RYEY -Chapter 400 The Father Makes a Mistake, the Son Takes the Punishment

Several children were drinking porridge in a private room inside, while Cheng Qiao and Li Huan helped out with the work—wherever there was a problem, they went to fix it. Time seemed to fly by.

But at a residence somewhere up in the mountains, Ye Chengying, Ye Daling, and Ye Xiaolin sat in the living room with grim expressions. To them, time crawled by—every minute felt like torment.

The year-end was approaching, and the army’s commendation conference had already been fully prepared. All that remained was for the decorated officers and soldiers to step onto the stage to receive their honors. Yet Ye Chengying’s name had already been crossed off the list.

This meant that not only was his path to promotion cut off this time—there might be no hope in the future either. It wasn’t that his opponents were too powerful; rather, his own abilities had been insufficient. Wracked with regret, Ye Chengying reflected deeply and summed up his mistakes.

The root of the problem lay in the true identity of the man he had secretly assigned to protect Cheng Qiao—it had been exposed. That man was a spy, and on top of that, an ability user, who had attempted to infiltrate the revolutionary ranks in order to assassinate Cheng Qiao and seize her treasures.

Although the man had already died at the hands of Hu Lata and caused no harm to Cheng Qiao, he had been dispatched by Ye Chengying. As a result, Ye Chengying was swiftly placed under isolation and investigation.

During that period of isolation and review, Ye Chengying blamed himself every single day—angry at his own carelessness. He had clearly sent someone to protect her, yet it had turned into an attempt at murder and robbery instead.

Fortunately, the state’s special department had long been secretly investigating Cheng Qiao. Her abilities had already been confirmed—she was an ability user who had inherited a medical legacy. Such people were exceedingly rare and had to be carefully protected.

Hu Lata was precisely the protector sent by the state’s special department. By the time Ye Chengying dispatched his so-called “covert protector,” Hu Lata had already been preparing to strike against that deeply hidden ability-using spy.

The impact of this incident on the entire army was enormous. All the leaders quietly launched a wave of internal self-investigation—not just checking three generations of background, but even scrutinizing the most distant and obscure connections.

Naturally, Ye Chengying’s two sons didn’t have it easy either. Both had followed in their father’s footsteps and enlisted early. Being Ye Chengying’s sons, they received the same treatment without exception.

Thankfully, the results were positive. Several spies without abilities were indeed uncovered, along with some traitors preparing to betray the country. As a result, the overall atmosphere within the army grew even more tense and vigilant.

Once the higher-ups thoroughly investigated Ye Chengying and confirmed that the enemy spy had been deeply hidden and possessed abilities—something Ye Chengying simply could not have countered—the father and two sons were finally released and regained their freedom.

Seeing how visibly haggard Ye Chengying had become, Yao Peng couldn’t help but shake his head.
“Success came because of Cheng Qiao, and failure also came because of Cheng Qiao. Since this opportunity is lost, we’ll wait for the next one.”

Ye Chengying felt helpless. Who knew when the next opportunity would come—what year or what month? Unless Cheng Qiao made outstanding contributions within the garrison under his command, he would likely be stuck in this position forever.

“Old leader, you’re right. Success came from Cheng Qiao, but the failure was my own fault. My abilities were lacking. I’m a soldier—having made such a grave mistake and still being able to resume my post, I’m already deeply grateful.”

Yao Peng lifted his eyelids and carefully examined this once-favored subordinate of his. Seeing genuine remorse on Ye Chengying’s face, he finally nodded in relief.

After suffering such a huge loss, it was only natural to try to make up for it. As for how to do so, his gaze shifted toward Ye Xiaolin.

Ye Xiaolin actually knew very well what path lay ahead for him. He had no abilities, but he possessed extraordinary linguistic talent. Any language, to him, was merely a matter of listening a few more times and speaking a few more times before mastering it.

“Ye Xiaolin, we talked about this last time. Are you ready now?”

“Reporting, Chief—I’m ready. I can set off anytime, anywhere.”

Ye Xiaolin was preparing to infiltrate the enemy’s interior, using the same methods against those shameless little Japanese—stealing their secrets and contributing to his motherland.

“Go after the New Year.”

“Yes.”

After discussing several key and important matters, the group, escorted by guards, got into their vehicles and descended the mountain. Daling wanted to say something, but the words reached his lips only to be swallowed back down—there was no point in saying anything now.

“Dad, what’s our next step?”

“Protect Cheng Qiao with everything we have. Support all her decisions, as long as they benefit the country and the people. And also—protect Xiao Gui well.”

Daling glanced at Xiaolin. Xiao Gui was Xiaolin’s only daughter. If his sister-in-law could give birth to another son for the Ye family, that would be ideal—the Ye family line was truly a bit thin.

The car soon stopped in front of Ye Jun’s siheyuan. The three men parked by the roadside and entered the courtyard, immediately spotting a large pile of coal stacked inside.

“Cheng Qiao and the others are back.”

Only when Cheng Qiao returned would Ye Jun prepare so much coal—for heating the kang at night. Ye Jun nodded; he had no intention of telling Ye Chengying that this coal had been conjured out of thin air by Cheng Qiao.

“So it fell through?”

Ye Chengying nodded, glanced at Xiaolin, but said nothing. The fewer people who knew about such matters, the safer Ye Xiaolin would be.

Yet Ye Jun seemed to have guessed something. His hand went in and out of his pocket several times before he finally took out a small redwood box and handed it to Ye Xiaolin.

This nephew had shown linguistic talent since childhood. Though Ye Chengying hadn’t said anything, that lingering, reluctant look earlier had betrayed everything. The father made a mistake, and the son was the one paying the price—he was taking the punishment in his father’s stead.

“Hurry and thank your Uncle Jun.”

The moment Ye Chengying saw the box, he knew what was inside. In fact, he still had a Soul-Returning Pill in his possession, originally intending to give it to Xiaolin to save his life when he departed.

Now it seemed that pill could be kept, and the realization made him visibly emotional. Ye Xiaolin naturally knew what it was as well and immediately accepted it with both hands.

“Thank you, Uncle Jun. With you in the Ye family, it truly is a blessing earned by our ancestors.”

“It’s one thing for the Ye family to have me—that’s indeed ancestral virtue. But accepting Cheng Qiao as my disciple—that’s what truly does justice to the Ye family’s forebears.”

Ye Chengying nodded repeatedly. He understood now—the formula for the Soul-Returning Pill might belong to the Ye family, but the one capable of refining it was Cheng Qiao, an ability user with a medical inheritance.

“Little brother, I want to betroth Xiao Gui to Cheng Li. What do you think…?”

Ye Chengying glanced at his younger son. Xiaolin cherished Xiao Gui above all else—this was something that had to be settled so the son could set out on such a dangerous mission with peace of mind.

But Ye Jun shook his head. It wasn’t that Cheng Li didn’t like Xiao Gui—he simply liked Wu Xiaolin more. That girl had shared hardship and joy with Cheng Li alike.

Ye Chengying understood the nuances, yet he still pressed on unwillingly. Was it truly impossible for the Ye family to take another step closer to Cheng Qiao’s family?

“Xiao Gui seems to be quite close with Li Ming.”

“Li Ming? But Li Ming’s surname is Li.”

“Isn’t Li Ming Cheng Qiao’s biological child? What on earth are you thinking?”