My Alleged Husband

Chapter 266 - 246 Searching in Vain_1

Zhang Yichen searched around the mountain cliff over and over again, but he just couldn’t find the body of the woman he loved. He didn’t know whether she was alive or dead. He comforted himself by thinking that the absence of a body meant she was still alive, but then he wondered, if she was alive, why couldn’t he find her? It was impossible for someone to walk away after falling off such a high cliff.

Old Master Zhang somehow learned that Xia Jing had pushed Ran Zhihan off the cliff. He called to have Zhang Zhentian bring Xia Jing back to the Zhang Family home.

(At the Zhang Family home)

"You were so anxious to call and have Xia Jing and me come back home; is there something going on? Don’t tell me there’s some good news, that you’ve agreed to let us return to the Zhang Family and won’t shut us out anymore?" Zhang Zhentian said to Elder Zhang, feeling that his father must have some good news to share, but what he didn’t know was that it was not only not good news but also a bolt from the blue.

"Hehe, you still want to come back home, huh? Don’t tell me you don’t know what your good wife has done again, right?" Old Master Zhang didn’t know whether to laugh at his son for being naive or dumb.

Zhang Zhentian didn’t understand what his father meant. Had his wife done something again? He turned his head to look at Xia Jing, who felt the atmosphere was a bit strange. She didn’t know whether she should step forward and voluntarily admit her wrongdoing.

"Dad, just tell me straight, if she has done something, I hope you can tell me directly, but I really didn’t take part in it, because I don’t want to be kicked out of the house again. I want to stay here and take care of you, to be with my son!"

"Well, since you’ve said that, then I’ll be blunt with you. Your good wife committed a particularly grave act today; she pushed your son’s beloved off a cliff. Do you understand what it means to be pushed off a cliff?"

Zhang Zhentian couldn’t believe his ears. His wife had been doing so many things behind his back, and he was completely unaware, kept in the dark by her.

"Tell me honestly, did you really do this? Why would you do such a thing? She is your son’s girlfriend, your future daughter-in-law, how could you be so cruel? Tell me, what else have you done behind my back? How many things don’t I know about?"

Xia Jing was frightened by Zhang Zhentian’s interrogation. She had never seen such a ferocious side of her husband. Had she really enraged him thoroughly?

"Why are you getting so angry? Isn’t everything I did for the good of us all? Ever since our return, our father has repeatedly shut us out because of that woman’s interference. Even my son wouldn’t recognize us. Was I wrong? I just wanted to return to my home and be with my son. Is that wrong? I thought that if that woman disappeared completely from this world, then all the troubles would go away. Because of her presence, our son kept slandering me. Are you content living away from home for the rest of your life?"

Slap...

A loud slap rang out. It was Zhang Zhentian who had slapped Xia Jing across the face. In the more than ten years they’d been married, he had never laid a hand on her, and this was the first time.

Xia Jing was stunned. Zhang Zhentian had actually hit her; this was the first time in many years he had done so, and she glared at him furiously.

"You actually dare to hit me?"

"I’ve told you before to stop being so obstinate. Why did you still lay hands on her and harm her? Do you understand? Because you pushed her off the cliff today, we have completely lost our son. For the rest of our lives, we can never return home. We’ve been married for over a decade, and I’ve never laid a hand on you. Today was the first time. Do you realize how angry your mistakes have made me? Time and time again you’ve caused harm, and I’ve taken the blame for you, but in the end, you still refuse to repent, choosing to harm others for your own selfish reasons!"

"What do you mean you’ve taken the blame for me? Haven’t you thought about the fact that you’ve been involved in many of these issues? Why do you push all the blame onto me whenever there’s trouble? Are you even a man at all?"

"Both of you shut up right now! The person is already missing because of you, and you’re still here arguing instead of rushing to find her. What’s there to argue about? Do you really want to never be able to come back for the rest of your lives?"

As they were preparing to set off in search of Ran Zhihan, Zhang Yichen came to the Old Zhang Family’s main gate. Hearing the commotion, everyone had a bad feeling upon seeing Zhang Yichen’s condition. Old Master Zhang asked his grandson, "Yichen, have you found Zhihan?"

"Grandfather, I haven’t found Zhihan. I’ve searched the entire cliff, but I couldn’t find her body or any trace of her. Grandfather, do you think she’s really disappeared?" A tear shimmered and fell from Zhang Yichen’s face.

Hearing his grandson’s words, he felt complete despair. He had always believed that the greatest benefit for him would be if his grandson could marry the granddaughter-in-law he approved of. But now, even his last wish had been shattered...

Zhang Yichen saw Zhang Zhentian and Xia Jing at the Zhang Family’s place and slowly walked toward Xia Jing.

"Are you happy now? You got what you wanted. The woman I love has vanished from this world. I searched the entire cliff and couldn’t find her. Not even her body. Are you happy? She has satisfied your wish, but because of what you’ve done, you should never think of returning to the Zhang Family’s doors again. You’re not fit to be a daughter-in-law of the Zhang Family. You’ve let down the generations of the Zhang Family’s ancestors. Our family has always been honorable, and we don’t need a murderer as a daughter-in-law. I, an emperor of world economy, don’t need a murderer for a mother either, as that would break my heart."

"Do you think just saying you won’t recognize me as your mother means I’m not your mother? Don’t forget, half of the blood flowing in your veins is mine. No matter what, you can’t escape the fact that I’m your birth mother. No matter what I am—even if I were a beggar, I’d still be your mother; even if I were a scoundrel, I’d still be your mother—you’ll never be able to escape the fate of being my son!" Xia Jing couldn’t help but laugh.

"I can’t change our blood ties, and I can’t change it legally, but I can choose not to acknowledge it. To the entire world, if I say I don’t acknowledge you, who would dare acknowledge you as my mother? I hold the entire world’s economic lifeline in my hands—who would dare displease me? You think you have the upper hand, but you haven’t realized that due to your actions, you have completely lost me as your son. You can leave now. Don’t ever come to my house again, because every time I see you, I can’t help but remember how you pushed the woman I love off the cliff..."

"If I’m to go, then I’ll go!"