"Xiao Yao, do you know what you"re talking about?"
Old Madam Xiao"s face lost all color in an instant. She staggered a step forward, barely managing to hold on to the sofa to stabilize her body.
Xiao Yao"s eyes stared unblinkingly at the furious Old Lady Xiao as he solemnly said, "I"ve seen that child from thirty-two years ago."
Old Madam Xiao"s pupils contracted as her voice choked in her throat.
Xiao Yao continued, "That is a very adorable child. Unfortunately, her health is not good, and she was born in the hospital. I let the attending physician recklessly protect her life, but that child was fortunate, and I only hugged her once. Only once did her small body leave her mother on the second day of her birth, and from when she was young until now, she had never taken a single sip of her mother"s water."
Only about five kilos when he died. "
"You —"
"Later on, when Xiao Jing was born, I went to protect her in the mood of redemption, she was like a child that had suffered a miserable fate. Our Xiao family"s appearance has been limitless for dozens of years, but inside we are dirty and embarra.s.sed. You said that Xiao Jing destroyed our heroic soul, but you"re wrong, the one who deserves to die is me."
Old Madam Xiao clenched her hands tightly as she stared fixedly at her aging son.
Xiao Yao kneeled straight on the ground, "It is my fault. I have done wrong to Xue Rou, I have done wrong to Qin Ran, and I have done even worse to the children."
Old Madam Xiao pounded the sofa with all her might. "No, you"re not wrong. I"m not wrong. It"s the vanity of both mother and daughter that"s at fault. It"s for marrying into our Xiao family."
"If she didn"t meet me, Qin Ran might have married a businessman. She was sensible, beautiful and dignified, and she didn"t worry about bad families. I was the one who hurt her, I was the one who insisted on taking responsibility, and it was also my fault if I didn"t ask them for more than twenty years."
"Xiao Yao, shut up!"
"Father."
Xiao Qing took a step back. When he saw the man with a gun on his temple, he hurriedly retreated.
Old Madam Xiao panicked and hurriedly said, "Child, don"t be rash. Put down the gun."
"Mother, did I ask the child to resent me?"
She said no, but I couldn"t help it. All these years of memories were like sea beasts that made me feel bad for my ancestors. You want an explanation, don"t you?
I"ll give you that today. "
"Don"t."
Old Madam Xiao grabbed his hand. "I promise you, I promise you everything. Put down the spear. Quickly, put down the spear."
"Mother, I am trying my best to be a good son to you, but I have never thought of being a competent father. The child who died in my arms, the child who would hide in the corner and only watch me from afar, I have no way to face him."
"It"s my mother"s fault. It"s my fault for being so selfish. I shouldn"t have acted so arrogantly. I shouldn"t have forced you to give up on your child. It"s my mother"s fault."
I hope that you can also respect me. No matter what Xiao Jing has done, she is still my child. It is my fault for treating them so shamelessly.
"Yes, I won"t say anymore, I won"t say anything else."
Old Madam Xiao pulled away the spear in his hand and sat on the ground powerlessly.
Xiao named hurriedly removed the bullets from the gun.
"You guys go out first, let me talk to the madame alone."
Xiao Yao stood up, his back facing all the children.
The noisy living room suddenly became quiet.
Old Madam Xiao staggered back to the sofa, her hands trembling with excitement.
"Mother, you should stay in River City for a while. I will come to pick you up after we"re done here."
Xiao Qing continued to maintain her original intention.
Old Madam Xiao turned her head and did not look at him. "What do you want to deal with?"
"Is it her or me?"
"Mother, it was your son"s fault from the start. That"s right, Qin Ran, Xiao Jing wasn"t at fault. I just wanted to make up for all the guilt I felt towards them over the years. Who knows, I might die on the battlefield someday …"
"Don"t talk nonsense."
Old Madam Xiao"s eyes reddened. "You can"t curse yourself like that."
"If I say it, I don"t want to sleep with guilt. I can only try my best to do what I can in my lifetime."
"How can you not understand? How can you be so stupid?"
"They are doing this to discredit the heroic souls of our Xiao family. Child, although mother was harsh on them a few years ago, this is not an excuse for them to lie. Yet, they went all out again and again, tricking everyone into going to the army camp."
"She went to the army camp because she had no other choice. It was you who forcefully ordered Xiao Jing to join the army."
"I didn"t want her to enter the army camp, but as a man of the Xiao family, five years is a must, so I gave up on the best time to stop her."
"Dumb, daft."
Old Madam Xiao patted his back. "How can you be so stupid as to allow them to deceive you?"
"So it"s my fault no matter what."
Old Madam Xiao clenched her hands tightly. "Send them away."
"Mother, they have already lived in Cangshan for over twenty years. Even if she runs wild, it"s still my legal wife. It"s time to recover their status."
"So you insist on sending me away?"
Old Madam Xiao gritted her teeth. "I am your mother."
"Yes, twenty years ago, you used your mother"s ident.i.ty to force me to give up on them. After twenty years, you still used this ident.i.ty to force me. Mother, I am not only your child, but also your husband and father."
"I won"t admit that they are the children of our Xiao family."
"It doesn"t matter if you don"t admit it, I admit it."
Xiao Yao stood up and took a deep breath, "The carriage has already been arranged. I"ll have someone help you pack some things. After lunch, you can set off."
"Xiao Yao!"
Old Madam Xiao slammed her hands on the table and rose to her feet. When she saw her son"s determined gaze, the calmness on her face gradually collapsed.
Xiao Yao stood up straight and saluted, "I will go up to see Qin Ran, you should rest for a while."
"Stop."
Old Madam Xiao staggered a step forward. "You really want to send your mother away?"
"Mother, I will pick you up in a few days."
Before he could finish his words, Xiao Yao strode up to the second floor like a shooting star.
The cold wind covered the heating in the hall, blowing the people away.
Old Madam Xiao stood alone in the middle of the living room. The huge Xiao family and the dazzling Xiao family were currently desolate in her eyes.
Her hard-working son and grandson seemed to abandon her all at once. She was the clan head of the Xiao family, but she had become the target of public criticism.
"Lordmaster, take a look at the spirit in heaven. This is the Xiao family you left me."
The old mistress raised her head and laughed loudly before lying flat on the sofa.
"Grand Mistress, Grand Mistress."
The steward led a group of servants in impatiently. All of them looked at the old mistress, whose face was ashen and unmoving, as they hurriedly looked for medicine and doctors.
The entire Xiao family was in a mess.
Xiao Yao stood outside the door to the second floor and did not move.
Xiao Jing stood in the room and listened to the footsteps coming to a halt outside the door. She also did not move.
Qin Ran had already fainted. Although the wound on her back had stopped the bleeding, the wounds caused by the blood and gore could be split open along with her shallow breathing. From time to time, a little bit of blood would flow out.
Xiao Yao raised his hand and was about to knock on the door when it opened from the inside.
Xiao Jing stood in front of the door, looking at each other. She said, "Mom is asleep. Can we talk about it later?"
"I want to talk to you alone."
Xiao Yao walked towards another guest room.
Xiao Jing followed him into the room, and she closed the door.
Xiao Yao stood in front of the window, looking down at the kids smoking in the courtyard. He closed the window.
Xiao Jing stood two meters away from him, lowering her head in silence.
"I didn"t expect that the old lady would notice this so quickly. Perhaps I was too quick to bring your mother back to the Xiao family, causing her to start paying attention to you. I was too careless."
Xiao Yao"s voice was hoa.r.s.e, as if every word he spoke carried a heavy burden.
"This was originally my mother and I"s fault. You can punish us however you wish."
"Why would I punish my child?"
Xiao Yao turned around and looked at her with a serious expression once again.
Xiao Jing turned her body to the side and looked at him. She was clearly a little proud of herself and didn"t want to look at him.
Xiao Yao stepped forward and stubbornly made her look at him.
Xiao Jing once again turned her head, not saying anything.
Xiao Yao moved on to the other side, stubbornly allowing her own figure to be reflected in her eyes.
Xiao Jing gave up. She looked at him and said, "If you don"t have anything else to say, I will leave first."
Xiao Yao grabbed her hand, unable to speak.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
Xiao Jing retracted her hand as if she had been electrocuted.
You are my child, and no matter what, I will not give up on my child. Even if the old mistress intends to report this to the military, I will suppress this matter.
"Got it."
Xiao Jing buried her head and prepared to leave.
"Xiao Jing."
Xiao Yao called out softly, "Can you not hold a grudge against Father?"
"I don"t hate you."
"Do you seem to forgive me?"
You don"t even look at me? "
Xiao Jing lowered her head, there were two shadows on the ground, her two hands on her sides involuntarily clenched into fists, she said, "How could I dare to hate you, you are the grand imperial marshal, I am only a small soldier, no matter whether it is status or power, I cannot bear to hate the father of a commander, this is disloyal and unjust."
Xiao Yao strode forward, blocking her path. "What are you talking about?"
"How dare I say such a thing to you?"
Xiao Jing turned around, her back facing him.
Xiao Yao sighed, "You"re still not willing to speak to me properly?"
"How can I not talk to you?"
Xiao Jing lowered her head, but she didn"t look up.
Xiao Yao once again walked in front of her and intentionally lowered her head. However, the child stubbornly turned his head away, like a proud little tiger. The claws of a tiger were sharp, but it only dared to dig at the ground.
"Captain"s been waiting long enough. I"m going back to the barracks."
Xiao Jing wanted to leave, but she only took two steps before a figure pounced towards her. Before she could react, her body suddenly spun in a 360 degree spin.
Xiao Yao hugged his proud little tiger and smoothed his fur, "Father really likes Xiao Jing, I never thought of hurting you like this. I thought letting you go would make you less burdensome, but I didn"t think that it would be the opposite. Instead, I made you humble for twenty-five years. I"m sorry, my child."
Xiao Jing was stunned. The man"s shoulders were somewhat broad. They were like a mountain as they pressed down on her, making it difficult for her to move a single inch.
Xiao Yao let go of her and seriously looked at this child that resembled him. "Go."
Xiao Jing hesitantly turned around, but after taking two steps, she was stopped by the people behind her.
Xiao Yao continued, "The relations.h.i.+p between you and Shen Chengfeng may be fair, but you are still in the nick of time. There are some things you need to know before you know it. Do you understand?"
Xiao Jing embarra.s.sedly nodded, "I know the severity."
"I understand things like men. Although I said I don"t want it, I just want to capture it. You"d better stay away from it."
"Captain isn"t that kind of person, I"m very relieved."
Xiao Jing unlocked the door.
"I know better than you who Shen Chengfeng is."
Xiao Yao took two steps forward. "If I really, really reach that step, I will … I will personally go to the Shen family … …"
"Propose marriage."
"…"
Xiao Jing almost ran away.
Xiao Yao couldn"t help but sigh. How could he be able to see through that b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s scheme just by looking like that?
Inside the room, there was a faint fragrance of jasmine that lingered in the air.
The drowsy figure on the bed frowned uncontrollably. Following that, the pain became so intense that he could not help but mumble under his breath.
When Xiao Yao heard the voice, she instinctively raised her head and happened to look at Qin Ran who had just woken up. Her eyes were still filled with mist and she should still be at a loss.
About half a minute later, Qin Ran finally woke up. She saw Xiao Yao sitting on the sofa, flipping through some doc.u.ments and wanted to sit up.
"Don"t move."
Xiao Yao stood in front of her, pressing down on her body. "I just finished treating my wounds, don"t open them again."
Qin Ran became even more ashamed. He lowered his head, full of self-reproach, "Old master, it"s my fault. The whole thing was caused by me. Please don"t punish her."
"Did I ever say I was going to blame you?"
Xiao Yao sat in front of her and said, "You should recuperate properly. There"s no need to think too much about it."
"Old master..."
"The old mistress went to River City today. You will be needed to take care of everyone in the Xiao family during this period of time, so please recover as soon as possible. Don"t think too much about the rest."
Qin Ran was surprised, but he ignored the wound on his back and stubbornly sat up, "What do you mean by that?"
"How can you let the madame —"
"Qin Ran, I may not have been a proper husband before, but I will try my best to make up for these years in the future. The madame has been working too hard and it is time to take care of the Xiao family"s affairs."
"Master, how … how could I … I am a sinner."
"It"s not right or wrong."
"The child has also grown up. No matter what you concealed back then, everything has already become a mistake. Right now, we are not thinking of accusing anyone of being right or wrong, but of making up for this mistake. Xiao Jing"s current military position is that of a lieutenant colonel, if there is any news of her ident.i.ty being different, then we will lose our military exploits, and even our freedom will be lost."
Qin Ran"s heart skipped a beat. "What crime has Master committed against me?"
Originally, she spent these five years with the 525 team as her proper grades, and after that, I could find an opportunity to erase her military exploits, as if these five years were an interns.h.i.+p. I never thought that in the end, she would go to Iron Eagle, and with her ability, I thought that it would be impossible for her to successfully stay in the Special Forces.
"Is there nothing that old master can do?"
He wanted to say that it was fine for her to pa.s.s the a.s.sessment, but he could also get her out of the Iron Eagle Squad, so why did she have such a coincidental love for Shen Chengfeng?
Now, if he wanted to get her out of the Iron Eagle, it would be as difficult as climbing the sky.
Since they had no other choice but to secretly take her away, they could only think of all sorts of ways to make her achieve military exploits. If they had enough military exploits, they wouldn"t dare to rashly s.n.a.t.c.h a general"s exploits even if the old men had complaints in their hearts.
However, military merits were not something that could be obtained for no reason.
Qin Ran saw that he was silent, and his heart lost all composure. He hurriedly said, "Could it be that old master gave up on her just like that?"
"There will always be a way out of here. I will think of a way. You just need to recuperate properly."
Xiao Yao lifted the blanket and indicated for her to lie down.
Qin Ran originally wanted to ask more, but she didn"t dare to question the person in front of her. That was the faith in her heart. Even if he said that there were people in heaven, there were people in heaven.
"I"ll go see the children. You can get some sleep."
Xiao Yao tucked in his blanket and got up to leave the guest room.
In the courtyard, the cold wind was blowing. Although the sunlight was brilliant, it still could not stop the cold east wind.
Shen Chengfeng stood there and looked at the falling leaves on the ground and said coldly, "If you have anything to say, you three brothers have been surrounding me for half an hour."
The wound on Xiao Ying"s head had yet to be treated, yet he was still standing at the spot closest to Shen Chengfeng. Honestly speaking, with those sinister eyes of his, it was rather terrifying.
Overstatement --
Say it again. All the groups have been disbanded. Babies don"t have to add any more groups. Love you.