Chapter 457 Go and Return
Zhang Heyao suddenly laughed.
He said self-deprecatingly: "Sun Shun, this is probably the only time in my life that I wanted to do something good, but I didn't expect that in the end—"
He has no ability to predict the future.
That time, it was really an accident.
When he learned that Lu Qiniang was pregnant, he felt mixed emotions. When he accidentally ran into Xiao Kui, who was also pregnant and in a miserable situation, an inexplicable sympathy mixed with a dark, almost humble desire - to get a glimpse of what Lu Qiniang might look like at the moment from another pregnant woman - made him reach out his hand.
"Heh," he sneered, as if mocking fate, or spitting on himself, "It seems that God has determined that I am a villain at heart. Even this one time when I tried to pretend to be a good person, I acted so... disgustingly." However, there was no regret in the depths of his eyes, only an unfathomable obsession with possessiveness.
When it comes to who takes care of the children, he has childish ideas.
"She can't." Zhang Heyao's tone suddenly turned cold, and his sharp eyes swept across the void, as if Xiao Kui was standing there. "She has a weak personality, an indelible slave mentality, and... she is extremely stupid."
His assessment was caustic and accurate.
A prostitute in a household, instead of thinking about how to curry favor with the rich and powerful to secure a stable life, actually had an affair with a young eunuch in the mansion who also used his beauty to serve men and lived in danger of losing his job, and even got pregnant.
If he said at this moment, "Don't keep this child, and you can live," Zhang Heyao had no doubt that Xiao Kui would immediately strangle the child to death in order to protect himself.
How can a woman like this bring up a good child?
Sun Shun thought of Xiao Kui's timid and confused look, and he also felt it was a difficult situation: "Then... Sir, how should we place this child?"
"Go to the Pang family," Zhang Heyao said indifferently, as if arranging a trivial matter. "Bring that young servant over. Tell Xiaokui that helping them is your reward for keeping the child."
He was certain that, to Xiaokui, this "fulfillment" was far more important than blood ties.
How could a girl who was foolish enough to have an affair and become pregnant at the age of sixteen have any sense of motherhood? What she wanted most at this moment was probably to escape this cage and live with her lover.
"Prepare her a dowry," Zhang Heyao added, "and tell her to pack up and wait for her 'beloved' to come and take her away."
"Yes." Sun Shun responded and prepared to leave.
"Wait." Zhang Heyao called him, his gaze returning to the child in his arms. His cold expression seemed to be softened a little by the child's sleeping face, but it was also covered by a deeper calculation. "I remember that your grandmother always felt constrained living with you. Ask her to move in."
He raised his eyes and looked at Sun Shun without question, "The mansion lacks a reliable person to look after the maids and servants and take care of the child. She... is an elder that Qi Niang respects."
The last sentence was spoken in a lower voice, with a subtle complexity.
"...Yes." Sun Shun knew that he had no room for bargaining.
After Sun Shun left, the room returned to silence. Zhang Heyao lowered his head and gently rubbed the baby's warm face with his fingertips, his eyes dark and unclear.
"Grandma Sun... is your mother's favorite elder." He whispered to the ignorant baby, his voice carrying a strange, almost gentle declaration, "Let her take care of you. Your mother... should agree."
He paused, as if he had made up his mind, and his tone suddenly became clear and firm: "From now on, you are my son——"
Before he could feel proud, Zhang Heyao suddenly felt a warm liquid flowing down his arm.
His body suddenly stiffened, a smug look frozen on his face. He looked down at the little thing in his arms that was still sleeping soundly but had left a "mark" on him. For the first time in his life, he showed an almost dull expression.
Late at night, Xiao Yan was accompanying Lu Qin's mother to feed Si Ya, who had finally woken up, when there was a loud knock on the door.
Outside the door, there was Yun Ting, who was dusty and soaked in mud!
Behind him stood Erya and Sanya, who looked equally miserable and had pale faces.
When Lu Qiniang saw the dusty and disheveled people, she immediately became anxious.
"Er Ya, San Ya, why are you two back? Didn't we agree that you should go to Dengzhou first? Why aren't you listening?"
"Mother!" Erya took a deep breath, suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes, took a step forward, and said in a clear voice with a barely perceptible tremor, "Don't worry, listen to me."
She glanced at Yun Ting, who also looked solemn and exhausted, and continued, "I know something happened at home. My parents asked San Ya and me to run away. Yun Ting also tried to stop me from coming back. But mother—"
She sobbed uncontrollably. "Escape itself is a crime, an even greater one. What crime is Dad carrying now? 'Remnant of the King of Yue'! The Emperor is furious, and any slight movement will be magnified infinitely. If my sister and I 'fled' at this moment, what would the Emperor think? He'd think Dad had ulterior motives and arranged for us to escape early. He'd think we were guilty. This would only confirm Dad's 'crime,' making the Emperor even more furious. He'd think Dad was culpable, and the punishment for you and Dad... would only be heavier and more cruel."
"We must not let our 'escape' become the final straw that breaks the camel's back and deepens your guilt. If that happens, even if we survive, we will never be able to rest in peace in this life."
"Since we are a family, we share weal and woe. Life and death are all determined by fate!"
San Ya also nodded vigorously, her face tense and with a determination that was not in line with her age: "Yes! Mom! The family must be together! We are not afraid! We must die together!"
It doesn't matter what others say.
There are two paths before them, and no matter which one they choose, they may end up with regrets.
In that case, just follow your heart.
Lu Qiniang couldn't stop crying. She handed Si Ya to Xiao Yan and hugged her two daughters.
She was not afraid of death or hardship, but in the end, she had wronged her daughters.
When disaster strikes, the daughters protect their home in their own way, out of despair, even if the cost is their own lives.
Xiao Yan stood aside, looking at his two daughters who were lost and found but now in danger. He felt like his heart was being cut by a knife and his throat was choked.
No, he wants to live.
He must survive!
Yun Ting leaned against the door frame. The fatigue from running all the way and the heaviness of witnessing all this made his face pale. He took a deep look at the scene inside the house and sighed silently.
The heavy night, like a huge curtain, weighs heavily on everyone's heart.
"We should have returned a long time ago," he said, "but the bridge collapsed on the way, so we had to take a detour, which is why we came back. Xiao Yan, let's have a good talk."
"Yeah." Xiao Yan looked at Yun Ting, who seemed to have grown up overnight, and nodded.
Erya and Sanya have already started to gather around the little sister to look at her.
Even though dark clouds are pressing down on the city, the family is still more happy than sad at this moment as they face the new life.
"Mom, I still want a younger brother." San Ya said, "Or let your sister follow me and become a female general."
"Okay, I'll follow your arrangements." Lu Qin's mother smiled, but thought to herself, it's a good thing that she didn't give birth to a son, otherwise, in addition to worrying about Xiao Yan's life, she would have to worry about one more person.
I just hope that my family can get through this difficult time smoothly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
