HLnovel Chapter 617: Asking for forgiveness
Chapter 617: Asking for forgiveness
Chapter 617 Bearing Thorns to Plead Guilty
"You unfilial son!" Zheng Zhilong yelled at the top of his lungs, "I'll beat you to death today, you unfilial son!"
"Slap!" Zheng Zhilong said as he hit Zheng Chenggong, slapping him repeatedly across the face.
Zheng Chenggong knelt on the ground, pleading, "Father! Your son knows he was wrong, please don't hit him!"
"Slap!" Zheng Zhilong slapped him again. He didn't dare tell his son the truth. Actually, at first, he heard his son say that because of him, the two ladies of the Wang family jumped into the sea.
Zheng Zhilong's face turned green. It was truly a case of being both made and destroyed by that little bastard! Back then, because Wang Wenzhou liked Zheng Chenggong, the little bastard swore allegiance to Wang Wenzhou, and that's how Zheng Zhilong managed to latch onto Wang Wenzhou's coattails.
But that little bastard, he's such a disgrace! Why did you have to do this? You killed two of Lady Wang's wives! You little bastard, what do you know?! Lord Wang is known as the Mad Dog Butcher; who in the Ming Dynasty dares to mess with him? And he treats his wives and concubines incredibly well. And you, you little bastard, actually killed two of Lady Wang's wives! It's all over! My Zheng family is going to be wiped out!
Upon learning of this, Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhibao immediately urged Zheng Zhilong to rebel, suggesting he could simply become a pirate. But Zheng Zhilong smiled bitterly and said, "What kind of pirate? Lord Wang is here to eradicate pirates. We've been entangled with Liu Xiang for so many years, and we've been helpless against him. Lord Wang just arrived in Fujian, and less than a month later, Liu Xiang surrendered obediently. Are we really going to become pirates? That's just courting death!"
After thinking it over, Zheng Zhilong realized that the only way forward was to apologize and kill his beloved son in front of Wang Wenzhou to appease Wang's anger.
Zheng Chenggong never imagined that he had just narrowly escaped death. If Zheng Zhilong hadn't heard that both of the drowning ladies were safe and sound, Zheng Chenggong would have already lost his head.
"Slap!" Zheng Zhilong slapped him again, angrily asking, "You unfilial son, do you know your mistake?"
"Father, stop hitting me! I really know I was wrong!" Zheng Chenggong already knew he was wrong, and his attitude in admitting his mistake was very sincere. But no matter how much he apologized, his father continued to hit him, and his little face was already swollen from the beatings.
Seeing his son's pitiful state, Zheng Zhilong felt a pang of sympathy, but he dared not stop. Lord Wang had not yet appeared. If he stopped now, not only would his son have been beaten for nothing, but Lord Wang might also be angry. If Lord Wang didn't vent his anger, the Zheng family would be in trouble sooner or later.
"Slap!" Zheng Zhilong slapped him again. He frowned and was very puzzled. Logically speaking, Lord Wang should know that he was beating his son. Why didn't Lord Wang show up?
Wang Wenzhou had no time to care about any of that. He was kneeling on the ground, hugging Chen Yuanyuan's baby leg, and comforting the baby.
Wang Wenzhou's neglect of his adopted son made Li Mei restless. These days, Zheng Chenggong has been spending time with Li Mei practicing martial arts and playing, and the two get along very well.
Li Mei ran onto the deck and scolded, "Stop hitting him! General Zheng, what are you doing? Hitting the child here?"
Zheng Zhilong cupped his hands and said respectfully, "Madam, this unfilial son won't learn his lesson unless he's disciplined. It's the father's fault if the son isn't taught properly. Zheng Chenggong has made a mistake, and as his father, I must teach him a lesson he won't forget."
After saying that, Zheng Zhilong slapped Zheng Chenggong across the face again.
"Slap!" The sound of the slap was very loud.
"Li Meiniang! Help!" Zheng Chenggong saw Li Mei and, as if he were a drowning man grasping at a straw, rushed over to her.
Li Mei held little Zheng Chenggong in her arms, and seeing his swollen face covered in bruises, Li Mei felt heartbroken.
"Zheng Zhilong, what exactly do you want to do? You beat a perfectly good child like this!" Li Mei scolded angrily.
Zheng Zhilong swallowed hard. What was going on? Why hadn't Lord Wang appeared, but Madam Li Mei had?
Zheng Zhilong blinked and saw Li Mei tenderly stroking her son's face. He suddenly realized that the so-called strict father and kind mother meant that Lord Wang really shouldn't have intervened in this matter. It was right for Madam Li Mei to come out.
Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong immediately knelt down and said apologetically, "Madam, I'm sorry! It's all because I failed to raise my son properly, which led to your danger."
"Sigh..." Li Mei sighed softly and complained, "General Zheng, Zheng Chenggong's mistake was unintentional. We were sparring just now, how could he deliberately kick me into the water? The child made a mistake without thinking, and you beat him like this, is that the right thing to do?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong could no longer hold back. He buried his face in Li Mei's chest and wept bitterly. A man doesn't easily shed tears, unless he is truly heartbroken. Even a good man will weep bitterly when he is deeply saddened.
"Pat pat pat..." Li Mei gently patted Zheng Chenggong's back, comforting him, "Alright, don't cry, this is your father's fault."
Zheng Zhilong was actually reluctant to hit his son; he just wanted Wang Wenzhou to forgive him. Now, hearing Li Mei say this, he assumed that Li Mei was speaking on behalf of Wang Wenzhou, so he quickly said, "Madam is right. It was all my fault. I was just angry for a moment."
"Alright, that's all. Go back now. Don't hit the child again. Look what you've done to him!" Li Mei glared at Zheng Zhilong and kept complaining.
"Madam is right," Zheng Zhilong said respectfully. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Mei, he took his leave.
After Old Zheng left, Little Zheng said gratefully, "Thank you, Mother. If it weren't for you speaking up for me today, I would have been in big trouble."
"Sigh..." Li Mei sighed and said with a wry smile, "It's not your fault, it was just an accident. Also, didn't I tell you not to call me 'Mom' when there are no outsiders? Just call me Sister Mei, I'm only four years older than you."
"Yes!" Zheng Chenggong nodded and said gratefully, "Thank you, Sister Mei!"
Li Mei helped Zheng Chenggong wipe away his tears. Seeing that he was in a very low mood, she smiled and said, "Let's go ride some horses."
"Yes, yes!" Zheng Chenggong nodded, his tears turning into a smile, "Alright!"
If Wang Wenzhou saw the two of them like this, he would definitely overthink it, because the man and woman didn't look like a mother and son at all; they looked more like a couple. The girl was a few years older than her boyfriend, and feeling sorry for him, she held his hand and happily went horseback riding.
Wang Wenzhou didn't even see the young couple; he's still kneeling on the ground comforting his baby.
"Yuanyuan, Yuanyuan, don't be angry!" Wang Wenzhou knelt on the ground and coaxed her for half an hour, but this little darling was still acting like she was going to die. He had talked until his throat was dry, but he still couldn't soothe the baby.
"You hit me! I don't want to live anymore!" Baby Chen Yuanyuan kept repeating this one sentence over and over.
Is this ever going to end? Wang Wenzhou was at his wit's end. Ignoring the fact that Chen Yuanyuan was on her period, he picked her up, threw her on the bed, and quickly stripped her naked.
In no time, Chen Yuanyuan stopped acting like she was going to die. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Wang Wenzhou's neck, looked at him affectionately, and suddenly smiled and kissed him.
Damn it! Wang Wenzhou smiled bitterly to himself. So this old lady was just pretending all along. Her ultimate goal was to get her hands on Japan!
Men and women often think differently. Chen Yuanyuan suddenly realized that her nemesis still loved her, and that hitting her was unintentional and forgivable, so she stopped being angry.