latelenovela Chapter 829 Acquitted
Chapter 829 Acquitted
Rose knelt outside the door for a long time.
One night passed, and the sky brightened slightly...
The numbness in my knee turned to tingling, and then to a burning pain.
Rose's military pants were worn out, but she stood motionless, like a stone statue.
There were rapid footsteps in the distance.
A middle-aged man in a nightgown walked over quickly, his face was 70% similar to Rose.
"Shen Ci!" he shouted, "How dare you come back?"
Rose raised her eyes and met her father Shen Zhigang's angry gaze: "Deputy Commander Shen, long time no see."
"Get up!" Shen Zhigang's face turned pale. "You have brought shame upon the Shen family!"
Rose was unmoved: "I want to see grandpa."
"You..." Shen Zhigang raised his hand, but stopped mid-air. He then noticed his daughter's military uniform. The shoulder straps showed that she was a colonel. "You... joined the National Security Agency?"
Rose didn't answer, but just repeated: "I want to see Grandpa."
Shen Zhigang's expression became complicated. He turned around and said a few words to the guard, and soon someone brought a stretcher.
"No need." Rose refused coldly and tried to stand up, but stumbled due to the severe pain in her knee. She gritted her teeth to steady her body and moved into the door step by step.
Every step felt like walking on the edge of a knife, but what hurt more than the knees were the gazes coming from all directions, curious, contemptuous, gloating... Almost everyone in the Shen family, young and old, gathered in the yard in front of the main building.
"Look who's back."
"I heard that you can't make it abroad..."
"You came back on your knees for a man. You really bring honor to the Shen family!"
Whispers coiled around her like poisonous snakes, but Rose didn't look away and followed her father into the main building and came to the familiar door of the study.
The door is open.
Behind the desk, the white-haired Mr. Shen was wiping a military knife with his back to the door.
"Dad, the person is here." Shen Zhigang said in a low voice.
The old man didn't look back: "Let her go."
Rose pushed her father aside and walked straight to the center of the study. She knelt down again with a "dong" sound: "Grandpa, Shen Ci asks you for a favor."
"I don't have this granddaughter." The old man's voice was as cold as iron. "She died seventeen years ago."
"Shen Ci knows she's unfilial." Rose rested her forehead on the floor, but her voice was remarkably clear. "But what I'm asking for today isn't a personal matter. It concerns state secrets and the life of an innocent scholar."
The old man finally turned around. Time had carved deep wrinkles into his resolute face, but his eyes were still as sharp as an eagle. "Just for that Su Zibai? How dare you say it's not a personal matter!"
Rose raised her head: "He has been falsely accused of academic fraud and is about to be ruined. Only the Shen family can help him."
"Ha!" The old man sneered, "You abandoned your family for him back then, and now you're kneeling back for him? Shen Ci, where's your backbone?"
Rose clenched her fists again, the pain of her nails digging into her palms keeping her awake. "Grandpa taught me that true courage isn't about being stubborn, but about doing what's right, regardless of the cost."
The study fell silent.
The old man stared at his granddaughter kneeling on the ground with a complicated look.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "Su Zibai's case involves too many people. Zhou Shihong has someone behind him. Why would the Shen family get involved in this mess?"
"Just based on this." Rose pulled a silver USB flash drive from her inner pocket. "It contains evidence of Zhou Shihong's treason. Not only does he have the key to the national security program, he's also using the core data of scientific research projects for private transactions. If it were made public, it would be enough to cause an international earthquake."
The old man's pupils shrank slightly. "Are you crazy? You're not fighting Zhou Shihong, you're fighting the big man behind him! Can you afford this price?"
"That's why I came to the Shen family." Rose looked directly into Grandpa's eyes. "Only you can deliver this thing to the right person while preserving Su Zibai's reputation."
"And then?" The old man sneered, "Let you go away again?"
Rose took a deep breath: "Shen Ci is at your disposal."
This sentence is like a key, opening up memories that have been buried for many years.
The old man recalled his granddaughter's wobbly steps when she first learned to walk, his pride in getting a ten-ring on her first target practice, and the day she left home without even turning back...
"Why?" he asked suddenly. "Why did it have to be him?"
Rose's shoulders slumped slightly. "Because he was clearly powerless back then, yet he dared to brave danger alone for his country. As a pioneer in developing the first aircraft carrier, he never sought wealth or fame in his life. He was more upright and fearless than anyone else."
She raised her head, tears glistening in her eyes, "Grandpa, people like this shouldn't be destroyed."
The old man sighed deeply and reached out to press the communicator on the table. "Prepare the car. I need to go see the chief." Then he looked at Rose and said, "You stay. After this is over, we'll settle the accounts of the past seventeen years."
Rose's tense body finally relaxed and she almost collapsed to the ground.
She knew that Su Zibai...was saved.
Shen Zhigang quickly supported her, his eyes filled with both blame and heartache: "Your stubborn temper... is exactly like your mother's."
The sound of an engine starting could be heard outside the yard. The old man put on his military jacket and paused at the door: "Porcelain girl."
"exist."
"Remember, the Shen family kneels to heaven, earth, and parents, but never in vain." The old man said without turning his head, "Someone has to pay this debt back."
Looking at her grandfather's receding back, Rose finally let the tear she had been holding back for seventeen years slide down her cheek.
"Yes, Grandpa."
......
On the third day of Su Zibai's house arrest, the door was finally opened.
The guard pushed open the door, stood at the door and said, "Professor Su, you can go now."
Su Zibai was stunned for a moment and did not stand up immediately.
The farce three days ago is still vivid in my mind: Zhou Shihong’s accusations, everyone’s suspicions, the question I can’t answer… Is it over so easily now?
The next second, the answer came in.
Rose was wearing a neat dark green military uniform and black combat boots. Her long hair was tied up, revealing her well-defined jawline, and she looked neat and refreshing.
Su Zibai's eyes fell on her face, and he frowned and said, "Is it solved?"
Rose stood two steps away from him, her posture straight and straight. "Yes, it was Zhou Shihong who stole your research results, but he turned the tables on you."
Her voice was businesslike, but her eyes flickered slightly. "Now the higher-ups have already dealt with him on the charge of false accusation of theft, and you have been acquitted and can come out now."
Su Zibai stood up slowly. His white shirt, which he hadn't changed for three days, was already wrinkled beyond recognition, but it couldn't hide his inherent scholarly temperament.
He did not leave immediately, but looked directly into Rose's eyes, as if he wanted to see into the depths of her soul.
He said calmly, "I saw the final plan. It's you, right?"