Chapter 330| Chapter 331| Chapter 332
Chapter 330: Letter of Report! Gu Tingxiao Is Under Investigation!
Instead, he grabbed her hand just as she took the opportunity to get a good feel of his abdominal muscles.
They felt incredibly firm.
Gu Tingxiao looked down at her, a dark, dangerous glint in his eyes as he trapped her reckless fingers. “If you really don’t want to get out of bed today, I don’t mind keeping you here a little longer.”
Sheng Wanyan instantly sensed the threat. She quickly withdrew her hand and huddled back beneath the safety of the heavy quilt.
Gu Tingxiao lingered over her for a moment, letting out a quiet chuckle, before turning to fetch her clothes so she could change. He systematically laid out her scarf, hat, and gloves, fiercely determined to prevent her from catching a chill. Once she was wrapped up as tightly as a dumpling, Sheng Wanyan finally crawled out to wash her face, using a basin of warm water he had specially prepared for her.
Following breakfast, it was Yi Yi’s turn to be fed, and soon both mother and daughter were full and content. Gu Tingxiao efficiently washed the lunch tins, gathered his gear, and hurried off to the barracks.
Left with an open schedule, Sheng Wanyan settled at the table to focus on her translation manuscripts. She needed to grind through as many texts as possible; she was determined to accumulate enough capital to purchase that independent capital courtyard house by next year.
As the weeks marched on, the weather gradually softened, and their daily routine progressed in an orderly, peaceful manner. Before long, the calendar bled into April, bringing with it the damp, lingering rains of the Qingming Festival.
One afternoon, while Sheng Wanyan was deeply engrossed in a complex translation passage, a sharp, frantic pounding suddenly rattled the front door.
Her pen froze. She frowned, a sudden wave of confusion hitting her. Gu Tingxiao carried his own set of keys, and even if her grandparents were visiting, they would never knock with that level of frantic urgency. Normally, a disturbance like this only meant one thing.
Sheng Wanyan’s eyes narrowed. Operating on pure instinct, she swiftly scanned the living room, gathering every single high-tech item that didn’t belong in this primitive era and vanishing them instantly into the safety of her spatial domain. There weren’t many incriminating luxuries exposed, but she made absolutely sure to cache the modern audio storytelling machine she used to play lullabies for Yi Yi.
The exact second the device disappeared into her void, the pounding at the door grew even more demanding.
Outside, a chaotic wall of overlapping voices and heavy footsteps began filtering through the walls. It was screamingly obvious that someone had deliberately tripped Gu Tingxiao up, and the fact that her husband hadn’t managed to slip back to warn her meant he hadn’t been given the opportunity. There was only one logical conclusion: Gu Tingxiao was currently being detained and investigated!
Someone on this base simply couldn’t bear to see their household thrive, and they were weaponizing the system to drag him down. As for the identity of the culprit, Sheng Wanyan already harbored a very clear suspicion.
Smoothing down her sweater, she walked over and threw the door open. Her hypothesis was proved entirely correct.
Crowding her small porch was not just Political Commissar Xie, but a massive panel of senior regiment leaders flanked by a full squad of armed soldiers. Standing right behind the vanguard, their faces twisted with malicious anticipation, were the households of Zhang Zhaodi and Liang Qian.
It was glaringly obvious that one of those two women had filed the report, and Zhang Zhaodi was by far the most likely mastermind. Liang Qian had been thoroughly terrified ever since her recent administrative lashing, and given her obsessive infatuation with Gu Tingxiao, she would never willingly orchestrate his professional downfall. Liang Qian would gladly destroy Sheng Wanyan, but she would never risk damaging the captain.
Still, these were merely her own deductions. The exact second this crisis resolved, the Gu family network would systematically unmask the true culprit.
Across the lane, the surrounding neighbors began filtering out of their cottages to see what the commotion was about. Pan Yue felt her throat tighten as she took in the armed squad. She leveled a profoundly worried, anxious look at her sister-in-law, but Sheng Wanyan simply offered a slow, deliberate shake of her head, silently communicating that everything was under absolute control.
Catching the signal, Pan Yue’s racing heart stabilized slightly. It was clear someone had targeted her sister-in-law with a malicious denunciation.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, the military command has officially processed an anonymous letter of report targeting your household,” Chief of Staff Liang delivered, stepping to the front of the porch. His face was a mask of cold, unyielding authority, and it was screamingly obvious he had been aggressively fanning the flames behind the scenes to force this raid.
“The document alleges that your family consumes premium meat on a daily basis, indulges in an explicitly luxurious lifestyle, and actively operates under capitalist pretenses. Are these accusations accurate?”
Sheng Wanyan looked at him, her expression entirely unbothered. The senior base leaders knew the true financial reality of her household better than anyone; her state bonus for the hemostatic formula alone had netted her eighty thousand yuan! The regiment command was fully aware of her wealth, yet they had still marched an armed detail to her door.
It was clear that a powerful faction at the upper levels in the capital was attempting to manufacture a crisis for the Gu family line. Having failed to dismantle the patriarchs in the Capital, they were resorting to striking at their rising star out here in the frozen borderlands.
Worse still, Chief of Staff Liang was using the anonymous report as a personal weapon. His own son had recently been passed over for a major military promotion due to his sister’s public scandals, and he clearly held a deep, burning grudge against Sheng Wanyan. Seizing this flawless opportunity for revenge, he was playing deaf and dumb, weaponizing protocol to march a raid straight into her private sanctuary. Under the strict ideological parameters of this era, the moment a formal letter of denunciation was logged, the administration was mechanically required to execute a physical house search, regardless of what the leadership privately knew to be true.
Behind the crowd, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng felt their souls nearly leave their bodies from sheer terror. In this volatile decade, an adverse report meant immediate arrest, public humiliation, and being shipped off to a grueling labor camp for ideological reformation!
“Our household expenditures operate strictly within our legal, verified financial means, Chief of Staff Liang,” Sheng Wanyan responded, her voice steady, proud, and entirely devoid of fear. “Our lifestyle bears absolutely zero resemblance to the slanderous accusations you just outlined.”
“What absolute garbage!” Zhang Zhaodi shrieked, pushing her way through the soldiers, her face contorted with spite. She was determined to ensure Sheng Wanyan didn’t slip the noose today. “Your chimney smokes with the scent of rich meat every single meal, and your porch is constantly flooded with luxury packages from the capital! Who knows what kind of black-market, shameful operations you’re running in secret?”
“On a standard captain’s stipend, your parlor sofa is stuffed with premium cotton! Eating meat three times a day is a blatant violation of proletarian values! And just look at the high-grade textiles your daughter wears—the sheer cost of her baby wardrobe and your own luxury apparel easily eclipses Captain Gu’s entire monthly stipend! You cannot explain this away!”
She had personally drafted and filed that letter of denunciation with the regiment command; there was no way she would allow Sheng Wanyan to escape ruin this time.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan,” Political Commissar Xie interjected, stepping forward to temper the hostility. “According to established protocol, we are required to cross the threshold and execute a formal search of the property. I must ask for your full cooperation.”
Even though he knew the true depth of her verified state rewards, he couldn’t bypass standard operating procedures in front of a volatile crowd; otherwise, the civilian population would accuse the command of systemic corruption and favoritism.
“Naturally, Political Commissar,” Sheng Wanyan replied smoothly, stepping aside. “Our household will always cooperate with the legitimate operations of the military. However, I expect your men to maintain strict discipline. No one is permitted to wantonly vandalize or destroy my property.”
Political Commissar Xie nodded firmly, turning to issue a sharp directive to the search team. They were commanded to handle every asset with absolute caution, executing the audit systematically and returning every single item exactly where they found it. “Rest assured, Comrade Sheng Wanyan, the men will operate with absolute discretion.”
Sheng Wanyan cleared the doorway, allowing the vanguard to file into the cottage. She calmly stepped back into the bedroom to lift the sleeping Yi Yi into her arms, keeping the infant insulated from any structural chaos.
As the soldiers began their audit, Political Commissar Xie stationed himself firmly in the center of the parlor, his sharp eyes tracking every movement to ensure no malicious actor attempted to covertly plant contraband or manufacture false evidence to frame the family.
“Wanyan… my goodness, how did this happen?” Grandma Sheng whispered, her hands trembling as she crowded near the porch.
Sheng Wanyan offered her a serene, reassuring smile. “Keep your heart at peace, Grandma. Our family operates with an absolutely clear conscience; there is nothing for them to find.”
“But sweetheart… neither your brother nor Tingxiao are anywhere to be seen,” Grandma Sheng noted, her voice dropping into a panicked whisper.
The fact that both Gu Tingxiao and Sheng Wanze were completely missing from the sector confirmed they had been systematically isolated and detained for interrogation the exact second the raid was authorized.
Pan Yue stepped onto the porch, her eyes bright with distress. “I’m so sorry, sister-in-law… our household has inadvertently brought this mess to your doorstep.”
“What on earth are you saying, Xiaoyue?” Sheng Wanyan cut her off gently. “We are family. Furthermore, I have absolute faith in our baseline.”
Though Pan Yue privately harbored a deep terror that the investigation might turn catastrophic—knowing that her husband, as Sheng Wanyan’s brother, would inevitably face professional ruin if the audit failed—she refused to waver. Her sister-in-law had always treated her household with immense generosity and kindness. She chose to trust her blindly.
“My, aren’t we performing a beautiful display of family solidarity,” Zhang Zhaodi sneered, her eyes scanning their calm expressions with deep irritation. “Enjoy the performance while it lasts. Who knows what kind of disgusting, illegal operations your elite family has been running behind closed doors?”
“Our household is currently undergoing a formal administrative audit executed by the legitimate leadership of this regiment,” Sheng Wanyan delivered, her eyes locking onto Zhang Zhaodi with absolute, freezing disdain. “It is not your station, nor do you possess the rank, to offer a single syllable of commentary in this courtyard.”
Sheng Wanyan confronted her directly, her sharp mind already validating her theory. This entire circus was Zhang Zhaodi’s petty, desperate attempt to exact vengeance for being publicly humiliated and excluded from the premium quilt allocation.
What remained to be seen was whether Captain Wu had actively assisted his wife in drafting the denunciation. The exact second this administrative crisis resolved, Gu Tingxiao would undoubtedly dismantle Captain Wu’s career piece by piece. Although the document had been submitted anonymously, a man of her husband’s tactical capability possessed a dozen different methods to unmask the true author.
“You… let’s see how long that arrogant tongue of yours lasts!” Zhang Zhaodi hissed, her face contorting with rage as she realized Sheng Wanyan still managed to project a regal, untouchable authority despite being raided.
She couldn’t wait to see the woman break. The second the military trucks arrived to haul Sheng Wanyan off to a desolate labor camp, she would personally stand at the gates to pelt her face with rotten vegetable leaves.
Chapter 331: Under Investigation
Zhang Zhaodi’s heart soared with vicious delight. Her revenge was finally playing out perfectly!
“Political Commissar! Look at this! We found foreign language books!”
A young soldier emerged from the bedroom holding several thick, foreign-language volumes—the very source materials Sheng Wanyan was translating.
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The crowd outside the door gasped, their eyes darting toward Sheng Wanyan. Foreign books?!
Could she actually be an enemy spy?
Oh my God!
Political Commissar Xie quickly snatched the books from the soldier’s hands. Seeing the dense, foreign script covering the pages, his expression darkened, and he turned a sharp, scrutinizing look toward Sheng Wanyan.
“Political Commissar, I told you so! I said Sheng Wanyan’s household was hiding shameful secrets!” Zhang Zhaodi pushed her way to the front, her voice shrill as she exaggerated the implications. “She’s practically caught red-handed!”
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan,” Political Commissar Xie asked, his tone heavy. “What exactly are these materials?”
“Commissar, those are the translation texts I am currently working on,” she answered calmly.
“Translation?”
“Yes.”
Political Commissar Xie looked at her, his expression caught somewhere between half-belief and deep suspicion. Hearing the explanation, Zhang Zhaodi immediately jumped in to fan the flames.
“Oh, what absolute nonsense! Just listen to her! Translation? I say she’s a confirmed enemy spy!” Zhang Zhaodi shrieked. “Who on earth keeps foreign language books in a proper household? If you’re going to lie, at least try to make it believable!”
“Shut your mouth!” Political Commissar Xie roared, his face turning thunderous as he glared at Zhang Zhaodi. “The military command will investigate the validity of this evidence. We absolutely do not require your uneducated commentary!”
Enemy spies? If the Gu family lineage produced enemy spies, then there wasn’t a single loyal citizen left in the entire country!
Turning back to Sheng Wanyan, he lowered his voice. “Comrade Sheng Wanyan, do you possess any official documentation to verify your claims?”
“Yes, Commissar. I hold a formal translation certification credential,” Sheng Wanyan replied smoothly. “Furthermore, I possess the physical postal receipts for my monthly royalty payouts. Our household expenditures have always operated strictly within our legitimate, verified income!”
“Go retrieve them immediately.”
Sheng Wanyan turned and gently handed little Yi Yi over to Pan Yue, who quickly hurried the infant back across the lane to the safety of the Sheng cottage. None of the armed men paid any attention to an eight-month-old baby being carried away from the scene.
Sheng Wanyan walked to her cabinet and retrieved her official translation certificate and her bound ledger of remittance receipts. When she had first accepted the high-level translation contracts, she had specifically requested the central department in the Capital to issue her a formal, stamped credential. Initially, her primary concern had been protecting Father and Mother Sheng, fearing that hostile factions might attempt to use the foreign materials to frame her parents. She never expected that the credential wouldn’t be needed in Chengdu, but would end up being her ultimate shield here in Bing City.
A cold, sarcastic smile touched her lips. Zhang Zhaodi was so profoundly selfish and vindictive that she was willing to destroy an entire family simply because she had missed out on a free quilt.
If Sheng Wanyan hadn’t possessed extraordinary capabilities and official state backing, this petty grievance would have successfully dragged her entire family down, resulting in them being shipped off to a brutal reform farm. If this had happened to an ordinary, defenseless family, the catastrophic consequences wouldn’t bear thinking about.
Sheng Wanyan found the sheer audacity of it all completely ridiculous. After all, she had essentially done the Wu family a massive favor! During the flash flood, she had formulated the tactical delay that ultimately preserved the entire compound, ensuring Zhang Zhaodi’s family survived the night. And this was how the woman chose to repay her? It was nothing short of laughable!
With a freezing expression, Sheng Wanyan handed the translation credentials and the stack of remittance receipts to Political Commissar Xie.
The senior leaders leaned in to review the documents one by one. The exact second their eyes landed on the financial figures stamped across the receipts, they physically recoiled in shock.
“The absolute lowest monthly payout here is… 1,800 yuan?” one of the officers gasped, his eyes wide.
“The highest monthly remittance on record is 6,000 yuan,” Sheng Wanyan noted coolly. “Please, Political Commissar, take your time reviewing the ledger.”
The stunned leaders frantically passed the documents over to Political Commissar Xie.
“And look at this translation credential… it’s issued directly from the central department in the Capital…”
Political Commissar Xie snatched the official certificate from the pile. The exact second his eyes registered the highly classified red seal stamped at the bottom of the document, a jolt of pure shock hit him. He practically scrambled to snatch the foreign language books back from the other officers’ hands. If these credentials were authentic, then the translation materials resting in their hands were classified state secrets!
As the financial figures echoed out to the porch, a collective, sharp gasp rippled through the crowd of military wives.
Hiss—!
Oh my God!
Sheng Wanyan pulls in that much money in a single month?!
It turned out she wasn’t just a standard housewife at all; she possessed the capability to generate massive wealth from her own living room! Earning a baseline of 1,800 yuan a month? Just how staggeringly wealthy was this woman?!
Hearing the astronomical figures, Zhang Zhaodi lunged forward, her face draining of all color as she desperately tried to peer at the receipts.
“This is impossible!” she shrieked, her voice cracking. “How could she possibly earn that kind of money in a month?!”
Zhang Zhaodi’s reality fractured. She stared at the paper, repeatedly muttering to herself in absolute disbelief. “Impossible… it’s completely impossible…”
She was utterly dumbfounded. How could Sheng Wanyan command that level of capital?
“It has to be forged! She’s faking the documents!” Zhang Zhaodi yelled, grasping at straws.
The moment she hurled the accusation, a few of the surrounding neighbors exchanged uncertain glances. After all, who on earth could legitimately earn that much money in this era? And a woman, no less!
Chief of Staff Liang’s face darkened considerably, clearly displeased that the raid was collapsing. Standing near the back, Liang Qian stared at the remittance receipts, grinding her teeth in pure, toxic envy. How could she possess this much power?!
“Whether these documents are authentic or not, the military command will thoroughly verify them!” Political Commissar Xie barked, his voice cutting through the chaos. “Furthermore, the regiment will launch a full-scale investigation to unmask the identity of the informant who drafted that letter of denunciation!”
“The command will absolutely not tolerate this kind of malicious internal sabotage!”
Political Commissar Xie was seething. He absolutely despised individuals who weaponized the anonymous reporting system to destroy their own comrades. The military abhorred such treachery! If any soldier or dependent who harbored a petty grudge could simply file a false denunciation to ruin a rival, how could the regiment possibly maintain unit cohesion? If you were willing to stab a comrade in the back over a domestic dispute, you were capable of betraying them during a live-fire mission! Both actions were absolute, unforgivable taboos within the armed forces!
Hearing that Political Commissar Xie intended to aggressively hunt down the informant, Zhang Zhaodi’s body locked up in sheer terror. She froze, not daring to meet the Commissar’s blazing eyes.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan,” Political Commissar Xie continued, his tone shifting into a rigid, formal register. “The regiment will initiate direct contact with the Capital to verify these credentials. If your documentation holds true, the command will deliver a formal, satisfactory resolution to your household. In the interim, I must ask you to accompany us and cooperate fully with the ongoing inquiry.”
Sheng Wanyan knew exactly what the “ongoing inquiry” entailed: they were aggressively interrogating Gu Tingxiao!
“Naturally. I have absolute faith that the regiment will provide a satisfactory conclusion to this farce,” Sheng Wanyan replied, her voice dripping with ice. “Though I must admit, I find the entire situation quite amusing. After all, it was my tactical planning that delayed the floodwaters and saved everyone’s lives in this compound. I certainly didn’t expect my so-called neighbors to repay that lifesaving grace with a malicious denunciation aimed at destroying my family.”
“It seems I shouldn’t dare attempt any further acts of goodwill in the future.”
The moment the words left her mouth, a profound, suffocating silence fell over the crowd. The spectators who had just harbored lingering suspicions regarding her household suddenly felt an intense, burning wave of shame wash over them. Sheng Wanyan’s words felt like a physical slap across their faces, leaving them profoundly embarrassed.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, surely you are just joking,” one of the officers muttered nervously.
“I assure you, I am not joking in the slightest,” Sheng Wanyan smiled thinly, locking eyes with Political Commissar Xie.
At that exact moment, the Political Commissar harbored a violent urge to personally strangle whoever had drafted that anonymous letter. Sheng Wanyan had made her position crystal clear: she was officially withdrawing her support. She would no longer intervene in any future crises, nor would she ever research or surrender another medical formula to the military. She had delivered a revolutionary hemostatic powder and a mass-market cold remedy, saving countless lives. And this was her reward? Being raided, humiliated, and relentlessly targeted within her own residential compound?
Human nature was truly vile. People were always eager to celebrate your kindness when they were reaping the benefits, but the moment time passed, they conveniently forgot every single grace you had shown them.
“Thank you, Political Commissar,” Sheng Wanyan said, gesturing toward the door. “Please lead the way.”
She was reminding him that it was time to escort her to the interrogation. Taking a deep, ragged breath, Political Commissar Xie had no choice but to lead her away from the cottage.
The crowd noticed how pale and grim the Commissar looked. The squad of soldiers who had executed the search kept their eyes glued to the floorboards, too ashamed to meet Sheng Wanyan’s gaze. The captain’s wife had shown their regiment nothing but immense kindness, yet they had just ransacked her home. Even though they were strictly following orders, the guilt was crushing.
Sheng Wanyan understood that the soldiers were merely executing their duty, but her expression remained completely frozen as she walked.
When they finally arrived at the interrogation sector, she was escorted into a bleak, spartan room containing nothing but a single wooden table and two stiff chairs. A panel of senior military investigators dispatched from the municipal headquarters sat waiting. It was clear that multiple factions were involved in this tribunal.
The interrogation commenced immediately, and every single question was aggressively centered on Gu Tingxiao.
“Has Captain Gu displayed any unusual or irregular behavior within your household recently?” the lead investigator asked sharply.
Sheng Wanyan let out a cold, internal sneer. She knew exactly what game they were playing. If she uttered a single ambiguous or misplaced word in this room today, she knew Gu Tingxiao would never walk out of this facility a free man.
Chapter 332: Investigation
The opposing faction was clearly trying to crush the Gu family. It was a well-calculated plot. They likely viewed the Gu family as a massive roadblock to their own ambitions, or perhaps they were trying to prevent a shift in the political landscape.
“No,” Sheng Wanyan replied smoothly. “Everything is perfectly normal.”
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, I urge you to tell the truth,” the lead investigator countered, his voice sharp. “Hiding facts will only bring harm to you.”
“We are well aware that you and Gu Tingxiao are husband and wife. But when national security is on the line, personal loyalty must take a backseat. You shouldn’t cover for him.”
“Think about the rest of your family, after all.”
Sheng Wanyan listened to the blatant threat, her expression freezing into a mask of pure disdain.
“When I say no, I mean no!” she delivered flatly.
“My husband has served in the military for a decade. He has bled and been wounded time and time again for the sake of this country!”
“His body is covered in gunshot residues and blade wounds—dozens of scars of every shape and size. Some of them look downright hideous!”
“He was out executing dangerous missions for the state even while I was heavily pregnant.”
“So I would love to ask you, Director, what dynamic or proof do you possibly possess to question the loyalty of a man like that?”
The investigator sat speechless, momentarily choked by her fierce rebuttal. Taking a deep, tense breath, he tried to lean across the table to double the psychological pressure.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, your only directive here is to answer my questions. You do not need to volunteer extraneous commentary!”
“And that is my answer! No!”
Sheng Wanyan’s tone was razor-sharp, her eyes locking onto the man without a single flicker of intimidation.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan, you must grasp the sheer gravity of this tribunal!” the investigator snapped, his patience fraying. “Do not destroy your family’s future over a standard marital attachment.”
“Let us discuss Comrade Gu Tingxiao’s physical traits. Are there any unusual, distinct markings on his body?”
“For instance… a scar of a highly specific shape or design?”
Sheng Wanyan closed her eyes, pretending to carefully recall his features. “Actually, yes.”
The lead investigator instantly sat up, hyper-alert, while one of the local officers standing watch near the back wall grew visibly tense. That officer clearly aligned with the Gu family network and was terrified she was about to inadvertently stumble into a trap.
“What is the marking?” the investigator pressed eagerly. “Describe it.”
Sheng Wanyan opened her eyes, anchoring her gaze squarely on his face as she articulated every single syllable with crystal clarity.
“There is an exceptionally distinct scar located across his abdomen.”
“What does it look like? Give us the exact geometry.”
“It’s roughly circular, explicitly jagged, and bears the heavy marks of surgical stitches.”
“Surgical stitches?”
“Yes.”
Sheng Wanyan leaned back against the stiff wooden chair, her lips curling into a mocking smile.
“What on earth is the origin of a mark like that?” the investigator demanded, leaning forward.
“He received it while executing a classified mission for his country, where a bullet nearly tore through his vitals and cost him his life!”
“You…!”
The investigator surged out of his chair, his face turning a violent shade of crimson. Was this arrogant young woman intentionally mocking the tribunal?
Behind her, the local officer let out a quiet, thoroughly relieved breath, casting a look of immense appreciation toward Sheng Wanyan.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan! Do you think this inquiry is a joke?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” she replied smoothly. “Is a scar earned through profound military merit not distinctive enough for your ledger?”
“If a marking left on a soldier’s body while defending the state doesn’t count as special in your eyes, Director, then I truly don’t know what metrics you use.”
The investigator was trembling with rage, while Sheng Wanyan simply watched the panel with cold amusement. These corrupt actors were completely unbothered by reality; as long as an accusation served their political agenda, they would happily manipulate the narrative to turn fiction into fact. True military merit and lifelong sacrifices meant absolutely nothing to them; they wouldn’t hesitate to weaponize a hero’s lifework to confuse right and wrong. It was utterly farcical.
“Comrade Sheng Wanyan! Are you completely blind to the safety of your relatives?”
“Director, every single word I have volunteered in this room is the absolute truth!” she countered, her voice dropping into a commanding register. “How is it that my absolute honesty leaves you so thoroughly dissatisfied?”
Sheng Wanyan shifted her posture, straightening her spine and leaning over the wooden table, her hands flat against the surface.
“Or perhaps, Director… you already have a pre-written script you are trying to force me to recite?”
“You…”
The lead investigator ground his teeth so hard they practically itched, but faced with her flawless documentation and sharp tongue, he was completely powerless to break her down.
“A slick, defiant tongue,” he muttered, trying to salvage his dignity.
Sheng Wanyan simply offered a polite, chilly smile. Having a sharp tongue is infinitely superior to acting like a pack of bureaucratic wolves trying to destroy an officer for personal gain!
Realizing they couldn’t extract a single piece of leverage from her, she settled in comfortably. She was in absolutely no rush to leave; the party locked in an anxious panic certainly wasn’t her.
By the time the agonizingly slow afternoon officially concluded, Sheng Wanyan hadn’t surrendered a single useful syllable to their log. Left with zero legal pretext to detain her further, the municipal panel had no choice but to authorize her release.
The moment she stepped into the corridor, she immediately ran into Gu Tingxiao and Sheng Wanze, who were also being escorted out.
Tsk… she mused silently. It appeared the faction attempting to crush the Gu family possessed remarkably short claws. They couldn’t even maintain a lockdown for a full twenty-four hours.
Gu Tingxiao strode forward, his imposing form casting a long shadow over the municipal investigators who had spent the afternoon interrogating his wife. He didn’t utter a single threat, merely pinning them with a lethal, silent glare.
“I trust you will log the baseline facts with absolute precision when you report back to the city headquarters,” Gu Tingxiao delivered coldly.
Without waiting for a response, he clasped Sheng Wanyan’s hand and guided her out of the facility, leaving the lead investigator absolutely livid. The city director’s hands shook with unadulterated fury; he had spent an entire day deploying his best psychological tactics, only to walk away with an empty ledger. Instead of dismantling the target, the circus had only proven the Gu family’s absolute, bulletproof integrity!
As they walked down the snow-packed path toward the residential blocks, Gu Tingxiao squeezed her fingers tightly within his palm.
“Wanyan, I am profoundly sorry for dragging you into this political mess,” he murmured, his voice thick with uncharacteristic vulnerability. “Were you terrified this afternoon? You’ve suffered an immense injustice because of my uniform.”
Throughout his own intense interrogation, Gu Tingxiao hadn’t manifested a single drop of personal anxiety; he was a hardened soldier who knew how to handle a tactical ambush. But the exact second he realized the investigators had dragged his wife into the cells, a deep, suffocating panic had locked around his chest. He knew with absolute certainty that a hostile faction was hunting his lineage, and while his own conscience was completely clear, he was terrified of the unpredictable variable of political warfare. He was terrified that his brilliant wife would be broken or marginalized simply because she carried his name.
“What on earth are you talking about?” she interrupted gently, looking up at him. “We are husband and wife. We operate as a single, impenetrable unit.”
Sheng Wanze trudged a few paces behind them, staring at the intertwined couple with an expression of pure, exasperated disbelief. Did absolutely nobody care about his existence? Was he just a massive, invisible bystander in this romance?!
The moment they cleared the cottage gates, Sheng Wanyan ran straight across the lane to collect little Yi Yi and bring her back to her own parlor.
“Are you all truly unharmed?”
Grandpa Sheng, Grandma Sheng, and Pan Yue practically lunged through the doorway to check their frames. They knew with absolute clarity that if Gu Tingxiao fell from grace, the shockwaves would systematically dismantle three separate family trees. The Gu lineage, the Sheng lineage, and the Pan lineage would all be crushed under the administrative fallout; the final consequences would be catastrophic. They had spent the entire afternoon paralyzed with fear, breathing a collective sigh of relief only when the trio finally materialized on the lane.
“Everything is perfectly fine, Grandpa, Grandma,” Sheng Wanyan reassured them, settling the baby into her arms. “Please set your hearts at ease.”
The elders let out a long, ragged breath, color finally returning to their pale cheeks. The sheer terror of the morning raid had nearly triggered a cardiovascular crisis for both of them.
“Thank heaven… thank heaven,” Grandma Sheng whispered, repeatedly patting her chest to stabilize her rhythm. “This day nearly shattered our entire household into pieces. It was truly horrifying.”
Her relief rapidly shifted into a burning, defensive anger. “Which vile, wicked creature on this base had the sheer audacity to file that slanderous report?”
“Do not burden your mind with the identity of the informant, Grandpa,” Gu Tingxiao interjected, his voice dropping into a low, terrifyingly steady frequency. “I will personally handle the resolution.”
The anonymous actor had deliberately attempted to destroy his wife and daughter; there was absolutely no universe where he would allow the culprit to remain standing.
Hearing the lethal certainty in his tone, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng knew the captain had already finalized his counter-offensive. The younger generation possessed their own advanced methods of warfare, and the elders had zero intention of lagging behind or offering useless interference.
“We won’t meddle in your tactical arrangements, young man,” Grandpa Sheng noted solemnly. “But you must ensure you do not cross into operational danger.”
“We will be careful, Grandma,” Sheng Wanyan promised.
Following the thrilling, high-stakes day, the young couple spent an hour soothing the lingering anxieties of the elderly patriarchs before finally carrying little Yi Yi back to the sanctuary of their own cottage.
The military command’s validation of Sheng Wanyan’s high-level translation credentials had hit the administrative sectors like a lightning bolt. Early the following morning, Political Commissar Xie personally marched to her porch, personally returning every single foreign language book and document his men had seized during the raid.
The Commissar looked exceptionally haggard, his mind still reeling from the absolute administrative nightmare he had navigated over the phone lines last night. The moment he had called the capital to verify the seals on her certificate, a succession of high-ranking central directors had thoroughly scorched him over the wires.
Even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had intervened directly, issuing a blistering reprimand, stating that Comrade Sheng Wanyan was a rare, invaluable linguistic asset to the state. They demanded her immediate, unconditional release from the inquiry. Furthermore, the Gu family network wasn’t the only power structure screaming for her safety; a succession of other massive political titans in the Capital had flooded his office lines with furious inquiries.
Political Commissar Xie had been scared completely out of his wits, especially when the executive board of the national Academy of Sciences called to aggressively demand a status report. They informed him in no uncertain terms that every single manuscript resting in Sheng Wanyan’s parlor was classified data being processed directly for the state’s primary scientific advancement.
The Political Commissar had spent the last twelve hours being systematically reamed out by every powerful department in the country. At the end of the day, he was just as much a victim of this anonymous idiot as she was!
