Chapter 41

"Is that so?"

With just one sentence from Zhang Xianyang, everyone in the Li Family immediately developed misgivings and resentment toward Gu Zhaohuan. They even began wondering whether their previous defeat in the Old District Zhang Family Secret Passage had something to do with Gu Zhaohuan. But then they thought that if those two families really were allied, why would Zhang Xianyang say something like that right in front of him? They should be trying their best to hide it now. Why would he deliberately provoke them into becoming even more suspicious? Or perhaps Zhang Xianyang was advancing by retreating, trying to keep the Li Family from suspecting Gu Zhaohuan. Or maybe he knew about the private agreement between the Li Family and the Gu Family, so he had deliberately raised suspicions to undermine their alliance?

The Li Family members let their imaginations run wild over Zhang Xianyang's words, their minds unsettled. Meanwhile, the Zhang Family members and Gu Zhaohuan focused most of their attention on the woman standing behind Li Cunzhou. She looked only a little over thirty, with fair skin and an elegant, composed bearing. She was not particularly beautiful, but she looked gentle, virtuous, and tender. At that moment, her clear eyes were gazing softly at Zhang Xianyang, who sat beside the Zhang Family patriarch. Noticing everyone's scrutiny, she came back to herself and gave a poised nod in greeting.

Li Cunzhou immediately said, "Please forgive our presumptuous visit, sir. This is my wife, Zhang Yaxian. She wanted to see Yangyang."

Zhang Linmo gave Li Cunzhou a smile that was not quite a smile and said, "I don't really care whether your visit is presumptuous or not. You've already broken into private property before, so I'm not surprised by an uninvited visit."

Zhang Linmo's sarcastic remark made Li Cunzhou's face redden slightly. He hurriedly pushed the woman behind him forward. "This is my wife. After learning about Hanmo and Yangyang, she wanted to come see the mother and son."

"You're the woman from the Kyoto Zhang Family who sent assassins to the Old District back then and said you were going to teach me a 'lesson'?"

Even under such questioning, the gentle dignity on Zhang Yaxian's face did not change in the slightest. She merely said apologetically, "I was young then and did not handle things thoughtfully enough. Please do not hold it against me, sir."

"Back then, you sent assassins into the Old District without regard for the situation. I thought you would be some fierce, strong-willed woman. Turns out you're just someone who changes her attitude depending on whom she's facing. As expected of someone raised by a Kyoto aristocratic family. Your methods are all cut from the same cloth." Zhang Linmo spoke calmly, then turned to Li Cunzhou with a smile. "Still, no matter what, I do sympathize with your wife. In our Old District, men handle matters outside the home. We don't make our women show their faces and run around everywhere. Of course, I know people outside are more open-minded. You think women can stand up and work just like men. But making your lawful wife lower her head to outsiders..."

Zhang Linmo chuckled twice, shook his head, and said nothing more.

He had put it mildly. Though he did not want to admit it, the fact that his younger sister had been deceived into becoming someone else's mistress was undeniable. Making his legal wife bow her head to the son of a mistress—how thick-skinned did a man have to be to do something like that?

Though they said nothing, the undisguised mockery on the Zhang Family's faces conveyed every last word left unsaid. A flash of humiliation crossed Zhang Yaxian's face, so quickly that Zhang Linmo nearly missed it. But he had caught enough. The moment he saw her reaction, Zhang Linmo became certain that this woman had not come willingly. She had probably been forced to come.

Could it be that the people in charge of the Li Family in distant Yanjing really thought that if men could not resolve something, sending a woman would do the trick? Or did they think Zhang Linmo was truly such an incompetent pushover that some woman with neither looks nor character could handle him?

Just as Zhang Linmo finished grumbling inwardly, Zhang Yaxian said, "This visit was not Cunzhou's request. I proposed it myself. I regretted that impulsive act from over ten years ago for a very long time, but I never had the chance to apologize to the Old District Zhang Family and Yangyang. So when I heard what had happened in the Old District this time, I took the opportunity to come."

After saying that, she looked at Zhang Xianyang with eyes as gentle as water and said tenderly, "You must be Yangyang, right? As the saying goes, one brushstroke cannot write two different Zhangs. Your surname is Zhang, and mine is Zhang too. It seems we are quite fated."

"There are countless people in the world surnamed Zhang. Zhang Liang was surnamed Zhang, and Zhang Chunqiao was surnamed Zhang too. One aided the nation, while the other brought disaster upon it. Can you say the Zhang in their names is the same Zhang?"

When Zhang Xianyang actually compared the Kyoto Zhang Family to one of the villains who brought calamity upon the nation, even Zhang Yaxian, deep as her composure was, revealed a trace of displeasure. But she quickly reined in her emotions and smiled faintly. "Yangyang may be young, but he has studied history quite well. He even knows about Zhang Liang and Zhang Chunqiao. Not many children nowadays understand Chinese history."

"That's because education these days is far too shallow and restless. People worship foreign things, grovel before others, sell out their country for glory, and toss aside all shame and integrity for a little profit. I truly don't know what teachers and schools are thinking these days. Grades cannot be treated as everything. Once people become obsessed with quick success and instant benefits, they naturally start looking for crooked shortcuts. If this continues, they will only harm others and themselves. As the saying goes, words and actions teach alike. If someone receives improper education when young, then even if they grow up talented, their morals and character will still be condemned. They may even drag down their colleagues and their country." As Zhang Xianyang spoke, he picked up a cup of tea from the coffee table to moisten his throat, then asked casually, "Madam Zhang, do you think I'm right?"

Zhang Yaxian naturally knew that every word Zhang Xianyang said was mocking the Li Family. Seeing Li Jiangnan's face grow paler and the pain he could not conceal, Zhang Yaxian frowned in distress, and killing intent flashed through her eyes. Then she smiled warmly and said, "Yangyang's speech was quite impressive. Your grades must be excellent. Your uncle has taught you well, and I find that very comforting. At least I feel a little less guilty toward your mother."

As Li Cunzhou watched Zhang Yaxian's conduct, traces of admiration appeared in his eyes. Yet he failed to notice Li Jiangnan, who had kept his head lowered in silence after hearing Zhang Xianyang's words, or Li Mobei, whose face was dark as water as he looked at his mother with heartache. Zhang Muyang, however, noticed the brothers' fists clenched tightly at their sides. His expression turned cold, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he suddenly asked, "Brother Jiangnan, how are your injuries? I heard you were bitten by a venomous snake in the tunnel and inhaled quite a bit of poison smoke. Is your body all right?"

Li Jiangnan, whose skin was not as thick as his father's, immediately thought of the seven comrades who had died in vain inside the Zhang Family Secret Passage. His face went pale. He shot Zhang Muyang, who had cruelly torn open his wound, a humiliated look before awkwardly turning his face away.

Zhang Muyang smiled slightly and instinctively looked toward Zhang Xianyang beside him. Unfortunately, Zhang Xianyang had sunk into his own thoughts and did not notice the exchange around him. Frowning, he recalled his previous life. Zhang Yaxian had never come to the Old District. More than that, when Zhang Xianyang returned to the Kyoto Li Family, Zhang Yaxian had always privately displayed dissatisfaction and resentment toward the Old District. She had even put on an act of forbidding anyone from mentioning the words "Old District" in her presence. Why had she actually taken the initiative to enter Old District Zhang Family territory in this life? Did she no longer find it humiliating?

But how could that be possible? Zhang Xianyang pressed his lips together irritably. Though he had lived muddleheadedly in his previous life and did not know who had proposed the plan to frame the Old District, thinking carefully about his past experiences, the Kyoto Zhang Family had been much more proactive than the Li Family when it came to matters concerning the Old District. If the Li Family was merely a pack of vicious wolves, then the Kyoto Zhang Family was a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to bite. They had to be guarded against with everything they had, and they even had to strike directly at the snake's vital point to ensure their own safety. Otherwise...

He thought of Zhang Yu, who had nearly tortured him to death in his previous life. She was Zhang Yaxian's own niece. If someone from the younger generation could be so vicious, how kind could the older generation possibly be?

When dealing with people like that, ruthlessness had to be answered with ruthlessness, violence with violence. As long as he was stronger than her, he could not listen to any of her sweet talk. The moment an opportunity arose, he should beat her to death—

"Yangyang." Zhang Linmo raised his voice. Zhang Xianyang snapped back to reality and looked at his father blankly.

Seeing this, Zhang Linmo gave Zhang Yaxian a meaningful look. She had been putting on a flawless performance, already talking about how, without his biological parents by his side, even with his uncle doting on him, Yangyang's childhood must have been lonely and unhappy. Her eyes had even reddened slightly as she gazed tenderly at Yangyang with a loving expression. Zhang Linmo shook his head with a look of regret.

What a waste of someone's painstakingly cultivated sorrow. Unfortunately, the person involved was completely out of it and offered no cooperation. It was truly like playing music to a cow. The two Zhang brothers, whose composure was not as deep as their father's, could not help laughing softly. Zhang Xiyang, who had always been sharp-tongued, directly said, "Yangyang, how could you be so rude? Do you know how many nights she spent memorizing her lines? She finally got her chance to take the stage, yet you, the audience, were completely uncooperative. How could you zone out?"

Hearing that, Zhang Xianyang tugged awkwardly at the corner of his mouth and said innocently to Zhang Yaxian, "Um... I'm really sorry. How about you start over? This time, I promise I'll listen with my full attention."

Saying it once could be heartfelt and deeply moving affection. Saying it twice would make it obvious she was acting. Her face heating up from Zhang Xianyang's sarcasm, Zhang Yaxian simply dropped the pretense and said directly, "I came this time to apologize for the mistakes I made in the past. I hope you can forgive me out of pity for a helpless woman filled with grief and resentment. If possible, I hope you can return to Yanjing with your father and me. I will take your mother's place and care for you properly."

Zhang Xianyang was slightly stunned. Zhang Yaxian in his previous life had never humbled herself like this, much less apologized to him and Zhang Hanmo so directly. In his previous life, Zhang Yaxian had always appeared before others as the victim, winning everyone around her over with the bearing of a virtuous and magnanimous lawful wife. Even Zhang Xianyang, who had always harbored misgivings toward her, had to admit that she treated him well, no differently from Li Mobei and his brother.

But if he thought it through carefully, how could the way a mother treated her biological sons be no different from how she treated an illegitimate child who had cost her all her dignity? She merely kept up appearances and was willing to spend money, earning praise from outsiders. Yet people forgot there was such a thing as killing with praise. Filling someone with sweet lies until they were ruined was far cleverer than killing them outright. At the very least, the latter would not implicate the family.

Yet in this life, Zhang Yaxian had lowered her stance the moment they met and humbly begged for forgiveness... Following the hard truth that the more someone endured, the more they sought, a red alarm immediately went off in Zhang Xianyang's mind. He even felt an urgent impulse to tell Zhang Linmo everything he had suffered in his previous life.

Though so many thoughts passed through Zhang Xianyang's mind, it had only taken an instant. Hearing Zhang Yaxian apologize to his mother with remorse in her voice and even propose raising him, Zhang Xianyang raised his brows casually and said in an amused tone, "First, let me make something clear. My father is Zhang Linmo, and my name is recorded in the Old Zhang Family genealogy. Everyone in the Old District can testify to that. So please do not take it upon yourself to assign me some father of unknown origin. I, Zhang Xianyang, may not be some great and famous figure, but I am still someone with a name in the Old District. I'm not so desperate that I need to acknowledge fathers everywhere. Secondly, let me guess. As the saying goes, courtesy shown to others always has an ulterior motive. You people came here in such a grand procession, crying and apologizing. What you want must be no small thing. Could it be..."

"Yangyang, don't overthink it. I truly feel that what I did back then was too rash. But please do not hate your biological father because of it." Zhang Yaxian wiped at the sudden tears in the corner of her eyes and choked out, "When I heard about you and your mother back then, I was so furious that I lost my mind and did what I did. Toward someone as small and innocent as you, I actually did something so terrible. I can barely recognize the person I was then. I'm a mother of two children too. How could I..."

Zhang Xianyang rested his chin on one hand and listened to Zhang Yaxian with great interest, but what he was truly thinking about was how to bring down the Li Family and the Kyoto Zhang Family, ensuring the Old District's absolute safety. Zhang Muyang leaned closer beside him, pressing his lips near Zhang Xianyang's ear as he said in a deliberately lowered voice that everyone could still hear, "Doesn't it sound familiar? It has the combined flavor of a Korean drama and a Qiong Yao melodrama."