"I, Huo Hua, guarantee with my military honor and Party spirit that Comrade Mingzhao is absolutely innocent! The organization will make its own judgment on her situation! It's not your place to point fingers, label her, or slander her!"
Howard's righteous and forceful words were like resounding slaps to Wang Xiufen's face! They also completely intimidated the two security officers!
Wang Aiguo lowered his head even further, his face burning with embarrassment.
Jiang Feng stared intently at Howard and Mingzhao behind him, who remained calm and even seemed lost in thought, pondering the formula. His expression was complex and unreadable.
Wang Xiufen was completely stunned by Huo Hua's imposing manner and words!
Her mouth was agape, like a fish out of water, her face turning from red to white, then from white to green. She pointed at Huo Hua and Ming Zhao, her fingers trembling, her lips quivering, but she couldn't utter a single word.
“Captain Jiang,” Huo Hua turned to Jiang Feng, his tone regaining its composure, but with an undeniable firmness, “Regarding the whistleblower letter, the facts are clear, it’s pure slander. Comrade Mingzhao needs to rest and study, and I don’t want any further unnecessary disturbances.”
Jiang Feng glanced at the formula on the ground, which exuded cold wisdom, and then at Wang Xiufen's distraught and pathetic state. He had already made up his mind.
He waved his hand and said coldly to the two security officers, "Leave the complaint letter. People, remove them. Comrade Wang Xiufen, your complaint, after preliminary investigation, lacks factual basis and is a fabricated accusation. Considering this is your first offense and Battalion Commander Wang's sincere attitude, you will receive a verbal warning this time! If there is a next time, it will be treated as a false accusation! Battalion Commander Wang, take your mother back and give her a good ideological education!"
"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Captain Jiang! Thank you, Commander Huo!"
Wang Aiguo felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly stepped forward and almost dragged the bewildered and completely dumbfounded Wang Xiufen back to his own courtyard.
The security officer left a letter of complaint and quickly departed.
The courtyard finally returned to peace, leaving only Huo Hua, Ming Zhao, and Jiang Feng with a somber expression.
Jiang Feng bent down and carefully used a piece of paper to draw the formula on the ground that was about to dry.
He gave Mingzhao a deep look, then looked at Howard: "Old Howard, keep an eye on your... genius wife. I'll take this formula back and have someone study it."
After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to leave.
Howard watched Jiang Feng's departing figure, let out a long sigh of relief, and broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
He turned around and looked at Mingzhao, who remained calm and seemed unaffected by the terrifying storm that had just occurred to her. He sighed helplessly and with heartache.
Mingzhao raised her head, her clear eyes looking at him. Suddenly, she pointed to the ground that Wang Xiufen had dirtied, then to her own ear, and then, in an extremely serious, even slightly dissatisfied tone, she uttered a few words with difficulty: "Noisy... studying... wasting... time."
Howard: "..."
Well, this woman didn't take the life-or-death crisis just now seriously at all; she just complained that Wang Xiufen was disturbing her from listening to the radio and learning to speak!
Howard was both amused and exasperated, but his tense nerves completely relaxed.
He rubbed his temples and looked at Mingzhao's straightforward expression that said, "The world's troubles are none of my business; only studying is the right path." Strangely, the gloom in his heart dissipated considerably.
Perhaps, as I just rambled on... she really is just a somewhat eccentric genius who doesn't understand social niceties?
Meanwhile, in the neighboring courtyard number 16, Wang Xiufen, dragged back into the house by her son, slumped into a chair, her eyes vacant, muttering nervously, "A monster...that girl...is a monster...the talisman she drew...even Captain Jiang took it...Huo Hua...he's bewitched by a monster..."
Looking at his mother's appearance, Wang Aiguo felt both angry and helpless, and could only sigh heavily.
He knew that his mother had kicked a hot iron plate this time, one that could burn a person through!
Seeing his mother's distraught and stubborn state, Wang Aiguo's pent-up anger, exhaustion, fear, and deep sense of powerlessness over the past few days burst forth like a flood, instantly overwhelming his restraint as a soldier!
He slammed his fist on the octagonal table next to him!
"Clang!"
The enamel mug on the table was jolted up and then fell heavily back down with a jarring sound.
Wang Xiufen shuddered in fright and looked at her son blankly.
"Mom! Haven't you made enough of a scene?"
Wang Aiguo's voice was hoarse, filled with an almost desperate anger, and his eyes were bloodshot from excitement.
"Look at yourself now! Huh? All you do is gossip and stir up trouble! You've made Xiaocao so unhappy at home that she can't even smile anymore! I'm so busy with work, and when I get home I still have to listen to you complaining about this and that! And now it's even worse! You've really grown up! You dare to write a formal complaint to slander Commander Huo's wife! Do you know who Commander Huo is? He's my superior! He's a combat hero in our military region! He's someone that even the leaders value highly!"
Wang Aiguo became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his chest heaving violently: "What did you accuse someone's wife of? Being arrogant? Drawing supernatural symbols? Like a spy on the radio? And what about you, Comrade Wang Xiufen! Where is your evidence? Just your baseless accusations? Do you know you almost got me killed? Captain Jiang didn't take you away today only because of me! It was Regiment Commander Huo who didn't pursue the matter further! Otherwise, if I were charged with falsely accusing and framing a revolutionary soldier's family member, would I still be able to remain a battalion commander? Would I still be able to wear my uniform? Do you only feel satisfied when you see your son discharged from the military and slinking back to your hometown to farm?"
The four words "discharged from the military" struck Wang Xiufen's heart like four heavy hammers!
Her cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and all the color drained from her face! Her son's military uniform was the greatest honor and reliance of her life!
That's the source of her confidence that allows her to act arrogantly in the village and feel superior to others in the city's residential compound!
She couldn't even imagine the consequences if her son lost his military service because of her!
"No...no...it's not patriotism, Mom, it's not..."
Wang Xiufen panicked and tried to explain incoherently, "Mom did it for..."
"For what?" Wang Aiguo interrupted her sharply, his voice carrying a cold, penetrating force. "For your gossipy nature? For your sour resentment at being ignored? Or for your so-called high level of awareness? If you're so high-minded, why haven't you gone to catch the real spies? Your high level of awareness is just about targeting a young girl who just left the hospital and can barely speak properly, and relentlessly smearing her?"
Wang Xiufen was speechless under her son's questioning. Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face. "I...I'm your mother! How can you talk to your mother like this? You heartless bastard! You've forgotten your mother after you got married! Now that you're all grown up, you think your mother is a disgrace? You want to kick your mother out? I don't want to live anymore! I'm going to hang myself in front of the leaders right now! Let everyone in the military region see how you, Wang Aiguo, drove your own mother to her death!"
As she spoke, she tried to rush out the door, resorting to the typical tantrums of an old rural woman: crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.
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