After waking up, Han Ming didn't care about losing face. He immediately reported to the police, submitted all the evidence, and demanded that Zhang Xiumei pay the price.

Zhang Xiumei pushed Han Xiu's mother down the stairs, causing her to die in childbirth. This was not a politically motivated murder.

It can only be classified as an ordinary criminal case, and there was no political motive involved.

The handling of such cases is quite complicated, and given the current special circumstances, they cannot proceed through judicial procedures and can only be decided by the military control commission or a special task force.

The judgment lacks supporting legal provisions and is therefore highly arbitrary.

Han Ming didn't care how many years she could be sentenced to. He used his power to send her to a hardship area. Death wasn't the worst thing; living a life worse than death was.

As for Zhang Xiumei's son, Han Xiu promised not to punish him, but Han Ming did not agree to that.

That kid usually pretends to be well-behaved and nice, but he does a lot of despicable things in private. Han Ming didn't have to put in much effort to easily send him to reunite with his mother.

Just then, Zhang Xiumei's ex-husband, who was said to have abused her, came to her door.

He said he never hit Zhang Xiumei, and the couple had a good relationship. However, things changed after Zhang Xiumei went to work as a nanny for a wealthy family.

She became vain, treated him with contempt, and even threatened to divorce him.

Zhang Xiumei was a wife he had spent a considerable amount of money to marry. How could a man not understand the reasons and divorce her, questioning whether she was having an affair?

Zhang Xiumei denied it, but their relationship deteriorated.

One day, Zhang Xiumei said that Han Ming had taken a liking to her and that if the man didn't divorce her, Han Ming would definitely kill his whole family.

The man was just an ordinary person, how could he possibly go against the powerful and influential?

He could only reluctantly divorce Zhang Xiumei. He originally wanted to take his son with him, but his three-year-old son was already a proper snob. After staying at the Han family's house a few times, he became interested in the Han family's wealth and refused to go with his father no matter what. Even when Zhang Xiumei tried to kick him out, he insisted on going with Zhang Xiumei.

Is he a piece of her own flesh and blood, or her son? If he were a worthless burden, she might have already coldly abandoned him.

Thinking about it carefully, if her plan succeeds, it would be good to have a son to compete with Han Xiu.

So she made up an excuse, saying that the man was abusing her and the child, which won Han Xiu's mother's sympathy, and she brought her son into the Han family.

At that time, Zhang Xiumei was already showing signs of pregnancy, and it was because of this pregnancy that she decided to take a chance.

While Han Ming and Han Xiu were not at home, she pushed Han Xiu's mother, who was in late pregnancy, downstairs. As expected, she died in childbirth. Afterwards, she said that she volunteered to stay and take care of Han Ling, who was still an infant.

At that time, Han Ming was in the prime of his career, and Han Xiu was still young. It would be impossible for no one to take care of their youngest son, so they agreed.

Little did he know that Zhang Xiumei had already begun plotting against him.

She climbed into his bed while he was drunk. Although nothing happened, the fact remains that the two woke up in the same bed. Han Ming was too drunk to know whether he had done anything out of line.

Zhang Xiumei, a young divorced woman, was taken advantage of by him, so Han Ming had no choice but to marry her.

A month later, Zhang Xiumei found out the good news. Han Ming became even more convinced that he had done something that night. He felt ashamed and upset, but he still had to take responsibility.

Zhang Xiumei originally hoped to gain a firm foothold in the Han family by relying on her ex-husband's child.

Who knew that Han Xiu overheard her words and had her aborted the child.

That's fine, Zhang Xiumei thought.

She wanted to take this opportunity to completely estrange the father and son. Even if she couldn't have children in the future, she wanted her son to inherit everything from the Han family.

Han Ming has only two sons. One of them is estranged from him, and the other still has to live under her control.

Zhang Xiumei was prepared to spoil Han Ling. Without comparison, there is no harm. Han Ming's unkempt appearance and playboy lifestyle only highlighted his stepson's obedience and understanding. Han Ming had to admit that his stepson was indeed better than his own son.

After leaving the Han family, Han Xiu always kept his younger brother in his heart.

After gaining his own power, Han Ming gradually guided his younger brother onto the right path, teaching him survival skills in the Han family and under his stepmother's control. Even more so, after Han Ling came of age, Han Ming listened to Zhang Xiumei's advice and prepared to send Han Ling to a harsh place to serve in the army and temper his character.

Han Xiu bypassed Han Ming and sent Han Ling to the military region where his good friend Qin Yushen was stationed.

Han Ling is now an outstanding soldier in the artillery unit of the Jiangcheng Military Region.

If he performs well, there's no problem promoting him to company commander within five years.

If there is a war, it might take two years to climb up.

At the beginning of the year, during the border conflict between China and Vietnam, the Jiangcheng Military Region did not participate, but Yuncheng did send troops there. Considering the international situation, it was inevitable that the conflict would escalate.

After dealing with Zhang Xiumei and her son's affairs, Han Ming rested at the General Hospital of the Army for a full week before being discharged.

After being discharged from the hospital and returning to the Han family home, he was shocked to realize that he was already all alone in his middle age.

I couldn't help but think of my youngest son, who was far away in Jiangcheng.

He called Zhao Weiguo directly to inquire about Han Ling's situation in the army.

Zhao Weiguo was somewhat surprised that Han Ming would call him directly. He knew that Han Ling was Han Ming's son, but Han Ming hadn't called him in over a year since he joined the army. Why would he call now?

Han Ming was direct: "I'll issue a transfer order here. You handle it promptly and transfer him to the Beijing Military Region."

Zhao Weiguo hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, "Does Han Ling himself know?"

Han Ming: "......"

Zhao Weiguo sighed.

What exactly is Han Ming trying to do? If he's so worried about his youngest son running so far away, why did he agree to let Han Ling join the army in Jiangcheng in the first place?

He had only been in the army for a little over a year, and his career in the military was just beginning, when he was transferred to Beijing.

Start over in a new, unfamiliar place.

This is just a joke.

"How about I call someone over so you can ask them yourself?" Zhao Weiguo suggested.

Han Ming hadn't heard his youngest son's voice in a long time, so he just hummed in agreement.

Half an hour later, Zhao Weiguo called him back, and all that could be heard on the other end was his attempt to cover up a cough.

"Ahem... Xiao Li, I asked you to call Han Ling, where is he?" Zhao Weiguo suppressed a laugh.

The guard, Xiao Li, saluted and repeated, "Reporting to the commander, Han Ling said he has no father, and the person who called you is definitely an imposter. He's not coming."

"Cough..." Zhao Weiguo coughed heavily and waved his hand, "Alright, go out."

He then said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Commander Han, look at this..."

Han Ming's emotions were complicated; he felt angry, sad, and mostly guilty. He looked down at the IV needle mark on the back of his hand and said softly, "Never mind, let it be."

"Thank you for looking after him."

Zhao Weiguo was somewhat surprised that he would be so polite. Back when he was still in Beijing, he had worked with Han Ming for a period of time, and Han Ming was not so easy to talk to.

"Of course." Since everyone was being so polite, he naturally had to reciprocate.