Before she could speak, Hu Meili lowered her voice and glanced over.
"So, did you try what I told you the other day?"
"..."
Jiang Si lowered her head.
Jiang Si remained silent.
She had thought she could avoid it for a while, but there was no escaping it forever.
Xu Mingjuan’s gaze flickered—of course she had tried, but these things don’t happen overnight.
Hu Meili took one look at her expression and understood.
"Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. During this time, you need to be careful about..."
Hu Meili’s little lecture went on for about seven or eight minutes.
Finally, just before Third Uncle and Uncle Zhong stepped out of the kitchen, she finished covering all the key points.
After finishing the sweet rice dumplings, the group headed to Jiang Si’s room.
Hu Meili, speaking from experience, shared many things Jiang Si should pay attention to during pregnancy.
She covered everything from daily diet to when to go for prenatal checkups.
"Oh, and the military hospital has phased out urine-based biological tests. Now they check some kind of value to see if it’s positive."
"When my period was a week late, I went but they didn’t detect anything. It wasn’t until the second week that they confirmed it."
Hu Meili asked Jiang Si when her last period was.
Jiang Si replied, "The 2nd of last month."
Hu Meili did a quick calculation. "You’re only about 40 days along. I’d suggest waiting a few more days before going to the hospital for a checkup."
Jiang Si nodded—she had been thinking the same thing.
By then, Huo Tingzhou would probably be back.
The three chatted in the room for a while before setting out around 11.
He Ping’s rank wasn’t high enough to hold the wedding banquet in the military auditorium, so on the 8th, he had returned to his hometown to celebrate. Today was the bridal return banquet.
He Ping had invited Third Uncle and Uncle Zhong, but since no one else brought their families, the two elders didn’t want to break tradition.
The banquet was held in the Ding Family’s courtyard. When Jiang Si and the others arrived, He Ping and Ding Xiang were standing at the entrance greeting guests.
Seeing them, the couple quickly ushered them inside.
"Sisters, please come in!"
"He Ping, Ding Xiang, congratulations—"
The newlyweds smiled. "Thank you, sisters."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jiang Si handed over a red envelope she had prepared in advance.
"This is a token of goodwill from me and your regiment leader. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and unity."
Hu Meili and Xu Mingjuan also presented their red envelopes.
"Thank you, sisters." The couple accepted the envelopes with a bow.
Since Hu Meili had acted as matchmaker, it was only right for her to say a few words.
"He Ping, Ding Xiang is a good girl. You’d better treat her well."
"Don’t worry, sister," He Ping assured her. "I’ll make sure she’s happy."
Xu Mingjuan didn’t have much to add. "Now that you’re married, you’re a family. As long as you work together, your life will only get better."
The couple nodded solemnly. "We will, sister."
The guest list for the return banquet was small—just four tables in total. Once everyone arrived, the feast began.
The Ding Family had three daughters, and while people might gossip behind their backs, their circumstances were far from lacking.
Take this wedding, for example.
Father Ding and Mother Ding not only gave their daughter 500 yuan as a dowry but also included a sewing machine and a radio.
They also let Ding Xiang keep every cent of the betrothal gifts from the He Family.
With such a generous dowry, the banquet was naturally lavish.
Jiang Si lost count of the dishes—no sooner had one been served than another arrived.
Soon, the table was overflowing.
Lobster, abalone, conch, mantis shrimp, blue crab, and all kinds of shellfish—it was a seafood feast.
Jiang Si ate with delight, while Hu Meili and Xu Mingjuan had little appetite.
One kept searching for spicy flavors in the dishes, while the other sipped sour bamboo shoot and sandworm soup.
Soon, He Ping and Ding Xiang came around with glasses to toast the guests.
The wine served was a local sweet rice brew, low in alcohol content.
Still, Jiang Si and Hu Meili raised teacups instead.
When Xu Mingjuan picked up the rice wine, countless thoughts raced through her mind.
After a moment’s hesitation, she, too, opted for tea.
Glasses clinked, and laughter lingered in the courtyard for a long time.
After the banquet, life settled into a peaceful rhythm.
On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Captain Sun and his team arrived at the residential compound with news.
It wasn’t exactly good news—given the brutality of the case, everyone knew how grim it was.
But with the case solved, justice had been served for the victim.
Since Jiang Si had been involved from the start, Captain Sun came to inform her as soon as the perpetrator was caught.
Jiang Si hadn’t expected the case to be cracked so quickly. After Captain Sun explained, she asked, "Was the killer from the teachers' college?"
Captain Sun nodded. "Yes. The murderer was the dean of the college."
"The dean?" Jiang Si was stunned. She had assumed the culprit was, at most, an ordinary teacher.
She had even speculated that the age gap between him and the victim might not be too wide.
But she never imagined it would be the dean.
In that era, someone holding such a position would have to be at least fifty.
She had sketched the victim’s portrait—she knew how beautiful the girl was.
With her looks and family background, the victim would never have gotten involved with a man old enough to be her father, let alone become his mistress.
Jiang Si’s instincts were spot on.
The victim, young and beautiful, a college student, would never have willingly chosen a man past his prime.
But she was inexperienced—no match for a wolf in scholar’s clothing.
Captain Sun sighed. "We found a diary hidden between the bed slats in the victim’s room."
"According to the entries, the dean had his eye on her since her freshman year."
"He often used excuses like failing grades to keep her in his office."
"But she was cautious and never let him take advantage."
"Eventually, he forced himself on her."
"Afterward, he blackmailed her, and the two maintained an illicit relationship for two years."
"Last month, the victim realized her period was late. A hospital visit confirmed she was pregnant."
In those days, it was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to get an abortion at a hospital.
The two argued repeatedly over the pregnancy.
Their final confrontation happened just before the crime.
The dean lured her out, claiming he had found a small clinic in his hometown that could perform the procedure.
The rest, Jiang Si already knew.
What she didn’t know was that this wasn’t the dean’s only murder.
Captain Sun added, "Our investigation revealed that six girls from the college had gone missing over the past decade."
"All these girls were young and beautiful, and without exception, they were all from out of town."
"Later, we went back to that cluster of reefs and found many skeletal remains—different body parts scattered about."
This was what Captain Sun found most regrettable.
Though the killer had been apprehended and would face the harshest punishment, the young women he had victimized could never be brought back.
Jiang Si couldn't help but sigh at this.
These girls had been the pride of their families, on the verge of bright futures after graduating from university.
Yet because of one monstrous man, they met such a tragic end—their bodies torn apart, denied even the dignity of a whole burial.
Just then, a sudden commotion outside interrupted their conversation—
