The 1970s Military Marriage Foil Makes a Comeback

* Orphan Xia He was happily running her family's supermarket when an act of bravery cost her her life. She transmigrated into a novel set in the 1970s as the vicious supporting character who served as a foil to the heroine: Song Xiahe, the Song family's second daughter.

They married army battalion commanders in the same year, but their fates couldn't have been more different.

The heroine was the belle of the state-run supply cooperative. After joining her husband at his post, she became a teacher at the military district's primary school and gave birth to twin boys. When the college entrance exams were reinstated, she got into university and later stayed on as a teacher, becoming the envy of everyone as part of a perfect couple with the male lead.

The original Song Xiahe, on the other hand, was a sharp-tongued country woman who hadn't finished middle school. She had only given birth to two daughters and lived in the countryside with her mother-in-law, raising the children. After joining her husband at his post, she grew jealous of the heroine and made trouble for her, causing her husband to miss a promotion and their marriage to grow increasingly cold.

In the end, she took up gambling. Her mother-in-law and younger daughter died tragic deaths, her elder daughter went astray, and her husband was so heartbroken that he divorced her and was forced to leave the military.

Now, the original Song Xiahe had discovered that her husband had been entrusted by a comrade to look after the heroine, and she'd already made a scene at the political commissar's office. She had also quarreled with her mother-in-law for refusing to take her daughters with her to the military district. In a fit of anger, she left home, slipped by the river, and fell.

When she opened her eyes again, Xia He had taken her place.

Xia He skimmed the plot, her gaze darkening, and curled her lip in a sneer. “A foil? What a load of crap!”

Fortunately, her supermarket space had come with her.

She took her two daughters and hurried to the military district. Facing the handsome man with long, icy phoenix eyes, she said, “Battalion Commander Jiang, I'm your wife. Of course I should join you at your post. You have your own daughters to take care of. Someone else's family isn't your concern!”

After giving her useless husband a piece of her mind, Xia He went into full-on multitasking mode.

One hand to raise the children, one to take on the minor villains, one to straighten out her troublesome birth family, one to figure out how to restart her old business, and one more...

Hm?

Where did this man come from?

Jiang Fenglin shed the distant coolness he'd shown when they first met and clung to her, all sweetness. “Honey, why don't you take care of me, too?”

Xia He reached out to squeeze his muscular abs and chest, narrowing her eyes. “Sure. Come here. Let me check out the merchandise first.”

At the very end, a reporter held out a microphone and asked Xia He with a smile, “Chairwoman Song Xiahe, what do you consider the greatest achievement of your life?”

Xia He smiled gently, her gaze firm. “I only built them a bridge to earn a living and paved a road for them to move forward. They used their own hands to build their homes.”

Behind her stood a huge factory, its buildings stretching as far as the eye could see, machines roaring and workers hard at work. Countless people had found a livelihood there and glimpsed a brighter future.

[A driven, farsighted businesswoman x a cool, stubborn, soft-hearted officer]

1. The story opens in 1977. The heroine is 25, the hero is 27, their elder daughter is 6, and their younger daughter is 3. They married at ages permitted by the policies of the time.

2. One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins.

3. The heroine and the original novel's heroine never compete over a man. Most of the heroine's business partners are women.

4. The heroine goes into business, working her way up from street stalls to becoming an entrepreneur. A satisfying power fantasy.

5. [Spoiler warning for readers who mind transmigration into a book!] The heroine and the original are the same person. She thinks she transmigrated into a book, but in fact she was first reincarnated and then reborn.

Blurb:

[A breathtakingly beautiful, resilient, devoted princess x a renowned young general, resolute and reserved]

Xiao Mingluan was born into a life of privilege. Her maternal grandmother was the late emperor's own sister, and her father came from an illustrious family. She should have been a precious flower in the splendid city of Yujing.

But her father was ambushed and killed, and her mother soon died of grief, leaving her an orphan at a young age.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager took pity on her, brought her into the palace, and raised her herself. She also secured a princess's title for her early on, ensuring she could live out her life in peace within the palace walls.

Yet as she grew older, her beauty blossomed, and at some point the crown prince began to covet her.

Raised in the palace, Xiao Mingluan knew all too well how dangerous royal power struggles could be. She wanted no part in them, so before the emperor could arrange a marriage for her, she pointed a slender finger at a name

Cui Bingjun.

He came from a distinguished family, was about her age, and had already made a name for himself in a battle on the border.

Most importantly, his grandmother had recently died, and he had to mourn her for three years.

At the time, Xiao Mingluan thought that after three years, she could explain things to him properly, compensate him with money and land, and then they could each marry someone else, owing nothing to one another.

Over the next three years, reports from the border kept coming, and Cui Bingjun's reputation grew ever greater. Each time there was news of a victory, a letter from him would arrive in the capital. As they exchanged letters, a little concern for one another began to grow in their hearts.

As the three-year period drew to a close, Xiao Mingluan found that she was reluctant to go through with their original plan to marry other people.

So, when she was nineteen, Princess Qinghui and General Cui were married. Red silk banners stretched to the horizon, and the whole capital envied them.

Three months into their marriage, the border was in danger.

Cui Bingjun donned his armor and mounted his horse. Seeing the worry in his young wife's eyes, he bent down and gently kissed her forehead. “A-Luan, wait for me to come back.”

Xiao Mingluan could only watch him ride away, his figure disappearing into the wilderness outside the city.

What happened next...

Xiao Mingluan only remembered that the battle went on and on.

She wanted to go find him, but learned she was pregnant. The emperor smiled kindly and said that with the general fighting for the country, the princess should rest and protect her pregnancy rather than travel.

She gave birth, and the emperor said the border was bitterly cold and the baby was too young. It would be best for him to stay in the capital.

She raised her son alone. By the time he could call her “Mother,” Cui Bingjun still hadn't come back.

When she was close to forgetting his face, she overheard the maids whispering.

They said that in Yunmeng, a vassal state of Great Zhao, there was a stunning Princess Huaguang. The general had heroically saved her from a battle, and the two had fallen deeply in love.

They also said the emperor had his eye on the princess and ordered the general to escort her to the palace himself, cruelly keeping the lovers apart.

Xiao Mingluan leaned against the doorway, arms folded, and thought in a daze: Yes, how pitiful they are. What about me?

She didn't know.

Later, there was a banquet at the imperial palace, and Xiao Mingluan was summoned. Standing in the magnificent, gold-adorned hall, she met her husband's eyes for the first time in three years.

She looked away first, unwilling to see the indifference in his eyes.

She thought that if he had fallen for someone else, she should let him go, before resentment turned into hatred.

But she never expected him to be the one to let go first.

In the thirty-fourth year of Emperor Chongyun's reign, the border was in danger once more.

Emperor Zhaoxuan issued an order appointing Cui Bingjun General of the Northern Garrison and sending him off with an army of one hundred thousand.

The battle was brutal, supplies ran out, and reinforcements were nowhere to be seen.

Ten days later, the general was struck in the back of the heart by an arrow and died after bleeding out. His body was never found, and his death could not be confirmed.

Blood surged. Weapons clashed.

Xiao Mingluan awoke from her dream in a daze, and seemed to see the warm, bright smile he had worn when he was young.

In a blink, she looked down at her young hands. The new life quietly taking root in her belly reminded her

She had returned to the day Cui Bingjun had left home, three months into their marriage.

Tears glistened in the corners of Xiao Mingluan's eyes. She wiped them away, got out of bed, and left behind only a few words.

“Prepare the carriage. I'm going to the border.”

“To find my husband.”

Amid the sweeping sand, Cui Bingjun's gaze was resolute. The next moment, his expression changed.

The wind howled outside the city walls. A fine carriage slowly came to a halt. Its curtain was raised, and a breathtaking beauty stepped out.

Beneath the crimson cloaks flying in rows was the same gentle, beautiful new bride he'd shared a warm wedding night with just a few days before.

One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins. The male lead has no romantic feelings for Princess Huaguang; what the heroine heard was a rumor. They had many misunderstandings in their past life, and both suffered terribly, but it was all the villains' fault!!! In this life, they'll heal one another, and the romance will be pure sweetness!!

Theme: A family needs both partners to build it together