1970s: Hot wife accompanies the army, cold-faced rough man is not easy to tease

Chapter 296 Who Cares About Your Apologies?
The name he had deliberately avoided was suddenly brought up, and the smile vanished from Song Huanian's face in an instant.

Ever since she learned that she had a grandson, Song Huanian has been inquiring about everything related to Gu Qingye.

Although much information was kept secret, such a long period of time was enough for him to know that Gu Bohuai had been "invisible" in his grandson's life for more than 20 years.

In Song Huanian's eyes, this was no different from abandoning his wife and children. He didn't even confront Gu Bohuai, yet the other party dared to come to him willingly.

Song Huanian never hated anyone in his life, except for Gu Bohuai.

"Let him come. I want to see what he has to say!"

*
The revolutionary martyrs' cemetery on the outskirts of Beijing was quiet and solemn. Several cars drove in one after another, and Song Huanian, dressed in a black Tang suit, got out of the car with the help of her son.

Today, the old man wore his dragon-head cane again, and his fingertips were turning white, clearly indicating that this time the cane was not just for show.

Knowing that your daughter is gone is one thing, but not seeing her with your own eyes will always leave you with a sliver of hope.

Now that we're here, it means we must personally extinguish any remaining hope.

Song Huanian never wanted to be a martyr; he only hoped his daughter would live a good life.

The group of a dozen or so people moved forward silently, without making a sound. Even Song Yunqing, who was usually carefree, was serious and silent.

The phrase "sacrificing oneself for one's country" was too foreign to her. She had never witnessed the destruction of her country and the loss of her home, nor did she understand the cruelty of war.

But when she saw the densely packed names on the monument and the neat rows of tombstones on the mountain, she suddenly understood what her grandfather meant by patriotism.

Gu Qingye walked beside Song Huanian. This wasn't his first time here, and he was quite familiar with the place.

As a soldier, he was always prepared to sacrifice himself. Just like that accident at sea, if Little Grey hadn't found him in time, perhaps his name would be here now.

Although he had never lived with his mother, her resting place here already felt familiar and dear to him.

After walking for about ten minutes, the staff gently reminded the old man that they had arrived at their destination.

Song Huanian stopped as instructed, but remained unwilling to look up for a long time.

Beside Song Jinshu's tombstone stood a tall, thin middle-aged man, Gu Bohuai, who had arrived early.

After investigating the truth of what happened back then, he personally went to Qiaoshan Village and found out where Song Jinshu was buried.

If Gu Zhonghuai hadn't still held onto a sliver of reverence back then and hadn't just buried him anywhere, he might not have even been able to find Song Jinshu's grave.

When he arrived at the place, he found that there wasn't even a proper tombstone, just a mound of earth, a thin coffin, and a fallen wooden plaque.

If it weren't for its proximity to the local old cemeteries, this simple grave would have silently disappeared over the decades.

Gu Bohuai moved Song Jinshu's grave to the Martyrs' Cemetery, which became the meeting place designated by Song Huanian.

Gu Bohuai walked up to the old man, saluted, and bowed. He wanted to call him father-in-law, but he knew very well that the old man would not want to hear those two words.

Song Huanian did not give him a chance to speak.

The old man pushed away his son's hand that was helping him up, ignored Gu Bohuai who was still bent over, and walked forward step by step.

Embedded on the tombstone is a black and white photograph, the only photo of Song Jinshu, taken by Xie Fangwen in the old revolutionary area.

All the photos that Gu Bohuai originally had were secretly destroyed by Du Shuang, and this one was cut out from a large group photo.

Having been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood, Song Jinshu has a particularly gentle face, but her eyes shine with a dazzling light—an expectation for love and a longing for the new China.

Song Huanian burst into tears. If Jinshu were still alive, she would only be in her fifties now...

Over the years, he has regretted countless times that his last memory of his daughter was arguing, and that they couldn't even say goodbye properly.

Song Huanian's fingertips trembled as she dared not touch the cold, blurry portrait. At least Jinshu looked happy in the photo; at least this was her dream. Song Huanian could only console herself with this thought.

The Song family came together to pay their respects, and when they looked up, the eyes of the Song brothers, Heting and Song Heting, were also red.

"Big brother..."

Upon hearing Gu Bohuai's voice, Song Heting coldly replied, "Mr. Gu, watch your words. I am not your elder brother!"

Gu Bohuai mocked himself, knowing that the Song family would not forgive him, so such a tough stance was to be expected.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, I..."

Snapped--

The apology was abruptly cut short by a dark shadow that came crashing down on him.

"I'm sorry, who cares about your apology? Do you think you can bring Jinshu back just because you apologize? She's only twenty-three years old, twenty-three..."

Song Huanian's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze seemed to devour people. He raised his cane and smashed it at Gu Bohuai.

The Chinese accompanying personnel were stunned and tried to stop him, but Gu Bohuai raised his hand to stop them. He resisted the urge to dodge and took the blows.

Song Huanian was getting on in years, and in his emotional state, he quickly lost his balance and his cane fell from his hand.

Gu Qingye quickly stepped forward to support the old man's swaying body and helped him to sit down by the flower bed.

The Song family was stunned. They immediately went over to get water and medicine to lower the heart rate and blood pressure first.

Gu Bohuai silently walked up to Song Huanian, knelt on the ground, and bowed deeply.

He didn't pay respects to his parents when he married Song Jinshu, and it was only after so many years that he recognized Gu Qingye. He owes the Song family a lot.

Gu Bohuai deliberately didn't wear his military uniform; if he could kneel, he had to kneel.

Upon seeing this, the team leader immediately gestured for the Chinese entourage to stand further away.

Now is clearly the time to resolve family matters. Given Gu Bohuai's status here, we should at least give him some face.

Song Huanian, leaning on his cane and clutching his chest with his right hand, didn't even glance at Gu Bohuai, who was kowtowing. The rest of the Song family, however, kept their distance.

Song Heting and Song Jingting were alright, but the three younger ones, though silent, had their eyes wide open.

I heard this unrecognized uncle-in-law holds a high official rank, and he actually knelt down?!
Song Yunqing couldn't help but steal a glance at her newly born cousin, but Gu Qingye remained completely unfazed, not even blinking.

Her parents hadn't explained the love and hate grudges of the previous generation to her in detail. It seems the situation is more serious than she imagined.

Does she still need to call him uncle?
After making his move, Song Huanian didn't look at Gu Bohuai again until they returned to the hotel, where he called Gu Bohuai into the room to talk alone.

Gu Bohuai made no secrets and told the whole story of what happened back then, including his scheming younger brother and the willful and reckless Du family.

It took Song Huanian a long time to calm down and suppress his boiling anger.

"You divorced that woman?"

"We're divorced."

It's fortunate that they divorced, otherwise the old man might have filed a lawsuit against the emperor.

"Let's put aside what we owe the Song family for now. Qingye, what are your plans?"

Song Huanian's gaze turned icy. He knew that Gu Bohuai had two children with the woman surnamed Du, and if Gu Bohuai's words did not satisfy him...