Chapter 23

Of course, all of this depended on the Old District's gang forces "abiding by the law" and "developing harmoniously."

This showed just how much importance Yanjing placed on the Old District.

As the bridge connecting Yanjing and the Old District, Gu Zhaohuan and the Gu Family also received considerable returns from this political endeavor. Setting aside the hidden power struggles, merely for successfully bringing in the Old District's enormous political capital, so long as he made no mistakes in his stance going forward, Gu Zhaohuan could enjoy a glorious political career for the rest of his life.

Such tremendous benefits naturally drew envy and jealousy. Given the Old District's century-long isolation and backwardness, the other bigwigs had no way to interfere, and that was one thing. But the Li Family and the Kyoto Zhang Family could not simply watch the Gu Family reap the rewards without doing anything. After all, the Li Family still had a son they had never met being raised by the Zhang Family. Although Li Cunzhou had deliberately or otherwise deceived a Zhang Family daughter back then, gotten her pregnant, and lacked the courage to take responsibility—prompting the furious Zhang Linmo to send people to Kyoto to assassinate Li Cunzhou—so many years had passed. Blood was thicker than water. For the child's sake, the Old District Zhang Family would not take things too far, would they?

With such wishful thinking, the Li Family and the Kyoto Zhang Family secretly discussed the matter and decided to send Li Cunzhou and the Li Family's eldest legitimate grandson of the younger generation, Li Mobei, to the Old District to seek the Old Zhang Family's forgiveness. Ideally, they would bring that illegitimate son back to the Kyoto Li Family. First, it would allow father and son to build a relationship; second, it would let them learn more about the Old District's situation; third, it would ensure that the Old Zhang Family had something to fear and would not dare make any excessively drastic moves.

Zhang Linmo, who was worrying in the Old District about how to protect his own backyard, had never imagined that the Li Family would be so shameless and bottomless in their pursuit of power. Zhang Xianyang, reborn with memories of his previous life, had likewise never expected the Li father and son to come to the Old District half a year early and ask for his "return." Even Li Jiangnan, the Li Family's second legitimate son, who had been tasked with watching him for so long only to have Gu Anming snatch him away, had not expected to see his travel-worn father and elder brother in the Old District.

Thus, when the three members of the Li Family stood so openly outside the Old Zhang Family's villa, the Zhang father and sons, who had just returned from a meeting at Righteousness Hall, along with their companions, were all stunned.

Author's note: Thanks to Attila for the landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Red Kitten Paw dropped a landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Demeter dropped a landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Thanks to Meow at Little Landlord for the landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Writing this chapter was so painful. There was too much that needed to be avoided and explained. Sob, please give me some pats~~

The first to spot the Li father and sons was Zhang Xianyang, who habitually looked outside at the scenery from inside the car. Ten years of entanglement, the bone-deep resentment before his death, and the hatred that remained impossible to dispel even now allowed him to recognize these three so-called family members at a glance. But considering the current circumstances, Zhang Xianyang could not reveal too much. He could only pretend to be confused and ask, "Who are those people standing outside our house? Why haven't I seen them before?"

Zhang Linmo and Zhang Muyang also stuck their heads out to examine them. They stared for a long time without recognizing them. Only Zhang Linmo, who had investigated Li Cunzhou's background before, found the older man vaguely familiar. But nearly twenty years had passed, and he never would have imagined it was that shameless bastard.

While the Zhang father and sons were still wondering inside the car, the Li father and sons had already spotted the returning convoy. Li Cunzhou immediately saw Zhang Xianyang, who had his head out the car window and was pretending to look puzzled. His features closely resembled those of his late mother, and because of genetic modification, he was far more exquisite and fair-skinned than Zhang Hanmo had been back then. Li Cunzhou recognized this son he had never met at once. Excitement stirred in his heart, and he vaguely recalled that romantic affair from eighteen years ago.

A wave of uncontrollable disgust rose within Zhang Xianyang, but he knew he could not reveal his emotions at this moment. He could only silently suppress the tormenting thoughts in his mind and say without changing expression, "Judging by how they're dressed, they don't look like people from our Old District. They look more like they came from Kyoto."

Before he had even finished speaking, Li Cunzhou had already walked over. Standing outside the car window, he asked with an excited expression, "Are you Yangyang? You've grown so much in the blink of an eye. You really do look just like your mother."

Zhang Linmo suddenly remembered who this man was and immediately darkened his face. "It's you. What are you doing here?"

Without waiting for Li Cunzhou's response, he directly ordered, "Drive."

After a pause, still unable to vent his anger, he added, "Beat them out of here."

Li Cunzhou had already anticipated that Zhang Linmo would not have a pleasant attitude. After all, this was the man who had once sent assassins to Kyoto to kill him; his temper and character were obvious enough. Therefore, Li Cunzhou did not mind Zhang Linmo's vicious words. He continued staring fixedly at Zhang Xianyang and said wistfully, "Yangyang, you might not recognize me, but I am your father—your biological father. Although I was forced by your uncle's pressure and could not stay by your side to protect you, I have never forgotten you in these seventeen years. I thought about you every day. Have you been well?"

After saying that, he smoothly pulled an old, yellowed photograph from his pocket, its edges slightly curled, and handed it to Zhang Xianyang. The photograph was taken at the gates of Yanjing University in Kyoto. A smiling young man and woman stood side by side, radiating happiness. The man looked to be around thirty, handsome and refined, clearly a younger version of the man before them. The woman looked like a teenager, with delicate features and a gentle, exceptional air. She bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Zhang Xianyang. The photograph's surface was worn and fuzzy with fine fibers, as though it had been stroked with fingers countless times.

Li Cunzhou added, "The people in the photograph are your mother and me—though perhaps you still call her Auntie now. You really do look so much like your mother."

As he spoke, Li Cunzhou's eyes reddened with emotion. "I wronged both you and your mother. It was all my fault."

In his previous life, when Zhang Xianyang saw the same scene and heard the same words, he had been emotional and incredulous. He had even confronted his father, Zhang Linmo, on the spot. That gave Li Cunzhou an opening to enter the Old Zhang Family's home. He knelt and repented, cried bitterly, and put on a show, successfully deceiving the innocent and foolish third young master of the Old Zhang Family into going to Kyoto as a hostage.

In this life, already aware of the Li Family's purpose, Zhang Xianyang said with a half-smile, "I've heard of people rushing to take advantage of others, but never of someone rushing to become another person's father. What, did your family die out, so you had the nerve to try fooling the Old Zhang Family?"

After saying that, Zhang Xianyang shook the photograph in his hand with obvious disdain and asked, "This photo isn't Photoshopped, is it?"

Li Cunzhou froze at those words. He had imagined this scene countless times. Perhaps Zhang Xianyang would resent him, perhaps he would refuse to believe him and question Zhang Linmo. He had made ample preparations for every possible situation. But he had never expected Zhang Xianyang to react like this.

Seeing this, Li Mobei and Li Jiangnan, the two brothers standing behind Li Cunzhou, stepped forward and softly called, "Dad."

Inside the car, Zhang Xianyang widened his eyes in disbelief and deliberately asked, "No way. You brought your son with you when you came to claim a son? Are you sure you're not a fraud ring?"

Then Zhang Xianyang impatiently waved his hand and said, "Call the police. Tell them we found a fraud gang and have them come arrest these people."

Li Cunzhou had not expected things to turn out this way. Anxiety rose in his heart, and he blurted out, "Yangyang, I really am your father. You can hate me or even curse me, but please give me a chance to make up for it."

Since everyone had returned from the meeting at Righteousness Hall, the commotion at the Old Zhang Family's entrance quickly attracted everyone's attention. The bigwigs who enjoyed a spectacle had their drivers pull over one after another and stood at a distance to watch.

Noticing the surrounding whispers, Zhang Linmo frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Ignore them. Drive inside."

The driver in front answered and immediately drove the car into the Old Zhang Residence. Behind them, the old, finely crafted wrought-iron gates slammed shut with a bang. Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Xianyang could still see the Li father and sons outside the gates, clutching the bars and shouting something. Around them stood a group of thugs ordered to "beat them out," viciously swinging clubs at the three men. Li Cunzhou and Li Mobei silently endured the blows, but Li Jiangnan, who had always been wild-tempered, could not care about anything else and nimbly fought back...

Zhang Xianyang curled his lips with leisurely interest.

He would not get angry. He would not lose his temper. But he would repay everything he had suffered in his previous life.

Zhang Linmo, who had been watching his son's emotions all along, saw Zhang Xianyang's strange smile and suspiciously asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Zhang Xianyang came back to himself and asked, "Dad, who are they?"

At Zhang Xianyang's question, Zhang Linmo's expression gradually became unpleasant, and he fell silent.

Knowing the answer, Zhang Xianyang deliberately asked, "Was what that man said true? Is he really the person who gave birth to me?"

Zhang Linmo keenly noticed that Zhang Xianyang had said "the person who gave birth to me" rather than "father," and felt slightly relieved. After pondering for a long while, he sighed. "Let's go inside first. We'll talk once we're in the house."

After getting out of the car, the Zhang father and sons entered the living room one after another and, as usual, sat down on the sofa. Aunt Li, who had already estimated their arrival time and prepared the meal, sensed the grave atmosphere between them. She was so frightened that she did not dare come over to speak. She merely instructed the servants to set out the dishes and cover them with insulated lids before quietly withdrawing.

Zhang Xianyang calmly looked at his father across from him, who wore a bitter expression and did not know how to begin. Then he smiled faintly. "No matter who they are, I only recognize Dad, my brother, and Second Uncle's family as my relatives. I'm just curious. They never appeared all these years, yet the moment the Old District redevelopment plan began, they suddenly showed up. Could there be some scheme behind this?"

Zhang Linmo had also been speculating about the matter. Hearing Zhang Xianyang say this, he felt that being evasive would only create misunderstandings. The child had grown up and had the right to know what had happened to him.

With that thought, Zhang Linmo let out a long sigh and said, "That man really was with Hanmo, and the two of you had you."

Already knowing the truth, Zhang Xianyang casually asked, "Did that man know I existed?"

Zhang Linmo said uncertainly, "Probably not? Hanmo had a difficult birth when she gave birth to you. Before she passed, she said she did not trust the Kyoto Li Family and begged me not to send you away, but to raise you well. It happened that your aunt also had a difficult birth. She died of postpartum hemorrhaging on the day she gave birth to your cousin, and your cousin passed away two days later as well. So I took you under my name and raised you. To outsiders, I said you were my third son, while Hanmo's child had died two days after birth."

Hearing that, Zhang Xianyang asked suspiciously, "But judging from that man's expression, he didn't look like someone who had just learned about me. I think he knew long ago. He was only pretending not to know because of his concerns."

Zhang Linmo found that strange as well. But he did not think it was important. So long as Yangyang did not blame him, that was enough.

Zhang Linmo did not know why, but Zhang Xianyang, who had spent nearly ten years with the Kyoto Li Family in his previous life, understood everything clearly. Eighteen years ago, Li Cunzhou was already married to Zhang Yaxian, the daughter of the Kyoto Zhang Family, yet he was far from a dutiful husband and father. When his wife, Zhang Yaxian, was pregnant with their second child, the bored Li Cunzhou was sent to Yanjing University as a guest lecturer, where he met Zhang Hanmo, who had just started university.

Zhang Hanmo was only nineteen at the time, with peerless beauty and in the full bloom of youth. Not knowing Zhang Hanmo's identity, Li Cunzhou approached her merely for amusement. Zhang Hanmo, likewise unaware that Li Cunzhou already had a family, fell for him after his careful pursuit. They were together for over a year. It was only when Zhang Hanmo mentioned marriage that she learned Li Cunzhou had been married for three years, and that his wife was Zhang Yaxian, daughter of the Kyoto Zhang Family. Li Cunzhou said the marriage was a union of interests, but Zhang Hanmo did not wish to become the third party in someone else's marriage. She left Kyoto that very night and returned to the Old District. Later, she discovered she was pregnant. Kind by nature and under no financial pressure, Zhang Hanmo decided to give birth to her child. In the end, she died in childbirth. Her final wish was to entrust her brother with raising her child.