Back in the car, Mo Junhua thought about what was going on with Lan Tian. Seeing Lan Tian resting her eyes wearily and nestling comfortably, Mo Junhua felt a pang of heartache and held back the questions he was about to ask. After seeing Lan Tian home and helping her lie down in the bedroom, he tucked her in and left a quick kiss on her forehead, so quick that Lan Tian didn’t react before he hurried back to the battalion headquarters.
After Mo Junhua went to the battalion headquarters, he never returned. Two days later, Su Qing came with a message that news from the battalion headquarters indicated that Zhou Yuwei had been sentenced. For those heinous acts she had committed, she was originally to receive the death penalty, but somehow it was changed to life imprisonment in Prison Number 1, and she was taken there immediately after the court session.
The guards who escorted Zhou Yuwei were from the Chu Family, and at that time, Su Qing could not hide her schadenfreude. Lin Guohao once said that since Zhou Yuwei ruined Chu Yang’s future, the Chu Family would not let her off easily. Her days in prison would be even more miserable than hell.
Zhou Yuwei’s case was concluded, but Mo Junhua’s situation was still unclear. In the military court, Zhou Yuwei firmly insisted that Mo Junhua was her man, and she never wavered even in the face of death.
The Chu Family, seizing this point, also firmly pinned the blame on Mo Junhua for moral misconduct and reported this to their higher-ups. Despite the pressure exerted by Mayor Qian and others, Mr. Mo’s influence was ineffective this time. The Chu Family was intent on dragging Mo Junhua down with them.
Since there was no concrete evidence, the higher-ups couldn’t do anything to him for now, and similarly, Mo Junhua couldn’t produce evidence of his innocence. He certainly couldn’t declare that he was still a virgin.
The interrogation about Mo Junhua’s questionable morals was conducted by someone from higher up, and the battalion headquarters was not allowed to be present at the proceedings, claiming the need to avoid conflict of interest since Mo Junhua was one of their own.
The demeanor of the interrogators from higher up was far more aggressive and uncompromising than before, suggesting a strong push for Mo Junhua to confess.
Bluntly, he’s considered a bit of a rascal in the military. Having served for over ten years and experienced in battle with countless kills, he’s deeply familiar with military discipline. He’s hardly one to fear mere verbal manipulators.
In short, if they wanted him to confess, they needed to produce evidence. Without evidence, there’s nothing to discuss, and mere conjectures hold no ground.
The standoff continued, with eyes glaring fiercely. A sneer flashed in Mo Junhua’s eyes, what’s with the glaring as if larger eyes could intimidate him into confessing?
Unyielding and immune to pressure, those interrogating him vented their frustration on battalion commander Qian, criticizing the kind of soldiers he recruited for lacking decency.
Commander Qian wasn’t much different from Mo Junhua. Barely having spoken a word, he stormed off. To interrogate his soldier without his consent and still expect his cooperation was a fool’s errand.
Mo Junhua is not a criminal, just accused of improper conduct, which is still undetermined. Therefore, the authorities couldn’t detain Mo Junhua for long.
After two days of interrogation yielding nothing, they had to release him.
Once the higher-ups left, Mo Junhua remained sitting in the interrogation room, well aware of the drill. During the previous incident with Li Hong, he had evidence, so the higher-ups couldn’t falsely accuse him. This time, with no evidence, they would undoubtedly try their utmost to suppress him.
The outlook wasn’t good. Mo Junhua was worried, unsure how to explain everything when he got home. Chunhua would only be home for a few more days before returning to the hospital; naive and simple as she was, it was possible to keep her in the dark. However, that sharp young girl was another story, making it hard to hide the truth from her.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time.
In the evening, as Mo Junhua returned from the battalion headquarters, he caught a whiff of the delicious scent of food the moment he stepped through the door, the aroma wafting from the kitchen softened his expression.
"Come back, come wash your hands and eat." Lan Tian brought out a pot of soup and called out to Mo Junhua, who was standing foolishly in the living room.
"What a delicious smell, what did you cook?" Mo Junhua approached eagerly, his mouth watering as he peeked into the pot Lan Tian was holding.
"Of course, it smells good because Chunhua cooked it. She guessed you would come back and made all your favorite dishes, saying it’s to calm your nerves." Chunhua really treated Mo Junhua exceptionally well.
"Is everything okay?" Lan Tian asked with a hint of guilt, rarely initiating conversation.
"Girl, you care about me." Mo Junhua’s eyes suddenly burst with joy, his smile growing even broader regardless of Lan Tian’s objection, and he tousled her hair.
"It’s not looking good!" Mo Junhua glanced towards the kitchen door, leaned to whisper in Lan Tian’s ear, "Girl, if I stop being a soldier and come back home to farm, would you despise me?"
Lan Tian looked at him oddly, it was just his inappropriate lifestyle, nothing much; why consider farming back home so seriously that Heavenly Dao would instantly punish her.
Lan Tian channeled Spiritual Energy into her eyes, seeing the Merit Light around Mo Junhua shining like a small sun, almost blinding her, with a trace of purple in his aura of fortune.
This is... his aura improved, a turn of fortune.
After a glance, Lan Tian shifted her gaze, dispersed her spiritual vision, as the Merit Light was too dazzling.
Mo Junhua eagerly awaited Lan Tian’s answer, only to see her shift her gaze away, leaving him with a cold feeling inside.
The girl doesn’t want to be with him anymore.
"Move aside, don’t make trouble here, go wash your hands, we’ll eat in a bit."
Lan Tian had long wanted to leave, but remembering that Mo Junhua suffered because of her, and having Chunhua alone at home, she didn’t feel reassured and stayed. The affair between Mo Junhua and Yuwei got the whole camp buzzing, even other camps heard about it. Tian Xianghua specifically came to comfort Lan Tian, telling her not to mind it.
Lan Tian didn’t care about those gossips of the military wives, entering one ear and exiting the other, calmly walking past everyone. Chunhua might have thin skin, but she protected her own. Military wives gossiping about baseless matters about her and Mo Junhua, she stood hands on hips, cursing back, never showing weakness.
Because of Yuwei, Chen Lian was transferred to a local workforce, and Ma Juanjuan left with him. On the day they left, none of her close military wife friends came to see her off, carrying parcels and holding dolls, they left the base despondently.
That is how the rural wives are; if their husbands mess up, they have to endure and forgive without any other solution. The thought of divorce never crossed their minds; leaving this man, the next one might not be better - such is the sorrow of rural people.
Chu Yang left the Military District Hospital, reputable hospitals in Shanghai feared taking him due to his bad reputation, which might harm the hospital’s reputation. The Chu Family pulled some strings and transferred him to some military hospital in the south, afterwards Lan Tian never saw him again.
Another week passed, the upper management issued new directives; Mo Junhua was stripped of his titles as a combat hero and national hero due to his inappropriate lifestyle. However, considering his great contributions to the country, he retained his battalion commander position and the rank of Captain, transferred to a farm in the Southwest for reform and would return to the camp whenever the reform was completed.
This decision was made after deliberation by the upper echelons; even the brigade headquarters couldn’t change it. Su Qing, Zhang Tian, and Ding Lei were furious, cursing in the camp, and even Commander Qian got cursed. Commander Qian accepted the scolding from his subordinates expressionlessly, he too was helpless, being a mere brigade commander, above him were division commanders and generals, it wasn’t his decision to make.
"Brother, I’ll be waiting for your return." Commander Qian patted Mo Junhua’s shoulder, conveying all his support without words.