Jiang Zhen’s departure didn’t wake the children, but next door, the commotion grew even more intense—likely from someone struggling and smashing something in the process.  

Gu Pan rubbed her sleepy eyes and ran out, asking, “Uncle, you’re not fighting with Auntie, are you? Let me in to check! If you made her cry, I’ll tell Aunt tomorrow and have her beat you up!”  

Gu Liancheng: *…If she goes in and finds someone missing, how do I explain? Kids can’t keep secrets. No way I’m letting this little smarty-pants inside.*  

“Stop being clever. No sneaking into my bed. Your aunt has the strength to kill me—no need for you to worry.”  

Gu Hui and Jiang Zhao also came out. Jiang Zhao was still too shy to call him “Dad,” while Gu Hui asked, “Uncle, is the neighbor fighting?”  

“Yeah, it’s cold out. If you kids get sick from running around, it’ll be a disaster. None of our business—go back to sleep.”  

He herded the children back to bed and tucked them in. Waiting anxiously in the room, Gu Liancheng grew impatient. *No matter how rowdy things got next door, it’s been an hour. Why isn’t Jiang Zhen back yet?* He wanted to go out but feared the kids might suddenly get up again.  

Finally, he heard faint noises. He cracked the door open halfway, and Jiang Zhen, wrapped in a gust of cold air, slipped inside.  

…

Jiang Zhen stripped off her coat and pants, burrowing under the blankets, then whined to Gu Liancheng, “It’s freezing out there in the middle of the night. Warm me up.”  

Gu Liancheng sighed. “You chose to stay out for an hour. Now you’re complaining?”  

“Gu Pan, that little rascal, poked a hole in the window paper to spy on the yard. I couldn’t get back in.” Jiang Zhen gloated. “Trying to outsmart me? Kids don’t have the patience. She only lasted an hour before crawling back to bed.”  

Gu Liancheng: *…She wasn’t competing with you. She was checking if I lied.*  

“What happened?”  

“She thought I hit you.” Gu Liancheng found it amusing, but then it struck him—children only worried like this because they’d seen or heard too many men beating women.  

Jiang Zhen laughed. “Hah! Not a chance. But I’m happy Gu Pan was looking out for me.”  

This time, Gu Liancheng took the initiative to tuck her not-too-cold feet against his chest. Jiang Zhen sighed contentedly. “You’re so warm.”  

Gu Liancheng hid his blush. “I’ve always run hot. Never minded winters. So… what did you hear over there?”  

“More than just hearing—I *saw* something. I climbed onto the roof, lifted a tile, and guess what I saw?”  

“Probably nothing decent.” Gu Liancheng almost didn’t want to ask.  

But Jiang Zhen had no problem sharing. “Qi Junshan can’t perform, yet he still forces himself on An Xiuqing. The more he fails, the more he hits her—choking her until she could barely breathe. In the end, Qi Junhai kicked the door down and dragged his brother away.”  

Gu Liancheng: *…This is intel I have to report tomorrow. How am I supposed to say this out loud? Maybe I should just send Jiang Zhen to report instead!*  

But sending Jiang Zhen wasn’t realistic—unless she confessed voluntarily. If he asked directly, she’d probably turtle up like a startled tortoise, refusing to come out again. This was the organization’s decision after analysis, and Gu Liancheng had to follow protocol.  

…

“Let’s sleep.” Jiang Zhen’s body heat was strong too, and she warmed up quickly.  

“You listened for an hour. Nothing else noteworthy?” Gu Liancheng pressed for details to include in his report.  

Jiang Zhen waved a hand. “Just that sad, abusive mess. You’re a proper man—you wouldn’t want to hear it.”  

This kind of topic was awkward for both the speaker and the listener, testing one’s endurance. Even Gu Liancheng, as disciplined as he was, couldn’t hold her delicate feet against his chest without feeling challenged.  

“Fine. No need to describe irrelevant things.”  

“Oh, right—after Qi Junhai dragged his brother away, Ji Fengmei threatened An Xiuqing. She said Qi Junshan’s eye was gouged out by *me* and told her to come test me tomorrow morning—see if I have any cuts on my neck.”  

Jiang Zhen figured this was worth mentioning. “So, Qi Junshan was a bandit, and Qi Junhai didn’t know, but Ji Fengmei *definitely* knew.”

**This is crucial information!** Gu Liancheng’s eyes flickered. Jiang Zhen had taken off her coat, revealing the pale, porcelain-like skin of her neck through the shallow collar of her inner garment.  

Jiang Zhen smiled. “Of course he didn’t hurt me. Don’t worry.”  

She hesitated, then added, “There’s one more thing—just my own speculation. I wasn’t going to mention it, but since you said *‘tell me things in advance,’* I’ll say it now. It’s just a wild guess, might not be accurate.”  

“Go ahead. I’ll judge for myself.” Gu Liancheng said. “In the future, if there’s anything similar, just say it. I’ll only be grateful.”  

“Alright.” Jiang Zhen nodded. “Originally, I was already on my way back, but then I noticed Gu Pan crouching inside, picking at the window paper, so I went back to the Qi family’s roof. I shifted to another room and lifted a tile. Qi Junshan was talking to his mother, saying An Xiuqing’s father might not actually be dead. That’s why he decided to marry her—to use her as a hostage and force her father to show himself.”  

“Then Ji Fengmei said it was impossible and complained to her son, calling him an extremely selfish and cowardly man who wouldn’t risk himself for anyone. But if he was *that* selfish and cowardly, how could he have risked his life to save your parents? If you really want to get to the bottom of this, maybe you should look into what your parents were doing back then. Did they never mention anything to you while they were alive?”  

Gu Liancheng shook his head. “No, they never said a word. I’ll ask the relevant authorities later. Jiang Zhen, this information is extremely useful to me. Thank you.”  

“You’re welcome.” Jiang Zhen beamed.  

…

Because of Gu Pan’s cleverness last night, Jiang Zhen had overheard an extra piece of useful information for Gu Liancheng. As a reward, she let the little girl have an extra half of a salted duck egg at breakfast.  

Not wanting to be unfair, Gu Liancheng gave his own half to Jiang Tang.  

Jiang Tang timidly glanced at Gu Liancheng and whispered, barely audible, “Thank you… Dad.”  

Gu Pan chimed in, “Sister, you’re Uncle’s little treasure now. My dad always said daughters are way more considerate than smelly sons—that’s why he treats me better than my brother. Don’t worry!”  

Gu Liancheng sighed. “You sure know a lot.”  

Gu Pan suddenly grew wistful. “Uncle… when will my dad come back? Will he bring me a new mom too, like you did?”  

Gu Liancheng didn’t know. All he knew was that his older brother had soon crossed the Yalu River with the troops, only to later return blind and amnesiac, living far from Fancheng. Now that he had been reborn, he couldn’t let his brother suffer the same fate again.  

Before he could figure out how to answer, his eldest sister arrived, breaking the awkward silence.  

“Oh, you’ve all started eating!” Gu Liancheng’s eldest sister came in with freshly made egg pancakes, the aroma filling the room.  

The moment she saw the delicious pancakes, Gu Pan immediately forgot her worries about a “new mom.”  

Jiang Zhen greeted her warmly, “Big Sister, won’t you stay for breakfast?”  

“No, I’ve already eaten. I just wanted to check on you all. Now that I see everyone’s fine, I can head back to the hospital—we’re short-staffed. But don’t worry, they’re still discussing your position. Wait for the official decision before doing anything, or else you’ll just be working for free.”  

“Got it. I’ll follow your advice.”  

Jiang Zhen felt there was one more thing she should mention. “Big Sister, whether or not the hospital job works out, I’ll find something else to do. So I’ve already assigned chores to the kids. This morning’s breakfast was made by Jiang Zhao and Gu Hui together. Gu Pan swept the floors, and Jiang Tang fed the chickens and ducks in the backyard coop.”  

Gu Jiaoxia laughed heartily. “To tell you the truth, these egg pancakes were made by your brother-in-law this morning. As long as your little family has everything sorted out, why should I meddle? Go ahead and manage things as you see fit!”  

…

**Jiang Zhen felt a little smug inside.** She lavished praise and encouragement on the four children, even promising them that once Gu Liancheng left, she would close the door and take them into her space to play.  

After Gu Liancheng’s eldest sister left, Gu Liancheng took the initiative to wash the dishes. The organization was waiting for his report, and he didn’t dare delay. He turned to Jiang Zhen and said, “I need to go back to the military unit for a while.”  

“Will you be back for lunch? Or dinner? If you’re not coming back at all, could you send someone to let me know?” 

Gu Liancheng smiled wryly. Jiang Zhen didn’t even ask why he was leaving the day after their wedding—she even gave him all the time he needed. He was grateful, but he also knew this was how a competent partner would act. If they were truly husband and wife, there would inevitably be some friction.  

“Alright. If I can’t make it back, I’ll have someone inform you.”  

…

Not long after Gu Liancheng left, **An Xiuqing came over.** She made some clumsy excuses, trying to get a look at Jiang Zhen’s neck, but winter clothes covered too much—there was no way to see anything.  

When she returned, she lied and said she had seen it: “There’s a thin scar, already healed.”  

Ji Fengmei had promised that if An Xiuqing handled this task well, she wouldn’t let Qi Junshan enter her room again.  

Ji Fengmei relayed the news to her eldest son: “There’s a wound on her neck—it’s the same person.”  

Qi Junshan muttered to himself, “I thought it might be two different people.”  

Ji Fengmei scoffed. “Sure, Jiang Zhen has a twin sister, but she’s been missing for years. It can’t be that much of a coincidence—you’re overthinking it.”

Qi Junshan nodded. “If it’s the same person, then there’s no need to keep digging. I’ll go out and call back the brothers who were exhuming the body.” 

…

Gu Liancheng returned to the military base, where the newly established security department was already assembled. Xiao Jianzhou said, “Comrade Qingfeng, repeat what you told us last night to Liancheng and the experts.”  

Xiao Qingfeng carefully recalled, not daring to omit any details: “I can’t be sure if the current ‘sister-in-law’ is the same person who bandaged me that day. But at the time, I really did see a mirage—and inside it was another Jiang Zhen. Then the earthquake happened.”  

Unverified details couldn’t be included in the official report. Xiao Jianzhou paced back and forth in the confidential meeting room before making a decision: “There are several suspicious individuals digging at the earthquake’s epicenter, even spreading rumors among the locals that the tremors unearthed buried silver ingots. We need to send engineers there under the pretense of road repairs—we must excavate that area thoroughly before they do.”  

Gu Liancheng’s heart pounded. **He had to be there.** If anything was dug up, he needed to know immediately.  

He saluted. “Political Commissar, I request temporary assignment to the engineering battalion to assist in the excavation.”  

“You’re definitely going.”  

Gu Liancheng didn’t return home that night. He sent word back with a messenger. After digging for a full day and night, just before dawn, under the glow of searchlights, they touched what was unmistakably a human corpse—**long hair, female.**  

His voice trembled as he called for more flashlights. “Over here—we’ve found something!”