CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 212: THE TRUTH FROM YEARS AGO (PART 1)

In the living room, Old Mrs. Cheng tightly grasped Zhou Xiaozheng’s hands while crying and recounting, "Child, why didn’t you seek out your Aunt? Your Aunt was looking forward to your appearance every day, hoping for your return, but no matter how long she waited, she never saw you. She was terrified she would die without being able to see your parents."

Mr. Cheng listened to his wife’s incoherent words and couldn’t help but say, "Don’t cry first. You need to let the child understand what actually happened. Now that he’s here, don’t get too emotional, or you might end up back in the hospital without another chance to speak."

After speaking, he looked at his wife, unsure if she heard him, but seeing her complexion was still fine, he felt somewhat relieved. He glanced around; only their son, Zhou Xiaozheng and his wife, Old Lin, Mrs. Zhou, and the doctor were present. He nodded to himself, knowing these young ones had cleared the way for their conversation.

Once everyone sat down, he noticed the doctor awkwardly standing there, "Doctor Huang, could you help me check on those rascals? From afar, I could hear them yelling loudly. Make sure they don’t get drunk."

Doctor Huang breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stepped forward to check on Old Mrs. Cheng, found everything alright, and still reminded her, "Old Madam, please don’t get too emotional. If you lose control of your emotions again, I’ll have to give you a sedative." Seeing her nod, he left feeling at ease.

After Doctor Huang left, Old Mrs. Cheng looked at Zhou Xiaozheng, "You should know by now that you are the son of Zhou Jinyu and Gu Mingzhu, right?"

Zhou Xiaozheng nodded and said in a low voice, "I just found out. Before this, I accidentally discovered there was someone very important to me whom I didn’t know. At the age of 15, I began a search for Liu Xizhi, but with no characteristics or any information, I could only rely on the fact that the person hailed from Jiangnan, searching for a long time without any success."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Cheng burst into tears, hastily using a handkerchief to wipe her face, and cried, "I am Liu Xizhi, also known as Liu Qinglian. I am your Aunt, adopted by your grandmother. I was your grandmother’s distant niece by birth, abandoned at birth, and taken in by her. Outsiders thought I was a relative of the Gu Family; no one knew I was an adopted daughter. I was raised with my older sister. Your grandmother named me Liu Xizhi, and when my sister turned five, she said that name wasn’t good and renamed me Liu Qinglian, quoting, ’Qinglian, past has turned to dust. Poetic praise presents emerald cloud verses; a testament with a heart of Qinglian.’ When the Gu Family encountered troubles, I used the name Liu Qinglian, but your mother would usually call me Xizhi.

My sister, Gu Mingzhu, was an outstanding girl. She was the only daughter of the main Gu Family house, and your grandfather raised her like a son. Her and my brother-in-law were childhood sweethearts, with a very close bond. Every year, before going abroad, my brother-in-law would stay at the Gu Family for one or two months. At the time, Brother Xun, my sister, and my brother-in-law and I were often together, and my brother-in-law was our leader. He knew many fun things and was very smart, with an outstanding natural talent, as he had a photographic memory. As the world praised him as a cultured gentleman, warm and gentle as jade, often jokingly calling him Mr. Yu.

After they returned from abroad, both families set their wedding date. The journey from Jiangnan to Beijing was long, so they discussed all arrangements, waiting for the next year to host the wedding. Your grandparents joyfully prepared your aunt’s dowry daily, our whole family gathered, joking about marrying the three of us off with my sister. But good times didn’t last, suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, my brother-in-law died, the Zhou Family was annihilated, and my sister fainted upon hearing it. When she woke up, she made arrangements and went to Beijing for two months with your grandfather, returning only skin and bones. She lay in bed for three whole months, and that was how half a year passed by.

Without a male heir, with my brother-in-law gone, many began to target our family. Your grandfather’s health started to falter, yet he had to keep on. He feared, if he passed away, the three women left in the main house would be torn apart by the clan or taken by the bandits and despots eyeing the Gu Family.

Near his end, my brother-in-law returned late at night. Before passing, your grandfather held onto your mother and brother-in-law’s hands, urging them to flee abroad with us, never to return to the Gu Family.

After our adoptive father left, the clansmen forced their way in, demanding an heir passed on. Today, a house forced us for an heir, tomorrow another house made a scene — everyone meddled with the Gu main house’s affairs.

Our adoptive mother became bedridden shortly after our adoptive father passed; witnessing those forcing their way in, she left us within a month, smiling at her end, saying she wouldn’t burden us anymore, and urged us to leave immediately without waiting for the traditional mourning periods.

Back then, the world was in chaos, all kinds of people roamed around; even hiring guards didn’t ensure safety. Our home was a piece of fat meat everyone wanted a bite of. Our only ally, the Cheng Family, couldn’t intervene in our clan’s affairs; they could only manage the peripheral matters. News came that three bands of thieves were gathering to kidnap and loot.

Brother-in-law considered over and over, with clan pressures and enemies coveting us. With the Cheng Family’s help, the three of us faked our deaths. None of us wished to go abroad; my brother-in-law harbored resentment. We went into hiding, and my brother-in-law laid down his books, started learning to shoot, cultivating his own group.

He said scholars were useless; he started nurturing his confidants within the organization, later taking us into the group. But eventually, trouble brewed — my brother-in-law went down, collapsing our sky. My sister was heavily pregnant at the time, close to childbirth, otherwise, she admitted she would have gone with him.

On his deathbed, Brother-in-law told my sister to protect the sole bloodline between our two families. He wished the child to grow up not being a useless scholar, like him, smart yet powerless to protect his parents, wife, and children. He apologized to my sister, asked her to live well, watching over the child growing up, promising to wait for her in reincarnation.

My sister gave birth to a child nobody, not even the confidants, suspected. She told me her plan to send the child to a secret place for safety. Now that Brother-in-law was gone, many had eyes on the Gu family’s wealth, casting strange glances at her. She feared harm coming to the child, trusting no one anymore. After pondering for several days, she informed me of an urgent trip, asking me to cover for her.

When she returned, the child was gone. I cried, asking about the child’s whereabouts, whether there was danger, suggesting we fake our deaths again, escape abroad this time, never to return. Our adoptive parents and Brother-in-law were gone, this place meant nothing to us. My sister and I could take the child far away.

My sister, holding me, wept and said escape was impossible, nowhere would be different. Brother-in-law’s fame, the Gu family’s riches made everyone an enemy. She couldn’t tell me where the child was, not out of distrust, but knowing wouldn’t help. Should something happen to her, someone would bring a token to find me. If such a day came, I should raise the child well.

Back in 1917, all sorts — military, rebels, bandits roamed everywhere, we couldn’t even return to the Gu Family to pay our respects. Later, my sister donated everything left behind by our adoptive parents. She said letting go of wealth brought peace, and after this final task, she could peacefully raise the child, waiting to join Brother-in-law once the child grew up, saying he often longed for her.

But, even so, my sister couldn’t survive; she shielded me from a bullet, collapsing before me, wanting to speak but unable to. I desperately tried stopping the bleeding, but it wouldn’t stop. I could only watch as my sister, struggling to tell me something yet unable to, passed away with eyes wide open, breath fading right before me. Old Mrs. Cheng now trembling from head to toe, took deep breaths with effort.

Cheng Sijin, beside her, had medicine and warm water ready, seeing his mother in distress, hurriedly supported her, feeding her medicine and water.

Mr. Lin asked worriedly, "Can she take it? She was only rescued recently. Let her lie down, she shouldn’t talk anymore."

Mr. Cheng sighed helplessly, "It’s useless. Forty years of longing, every year passed like this, let her rest before continuing. Now that we’ve found the child, we needn’t fear facing Big Sister in the afterlife."

Old Mrs. Cheng leaned in her son’s embrace, her hands still firmly grasped Zhou Xiaozheng’s, staring at him fearfully, as if he’d vanish. This life, her last worry was this child, persistently unknown if alive or dead, now it’s resolved, found at last.