Bonnie's family of four finished dinner and were getting ready for bed. They had talked too much that day and were tired.
Liu Jiu and San Qi returned to their rooms. Bao Ni lay on the bed, her limbs outstretched, while Gu Ye massaged her.
"Are you feeling better now? My Bonnie has been wronged." Gu Ye's massage technique was quite good, and Bonnie was moaning comfortably.
"In Zhang's words, it felt great! I really wasn't wronged; this matter hadn't reached my ears at all. If Zhang and the others hadn't overheard it by chance and come to tell me, it might have been circulating for much longer!"
"My Bao Ni is so popular. She can make close friends wherever she goes, and she can even protect me. I'm so lucky!" Gu Ye burst into tears today when he heard Bao Ni say that she wanted to protect him. Over the years, apart from his older brother, no one had ever said they would protect him. At that moment, his heart felt like it was being enveloped in warm water, so comforting.
"Is it comfortable? There's something even more comfortable, want to try it?"
"Come on, I'll risk my life to accompany you!"
The bed legs started creaking, and when the moon heard it, it shyly hid away!
Unlike Bonnie's warm and romantic home, the atmosphere in the other families' compound was tense and hostile.
The first to be affected was Sister Wan's family. Her husband was a regimental commander and a direct subordinate of Brigade Commander Zhao.
"Tell me what really happened. If the police come tomorrow, you'll be in for a world of hurt." Wan's husband had heard some rumors before, but he didn't take them seriously and was secretly pleased.
He also had a chance to compete for the position of brigade commander of the Marine Corps, but before he could even put in the effort, the order came down. It wasn't for him, nor for anyone else in the unit, but for someone who was parachuted in and was quite young. He was quite resentful about it.
Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders. No matter how dissatisfied they are, they can only keep it to themselves. No one has the right to question them.
Later, I heard some rumors, and although I knew they couldn't be true, I was secretly pleased, thinking I could finally vent my anger and offer some comfort. But I never expected that it was my own wife who started this whole thing, and that made things worse.
"A few days ago, Sister Xu Mei had a little unpleasantness with Comrade Lin, and she complained to me, saying that she was an illiterate fisherwoman and was not worthy of Brigade Commander Gu at all."
Because of the life-saving grace, she relied on a promising military officer, whose character wasn't very good. She also said that at Brigade Commander Gu's age, he might already have a marriage partner, but Lin Baoni ruined it and destroyed their relationship." Sister Wan repeated Xu Mei's original words.
"If Sister-in-law Xu Mei complained to you, then why are you talking about it everywhere in the family compound?" Wan's husband could tell from these few words that most of it was just Sister-in-law Xu Mei's guess, without any real evidence.
"Why do you think she complained to me? It's because she wanted me to spread the word so she could vent her anger. Commander Wang is your superior, how could I not fawn over Sister Xu Mei? Besides, with Commander Gu's arrival, your chance for promotion is gone, and I was angry about that, so I spread the word."
Sister Wan is now filled with deep regret. If she had known it would turn out this way, she would never have gossiped about it.
"Alright, that's how it is. Just tell the truth when the disciplinary committee investigates tomorrow. Don't embellish it."
"Okay." The couple barely ate any dinner and went to bed quickly.
The other party involved in the incident, Sister-in-law Xu Mei, and Brigade Commander Wang were even more upset, especially Brigade Commander Wang, who couldn't understand why he was involved. He hadn't mentioned Brigade Commander Gu's matter, so how did it become his doing?
"Xu Mei, what's wrong with you? How many times have I told you not to be so competitive and ambitious? What did Comrade Lin do to you? You're making up lies to get back at him, and you even said it was me who said it. When did I say that? I just said that Commander Gu's wife was a fisherwoman from an island who saved Commander Gu's life, and that's how they got married. How did you all spread it like that?"
Do you know what you call this behavior? It's called moral depravity!
Brigade Commander Wang knows his wife well. She was spoiled at home since childhood, is quite self-centered, and can't tolerate anyone contradicting her. He's told her many times, but she just can't change. This time, she's really messed up.
"It was wrong of her to begin with. Why would she raise chickens in the family compound? They smell terrible. I told her to take them somewhere else to raise, but she said there was no rule against raising chickens in the family compound and that I should get used to it."
Nobody raised chickens before, so why is she raising them and growing vegetables, making the place stink? Besides, I didn't let Sister Wan gossip about what I said, so it's not my fault.”
Xu Mei felt that she was not wrong, and that everyone else was wrong.
"Fine, Xu Mei, you've got guts. If the disciplinary officers come tomorrow, stick to the same attitude and see if they'll agree with you. I'm not going to get involved in this anymore. I'll explain my own words myself. You figure it out yourself. If it doesn't work, go home and talk to your dad. Don't you always go to your dad for everything?"
Commander Wang slammed the door and went into his study. He was exhausted. How could he have been so blind to marry a woman from a well-off family? For more than ten years, he had never had a happy day.
Xu Mei was stunned. Wang Haiyang just washed his hands of it like that. What kind of man did she marry?
Xu Mei was furious. She got up and walked out to go home and find her father.
Xu Mei's father lived in the general's building next door; he held a high position as a division commander. She had two older brothers who also served in the military. As the only daughter in the family, she was naturally pampered.
Commander Xu's family is also talking about this, and even the Commander-in-Chief has been alerted. How could they not know about it?
"Dad, what should we do about this? It's not a big deal, but it's not a small one either. Meimei probably exaggerated and made it up herself. Wang Haiyang couldn't have said such a thing. Commander Gu has made his stance clear; it's not going to end well."
Commander Xu looked at his eldest son and felt a tightness in his chest. If his two sons hadn't been limited in their abilities, he wouldn't have been able to keep promoting his son-in-law, which led to Xu Mei becoming increasingly domineering.
"Let's see the results of the investigation tomorrow. The worst-case scenario is that Meimei will resign from her job as a strategic retreat. Since this matter doesn't involve any legal issues, there won't be a blanket ban. Commander Jiang is also using this incident to clean up the atmosphere in the family compound, as the atmosphere has been unhealthy lately."
Most importantly, there's Gu Ye's older brother, a powerful figure in the center of power. He's young, shrewd, and has a limitless future. We can't afford to offend them. Even though the emperor is far away, we still have to be respectful of their positions.
Commander Xu's words revealed that his own values were also problematic. They didn't think Xu Mei had done anything wrong, but the people Xu Mei had offended were Gu Ze's relatives, so they had no choice but to back down.
It's often said that behind every bratty kid comes a bunch of bratty parents, a saying that applies to any era.
Xu Mei rushed into her father's study, but before she could even voice her grievances, she was told who was standing behind Lin Baoni and Gu Ye. Xu Mei immediately became obedient; she was used to this kind of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, praising the powerful and belittling the weak. Faced with absolute power, she could be very sensible.
After being admonished by her father, Xu Mei slunk home.
Wang Haiyang, who was in the study, was quite puzzled as to why things were so quiet. After some reflection, he realized that Gu Ye was no ordinary person; even his father-in-law was wary of him. This time, he had really bitten off more than he could chew.
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