Chapter 67 Hypocrisy
The last time the two met was at Xu Mansion. After not seeing each other for such a long time, Ms. Gina immediately felt the qualitative change in Xu Lingqu.
But now is not the time to lament about these things. After Xu Chengbi wiped out a group of interstellar pirates at the Mulan border, he directly chose to come to Yuheng Star to meet Xu Lingqu.
He even specially asked Ms. Gina, who was on standby at the Capital Star, to come and pick her up, probably because he thought Ms. Gina was more familiar with her.
When Xu Lingqu saw Ms. Gina's unhappy expression, he understood that General Xu was probably not an easy person to get along with.
Without further questioning, she put on the white snake-patterned ring. Liuming insisted on going with her. He set off directly with Ms. Gina. The two of them arrived at the Yuheng Military Base, where General Xu's troops were stationed. They had no trouble making their way directly to the office of the highest commander of the military base.
The external biometric lock was opened directly by Admiral Xu, and Ms. Gina helped her push open the heavy wooden door.
The carpet beneath his feet was made of some unknown animal fur, and it felt soft to the touch. Before him was a large, translucent black table, with a surface that looked as if water was flowing. Behind it stood a middle-aged man in an Imperial military uniform, with the shoulder insignia representing the Empire's highest rank, Admiral.
The man had an oriental face and was handsome. It could be seen that Xu Xizhen had combined the advantages of his appearance with that of Lady Catherine very well.
There was no expression on his face at this moment. His eyes had been fixed on Xu Lingqu since she walked in.
Being stared at like this, Xu Lingqu didn't panic at all. He calmly walked to the table and called out, "Hello, General Xu."
Xu Chengbi suddenly smiled: "Sit down, it seems that you are having a good time in Moye Military Academy."
Xu Lingqu sat down after hearing this: "Not bad."
"As for Katrin, she's lived in a privileged environment since she was a child. Sending you to a military academy is the worst way she could think of to torture you." Xu Chengbi spoke to Xu Lingqu naturally, "She's just a little stupid, but she's not a bad person at heart. I hope you don't resent her."
Xu Lingqu sneered in his heart and did not respond.
Admiral Xu seemed to have anticipated her reaction and continued, "Lingqu, you might not know this yet. I've never let Gina tell you directly, nor have I announced it publicly. Actually, you're the daughter of a former adjutant of mine. He died fighting for the Empire over a decade ago, and your mother died with him. Your father's name is Chang Xin, and your mother's name is Liu Linghui. The reason you're not registered at Zhuyun Frontier is because your great-grandfather, Liu Zhi, must have been overly saddened and registered you there as his adopted granddaughter, settling directly on the Frontier Planet."
Xu Chengbi sighed. "He later passed away. Before he died, he wrote me a letter, entrusting me to take care of you. I had someone give you living expenses on time. Now you're grown up. Whenever I think of my adjutant, I feel guilty about him, so I took you in to raise you. I didn't expect that this would cause some unnecessary misunderstandings. I came to you in person to clarify everything after I finished my work."
He looked at the girl in front of him. Her face did not show the expression he expected, neither happiness, tears in her eyes, nor gratitude, none of that.
The girl just looked at him coldly, like a sharp icicle, and the smile on Xu Chengbi's face began to fade.
"hypocritical."
The girl's voice was clear and crisp. For a moment Xu Chengbi thought he had misheard, but looking at her expression, he quickly realized that he hadn't misheard. These were the two words he had heard.
hypocritical.
This was Xu Lingqu's first impression of General Xu Chengbi.
"You started by saying your wife wasn't bad, but stupid, hoping I'd forgive you. But I've never actually said anything about her in front of you. I can assume you're trying to instill a negative image of her in me while simultaneously enhancing your own image as a good husband, right?"
Her words were like an ice cone, completely shattering Xu Chengbi's fake smile.
His expression instantly turned cold: "How many lives do you have to live if you talk to me like this?"
"You won't kill me. You finally found the daughter of an old subordinate and adopted her. This adopted daughter even got accepted into one of the six major military academies. How much this enhances your image as a great general," Xu Lingqu taunted. "Besides, the fact that you came directly before me today and put on such a grand show proves that I'm valuable enough to motivate you to do this. Killing me and wasting all your efforts would not be in line with your selfish values."
True, she could choose to feign deference to the general, knowing the truth but not speaking it out. But General Xu's venomous, hypocritical, and murderous attempts were truly disgusting to her, so it was better to speak frankly.
Xu Lingqu's identity was clearly nothing to be ashamed of, yet he refused to explain it to anyone, especially his wife. He practically ruthlessly trampled on her to establish his own glorious image.
Directly explaining that he had adopted the daughter of an old subordinate might not necessarily mean a warm reception for Katrin, but at least he wouldn't be hostile. By not explaining things clearly at the outset, Katrin would resent him and torment him, only to reveal his true identity later and speak up for his adopted daughter. In the eyes of others, he instantly established the image of a vicious, jealous woman and a general who cares for the daughter of an old subordinate. This was far more compelling than simply General Xu adopting the daughter of an old subordinate.
He even came over and said all this to Xu Lingqu in a high-sounding manner, directly clearing himself of all charges and pretending to be a good person, wanting people to ignore the fact that he was the source of the whole thing going wrong.
The most disgusting thing is not this.
What if I hadn't traveled through time? What if I was still the helpless little girl?
After suffering great torture in the military academy but not losing half his life, when he came out and heard these words, all the resentment in his heart was directed to Lady Catherine, and he would definitely be grateful to this gentle Admiral Xu.
During the whole process, he threw her into an isolated island created by others, and then talked to himself to "save her".
In this way, she would be easily controlled by Xu Chengbi.
What does he want to use her for?
"Moye's people are right. You're really quite clever." Xu Chengbi dropped his pretense. He crossed his legs and leaned back, shifting his posture. His friendly demeanor shifted to one of superiority. "It's certainly profitable for me to adopt you, but there are so many orphans in this galaxy. Why would you have to go against me? I'm giving you a chance to completely change your life."
Although the girl before him had grown up, for Xu Chengbi, crushing her was still as easy as crushing an ant. If she dared to offend him like this, he had plenty of ways to make her disappear silently.
But the feedback from the people there was positive. Having her die inexplicably had indeed cost Xu Chengbi a significant portion of his profits, and a few stabs from her were nothing compared to the ultimate benefits he could gain. Xu Chengbi simply dismissed the girl as rebellious, and thought it would be better to simply speak directly to her. Perhaps she would be more receptive.
Xu Lingqu saw through it.
Someone who exploits the daughter of his former subordinate without any psychological pressure has absolutely no moral composure. It's no surprise he became an Imperial Admiral. It can only be said that in this interstellar empire, some admirals rise to the top through sheer force of brute force, while others rise to a higher position simply by stepping on their family, former subordinates, and whatever else they can leverage.
Xu Lingqu didn't think that Lady Catherine and Xu Youwen were any better than him. They were just dwarfs compared to General Xu.
In the Xu family, Xu Xizhen's existence is a miracle, like a bright and beautiful sunflower growing out of a pool of mud.
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