Chapter 87: Confrontation Over the Report

Meeting Song Qingfeng’s gaze, Yuan Tianqing felt her heart inexplicably flutter. She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but it seemed as though his eyes were scrutinizing her, though she had no idea what prompted such appraisal.

She had been personally mentored by Zuo Lan. Though she had never been particularly close with the Song family, their relationship had always been cordial. She had dined at the Songs’ home with Hou Manling and spoken with Song Qingfeng before. Song Qingfeng, though not prone to smiling, had always shown respect to those of them working in medicine.

But this was the first time Yuan Tianqing saw such an expression on his face—a look as if he were judging an enemy.

Pressing her lips together, she withdrew her gaze. Before she could speak, Hou Manling, unable to contain herself any longer, mustered her courage and spoke up.

Hou Manling couldn’t stand how the Song family seemed so intent on protecting Zhong Xiao. It made her seethe with jealousy.

She said, “Commander Song, Director Zuo, I know you’ve both been deceived by Zhong Xiao’s harmless appearance, but the truth is, she’s been using you, taking advantage of your kindness!”

“We aren’t making baseless accusations—we have real evidence!”

“Where is the evidence?!”

The sudden roar startled everyone in the room. It wasn’t Song Qingfeng who had spoken, but rather another man who had just entered from the hallway.

Everyone turned to see Qin Dezheng, his temples streaked with white, eyes wide and fierce as he strode into the office, directing his harsh question at Hou Manling.

“Young lady, instead of learning proper conduct, you’re resorting to these underhanded tricks. I want to see what evidence you have to prove Xiao Xiao is an enemy agent!”

“If you can’t prove it, you’ll be out of the military hospital tomorrow! We don’t need a nurse who twists right and wrong, who can’t focus on healing the sick but instead spends her days scheming. How can such a person be trusted to save lives?!”

Hou Manling’s face flushed bright red at his words.

With everyone’s eyes upon her, Hou Manling chose to go all in. She threw a leather pouch onto Liu Guangmin’s desk and raised her hand.

“This is the evidence that proves Zhong Xiao is an enemy agent! Everyone in the Zhong family has already been exiled to the countryside. Why is it that only Zhong Xiao managed to walk away unscathed? The Zhong family was a well-known capitalist clan in Yuecheng, and she, their pampered heiress. So why is she now living comfortably in the military district, even staying at Commander Song’s home?!”

“This is not fair!”

All eyes fell on the leather pouch Hou Manling had just thrown onto the desk.

She had already examined the contents; there would be no mistake. The package had been sent from Yuecheng, the investigation conducted by a friend of Yuan Tianqing’s there.

The newspapers inside spelled it out in black and white: the entire Zhong family had been exiled. The family’s patriarch, Du Huacheng, and his wife, Yang Yuehe, had died in a quarrel at the train station while being transported away.

The Zhou family, related by marriage, were implicated as well: their eldest son Zhou Yongxin sent into exile, and the rest sentenced to labor camps of two to five years.

The Zhong family’s second daughter, Du Yinger, had been exiled to the harsh wilderness of the North for adultery. The two youngest sons, left without guardians, were sent to the Yuecheng orphanage, which refused them and passed them on to the authorities—their whereabouts now unknown.

Hou Manling spread these clippings out for all to see.

“The Zhong family—dead, injured, exiled. Only Zhong Xiao escaped unscathed, fleeing to Taizhou Island before disaster struck. She’s a fugitive on the run!”

“A pampered capitalist heiress like her wouldn’t come to a tough place like our military district unless she had ulterior motives! Even if she doesn’t, the fact that she’s on the run is beyond dispute!”

“And how is it that, when the whole Zhong family was taken down, she alone managed to flee? Someone must have warned her in advance. Who could have done that? Obviously, she has powerful backers!”

“All this evidence points to one thing: Zhong Xiao is either an enemy agent, a fugitive, or a capitalist hiding from retribution. Whichever way you look at it, there’s nothing good about her!”

“Commander Song, Director Zuo,” Hou Manling cried hoarsely, “don’t let yourselves be fooled by Zhong Xiao! She’s not to be trusted—she absolutely cannot remain in the military district!”

—

Hou Manling’s righteous speech, coupled with the stark headlines, left the others in the office visibly shaken, their expressions growing grave.

Even Liu Guangmin frowned as he picked up a newspaper and read it carefully.

The most damning article detailed how Du Huacheng, former head of the Zhong family, was exiled for hoarding gold and theft, dying in an altercation at the train station.

As Du Huacheng’s daughter, Zhong Xiao’s background alone was enough to burden her with shame for the rest of her life.

And yet, not only was she unscathed, she had appeared in the military district, carrying a letter of introduction from within.

Her arrival coincided precisely with the Zhong family’s downfall.

It was hard not to suspect, as Hou Manling had said, that someone had tipped her off, allowing her to escape in time.

“Comrade Hou Manling is not wrong, and moreover—”

Suddenly, Yuan Tianqing’s calm voice rose from the crowd. In contrast to Hou Manling’s agitation, Yuan Tianqing spoke with composure and clarity.

She said, “Moreover, I have friends in Yuecheng who informed me that the Zhong family estate has been taken over by the Yuecheng People’s Hospital as a temporary dormitory.”

“Presumably, after the Zhong family was purged and their assets confiscated, the hospital appropriated their home.”

“This proves the Zhong family was indeed purged. So as the eldest daughter, Zhong Xiao—Comrade Zhong Xiao—has even less reason to be here, does she not?”

With that, Yuan Tianqing fixed Zhong Xiao with a calm, assessing gaze.

Zhong Xiao met her eyes.

For a moment, the office was silent.

Then, from within the crowd, a low, steady, magnetic voice spoke—not loud, but clear and authoritative.

“Zhong Xiao’s letter of introduction—was from me.”

Everyone turned toward the door.

Standing there, silent until now, was Song Tingshen.