Reborn as a Tough Army Wife-Chapter 791 - 786: Suspecting the Truth

Mrs. Liu wasn’t too pleased when she heard this. At this time, US$ 500 was not a small amount. In a poor family, the yearly expenses for the entire household were just about 100 to 200 yuan.

She frowned and said, "Now, US$ 500 isn’t a small amount for our family, how could it be considered a trivial matter."

In the Liu family, Mr. Liu was the head and the most authoritative person. When he heard Mrs. Liu complaining like this, he knew that his sister must have seen his wife’s displeased face when coming to ask for money today. He didn’t lash out directly but glared with his eyebrows raised, looking at Mrs. Liu with displeasure, "Is our family really unable to come up with US$ 500 now?"

Seeing signs of anger from Mr. Liu, Mrs. Liu knew how to restrain herself, and immediately put away her impatient expression, saying hastily, "Alright, alright, next time if this happens again, I’ll handle it."

"Hmm." Mr. Liu gave her a look and said no more.

Honestly, at this point, he really didn’t have the energy to deal with these family trivialities.

Because Mrs. Liu’s visit to the Fang Family today did not go well, meaning he must find another way to raise money to keep his son and himself safe.

If he truly had another way, he wouldn’t have let his wife plead with Fang Pingying.

Thinking about all these matters, Mr. Liu was deeply troubled, so he went to bed early, leaning against the headboard, closing his eyes to rest.

Mrs. Liu tidied up some things in the house, watched Mr. Liu carefully, and seeing that he wasn’t doing anything urgent, she remembered the matter concerning Xiutao today. She casually brought up matters about Xiu Tao’s house, steering the conversation,

"Old Liu, honestly, I just don’t get it. You know, our Xiutao was good-looking and well-educated in her youth, how did she end up marrying Mr. Xiao Wei and end up like this?"

Upon hearing that, Mr. Liu opened his once tightly shut eyes slightly and seemed to recall previous matters, sighing heavily, yet unwilling to discuss further, shaking his head, "Why talk so much about past matters."

Having lived with Mr. Liu for so many years, Mrs. Liu certainly understood him. Seeing Mr. Liu like this, she vaguely guessed there might be something behind it, so she continued, "It’s useless talking about it, but seeing Xiutao like this now, I feel uncomfortable, after all, she’s family. The man in her house is useless, her son is disobedient, and she’s the only one holding everything up. And now they can rely on us, but when we are older, who’ll she rely on then."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Mr. Liu listened to the first part of Mrs. Liu’s speech quite agreeably, but as it went on, it seemed to change in tone as if his wife was implying his sister’s family was a burden. He wasn’t pleased.

Noticing Mr. Liu’s misunderstanding, Mrs. Liu quickly explained, "I wasn’t intending to say anything like that. I just feel sorry for Xiutao. I don’t see her as a burden or anything else; after all, she’s family. If I were calculating, I wouldn’t have looked after her all these years, would I?"

Seeing his wife’s rationale, Mr. Liu felt a bit guilty for misunderstanding her, and unexpectedly revealed a long-hidden secret inside him,

"Ah, feeling sorry is of no use. When Xiutao was young, she went to the countryside for a few years, made some mistakes, when she returned to the city, the family found her a suitable match, but before the wedding, somehow the family got wind of her past and spread it around, and at that time no one wanted to marry her. It took several years before only Mr. Xiao Wei agreed to marry her. She was reluctant to, but my parents felt a girl should get married anyway, and so they arranged this marriage."

Pausing slightly, Mr. Liu sighed deeply again, "But you know how important a girl’s chastity and reputation were in our time. With those two ruined, even if someone wanted her, who would treat her kindly?"

"You mentioned going to the countryside, was it the same thing you mentioned before that it was supposed to be you going, but Xiutao replaced you, so you stayed in the city and Xiutao went to the countryside?" Mrs. Liu did know some about the countryside matter because back then she hadn’t married into the Liu family yet but was engaged to Mr. Liu, so wasn’t especially clear.

Mr. Liu nodded, his face filled with a thick sense of guilt, "Yes, that’s also why I’ve been looking out for her all these years. If it hadn’t been her, the ruined person would have been me, and you couldn’t have had such a comfortable life being the wife of a bank manager."

"I understand, I will try to treat Xiutao better in the future." After casually reassuring him, Mrs. Liu continued wanting to clear up her doubts. Hearing Mr. Liu speak till here, she felt increasingly close to her speculation, her heart even began to race.

She proceeded to ask, "However, what exactly did Xiutao do wrong in the countryside? Did she have relations with another man, just like some others went to the countryside and, due to hardships, got married and had children with locals for a better life?"

Mr. Liu remained silent for a while before admitting, "She didn’t marry but did have a child."

"Had a child?" Upon hearing the mention of a child, Mrs. Liu became excessively excited, "Is the child still alive now?"

"I don’t know, it should be alive. I heard from Xiutao that the man was honest and came from a good family. When she left, she handed the child over to the man’s sister. I suppose the man would treat the child well."

At this point, Mrs. Liu became more certain about the connection between Luo Zhiyong and Xiutao. Her tense heart was about to leap out, and while speaking with Mr. Liu, she couldn’t hide her excitement, "Was the child a boy or a girl, how old is he now, do you know?"

"Why are you asking so much?" Seeing Mrs. Liu’s demeanor, Mr. Liu felt suspicious, looking at her, "What’s with you today asking so many things about the past? Did Xiutao say something to you today?"

Mrs. Liu initially planned to choose a suitable moment to discuss with her husband once things were clear, but now seeing his sharp gaze on her, likely filled with suspicion, she knew it was hard to hide some things from her doubting husband. Besides, she thought even if he knew, it wouldn’t be bad, so she lowered her voice and shared it with Mr. Liu, "Old Liu, let me tell you..."

After listening, Mr. Liu was utterly shocked, mouth agape in disbelief, "Could it really be such a coincidence?"

Mrs. Liu nodded affirmatively, "Seeing Xiutao’s reaction today, it seems like there might be some truth to it."