CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 214: CONFRONTATION

On the road leading from the county town to Zhou Family Village, five military vehicles sped towards the Zhou Family. In the lead vehicle sat Mr. Cheng and his wife, Zhou Xiaozheng, and Mrs. Zhou, while Zhang Guoqing drove carefully.

Zhou Xiaozheng pondered for a moment and instructed him, "Xiao Wu, let us off at the Zhou Family entrance later, and you go find the grandson of the old clan leader along with the current clan leader and bring them to the Zhou Family. Have them bring the family genealogies."

"Understood." Zhang Guoqing immediately replied. He also planned to call on the newly appointed village team leader and elders.

The five vehicles roared as they drove into the village entrance. At this time, some villagers noticed and watched as they all headed towards the Old Zhou Family, quickly knocking on the neighbor’s door, "Something’s happened, five vehicles arrived at the Zhou Family."

"Maybe Zhou Xiaozheng is back home? What’s the big deal?"

The other party said anxiously, "No, I saw it was all soldiers, and it was packed with people inside. We need to go check, something has truly happened."

Zhang Guoqing watched as they all got out of the car and hurriedly turned around to find the clan leader and the old clan leader’s grandson. As he drove through the village, he saw many people stealthily heading towards the Zhou Family.

Mr. Cheng supported his wife and knocked directly to open the courtyard door without waiting for Mrs. Zhou, leading the group straight into the main room. Upon entering, he saw several men sitting in the main room, with the eldest on the kang presumably being Zhou Jianren.

Old Sir Zhou, Zhou Jianren, was shocked when he saw these soldiers burst in, dropping his pipe in surprise and pointing a shaky finger at Mr. Cheng and his wife.

Mr. Cheng smirked coldly and said, "What? Seeing us, you should understand we’re here for you, right? Did you think we wouldn’t find the child just because you hid them?"

Old Sir Zhou trembled all over, stammering, "You, you, what do you mean? I don’t understand."

Seeing the people beside Old Man Zhou yelling, Mr. Cheng instructed Xiao Chen, "Hold all the people around this old man for me."

After saying that, he directly helped his wife sit on a chair, with a cold face he said to him, "Still pretending? Do you think I’d come without evidence? I think you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin."

Old Sir Zhou looked at his eldest son and two grandsons being pinned to the ground and imploring him miserably, hurriedly avoiding his gaze, sitting still on the kang with his head down.

Mr. Cheng knew he was unwilling to give up and ignored him. After everyone was seated, he said, "Back then, Gu Mingzhu told you to find Liu Xizhi with the token, why didn’t you keep your promise? Were the box of gold and silver not enough for you? You’re using the tokens from the Zhou and Gu Families with ease. Aren’t you afraid of the spirits of Zhou Jinyu and Gu Mingzhu visiting you?"

Seeing he still didn’t respond, Mr. Cheng patted his anxious wife, then continued, "Gu Mingzhu left a small box for the child back then, leaving photos taken abroad as records, even explaining features on paper. Do you want me to report it to the police for a search, or will you confess voluntarily? The old clan leader passed away, but do you really think there’s no evidence left? Surely, you’re aware of what kind of person Gu Mingzhu was."

"I spent days finding all your comrades, and all your wife’s colleagues. I even went to the military’s archive office, household registry section, and the veterans’ office. I found all the documents, do you think I would take a military plane overnight without witnesses or evidence?"

Mr. Cheng looked at him still without a word, chuckled coldly a few times, and said nothing, just waited for him to express.

Everyone in the living room quietly waited for Old Sir Zhou to speak, but seeing his manner, he was just stalling.

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at Old Man Zhou expressionlessly, and no one knew what he was thinking. Lin Lishan, feeling uneasy, tugged at his hand, but he remained unmoved.

"Dad, the clan leader and the old clan leader’s grandson have arrived, I also invited the team leader and two clan elders," Zhang Guoqing said softly after noticing the strangeness when he entered the room.

Xiao Chen also came in at this moment and whispered a few words in Mr. Cheng’s ear, to which Mr. Cheng nodded.

When the clan leader and others came in, Mr. Cheng had chairs moved for them to sit down, and he said, "I invited you here today to serve as witnesses. You all should remember Beijing’s legitimate youngest son Zhou Jia Heng, Zhou Jinyu; his wife is the Jiangnan Gu Family’s legitimate direct line Gu Mingzhu. Both should have records in your genealogies.

Back then Zhou Jinyu passed away, and Gu Mingzhu brought their newborn to the old clan leader, entrusting Zhou Jinyu’s cousin, Zhou Jianren, to temporarily care for the child, providing a considerable amount of gold and silver yuan. This was handled by my wife, Liu Xizhi. Additionally, Gu Mingzhu left a small wooden box, containing the Gu family’s heirloom mutton fat jade and Zhou Jinyu’s seal, along with the child’s neck amulet as a token, agreeing that if she did not come for the child, the old clan leader and Zhou Jianren were to bring the token and give the child to her aunt, Liu Xizhi, to be raised.