Chapter 62: The Captain Compromises

  The soldiers brought Ma Fei and Ye Xinyi to the door, where they ran into Deputy Liu. Deputy Liu was very surprised at this scene and hastily asked the soldiers who were escorting Ma Fei and Ye Xinyi: "What are you doing?"

  "The soldier replied: 'Report to Deputy Liu, under the orders of the battalion commander, take them out and shoot them.'"

  Liu's deputy was shocked upon hearing this and hastily said: "You temporarily don't need to carry it out, wait for me to go in and ask about the situation before saying anything."

  "Yes." The soldier replied.

  Liu Deputy Officer turned around and walked into Captain Ye's home.

  Ye Tuanzhang was still in the living room, furious: "Bastard, bastard. I'm so angry, I'm going to die." As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed a Qinghua porcelain vase filled with fresh flowers from the coffee table and slammed it violently towards the back. With a loud crash, the vase hit Liu Deputy Officer's feet as he was just entering. The fresh flowers scattered, and the porcelain shards flew everywhere, giving Liu Deputy Officer a fright.

  Liu Deputy Officer lowered his head and took a look at the broken blue-and-white porcelain vase on the ground. He hastily stepped forward a few steps, coming to stand behind Captain Ye.

  "Squad leader, who are you venting your anger on?" Liu asked with a bow.

  Captain Ye heard Deputy Liu's question from behind, turned around. Seeing Deputy Liu standing in front of him with his head bowed, he said: "Bastard, damn bastard. Ma Fei that son of a bitch, dared to...dared to do such a thing with Xinyi. I'm so angry, I'm so angry. I want to shoot them, shoot them."

  Liu's deputy finally understood the ins and outs of things.

  "Captain, calm down, calm down. Don't hurt your body over this matter. I think it's better not to handle things this way." Deputy Liu looked at Captain Ye's face. He knew in his heart that Captain Ye had only one precious daughter and wouldn't bear to kill her, he was just trying to scare her. As for Ma Fei, Deputy Liu wasn't interested.

  "Oh, what's your good plan?" asked Ye Tuanzhang.

  "Colonel, Xin Yi is your daughter. You only have one daughter, you can't kill her. Even if she doesn't understand and makes a mistake in the heat of the moment, she's still your daughter. We should educate her and let her learn from experience. As for Ma Fei, I told you to get rid of him back then. Colonel, considering Xin Yi's face, you kept him anyway. This kid has no discipline at all, secretly hooking up with Xin Yi behind your back. According to military law, he should be executed."

  "Uh-huh. Go on." Captain Ye's anger dissipated a lot after hearing Deputy Liu's words.

  Liu deputy officer looked at Ye Tuanzhang's face again, feeling that Ye Tuanzhang's face had calmed down a lot. He knew that his words had reached the commander's heart. Then he said: "Commander, should let Xin Yu come back."

  "Unbelievable! Ke Xinyi is actually pregnant with that kid's child." Captain Ye became angry again.

  "Oh——." Deputy Liu was also shocked. He looked at Captain Ye's angry face again, thinking to himself about how he should phrase his next words.

  "Captain, no matter what, Xinyi is your only daughter after all. Let's just pardon her and bring her back first," said Deputy Liu.

  "Hmm." Captain Ye thought for a moment and felt that Deputy Liu was right. He indeed only had one daughter, and if he killed her, he would have no descendants left. So, he raised his head and shouted to the outside of the door: "Come in!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, two soldiers came in.

  "Go and bring back the one I've taken a liking to," said Captain Ye to the two soldiers.

  "Yes, Captain." The soldier turned and walked out.

  Very soon, two soldiers brought Ye Xinyi back.

  Ye Xinyi saw her father and Deputy Liu standing in the middle of the living room, her father's face still filled with anger. She stubbornly said to her father: "Dad, if you want to kill Ma Fei, I won't live either. You can kill me too. I will marry Ma Fei, I have made up my mind."

  "What, you...you..." Commander Ye's hands and feet trembled with rage as he listened to Ye Xinyi's words. He raised his own palm, ready to slap the standing Ye Xinyi in front of him, but his hand was caught by Deputy Liu who stood beside him.

  "Captain, calm down, calm down. It's a family matter, why get angry? Speak slowly, speak slowly." Deputy Liu advised him. He turned his face again and said to Ye Xinyi: "Xinyi, how can you talk to your father like that? He is doing it for your own good. What's so great about Ma Fei? The door doesn't match the house, Xinyi, how can you marry such a rascal? Think about it again, not just for yourself, but also for your father."

  "Liu Fuguan, if my dad doesn't agree, I'll die in front of him today. I won't marry anyone but Ma Fei." Ye Xinyi said resolutely.

  Commander Ye became angry again, and the palm of his hand, which had been pressed down by Deputy Liu, rose up once more.

  Ye Xinyi wasn't afraid at all, instead she lifted her head high and faced Yang Qi's palm, saying: "Go ahead and hit me, go ahead and hit me. My mom is gone, you only know how to hit me. Hit me, hit me, just kill me already. If I die, I can see my mom. Waaahhhh..." Ye Xinyi said as she burst into tears.

  The team leader Ye's raised palm suddenly fell back down. He turned his hand over, pouted his mouth, and began pacing back and forth in the living room.

  From the bottom of his heart, Deputy Liu really hoped that Captain Ye would execute Ma Fei. He had never liked the guy from the start. A pretty boy with a slick head, he didn't have a good impression of him. However, this matter wasn't just about Ma Fei alone, it also involved Captain Ye's precious daughter, and he knew that Captain Ye always treated his precious daughter like a rare treasure, holding her in the palm of his hand. He absolutely wouldn't be willing to kill his only precious daughter. At this time, if he could help them resolve this unclear father-daughter dispute, they would both have to thank him in the future. Moreover, recently he had heard that Captain Ye was going to be promoted to Deputy Commander. If it were true, he had followed Captain Ye for many years and had always been loyal to him. When Captain Ye got promoted, wouldn't he also promote himself? At least make him a captain. Thinking of this, his eyes turned, and he thought of a way to please both sides, then turned his face to Ye Xinyi and said: "Xinyi, why don't you quickly go apologize to your father, hurry up."

  Ye Xinyi didn't want to go.

  Liu said: "Xin Yi, your father has already agreed to it. He no longer opposes you and Ma Fei getting married, go and apologize."

  Commander Ye turned his face around as soon as he heard Deputy Liu say it, "Deputy Liu, what did you just say?"

  Liu Deputy Officer hastily walked a few steps forward, put his mouth close to Captain Ye's ear and said something in this way.

  "Leaf Team Leader still unwillingly said: "No way, no way.""

  "Squad leader, Xīn Yì has already eloped with that kid Mǎ Fēi and they're now a done deal. If this gets out, it'll be embarrassing for you, Squad Leader. Looking at the situation, why not just let them be? On one hand, it'll fulfill Xīn Yì's wish, and on the other hand, Squad Leader..."

  Deputy Liu had not finished speaking, when Captain Ye said: "Alright, Deputy Liu, no need to say any more. I'll just listen to you. I'll agree with them." With that, he turned and walked away without looking back.

  Ye Xinyi heard her father's last words and happily said to Deputy Liu: "Deputy Liu, thank you so much. You saved us two, we will definitely repay you in the future."

  "Miss, don't be polite," said Deputy Liu with a smile. "It's only right, it's only right."

  Ma Fei was pardoned and came back.

  Because of Ye Xinyi's growing belly, to avoid letting outsiders know about this shameful matter, although reluctantly, Ye Tuanzhang simply and quietly arranged a marriage for Ye Xinyi and Ma Fei.

  Before long, it was June of that year and Ye Xinyi was about to give birth. Captain Ye transferred Ma Fei from the company to the regimental headquarters, ostensibly as an orderly, but in reality to take care of his daughter Ye Xinyi.

  Just this month, a bad news suddenly came from the front, the National Government in Guangzhou established the Northern Expeditionary Army to fight its way to Wuhan.

  Another month passed, and Ye Xinxin's expected delivery date was less than a month away. Bad news came again from the front: the National Revolutionary Army's northern expedition was making rapid progress, capturing cities and territories one after another. They were about to reach Wuhan's Hezhong Bridge and Dingshu Bridge. The Hubei Military Government in Wuhan was in a state of panic. Many people had already begun fleeing southwest with their families.

  Wu Peifu, seeing his troops suffer one defeat after another at the hands of the National Government's Northern Expeditionary Army in Guangzhou, hastily went to Wuhan to take charge and direct a counterattack against the Northern Expeditionary Army.

  To strengthen the military deployment in the south, Wu Peifu ordered the garrison command in Hankou to dispatch one regiment and three regiments to support the defenders of He Sheng Bridge and Dingxiang Bridge.

  Ye Tuanzhang's unit, the 1st Guard Regiment, was dispatched to He Sheng Bridge to assist friendly forces in defense.

  Li Guoting's company was just near He Sheng Bridge, building defensive fortifications.

  The guard battalion also moved to a village not far from He Sheng Bridge. Ma Fei and Ye Xinyi stayed in Hankou, waiting for the birth of their child.

  Zhao Erhu and his battalion were defending on the west side of Li Guoting's company.

  During the day, Li Guoting and his comrades in the same class dug trenches desperately. At night, when the soldiers rested against the trenches, they could hear the distant rumble of gunfire.

  Li Guoting leaned wearily against the newly dug trench, gazing up at the starry sky, with the terrifying sounds of gunfire ringing in his ears. He thought to himself: It's going to be a battle, this is my first time on the battlefield, and I have no idea what tomorrow will bring.