This came so suddenly that Song Yao froze.
"I... I just saved Mr. Shen, right?"
The situation was chaotic at the time, and she didn’t get a clear look at what happened.
All she remembered was an unbearable, sharp pain, and then nothing.
But now, listening to Aunt Zhang, it seemed things weren’t that simple.
Aunt Zhang clicked her tongue, leaned in, and whispered.
"Think about it. If something had happened to Mr. Shen here, Zhang and all the men under him would have been done for. By protecting the leader, you saved everyone’s life!"
She paused, then added.
"Word has already come from the higher-ups. If this isn’t handled properly, the entire family compound will be affected."
That was why she had taken it upon herself to care for Song Yao personally.
She didn’t trust others to take shifts watching over her at night, and she insisted on personally checking the food and medicine.
She had said.
"She risked her life for us. If I can’t even handle this little thing, what kind of person would that make me?"
"My girl! My dear girl!"
Shen Zhenwu suddenly roared, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Song Yao.
The others, however, didn’t seem too surprised and simply averted their gazes.
Seeing Song Yao frozen and silent, Aunt Zhang sighed and began to explain.
"Xiao Song, you’ve been unconscious for three days. It’s normal that you don’t know some things. Let your Auntie tell you..."
She glanced sideways at Shen Zhenwu.
Seeing his strained expression and evasive eyes, she sighed inwardly.
"Mr. Shen... when he saw how badly you were hurt, he thought you weren’t going to make it. He burst into tears on the spot. He kept crying and shouting ’my girl,’ and that’s how we all realized he already knew you were his biological daughter..."
Aunt Zhang shook her head and gently patted the back of Song Yao’s hand.
The other people in the room began to shuffle their feet slowly.
Some wanted to leave but felt it would be inappropriate, so they stood in the corners, pretending to straighten their clothes.
"Mr. Shen, let me be honest. You just dropped a bombshell—anyone would be stunned. It’s perfectly normal for Xiao Song not to know how to react."
She looked directly at Shen Zhenwu as she spoke.
Song Yao said nothing, her head lowered.
After a long moment, she finally took a breath and asked in a low voice.
"Those two soldiers... what happened to them?"
The moment she said this, the room fell silent.
Shen Zhenwu’s face instantly darkened.
He stood up and walked heavily to the window.
"They’re gone."
His voice was very low.
"They died protecting me. Neither of them made it. Xiao Xiao was injured, too, but thankfully, it wasn’t fatal. He pulled through."
Xiao Xiao was the soldier in charge of patrolling outside.
Guo Yang had assigned a total of five men to the night watch.
After Song Yao went to sleep, Hu Weibin and Yang Chengtie entered the hospital room and stood watch, crouched in the corner.
Xiao Xiao was patrolling outside.
As for Xiao Li, he was originally supposed to be on his break.
But he felt uneasy after what had happened to Shen Zhenwu, so he decided to pull an all-nighter.
He patrolled the hallway back and forth a few times.
Only after confirming everything was normal did he return to the vicinity of the main hospital room.
When he was returning from the nurse’s station with a blanket in the middle of the night, he saw a dazed Song Yao walking toward the restroom.
At first, Xiao Li thought she was just getting up to use the bathroom.
But then he noticed her vacant gaze and unusual gait and realized something was wrong.
Song Yao had mentioned being in danger before, which meant someone was after her.
And Xiao Li had promised Shen Zhenwu that he would not let anything happen to her.
He immediately quickened his pace, following her quietly to observe.
When he saw that she entered the restroom and didn’t come out for a long time, he pressed his ear to the door to listen for any sounds.
A few seconds later, he heard a faint thud and immediately pushed the door open, rushing in.
That’s when he walked right into the ensuing chaos.
The person inside had already made their move, pressing a dagger to Song Yao’s neck.
Xiao Li had no time to alert his teammates and could only fight the attacker alone.
In the chaos, an alarm was triggered, and Hu Weibin and Yang Chengtie rushed in to provide backup.
"Three soldiers. Two dead, one injured. If you hadn’t turned back halfway and noticed the commotion, Xiao Li might have been a goner too."
Shen Zhenwu’s gaze was serious as he looked straight at Song Yao.
"That night, you didn’t just help Xiao Li, you saved me, too. I have to sincerely thank you."
As he spoke, he took a step back and raised his hand in a salute.
Song Yao, on the other hand, felt a little awkward and muttered under her breath.
"I think I preferred you when you were all stern and cold-faced."
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what Shen Zhenwu meant.
It was just that such a solemn display of gratitude felt like more than she could bear.
Shen Zhenwu scratched his head, saying sheepishly.
"You remember everything, don’t you, kid?"
Song Yao rolled her eyes and ignored him.
This time, without needing anyone to prompt him, Shen Zhenwu immediately changed his tune.
"Alright, alright, I admit it! I was a bastard, I was wrong. Your Highness is magnanimous, so don’t stoop to my level, okay?"
His tone was tinged with helplessness, yet held a hint of sincerity.
The crowd of onlookers clicked their tongues in amazement.
No one had ever expected the perpetually stern Mr. Shen to bow his head and admit fault in front of everyone.
The scene was truly a rare sight.
Zhang Jianwei had the loudest voice.
"Well, I’ll be! Finding your own daughter really changes a man! Mr. Shen, you don’t even sound like yourself anymore!"
He stood at the front of the crowd, flailing his arms and legs as he mimicked Shen Zhenwu’s earlier actions.
His antics made everyone around him roar with laughter.
Even the corners of Song Yao’s mouth twitched slightly.
Shen Zhenwu didn’t respond.
Only he knew that in the instant the mountain collapsed, only one thought had remained in his mind.
’If I’d known I was going to die here, I should have just acknowledged my daughter this morning!’
To say nothing of the moment he opened his eyes and saw Song Yao lying in a pool of blood, covered in injuries.
All because she was protecting him.
In that instant, Shen Zhenwu’s mind went blank.
He saw Xiao Hu carrying Song Yao and running out, saw the medical staff rushing in to save her.
But his gaze never left her.
’This girl nearly died for me, and I was still going to let my stupid pride make me suffer for no reason?’
To be blunt, if Yao Yuzhen or Shen Shuangshuang had been there, he didn’t believe for a second that they would have rushed forward to shield him from disaster.
He knew his wife and other daughter all too well.
Yao Yuzhen doted on her daughter more than anything.
If the situation had been critical, she never would have risked staying behind.
As for Shuangshuang...
He closed his eyes, and the image of the girl who had been spoiled since childhood appeared in his mind.
The word "sacrifice" had never existed in her vocabulary.
But Song Yao was different.
She had grown up alone, weathering storms without anyone to protect her.
And yet, it was she who had stood in front of him at the moment of life and death.
Song Yao needed time to process everything, and Shen Zhenwu had to deal with matters concerning Xiao Hu and Xiao Yang.
And so, the two went their separate ways.
Only Aunt Zhang and Xiao Li were left in the room with Song Yao.
Xiao Li leaned against the headboard, his leg in a cast, glancing at Song Yao’s expression from time to time.
Aunt Zhang sat on a small stool, holding a bowl of freshly warmed porridge.
As soon as Shen Zhenwu left, she immediately leaned in and spoke her mind in a hushed voice.
"Xiao Song, your suffering is finally over! From now on, you’re officially Mr. Shen’s own daughter. What more could you have to worry about? With the Shen Family’s status, who wouldn’t be green with envy?"
"I heard that the Shen Family’s ancestors were big merchants, so they were very wealthy. Then Mr. Shen came along and joined the service, racking up all sorts of merits. Now he’s got connections in high places and real power. Their family fortune is terrifyingly deep."
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, her fan waving nonstop.
"You’ve finally made it! The good days are here!"
She hoped Song Yao would cry or laugh.