He also saw his wife lying on the ground in a very messy state. A few people were standing around her. These people loved gossip. They didn't talk about others openly, but they really enjoyed watching drama.
"Sienna, what are you doing? You came to my house and hit my wife. Do you think that's okay? I'm going to report this to the political officer. Rowan isn't doing a good job educating his family members. Hitting a military wife!"
Sienna looked at Larry and said, "Good, let's go together."
Soon, the group arrived at the political officer's office. Larry wasn't worried at all. No matter what, he thought it was Sienna's fault. If it got serious, Rowan might even get demoted.
When they entered the office, they saw the commander was also there. Everyone quickly greeted him, "Commander, Political Officer."
Wu Wen saw them all coming in together and knew something must have happened. "Why are you all here? What happened?"
Larry spoke first, "Political Officer, Commander, we need justice. Comrade Sienna came to my house and beat up my wife. Look at her face."
After hearing this, the two looked up. If Larry hadn't said that this was his wife Haidi, they wouldn't have recognized her. Her whole face was swollen, and her eyes were almost shut.
"Sienna, is what he said true?"
"Yes."
"Why did you beat a military wife? If there's a problem, you should have gone to the women's officer."
"Political Officer, have you heard the rumors going around? She deserved the beating. I didn't kill her only because she's also a military wife."
"What rumors?" Wu Wen asked as he looked at the three of them. Larry's expression changed a little.
Seeing no one answered, Wu Wen asked again, "Speak. What rumors?"
"She said that Meilin and I were kidnapped and then r*ped."
Before Wu Wen could say anything, the commander slammed the table and stood up. "Who spread this disgusting lie? This isn't something you can joke about!"
Then he remembered why they were there. Commander Yao Yun looked at Haidi. "Was it you who spread it?"
Haidi got scared. She looked at the commander and then lowered her head, too afraid to speak.
Yao Yun stared at her and asked again, "Was it you?"
He turned to Larry. "You say it. Was it your wife who spread the rumor? I don't believe you didn't know anything."
Seeing the situation, Larry had no choice but to say, "Yes, my wife was the one who said it without thinking. I apologize to Comrade Sienna on her behalf."
"Sienna, I'm sorry. My wife doesn't know how to read or write. She doesn't understand these things. Please forgive her."
After apologizing, he quickly turned to the political commissar and the commander and said, "This was my wife's fault. But Sienna hitting someone is still wrong. She hit her this badly. We need an explanation."
The political commissar said, "In that case, Haidi must apologize to Sienna in public and make it clear that what she said was not true. She has to clear Sienna's name. You all know how serious rumors are for women in this time."
"Larry, as the deputy commander, you didn't teach your wife properly. Write a self-criticism and reflect on this at the meeting together with Haidi."
He finally looked at Sienna and said, "Sienna, even though they were wrong, you still shouldn't have hit someone. That doesn't help unite comrades. Please apologize too, and this matter will be over."
Sienna replied, "No way. I didn't come here with them for a weak apology. The more we talk about this, the worse it sounds. If they just apologize, they won't learn anything. And this rumor isn't just in the housing area—people in the army also heard about it."
"How did it spread in the army? I want that investigated. Either you find out who did it and hand them over to me to deal with, or I'll visit each military wife's home myself. Someone will confess. They're trying to ruin me and Meilin. What if one of us gets pregnant? What would happen to our child?"
"Maybe not Meilin, but Rowan and I are newlyweds. It's normal if I get pregnant soon. The incident happened during his mission. If my pregnancy lines up with those days, how should I and my child face it? If I don't get a satisfying answer, then no one will have peace. I'll divorce Rowan, or he'll leave the army and come home with me. But there must be a result."
Larry got nervous when he heard Sienna planned to make things serious. He thought a public apology would be enough and that people would forget the rumors.
He quickly said, "Sienna, we promise to publicly apologize and clear everything. Why make this bigger and become a joke for others? That won't be good for Rowan either. After all, you were kidnapped, and that's the truth. In the end, Rowan will be the one who looks bad."
"Are you threatening me? So what if I was kidnapped? As my husband, Rowan should care about me, about whether I was hurt. I wasn't harmed, but even if I was, he should seek justice for me. If that makes him feel ashamed, then what do I need a husband like him for?"
"But—"
Larry didn't finish because Wu Wen cut him off. "Sienna, how do you want to handle this? Tell us. If it's reasonable, we'll do it your way. If not, we'll handle it our way."
Sienna said, "Hold a big meeting. Call everyone. I'll investigate this myself. If the person behind the army rumor is someone else, then I'll deal with them. Don't worry, I'll handle it in front of everyone. You can all be there. If the rumor in the army and the housing area came from Larry and his wife, then they'll be treated the same way."
Yao Yun and Wu Wen looked at each other. Then Wu Wen said, "Alright. I'll inform everyone. The meeting will be tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll leave now."
After Larry and Haidi left, Wu Wen said, "Rowan really married someone who's not afraid of trouble. As long as she has reason, she won't back down. Even if she doesn't kill them, she'll skin them."
He didn't know how else to describe it. Most people would've agreed to a public apology. But not her. Tomorrow will be interesting.
Yao Yun said, "Isn't that a good thing? She doesn't start problems, but if someone causes trouble for her, she'll fight back. That's how a military wife should be. If all the wives were like her, your job would be a lot easier."