but also knew her father, this marriage was 100% settled.

  Liu Dongmei immediately stopped her husband and daughter-in-law from discussing household chores, as she still had important questions that hadn't been answered. Liu Dongmei quickly pulled Sima Youlan back to his seat and asked urgently: "Youlan, tell Mom quickly, what's going on with what Xiaosan said earlier about having three wives?"

  It's unrealistic to say that Sima Youlan didn't feel jealous or resentful. Any woman would be uncomfortable in this situation, let alone Sima Youlan, the pride of heaven. These days, Sima Youlan has been basking in the honeymoon phase with Wang Weiye and hasn't thought about this matter. Now, as soon as she heard her mother-in-law's question, she was like a wife who had suffered at the hands of her husband, and suddenly poured out all her grievances.

  This is also Wang Weiye's fault, when he was about to return home, he was so excited to go back that he forgot to remind Sima Youlan not to tell his family about his injury.

  Simayoulan said to her mother-in-law: "Mom, you don't know, this stinky... Weiye was injured, I..."

  Wang Weiye, who was standing beside her, heard Sima Youlan mention his injury and immediately reached out to pull Sima Youlan's hand, quickly stopping her from continuing.

  Liu Dongmei was extremely surprised and asked: "Youlan, you said Xiaosan is injured?"

  Simayoulan was pulled by Wang Weiye, and she immediately reacted, knowing that she had misspoken. Before she could explain, Liu Dongmei had already spoken up to ask about it.

  Wang He heard that Wang Weiye was injured, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew that Wang Weiye had been sent to the base as a special soldier, but he hadn't expected that in just over half a year since arriving at the secret base, his son would be injured during a mission. Now that his wife had asked questions, he stood aside without interrupting or asking further.

  Wang Weiye saw his mother asking questions, he was afraid that Sima Youlan would continue to speak, so he immediately took over the conversation. He said: "Mom, there's no such thing, it's just Youlan talking nonsense."

  What kind of person is Liu Dongmei? She's the one in charge of managing cadres at the municipal party committee. She wouldn't believe Wang Weiye's words, that little scoundrel. Her daughter-in-law didn't dare lie to her face. When she saw her son take over the conversation, she became very unhappy and said to Wang Weiye: "You just stay out of this, if you interrupt again, Mom will have your dad spank you. Youlan, don't be afraid, if this little scoundrel dares to bully you, tell Mom, and see how Mom deals with him. Quickly tell Mom how he got hurt?"

  Now Sima Youlan is in a dilemma, saying it is not right, not saying it is also not right, she is having a hard time, Wang Weiye saves her from the suffering at the critical moment.

  Wang Weiye looked at his wife's embarrassed expression and helplessly said to Sima Youlan, "Alright, Youlan. Since you've already spoken up, just tell Mom about it. It's not a big deal anyway. If you don't clarify things today, Mom won't be able to sleep tonight again."

  Since Wang Wei Ye had already said that there was nothing wrong, Sima You Lan hastily said to her mother-in-law: "Mom, how Wei Ye got injured, I'm not very clear. At the time, I had just arrived at the base for an internship and heard my father tell me that when Wei Ye was sent to the base, he didn't have a single good spot on his body, with over 30 wounds. After surgery, Wei Ye fell into a coma again. The base's doctors were already scarce, and the leaders of the General Staff and Military Region all called my father, telling him to spare no expense in treating Wei Ye's injuries. So, my father was worried and had me serve as Wei Ye's special care physician..."

  Simayoulan took nearly thirty minutes to recount what had happened.

  Wang He and his wife listened for half a day, only to understand that their son was injured but had recovered. However, the more they listened, the more confused they became. Wang He couldn't help but ask, "Youlan, we've already understood that this little brat got hurt and you took care of him. But why did he say he has three wives? Has our country's marriage law changed to allow polygamy? How come I, as the provincial political and legal committee secretary, don't know about it?"

  Liu Dongmei was slightly displeased as soon as she heard her husband Wang He's words. How did their son get hurt? As a father, he didn't even ask about it. She spoke to her husband in an ill-tempered tone: "The son said he has three wives, what does that have to do with you being the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee? Son, tell your mother honestly how you got hurt. Let me take a look, is your injury healed?"

  Wang He is in a bad mood now, his wife is fine with everything. But there's one thing she's not good at, as long as it's about her precious son, she immediately becomes unreasonable. And when facing his daughter-in-law, he can't say much either, so he just stands aside and listens to his wife questioning their son.

  But Wang Weiye knew that if he didn't clarify things, his mother wouldn't let it go so easily. However, he couldn't reveal the real reason behind what happened. So, Wang Weiye's brain was racing at high speed now. This kid had been deceiving his mother since he was young, and he could lie without batting an eyelid or skipping a beat. He stood up from the sofa, lifted his clothes to show his mother, and said: "Mom, look at my injuries, aren't they all healed? It's nothing, I just accidentally fell off the mountain during training. But, mom, this fall was worth it, because I got you a beautiful daughter-in-law, don't you think?"

  As soon as Wang Weiye finished speaking, his entire body leaned completely against Liu Dongmei's. Wang Weiye's coquettishness made Liu Dongmei smile and gently touch Wang Weiye's face with her hand, nodding: "Hmm, your face isn't broken, what a relief! Otherwise, you little scoundrel wouldn't even be able to find a wife!"

  Liu Dongmei didn't understand medicine, and when she was in the army, she worked in the propaganda department, without any research on wounds. Wang Weiye said that, adding to his coquettishness, and with her precious son standing in front of her, she didn't think about it anymore. Liu Dongmei also came from a military background, and when accidents happened during training, they weren't a big deal either.

  He Ke was different, he was a soldier who had come to fight, and at a glance, he saw the wounds on his son's body, which were caused by shrapnel and bullets. He couldn't help but think in his heart: When did a local war break out on the border? Why didn't the country have an internal report? This kid went to the base, Kuai and Wang Qiang called him and told him about it, and he agreed to let Weiye go to the base. Skirmishes with Soviet troops on the border were frequent. But this kid's injury, that could only happen in a large-scale battlefield.

  Although he knew that the little brat was lying, Wang He didn't expose him. If his wife found out the truth, she would definitely not let it go easily. At first, letting the little brat join the army was a decision made without consulting his wife. Only after the little brat left did the atmosphere at home become cold and quiet. Every day when she came back from work, there was no one to talk to or dote on her. As soon as she thought of her precious son, she would immediately give him a bad face, and they had already quarreled several times in more than half a year. Wang He didn't want to look for trouble now, so he could forgive the little brat's innocent deception.

  Liu Dongmei mentioned the word "daughter-in-law", and she immediately remembered this matter, which was a big deal. If her son married three wives, wouldn't that be bigamy? She was extremely anxious and hastily asked Sima Youlan: "Youlan, tell Mom the truth, how could this rascal have two more daughters-in-law besides you?"

  Simayoulan knew that she hadn't made herself clear earlier, and her heart still felt a bit uncomfortable. Three women marrying one man - it was unheard of since the founding of New China. If her sisters found out, they would definitely tease her about it. But now that she was his wife, Simayoulan didn't think about it too much anymore. Earlier, when her mother-in-law asked, she had simply replied with a few words. But now that her mother-in-law brought it up again, Simayoulan had no choice but to explain clearly.

  "Mom, you know about Pingping. The other one is a soldier from the base, two years older than me, and a comrade of Weiyeh's. As for how she became Weiyeh's person, I'm not clear either - Weiyeh didn't tell me."

  Liu Dongmei looked at Simayoulan with great surprise, feeling that this daughter-in-law might be lacking in common sense. How could such a big thing happen without her asking clearly, and letting her husband do as he pleased outside? From now on, whether this family could hold up or not, Liu Dongmei began to have some doubts. She was no longer happy, and her tone became slightly heavier, with a hint of blame: "Youlan, why don't you control him? How can you let him be so reckless? You're older than him, and in everything else, you can spoil him, but not this matter. If that little scoundrel dares to mess around again, tell Mom, and Mom will take charge. I won't believe it if that little scoundrel still dares to defy the heavens."

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