In the hospital, the sound of footsteps could be heard pacing back and forth.

Xiao Yao stood alone in front of the operation room, looking at the glaring red light. Both of his hands were placed on his forehead, looking exhausted.

Comrade Adjutant brought his coat and draped it over his shoulder.

Xiao Yao looked at the blood on his hands, blaming himself: "Am I not a failed husband?"

The aide was silent. He didn"t want to lie, but he was afraid the truth would hurt.

Xiao Yao turned his head and looked at him, "Do you also think so?"

The aide said, "Sir, I know about your predicament. I know what you"re afraid of, afraid that after a hundred years, you won"t be able to face the old leader who has sacrificed his life for the country, but you feel that you"ve let down your conscience. Madam is a good woman, she has always been right behind you and has never asked for anything from you, the only mistake she has ever made is to conceal the ident.i.ty of the fourth miss.

"I thought these things could be avoided if I let my mother go to River City, but I forgot that my mother has been strong for decades. How could she be willing to leave just like that? It was my dereliction of duty."

"Sir, the madame found it hard to accept. After all, we did not inform her beforehand."

"Don"t tell the child about this first. I"m afraid she won"t be able to take the excitement."

"I"ll keep the hospital quiet."

Xiao Yao leaned back in his chair and looked at the red light alone. His heart was in turmoil and he felt extremely helpless.

The Xiao family"s mansion was still brightly lit in the early hours of the morning.

Old Mistress Xiao had been sitting on the sofa the entire time. The living room had already been cleaned up, but the smell of blood still lingered in the room.

Xiao Yu walked past the courtyard. Upon entering the hall, he could smell the faintly discernible smell of blood. Furthermore, when he saw the unshakable old mistress on the sofa, his brows knitted together.

Old Mistress Xiao looked towards the entrance as she heard the voice. The light from the lamp shone on her face, causing her to sigh that her home had become a stranger to her.

Xiao Ming walked up and whispered, "Grandmother, why have you come back?"

Old Madam Xiao rubbed her tired eyes, "Even you don"t want to see me anymore?"

"Grandma, I just didn"t expect that you would suddenly come back. Why is the house so quiet?"

"Xiao Ming, you are my most proud grandson. I always thought that you valued the big picture in front of you. I never expected you to disappoint me like this."

"Grandma, in military terms, I"m still your proud grandson. It"s just that in our family, you think that I"ve betrayed you, but in reality, I"ve only said what I"ve always wanted to say. It"s not that I"ve betrayed you, but you"re too extreme."

"No, no, no, it"s not me, it"s you two! You"ve been bewitched by them, mother and daughter! I already knew that Qin Ran can"t stay, and Xiao Jing can"t come back, so their existence is a stain on our Xiao family. Look at how innocent our Xiao family is!"

"Grandma, they weren"t wrong in this matter."

"Is that my fault?" Old Madam Xiao stood up, her legs somewhat stiff from sitting for so long.

Xiao Ming fell silent.

Old Madam Xiao smiled sorrowfully, "Good, good, good. So that"s what you"re thinking in your heart. So it turns out that I"m the culprit in your heart."

"Dong, dong, dong." The sound of hurried footsteps came from the courtyard.

Xiao Ming retreated to the side and looked at his father who had returned late. He immediately saw the blood that seemed to have already scabbed over his body. He asked in astonishment, "Father, what"s wrong?"

Xiao Yao"s eyes turned red, it was obvious that he had been crying.

Old Madam Xiao"s heart skipped a beat. She also felt a little uneasy and wanted to sit down. However, her own pride did not allow her to show any sign of weakness.

Xiao Yao walked forward with heavy steps and clenched his fists to defend against the anger in his heart.

Old Mistress Xiao said forcefully, "Did she put on another painful act in front of you?"

"Mother, she is blind in one eye now. You are satisfied with her blindness." The moment Xiao Yao shouted, the entire Xiao family reverberated with his voice.

Old Mistress Xiao turned her head in astonishment, "Impossible, she must have colluded with the doctor on purpose, I did not hurt her eyes."

Xiao Yao clenched his teeth and growled word by word, "Mother, I betrayed my duty to make you happy. This is my filial piety."

"Xiao Yao, are you questioning your mother?"

Xiao Yao raised his hand, "Mother, don"t say anything else. "Someone, come."

A group of guards stood in two rows outside the door.

"Send the madame back. From today onwards, mother, you will remain in River City. If there"s anything I can do for you, I will visit you."

"Xiao Yao, are … are you trying to imprison your mother?"

"No, I just want to let the Xiao family rest for a while. Please leave."

"Xiao Yao, are you giving up on your mother?" Old Mistress Xiao expressionlessly stared at the guards and reprimanded them.

There was a trace of unspeakable despair in Xiao Yao"s voice as he said: "It was you who forced me to give up. My past filial piety caused my entire family to be restless. Actually, I was even more wrong. I was even more ridiculous than you were wrong."

The huge living room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Old Madam Xiao"s entire body started to tremble violently. He could tell from his son"s eyes that he was giving up. He would definitely give up and would never follow her words again.

Xiao Yao glanced at the guard in the lead, "Send the old lady back."

"I"m not leaving!" Old Madam Xiao roared, "If I leave now, the Xiao family will be destroyed."

"Send the madame away." Without a doubt, Xiao Yao gave the order.

The scenery in front of her eyes blurred for a moment, and she seemed to see multiple figures pouncing towards her. She opened her arms to try and grab them, but in the end, they simply fell to the ground.

BOOM! The old mistress" fall had rendered everyone unable to move.

Drip, drip.

The sound of flowing water lingered in the room.

The morning sunlight gently fell on the carpet from the window. The person sleeping on the bed slowly opened one eye.

Qin Ran"s left eye was wrapped in gauze, and her entire face was covered except for her right eye and her mouth and nose.

Xiao Jing heard the sound coming from the headboard and stopped pouring water.

Qin Ran felt that someone was getting close to her in a daze, but she was in a lot of pain. Her entire face couldn"t stop the burning pain as she subconsciously wanted to grab that person.

Xiao Jing quickly grabbed her hand to comfort her, "Mom, you"re awake?"

Qin Ran heard the familiar voice and tilted her head to the right. The child"s facial features were coming closer and closer. Her face was pale, as if she hadn"t had a good rest.

Xiao Jing squatted beside the bed and tightly held her hand. "Don"t worry. The operation was very successful."

Qin Ran understood the meaning behind her words. The scene from before clearly echoed in her mind. Something had entered her eyes, and something had cut her flesh. Warm liquid rushed through her fingers and seeped out. Her face seemed to be ruined.

Probably because she was nervous, Qin Ran felt an intense pain on her face as her body instinctively struggled.

Xiao Jing pressed down on her trembling body and said, "Mom is fine. Everything will be fine. Wait a while and everything will be fine."

Qin Ran touched her face and said in panic: "Little Jing, is my face ruined? And my eyes? How come I only have one eye?"

"It"s fine. That eye is injured. The doctor said that we can just wait for the st.i.tches to be removed." Xiao Jing carefully took her hand, "Mom, don"t be afraid. It will be fine. It will be fine."

Qin Ran stopped trembling and stared blankly at the ceiling, "Is my eye blind?"

Xiao Jing bit her lower lip as if she had a lump in her throat. She couldn"t find an excuse to hide this fact.

A warm liquid flowed out from the corner of Qin Ran"s eyes and silently hid into her hair. She then closed her eyes.

"Mom, you can"t cry." Xiao Jing hastily wiped her tears. "It"s alright. With my current medical skills, I will definitely recover."

"Mom is already old, so I don"t want this face, but I want my eyes. I want to see my children happily getting married, my grandson healthy and healthy, and the way they look when they are begging for candy in front of me."

"Mom, it"s fine. She"ll recover, she"ll be fine. The doctor said that she only injured her cornea, so we can determine if there"s a problem after removing the thread."

Qin Ran hastily held Xiao Jing"s face and whispered, "Mom is fine now, don"t cry. You are still carrying a child right now, so you can"t be provoked. Don"t cry. I still have one eye. Mom can look at you all."

Xiao Jing wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. "I didn"t cry. Mom, I"m fine."

Qin Ran weakly closed her eyes, "Sorry, my child."

Xiao Jing squatted beside the bed and tightly held her mother"s hand. Her palm was as cold as it used to be. It was so cold that it didn"t seem to warm up anymore.

"Knock, knock, knock." Shen Chengfeng knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered.

He entered the room with his breakfast.

Xiao Jing stood up from the bed. She hadn"t slept the entire night, so she couldn"t help but sway a little.

Shen Chengfeng quickly hugged her body, and asked with a frown: "Can you still hold on?"

Xiao Jing looked at the current situation, where she had fainted yet again, and nodded her head inconspicuously. "I"m a little hungry."

Shen Chengfeng opened his porridge bowl, scooped up a spoonful and placed it next to her mouth, "Eat something and sleep for a while, I will watch over here for you."

Xiao Jing"s eyes reddened. "Captain, I sometimes wonder why the madame doesn"t like us." Is it because of my grandfather and the others? This doesn"t seem to be a reason. With the Xiao family"s glory, they don"t need to rely on marriage to become the next head. Then, why did she hurt my mother like this? "

Shen Chengfeng stopped moving, but after a few seconds, he continued to scoop the porridge, "Does Xiao Jing still believe what I just said?"

"The captain is right in my eyes." Xiao Jing nodded without hesitation.

Shen Chengfeng rubbed her head, then said: "If someone feels that you are right, then you might be wrong, but everyone thinks that you are right, then you must be right. If there is someone in this group that says that you are wrong, then that person is wrong."

"Captain, you seem to have forcefully brought a reason to convince me."

"You think I"m wrong?"

Xiao Jing shook her head, trying very hard to do so. "Even if you say that the heavens are broken, I still think that the heavens are broken."

"Idiot, hurry up and eat something. After you finish eating, sleep for a while. Don"t let your mother worry about you after she wakes up."

Xiao Jing did her best to swallow the rice in her mouth and would occasionally scoop a spoonful of it towards his mouth.

The sun shone brightly outside the window, and the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard from the corridor.

Xiao Yuan walked out of the ward and stopped when he saw who it was.

The woman raised her hand to signal for the people behind her to stop. She walked over with heavy steps, as if she was carrying a shackle that she was unable to break free. Step by step, it was as if she was walking on the edge of a knife.

Xiao Yuan expressionlessly looked at the woman who was approaching from afar. In the end, he stood up and saluted.

The woman was wearing a plain beige sweater and a long skirt. Her coat of the same color hung over her shoulders. She tightened her grip on her handbag. When she faced Xiao Yao, her throat tightened.

"What are you doing here?" Xiao Yao broke the eerie silence.

"Let me see," the woman said, swallowing back her mother"s words. "Let me see the old lady."

"You don"t need to go in. She is still unconscious and has yet to wake up."

"I know. I just want to see her when she"s asleep. That"s enough." The woman made as if to enter the room.

Xiao Yao stood in front of her and frowned, "Xiao Chen, don"t come. Just treat it as brother begging you, don"t come."

The woman, who was called Xiao Chen, lowered her head. Her hands tightened their grip on her handbag, "Mother, will she never forgive me?"

"Go back, this place isn"t where you should be." Xiao Yao closed the door.

However, Xiao Chen stubbornly pushed open the door.

Xiao Yao wanted to pull her back, but when his sight fell on the bed, he stopped.

Old Madam Xiao"s gaze was a little empty, but it was still as wide as it was before. She tried her best to look at the person outside the door, and tried very hard to see who it was.

Xiao Chen walked over unsteadily and knelt before his mother, who had fainted after a stroke.

Old Madam Xiao was slightly agitated. Her numb mouth had sealed off all of the words she wanted to say. She could only tremble uncontrollably and resist this person"s approach.

"Beep beep beep." The instrument began to alarm the police.

Xiao Chen knelt in front of the old man and shook his head, "Mom, do you still hate me that much? After all these years, you still don"t want to see me? "

Old Madam Xiao could not say a single word as her body spasmed nonstop. The blood pressure that had originally been calming down started to rise again.

Xiao Yao knew that the situation was bad and forcefully pulled Xiao Chen up.

However, Xiao Chen shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mom, even if you do not recognize me, I am still your daughter. After so many years, are you really willing to give up on your child?" "I know that I was wrong back then, but I was just wrong about one step. Father"s death really has nothing to do with me."

"Ah, ah, ah." Old Mistress Xiao opened her mouth and took in a deep breath of the oxygen in the oxygen mask.

Xiao Chen was not willing to let it go and continued, "You can deny me, but you can"t stop me from going home and burning incense for my father. I am also a child of the Xiao Clan. Why are you treating me like this?"

"Xiao Chen, have you said enough?" Xiao Yao pushed her away.

Xiao Chen clenched his teeth, "Elder Brother, you saw what happened to me. You know what happened that year. Why did you come with your mother to treat your little sister in such a manner?"

Xiao Yao was silent.

"She is confused. Are you confused too?" "Yes, you are probably really confused. Otherwise, how could you be so heartless as to ignore your wife and children for the past twenty years?"

"Xiao Chen." Both of Xiao Yao"s hands trembled as he clenched them into fists, "If you have any grudges in your heart, you can come and vent them out on me in two days. Now that you"ve seen it, Mother can"t stand the excitement anymore."

Xiao Chen looked at the old mistress in the ward who had been rescued and mocked himself coldly, "I feel wronged in my heart. Elder Brother, who here understands the grievances in my heart?"

"You dare say that you did not betray your father to help that man back then? Did you finish the task he gave you? " Xiao Yao retorted.

Xiao Chen s.h.i.+fted his gaze away. Yes, she did not complete it. In order to save the person in her heart, she abandoned her father completely. However, what was the use of her completing the secret mission?

"If you had completed your mission in the past before you went to save that man, Mother would not blame all the deaths on you. Xiao Chen, since you made the wrong choice, you should bear the consequences of this choice."

"Do you also think that it was because of that mission that my father died in battle? "Brother, you know, it"s impossible to …"

"Father died at 1135 o"clock. Do you know what that means?" Xiao Yao asked again.

Xiao Chen was thunderstruck, "How can this be?" "The result is not —"

"That was mother protecting you. In order to prevent the higher-ups from investigating your crime of disloyalty, she erased that fact. All these years, whenever she saw you paired with that man, she would regret it a little. Why did she make such a decision all those years ago?"

"Brother, I never thought that things would turn out like this. I"ve always thought, why didn"t you guys say so?"

"Did it matter? Will you give up your choice because of this fact? "