On the road from the county town to Zhoujia Village, five military vehicles drove quickly towards Zhoujia. In the first car sat the old couple Cheng, Zhou Xiaozheng and old lady Zhou. Zhang Guoqing drove the car carefully.

Zhou Xiaozheng pondered for a moment and instructed him, "Xiaowu, leave us at the door of the Zhou family later. Go find the grandson of the old clan leader and the current clan leader and bring them to the Zhou family together. Have them bring the family tree with them."

"I understand." Zhang Guoqing replied immediately. He also planned to invite the newly appointed captain and elders of the village.

Five cars rumbled into the village entrance. A villager noticed, seeing them all heading towards Old Zhou's house, and immediately knocked on the door of the neighboring house, "Something's wrong! Five cars have arrived from the Zhou family."

"Maybe Zhou Xiaozheng is going home? What could have happened?"

The other party said anxiously: "No, I see only soldiers, and there are people inside. Let's go and take a look, something really happened."

Zhang Guoqing watched them all get off the bus and hurriedly turned back to look for the clan leader and his grandson. As he drove into the village, he saw quite a few people walking towards the Zhou family's house in secret.

Old Cheng supported his wife and knocked on the gate without waiting for Mrs. Zhou to come forward. He led a group of people directly into the main hall. As soon as they entered, they saw several men sitting in the main hall. The oldest man on the kang should be Zhou Jiaren.

When Mr. Zhou Jiaren saw these soldiers rushing in, he was immediately shocked. The pipe in his hand fell to the ground and he pointed at the old couple Cheng who were leading the group.

Old Cheng sneered and said, "Why? Seeing us, you should understand that it's you who's responsible, right? You think we can't find the child if you hide him?"

Mr. Zhou was trembling all over and hesitantly said, "What are you saying? I don't understand."

Seeing the people around Old Man Zhou yelling, Old Cheng ordered Xiao Chen, "Hold down everyone around this old man."

After saying that, he helped his wife sit on the chair and said to him with a cold face: "Still pretending? Do you think I will come to your house without evidence? I think you won't cry until you see the coffin."

Old Master Zhou looked at his eldest son and two grandsons who were all pinned to the ground, looking up and begging him desperately. He quickly turned his face away, lowered his head and sat on the kang without moving.

Knowing he wasn't giving up, Old Cheng ignored him. After everyone was seated, he spoke again, "Gu Mingzhu originally told you to bring the token back to Liu Xizhi. Why didn't you keep your promise? Wouldn't that box of gold and silver be enough to keep you satisfied? You're using the tokens from the Zhou and Gu families with confidence. Aren't you afraid that the heroic spirits of Zhou Jinyu and Gu Mingzhu will come after you?"

Seeing that he still didn't respond, Old Cheng patted his anxious wife and continued, "Gu Mingzhu originally left a small box for the child, a copy of the photos she took abroad, and even described her characteristics on paper. Do you want me to call the police and have them search, or do you want to confess voluntarily? The old patriarch is dead, but do you really think there is no evidence? You must know what kind of person Gu Mingzhu is.

I spent days searching through your comrades and your wife's colleagues. I also went to the military archives, the household registration office, and the veterans' office. I found all the documents. Do you think I would fly on a military plane overnight without witnesses and physical evidence?

Old Cheng looked at him without saying a word, sneered a few times, and waited for him to express his opinion.

Everyone in the living room was quietly waiting for Mr. Zhou to speak, but looking at him, it seemed like he was playing tricks.

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at Old Man Zhou expressionlessly. No one knew what he was thinking. Lin Lishan pulled his hand worriedly, but he remained indifferent.

"Dad, the clan leader and the old clan leader's grandson are here. I also invited the team leader and two clan elders." Zhang Guoqing noticed something strange when he walked into the house and whispered to him.

Xiao Chen also came in at this time and whispered a few words in Mr. Cheng's ear, and Mr. Cheng nodded.

After the clan leader and his companions came in, Elder Cheng had chairs brought in for them to sit down. He then said, "I've invited you all to come here today to bear witness. You should all remember Zhou Jiaheng, the youngest son of the principal wife of the capital, and Zhou Jinyu, his wife, Gu Mingzhu, the direct descendant of the principal wife of the Jiangnan Gu family. Both of them should be recorded in your family tree."

When Zhou Jinyu passed away, Gu Mingzhu brought her newborn child to the old patriarch and entrusted Zhou Jinyu's cousin, Zhou Jiaren, to temporarily care for the child. She also gave him a large amount of gold and silver, which my wife, Liu Xizhi, handled. Gu Mingzhu also left behind a small wooden box containing the Gu family's heirloom mutton-fat jade, Zhou Jinyu's seal, and the amulet from the child's neck as a token of trust. She agreed that if she didn't return to retrieve the child, the old patriarch and Zhou Jiaren would take the token and send the child to be raised by my aunt, Liu Xizhi.

My wife is Liu Xizhi, the adopted daughter of the Gu family. We have waited for more than 40 years, but no one has come to our door. We have searched all over the country and still can't find her.

Now that we've come to you, as the son-in-law of the Gu family, I must demand your attitude. Zhou Xiaozheng is Zhou Jinyu's son, the only direct descendant of the Gu and Zhou families, and we must recognize him.

I don't want to talk about how much suffering this family has endured. I just want to know if Zhou Jiaren admits the truth. If he continues to play dumb, I'll call the police immediately. We have the evidence and photos left by Gu Mingzhu, as well as witnesses and physical evidence that prove Zhou Xiaozheng is not Zhou Jiaren's biological son.

The clan leader listened, looked at Old Man Zhou who was keeping his head down and silent, sighed, and turned to discuss in a low voice with the two clan elders beside him. After a while, the clan leader opened the family tree, flipped it open, took the old family tree, compared the two, and looked at Old Man Zhou, "Jiaren, what do you say? Express your opinion."

Old Cheng took the box handed to him by Cheng Sijin, opened it, took out a stack of notes and photos, picked out two and handed them to the patriarch.

"Here are photos of the heirloom jade pendant and small seal inside the keepsake, as well as the characteristics described by Gu Mingzhu. If he still doesn't tell me, I'll call the police and search the Zhou family's house."

An elder of the Zhou family shouted angrily, "If you don't speak up, I'll have your family expelled from the clan. Do you still want to get away with this? Hasn't your family been embarrassed enough?"

Old Master Zhou looked up at everyone, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, lowered his head and said nothing.

The clan leader frowned and said, "If you have nothing to say, just hand over the things. We have the evidence. If you don't say anything, we will leave. Whether you go to the cell to eat or somewhere else, we really don't care."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhou lowered his head and gently touched his chest. He reluctantly took out a bloodstone seal from his chest, looked at it, closed his eyes, and handed it to the patriarch. Then he got up and went to the inner room.

Mr. Cheng glanced at Xiao Chen, who then followed him in. A moment later, Mr. Zhou came out with a small box.

Old Mrs. Cheng cried as she stepped forward and snatched the box, gently pressing it with her hand, "It's this box. This is the box my sister took out at that time." As she said this, she hugged the box tightly in her arms and cried loudly.

Zhou Xiaozheng and Cheng Sijin hurried forward, hugged her, and quickly fed her medicine and water.

As soon as Mrs. Cheng came to her senses, she hurriedly stuffed the box into Zhou Xiaozheng's arms and said, "Look, this is given to you by your mother. Open it and take a look. You must keep it well."

Old Cheng took Zhou Jinyu's seal and handed it to his wife, "First, take a look to see if it belongs to your brother-in-law. And also, take a look at your sister's jade pendant."

Old Mrs. Cheng picked up the seal, looked at it, and nodded with tears in her eyes, "It belongs to my brother-in-law. There's a black spot here. My brother-in-law said he wanted to engrave a dragon pattern on it to add the finishing touch."

Zhou Xiaozheng opened the box and saw a round piece of top-quality mutton-fat jade inside. He curled the corners of his lips sarcastically. Wealth is really attractive.

Seeing that he had received the token, Old Cheng smiled at the old patriarch's grandson and asked, "Don't be nervous. Did your grandfather mention Xiao Zheng? We want to hear about it."

The other person smiled naively and said, "I'm already quite old now, and it's been so long since I saw him. I just remember that he passed away unexpectedly, and he didn't leave any messages. He wouldn't tell us if there was something wrong. They say ignorance is bliss."

The clan leader looked at Zhou Jiaren and asked him, "What about the gold? What did Gu Mingzhu say before she left?"

Seeing that the matter was already settled, Grandpa Zhou gave up and said in a low voice: "Gu Mingzhu agreed that the money was child support. She also left some to donate to the clan.

My wife had just suffered a miscarriage, and Gu Mingzhu and the old clan leader came to our house, entrusting us with temporary care for the child for a year or two. Gu Mingzhu asked the old clan leader to add the name Zhou Xiaozheng below Zhou Jinyu in the family tree, saying that Zhou Jinyu had instructed her to do so. After the old clan leader added the name to the old tree, he heard Gu Mingzhu say that many people were eyeing the Gu family assets, and that the child was in danger, requiring her to deal with the situation before she could reclaim the child. He then copied a new family tree, intending to add the name to the new one once things stabilized, while preserving the old one as evidence.

She did say that if she didn't show up before the child was three years old, she would take the token and look for Liu Xizhi. But how could she find him with the child then? When the child grows up and the clan leader is gone, I can't bear to leave the child. He is our Zhou family's child, and I don't feel safe leaving him to outsiders.

Old Mrs. Cheng asked hurriedly, "Did my sister say anything else at that time?"

"No, just tell the child that his father is gone and that he's in danger. What if he can't come back and can't find Liu Xizhi? Wait until the child is old enough to tell him his life story. Also, tell him that Zhou Jinyu told him before he died not to forget to learn martial arts. He left the gold just in case, so he can find a master for the child in the future."

Mr. Cheng then asked him, "Where did you say you were going to find Liu Xizhi?"

"He left us two addresses, one in the south and one in the north. Gd and the suburbs of Beijing. It's just too far, so we didn't send the child there."

Old Cheng ignored his explanation and looked at his wife. Seeing her nod, he said, "The matter has been clarified. Let's forget about the gold. Chief, when do you think we can allow the child to attend the ancestral hall?"

After the clan leader and his companions had discussed it, they said, "We will bring the family tree to the ancestral hall tomorrow morning. As for the worship, you can go by yourselves."

Elder Cheng nodded, understanding that Zhou Jinyu's family's tombs were located in the suburbs of the capital, and that they were also honoring their ancestors here. "Then we'll make an appointment. Meet at the ancestral hall tomorrow morning."

He looked at Zhou Xiaozheng again and said, "Child, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head, stood up, walked to Old Lady Zhou, knelt down and kowtowed three times, "I won't be coming back here anymore. If you miss me, write to me and I'll take you in and take care of you in your old age."

After saying that, he stood up and looked at the old lady covering her mouth with her hands and crying softly. He hardened his heart, turned around, walked to Old Lady Cheng, and supported her as she left.

Old Cheng watched Zhou Xiaozheng and his wife walk out and said, "Let's all go. Sorry to bother you all tonight."

Watching them leave, Mr. Zhou sat in the main room, remaining silent. After a moment, ignoring the reproachful glances from his son and grandson, he stood up and went straight into the bedroom.

Tonight was a nightmare for the eldest son of the Zhou family. Zhou Xiaocun looked at his old mother, but without saying a word of comfort, he took his sons back to the house.

The eldest son, Zhou Lidong, stopped his family from asking questions and asked himself, "Dad, you've known for a long time that your uncle isn't your biological son, right? Even your eldest aunt knows, right?"

Zhou Xiaocun glanced at everyone in the room, seeing their frustrated expressions, and said angrily, "What if I had known earlier? We raised him. The only mistake was that your grandfather accepted so much gold. If we had known Zhou Xiaozheng's background was so complicated, how could things have gotten so out of control? Your grandfather is a fool. Okay, let's all go our separate ways and behave ourselves from now on."

"I won't dare go out anymore. As soon as the ancestral hall opens tomorrow morning, everything will spread. It's so embarrassing." The youngest son muttered to himself, and gradually dared not make a sound when he saw his father's face.