Inside the military compound, the Gu family's living room fell into a suffocating silence.
Gu Zhenhua and Xi Caiqin were like two frozen statues, sank stiffly into the cloth sofa.
The copper pendulum of the old-fashioned clock swung mechanically, and every tick was like a heavy hammer hitting the two people's tense nerves - this silence had lasted for a long time since Gu Ping'an was arrested.
They deliberately reduced their outings and pretended not to care about their daughter's case, trying to mislead others with their indifference and make the outside world think that the case committed by Gu Ping'an was just a trivial matter. They even did not visit their daughter.
In fact, Gu Zhenhua used his connections and sought favors in an attempt to manipulate the direction of the case. Unfortunately, a lot of money was spent like water, and the case remained unresolved and there was no conclusion.
But now, why did the Lin Zhao incident come up again?
Pushing them to the forefront once again.
This incident directly pointed to Gu Ping'an, and Lin Zhao was shouting Ping'an's name at the scene.
This made the already complicated situation even worse and completely shattered the couple's hope of getting away with it.
Gu Zhenhua originally thought that since they had been through life and death together, he would ask Fu Qixun for help, but now it seems impossible.
Lin Zhao killed Fu Hanzhou, why did he say that?
The Gu family's old-fashioned clock rang nine dull chimes, breaking the suffocating silence.
Gu Zhenhua suddenly became furious and smashed the enamel pot in his hand against the wall.
Tea mixed with porcelain fragments splashed out and landed squarely on the plaque of "Home of Glory". The bright red background with black characters looked ironic and ridiculous under the stains.
"How could I, Gu Zhenhua, give birth to such a daughter?! Not only did she kill three people, but now she dares to assassinate the commander of the military district? Everyone in Yancheng knows that there is a murderer in the Gu family!"
His voice was filled with anger and despair. He tore at his collar roughly, the veins on his neck bulged, his thick eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his whole face was distorted with anger, looking particularly cruel.
"At the military district meeting that day, the way my old comrades looked at me—"
Gu Zhenhua wanted to continue venting his anger, but was interrupted by Xi Caiqin's sharp scream.
“That’s enough!”
She screamed and overturned the round table. The sound of broken dishes echoed in the living room. She grabbed the military medal on Gu Zhenhua's chest and threw it to the ground.
"This is all your fault! You insisted on sending her to the art troupe, and insisted on her excelling in everything. Even her smile had to be yours since she was little, and now when something goes wrong, all you can do is scold her!"
Her eyes were filled with tears, and her makeup was smudged by the tears, making her look a little sad.
Gu Zhenhua's face turned pale in an instant, and he slammed his palm heavily on the coffee table, making a loud "bang" sound.
"If she doesn't do this, how can she be worthy of the Fu family? She schemed to save Fu Hanzhou at the fire scene. After you found out, not only didn't you blame her, but you praised her for doing a good job and even encouraged her to create opportunities for them? You knew they were married, but you still said Qin Ying was ruined and a broken flower - and now you blame me!"
His temples were throbbing, his eyes were bloodshot with anger, his clenched teeth outlined a tight jawline, and his tone was full of questioning and dissatisfaction:
"Do you dare to say that you don't want Ping An to climb up the social ladder?"
There was a loud thunder outside the window, and in an instant, rain fell, and the autumn wind blew into the house with moisture.
Xi Caiqin casually picked up a half-broken porcelain bowl, but just as she was about to throw it at her husband, it fell powerlessly, and the fragments cracked into sharp jagged teeth at Gu Zhenhua's feet:
"Gu Zhenhua, are you really thinking about Ping An? You're just doing it for face! We both came out of the battlefield, and your comrade has a higher position than you, but you want to rely on your daughter to turn things around, and use her as a tool to gain face! Now you've harmed her, and you're pushing it all off..."
"shut up!"
Gu Zhenhua was like an enraged trapped beast, his neck bulging with veins and turning the color of liver.
"I'm doing this for my family! My relatives are counting on me, and safety is my only hope!"
"You ruined Ping An just to save face in front of your relatives?"
Xi Caiqin suddenly staggered towards the coffee table, her white-knuckled fingers gripping the edge of the table tightly, as if pouring out all her grievances.
"When she does well, you brag about it in front of others, and when she does poorly, you scold her behind her back. Do you treat her as a daughter, or a stepping stone for your upward mobility?"
"I ruined her? What about you? What did you do? You spoiled her blindly. No matter what she did wrong, you covered it up for her. From childhood, she was arrogant and domineering. That's why she has this ignorant personality and acts without considering the consequences. It was all you who fueled that fire behind the scenes! What right do you have to blame me?"
Gu Zhenhua's chest was heaving violently, and his scolding words came out like a machine gun.
"I covered for her? Didn't you? Last time, because of the handkerchief incident, she was taken to the Public Security Bureau, and you stepped in to suppress the matter? A dignified military chief stepped in for such a matter, aren't you afraid of what others will say?"
Xi Caiqin looked at Gu Zhenhua viciously, as if everything now was caused by him.
"Discussion? Does anyone know?"
He looked at the military medals on the wall and said he didn't care, but those medals that he was once proud of now looked like a wound in his eyes.
"At my age, I can't afford to make any mistakes. Last time she did something like that, I should have told her to stop. But now..."
He didn't say anything more. At that time, Jin Wen-ge hadn't died yet, there hadn't been the bombing, and there hadn't been the Lin Zhao incident. His voice was filled with frustration:
"When did this kid become unrecognizable to us? He even got involved with that Lin Zhao behind our backs. How can I stay in the army with this face?"
Thinking of the rumors outside, that Lin Zhao looked like Fu Hanzhou, Xi Caiqin felt regretful again:
"It's all our fault for allowing her to be with Hanzhou. Fu Hanzhou was already engaged. You've talked to Fu Qixun about getting married several times, both openly and secretly, but he's always refused. We shouldn't have let things go on."
"You still say that it's all because of this girl's infatuation. We didn't force her to marry Fu Hanzhou, she fell in love with him herself. Otherwise, where did this Lin Zhao come from, and how could she be related to him?"
Gu Zhenhua roared angrily, his tone full of disappointment, and his weather-beaten face looked a little distorted.
"But what's the point of saying this now? Ping An...what about Ping An? Now that Lin Zhao's incident has happened, do you think she will be sentenced soon..."
Xi Caiqin couldn't continue.
She felt heartbroken when she thought that the daughter she had raised with great difficulty was now a murderer and was about to be shot.
Now there was nothing they could do. Ping An had committed all kinds of illegal things. The living room gradually became quiet, with only the heavy breathing of the two people remaining.
Xi Caiqin's face was filled with regret, her hands supporting her forehead, her voice choked with sobs:
"I only have this one daughter, I can't watch her die..."
Gu Zhenhua scratched his hair in annoyance. He was upset about his daughter's affairs.
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