CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 224: TRACING CLUES

Zhou Xiaozheng heard bursts of laughter coming from the inner room while he was outside. Beside him, Zhang Guoqing, with his keen ears, caught some bits of conversation. Seeing his father-in-law looking puzzled, he secretly chuckled.

The two walked into the inner room, and Zhou Xiaozheng watched them laughing merrily. He joyfully said, "Auntie, it seems you and Jiao Jiao hit it off. How is it? Isn’t our Jiao Jiao smart and pretty? I knew you would like this child. I’m not bragging, but no one can compare to our Jiao Jiao."

Old Mrs. Cheng nodded with a smile, "Indeed, she’s a good child. Our Jiao Jiao is blessed, and with the character of Old Zhang’s family, this marriage is good; the in-laws are good, and the partner is good. Xiao Wu seems really nice to me. Growing up together, your two must support each other in the future."

Zhang Guoqing nodded solemnly, "Auntie Grandma, rest assured, I will take good care of Jiao Jiao and the child. You can watch over us. If, one day, I’m not doing well, give me a good beating."

Old Mrs. Cheng nodded contentedly, "Auntie Grandma believes in you. It’s clear that you’re more mature than your peers and know what you want. Your parents have raised you well, and you and your wife should be filial to them. Especially Jiao Jiao, Xiao Wu’s parents have entrusted their outstanding son to you, so you must accompany Xiao Wu and never forget the kindness of your parents.

Your parents are busy with work and can’t take care of everything in life. If you encounter difficulties, don’t be afraid. In the future, if there’s something wrong, find Auntie Grandma. If Auntie Grandma can’t help, there’s still your Uncle Grandma, and if not, our family has others to support you. As long as you behave righteously, our Gu Family will never be forced into a corner again."

Zhou Jiao nodded repeatedly, thinking of the Gu Family, her grandparents, and she became a bit lost in thought. She also needed to have a back-up plan for everything. Life is too long, and accidents are too many. She must not let her child, future brothers, repeat the backtrack of the Zhou and Gu Families.

Mother Zhang listened to Old Mrs. Cheng’s words and felt deeply moved, feeling that this is what a senior should say.

Zhou Xiaozheng saw the atmosphere become somewhat heavy and guessed that his daughter was worried again about the future. Quickly, he shoved the box he was holding into Zhou Jiao’s hands. Seeing her look up at him in surprise, he lightly tapped her forehead playfully and chided, "What are you thinking about? Young ones should just eat and drink well, leave everything to your father. This is a keepsake left by your grandparents, keep it safe for Daddy. Your mother and I aren’t that meticulous, so you better store it well."

Zhou Jiao frowned, glanced at her mother a few times, saw she didn’t care, and was smiling at her, then she breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly remembering the family-jade pendant and seal transmission in those keepsakes, she wanted to speak but swallowed her words, intending to talk to her father later when no one else was around. She had many questions she hadn’t discussed with her father, but there was no rush.

Zhou Xiaozheng saw her put away the box and thought of his daughter’s earlier hesitation. He had a rough idea of what she wanted to say and smiled secretly. What his daughter thought of, how could he not think of it? This was also why he gave it directly to her. There were many things inconvenient to talk about with others, and they had to discuss them father and daughter when they had time.

Zhou Xiaozheng saw it was almost time for dinner and said to Mother Zhang, "Second Sister-in-law, it’s time to eat at home. Let’s all go out. After eating, you can come back and chat with Jiao Jiao."

Upon hearing this, Mother Zhang slapped herself lightly and laughed, "Look at my head, let’s go, everyone, let’s go. Let’s have lunch first, then come back and have a good chat. Jiao Jiao’s Auntie Grandma, let’s have something to eat to fill our stomachs."

Zhou Jiao, holding her son, sent them out the door, returned to the inner room, put down her son, and after thinking for a moment, retrieved the two boxes. She kept staring at the boxes and didn’t open them but just pondered silently.

The two boxes were luggage cases that were popular during the Republic of China period. One was an ordinary rectangular box woven with rattan, and the other seemed to be a password box brought back from abroad. Remembering that her grandmother had taken out an ordinary wooden box containing the Gu Family heirloom jade pendant and Zhou Family seal, she moved her eyes to the rattan box and pondered deeply.

The rattan luggage box was well preserved over the decades, polished to a shine, seemingly caressed often by her Auntie Grandma thinking of the person it belonged to. It showed no splinters, and even the small lock holes on it were new with no rust.

She pondered, if she were her grandmother, having planned a feigned death, taking valuable items out, besides a password box, there would be a larger suitcase to hold things. This rattan box, unless of commemorative value, wasn’t necessary to carry given her stature; it wouldn’t carry anything heavy nor contain anything substantial. So, why did her grandmother carry it along to her death with the password box? Could it have been something her grandfather brought when he fell on hard times and sought them out?

Zhou Jiao furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard, unwilling to give up, as she felt around the four corners carefully to see if there was anything unusual. Ultimately, she smiled bitterly.

She imagined her grandmother would have surely left a trace of her father’s whereabouts in the box or a letter for him. As the only daughter of the Gu Family raised as a son, she couldn’t have been unaware that if she unfortunately perished and the Zhou Family members didn’t take the child back, how would Liu Xizhi retrieve the child? The betrayal of the Gu Family members was completely visible to her. She would naively trust Zhou Jianren? She would even abandon immense wealth to retrieve her child, surely not trusting Zhou Jianren. But how could she leave no backup plan?

Zhou Jiao still wanted to open it to see if there was a hidden compartment inside, but the key was not with her and she could only wait until her father returned. She had a premonition that her talented grandmother must have left a letter, only that Auntie Grandma didn’t think of dismantling the box, or maybe she forgot the clues her sister gave her back then.

Zhou Jiao sighed deeply; she wanted to find some fragments to comfort her father. Even though her father was smiling and appeared indifferent, she could still feel his pain and sorrow. One after another, their family members were driven to a dead end, her grandmother was like this, her father was like this, and so was she. Regarding the Gu Family, Zhou Family, who forgot about the main house raising their concubines, just thinking about it made her grit her teeth in anger.

Would her father not understand, not know? In the Zhou Family’s ancestral hall, seeing the towering tablets from afar, she suddenly felt absurd, wondering if the grandparents on those plaques would disdain the collateral brothers around them.

Both father and daughter didn’t like exposing their wounds to others, silently enduring everything as if enduring all injustices. Maybe if her grandmother left a letter for her father, he would feel better at heart, as they still had the love of their closest blood family.

After putting away the suitcase, Zhou Jiao gently patted her son, her mind quickly spinning. This time, she must urge her father to try for more children, ensure she nurtures her brothers well, so that the Beijing Zhou Family doesn’t fall in her generation. If it’s truly impossible to have brothers, she decided to bear a son early on and have him carry the Zhou surname.

Having heard of the Gu Family’s experiences, she had only one thought: from now on, the Beijing Zhou Family should remain the Beijing Zhou Family. Any family members who wish to associate can do so, but no matter if Gu Family members die at her doorstep, she would walk away smiling.