Free Web NovelChapter 276: Chapter 276: Confession (Part 1)
Ever since her last phone call with Li Aiguo, Li Yuan had been torn between confessing and staying silent.
She had been on edge for days, worried that if she confessed and her true identity was exposed, the Zheng family would be furious and might even refuse to protect her. To make matters worse, after several days of searching, Li Aiguo still couldn’t find any trace of Su Qing and Li Wan. He didn’t know where they were, or if they were even in Jia City.
This outcome only made Li Yuan more anxious. Especially in the last few days, whenever she visited Mr. Li, she couldn’t shake the feeling—perhaps just her imagination—that her family was treating her with a strange, hard-to-place formality. The feeling made her panic. She tried to probe Shang Yuqi for information, but came up with nothing.
And yet, everything seemed perfectly normal.
This contradictory feeling was driving Li Yuan mad. So, after much deliberation, she decided to confess the truth about her identity to Zheng Jianjun. However, his reaction startled her.
"Jianjun, I..." Li Yuan was already flustered, but Zheng Jianjun’s expression frightened her even more. His face was not just serious; it was tinged with a grim ferocity she had never seen in all their years together. As the daughter of the Li family, she had always made a point of cultivating good relationships with the Zhengs. As a result, everyone from her parents-in-law to her husband and his extended family had always treated her with warmth and kindness.
"Yuan, what did you just say? You’re not the Li family’s daughter? You’re saying you’re an impostor? I’m telling you, this is no joking matter!" Zheng Jianjun asked again, unable to believe his ears.
Zheng Jianjun still hoped Li Yuan was joking. The Zheng family’s status was no match for the Li family’s. After all, both Mr. Li and Mrs. Li were highly decorated figures. Even in retirement, their words carried immense weight. Over the years, because the Zhengs were related to the Lis by marriage, they had reaped considerable benefits. As long as the younger generation of the Zheng family stayed on the straight and narrow, Mr. Li was willing to lend them a helping hand. That was why the Zheng family had a much smoother journey than many others.
But if Li Yuan wasn’t the Li family’s daughter—and worse, if she had been impersonating the true Miss Li—how would the Li family react? And how would they treat the Zheng family?
"Jianjun, I... It’s true," Li Yuan said, taking a deep breath.
A possibility dawned on Zheng Jianjun. He narrowed his eyes at Li Yuan. "You’ve hidden this from me for so many years. Why tell me now? What happened? And where is the real Li family daughter?"
Li Yuan’s expression grew frantic. "She’s gone! Her and her child, they’ve both disappeared. We can’t find them anywhere. Jianjun, I didn’t mean to hide this from you. I just didn’t want to worry you. But now I need your help. If the Li family finds Li Wan and Su Qing, it won’t just be me. I’m afraid our entire Zheng family will be doomed."
Hearing Li Yuan’s words, a firestorm of rage erupted in Zheng Jianjun. He slapped her hard across the face, pointed a finger at her nose, and roared, "You hid something this huge from the Zheng family? You didn’t breathe a word for all these years, and now that you’re about to be exposed, you come running to me? ’Didn’t want to worry me’? Damn it, you scared the hell out of me today, don’t you know that?"
"I know, I know, I was wrong," Li Yuan cried. "But I’m out of options! I can’t find Li Wan, I can’t find Su Qing. I have no idea where that mother and daughter are hiding, or when they might suddenly show up in front of the Li family. If the Lis really find out, we’re all going to suffer! Jianjun, we’re in the same boat now. You have to do something!"
Zheng Jianjun’s face was flushed with rage. ’The Zheng family must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry a woman like you,’ he thought. He had been counting on the Li family’s patronage for his two sons. With that, plus the Zheng family’s own protection, their futures would have been secure. But now? They’d be lucky if the Li family didn’t despise them. If the Lis held a grudge and decided to pull some strings, what kind of future would his sons have? Forget his sons—the entire Zheng family was in trouble now.
And all of this was caused by the woman standing before him. She hadn’t just deceived the Li family; she had dragged the entire Zheng family down with her.
Suddenly, a thought struck Zheng Jianjun like a flash of lightning. He stared at Li Yuan and asked, "A few years ago, when we went to Jia City with Mrs. Li, that woman we saw... was that... was that her?"
"Yes, that was her." Li Yuan needed the Zheng family’s support, so she held nothing back.
Hearing Li Yuan’s words, Zheng Jianjun felt the blood rush to his head. When he’d seen that woman back then, he had thought she was a truly tragic figure—not only disfigured, but also mentally unstable, prone to violent outbursts. And that woman... was actually the true daughter of the Li family.
Zheng Jianjun’s voice trembled as he asked, "Li Yuan, I’m asking you, Li Wan’s condition back then... was that your doing?"
"I..." Li Yuan hesitated, unsure if she should admit it. ’If I do,’ she thought, ’how will Jianjun see me? Will he think I’m vicious?’
After a moment’s thought, Li Yuan quickly shook her head. "Of course not. She injured her head and became mentally unstable. She didn’t just attack others; she was cruel to herself. How else would she have ended up disfigured? I could never be that malicious, no matter what."
"So it really wasn’t you or your brother?" Zheng Jianjun pressed.
"It really wasn’t," Li Yuan said, her heart pounding. She couldn’t admit to this. In the eyes of the Zheng family, she had always been a good and kind person.
Thinking of this, Li Yuan began to cry. "Jianjun, I know I was wrong. I was blinded by the promise of wealth and status back then, and that’s why I did it. I regretted it later, but what’s done is done. I couldn’t bear to leave you and our son, so I had to keep up the lie. I thought everything would be fine. I thought, since I took Li Wan’s life, I would do my best to compensate her. But who knew that both Li Wan and Su Qing would disappear? Li Wan is one thing—she’s always been kind and wouldn’t hold a grudge against me. But her daughter is no pushover. If that girl, Su Qing, finds out the truth about her identity, she’ll definitely try to take everything back. And she’ll want revenge on us. That girl... she has a very strong vindictive streak."
Zheng Jianjun listened to Li Yuan without a word, his brow furrowed in thought.
Li Yuan watched his expression, then after a moment’s thought, added, "Jianjun, I’m just trying to take precautions. You know I’m doing this for our family. If our family falls apart, think of what a blow that would be to our sons."
