7: Chapter 7 Zhao Xiaotian Hit Jin Rong! (Part 1)

Seeing Zhao Xiaotian enter the woodshed, Jin Rong's face lit up with joy. Her mouth was gagged, so she made muffled sounds, gesturing for Zhao Xiaotian to untie her ropes.

"Mother, why are you tied up here?"

Zhao Xiaotian was very surprised and was about to step forward to untie Jin Rong's ropes.

He had just bent down and reached out his hand when his entire movement suddenly froze.

"Mother being tied up here must have something to do with Father. Otherwise, given how much Father dotes on Mother, he would have called me to search for her long ago since she's been missing for over a day."

Zhao Xiaotian suddenly stopped, and Jin Rong's muffled cries grew louder, her eyes filled with displeasure.

Zhao Xiaotian felt conflicted; he really wanted to untie her, but thinking of a certain possibility, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Father must have been the one to tie Mother here. Father loves Mother so much; for him to tie her up, Mother must have provoked him or done something she shouldn't have."

"I can't help Mother untie the ropes, or wouldn't that be betraying Father?"

"So many people from the Fuzheng Division came today to deal with Father, and they even said Mother was seeing another man behind Father's back. Could it be because of this that Father tied Mother up and even hit her?"

"If that's the case, then Mother is indeed in the wrong. I can't help her."

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"

Jin Rong's muffled cries became even louder; she was already extremely dissatisfied with Zhao Xiaotian.

"This little beast, he actually refuses to untie me. Once I've coaxed Zhao Zilong into forgiving me, I'll show you how I'll deal with you. If I don't beat you, Zhao Xiaotian, half to death, my surname isn't Jin!"

Jin Rong thought viciously to herself.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaotian also spoke up: "Mother, wait a moment. I'll go ask Father what happened first before I untie you. Just endure it a little longer."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaotian was about to run out of the woodshed when Zhao Zilong pushed the door open and entered. Zhao Xiaotian crashed right into Zhao Zilong's arms.

"Ah, Father!"

Zhao Xiaotian felt inexplicably panicked.

This collision could easily anger his father.

Although his father had been much kinder to him today, there was no guarantee when he might lose his temper again. He was somewhat afraid.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Slow down, or you'll fall."

Zhao Zilong reached out to steady Zhao Xiaotian.

Seeing that Zhao Zilong didn't lose his temper, Zhao Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father, what's going on? Why is Mother tied up?"

Zhao Xiaotian's small face was full of confusion.

Zhao Zilong glanced at Jin Rong. She didn't dare to meet his gaze and involuntarily turned her face away.

Zhao Zilong said, "Xiaotian, Father didn't want you to know about this, fearing it would have a bad influence on you. But since you've discovered it, I won't hide it from you. This wretched woman, Jin Rong, has been seeing another man behind my back. You saw what happened today; the man she was seeing even tried to kill me. If I hadn't been incredibly lucky, I would be dead by now."

"Ah, how could this be?"

Shock appeared on Zhao Xiaotian's small face. "Father, you treated Mother so well, yet she still did such a thing."

"Some people don't know how lucky they are."

Zhao Zilong sighed slightly and instructed Zhao Xiaotian, "Xiaotian, take the cloth out of Jin Rong's mouth. I want to hear what this wench has to say."

"Okay."

Zhao Xiaotian removed the cloth from Jin Rong's mouth.

Although he didn't dare to truly express anything, his movements were somewhat rough as he took out the cloth, and his gaze toward Jin Rong was clearly filled with resentment.

It was one thing for this mother to be unkind to him, but to dare to cheat on his father—she really was a wench.

"Zilong, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once, okay? I'll definitely take good care of you from now on and be a virtuous wife and mother, okay?"

Finally able to speak, Jin Rong immediately admitted her fault.

She had to coax Zhao Zilong into forgiving her. Based on her understanding of him, as long as she said a few sweet words, he would definitely forgive her.

Then her good life would return.

"No."

Zhao Zilong's reply was crisp and decisive, his expression cold.

Zhao Xiaotian stood to the side, quietly watching and listening. He had no way to intervene in his parents' affairs.

But no matter what, he stood by his father's side.

"Zilong, I really know I was wrong. I was just momentarily confused."

Jin Rong pleaded.

"Jin Rong, have you ever heard a certain saying?"

Zhao Zilong asked with a cold face.

Jin Rong shook her head.

Zhao Zilong said, "Jin Rong, you were originally a woman from a brothel. It was I who ignored my family's opposition—even getting kicked out of the house—to redeem you and marry you as my wife. I thought you could live a good life with me, but you cheated behind my back."

"As the saying goes: 'Better to marry a reformed prostitute than a wife who climbs over the wall.'"

"You are both a reformed prostitute and a wall-climber. Every act of infidelity a woman can commit, you've committed them all. How can you ask me to forgive you?"

"It's true that I liked you and was obedient to your every whim, but I have my own bottom line. Since you've crossed that line, it's impossible for me to forgive you."

"If not for the sake of our past relationship as husband and wife, I would have killed you long ago."

"No, Zilong, you can't do this. I know you love me; you can't live without me."

"Bullshit! I can live just fine without you, and live well at that. I am now a First-Grade Martial Artist, appreciated by the Deputy Director, and tomorrow I'm going to work for the Princess. My meteoric rise is just around the corner. When that time comes, what kind of woman couldn't I have?"

Zhao Zilong was boasting a bit, but he only said this to provoke Jin Rong.

"No, Zilong, other women will despise you. Have you forgotten? You're infertile. In this world, only I don't despise you for having that problem."

"I'm sick? I'm infertile? Jin Rong, do you hear yourself? Do you really think our lack of children is my problem? The one who is truly infertile is you. I doted on you in the past and was afraid that if I told you the truth, you would be heartbroken. That's why I claimed the problem was mine."

As Zhao Zilong spoke, he sounded somewhat pained. "For the sake of a hen like you who can't lay eggs, I've endured too much grievance. Now, I've had enough. So, get lost and stop affecting my future happiness."

"No, that's not true. Zilong, how could I possibly be infertile?"

Jin Rong looked on in disbelief.

She truly thought it was Zhao Zilong's fault, and because of that, she had looked down on him immensely in her heart.

A man who couldn't father children was hardly a man at all—he was a complete waste.

"Jin Rong, I went to the brothel where you used to work to investigate. In the past, you accidentally got pregnant with a customer's seed. You didn't want to give birth, so you took medicine to abort the child. You suffered a major hemorrhage then. That must be why you've been infertile ever since."

Zhao Zilong wasn't lying; the original owner of his body had indeed investigated this matter.

However, even after learning the truth, that simp of an original owner continued to treat Jin Rong well—even better than before.

He believed that Jin Rong's past life had been too bitter and that it was his duty to compensate her doubly.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?"

Jin Rong naturally remembered that incident. She recalled a time when she had taken on five or six customers and later found herself pregnant. She didn't even know who the father was, so she decided to abort the child.

But she had hemorrhaged badly and nearly lost her life.

"Could it really be so?"

Jin Rong was unwilling to believe it, but she also knew that this was likely the truth.

"Zilong, I'll definitely find a physician to cure me. I can definitely bear children for you."

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself with that, Jin Rong."