When the troops arrived, Xing Zhaozhao was inside making clothes for the baby who was about to be born.
"Hello, are you Comrade Xing Zhaozhao?"
Upon seeing the two soldiers suddenly appear before her, Xing Zhaozhao felt a pang of unease and a bad premonition.
Gao Mingcheng is currently on the front lines.
She had always been living with her two children while serving in the military.
Six months ago, Gao Mingcheng suddenly received a notice that he was to go to the front line.
At that time, she had just found out she was two months pregnant.
Considering that Gao Mingcheng is going to the front lines and it's uncertain when he'll be back, she's alone at home, heavily pregnant, with two mischievous boys to take care of. Once the third one comes out, there will be three, and she simply won't be able to manage.
Her parents have passed away, but she has an older brother who is in the same military region as Gao Mingcheng and will also be going to the front lines this time. Her sister-in-law also has two sons...
After much hesitation, Gao Mingcheng took a few days off to send her and their two children back to their hometown. He made special arrangements for them before returning to his unit with peace of mind.
Xing Zhaozhao slowly stood up, her voice trembling slightly: "Yes, I am. May I ask if you are my Mingcheng...?"
The two soldiers looked at her belly, exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Hello, sister-in-law, Battalion Commander Gao has gone missing on the front line, and his fate is unknown. However, someone has accused him of treason, and the commander sent us to find you to find out more about the situation."
Upon hearing that Gao Mingcheng was missing and his fate unknown, Xing Zhaozhao hadn't even had time to worry when she heard the words "treasonous collusion with the enemy." She felt as if struck by lightning, her mind exploding: "Treasonous collusion with the enemy? Impossible! My Mingcheng would never commit treasonous collusion with the enemy!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sharp cry rang out from outside: "What? Treason and collusion with the enemy?"
Xing Zhaozhao's mother-in-law, Old Lady Gao, returned at some point and rushed in, grabbing the two soldiers and asking, "Is what you're saying true? Gao Mingcheng has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country."
The two soldiers quickly explained, "No, it's still under investigation, and it hasn't been confirmed yet."
"So that means it's still possible." Old Mrs. Gao slapped her thigh and turned to Old Mr. Gao, who followed her in, and shouted, "Old man, did you hear that? What a misfortune for our family! We've raised such a scourge. If we go out in the future, won't we be gossiped about and cursed to death? No, we have to separate the family."
“No, ma’am,” the two soldiers tried to explain.
Old Mrs. Gao wouldn't listen to any of it, pounding her chest and wailing incessantly.
Xing Zhaozhao also panicked and stepped forward to explain to Grandma Gao, "No, Mom..."
She couldn't let Mingcheng be accused of treason, nor could she separate the family. If they separated, she, a woman with three children, would have no one to rely on. How could she survive?
In the chaos, someone pushed her.
She plopped heavily onto the ground, feeling a sharp pain in her stomach, and immediately cried out in agony, "Ah..."
"Oh no, Mingcheng's wife has fallen."
"She's about to give birth, isn't she only eight months along?"
"Quick, get him to the hospital!"
"Mother……"
Xing Zhaozhao was in so much pain that she was almost delirious. In her dazed state, she felt someone pick her up, put her in a car, and drive straight to the town hospital, where she was taken to the delivery room.
"Push harder, push harder..."
"You've reached the end, keep going..."
"She's given birth, it's a girl..."
"Oh no, the mother is hemorrhaging..."
In a daze, Xing Zhaozhao heard a child crying. Before she could even feel happy, she suddenly felt a chill all over her body and wanted to sleep...
“Zhaozhao…”
Suddenly, a shrill scream rang in my ears, sounding like Mingcheng's voice.
Is Mingcheng back?
Before Xing Zhaozhao could think about it carefully, a strange memory suddenly flooded into her mind.
The charge of Gao Mingcheng's treason was never definitively established. However, in the eyes of the Gao family, this man, who had once been their pride, had become a stain that had to be eradicated.
They robbed Xing Zhaozhao of her money and belongings, and tried to kick her family of four out of the house.
Xing Zhaozhao begged and pleaded with the brigade leader, and in the end, she was allowed to stay. However, she didn't get back the money and things that had been stolen, and she still had endless work to do.
Xing Zhaozhao didn't care, as long as she had a place to live and could raise her three children well, that was enough.
Xing Zhaozhao possesses extraordinary strength, which she inherited from her grandmother, who in turn inherited it from her maternal grandmother. It is said that this strength is passed down only to daughters, not sons.
Her mother was afraid that her superhuman strength would make it difficult for her to find a husband, so she didn't let her use it outside the home. Only her family knew about it. Later, Gao Mingcheng came along. He doted on her and did everything himself, not letting her get involved. So the secret was kept from her.
After Gao Mingcheng passed away, Xing Zhaozhao had no choice but to support her two children on her own. From then on, she was treated like a beast of burden by the Gao family. She had to take care of everything at home and in the fields. She didn't even have a proper postpartum period, and within a few years, she fell ill from overwork.
If she could have raised all three of her children well, that would have been fine, but unfortunately, none of them survived.
The first to die was her daughter, whom she and Gao Mingcheng had longed for for so long.
Because Xing Zhaozhao had to go to work in the fields and couldn't take the child with her, she left the child at home with her grandmother. The child was hungry and cried incessantly, but the old lady Gao ignored her. When the youngest son of the old lady Gao heard his sister crying, he found it noisy, ran in, and covered his sister's face with a blanket.
When Xing Zhaozhao returned home, the child had already died.
Her little girl never even lived to be a year old before calling her "Mom".
Next is the second son, Gao Hongyu, the naughtiest and most energetic boy in the family.
Although Gao Mingcheng's charges were not yet finalized, many people in the village gossiped about him behind his back. The children, influenced by what they heard, often said that Gao Hongyu was the son of a traitor. Gao Hongyu was furious and often got into fights, sometimes taking on multiple people at once. Once, he was accidentally pushed into the river, and everyone scattered, leaving him to drown in the river.
Xing Zhaozhao was already suffering from chronic illnesses due to overwork, and the loss of both of her children finally took its toll, and she fell ill.
The eldest son, Gao Hongfei, wanted to get money for his mother's medical treatment, so he went to ask the Gao family for money, but failed. He then went to the mountain to collect herbs, but accidentally stepped into an animal trap and lost a leg.
Xing Zhaozhao died on a winter night.
Before she died, her biggest worry was her eldest son. He would be all alone in the future. What would he do?
In the middle of the night, Xing Zhaozhao woke up from a nightmare again, covered in a cold sweat.
She hurriedly looked to her side, where her seven-day-old daughter, Xiao Hongling, was sleeping soundly, having eaten and drunk her fill, inside the small swaddle blanket.
Although she was premature, the little girl is not weak because she was well cared for before.
Xing Zhaozhao lowered her head and kissed the little one's soft face, whispering, "Don't worry, baby, Mommy will protect you for the rest of my life."
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