In the large conference room,
Dean Ding of the military district hospital sat at the head of the table, his graying temples glinting silver in the sunlight, the wrinkles on his face more pronounced due to his stern expression.
Political Commissar Liao of the Daliao Military District sat to his right, the medals on his uniform shining brightly under the sun.
Other relevant leaders were seated on either side, the entire room filled with a suffocatingly tense atmosphere.
Someone attempting to harm a military family member was no small matter.
Moreover, the person standing behind Pei Zhengnian was not someone to be trifled with.
"Liu Yan, what do you have to explain about this matter?"
Liu Xiaojing's voice broke the silence.
She looked at Liu Yan standing in the center of the room, deep disappointment flashing in her eyes.
Liu Yan was an outstanding doctor she had meticulously selected, who had stood out among many interns.
She couldn't understand why Liu Yan would want to throw away such a bright future for nothing.
At this moment, Liu Yan was extremely nervous; she could feel her heart pounding like a drum. Her back was already soaked with cold sweat, sticking clammily to her white coat.
But she forced herself to remain calm, deliberately keeping her voice steady,
"Director Liu, I don't understand what you are doing."
"I was only following the hospital's relevant regulations, advising her to terminate the pregnancy after discovering that Commander Pei's wife was carrying a deformed child."
"Was I wrong in doing that?"
Liu Yan's strategy was simple: deny everything to the death.
As long as she wasn't caught red-handed, it wasn't her fault.
She calculated in her mind that without concrete evidence, these people couldn't do anything to her.
Liu Xiaojing was furious, her chest heaving violently, her eyes slightly red with anger.
"Do you have any idea?"
Her voice suddenly rose, echoing in the conference room,
"You were trying to terminate a living life!"
She slammed the table and stood up abruptly, the teacups on the table clattering from the impact.
"These images were all tampered with by you."
Liu Xiaojing laid out the several ultrasound images that Liu Yan had tampered with, one by one, on the conference table.
Her finger pointed at the obviously altered areas on the images,
"If it weren't for you, would this child need to be terminated?"
Her voice carried suppressed anger and deep disappointment.
Even with the evidence laid out before her, Liu Yan still refused to admit it.
"How can you say I tampered with them?"
Her voice feigned innocence,
"The machine malfunctioned, what could I do?"
Faced with Liu Yan's stubborn refusal to yield, Liu Xiaojing was left speechless with anger.
The atmosphere in the conference room grew increasingly tense.
Shen Nanchu, as the person involved, sat without saying a word.
Her hand gently stroked her swollen abdomen, her eyes calmly observing everything.
She had known all along that this Liu Yan would absolutely not admit to anything.
To catch a thief, you need the stolen goods.
With just these few ultrasound images and their testimonies, they couldn't completely convict Liu Yan.
Pei Zhengnian knew this too.
His expression was as cold as ice.
His gaze occasionally swept toward the conference room door, as if waiting for something.
Before long, Chen Kai appeared at the doorway of the conference room.
Fine beads of sweat still dotted his forehead.
He shook his head at Pei Zhengnian, his eyes filled with apology and helplessness.
A flash of understanding passed through Pei Zhengnian's eyes, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Chen Kai had been assigned by Pei Zhengnian to search Liu Yan's office and dormitory, but he had found nothing.
This was expected.
Liu Yan had clearly prepared in advance and wouldn't leave any obvious evidence.
"But, Dr. Liu, didn't you confidently claim before that the machine couldn't malfunction?"
Shen Nanchu suddenly spoke up, her voice soft yet clear, particularly noticeable in the quiet conference room.
"I was afraid the machine might make an error, so I had you check three times."
She held up three slender fingers, which seemed especially delicate in the sunlight,
"Not once, but three times!"
Her voice rose slightly,
"All three times, you said the machine was fine."
The reason Shen Nanchu had gone through the trouble of doing it three times was precisely for this.
Her gaze fixed directly on Liu Yan,
"Moreover, as far as I know, this machine hasn't made a single error since it arrived at the military district hospital, and it's brand new this year."
Her voice was unhurried, yet every word struck a critical blow.
A flicker of panic flashed in Liu Yan's eyes.
Her Adam's apple bobbed, and fine sweat broke out on her forehead.
"W-well, maybe it just happened to malfunction when I was examining you?"
"How could I possibly know for sure."
Shen Nanchu smiled.
Her smile appeared particularly bright in the sunlight, but it sent a chill down Liu Yan's spine.
"Whether the machine malfunctioned or you deliberately made an error is actually quite easy to determine."
"The ultrasound machine actually has archives."
She enunciated this crucial piece of information word by word,
"To find out who is right and who is wrong, we just need to have a technician check."
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
They hadn't known this ultrasound machine had archives.
Dean Ding and Political Commissar Liao exchanged a look of surprise, Political Commissar Liao's eyebrows shooting up high.
Sun Xuelin hurriedly spoke up, breaking the brief silence,
"Leaders, I'll go contact a technician right away to check."
"Hmm!" Political Commissar Liao nodded.
Liu Yan's panic became visibly apparent. Her face instantly turned pale, her lips trembling slightly.
Soon, the technician brought the results.
He adjusted his glasses, his voice somewhat hesitant,
"I'm sorry, leaders, I couldn't find any archives."
How would the technician know this machine had archives? After all, it was foreign-made equipment.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yan visibly relaxed, even the corners of her mouth curling into a barely perceptible smile.
Shen Nanchu smiled, her expression radiating the composure of someone holding all the cards.
"Just because you didn't find them doesn't mean they don't exist."
Her voice was gentle yet full of strength.
As for where they existed, that was a foreign secret.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Shen Nanchu stood up, sunlight forming a halo behind her.
"Please follow me."
She said softly, then walked toward the ultrasound room.
Her steps were steady, her back straight, not at all like the posture one would expect from a pregnant woman.
The group arrived at the ultrasound room, the instrument gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Under the technician's watchful eye, Shen Nanchu's slender fingers quickly located the chip compartment of the ultrasound machine.
Her movements were so proficient it was surprising, as if she had performed the operation countless times before.
Then she connected the display cable to the chip compartment, her fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard, producing a series of crisp sounds.
After a series of operations, today's ultrasound images soon lit up on the screen.
Shen Nanchu pulled up her three images. Each one, without exception, showed a perfectly healthy, fully formed child.
Sunlight streamed through the window onto the screen, those clear images seeming to silently accuse Liu Yan of her crime.
...
