Chapter 39 Who is it
3rd
Next to the old well in the family compound, several heads gathered together, their voices extremely low, yet like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, they penetrated into the slightly cool air of the early morning.
"It stinks from the root. No matter how clean you wash it, you can't cover up the smell!" Wang Zhaodi curled her lips and knocked the wooden barrel in her hand heavily on the edge of the well, making a dull sound.
"That's right," the tall and thin Li Caifeng next to her immediately chimed in, glancing quickly towards Gu Qiuyue's house. "I heard that Gu Qiuyue's parents were 'stinking ninths' who had been sent down to the countryside for reform. It's a sure thing. A girl from such a family, tsk tsk..."
"Deputy Commander Xie is so unlucky," another short, plump woman rubbed the corner of her clothes, her voice filled with a kind of regret that bordered on gloating. "With a father-in-law and mother-in-law like this, his future? Humph, I'm afraid it will be tarnished along with them! The way her brother came yesterday was unlucky!"
These whispers crawling out of the sewers, with cold malice, quietly flow like ghosts under the clotheslines, beside the wells, and even behind closed doors and windows. They are like tiny poisonous stings, trying to pierce the courtyard that has just been filled with great joy.
The doors and windows of the courtyard were closed, but the atmosphere inside was completely different from the gloom outside.
The afterglow of yesterday's ecstasy had not yet completely dissipated. Gu Qiuyue still had a faint, bright smile on her face. She was humming a tuneless little song and busy preparing lunch at the stove.
Gu Qiuhan sat on a small stool with a big sword and a golden horse, clumsily but seriously helping his sister pick vegetable leaves. The brother and sister chatted casually. Xie Shiyu was not at home. He went out to work early, leaving only a steady back.
The gate of the courtyard was pushed open with a creak, breaking the warmth.
Xie Shiyu came back. His face beneath the brim of his military cap was as calm as water, showing no emotion. Only a barely perceptible coldness flashed across the depths of his eyes. He gently closed the door with his backhand, blocking out the prying eyes and the remaining rumors from outside.
"You're back?" Gu Qiuyue turned around with a bright smile, "Lunch will be ready soon."
"Yeah." Xie Shiyu responded, his gaze lingering on his wife's bright smiling face for a moment, and the coldness in his eyes quietly melted a little. He took off his military cap and hung it up, his movements still calm, and walked to the small stool next to Gu Qiuhan and sat down.
"Brother, this place is small. Are you used to living here?" he asked, his voice calm as usual, as if it was just an ordinary greeting.
Gu Qiuhan put down the dish in his hand and looked up at Xie Shiyu, his eyes sharp as a hawk. Years of battlefield experience gave him a beast-like intuition about emotions. "Shiyu, those flies buzzing outside are really annoying. Did you hear that?"
Xie Shiyu did not answer immediately. He poured a glass of water for Gu Qiuhan slowly and steadily.
"I heard it." He picked up his own glass of water, feeling the heat from the cup wall with his fingertips. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, with a firm and steady tone. "I just went to the regiment headquarters. The matter has been clarified."
Gu Qiuyue was stirring the vegetables in the pot at the stove. When she heard the words, her movements suddenly stopped. The spoon hit the edge of the pot with a crisp "clang" sound. The smile on her face froze instantly. She slowly turned around and tightened her hand holding the spatula slightly. Her knuckles turned white. After all, the rumor was like a cold poisonous snake and had finally penetrated into her home.
"Who is it?" Gu Qiuhan's voice sank, and an invisible sense of oppression instantly spread out, like a tiger about to pounce on its prey.
Xie Shiyu raised his eyes, his gaze calmly meeting his brother-in-law's sharp gaze that was almost spitting fire, and his thin lips clearly uttered three words: "Zhou Lihua."
This name was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, stirring up cold ripples in Gu Qiuyue's heart. It was indeed her, the woman with poison in her eyes.
"Who is she? Your peach blossom?" Gu Qiuhan paused. From the name, she must be a woman, so that was the only reason. "How do you plan to deal with it?"
"She is a pillar of the art troupe and the sister of Zhou Guotao, the political commissar of the third regiment. She once expressed her affection to me, but I rejected her sternly before marrying Qiuyue." Xie Shiyu's voice was steady, but he explained the matter clearly in a few words, and then said: "Now, she has slandered military families and intended to destroy military marriages. The evidence is conclusive. The comrades from the Security Section of the Political Department should soon 'invite' her over for a talk." He deliberately emphasized the tone of the word "invite".
As if to confirm his words, deep inside the family compound, there was a faint unusual commotion in the building, like a calm surface of water suddenly broken by a stone. Several figures in military uniforms with serious expressions appeared at the end of the path and walked steadily towards the family building where the Zhou family lived.
Soon, a familiar figure was brought out from among them. It was Zhou Lihua. Her face was as pale as paper, her lips were tightly pursed, her hair, which was usually carefully groomed, looked a little messy, her steps were staggering, and she was almost half-invited and half-carried to move forward.
When passing by the women who were craning their necks to watch the fun at the well, Zhou Lihua suddenly raised her head, and her resentful gaze was like a poisoned arrow, shooting accurately across most of the yard towards the direction of Gu Qiuyue's courtyard.
Her lips opened and closed silently, and the shape of her mouth clearly said: "Gu Qiuyue, you wait!" Then, she was taken away from the family area, and her figure disappeared at the corner of the avenue leading to the division headquarters.
The discussions by the well suddenly fell silent. The women who had been talking excitedly before were now like chickens with their necks strangled. Their faces turned pale and blue, their eyes were dodging, and they no longer dared to glance in the direction of the Xie family's courtyard.
Gu Qiuhan stood by the window, watching the scene coldly until Zhou Lihua's figure completely disappeared. He snorted heavily, turned around and picked up the military jacket on the back of the chair: "Yueyue, brother is going out for some fresh air." His tone clearly showed the anger that had not yet completely dissipated.
Just a few steps after Gu Qiuhan walked out of the courtyard gate, a short and fat figure wearing an indigo cloth shirt and an old square scarf on his head came to greet him warmly. It was Aunt Wang, the famous enthusiastic matchmaker in the family compound.
"Oh, isn't this Qiuyue's brother!" Aunt Wang's face was full of smiles, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were squeezed together. She took a few steps closer with a familiar look and lowered her voice, "Brother Gu, you are such a talented young man. It's not easy for you to come here. Auntie sees that you are a handsome man. This important event of your life cannot be delayed. Let me tell you, the niece of Political Commissar Liu in our family compound..."
Gu Qiuhan paused. He stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his military uniform making his shoulders look broad. He leaned slightly to the side and looked down at the smiling face in front of him that was full of calculation and commercialism.
That gaze was calm, yet it carried with it a cold scrutiny tempered on the battlefield that pierced the heart.
Aunt Wang felt inexplicably frightened by his gaze, and the rest of her words got stuck in her throat.
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