Rumors were running rampant throughout the military district compound, spreading quickly through the offices, the barracks, and every corner of the family housing area.
Some said Shen Zhiwei was promiscuous seeing Chen Weidong fail, she had eagerly gone to seduce the more powerful Gu Yanzhou. Others claimed that Gu Yanzhou, outwardly upright, led a corrupt private life, abusing his authority to interfere in others’ military marriages. Some even mixed the two stories together.
The tales were both scandalous and filthy, described in such lurid detail that it was as if the narrators had witnessed it firsthand, each word designed to make readers blush.
Shen Zhiwei walked along the path back to the small temporary courtyard, clearly feeling the whispers and pointing fingers behind her.
But she only lifted her head slightly. The setting sun stretched her slender silhouette long across the ground, her spine straightening even further.
Having experienced the devastation of her family in her previous life, kneeling on stage and being publicly humiliated, these empty, baseless rumors could no longer truly hurt her.
Back at the courtyard, her mother Wang Lan was already able to support herself against the wall and move slowly around the yard.
The effect of the spring water had far exceeded Shen Zhiwei’s expectations. Seeing her daughter return alone, her mother’s expression seemed somewhat off.
“Zhiwei, Representative Gu didn’t come back with you?”
Shen Zhiwei’s expression remained calm. “The army had an urgent mission. He had to leave immediately, but before he left, he arranged everything Dad will definitely be released tomorrow.”
Her firm tone reassured her mother slightly, and Wang Lan felt a bit more at ease.
That night, the heat was stifling.
The air was thick with the smell of earth and the strong fragrance of night-blooming jasmine.
Shen Zhiwei lay in bed, restless and unable to sleep, listening to the distant barking of dogs and the calls of night-shift workers.
She once again immersed her consciousness into the spring water space. The white mist still drifted, and the spring remained tranquil.
As soon as she entered, the once-empty black soil beside the spring silently sprouted several tender green seedlings.
The seedlings were only about an inch tall but emitted a soothing fragrance that calmed the mind.
What was this? Had they grown spontaneously inside the space?
She focused her mind and carefully plucked the smallest leaf. The moment it rested in her hand, the fragrance became even more intense.
Without thinking further, Shen Zhiwei placed it in her mouth.
The moment it touched her tongue, an indescribable clarity surged into her mind. Her brain became astonishingly sharp, and her thoughts seemed to accelerate several times over.
All the details of the previous day the words of Deputy Director Wang and Li Jianye, the sources and motives of the rumors were instantly analyzed and clarified in her mind.
“Li Man… she knows the future… what does she fear the most?” Shen Zhiwei’s eyes gleamed. “What she fears most is someone discovering the future before her and exposing her schemes!”
This… this was like a smart drug.
Shen Zhiwei’s heart leapt with joy the spring water space had given her an incredible surprise.
The next morning, at first light, she had just comforted her mother and brother.
“Today, there will be a breakthrough in Dad’s situation.”
Wang Lan’s complexion had improved considerably, but the worry between her brows hadn’t faded.
“Zhiwei, when you go to the street office, you must be careful! Back when our family came up from the countryside, that Sun, the village head, was never a good person. He made things difficult for us at every turn.
Now that you’re back, he probably won’t be pleasant he might even deliberately hold you up.”
Her eldest brother, Shen Jianguo, also wore a worried expression. “Dad was transferred this morning to the detention center assigned by the military disciplinary commission.
The rules there are stricter. I heard the nature of the case has changed… what are we going to do?”
Shen Zhiwei held her mother’s hand, her voice unusually calm. “Mom, brother, don’t be afraid.
“The case being upgraded is actually a good thing it means Representative Gu is taking this seriously, and someone’s starting to get nervous. It’s precisely at times like this that we can’t panic.
“Since someone wants to make a big deal out of this, then we’ll cooperate and make it even bigger! Big enough that no one can cover it up, big enough that all the corrupt schemers are exposed.”
She had a plan.
A rumor was nothing she could handle that too.
While her mother went out to the nearby vegetable market, Shen Zhiwei briskly walked to the courtyard’s busiest spot near the laundry area and the bulletin board.
A few family members were there, washing clothes and quietly murmuring, clearly still discussing yesterday’s rumors.
Shen Zhiwei feigned red-rimmed eyes and a recklessly determined tone. “Are all you sisters-in-law here? Perfect. I’m too lazy to go to each of you one by one.”
“Aren’t you all curious why I’m determined to divorce? It’s not because I’m chasing after someone more powerful. It’s because Chen Weidong embezzled public funds and led a corrupt life.
“His mistress Li Man and her cousin, to cover up their own disgrace, conspired to frame my father. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourselves: Wang Qiang and Li Jianye, who had my father arrested, were taken by the military disciplinary commission over economic issues.”
The family members immediately stopped their previous chatter and looked at her in surprise.
“What did you say? Who embezzled public funds to support a mistress?”
“A frame-up? Does this mean that thing with Engineer Shen yesterday has an inside story?”
“See? I knew Chen Weidong wasn’t a good person!”
“Exactly! Not only is his behavior questionable, he might have embezzled too! And his mistress and her cousin teamed up to frame Miss Shen?”
Shen Zhiwei didn’t say any more. She only kept her eyes red, shook her head slightly, and acted as if she dared not speak further for fear of retaliation.
Then she turned and quickly walked away.
Left behind, the family members looked at each other, then whispered excitedly among themselves.
She stood by the window, watching the morning light.
Although challenges still lay ahead, she was now filled with determination. From the courtyard came faint murmurs about Chen Weidong and Li Man’s embezzlement and plots.
She smiled quietly to herself.
“Rumors are just a spark. Li Man, Chen Weidong the real showdown is only just beginning.”