novelraw Chapter 357 - 337 Inquiry_1
Chapter 357 - 337 Inquiry_1
Old Master Zhang would not have believed his own body could do such a thing if he had not heard his granddaughter-in-law question him in such a way. He could not understand why his grandson would say such words to his wife. He always knew how much his wife loved their granddaughter-in-law, but why did such an incident happen today? Could there be a hidden reason behind it?
Old Master Zhang pondered the situation. He spent a sleepless night, struggling to grasp the thoughts and feelings in his grandson’s heart. All he could do was use the calmness within himself to evaluate what kind of person his grandson was. Old Master Zhang believed that, no matter what, his grandson would never let him down, unless there was a significant reason compelling his grandson to make such a decision, or if he had promised someone. He decided to call for Zhang Yichen and ask him about it.
The next day, Old Master Zhang got up early and leisurely sat in the living room waiting for his grandson. He wanted to clear up the matter as soon as his grandson woke up—otherwise, he wouldn’t feel at peace within himself.
Time passed, and six hours had gone by; it was now ten o’clock in the morning when his grandson finally got up leisurely. As Zhang Yichen came downstairs, he saw his grandfather sitting in the living room; he knew his grandfather must be waiting for him, otherwise his grandfather would not have sat alone for so long without seeking him out.
"Grandpa, did you get up early and sit here waiting for me?" Zhang Yichen asked.
"You seem to understand well what’s on Grandpa’s mind, don’t you? But I don’t understand why you would treat your wife this way. Why did you have to say such things to her on your wedding night? Do you not realize that the conditions you set forth are difficult for your wife to accept? Can you tell Grandpa why you had to do this?"
"Grandpa, there’s no particular reason. I just feel that we are both still young and got married so early, although out of affection. But I don’t wish to have the fruit of our love so soon. If in three years, our feelings for each other are not harmonious, how could she leave? I don’t want my child and me to become the ties that prevent her from leaving. Grandpa, I really didn’t have any bad intentions; I acted out of goodwill. If after three years she still wishes to join hands with me and create a future together, then I swear I’ll never leave her side. But if our feelings can’t endure three years, then what should she do? If within these three years, our relationship is frequently troubled, and yet we have a child, how could I ask her to leave me? I can’t be that selfish. She is the girl I love the most, and I must consider her; I cannot impose my personal feelings upon her, even now that she is my wife. Grandpa, after my explanation, can you understand my good intentions?"
Old Master Zhang sighed and said, "Big kid, Grandpa knows you did it with good intentions. But in doing so, did you consider how your wife feels? She is very upset. If it were me, I wouldn’t be at peace either. After all, she chose to marry the man she loves, disregarding even her own parents. Yet the man she loves proposes on their wedding night to delay having a child that belongs to their love for three years. Could you accept such words? Did you ask for your wife’s thoughts before making this decision? You shouldn’t let her be saddened over such a trivial matter. Grandpa knows everything you do is responsible and well-intentioned. You don’t want things to get embarrassing because your wife means a lot to you. But do you understand? From your wife’s perspective, what matters is why you’re unwilling to have a child—a product of your love. Child, you’re an intelligent person, the brightest of the Zhang family’s generations. Can you understand that when you are in love, you are deeply entangled in it and can’t extricate yourself? You clearly knew that acting in this way would hurt your wife, yet you still chose to do it. What reason could justify making your wife so sad and not providing a reasonable explanation? I think you owe me an explanation, don’t you?"
"Grandpa, I promised my father-in-law and mother-in-law not to tell anyone, but since you’ve asked, and you are my elder, I will tell you. When I married my wife, I promised her parents not to have a child with her for three years, to ensure that if our relationship was not harmonious, we could still part ways. If after three years we were still deeply affectionate, we would then have our own child. That was the commitment and responsibility I took on as a man, and since I made such a promise to her parents, I must abide by it at any cost. Even if it means my wife might not believe in me, I have no choice but to accept the consequences, because it was my decision to make. If I hadn’t said that, I couldn’t have been with the girl I love. But I never expected it to hurt my wife this much; deep inside, I am struggling to accept it. If I had known it would turn out this way, I wouldn’t have made that promise, even if it killed me!"
"Child, you could have simply told your wife the truth. Why didn’t you speak up? Do you think it’s really okay to let your wife be so heartbroken over a promise made in a rash moment? She gave up everything for the sake of loving you, so why did you do such a thing to her? I really can’t understand what could have caused such a problem between you. Proposing not to have children on your wedding night? You should come clean to your wife. If she finds out the truth on her own, you’ll really end up arguing then. Whatever her parents said to you, whatever promises you made to your in-laws, you should tell your wife. It’s the least you owe each other in terms of respect and trust..."