After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Just past noon, the canteen of the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital was bustling with noise, filled with the aroma of stewed cabbage and tofu and the clinking of aluminum lunchboxes.

Gu Yue, carrying two lunchboxes filled with braised pork and side dishes, followed Zhao Lanlan as they searched for seats. Just as they reached the table by the window, they overheard several nurses at the table in front of them gossiping amongst themselves.

"Have you heard? The stone supplier for that newly built interventional center building is actually Dr. Ye's own brother." A round-faced nurse took a bite of her multigrain steamed bun, her voice extremely low.

The nurse with braided pigtails chimed in, "Yesterday when I went to the administration building to submit forms, I heard from the people in the infrastructure office that Vice President Lin has ordered the quarry's settlement account to be frozen. Now everyone is guessing whether there's some shady transfer of benefits involved."

"Really? Doctor Ye's medical skills are so amazing, and he usually seems so aloof and cold, not like someone who's greedy for money."

"That's what they call knowing a person's face but not their heart, and keeping the good stuff within the family!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yue became so angry that she slammed the aluminum lunchbox in her hand heavily onto the empty table next to her with a loud bang.

She strode up to the group of nurses at that table, her eyebrows furrowed, and pointed at their noses, yelling, "You lot have secure jobs from the government, and you can't even keep your mouths shut?! You dare to spread baseless rumors in the cafeteria? Believe me, I'll report you to security for sabotage and dock your bonuses this month!"

The nurses were scolded in front of everyone, and their faces turned bright red with embarrassment. They picked up their half-eaten lunchboxes and scurried out of the cafeteria like mice avoiding a cat.

Gu Yue plopped down angrily, her chest heaving. "Sister Lanlan, listen to the utter nonsense these people are spouting! My sister-in-law risked her life on the operating table to save someone, and now they're throwing this filthy water at her!"

Zhao Lanlan pushed the lunchbox in front of Gu Yue, her eyes filled with deep worry: "This whole thing is so suspicious. It's obvious someone's pulling the strings behind the scenes. No, we need to hurry up and eat a few bites of rice and go back to tell my sister-in-law right away. We can't let her take the fall in front of us and then get stabbed in the back."

The two didn't even bother to eat; they picked up their lunchboxes and hurried through the tree-lined path of the hospital, running back to the aid office.

Ye Zhen was sitting at her desk, a Hero brand fountain pen in her hand, carefully checking a follow-up examination report from a child in northern Shaanxi. She saw two young women rush in, panting.

"What's going on? We couldn't even get a seat in the cafeteria at lunchtime today?"

Gu Yue stamped her feet anxiously, her eyes reddening: "Sister-in-law, you still have the mind to look at the report! It's all over the hospital saying that Lin Weiguo, under the guise of investigating the transfer of benefits, froze your brother's quarry accounts!"

Zhao Lanlan walked to the desk and added in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, this is clearly a smear campaign against you, trying to ruin your reputation and force you to make mistakes and act rashly."

Ye Zhen finally put down her pen. Instead of panicking, she picked up her enamel mug, took a slow sip of warm water, and a sneer appeared on her lips.

"So Lin Weiguo had his eye on my older brother. Only a father and daughter could come up with such a despicable and underhanded trick."

"Sister-in-law, why aren't you angry at all! This concerns your innocence!" Gu Yue was frantic. "Let's go to the dean's office right now, bang on the table, and demand an explanation!"

"The foundation of the building won't stop, and my reputation can't be ruined by a few big-character posters and idle gossip." Ye Zhen's eyes were clear, revealing an undeniable composure. "You two go and prepare the files we need this afternoon. We also have three family members from out of town to receive. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

As evening fell, the setting sun bathed the alleyways of the northern city in a golden hue.

As soon as Ye Zhen stepped out of the main hospital gate, she saw Gu Zheng's bodyguard, Xiao Wang, parked on the side of the road in his military green jeep. Xiao Wang was acting out of character today. Usually a very honest and steady young man, he was now beaming with excitement as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes shining as if he had just won a battle.

Ye Zhen opened the car door and sat in the back seat. She keenly noticed Xiao Wang's unusual behavior and subtly tried to get information out of him: "Xiao Wang, you must be exhausted after going to the training ground with your regimental commander today?"

Xiao Wang was a straightforward and honest man. Upon hearing this, he grinned and instinctively chimed in, "Not tired at all! Sister-in-law, we didn't go to the training ground today. We went to the Fangzhuang quarry with Commander Li..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Wang suddenly realized he had made a big blunder and quickly covered his mouth, then guiltily glanced at Ye Zhen through the rearview mirror.

Ye Zhen lifted her eyelids slightly, her tone light and casual, yet she precisely grasped the crux of the matter: "How many people went?"

"They went...they went to over a hundred places..."

"Are more than a hundred people going there to smash rocks?"

Startled, Xiao Wang slammed on the brakes, turned around, and exclaimed with wide eyes, "Sister-in-law, you're amazing! How did you know we were going to smash rocks?"

"If we don't go smash the rocks, are we going to buy them? Tell me, what else are we going to do?"

"Ah! ...This..." Xiao Wang was sweating profusely.

"You're not going to talk, are you? I'll talk to your commander tonight. We need to get a more astute bodyguard."

"Huh? Sister-in-law, please stop!" Xiao Wang said, wiping sweat from his brow with one hand while steering the wheel. "I'll talk, I'll talk, but this was all done by Commander Li, it has nothing to do with our regimental commander."

Xiao Wang recounted the whole story in detail.

"Sister-in-law, you didn't see it! That fat guy surnamed Zhou was so scared he peed his pants on the spot, knelt on the ground, and spilled all his dirty secrets!"

Watching Xiao Wang spill the beans about Lao Li and Gu Zheng's disruption of the event, Ye Zhen shook her head helplessly. This devil has gotten smarter; he's learned to use others' strength against them. But you've even brought out rocket launchers—aren't you afraid of getting punished?

Ten minutes later, the jeep came to a smooth stop downstairs in the residential compound.

Ye Zhen pushed open the half-closed door and saw Gu Zheng's tall figure wearing an apron, holding a large kitchen knife, chopping a potato on the cutting board with a loud "bang bang".

Hearing footsteps, Gu Zheng didn't even turn his head, his tone full of boasting: "Wife, you're back? Try your man's cooking tonight, I guarantee this hot and sour shredded potatoes will be even more authentic than the chefs at state-run restaurants!"

Ye Zhen walked to the sink, washed her hands, dried them with a towel, and leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching that broad back.

"You cut these potato shreds really neatly today," Ye Zhen said calmly, "just like an engineer wielding a 30-pound steel sledgehammer to pound a rock."

The cleaver that Gu Zheng was wielding suddenly stopped, and he almost cut his finger.