Chapter 240

Chapter 240 Past Events

 

Returning to his room, Jiang Tiancang drank a large cup of cold tea to calm his mood.

This entire day, he was nearly angered to death!

“Dad, you just expelled Yibo from the family like that? At this rate, how many descendants will our Jiang family have left?” At this moment, an elegant woman came to Jiang Tiancang’s side and added some hot water to his teacup.

This woman appeared to be around thirty years old, very beautiful, with a rather full figure, a charming young matron.

She was Jiang Tiancang’s youngest daughter, Jiang Qingyuan!

“For the sake of the Jiang family’s reputation, I had no choice.” Jiang Tiancang sighed, looking as if he had aged several years in this moment.

Jiang Qingyuan walked to the opposite side of her father, her figure graceful, even more voluptuous than Xue Ruyun, but this fullness wasn’t fat – compared to her pretty face, her figure was just right.

“You’re right to protect the Jiang family’s reputation, but don’t overlook the family’s legacy,” Jiang Qingyuan said with some concern.

“I wouldn’t really expel Yibo from the family forever. I just wanted to give him a warning, to make him behave better in the future,” Jiang Tiancang finally revealed his true thoughts.

“I knew that’s what you were thinking.” Jiang Qingyuan smiled slightly, the lines of her face delicate and soft, appearing extremely beautiful.

“You clever girl, nothing gets past you.” Jiang Tiancang smiled as he glanced at his daughter: “I’m also giving Zilong and the others a lesson, so they don’t forget their place, fighting all day long while forgetting they’re actually family.”

As he said this, there was a hint of desolation in his tone.

“Dad, after everything that’s happened, who among the third generation do you think can take over as family head?”

“Family head?” Hearing this, Jiang Tiancang gave a cold laugh: “Jiang Yibo is adequate at maintaining but lacks initiative, Jiang Yihe is good at small schemes but can’t handle big situations, only Jiang Yigang was somewhat capable, but five years ago…”

Jiang Qingyuan also sighed slightly. In fact, she wasn’t much younger than Jiang Yigang, being Jiang Tiancang’s daughter born in his later years. The events of five years ago were still vivid in her memory.

“Dad, I feel like someone is deliberately targeting us in this matter,” Jiang Qingyuan shared her suspicion: “This secret recording was definitely done with malicious intent.”

“Of course, I’ve already figured that out.” A grave look appeared in Jiang Tiancang’s eyes, “This method is far more vicious than five years ago!”

“Dad, you mean he…” Jiang Qingyuan covered her mouth, seemingly incredulous.

“Some matters never end unless one side is completely dead.” Jiang Tiancang stood up and patted Jiang Qingyuan’s shoulder: “It’s just like on the battlefield – if you haven’t killed all your enemies, you can never let your guard down.”

Jiang Qingyuan nodded, seeing an unprecedented gravity in Jiang Tiancang’s eyes.

“Qingyuan, invite the other four old geezers who suffered with us five years ago. Tell them Jiang Tiancang is hosting a banquet, and they must attend.”

“The other four families…” Jiang Qingyuan hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.

She walked out of the room. Outside, the wind had picked up, the early summer breeze carrying an unexpected chill.

…

“For these big families, they often maintain a peaceful facade, appearing close and friendly, but beneath that thin veneer of harmony, they secretly scheme against each other. What I’m doing is tearing off that pretense of harmony.” Su Rui lay on a recliner, seemingly talking to himself, yet also as if addressing someone else: “I imagine the Jiang family must be in chaos by now!”

If anyone saw Su Rui apparently talking to thin air, they would likely find the scene terrifying.

However, a voice clearly came from the empty space.

“Your move of going with the flow was quite brilliant. A video falls into your hands, and you make such great use of it.” The voice from the air chuckled: “In the past, I always thought you were just a tactically strong warrior, but now I see you’re actually a strategic genius.”

“I have no ambition to be a strategic genius, I just want to enjoy the show,” Su Rui said softly: “I hate those who act righteous in public but commit despicable acts in private. So, I’ll just watch them fight like dogs, biting each other!”

“Dogs fighting, biting each other?” The voice on the other end seemed to be holding back laughter: “In all of China, perhaps only you have the guts to describe them that way.”

“Describe? That word is too polite for them.” Su Rui’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by a gloomy expression.

Those familiar with him – the Twelve Divine Guards and the Twin Stars – knew that when Su Rui made this expression, it meant he was extremely angry.

Nowadays, few things could make Su Rui so angry. The Solar God usually kept his emotions well-hidden!

Moreover, his current gloomy expression even contained a hint of deathly stillness!

“You still can’t forget what happened five years ago.” The voice on the other end grew heavy.

“If I forgot, I wouldn’t be human, and I wouldn’t deserve to live,” Su Rui said gravely, his eyes slowly filling with bloodshot veins!

“But what’s past is past, why remain so fixated?” the voice advised: “At that time, the Commander already ruled that both sides were at fault, ordering the matter closed. Looking back, they suffered greater losses, after all, there was so much bloodshed that night…”

Before he could finish, Su Rui interrupted him.

“He Yu, do you remember He Yu?”

“My comrade, the one called ‘Lone Wolf,’ who earned two first-class merits and seven second-class merits! Do you remember that name?!” There was a hint of anger in Su Rui’s voice!

After a long silence, the other side finally said: “Of course I remember. He was a war hero. The country and its people won’t forget him…”

“What nonsense about the country and people not forgetting him! Stop feeding me these useless lines! I’ve heard them so many times my ears have calluses!” Su Rui almost growled: “Even if he’s remembered forever, what good does that do? The man is already dead!”

“Yes, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Do you want to stir up another bloodbath?” The voice on the other end also took on a harsh tone: “You should know that if you do, you won’t survive either!”

“Five years ago, your crime was much greater than theirs, but the Commander still went against popular opinion and ruled both sides equally at fault. You should be content with that!”

“Your small provocations are one thing, but Su Rui, I beg you, please don’t go crazy like you did five years ago, okay? Times have changed. Your past merits and demerits balanced out, but if you make another mistake, even if the Commander wants to protect you, he’ll be powerless to help!”

Su Rui shook his head: “It’s precisely because of that ‘both sides at fault’ decision that I’ve held back until now. I once hoped for peace, wishing this matter could be buried forever, but as time passed, I realized I simply can’t do it, I just can’t!”

“Those pampered people have never known suffering, they’ve always built their so-called happiness on others’ pain.” As Su Rui spoke, the viciousness in his voice grew stronger!

“My comrade He Yu was injured in his last mission and finally got a chance to visit his family.” Su Rui’s eyes showed a hint of reminiscence, though tinged with pain: “In fifteen years of military service, he went home fewer than ten times, each visit lasting only about a week. He was a career soldier who gave everything to this country, and how did the country repay him? Besides giving him commendation after commendation, medal after medal, what else?”

The voice on the other end fell silent, seemingly also reflecting, unable to answer Su Rui’s question.

“Before He Yu’s last home visit due to injury, his uniform couldn’t hold any more medals!” Su Rui’s voice began to tremble!

“After three years away from home, he thought he could use his injury as an opportunity to reunite with his family. But what did he find?” Su Rui’s voice rose: “Not a single person was left in his home, not one! Just two days before he returned, they had all died!”

“He Yu had a sister, extremely beautiful, who worked as a supervisor at a local hotel. Her life was plain and uneventful, until one day, five men came from the capital and completely changed her life!”

“Those five men, who normally appeared dignified and proper, revealed their beastly nature at the hotel. The five of them dragged He Yu’s sister to a room and took turns assaulting her! They tortured her for twenty straight hours, literally torturing her to death!”

“Dead!” After shouting this word, Su Rui fell into a long silence! Tears glistened in his eyes!

After a while, Su Rui seemed to regain some composure and continued: “Afterward, these five men acted as if nothing had happened, found a local government official, made up some excuse, and gave He Yu’s parents twenty thousand yuan to settle the matter!”

At this point, Su Rui’s eyes flashed with a cold smile, but unlike before, this cold smile contained no mockery, only cruelty.

“Twenty thousand yuan, which wasn’t even enough to cover the cost of one of their bottles of wine! A once vibrant life was worth so little in their eyes!”

“Although He Yu’s parents weren’t well-off, they weren’t fools. Their daughter’s death was suspicious, and naturally they wanted justice. They knelt at the government office door in mourning clothes, but that very night, on their way home, both were struck by a speeding heavy truck! They died instantly!”

As he said this, Su Rui’s chest began to heave violently again!

“He Yu was injured, with a broken arm and three bullet wounds, one just three centimeters from his heart. After surgery and a brief recovery, he returned home, only to find this situation. If it were you, what would you do?”

“This is the gift this country left for a war hero!” Su Rui raged: “What a fucking surprise!”