The interrogation room fell into darkness once again. The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the distance. Xiaoli slid from the chair onto the floor, her teeth biting through the inside of her mouth. The taste of blood mixed with her tears and choked her throat. She didn’t understand why staying alive had to be so difficult. She wanted to kill every single one of them with her own hands…
Meanwhile, Bowen had already regained consciousness. He simply sat dazed on the hospital bed without saying a word. Even when Xiao Mandong spoke to him, he remained silent. His sister had told him that once he woke up, he wasn’t to speak to anyone.
Xiao Mandong stayed at the hospital for the entire day, but Xiaoli still hadn’t returned, and she was beginning to worry. Just then, Zou Yan hurried in.
“Mandong, I saw Tang Jing being released. Why hasn’t Xiaoli come back yet? Do you think something happened to her?”
The moment Bowen heard Zou Yan, he shot to his feet and made for the door.
“Little Sister, Little Sister…”
Xiao Mandong quickly grabbed him. “Bowen, if you run off, Xiaoli won’t be able to find you when she comes back, and she’ll cry. Xiaoli told you to wait for her. She’ll be back soon…”
After calming Bowen down, Xiao Mandong asked Zou Yan to watch him for a while and prepared to go to the police station to find out what had happened to Xiaoli. She had barely stepped outside when Nurse Li came hurrying over.
“Doctor Xiao, Regimental Commander Shen was attacked. I figured you were friends, so I thought I should tell you.”
“Shen Linzhou was attacked?” How was that possible? With all those muscles, who could possibly beat him?
Before Xiao Mandong could say anything, Nurse Li took her by the arm and pulled her out of the obstetrics department.
After pushing through the crowd, they saw none other than Pei Jiaojiao’s mother, Director Sun, trying to persuade an elderly woman.
The old woman pointed at Shen Linzhou and screamed abuse at him.
“Shen Linzhou, my son went on that mission with you. You came back alive, but my son died! Why didn’t you protect him? Why? This was your dereliction of duty! My grandson has been born, and you’re responsible for raising him. You’re single anyway, so marry Xiaoyun. Let the child take the Du family name and raise my grandson. I’m not asking much of you—just give me five yuan a month for my old-age support. Otherwise, I’ll never let you off!”
As she spoke, Du’s mother tried to claw at Shen Linzhou, but orderly Xiao Ding stopped her.
Xiao Ding stood in front of Shen Linzhou, afraid that, like before, she might seize the opportunity to scratch their commander’s face again.
“Ma’am, you can’t make accusations like that. How could our commander possibly marry Mrs. Du? Our commander was in charge of the mission, but he’s only human. How could he have known there would be a traitor among them? No mission has a one-hundred-percent chance of success.”
He truly hadn’t expected Commander Du’s parents to be so unreasonable. At first, they had seemed perfectly normal. They had been so delighted to see their grandson that they could barely keep their mouths shut. But after going out once and returning, they had suddenly gone mad, insisting that their commander marry Mrs. Du. It was absurd.
It was understandable that they were heartbroken over losing their son. But as soldiers, they should have been mentally prepared for the possibility of sacrificing their lives from the day they enlisted. Why insist on finding someone to blame for Du Changshun’s death?
“What do you mean, I’m making accusations? My Changshun wasn’t even supposed to go on this mission! Why did he suddenly follow you? It was because he was close to this Shen Linzhou. Every time there was a mission, he took my Changshun along. Was he looking for a scapegoat?”
“That’s enough.”
Shen Linzhou’s shout made everyone around them flinch. Even Xiao Mandong hadn’t expected him to lose his temper.
“This mission originally didn’t include Du Changshun. He was the one who volunteered before departure. Don’t you know why he went? Your whole family has been trying to profit from his death. He paid for his older brother’s wedding, and then paid for his younger brother’s wedding too. This time, he came to me and told me that you were forcing him to give his younger brother five hundred yuan to buy a job. To raise the money, he had no choice but to go on missions, because that was the only way he could earn a larger bonus. Do you think a battalion commander can save up several hundred yuan in an entire lifetime without going on missions?”
“Why should I give you money for your old age? If there’s anything I’m responsible for, I’ll take responsibility. I helped Mrs. Du because Du Changshun asked me, with his dying breath, to look after her. As his comrade, I was willing to do what little I could. But if you think I’m easy to take advantage of, then from now on, I won’t involve myself in Mrs. Du’s affairs anymore.”
Hearing Shen Linzhou’s words, Du’s mother was rendered speechless for a moment. She had never expected him to expose their family’s hypocrisy in front of so many people.
When Shen Linzhou turned to leave, Xiaohua ran over and wrapped her arms around his leg.
“Uncle Shen, don’t go. That grandma said you should marry Mommy.”
Dahua also came over and tugged on Shen Linzhou’s clothes, pointing at Director Sun.
“That grandma said it…”
The corridor fell silent for a moment.
Director Sun’s expression changed drastically. “What nonsense are you children talking about? When did I ever say that?”
Dahua was frightened by her shout and hid behind Shen Linzhou.
Xiaohua shrank back too, not daring to say anything more.
Shen Linzhou stared at Director Sun. “Director Sun, what exactly are you implying? Just because I rejected your daughter, you’re trying to get revenge on me? As the military district’s women’s affairs director, are you supposed to mediate conflicts or create them?”
Every word from Shen Linzhou’s mouth was like a blade, angering Director Sun until her chest heaved.
“Shen Linzhou, don’t make things up! When have I ever taken revenge on you? You don’t need to pretend, either. Everyone in the family compound knows what you feel about Commander Du’s wife. Ever since you came back, you’ve been helping her apply for housing. In the dead of winter, you braved the wind and snow to clean the place yourself. You ran around for her, bringing her money and food. When have you ever cared so much about any other woman?”
Now that the matter had been exposed, she was determined to make it stick and ruin him for life. He wanted to live happily ever after? He could forget it! She would make Shen Linzhou marry a woman who had already given birth. Since he looked down on her daughter, then no one would get to live happily.
Shen Linzhou’s expression changed. “You…”
“What about me?” Director Sun cut him off. “Was anything I said wrong? If you didn’t have feelings for her, why would you keep helping her? The army isn’t refusing to help. At the very least, there’s me, the women’s affairs director. You’re a grown man, yet you even stayed with her while she gave birth. Do I really need to spell it out? You’re just too embarrassed to admit it, so I’ll say it for you.”
Xiao Mandong couldn’t stand it any longer. No wonder she was the women’s affairs director—she could make every lie sound reasonable.
“Director Sun, your daughter drugged Shen Linzhou and tried to seduce him, but ended up getting into the wrong bed. Even after she was married, she still had an affair with another man. Why are you taking your resentment out on Regimental Commander Shen simply because you failed to raise your own child properly?”
“I was also at the hospital yesterday while Mrs. Du was giving birth. Everyone can ask the nurses and doctors in the maternity ward. He was only honoring a dying comrade’s request and helping her out. Yet you, as the division commander’s wife and the women’s affairs director, not only refuse to support him, but are also trying to smear him. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“You…” Director Sun had just begun to speak when Xiao Mandong cut her off.
“Don’t you dare smear me, either. I’m Regimental Commander Shen’s attending physician, and we’re friends. If you dare spread rumors about me, I’ll go straight to the military compound and make a scene. Let’s see how Division Commander Pei serves as a division commander when he can’t even control his own daughter or his own wife…”
Seeing how aggressively Director Sun was pressing her, Xiao Mandong was reminded of Pei Jiaojiao’s loathsome behavior. If she didn’t push back, she would feel unbearably frustrated.
Hearing what Xiao Mandong said, the onlookers finally understood what had happened.
“He’s a regimental commander, for heaven’s sake, and not bad-looking either. How could he possibly marry a woman who’s already had several children?”
“And she’s the wife of a division commander, too. What kind of upbringing does she have...?”
“Did you hear that? Her daughter drugged him and was carrying on an illicit affair with him. Tsk, tsk...”
Director Sun was so furious that her eyes turned red. Covering her face, she fled in disgrace amid the crowd’s accusations.
Shen Linzhou was just about to say something when Xiao Mandong glanced at her watch. “I have something to take care of. I’ll be leaving first...”
With that, she headed straight for the Public Security Bureau.
