Seeing Shen Zhiyu's swift and decisive actions, his heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
One of the younger ones, with evasive eyes, finally couldn't withstand the pressure and spoke in a trembling voice.
"It was...it was her who gave me the money."
He raised his finger and pointed tremblingly at Liu Yuelan, who was being pressed down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
“We…we’re just doing this for money. She said all we have to do is make a scene and scare people. We really don’t know anything else.”
The other two were also startled and quickly nodded, scrambling to distance themselves from the situation.
"Yes, yes, we came here just because she told us to. We said whatever she said, we really didn't mean anything by it!"
"We were just after a few cents, we really didn't mean to cause trouble, sir, please spare us!"
Liu Yuelan was so angry that she was practically spitting fire, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
Her mouth was stuffed with a smelly sock, and she wanted to curse but couldn't make a sound. She tried to struggle but Su Qingzhi held her shoulders down tightly.
All I could do was scream in my head.
Fang Youming! Come save me quickly!
If you don't come soon, I'm doomed!
Just when she was almost in despair, the wooden door of the cave was suddenly pushed open with a creak.
Fang Youming strode in, accompanied by two men in military uniforms.
Because Shen Zhiyu and Su Qingzhi were blocking the view from the doorway, Fang Youming couldn't see clearly who was being held down on the kang (heated brick bed).
He glanced around the room and immediately realized something was wrong!
He quickly took a few steps forward and spoke rapidly.
"Commander Zhang! Deputy Commander Ma! Something's wrong! There's a commotion in the room, the table's broken, someone must have been killed!"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Shen Zhiyu, his tone tinged with righteous indignation.
"What exactly did Company Commander Shen do? How could he resort to violence here? Isn't this causing trouble?"
Neither Shen Zhiyu nor Su Qingzhi expected that Fang Youming would bring the two regimental commanders over without saying a word.
Both of them were startled at the same time, their eyes quickly meeting, and they both saw wariness in each other's eyes.
As soon as Commander Zhang entered the room, he saw the mess and immediately frowned, his voice deep and rumbling.
"All unauthorized personnel, please leave!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers who had been watching were startled and scrambled out of the cave dwelling.
The room was finally quiet, and the two commanders began to take in the scene.
When his gaze fell on the two people on the kang (a heated brick bed), Fang Youming's expression suddenly changed.
Shen Zhiyu and Su Qingzhi saw his reaction, exchanged a glance, and neither of them said a word.
Commander Zhang noticed Liu Yuelan being held down by Su Qingzhi and frowned as he asked.
"Comrade Su Qingzhi, what are you doing?"
Su Qingzhi quickly let go of his hand and explained with an embarrassed smile.
"Commander Zhang, it really wasn't my intention. She just blurted out that our Company Commander Shen committed murder, and I got angry and shut her up."
As he spoke, he took a small half-step back.
Liu Yuelan ripped the smelly sock out of her mouth, her face turning pale and even her ears turning bright red.
She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice trembling.
"Youming, they've gone too far! They don't treat people like human beings at all!"
Fang Youming's brow twitched; he felt a mix of disgust and irritation.
He knew Liu Yuelan's temper; she was always prone to crying and making a fuss.
But now, with so many people present, he must maintain a facade of calm and impartiality.
He took a deep breath, put on a considerate and caring look, stepped forward, and gently took Liu Yuelan's hand.
"Don't get agitated, don't cry."
As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“With me here, there’s nothing to fear. Tell me, what exactly happened? Tell the commander, and they will handle it fairly. They won’t wrong anyone, nor will they let anyone off the hook.”
As soon as he said that, Commander Zhang immediately understood.
This is a reminder to myself not to favor Shen Zhiyu, and even more so to not allow the situation to be unilaterally defined.
He remained expressionless, but after a moment's internal deliberation, he replied.
"Comrade Liu Yuelan, please speak with confidence. With me here, I will not let anyone be wronged, nor will I let anyone escape justice."
Liu Yuelan wiped away her tears before speaking.
“I know that there have been rumors circulating about Su Qingzhi and Li Hong lately. The rumors are really nasty, and I didn’t want to believe them at first. But… but Li Hong has indeed changed recently.”
She glanced at Su Qingzhi, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
“Su Qingzhi was quite formidable back in Jiangcheng; I heard that some people were afraid of her then. I’m worried that she might take her anger out on Li Hong over this and do something outrageous in a moment of impulse.”
“Our family and Aunt Hu have been friends for many years. We visit each other frequently, especially during holidays, and we have a very deep relationship. When we heard that she and Li Hong had moved to this new house, we thought of them and came to visit them to ask how they were doing and bring some food from our home.”
"But to my utter surprise, as soon as I pushed the door open, I saw you all standing in the room. What made my heart sink even more was that there was a dark red bloodstain on the kang (a heated brick bed)."
“I had a feeling that something was wrong, that something might have happened, so I asked one more question. I couldn’t just watch someone die and pretend nothing happened.”
Her words were well-organized and sincere.
Fang Youming took over the conversation, his face displaying a righteous and indignant expression.
"My Chunlan was just too worried about her friends. In her haste, she may have offended Company Commander Shen and Comrade Su Qingzhi with her words. Please forgive her if she was impolite."
"However, everyone feels the same way. No one can remain unmoved by seeing this bed covered in blood. So, I ask you two to explain yourselves clearly: this house was originally inhabited by Li Hong and Aunt Hu. Now that they are gone, the house is empty. Where did they go? And what right do you have to move in? Whose blood is on this bed? And how did it get there?"
Shen Zhiyu glanced coldly at Fang Youming, ignoring his question.
He turned his head and looked at Commander Zhang with a firm gaze.
"Commander, I have some very important information to report to you privately. This is a matter of great importance, involving the safety and discipline of the regiment, and cannot be disclosed in front of others."
Seeing his serious expression, Commander Zhang knew that things were not simple.
He pondered for a moment, then nodded solemnly in agreement.
Immediately afterwards, he shouted loudly towards the door.
"Xiao Chang! Go and fetch the regiment's doctor immediately. Give these comrades a thorough check-up, especially to see if they are injured!"
"yes!"
Xiao Chang's loud reply came from outside the door, and the footsteps quickly faded away.
At this moment, Fang Youming spoke again, his tone clearly showing dissatisfaction.
"Company Commander Shen, what is it that you can't say in front of Deputy Regiment Commander Ma? Why do you have to report it separately? Is there something you're hiding?"
"Besides, stop bringing up other things and answer my questions properly. Where did the owners of this house, Li Hong and Aunt Hu, go? Did you get their permission to move in? And what's the explanation for the blood on this kang (heated brick bed)?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
