Although Tang's mother complained about Zhan Zeyi, she still packed many good things from the house—especially clothes for Tang Qiyue, all designed by Tang's mother herself.
After everything was stuffed into the car, Tang's mother still complained that the car was too small and that many of the things she had prepared couldn't fit.
Tang Qiyue quickly stopped her. At this rate, her mother would practically stuff the entire house into the car.
"You're leaving tomorrow, so I won't see you off. Just send me a letter when you arrive."
Tang's mother checked the time and knew she couldn't insist her daughter stay any longer, since they had to leave before sunset.
Tang Xiuyuan tried to give the box to Tang Qiyue, but Tang Qiyue quickly stopped him, afraid her mother would notice something was wrong.
"If you sell it, I won't acknowledge you as my brother!"
With no other choice, Tang Xiuyuan took the box back.
Since he couldn't return it, he pulled Zhan Zeyi aside.
"Since my sister has accepted you, I'll say this clearly: if you dare bully my sister, even if you're a soldier, I'll risk my life to send you to a military court!"
Despite his young age, Tang Xiuyuan was not stupid.
Zhan Zeyi patted Tang Xiuyuan on the shoulder.
"Little brother-in-law, you should focus on your studies. Your sister has sacrificed so much for your education. If you don't study well, you'll only be letting her down."
At this moment, Zhan Zeyi dared not mention that Tang Qiyue had donated her dowry. He was afraid Tang Xiuyuan would explode in anger, so he could only hint indirectly.
Tang Xiuyuan wanted to ask more, but his mother urged him to hurry up.
Tang's mother and Tang Xiuyuan watched as the car disappeared into the alley.
Tang Xiuyuan wiped his tears and asked,
"Mother, do you think my sister will be safe marrying him?"
Although Tang Xiuyuan had previously resisted the marriage, he knew very well that it was safer for Tang Qiyue to marry Zhan Zeyi than to stay at home.
At least Zhan Zeyi was a soldier.
"He said he would live a good life with your sister and even let her join him in the army. That's enough."
If she could go with him to the army, she would be far away from the Tang family's messy affairs. As long as Zhan Zeyi protected her, danger wouldn't reach her.
The mother and son returned to the house and closed the door.
Looking at the much emptier room, they both breathed a sigh of relief. They had given Tang Qiyue all the valuables. Even if someone searched the house, they were no longer worried.
Meanwhile, in the car, Tang Qiyue kept staring at Zhan Zeyi.
He leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, letting her stare.
Eventually, her gaze became so obvious that he couldn't ignore it anymore. He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Just ask whatever you want to ask."
This immediately prompted Tang Qiyue to speak.
"Do you always talk so freely?"
Zhan Zeyi raised an eyebrow.
Before he could answer, Chen Dazhuang in the front seat burst out laughing.
"Sister-in-law, you noticed too?"
Chen Dazhuang had been holding it in for a long time. After listening to Zhan Zeyi's nonsense all day, he was practically blushing from embarrassment.
This guy was always like this in the army. Everyone was used to it.
But today he had been talking like that in front of his mother-in-law!
Ignoring Zhan Zeyi kicking the seat as a warning, Chen Dazhuang continued,
"Don't let Brother Zhan's sincere and upright face fool you. He loves talking nonsense. He's suffered a lot because of it—even this injury was caused by his mouth!"
Before Chen Dazhuang could finish, Zhan Zeyi told him to shut up.
In the end, Chen Dazhuang considered Zhan Zeyi's dignity and stopped talking, though his entire expression practically screamed that Zhan Zeyi was unreliable.
"I wasn't talking nonsense," Zhan Zeyi said.
"I was just going along with what they believed."
It was rare for Zhan Zeyi to explain himself, probably because Tang Qiyue had donated her dowry.
Tang Qiyue gave him a stiff smile that clearly showed she didn't believe him.
When they returned to the Zhan family home, the sun was just setting.
Mother Zhan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them return. Although she didn't care much about traditional customs, she still paid some attention to them.
When Chen Dazhuang unloaded the return gifts prepared by Tang Qiyue's family, Mother Zhan's face twitched.
She knew the Tang family was wealthy, but seeing so many gifts made it look like the Zhan family couldn't afford anything.
Fortunately, Tang Qiyue had already anticipated this.
She took Mother Zhan's arm and explained,
"Mother, only part of these are return gifts. The rest are my mother's dowry for me. I got married in a hurry before, and she wasn't home at the time. She only returned today."
After hearing this explanation, Mother Zhan's expression softened.
Putting herself in Tang's mother's position, she could understand. In fact, considering the situation, Tang's mother had been very restrained.
"Then why didn't you stay and keep your mother company? Staying one more day wouldn't have mattered."
Mother Zhan suddenly slapped her forehead.
"That's right—you and Xiao Ye are leaving for the army tomorrow. There's no way you could stay overnight."
"Since you're back, come and see what Mother prepared for you."
Mother Zhan pulled Tang Qiyue inside to look at the things she had prepared.
Meanwhile, Zhan Zeyi told Chen Dazhuang to return the car and come back in the middle of the night to pick up the items and handle them.
Chen Dazhuang had been waiting for this and excitedly drove away.
Before they even entered the house, Zhan Zeyi's older brother called him out for a walk.
There were too many people at home; it wasn't convenient to talk there.
The two brothers walked outside.
Zhan's older brother handed Zhan Zeyi an oil-paper package.
"What's this?"
Zhan Zeyi opened it and saw it was full of money.
"Big brother, what are you doing?"
Startled, he quickly tried to stuff it back into his brother's hands.
But his older brother pushed it back into his pocket and pressed his hand down.
"Take it. Even though we've divided the family property, I'm still your older brother."
Zhan Zeyi didn't refuse again.
He knew his older brother was quiet and honest, but once he made up his mind, nothing could change it.
In some ways, the two brothers were very similar.
"Your sister-in-law doesn't know about this money," his older brother said.
"It's from the things you sent back when you first joined the army."
The older brother looked at the younger man standing in front of him, now half a head taller.
Back then, his younger brother had been about the same size as him.
To save food for the family, Zhan Zeyi had risked his life climbing onto a train to join the army.
The older brother had always felt guilty about it.
Later, Zhan Zeyi sent money and goods back home. The family spent the money, but the older brother secretly kept the items.
A few years ago, when things became more stable, he sold them and saved the money for Zhan Zeyi's future wife.
All the money was now in this oil-paper package.
"Don't blame your sister-in-law for caring about money. That's just how she is."
"Your wife is capable. Treat her well."
"In life, you must listen to your wife."
It was rare for the older brother to speak so much.
Finally, he placed his hands behind his back and gestured for Zhan Zeyi to go home.
"Sincerity brings sincerity. Don't try to be clever, or you'll lose your wife and have nowhere to cry."