Chapter 268: The Stepmother of Four Children

Song Jingyu's voice was loud; this time not only Sun Dazhi, but even the soldiers secretly observing nearby also heard it.

They never expected that the always impartial, emotionless regimental commander could make such a deep confession.

As Song Jingyu's words fell, their doubts about Su Ruo vanished instantly, replaced by unparalleled curiosity; they wondered how Su Ruo had conquered their regimental commander, making even the stern Yama sway.

Su Ruo didn't know; she only felt that today she had many more patients than usual because of what Song Jingyu had done.

Moreover, they were all patients with injuries from falls and blows; these soldiers, due to years of training, inevitably had some old ailments.

Su Ruo prescribed some medicine for them, instructing them to apply and take it on schedule when they returned.

These soldiers were all subordinates of Song Jingyu; they came here just to observe Su Ruo up close, wanting to know what magic she had that could conquer their own regimental commander; otherwise such minor aches and pains would not have mattered to them, and they certainly wouldn't have made a special trip for it.

But after using the medicine Su Ruo prescribed, they suddenly discovered that her ointment was extremely effective, even alleviating their old waist injuries.

Thus, everyone felt as if they had discovered a new continent, and the number of patients coming to Su Ruo for treatment kept growing.

These soldiers all hoped to be in the best mental state before the Grand Competition.

Therefore, the usually leisurely Su Ruo suddenly became busy; sometimes she was so occupied she didn't even have time to eat, at which point Chen Dan would cheerfully bring her a lunch box, telling her it had been specially prepared for her by Regimental Commander Song.

Then Chen Dan would look at Su Ruo with a face full of envy, hoping that one day she too would meet her own Prince Charming.

However, as Su Ruo's number of patients grew, she inevitably attracted envy from some people; they simply didn't believe that someone so young could possess such profound medical skills, thinking Su Ruo only gained their approval by relying on Song Jingyu's connections.

Even worse, some directly scolded Su Ruo for being immoral, claiming she would seduce people and corrupt the hospital's atmosphere.

Chen Dan became very angry after hearing these remarks; these people themselves had ulterior motives, so they saw everything as black, and without any evidence they blatantly framed others.

Chen Dan felt that those people saying such things about Su Ruo were utterly vicious.

Su Ruo, however, paid no heed; in this world, as long as you do well, there will always be people who envy and belittle you, so rather than waste time on them, it's better to seize the moment and strive to improve yourself.

When one day you reach a height they can only look up to but never attain, they will stop envying you and instead look up to you.

After hearing Su Ruo's words, Chen Dan felt greatly moved and influenced by her; she, who was usually somewhat flighty and restless, seemed to have become much steadier.

Chen Dan would no longer argue with those people; instead she chose to scorn them.

Su Ruo and Chen Dan's attitude gradually made those who spread rumors feel bored, so they stopped discussing them.

At the same time, upon receiving Song Jingyu's letter, the superiors immediately gave it high priority.

After investigation, they decided they could no longer allow Hao Manru to stay here and continue to cause trouble for Song Jingyu.

However, because of Division Commander Hao's connection, the superiors' punishment was still lenient; they merely decided to transfer Hao Manru back to Headquarters, without imposing any other penalty.

At the same time, upon learning of this, Division Commander Hao had his first fierce argument with Madame Hao.

Division Commander Hao rebuked Madame Hao, saying her overindulgence of their daughter had allowed her to become lawless, and that she had done such a thing, embarrassing him in public.

Madame Hao, however, blamed Division Commander Hao for being irresponsible, saying he spent virtually all year—almost every day—cooped up in the military camp, paying no attention to them mother and daughter.

These years, due to his busy work, Division Commander Hao had indeed rarely attended to family matters, so he always felt guilty toward his wife and daughter; now facing his wife's reproach, he had nothing to say in his defense.

All he could do was let his wife, after the daughter returns this time, properly restrain her and prevent her from doing anything outrageous again.

Madame Hao said nothing; she of course wanted to restrain her daughter, but feared the daughter's temperament would make her unwilling to listen.

Fortunately, there is now an order from above; the daughter should henceforth be unable to contact Song Jingyu again, which might be a good thing for her.

Perhaps, given enough time, the daughter might gradually forget Song Jingyu.

Although the daughter's body was injured in the previous incident, she might never be able to bear children again.

However, given their family's status and position in the military region, it would still be easy for the daughter to find a decent, honest person to marry within the military region; at worst, she could just help her daughter a bit more.

But Madame Hao never imagined that the car she sent to pick up her daughter would, before even reaching the sea island, bring news that her daughter was about to get married.

The husband Hao Manru chose for herself was Wang Yi, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion.

Hao Manru sought out Wang Yi because, on this entire sea island, he was the only one capable of standing up to Song Jingyu.

In order not to leave the sea island and also to take revenge on Song Jingyu, that very night Hao Manru knocked on Wang Yi's door.

No one knows what happened between Wang Yi and Hao Manru that night, but the next day the two reached an agreement.

Upon hearing the news and learning Wang Yi's identity, Madame Hao on this side was nearly overcome with rage.

Madame Hao's anger was not only because Wang Yi came from a rural background with poor family conditions, but also because he was a full ten years older than Hao Manru.

More importantly, Wang Yi had been married before and had four children; his first wife, after giving birth to three daughters in succession, was disliked by her in-laws, and although she finally managed to bear a son, she died from massive bleeding during a difficult labor.

Because of this incident, Wang Yi was once criticized and educated, urging him to be conscious of his thoughts and not favor males over females.

But Wang Yi's mother was a difficult woman; at the time she cried and said it was all her idea, that she wanted a grandson to carry on the husband's family line, having nothing to do with her son, and she kept kowtowing begging for forgiveness; in the end the matter could only be left unresolved, but anyone could see what was really going on.

Therefore, Madame Hao could never have imagined that her pampered, beloved daughter would actually marry into such a family and become a stepmother.

Upon hearing the news, Madame Hao immediately rushed to the sea island; this time, no matter what, she would stop her daughter, absolutely not allowing her to continue causing chaos and ruining her own life.

But by now Hao Manru had already fallen into madness; how could Madame Hao possibly stop her?