Jing Mingchen replied that he would get up immediately, closed the door, changed his clothes immediately, washed up in the guest bathroom, and then went downstairs to the restaurant.
As soon as she entered the restaurant, she heard someone shouting "Mom" and rushing over. Jing Mingchen was picked up and turned around. She landed dizzy and looked up, and saw Jiang Gubei dragging her back with a dark face: "How old are you and still acting like a spoiled child with your mother like this? You are not afraid of knocking your mother away with more than 100 pounds."
The third child scratched his head and laughed.
Jing Mingchen looked at him carefully: "It's only been half a year since we last met, and you've grown taller again."
Five years had passed since she picked him up in Yichang, and the third child was now a 17-year-old boy. He had grown fast, and had grown taller every time they met. Jing Mingchen felt embarrassed whenever she heard him calling her "Mom". How old was she, how could she have such a big son!
The "family of three" sat down to eat breakfast, and the third child asked Jing Mingchen: "Mom, why didn't you bring Congwen?"
Jing Mingchen forced a smile. She had originally planned to bring Congwen home for the New Year, but considering the chaos at home, she gave up the idea. She said to Jiang Gubei, "Lin Xianyu collected my second sister and buried her quietly in the cemetery. I want to bring Congwen to Chongqing in a few months to pay tribute to my second sister."
Jiang Gubei suddenly remembered that year in Wuhan when Jing Minghuan told him that Jing Mingchen was entrusted to him. He was overwhelmed with emotions and nodded, "Okay."
Jing Mingchen turned his gaze to Xiao Sanzi: "You will graduate in the new year, right? Have you decided which university to apply to?"
Xiao Sanzi sighed and covered his face: "Is there anything more terrible than your mother being your teacher? The answer is, no!"
Jing Mingchen knocked on his head: "Stop interrupting me, have you thought it through?"
Xiao Sanzi put his hand down: "I don't plan to go to college."
Jing Mingchen frowned: "What did you say? What are you going to do if you don't go to college?"
The third child said seriously: "I want to join the army."
Jing Mingchen put down his chopsticks heavily: "I don't allow it, why haven't you let go of this idea?"
Xiao Sanzi said anxiously: "I'm already seventeen years old! You said I was young before, what reason do you have to stop me now?"
Jing Mingchen was speechless for a long time, and then she said softly: "I admit that I was selfish, but I have lost too many relatives and friends this year. The battlefield is so dangerous, I am afraid that you will be like Congwen's father and Dean Shen's son, and never come back."
Xiao Sanzi's tone softened: "Everyone has their own choices, just like when you chose to be a teacher in the nursery, didn't your parents think of arranging a more comfortable job for you? But didn't they respect your choice in the end?"
Jing Mingchen looked at him and suddenly remembered what his father had said to him two years ago.
"Nannan, life is not about being worthy of someone, but about being worthy of your own heart."
Instantly, tears formed on his eyelashes, and Jing Mingchen choked up and said to Xiao Sanzi: "Take care of yourself and make sure you come back safely."
Suddenly someone rang the doorbell, and the housekeeper went to open the door. Not long after, a man hurried in: "Gubei, I'm in big trouble this time."
Seeing Jing Mingchen sitting at the dining table, the visitor fell silent and smiled apologetically at Jiang Gubei: "Sorry to bother you while you're eating."
The person who came was Fu Qiudi.
She was wearing a light blue cheongsam with a white fur coat on the outside, looking dignified and beautiful.
Jing Mingchen had heard of her name for a long time, and the three words "Fu Qiudi" had once been a shadow hovering in her heart, but this was the first time they had met face to face like this.
In the past, she would have been suspicious if she saw Fu Qiudi appearing at Jiang Gubei's house as if she were at home, and even addressed Jiang Gubei so intimately. However, after the trip to Yunnan, she and Jiang Gubei had expressed their feelings to each other, and she would no longer be suspicious of Jiang Gubei. She stood up and asked Jiang Gubei, "Do you want me and Xiao Sanzi to leave?"
Jiang Gubei said to the third child, "Go upstairs and review your lessons."
He held Jing Mingchen's hand and said to Fu Qiudi: "Mingchen is not an outsider, you can trust him."
Fu Qiudi nodded and smiled at Jing Mingchen.
Jiang Gubei, Jing Mingchen and Fu Qiudi were the only three people left in the living room. Fu Qiudi couldn't wait to take something out of her handbag, opened it and put it on the table. Jing Mingchen's eyes lit up instantly.
It was a diamond ring. The main diamond was as big as a pigeon egg and sparkled brightly.
Jiang Gubei frowned and asked, "What is this?"
Fu Qiudi frowned and said, "It was given by Mr. Xu. He proposed to me."
Jing Mingchen almost screamed out loud.
The rumors about Mr. Xu and Fu Qiudi were no longer news. She originally thought that Mr. Xu only treated Fu Qiudi as a supporting actress, but she didn't expect that he actually wanted to marry her.
Jiang Gubei was not surprised: "That year he forced Lao Jiang to divorce you, I expected this day to come, what are you going to do?"
Fu Qiudi was confused: "I don't know. I absolutely don't want to marry him. Lao Jiang is not in Chongqing, I can only discuss it with you."
Jiang Gubei comforted her, "There will always be a way, don't worry. Let's delay Mr. Xu for now and find an excuse. Say that you and Lao Jiang have been divorced for only two years. If you get engaged to Mr. Xu now, I'm afraid it will attract criticism. Let's use the Military Control Commission as a cover and say that Mr. Xu is about to be promoted. I'm afraid that the Military Control Commission will use this as a handle to affect Mr. Xu's career. You go back first, let me think about whether there is any other way."
After Fu Qiudi left with a sad face, Jiang Gubei also fell into trouble.
Jing Mingchen knelt in front of him and stretched out his hand to smooth his frown: "Is the situation very difficult?"
Jiang Gubei picked her up and put her beside him: "It's a tricky situation. If Qiu Di is really as fickle as the rumors say, and if Jiang Tao is really as heartless as the rumors say, then that's fine, but it's not the case. These two are very affectionate. Jiang Tao is my middle school classmate. He was originally a young man in Shanghai and came from a wealthy family. Qiu Di was from an ordinary family and was studying in a girls' school at that time. We met during an outing. Old Jiang and Qiu Di fell in love at first sight and originally planned to get married after graduation, but who knew that Old Jiang's family had arranged a marriage for him, and Qiu Di's family also felt that Qi Da was not a good match, so they wanted Qiu Di to marry a distant cousin. In order to be together, both of them severed their relationship with their families. Life was very difficult at first, relying on the little salary that Lao Jiang earned as a clerk to make ends meet. Fortunately, Qiu Di was spotted by a scout from the Joyful Film Company, who invited her to film a movie, and she became famous overnight. But after becoming famous, all kinds of playboys followed one after another. Over the years, they sent away many playboys and offended many people. Until this time, Mr. Xu, who was too powerful and had very tough means. I thought about it, but I couldn't think of a way to help her. Mr. Xu was Mr. Jin's brother-in-law, and I was afraid that I couldn't protect myself with Mr. Xu. "
Jing Mingchen was puzzled: "From what you said, Mr. Jiang and Miss Fu are deeply in love, but when I was in Wuhan, I did see Mr. Jiang going in and out of the dance hall and hanging out with the dancers."
Jiang Gubei touched her head and said, "There are reasons for this. I can't tell you for now. You won't blame me, right?"
Jing Mingchen answered obediently: "What's so strange about that? You wouldn't lie to me. You didn't tell me because it must be for my own good."
Jiang Gubei smiled with satisfaction and ruffled her hair: "Be good."
He took his hand back, looked at his palm, and frowned: "Miss Jing, how long have you not washed your hair?"
Jing Mingchen blushed: "It's not surprising that my hair gets oily after being in the mourning hall every day and being fumigated with aromatherapy."
Jiang Gubei held her hand and said, "Come on, it's warm and sunny today, I'll take you to wash your hair."
He led her to the garden, told the maid to bring a kettle of hot water, and poured a mixture of hot and cold water into the shower head. He then held the shower head to water Jing Mingchen and wash his hair. The sun was shining brightly that day, and the water sprayed out from the shower head, which was refracted into rainbows by the sunlight. Jiang Gubei said, "Your hair grows so fast, it's almost waist-length. In another year, it will be almost the same size as when I first saw you. You had braids at that time, and it looked really good."
Jing Mingchen stayed in Chongqing for a week and then set off back to Leshan. The night before leaving, she slipped out again and stayed at Beigongguan.
She was awakened by thirst in the middle of the night and went downstairs to get some water. When she passed by the study, she found that the light was still on.
She gently pushed the door open and saw Jiang Gubei writing something at his desk. She walked closer to take a look. Jiang Gubei noticed someone and turned around: "It's you, why are you awake?"
Jing Mingchen asked him: "Why are you not sleeping so late at night? What are you doing?"
Jiang Gubei smiled bleakly: "Nothing, I'm writing a letter."
Jing Mingchen took the letter and saw the content on it, his throat suddenly choked.
"Mother, I'm doing fine in London. I went on an outing with my classmates a while ago..."
He was pretending to be Jiang Qianmo and writing a letter to his stepmother.
In the letters from home, Jiang Qianmo is still alive and well, in a foreign country, with a group of good classmates, and enjoying the breeze of Cambridge.
He could have had such a life.
Jiang Gubei threw the pen on the table. "It's strange. Influenced by my mother since I was a child, I hated people on my father's side, including the younger brother I had never met. In my mother's teachings, this younger brother was my biggest enemy and the obstacle that I should eliminate the most to become the head of the Jiang family. But when I saw him for the first time in the mourning hall, I felt that he was very kind and I didn't hate him at all. Later, when my father passed away, everyone said that I was the one who forced my father to death step by step, and my stepmother wanted to tear me into pieces. Only Qianmo ran to Ba Gong's house to find me without telling his mother. When we met, he called me brother and said that he knew that my father's death had nothing to do with me. My father had been seriously ill for many years and he just couldn't bear it anymore. He said that he had heard about the entanglement between me and the Jiang family and felt that he had let down the three of us, mother and son."
"Although I was happy to be close to him, I pretended to be fierce and ignored him at first. He was not discouraged and came to me every day until I responded to his call of brother."
Jing Mingchen hugged his arm, "Since childhood, my second sister and I have had the best relationship. My eldest sister was taught by my mother and is a typical lady from a noble family. Although she is called a sister, I feel that she is more like a mother than a peer. My second sister is six years older than me, but she seems to be only one year older than me. She loves to play and make trouble. Although she always calls me a fool, she doesn't dislike my stupidity at all. In our home in Wuhan, my second sister and I had bedrooms next to each other. She and I secretly dug a hole in the wall without my mother's knowledge. At night, we passed notes and chatted quietly, like spies. I didn't expect that she was actually a spy."
Jiang Gubei held her in silence. He kissed her hair for a long time and said, "Next month, I will go to Leshan to pick you and Congwen up to pay respect to my second sister."
In March, Jiang Gubei personally came to Leshan to pick up Jing Mingchen and Congwen and went to Chongqing.
This is Congwen's second visit to Chongqing. The last time he came from Yichang, he spent all his time in the hospital. This time he feels like he has just arrived in Chongqing. Everything he sees is new to him and he wants to buy everything he sees. Jing Mingchen ran after him and passed by a newspaper vendor. He only heard the newspaper boy shouting, "Extra large lace, extra large lace. A government official wants to take a female star as his concubine. Is there any unknown exchange of interests behind this?"
Jing Mingchen stopped, bought a newspaper, and quickly opened the page about gossip to read.
The news said that a certain government official had a close relationship with a certain female star, and there were rumors recently that the official had a concubine. The female star originally had a husband, and after divorcing two years ago, she reportedly went to do business near the Burma Road. Now the official wants to marry the female star, which makes people doubt the truth of the divorce incident... Although a pseudonym is used, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is an allusion to Mr. Xu, Fu Qiudi and Jiang Tao.
Just then Jiang Gubei caught up with him, and Jing Mingchen asked him, "Did you do this?"
Jiang Gubei took the newspaper and glanced through it, frowning: "It's not me."
If it wasn't him, then who could it be?
The three people came to the cemetery with doubts.
Lin Xianyu buried Jing Minghuan in a corner of the cemetery. There was no photo or her name on the tombstone, only three simple words engraved on it: Phalaenopsis.
This is her code name as an agent.
Looking at those three words, Jing Mingchen's tears flowed again.
She knew why her second sister used these three characters as her code name. Her second sister loved the Yuan Dynasty drama "Moon Worship Pavilion" the most. The heroine in "Moon Worship Pavilion" was named Wang Ruilan.
Moon-worshiping pavilion, Liang Tingyue, Wang Ruilan, and Phalaenopsis.
She wiped her tears and said to Congwen, "Congwen, kneel down, kowtow, and call her mom. This is your adopted mother, you should call her mom."
Congwen did not resist as he did in Wuhan five years ago. He knelt down obediently and shouted "Mom" to the tombstone.
Jiang Gubei squatted down and looked at the flowers placed in front of the tombstone: "The dew on these flowers has not dried yet. Someone just paid tribute to my second sister before we came."
Who else could it be? Besides Lin Xianyu, besides him, who else would know that the person buried here was Jing Minghuan?
Jing Mingchen felt that he could not see through him. He was a spy of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. His sister worked for the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics but was actually a CCP spy. No matter what her identity was, she was his mortal enemy. She was quite disgusted when she mentioned him, but she could entrust him with her life at the critical moment. As for Lin Xianyu, he not only completed his sister's entrustment, but also continued to cover for his deceased sister in front of his mother as her boyfriend, and sent a bouquet of flowers to her grave in the early morning.
Thinking of his words "We are both enemies and soulmates", Jing Mingchen felt confused.
This trip to Chongqing was to pay homage to his second sister, so he kept it a secret from his family. Jing Mingchen and Congwen lived in the North Mansion.
On the third day, Jing Mingchen discovered that there were more gossips about Mr. Xu and Fu Qiudi in the street tabloids, and more than five out of ten newspapers could be found publishing this.
In the evening, Fu Qiudi came to Jiang Gubei to thank him: "Gubei, thank you for thinking of starting a war of public opinion. This afternoon, Mr. Xu sent someone to tell me that the Military Control Commission really made a big fuss about me and asked the newspapers to publish gossip to attack him. Our marriage is temporarily on hold, and we will talk about it after the aftermath has dissipated."
Jiang Gubei said solemnly, "I really didn't do it. I have thought about doing this before, but I was always afraid of the power of the Central Intelligence Department and was afraid that they would find out the source."
Fu Qiudi was confused: "Could it really be the Military Control Commission who did it?"
Jiang Gubei thought for a long time and asked Fu Qiudi: "Besides me, who else have you told about Mr. Xu's proposal to you?"
Fu Qiudi frowned. "Mr. Xu came in person that day. Aunt Zhang had to take a leave of absence that day, so I was alone. Afterwards, I only told you, Miss Jing... and Lin Xianyu."
Jiang Gubei was shocked: "How do you know him?"
Fu Qiudi was a little nervous: "He is Mr. Xu's confidential secretary. The first time I met him was in the theater. Mr. Xu asked me to watch a play but he had something urgent to do, so he asked him to pass on a message. Later, because of Mr. Xu, our contacts became more frequent. My father passed away last year, and I wanted to go back to Shanghai for the funeral. You happened to be not in Chongqing at that time. I was afraid that I would be in danger if I went back to Shanghai alone, so I asked Mr. Xu for help. Mr. Xu sent Lin Xianyu to accompany me to Shanghai. In Shanghai, I really met the rogues I rejected that year. They had become traitors. When they heard that I returned to Shanghai, they came to my house to make trouble. Thanks to Lin Xianyu who intimidated them with Mr. Xu and was willing to endure the humiliation under his crotch, we got away safely. Since then, I have regarded him as a friend."
Jiang Gubei's eyebrows twisted into the shape of a "川" character: "Could it be that this matter is related to him?"
Before leaving Chongqing, Jing Mingchen went to Lin Xianyu to thank her, but Lin Xianyu was very calm: "I have to be loyal to people who trust me. What I have done for the second lady is far less than the kindness that the third lady has shown me."
He said that he was repaying his life-saving grace, but was that true? Jing Mingchen talked about this and that, and finally got to the point: "Mr. Lin, I heard that Mr. Xu has been having a hard time recently. Those rumors in the newspapers have made him very anxious. You are his confidential secretary. Who is spreading these rumors? Do you have any idea?"
Lin Xianyu did not give a direct answer. He poured out a cup of tea, looked into the distance, and said as if talking to himself: "It is impossible to defeat Mr. Xu with just a few rumors."
Meanwhile, Anxi.
Anxi is a small village thousands of miles away from Chongqing, but because a tributary of the Yangtze River flows through it, a pier has been built and ships often pass by, so it does not seem quiet and deserted.
It was a bright morning, the morning dew had not yet dispersed, and there was still a layer of white fog on the river. In the white fog, a boat was gradually approaching the dock. As soon as it docked, some people suddenly jumped out of the bushes on both sides and jumped onto the boat like ferocious tigers. In an instant, gunshots and shouting and cursing rang out in the cabin.
Ten days later, Jiang Gubei wrote to Jing Mingchen:

It is hard to predict what will happen in this world. Who would have thought that Mr. Xu would commit such a big crime at the critical period of his promotion? The Military Control Commission intercepted a private boat of Mr. Xu in Anxi. The boat was loaded with millions of French currency from the occupied areas. After inspection by the Military Control Commission, it was found that the French currency was counterfeit. Mr. Xu was now suspected of colluding with the Japanese in the occupied areas to traffic in counterfeit currency with the intention of disrupting the financial order in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. He was suspended pending the results of the investigation. Naturally, the intimidation of Fu Qiudi came to an end temporarily.

Jing Mingchen was naturally not curious about how Jiang Gubei knew about such a confidential incident. He was a businessman and naturally had his own magical powers. What surprised her was the sentence at the end of the letter: Shuangmu had been transferred to the Military Control Commission a few days ago.
Shuangmu, of course, refers to Lin Xianyu.
For the next six months, although Jing Mingchen was in Leshan, her heart was in Chongqing. She always felt worried when she thought about Mr. Xu.
Logically speaking, if Mr. Xu really fell from power or even lost his head after encountering such a big thing, it would be the best thing. Not to mention that Fu Qiudi could get away, as for Jiang Gubei, Mr. Jin relied only on Mr. Xu's power. Once Mr. Xu fell, Mr. Jin would naturally become a helpless monkey and would no longer pose any threat to Jiang Gubei.
But she just felt uneasy.
She thought, what if Mr. Xu could get away with it? No one can predict political matters. From Lin Xianyu's behavior on the day he left Chongqing and Jiang Gubei's letter, it can be clearly inferred that this counterfeit money incident was probably reported to the Military Control Commission by Lin Xianyu. He was Mr. Xu's confidential secretary and had the ability to do so. After the incident, he immediately defected to the Military Control Commission. Perhaps he had thought of this step a long time ago, or perhaps he was seeking asylum. If it was the latter, then there would be a lot of trouble. This means that in Lin Xianyu's judgment, Mr. Xu still had a chance to turn things around. If this was true, where did he come to this conclusion?
After half a year of worrying, the matter was finally settled.
Half a year later, Jiang Gubei wrote in a letter: Mr. Xu was given a minor punishment and a severe warning and reinstated, and Shuangmu informed me to be careful.
Jing Mingchen's heart skipped a beat; her worries came true.
Mr. Xu escaped death and was reinstated. He would definitely try every means to kill his enemies. Needless to say, Lin Xianyu would be his first target for revenge. Lin Xianyu informed Jiang Gubei to be careful, which meant that Jiang Gubei was also included in the blacklist.
This matter had nothing to do with Jiang Gubei. It goes without saying who instigated Mr. Xu.
During the day, when looking at the giant Buddha from afar, Jing Mingchen kept making wishes in his heart, asking the Buddha to bless Jiang Gubei.
However, she did not expect that the first person to get into trouble was not Jiang Gubei or Lin Xianyu, but her.
One day in September, she was teaching children in the classroom when suddenly the classroom door was roughly pushed open and several people with guns rushed in.
The children were so scared that they screamed, and Jing Mingchen pretended to be calm and comforted them: "Don't be afraid."
She turned around and asked the people who came: "Who are you? What do you want to do here?"
The leader looked her over and asked, "We are here to find Jing Mingchen, the director of the nursery."
Jing Mingchen's heart tightened: "I am Jing Mingchen, what can I do for you?"
The man sneered and made a gesture, and his men pressed forward and grabbed Jing Mingchen: "When we get there, you'll know."
Jing Mingchen struggled desperately to break free from the grip, but someone impatiently tapped her on the back of the neck. Jing Mingchen felt a sudden sharp pain and then lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she was choked by the dust.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a gray haze in front of her, with only a dim light source. She shook her head, and her vision finally became clear. She saw that she was in a small, simple room, and the light source was the lamp installed at the door. There was a row of terrifying torture instruments in the corner. She was tied to a chair, and next to her was a tin bucket and a burning stove. A branding iron was in the flames, and it had been burned red.
Jing Mingchen just felt creepy.
This is the torture chamber!
The door creaked open, and a pretty young woman walked in. She sat opposite her, crossed her legs, and looked her up and down before she said, "Are you Jing Minghuan's sister? You don't look like one."
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but lean back: "Are you from the Central Bureau of Investigation?"
There was a lot of hatred in this woman's tone when she mentioned my second sister. If it was my second sister's colleague, it probably wouldn't be like this. The most likely person was the Central Bureau of Investigation, with whom she often had friction.
The woman reached out and pinched her chin: "You are not stupid, but it's a pity, little sister, you are a beautiful woman, but you are a thief."
Jing Mingchen dodged her hand and said, "Why did you arrest me? I have never committed treason or colluded with the Communist Party. Why did you arrest me?"
The woman raised her eyebrows. "Really? It's not up to you to decide whether there is communism or not."
It turns out that the crime they wanted to accuse themselves of was collaborating with the Communists!
The woman said sternly, "Now I ask you questions and you answer them. I advise you to confess obediently, so as to avoid physical pain."
She opened the folder in her hand and took out the Parker pen pinned to her breast pocket: "Do you still remember Cao Qingfang, who was the director of the Leshan Nursery School in 1939?"
Jing Mingchen became more and more alert.
They actually mentioned President Cao, which shows that they put a lot of effort into their homework.
She asked back, "She is the dean and I am the teacher. If I say we don't know each other, do you believe me?"
The other party nodded: "Do you know that Cao Qingfang was detained by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics for exposing his Communist Party identity less than a year after taking office?"
Jing Mingchen pretended to be surprised: "What? Wasn't she transferred urgently? She also left a letter for us."
The other party raised his head and said, "So you don't know about this? But the successor of Leshan Nursery, Director Chen, said that Cao Qingfang had a very good relationship with you when she was working at Leshan Nursery. Didn't she instill any communist ideas in you... Or, were you two originally in the same group?"
Jing Mingchen sneered, "You can always find a pretext to accuse someone of something. Director Chen was driven away by the children because she embezzled government funds, and she has always held a grudge against me and the Leshan Nursery. Can the testimony of someone with a personal grudge be trusted? How do you know she didn't deliberately frame me for revenge? Miss Cao and I were colleagues, and the chairman was a colleague of many Communists at the Whampoa Military Academy. Could it be that the chairman is also suspected of colluding with the Communists?"
The other party was so angry that he was shaking. He stepped forward and slapped Jing Mingchen in the face: "You can be tough, but your sister is tougher than you when she's sitting here!"
It turned out that this was the place where his sister was tortured. Jing Mingchen trembled all over.
Seeing Jing Mingchen's fear, the other party smiled with satisfaction: "Okay, let's not talk about Cao Qingfang, let's talk about someone else, your second sister. A year ago, your sister Jing Minghuan exposed her identity as a communist and was brought here for investigation. A colleague who participated in the interrogation said that he had seen Jing Minghuan whispering with Lin Xianyu, asking Lin Xianyu to bring you a message. What is this sentence? Is it a secret code of the Communist Party? Are you two sisters both communists? Is she your superior?"
The woman approached Jing Mingchen with a heavily made-up face, like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, waiting to be bloodthirsty at any time. Jing Mingchen looked at her, thinking of the suffering his sister had suffered at the hands of this person, and he couldn't help but feel hatred in his heart. She said, "What is that sentence? I can tell you, just put your ear close to me."
The woman couldn't wait to put her ear close to Jing Mingchen, and Jing Mingchen whispered: "The sentence is, the female spies of the Central Bureau of Investigation are all ugly."
The woman flew into a rage and knocked Jing Mingchen to the ground with a slap. She then quickly walked to the wall, picked up a whip and whipped Jing Mingchen viciously a few times. Then she let out a sigh of relief: "Someone, put this little bitch in the same cell as Jing Minghuan!"
Jing Mingchen was grabbed by the hair, stumbled across the corridor, and thrown into a small iron-doored room.
The places on her body that were whipped felt burning pain, and she struggled to raise her head. There was a small window high up on the wall of the room, and light came in through it. The light was so dim that one could not tell whether it was morning or afternoon.
There was no bed in the hut, only some straw on the ground, so Jing Mingchen had to sit down on the straw.
Suddenly, she found something under the straw. When she pulled away the straw, Jing Mingchen was stunned and tears rolled down his face.
"Liangting Moon", "Liangting Moon", "Liangting Moon".
There were many "Liang Ting Yue" written in blood, with crooked and loose strokes, which were the last words of the second sister before she died. I guess she was lying on the cold ground, writing this name repeatedly with her fingers in the dim light.
Why, why write this name on the ground?
That night, no one came to pay attention to her, and no one brought her food. There was not even a bowl of cold water or a cold steamed bun.
It was not until the next night that someone came to take her to the interrogation room.
The woman who interrogated her was still the same woman. Jing Mingchen heard someone call her Miss Cen. Miss Cen sat down in front of her and asked with a smile: "Miss Jing, how did you sleep last night? Did your second sister come to meet you?"
Jing Mingchen wanted to tear her face to pieces.
Seeing Jing Mingchen getting angry, Miss Cen smiled smugly: "The interrogation is now officially starting, I ask you questions and you answer them. Do you know Jiang Gubei? What is your relationship with him?"
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but shiver.
Yesterday's interrogation made her think that they were coming for her. She thought that at least Jiang Gubei was safe. She didn't expect that their ultimate target was still Jiang Gubei!
Jing Mingchen answered her: "It doesn't matter."
Miss Cen looked at her with a half-smile: "It doesn't matter that he goes to Leshan three times a year. It doesn't matter that you go to Yunnan to find him?"
Jing Mingchen answered fluently: "He went to Leshan because Jiang's business was in Leshan, and I went to Yunnan to help his sister Gu Nanqiao. If you don't believe me, you can check it out. Jiang's investment in the construction industry in Leshan, and the house is still under construction. As the boss of Jiang's, he went to Leshan to check the business. What's wrong? Gu Nanqiao and I knew each other in Wuhan, and the people in the Army Hospital can testify to it."
Miss Cen threw the notebook down and said, "It seems that you don't want to accept my toast and have to drink the forfeit."
She motioned to her assistant to hand over the whip: "You also tasted the taste of this whip yesterday. It was not pleasant, was it? Miss Jing was born in a famous family and was spoiled since childhood. Why should you suffer this physical pain? As long as you confess obediently and admit that Jiang Gubei is in contact with the Communists and you are just a small character, I will guarantee that you will be fine."
So this is their purpose!
Nowadays, what crime is more punishable by death than collaborating with the Communist Party?
Jing Mingchen gritted his teeth and smiled: "It's a pity, my family has a family motto that does not allow people to tell lies."
Miss Cen raised the whip and lashed him out hard.
This Miss Cen must have suffered enough at the hands of Jing Minghuan in the past and hated her, so she took the opportunity to vent her anger on her sister Jing Mingchen. When Miss Cen finally stopped, the whole interrogation room was filled with a faint smell of blood.
Jing Mingchen lay on the ground, feeling cold and in pain all over. She scratched the floor with her fingers, and faintly saw dried black blood in the cracks between the stones. This must be the blood of her second sister... her second sister.
She was thrown back into the cell.
In the middle of the night, she had a fever, and felt cold, hot, and painful. She was so dizzy that she curled up in the corner and couldn't help but whisper Jiang Gubei's name. She understood why her sister wrote Liang Tingyue's name. At this moment, only the beloved can give people strength.
The next evening, she was brought back for questioning.
Miss Cen still didn't get the answer she wanted, so another round of interrogation and torture began.
The same thing happened over the next two days.
On the fifth day after being captured, Miss Cen finally changed her tactics and stopped using the whip. She had people press Jing Mingchen's head into the water until she was almost suffocated and then let her out to breathe. She also threatened her with a red-hot iron: "Miss Jing, such a lovely face will be completely ruined if you brand it with an iron."
Seeing that Jing Mingchen was still indifferent, she lost her patience and pulled out a gun and pointed it at her forehead: "Are you going to confess or not?"
Jing Mingchen was finally moved: "Okay, I confess."
Miss Cen smiled with satisfaction: "If you had cooperated earlier, you wouldn't have to suffer."
She sat down and began questioning.
"Name."
"Jing Mingchen."
"identity."
"Teacher at Leshan Nursery School."
"What is the relationship with Jiang Gubei?"
“…”
The interrogator didn't care and continued to ask: "How did you know him?"
How did you meet?
Jing Mingchen stared at the small light at the door with wide eyes for a long time. Then she smiled contemptuously, tilted her head, and fainted.
Miss Cen pinched her chin and checked to make sure she just fainted. She waved to her subordinate to come over and whispered something. The subordinate hurriedly ran out and came back after a long time to whisper something in her ear. Miss Cen nodded, walked quickly to the rack, took down a knife and walked back to Jing Mingchen.
She raised the knife and looked at Jing Mingchen. The blade emitted a terrifying cold light. With a flash of cold light, she raised her hand and swung the knife down.
Chongqing, Beigongguan.
Just as it got dark, an unexpected guest came to the Bei Mansion. Jiang Gubei looked at him with a frosty face: "Mr. Jin, how come you have time to visit my humble home today?"
Mr. Jin had a fake smile on his face, pretending to be surprised: "I heard that someone in your house was having a birthday today, so I came to visit you. I didn't expect your house to be so deserted, it doesn't look like there is any happy event."
Jiang Gubei secretly clenched his fists.
Today is Jing Mingchen's birthday. He had originally agreed with Jing Mingchen to visit her in Leshan on her birthday, but he received a call from the Leshan Nursery School a few days ago, saying that Jing Mingchen was taken away from the classroom by a group of people. These days, he has been frantically using all his connections to find out Jing Mingchen's whereabouts, but to no avail. Even Lin Xianyu couldn't be sure who did it, but guessed that it was probably done by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Today Mr. Jin came to provoke me, it seems that he is definitely the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Jin sighed: "It seems that my trip was in vain, but since I'm here, I'll leave the gift behind."
He put the box in his arms on the table and said, "I carefully selected this gift. Please don't think it's shabby, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Gubei tried his best to keep calm: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Jin. I have something else to do, so I won't keep Mr. Jin for dinner. Ah Da, please see him out."
As soon as Mr. Jin left, Jiang Gubei immediately pounced on the gift box. His hands were shaking and he didn't dare to pull the ribbon to open the lid. He was afraid that what he would see when he opened it would be something he couldn't bear.
Ah Da said sympathetically, "Let me do it."
He untied the ribbon, opened the box, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Jiang, it's nothing, just a handful of hair."
Jiang Gubei looked into the box and sure enough, there was a bunch of long hair. He grabbed the hair, which was black and thick, and stained with blood, leaving thin marks on his palm.
Just half a year ago, right here, he said to Jing Mingchen, your hair grows so fast, in another year it will be almost as long as when I first saw you.
Jiang Gubei strode to the phone and dialed the number of the Jin family: "Stop talking nonsense, what do you want!"