Since Lin Yao had been deceived, she was clearly the victim.

Perhaps she hadn’t been clever enough to uncover the truth herself, but if anyone had wanted her to know, all it would have taken was a single sentence from Xiao Liu or Commander Qin.

Under the crowd’s questioning gazes, Xiao Liu’s face tightened.

He was someone who cared deeply about appearances, and being interrogated by everyone made him feel aggrieved.

“Well, I thought Lin Yao didn’t want Le Bao. I thought she was materialistic and only cared about enjoying life, so I didn’t interfere. After all, it was the commander’s family matter. How could I dare question it?”

“And whenever Lin Yao called, the commander really was busy. I always informed him afterward. The commander said he’d written back to her, but that she was angry with him and didn’t want to receive his calls, so he stopped trying.”

Lin Yao let out a cold laugh.

“Letters? Every letter I sent back to Qin Shishen was intercepted by my wonderful elder brother-in-law.”

“What?!”

“My goodness!”

“The Qin family really has no conscience. Who treats their younger brother’s wife like that?”

“Lin Yao has suffered so much. If people were deliberately hiding things from her, how could she possibly have figured it out?”

“In my opinion, Commander Qin absolutely needs to sort out his family affairs. This can’t just be swept under the rug.”

“Exactly. We daughters-in-law haven’t done anything wrong.”

Most of the people gathered around were military wives.

Naturally, they empathized with another daughter-in-law.

There were also a few older women among them, including Granny Wang, who was famous for her favoritism.

Ironically, she didn’t favor her successful eldest son, who served in the military. Instead, she doted on her younger son back in their hometown, who had accomplished very little.

“What suffering?”

Granny Wang snorted.

“If you ask me, Qin’s parents did the right thing. Lin Yao, you must’ve done something wrong first. You probably bullied your brothers-in-law, and they’re just getting back at you.”

The moment she spoke, the surrounding family members fell silent.

Their expressions immediately turned unpleasant.

Clearly, none of them liked Granny Wang very much.

Lin Yao smiled sweetly.

“Auntie, were you living in my house and personally witnessing everything that happened?”

“If not, perhaps you should become a police officer and solve criminal cases.”

“Forget laws altogether. We’ll just let you decide who’s guilty based on whatever comes out of your mouth.”

“You can determine all our fates. How about that?”

The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable.

Granny Wang’s hand trembled as she pointed at her.

“Y-you… what nonsense are you talking about? No wonder your family doesn’t like you. With your personality, who could possibly like you?”

“Auntie, you say that as if everyone likes you.”

Lin Yao’s smile widened.

“As a mother, I’ve already been bullied and mistreated this badly. The fact that I haven’t gone crazy yet proves I have good character.”

“And now an outsider like you wants to stick your nose into my business and start slandering me?”

“Come on then. Let’s go speak to the leadership right now.”

“What happened in my family is known throughout the entire village. I’m not afraid of an investigation.”

As she spoke, Lin Yao tossed her luggage by the doorway.

With one arm she picked up Yuan Bao, making sure he wouldn’t get hurt.

With the other, she grabbed Granny Wang and started dragging her outside.

The family members were stunned.

None of them had expected Lin Yao to be this fierce.

Still, most of them disliked Granny Wang anyway.

She had always acted as though everyone else’s comfortable life in the city offended her.

Even buying meat for dinner could earn someone a sarcastic lecture from her.

“Let go of me!”

Granny Wang shouted.

“The world’s gone mad!”

She had never expected Lin Yao to be not only bold but also incredibly strong.

Usually Granny Wang was the neighborhood bully.

Now she had finally met her match.

Xiao Liu and Xiao Song quickly reacted and moved to intervene.

But several family members subtly stepped in front of them.

The two men couldn’t exactly shove military wives aside, so they were temporarily blocked.

Xiao Liu grew anxious.

“Sister-in-law, don’t do anything rash. This is the military compound, not a place where you can do whatever you want.”

Just as I thought.

Lin Yao became even more convinced that Xiao Liu genuinely disliked her.

The first thing he did was defend Granny Wang.

Xiao Song, however, remained good-natured.

“Sister-in-law, please calm down. Auntie Wang was wrong. We won’t believe what she said.”

“Hmph.”

“She spreads rumors the moment she opens her mouth.”

“The fact that I haven’t torn her mouth apart already is me showing restraint.”

“Instead of dealing with the person causing trouble, you’re forcing her nonsense onto me.”

“So I’ll handle it my own way.”

Xiao Song immediately said,

“We’ll handle it. We’ll take Auntie Wang away right now. Please don’t be angry.”

After all, Granny Wang’s eldest son was merely a battalion commander.

Compared to Commander Qin, he was a subordinate.

Regardless of military regulations, they still had to show some respect to the commander’s wife.

Hearing that, Lin Yao finally stopped.

“Fine, Xiao Song. I trust you to handle things fairly.”

“You deal with it.”

Xiao Song sighed in relief.

He quickly summoned a patrol squad and ordered two soldiers to escort Granny Wang away.

The moment she regained her freedom, Granny Wang puffed herself up again.

Pointing at Lin Yao, she cursed,

“You little bitch! I’m only telling the truth. If you’ve got the guts to do those things, then I’ve got the right to talk about them. What are you going to do about it?”

Before anyone could react—

Smack!

Lin Yao slapped her hard across the face.

It was a deliberate warning to everyone present.

Two of Granny Wang’s teeth flew out.

“Aaaah!”

Granny Wang screamed.

Blood mixed with saliva spilled from her mouth.

The surrounding family members were so shocked by the sudden reversal that they all stumbled backward.

“Good.”

Lin Yao sneered.

“Let’s have the leadership judge this matter.”

“Everyone here heard your slander. I’m going to sue you.”

“As for me hitting you, you can sue me too.”

“At worst I’ll pay compensation.”

“I’ve spent three years farming. You think I can’t afford your medical bills?”

She let out a mocking laugh.

“But your defamation of my reputation is a fact.”

“Auntie, you’d better prepare to compensate me.”

Granny Wang was furious.

“I’m nearly seventy years old! What’s wrong with speaking the truth?”

“You’re actually going to drag an old woman like me before the leadership? What a joke!”

Lin Yao laughed.

“Auntie, if you don’t understand the law, maybe you should read more.”

“You think getting old gives you permission to commit crimes?”

“Now that’s a joke.”

“I refuse to believe the military operates by those rules.”

“And if it does, I’ll expose your behavior in the newspapers.”

“I’d like to see whether there’s still justice left in this world.”

Lin Yao wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

In fact, she almost wished Granny Wang would make an even bigger scene.

She wasn’t afraid of protagonists with plot armor.

Why would she fear a troublesome old woman?

Granny Wang was visibly shaken by Lin Yao’s aggressive attitude.

Xiao Song’s eyebrows twitched uncontrollably.

Without hesitation, he ordered the soldiers to take Granny Wang away.

The matter had already grown large enough that the leadership would certainly hear about it.

What they thought was another question entirely.

For now, preventing the situation from escalating further was the priority.

“Sister-in-law, don’t be angry.”

“Auntie Wang just has a sharp tongue.”

Lin Yao snorted.

“I’m not her mother. Why should I indulge her?”

“What happened to me is already disgusting enough.”

“And she still dares spread rumors about me to my face.”

“Does she think I haven’t reached my breaking point yet?”

“For three years in the countryside, I treated people kindly and got nothing good in return.”

“From now on, anyone who dares bully me is going to learn that some people are impossible to push around.”

Her voice rang loudly through the courtyard.

She looked utterly unapproachable.

Yet strangely, many of the family members admired her all the more for it.

Especially those who had suffered under Granny Wang’s bullying before.

“Exactly!”

One woman chimed in.

“Xiao Song, everyone knows Auntie Wang loves spreading rumors.”

“Comrade Lin Yao is already devastated after learning her child was taken away and hidden from her.”

“Auntie Wang knew nothing about the situation and still started talking nonsense.”

“Of course Comrade Lin Yao got angry.”

“That’s right!”

“This time the leadership really should give Auntie Wang some proper ideological education.”

“Her behavior is terrible for the atmosphere in the compound.”

“Exactly. Even elders can’t just say whatever they want.”

“Otherwise there’d be no rules left at all.”