The old house of the Cao family.

Cao Ying parked the car outside the gate.

Standing at the gate of the manor, Cao Ying looked for a long time.

This was once her childhood paradise, but now it feels deserted, with a sense of coldness and indifference.

"Miss, the Second Master is already waiting for you."

Cao Ying then turned around and looked at Uncle Fu in front of her.

Uncle Fu seemed to always be like this. Cao Ying remembered that when she was a child, Uncle Fu was like this. He looked like a man in his fifties. Now, he is still less than sixty. He seemed to never change, including his clothes. He was an old-fashioned robe with his hands always in his sleeves. His eyes were still so bright, and a gleam of light flashed from time to time.

"I have a question I'd like to ask Uncle Fu."

"Miss?" Uncle Fu was stunned and looked at Cao Ying. After a while, he smiled and said, "Miss, what do you want to ask?"

Cao Ying said, "Uncle Fu has been here for at least thirty years, right?"

"More than thirty years."

"Grandpa was in poor health and retired very early. You followed him at that time. I remember that I was not born yet. Come to think of it, it has been more than 30 years. But you have spent all your youth in this manor for so many years. Do you think it is worth it?" Cao Ying asked.

Uncle Fu's eyes lit up as he said, "Since you're asking, I'll be frank. I'm an orphan. I remember when I was very young, during that nationwide movement, my parents both died without a trace of reason, and I was dying too. If it weren't for the old man, I would have been reincarnated long ago. Who knows, this child would be as old as you now. The most important thing in life is to be grateful and repay kindness. Otherwise, how can we be human? Once you've chosen someone, you follow them for life, without regrets."

Cao Ying sighed and said, "This is the Cao family. This is the trick that big families often use. Uncle Fu, you are lucky, but not everyone is as lucky as you."

A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. Uncle Fu smiled slightly and didn't ask any more questions. He just replied, "My greatest luck is that I was able to survive that year."

"Are you afraid of death?" Cao Ying suddenly asked.

"Scared." A hint of fear flashed across Uncle Fu's eyes, as if stirring a deep pain in his heart. He closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them again and said, "Only those who have lived through that era can truly understand what hunger is. And every day, I was afraid that a group of people would suddenly burst into my home and take me away to endure endless injustice and torture, without the slightest hope. I was afraid, I was really afraid. After all these years, every time I think about it, my heart still palpitates."

Cao Ying stared at Uncle Fu, suddenly feeling a strong sense of sympathy, and said sincerely: "Uncle Fu, I hope you can live a long life."

"Thank you, Miss. I will try my best to live longer." Uncle Fu sighed.

Cao Ying walked into the villa.

Not far away, in the pavilion, a thin middle-aged man was sitting there. He lowered his head and was looking at the pond under the rockery. There were several goldfish playing in the water.

"Second uncle."

Cao Ying walked into the pavilion and called out respectfully, and then her eyes turned red.

The middle-aged man turned his head. He looked to be only in his forties, but his real age was definitely much older than that. His complexion was healthy and there was a glimmer of wisdom in his eyes.

He is Cao Jiangong.

Old Master Cao has three sons.

The eldest son is Cao Jianguo, the second son is Cao Jiangong, and the third son is Cao Jianjun.

Cao Jianguo is in business, Cao Jianjun is in the military, and Cao Jiangong is in politics. He has already reached the ministerial level. Although it is a remote and unpopular department, it is still a veritable ministerial level department.

Some departments are usually idle and seem to have no major role, but they can strangle the vital points of many people at critical moments.

This is the case with the department where Cao Jiangong works.

At his level, in terms of rank, a quiet department has its advantages, not to mention that this kind of position will change every few years.

The higher you climb in the officialdom, the more power and connections you gain.

Cao Jiangong's name is unfamiliar to many people, and many people even tend to ignore his existence.

Among the three brothers, he is also the most low-key one.

When talking about the Cao family, everyone knows Cao Jianguo or Cao Jianjun, but it is easy to forget his existence.

But in fact, in the upper class society, who dares to really look down on him?

Xu Zaidao was so glorious in those days, but he once made Xu Zaidao suffer a loss.

Fortunately, no one knew about this matter, including He Zaidao himself, who was kept in the dark.

"Girl, what's wrong? Who offended you again?"

Cao Jiangong touched Cao Ying's head.

Among Cao Ying's generation, she was the one Cao Jiangong liked the most.

From childhood to adulthood, Cao Ying has been well cared for by her second uncle, and Cao Jiangong has also implicitly guided her through many life decisions. Therefore, in front of Cao Jiangong, Cao Ying is the most relaxed and softest, and is able to show her true self.

When we are alive, we are often acting.

Whether you like it or not, you have to act.

Cao Ying is no exception.

Only in front of her second uncle was she not pretentious.

Cao Ying's tears began to flow and she sobbed incessantly.

Cao Jiangong did not try to persuade her, but just watched her silently until she had cried enough. Then he said, "Tell me, what happened?"

"Uncle, you don't come back often, so you naturally don't know. The Cao family today is no longer the Cao family it once was. I really hate this family. When I walked in just now, I even felt a sense of strangeness and fear in my heart. It seems that this manor is dead and cold, which makes people feel terrified."

Cao Ying's words were a bit harsh.

But she didn't hide anything and expressed her true feelings.

Cao Jiangong was not surprised at all and sighed: "You have finally grown up."

Cao Ying looked up and said aggrievedly, "Second Uncle."

"You've grown up, which is a good thing, but sometimes growing up and seeing things clearly can also be cruel," Cao Jiangong said with emotion. "Sometimes, I really look forward to your rapid growth, but sometimes, I'm afraid of it, because growth always comes at a price, like happiness and family."

Cao Ying curled her lips and said, "But everyone has to grow up. Even if I don't want to grow up, there's nothing I can do. Many times, I can't really pretend that I didn't see anything."

"But you are a member of the Cao family. If you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself for being born into the wrong family."

"Second uncle."

Cao Ying's expression changed slightly: "Do you know what they did?"

"What did you do?"

"They killed Li Jing. You know, Li Jing was my best friend. We played together when we were kids, and she was the one I got along best with." Cao Ying said a little sadly.

Cao Jiangong asked, "Is that the little girl who doesn't talk all day? I've never understood why you two became good friends."

"I don't know either," Cao Ying said. "But she died, and I'm very sad."

"So you asked your father to investigate?"

"Second Uncle, it turns out that I can't hide anything from you." Cao Ying sighed.

Cao Jiangong smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, there's no need to investigate this kind of thing."