At the Beijing Military Airport, two couples in their thirties and their children waited anxiously in the waiting room. As the time approached, they kept glancing at their watches. Ever since receiving a call from Cheng Sijin, the eldest of the Cheng family, the siblings had been planning to personally welcome their eldest cousin back.
Cheng Ruzhu, a tall woman in a Lenin suit whose features resembled those of Old Lady Cheng, was recounting the hardships her parents had endured in searching for her eldest cousin. Afterward, she exchanged a relieved smile with her second brother, Cheng Siyu.
Li Xiulan, the Cheng family's second daughter-in-law, smiled brightly, but secretly felt happy. Every year, there were those few days in the Cheng family, especially after her mother-in-law returned from the Qingming Festival, when the atmosphere was filled with sadness. She had a vague feeling that there was a story behind it. She hadn't imagined there was a missing child. Her parents-in-law were secretly searching for the missing child. No wonder she had always felt that the Cheng family, especially her mother-in-law, doted on their children.
Now, she finally found him. Thinking of how her husband excitedly hugged her and spun around after receiving the call, she knew that this person was very important to their Cheng family.
Cheng Siyu said to his sister with a smile: "Little sister, from now on you have to call me Third Brother. Don't be mean and call me Second Brother or Little Second Brother."
"Okay, I can call you little brother, okay? Brother, how come Zhou Xiaozheng is our eldest brother? I thought that children born to aunt and uncle must be scholars. Oh, I remembered that I have a brother who is actually Zhou Xiaozheng. Hehe..."
Cheng Ruzhu's husband, Wen Congwen, looked at his wife's childlike play with a doting smile. Ever since she received the news, she had been so excited that she would drag him along late into the night, constantly recounting his deeds. Even now, he could still hear the hallucination of her muttering.
He admired his father-in-law and mother-in-law deeply. Decades had passed, and they had been searching in secret, relying on a single clue to find someone. They had even braved the pressure of their health to travel to Northeast China right after being released from the hospital. They were a deeply loyal old couple, worthy of his lifelong respect.
He didn't know Zhou Xiaozheng, he only knew him from his wife. He came with her out of courtesy, but more out of curiosity, to see Master Yu's only bloodline.
Every era has its own unique leaders. Master Yu, for example, was a tragedy of his time. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, when it came to policy essays, parallel prose, classical poetry, lyrics, and even the vast literature, there were countless brilliant scholars, but none could compare to Master Yu. This was all the more unfortunate because Master Yu combined Eastern and Western influences, mastering the literature and languages of various countries.
Such a brilliant star died young. Aside from a few anonymous works that survive, all his writings, paintings, and poems were destroyed by the Eight-Nation Alliance. This is truly a tragedy and a source of sorrow for scholars.
As the sound of an airplane roared in the sky, a group of people ran out quickly, and finally waited until the plane landed and Cheng Lao and the others got off.
Looking at Zhou Xiaozheng in the crowd, Cheng Siyu and his sister shouted loudly, "Welcome home, big brother." - The brother and sister quickly stepped forward and hugged Zhou Xiaozheng, together with Cheng family's eldest brother Cheng Sijin, the four of them hugged each other tightly.
With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Cheng stepped forward and patted them gently. Mrs. Cheng and her group of people and the airport staff watched this scene with great emotion. Someone started clapping and the whole place suddenly broke into applause.
Old Cheng lowered his head and quickly wiped his eyes with his hands. When he looked up, his face was already smiling, and he shouted loudly: "Okay. Let's talk about it when we get home. Don't waste time."
Several cars lined up and drove toward the compound. In one of them sat Zhou Xiaozheng and the three Cheng siblings. Cheng Ruzhu spoke with great enthusiasm, gesticulating and dancing, while Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and nodded.
Just as he was recovering from the pain of separation, he was greeted by the warm welcome of his brothers and sisters. He was instantly overwhelmed with mixed emotions. He wished his daughter Jiaojiao was by his side, so she could feel at ease. After all, they still had family, and someone in the Zhou family cared about them. He didn't feel lonely.
In Mr. Lin's car. Xiao Zhou was driving, with only Mr. Lin and Lin Lishan in the back seat. Seeing no one around, Mr. Lin looked at his eldest daughter, feeling a surge of worry. He'd been unable to sleep or eat for the past two days, feeling like each day was a year. But look at this silly girl, so cheerful despite such a big incident, not realizing anything was amiss.
"Shanshan, did Zhou Xiaozheng treat you differently after he knew your background? Did the father and daughter discuss your uncle's family affairs with you in private? Did Jiaojiao tell you anything in private? You should have stayed there and waited for Ping'an to be one month old before coming back. As a woman, how can work be as important as family?" Old Master Lin asked her in a low voice with concern.
After hearing this, Lin Lishan widened her eyes and said in surprise, "Dad, I see you've been hesitant these past two days. Isn't it just for this?"
Seeing the old man nod, she burst into laughter. After a while, she comforted the anxious old man Lin, "Dad, don't worry. I'm not stupid. Uncle is uncle, and I am me—my last name is Lin. Don't you know what kind of person Brother Zheng is? He won't take his anger out on me.
Jiaojiao was so sweet to me. It's not like I hadn't thought about staying—Old Lady Cheng was interested in letting me stay, but before she could even open her mouth, Jiaojiao came up with a bunch of excuses for me to return to Beijing, but she stopped me. Later, whenever I mentioned wanting to stay in front of others, she'd wink and make excuses, and she wouldn't let me even mention it in front of her father.
Before leaving today, I said I wanted to stay. She told her father she was worried about him. She asked me to follow him. She asked me to come back with him to claim my sovereignty.
Haha, this girl is afraid that someone will notice her father. She says that if the hostess is not there during the move, gossip will spread and have a bad influence. She must go home with her father. You know how much Zhengge dotes on her. After listening to her, he nodded and said that what Jiaojiao said makes sense. They, father and daughter, didn't even celebrate the full moon or first birthday ceremony, but they are still fine.
After pausing and looking at him, she continued, "Jiaojiao won't tell me anything in private. She didn't even mention my uncle's family, let alone my mother. Her temper is the same as her father's. Don't mess with her, she will ignore him.
You talk to my mom and tell my uncle and his men to stop coming near you. Dad, I'm not stupid. What should I say to my mom? Since she thinks she knows nothing, don't ask her. Zheng Ge and Jiao Jiao should have thought of it. But they never mentioned it in front of me. Let's just pretend she doesn't know. Talking too much will only make things worse. "
Xiao Zhou was driving, not wanting to hear them, but the two men kept talking to him, and he felt helpless. He'd been with them the entire time, and no one knew the truth better than he did. He actually agreed with Lin Lishan: stay out of the way. Who would care? If they didn't know what was best for them and tried to take advantage of them, they'd probably get a good beating.
Not to mention the others, Zhou Jiao alone is someone he knows more or less well, and he's especially protective of. If anyone irritates Zhou Xiaozheng, he'll take action when he returns to Beijing at the end of the year. Zhou Xiaozheng might be considerate of his wife, but Zhou Jiao is a ruthless person, not to mention the Gu family's concubines are her mortal enemies. She's probably sharpening her knife right now. If she keeps moving forward, she's courting death.
Elder Lin looked at his daughter, feeling no comfort and even more worried. But there were things he couldn't tell her. These past few days, he'd been trying to recall his first meeting with Old Man Zhou and his wife. Back then, he'd just learned of Zhou Xiaozheng and his son's deaths, and he'd overlooked many things. But now, thinking back, he realized both sides were aware of the situation. No wonder his wife had urged him to give the child to them.
Thinking about his wife's suspicious nature, he must have had doubts the first time he saw Zhou Xiaozheng's similar face. Did he already know the truth? If he knew the truth and still refused to acknowledge this nephew, then there must be something else in the Gu family that has not been exposed.
His Shanshan wasn't stupid; she'd already thought of this. But how could Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter, the cunning pair, not have thought of it? And they kept it a secret. Why would they bring it up before her? Just these past two days, they'd been having frequent private conversations; there must be something he hadn't noticed. Why had Zhou Jiao let her mother stay with her father and even promised to return to Beijing by the end of the year?
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