PWE – Chapter 68 Zhan Hongteng’s biological mother appears

“You know perfectly well whether I’m talking nonsense or not!”

“You—”

“I know you won’t admit it. But whether you admit it doesn’t matter. The Public Security Bureau already has evidence of your crime. It won’t be long before they come to arrest you.” Zhan Hongteng spoke in a low, eerie tone, and suddenly a hint of delight appeared on his face.

“You… what did you say?” Zhan Songbai was frightened. His eyes widened as he stared at Zhan Hongteng. “You said the Public Security will come? Are you lying to scare me or…”

“Lie to you? At this point, I can’t even be bothered.” If not for the fact that he wanted to see this man’s downfall, he wouldn’t have come back at all! The moment he saw Zhan Songbai’s disgusting face, nausea rose in his chest.

“You brat, you’re definitely lying. You must be tricking our dad. Dad never did anything bad—how could the Public Security come to arrest him? Zhan Hongteng, you bastard, how did you become so unfilial! It’s bad enough you came home without buying anything for everyone, but now you’re trying to scare Dad like this! Aren’t you afraid heaven will strike you down? Aren’t you afraid heaven will punish you?”

Zhan Hongda spoke righteously, as if he were a noble and just person.

But…

Zhan Hongteng looked at him with mocking eyes and sneered. “If heaven wants to strike someone down, it should strike trash like you first! Your dad killed my real father—he deserves the lightning! And you… you constantly bullied me, ignored brotherhood, treated me like a stray dog by the roadside! Zhan Hongda, tell me, who’s the real bastard? Tell me—shouldn’t heaven strike you first?!”

“You—!” Zhan Hongda wanted to argue, but Hongteng’s face was filled with scorn as he continued:

“Even if heaven didn’t strike you, it seems you’re being punished already, isn’t that right? I heard Qiu Xianghui took her son back to her mother’s house? I heard she wants a divorce? Well, of course—who would want to stay with a lazy, good-for-nothing like you? She was bound to divorce you sooner or later.”

Zhan Hongteng wasn’t usually this talkative. But today, he felt he had to say these things. Only by letting the words out could he dissolve even a fraction of the hatred in his heart.

He had been tormented by this family for so many years, treated like a beast of burden, bullied by every single one of them. If he didn’t vent, he felt he would suffocate.

And indeed, his words struck deep.

Zhan Hongda feared nothing more than hearing the phrase “lazy good-for-nothing.” The entire village said he was lazy, called him a pig. They said a lazy pig like him couldn’t even keep his wife—that she’d leave him sooner or later.

Every time he heard it, shame burned him.

But alongside shame was fury.

What right did they have to call him that? So what if he was lazy? Was he eating their rice? Their vegetables? Who were they to judge?

And now being insulted by someone younger—it enraged him further.

He furrowed his brows, raised his fist, and charged at Zhan Hongteng. “You little bastard! So what if I’m lazy? I’m eating my parents’ food, not yours! What are you screaming about? You damn brat, believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death today! Believe it or not, I’ll make sure you never walk out of this house!”

“What a big mouth you have—daring to say my son won’t walk out of this house! With such arrogance, aren’t you afraid the Public Security will take you away?!”

An angry voice came from outside.

Everyone in the room turned their heads. A richly dressed middle-aged woman stormed into the courtyard, followed by several uniformed officers.

Seeing the policemen, Zhan Songbai’s expression changed instantly, panic spreading across his face.

He stared at them for a moment, wanting to slip out the back door—

but Hongteng caught him and said coldly, “Zhan Songbai, the Public Security is here. Don’t even think about running. If you try to escape, you’ll be charged with fleeing to evade punishment.”

Hearing that, Songbai’s steps halted. He clenched his teeth and glared viciously at Hongteng.

He had intended to sneak away. As long as he escaped from the house, the police couldn’t catch him.

But he hadn’t expected that brat to notice! That ungrateful wolf he fed all these years—turning on him like this!

Zhan Hongjun and Zhan Hongda, seeing so many officers enter, were instantly terrified. Their limbs stiffened.

An Fulan walked into the main room. She first went to Zhan Hongteng’s side to check on him—after all, she feared he would be bullied if he arrived earlier.

Seeing he was unharmed, she finally relaxed, then turned and glared fiercely at Zhan Hongda.

“You must be Zhan Hongda, Zhan Songbai’s eldest son? Just now you said you wanted to beat my son to death? Hmph! You really are your father’s child—arrogant, lawless, and completely without regard for the law!”

She had heard his roar from the moment she entered the courtyard. The man dared to say he wanted to kill her son! With her son already fully grown, and they still bullied him like this—she could only imagine how much worse it had been when he was small.

She was furious. She wanted to slap Zhan Hongda right then and there.

Zhan Hongda stared at her in shock.
“You… who are you? You’re… Zhan Hongteng’s mother?”

“Yes. I am his mother—his biological mother!” An Fulan said, each word clear and forceful.

At the gate, a crowd of villagers had gathered. They had followed An Fulan and the officers, expecting a spectacle.

They didn’t expect her to enter Zhan Songbai’s house. Clearly, trouble had found the Zhan family again—first a Daoist earlier, and now the police.

Hearing An Fulan’s words, the villagers were stunned.

What?
Zhan Hongteng wasn’t Xu Meifeng’s biological son?
He was this woman’s son?

Judging by her clothes, she was clearly wealthy and from the city. If Hongteng was her son, then this was good news.

At least he wouldn’t have to work himself to the bone anymore. And he would no longer have to support the parasitic Zhan family. The entire family lived off him—supporting so many people alone was exhausting. They had always pitied him for it.

Now that he found his real mother, it was definitely a good thing.

Xiao Wange and Zhan Zeyan also arrived with their child at the courtyard entrance.

They had been cooking lunch in the kitchen, but after hearing the commotion, they came to watch. After all, such dramatic scenes were rare.

Xiao Wange glanced into the main room, the corner of her lips curling into a cold, amused smile. Zhan Songbai had escaped punishment for over twenty years—years stolen from fate. From today onward, all that awaited him was prison… suffering… and death.

Inside, both Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongjun sucked in a sharp breath.

Impossible. How could this be?
Zhan Hongteng was clearly their mother’s child—carried for ten months and born by her. How could another woman claim him?

It had to be a lie—Hongteng and that woman must be conspiring!

Zhan Hongjun turned desperately toward his father.
“Dad, this is fake, right? Hongteng is our family’s child—how could someone else claim him? Dad, tell her! Tell her he’s not her son!”

He was panicked—truly panicked.

If Hongteng was someone else’s son, then he would leave with that woman and never support their family again.

Without Hongteng, how would they live? How would they get money?

No—Hongteng must remain theirs. He must keep working for them.

Zhan Hongda frowned, glared at Hongteng, and said,
“You brat, it was bad enough you lied earlier, but now you’ve brought an outsider to lie with you! Just because you made money, you don’t want to acknowledge us anymore—fine. But how could you go this far? You’ve crossed the line!”

“What, are you scared that if I’m not your family’s child anymore, there’ll be no one to work and earn money for you? Afraid if I’m not part of your family, you’ll starve to death? Zhan Hongda, you really are unbelievably lazy! Just to avoid working, you want to claim me as your own?!”

His cold, mocking words struck straight to the heart.

Zhan Hongda stiffened, his face burning with shame.

But no matter what, they couldn’t let him go.

He opened his mouth to argue—

But the Public Security captain suddenly stepped forward toward Zhan Songbai.

“You are Comrade Zhan Songbai? We have investigated and found you are connected to a murder case from more than twenty years ago. Please come with us to the bureau to assist with our investigation.”