162: Second House of Zheng Family

After Wang Cheng went to Beijing University, he called Zheng Jingen and set the time for the meeting. Then, Zheng Jingen later told his father about the arrival of Wang Cheng. Father Zheng learned that his 25-year-old son that had been missing finally arrived, and in the end, couldn’t calm down. His abnormality was immediately discovered by Mother Zheng, who made fun of him for being like a fledgling young man.

"It’s because I have prepared a surprise for you." Father Zheng also knew that his excitement was a bit out of step with his usual image, so he revealed a bit. Mother Zheng did not realize it right away. In the past, in order to make her happy, Father Zheng often prepared some gifts for her, or took her to some fun places to relax, and she thought that this time was the same. She had expectations in her heart, but none particularly great.

"Mom, this surprise is prepared for you by me and Dad. It is definitely worth looking forward to." When Zheng Jingen saw that his father's words weren’t effective, he added a sentence, hoping to attract the attention of Mother Zheng and give her a little psychological preparation.

Seeing her son so solemn, Mother Zheng thought about it for a moment, but then quickly shook her head to set aside the absolutely impossible idea that she had been looking forward to so many years. As she was disappointed again and again, she dared not to expect too much. However, she didn't want to hurt the confidence of her son and husband.

"Okay, then mom is looking forward to it."

"By the way, this is also a gift for sister. Let her take a day off tomorrow and we can go together." Zheng Jingen said.

"What gift is so mysterious, we still need to go out?" Mother Zheng wondered.

Father Zheng interjected: "Wife, you can put a hundred and twenty hearts on it. A gift prepared by me and Jingen will never let you down. You can really look forward to it this time."

Mother Zheng's heart jumped and she felt that there was something in her husband's words.

Every Monday was the time for the family dinner of the Zheng family. All members of the Zheng family had to come back for dinner. If they did not return, the old man would be unhappy, so no matter how busy they were, everyone would arrive on time. If they really couldn’t come, they would call back in advance.

Today was Monday. The whole Zheng family, except for Zheng Jingen's aunt, Zheng Ru, had arrived. The empty Zheng family became lively immediately. While serving, Mother Zheng was absent-minded and accidentally spilled a little bit of teh soup.

"What's wrong with sister today? You don’t seem to get so gloomy anymore, but have you been stimulated again?" Feng Yuying said when she saw it.

She was the wife of Zheng Shengming, the eldest in the Zheng family. It was not unusual for the Zheng family to fight in secret, but they all knew that the old man did not like to see such things, so they never quarreled before the eyes of the old man. However, there were quite a few tit-for-tat conversations.

"Such as a horse stumbles, people also make mistakes. Sorry if it caused sister-in-law to worry." Compared with Feng Yuying, Mother Zheng behaved more generously, and contrasted to Feng Yuying's small family temperament. Mother Zheng was originally from a big family, so Feng Yuying’s provocations didn’t itch or hurt at all.

Feng Yuying was immediately choked by her words. She wanted to ridicule her with a few words later, but she couldn't answer.

Others were relieved, especially Feng Yuying's husband Zheng Shengming. His wife was too good, but still had a broken mouth if others beat her. If it wasn't for Mother Zheng who didn't care about her, this wouldn’t turn out so well. In front of his father, his father would definitely favor the second house. The Zheng family was a big family in the Imperial Capital. The head of the family, Zheng Heng, was in a high position, and his children have followed his path, one by one devoting themselves to politics. Although the ability of the Zheng family was not so high as to cover the sky with one hand, they could also be considered one of the best families in the Imperial Capital.

Zheng Jingen's father, Zheng Shengchuan, ranked second in the Zheng family. Because he was well-rounded and did not like fighting, he was completely different from his father Zheng Heng. Therefore, he was not Zheng Heng's favorite son. Among the three brothers in the Zheng family, Father Zheng’s position was not the highest. However, with the birth of Zheng Jingen, his intelligence was gradually shown. Among the younger generation, Zheng Jingen had become the adoptive sheep of the Zheng family. Contrasting to his light, the other sons of uncles were mediocre.

Although Father Zheng did not get the attention of his father, Zheng Jingen did for him. The old man was very satisfied with this grandson, so he often compared him with other cousins, common ​​in a political family like the Zheng family. However, the sense of competition was even higher than that of an ordinary family. Everyone hoped to be recognized by the elder, but with such comparison used as negative teaching material, who would be happy?

They could be jealous of Zheng Jingen, but they couldn’t unscrupulously target Zheng Jingen's house out of jealousy. Zheng Jingen was one reason, and Mother Zheng was also an important reason.

Mother Zheng was formerly known as Zhou Hui. She was chairman Zhou Shichang’s most beloved treasure. Even though she had been married for many years, Zhou Shichang still loved this daughter very much. Although the Zheng family had the rights and power, Zhou Shichang's financial support was absolutely inseparable from their ability to reach this present state.

With Zhou Shichang as the backing of the second house, the second house's status in the Zheng family was absolutely aloof. Zheng Heng would favor the second house without needing to state a reason. Besides, there was another secret related to it, but that secret was a taboo in the Zheng family. Zheng Heng once seriously warned them that no one was allowed to bring up the matter again. Everyone was afraid to touch the inverse scales of the old man, and could only hide the secret in their hearts, tasting it alone. After dinner, the three houses [T/N: families] returned to their rooms. The old man called Father Zheng who was going upstairs with his wife and children.

"Shengchuan, follow me to the study."

"Yes, father." Father Zheng motioned for the three to go upstairs first, and followed the old man away. Seeing this scene, everyone looked different, speculating about their father’s purpose in calling Father Zheng to the study.

"Brother, why did Grandpa ask Dad to go to the study?" Zheng Jingxue raised he rhead to ask Zheng Jingen, who was standing two steps ahead of her.

"This kid wants to ask what they are doing." Zheng Jingen knocked her head.

Zheng Jingxue pursed her lips. "Brother, I'm not a kid anymore." She was already an adult and knew a little about the situation at home.

"You are a child in my eyes. By the way, spare time tomorrow, we will go out for lunch."

"Oh." The family rarely asked her to put aside school just to go out to eat. Zheng Jingxue knew that her brother must have arranged something, so she didn't ask him carefully.

"Shengchuan, is there anything you and Jingen are hiding from me? Your elder brother has mentioned it to me once." In the study, the old man went straight to the subject.

Father Zheng hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. Sooner or later, his father would know. "Father, there is indeed one thing, Jingen found his brother."

The old man did not react for a moment. He spent most of his life in the officialdom and there were few things that could stir his emotions; then he suddenly heard this. He obviously didn't think that the mysterious act of the father and son turned out to be related to his missing grandson of over two decades.

"What's going on? Did you investigate it clearly?" The old man's eyes dimmed slightly and his expression became serious. He was worried that there was something hidden in the matter. After all, the Zheng family was not an ordinary family. Many in the Imperial Capital were looking at them and this may be a trap designed against their Zheng family.

Father Zheng immediately explained the process of Zheng Jingen's investigation, which completely ruled out the spy theory. "Father, Jingen has made an appointment with him to meet tomorrow. I plan to take Xiao Hui [T/N: Mother Zheng] to see him."

"Since you already have such an idea, I can’t say much. However, it is better to do a DNA test. You believe him, but others may not. A certificate can at least stop them."

Father Zheng’s father clearly meant that only by proving that Wang Cheng was his son could those who wanted to make excuses have nothing to say.

"Father please rest assured that the results of the appraisal have come out now. He is indeed my and Xiao Hui’s son."

"That's good. When do you plan to tell your in-laws about this?" The old man asked.

"I have no plans for the time being. Jingen said that he is an independent character and has an assertive personality. His parents are very kind to him now, and it is still difficult to say whether or not he will return to the Zheng family. So I told Jingen I plan to wait until I see him."

"It's up to you, but it's best to persuade him to come back."

"For Xiao Hui, I will work hard."

The old man didn’t say it explicitly, but Father Zheng knew what he meant. Whether or not Wang Cheng returned to the Zheng family was related to the fate of some people. If they knew of Wang Cheng’s existence, it was impossible to guarantee that no one would take action, so this matter must be kept secret. Zheng Jingen hadn’t said it before for this reason.

Wei Wei, who had lost his face in public because of Wang Cheng, skipped classes that day and went out with a group of dog friends to go crazy. He didn’t come home until 10 o'clock in the evening and was scolded by Zheng Ru, who had not fallen asleep. She had just one son and wanted him to be a bit prosperous. After all, she was a daughter born outside of marriage. To attract the attention of her father, she could only rely on her son. This morning, she also specifically instructed him to go to the Zheng family and brush up his presence in front of his grandfather who just came back.

"Which bar did you go to today? While looking so drunk, how can you make your grandfather like you like this?" Zheng Ru hated iron for not becoming steel and looked at this unsatisfactory son.

"Grandfather, grandfather, it’s always grandfather!" Wei Wei was annoyed by his mother and yelled, "Do you know that I, your son, have lost face in school today and can't ever go in public again? I'm annoyed to death."

This was the first time her son had complained about the school. Zheng Ru knew that her son had always used the name of the Zheng family. It was the same in school. Although her son was not a direct family member of the Zheng family, his status was still a grandson of the Zheng family, outsiders still had to give a bit of face.

"What's the matter, someone bullied you?" Zheng Ru immediately asked. She was a very short-tempered person. She could scold her son, but others could not say a word.

Wei Wei hadn't answered yet, when Wei Qiqi's voice came down from the stairs, Zheng Ru turned around and saw her daughter walking down from upstairs.

"Qiqi, do you know the reason?"

"Of course I know, brother was in the limelight at school today. Unfortunately, the party was in the limelight in a positive way, but his limelight was negative. I was told this by my classmates, he is such a burden." Wei Qiqi complained. Although the two were brother and sister, their character was somewhat self-centered.

"What did you say, are you saying that about your brother?" Zheng Ru frowned.

Wei Qiqi became upset and said, "I’m telling the truth. You don’t know, mom, but he has been chasing a school flower called Wang Ziyu from Beijing University since a while ago. The school flower had rejected him, but brother never gave up. Today, her elder brother from another school went to the school to find her. Brother thought he was her boyfriend, and he went to the cafeteria to make a big fuss with the other person, also starting a fight with him. As a result, the truth was revealed that they weren’t even together, but brother lost face in public. I don't want to describe that scene, it's too shameful."

"Wei Qiqi, you shut up."

If she didn’t say it, it would be okay. As soon as Wei Wei remembered what happened in the cafeteria, he became angry again.

When she heard that her son was bullied at school, Zheng Ru’s face sank. "Who is that school flower and her elder brother? My Zheng family grandson cannot be bullied by others."

"They are from Shanhai City, they seem to be rural people." Wei Wei immediately replied. When he was chasing Wang Ziyu before, he specifically inquired about Wang Ziyu’s family situation. Although it was not very detailed, he knew that her family was just an ordinary family.

Hearing the two words ‘Shanhai City’, Zheng Ru was stunned.

"Isn't Shanhai the place where Jingen had frequently gone on business trips some time ago?" Wei Kai heard the sounds downstairs, and when he walked down, heard his son's words. He was also surprised.

"Right, Mom, I remember." Wei Wei heard his father's words, and suddenly, his mind flashed, "There’s one more thing, Wang Ziyu's brother looks a bit like Zheng Jingen."

At that time, they were facing each other and he didn’t make the connection. However, when they left, he happened to see Wang Cheng's side profile, and they really looked like each other from that angle. Zheng Ru was stunned.

***

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