Saying goodbye to everyone, Zhou Jiao cheerfully took Zhou Xiaozheng’s arm and walked forward. The father and daughter tacitly didn’t bring up any matters about the Old Zhou Family.
"Why did you think of coming to pick up today? Did Xiao Wu go to pick up Ping’an?"
Zhou Jiao replied with a smile, "He went to the nursery with Mom. Haven’t I not strolled around the Big Courtyard with you in a long ti? Dad, you seem to like Ping’an most now, you don’t love anymore."
Zhou Xiaozheng patted the hat on her head, "So grown up and still acting spoiled, aren’t you afraid of Xiao Wang and the others laughing at you?"
"No way, Brother Wang and Brother Chen are such sincere people, how could they laugh at , right?"
Xiao Wang and the others nodded, trying to suppress their laughter.
"Dad, do Brother Wang and the others have vacations this year? It seems they didn’t go back ho last year either. Shouldn’t they go back to see their wives?"
Zhou Xiaozheng played along with his daughter, "Yes. I was just about to let them go ho for a look. They’re not young anymore, they should settle personal matters."
The few people behind exchanged helpless smiles.
"Grandpa, Mom..."
Luckily, Ping’an appeared in front, rescuing Xiao Wang and the others.
"Grandma and Dad and I are here to take you ho."
Zhou Xiaozheng bent down to pick him up, "Alright, we’ll go ho together. Did you have fun in class today?"
"So much fun, the older boys in the class asked to play again tomorrow..."
Walking ho along the road, whenever they t people, they’d exchange greetings, and everyone watched the family move away happily, still able to hear the child’s soft voice speaking, which brought a knowing smile to passersby.
A telegram did not cause the turmoil anticipated by the father and son of the Old Zhou Family. The Beijing Zhou Family continued living their own happy, leisurely life, unaffected.
On the contrary, the father and son of the Old Zhou Family sat silently in a bedroom.
Outside, Zhou Liru’s mournful cries echoed, causing Zhou Xiaocun to spit irritably on the floor.
"Don’t spit everywhere; your mother doesn’t like it."
Zhou Xiaocun glanced at Old Sir Zhou, "Dad, do you really think that telegram will make that bastard father and daughter feel guilty? I doubt it. It might even cut ties cleanly."
"My target isn’t them. Don’t provoke them; you can’t afford to! I just wanted to remind soone with this telegram that I still exist."
Zhou Xiaocun suppressed his anger, lowering his voice, "Dad, can you tell who that person is? What leverage do you have over them? Don’t always go it alone, or you’ll end up with nothing."
Old Sir Zhou looked forward, shaking his head, "It’s not that I won’t tell you. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to reach them. I still want that person to give little Nan a helping hand. This child shouldn’t be delayed any longer. When I’m gone, you’ll still have to rely on little Nan."
A few nas flashed through Zhou Xiaocun’s mind.
He stared into Old Sir Zhou’s eyes, exhaling slowly, and asked slowly, "Is it that old lady from the Lin Family?"
Indeed, Old Sir Zhou’s expression suddenly froze.
Zhou Xiaocun shook his head, "It’s not that I underestimate you. Dad, it’s useless. Without you saying, I could guess that you once made an agreent when bringing the child back. But that girl lives well enough; there’s no leverage left."
"It’s not that matter. Ah, you’re trying to get information out of ."
Light shone in Zhou Xiaocun’s eyes. He grabbed Old Sir Zhou’s arm, suppressing his excitent, and said in a hushed voice, "If you see as your son, just tell ."
Old Sir Zhou’s face showed a peculiar smile.
"Dad?"
Old Sir Zhou chuckled softly, "Alright, I’ll tell you. Lest sothing happens to , and there’s no one left to know this secret. It was your mother who found out first. She’s a kind soul, and thought she might be overthinking it. But once I t Gu Ruyi, I knew it was absolutely true."
Zhou Xiaocun moved closer, waiting quietly...
"Upon hearing about Zhou Xiaozheng’s death, your mother and I rushed over the next day. I was there to help handle the aftermath, while your mother took care of the daughter-in-law.
One day, she returned looking grave and told she discovered sothing strange at the daughter-in-law’s place. She was helping with chores, tidying the kitchen, and accidentally found so postpartum food soaked in a few dicinal ingredients. Those dicines, coincidentally, were the ones her mother accidentally consud, which was why she only had one daughter.
The strangest thing was the contraceptive-dicated pig’s trotters had been left for almost a month and still hadn’t been eaten. At that ti, the younger daughter-in-law from the Lin Family was also in her confinent period, so it shouldn’t be possible to have any leftovers.
I was already suspicious, but never thought Gu Ruyi intended to harm her own daughter. From my inquiries, her daughter-in-law had already given birth to two grandsons and now two daughters, presumably not wanting any more children.
Later, when I saw Gu Ruyi’s face, combined with her being from the Jiangnan Gu Family, what else wasn’t clear? I just couldn’t believe she wouldn’t know Zhou Xiaozheng’s background.
We privately agreed at the ti that I would take the child, but whether it survived depended on fate. No one was to reveal Zhou Xiaozheng’s lineage in the future.
I saw that when she spoke of the child, her eyes were poisonously telling. I thought, this is a child from our Zhou Family, and it shouldn’t die by her hands. The most crucial part is once Zhou Xiaozheng died, if Liu Xizhi ever showed up, this child could very well inherit the Gu family’s estate.
This point I didn’t ntion to Gu Ruyi. After our agreent, I was worried she might harm , so I subtly accused her of giving my daughter-in-law contraceptive drugs. I had her write a note, threatening to expose the evidence otherwise.
Back then, she panicked, really thinking I had evidence, and wrote the note. After we allied, I rushed ho with the note and money, afraid she might harm .
Unfortunately, in my rush to hide the secret from your mother, I stuffed the money and the note into my shoe. It was so hot in that period, and I didn’t pay attention. When I got ho, the writing on the note had beco sared and fragnted."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaocun felt deeply disappointed.
"No worries. Without saying, how could Gu Ruyi know the evidence was gone? This has been sitting in my heart for a long ti. I initially planned to leverage Gu Ruyi after you went in, but then you ca back.
With that said, I also didn’t want news of this reaching Zhou Xiaozheng, that bastard. As soon as he found out his wife was drugged by her own mother, he’d obviously be driven to find soone else. But how could I let him be happy?
Isn’t he pretty amazing? Well, no matter how great, he still can’t produce an heir to continue the family line. I wanted to see how he’d boast. Just one girl, destined to leave no descendants, what’s there to be proud of?"
After saying this, Old Sir Zhou looked at his own son with a satisfied expression.
Then, he continued triumphantly, "Don’t think you’re smarter than your father. You made go to Old Zhang’s family, and I went, but do you really think I’d do so without any purpose? I intended to plant a thorn in Old Zhang’s family, absolutely not letting Zhang the Second agree to adopt the grandson. What will that bastard do then?"
"The rightful Zhou family lineage, haha! I want Zhou Jinyu’s branch to end with no descendants and no bloodline. If it wasn’t for the Gu family inheritance, I’d have let that bastard die long ago. Would there still be his current status?"
Old Sir Zhou’s face contorted, gritting his teeth, "Zhou Jinyu caused the death of my parents and still wants to have descendants honoring them? I refuse! Everything is according to my plan. In three or five years, once I manipulate that girl to go find Liu Xizhi, with money and connections, our family can rise again.
Damn you for having such a fool of a wife who drove such a cowardly person to rebel. If your mother were still here, how could she have escaped my grasp?
My ticulously planned sche was utterly ruined. We had the Cheng Family, the Lin Family; what couldn’t be achieved? Heaven is unjust! Why was Zhou Xiaozheng allowed to co back alive?"
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