For a while after that, Gongye stayed here.
As long as Ling Leyou was awake, he would hold her.
From awkwardness and fear to proficiency, there was a gradual process, and now he held the child with great ease and comfort.
Ling Leyou was also slowly growing up, her waking hours getting longer each day, becoming plumper and more adorable.
For Gongye, this was the happiest time of his life.
With his daughter and grandson, it felt like having a home.
Meanwhile, Gong Zhijing, after days of hard work, had finally accumulated twenty thousand words and could apply for a contract.
The review would take a day or two, and then they just had to wait.
This day was overcast.
Gongye, as usual, woke up early for his morning run. When he returned, he found that Ling Yuchen had not yet gone to work.
He was wearing a formal and serious black suit.
Gong Zhijing was wearing a black dress, her hair meticulously pulled back.
Gongye immediately understood that they were going to visit a grave. His daughter had mentioned before that she wanted to see her mother.
The next moment, Gong Zhijing said, "Dad, let's go see Mom together today!"
The outcome was as expected. Gongye smiled and nodded, "Okay."
After changing clothes and having breakfast, the three of them left together.
The car drove on, the atmosphere inside exceptionally heavy.
Gongye and his daughter sat in the back. He gazed out the window, his stern face etched with seriousness.
The breeze blew on his face, and whether it was the wind or something else, his eyes were extremely red, with bloodshot pupils.
"Dad, where are Mom and Grandpa and Grandma buried?" Gong Zhijing asked, her emotions low, a sorrow lingering in her heart.
Ever since she was little, she had had many fantasies about her mother.
Seeing how Han Wenjuan doted on her children, she couldn't help but envy her, imagining what her own mother might be like.
She never expected that she would never be able to experience it in this lifetime.
"At Shou Shun Mausoleum."
It was a very ordinary cemetery in the suburbs, but because members of the Gong family were buried there, it was guarded by armed soldiers year-round.
Gongye's grandfather, the founding father Duke Gong Lao, as well as Gongye's father and mother, uncles, and brothers were all buried there.
His grandfather and father chose not to be buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery because they wanted to be buried with their wives, so that the family could be together.
And that massacre of the Gong family, not only involved the killing of the living, but also the desecration of the dead.
Duke Gong Lao's tomb was defaced with paint, and foul language was written on the tombstone.
This was not only an insult to heroes but also a provocation to the country, and from then on, Shou Shun Mausoleum was permanently guarded by armed soldiers.
From a distance, countless gravestones could be seen on the sloping hills, surrounded by lush greenery, yet giving off a desolate and eerie feeling.
White paper fluttered in the air all the way, and an aura of death and sorrow permeated the air.
As they got closer, several armed soldiers came into view, standing rigidly outside the mausoleum, exceptionally imposing and serious.
The car stopped at the entrance of the cemetery. Gongye got out first and walked towards the burial site, Ling Yuchen and Gong Zhijing following closely.
Han Xiao got out of the driver's seat and took many sacrificial items from the trunk, more than he could carry.
...
"Good day, Commander!" The soldier stood at attention and saluted upon seeing Gongye.
Gongye nodded slightly with a blank expression, his steps not faltering as he continued inside.
Gong Zhijing glanced at the people on both sides, a sense of awe stirring within her. This must be the treatment befitting heroes.
But if she knew what had happened here before, she would probably only feel sadness.
The Gong family's burial grounds were in a corner of the cemetery, with a large area of empty land around it, all purchased by the Gong family. The guards here were even more stringent.
Gongye stood before the first grave, knelt down with a solemn expression, and said in a serious tone, "This is my grandfather, your great-grandfather."
Gong Zhijing and Ling Yuchen immediately knelt behind him. This was that founding father of the Gong family.
"Grandfather, your grandson is unfilial, with only one daughter to his name. She has been found today, and finally, our Gong family's lineage is not broken..."
Gongye kowtowed three times as he spoke, and the two behind him followed suit.
One gravestone after another, they continued like this, from largest to smallest, dozens of people.
...
Han Xiao walked laboriously towards the mausoleum carrying bundles of chrysanthemums, with more paper money to burn behind him.
Although burning paper was prohibited here, to Gongye, this rule was nothing. At most, he wouldn't set off firecrackers.
"We'll help you."
At this moment, two soldiers came up behind him, took the remaining items, and followed him.
Han Xiao quickly said, "Thank you."
Looking at the gleaming rifles, he felt a chill in his heart.
When they reached the Gong family's burial site, they happened to see the three of them kowtowing.
This small area was surrounded by many soldiers, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
He didn't dare to breathe, having never seen such a scene in his life. These were real guns and live ammunition!
He put down the items and fled as if escaping, lasting less than a minute before the pressure made it difficult to breathe.
Only when he moved away from that place did he feel as if he had come back to life.
...
The last grave was Gong Zhijing's mother, Lu Yunzhi, and the only tombstone with a photo.
The black and white photo showed a woman with a radiant smile. Gong Zhijing looked almost exactly like her.
Gongye knelt quietly. His usually stern expression turned exceptionally gentle when he reached this spot.
"This is your mother."
Gong Zhijing examined every word on the tombstone, reciting them silently in her heart.
The tombstone read: Daughter: Gong Zhijing.
It turned out her mother had died at the young age of twenty-three. If she were still alive, she would be in her forties now.
An inexplicable sadness washed over her, and two lines of tears slowly slid down. Gong Zhijing subconsciously reached out to touch her face, only to feel a dampness.
"Zhizhi, I've brought our daughter back."
Gongye's voice was hoarse, filled with endless pain and longing.
"She's grown up, and she looks a lot like you."
"You've become a grandmother, you know. Little Leyou is incredibly cute. When she's a little older, I'll bring her to see you."
"You're too stingy. Twenty years, and you haven't even visited me in my dreams once."
...
Looking at Gongye mumbling to himself, Gong Zhijing's heart was deeply touched.
Her father must have loved her mother immensely!
If her mother were still alive.
If she had grown up by her parents' side, she would have been showered with love.
"Dad."
Seeing him like this, Gong Zhijing felt a pang of heartache. The pain he had endured over the years was unimaginable.
National hatred, family vengeance.
The tragic death of his beloved.
The life and death separations of his family.
He had not dared to see his own daughter for a full twenty years, not to mention the hail of bullets on the battlefield and the constant dangers.
Hearing her voice, Gongye composed himself and turned to her, a smile on his face.
"Dad is fine. I just miss your mother."