Ch. 27
Chapter 27: If One Is Ruthless and Refuses to Learn Chivalry, Then That Is the Greatest Wrong Under Heaven!
Was the family truly reunited?
The moment Cheng Si asked that question, everyone froze, and the atmosphere instantly turned strange.
They all knew what she meant.
Their family had not been reunited.
Their eldest son, Cheng Yu, who had wandered outside for more than ten years, was not here. How could this count as a family reunion?
Cheng Zhenjiang’s smile stiffened on his face, while Zhao Xichun’s smile turned into an embarrassed, troubled expression.
“Little Sister!”
Cheng Yue immediately poked her younger sister in the slender waist with her hand, signaling her not to say something so untimely right now.
But to her surprise, Cheng Si pushed her hand away and looked at her father and mother in confusion.
“Father, Mother, where is my second brother?”
“Your second brother...” Zhao Xichun was briefly at a loss for words. She could not even speak half a sentence about her own son’s current situation.
At once, she only felt that she was truly unqualified as a mother, and lowered her head in sorrow.
“Si’er!”
Seeing the sorrowful look on his wife’s face, Cheng Zhenjiang immediately said to his younger daughter with displeasure, “What is the point of bringing up that rebellious son at a time like this? He chose to sever ties himself, so why should we go fawning over someone who gives us the cold shoulder?”
If Cheng Yu had chosen to sever ties himself, and Cheng Zhenjiang then showed any intention of taking the initiative to find him, would that not mean admitting that he, as a father, had done something wrong?
That was absolutely impossible!
Cheng Zhenjiang already felt that he had sacrificed more than enough by lowering himself to agree to ask his disagreeable father-in-law for help.
“Sigh.”
Cheng Si let out a sigh. She had never expected Cheng Zhenjiang and Cheng Yu to reconcile.
This father and son shared no bond of upbringing, and their values stood at opposite extremes. It would be very difficult for them ever to become a loving father and filial son.
“Then what happened with Second Brother’s matter? He didn’t run into trouble, did he?”
Since she could not force a reunion, she instead asked about Cheng Yu’s current situation.
But to her surprise, she could not even get an answer to that.
With bitterness, Zhao Xichun said, “Mother doesn’t know how your second brother is doing either...”
“You didn’t do anything about Second Brother’s situation?”
Cheng Si’s eyes widened, unable to believe what she had just heard.
Half a month had already passed. Could it really be possible that the family of the great Cheng Daxia could not even figure out the situation of a mere Jinyiwei Banner Captain?
Was that possible?
The only possibility was that they had not been willing to care.
Just then, Cheng Feng, who stood at the side, began reproaching Cheng Si in displeasure.
“Little Sister, how can you speak like that? With Father’s status, how can he casually interfere in the Jinyiwei’s affairs? If word got out, he would be ridiculed by others! You ought to be more understanding of Father!”
Why bother with some outsider who had suddenly appeared?
Cheng Feng found Cheng Yu increasingly unpleasant. This so-called elder brother of his had no filial piety at all and was always making their parents uneasy.
And aside from that, having a brother who was an imperial hound of the court was deeply embarrassing to him as a young hero.
How could the young Northern Alliance Leader of the northern martial world have such a background?
How was he supposed to command the respect of others in the future?
A person like that should never have appeared in their family!
They really had not taken care of Cheng Yu’s affairs?
A helpless sense of absurdity rose in Cheng Si’s heart. She looked at Cheng Zhenjiang and Zhao Xichun in disbelief.
“Second Brother is your own son! Can you really bear not to do anything?”
“How could that be! Your mother already—”
Unable to bear her daughter’s questioning, Zhao Xichun was about to say that she had already asked Zhao Yi to protect Cheng Yu.
But before she could get the words out, Cheng Zhenjiang stopped her.
“Wasn’t that rebellious son full of himself? I already said it before. Since he insisted on being disobedient and severing ties, then let it be as he wished!”
“Let him fend for himself. Didn’t he survive just fine for more than ten years?”
As he said that, he also signaled his wife with his eyes not to tell the truth.
He did not want to mention his father-in-law in front of the children, and it would be best if the children had as little contact with Zhao Yi as possible.
A man like that had no qualities of chivalry and righteousness. He would only corrupt them.
“Mother, is what Father said true?”
Zhao Xichun knew that Cheng Zhenjiang meant well, so she could only grit her teeth, endure her grief, and nod. In that moment, Cheng Si felt as though the world were spinning.
The benevolent and kindly father in front of her seemed to be growing farther and farther away from the one in her memory.
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
Agitated, she cried out, “How could you do this? Did Second Brother commit some monstrous crime against heaven and reason?”
Cheng Yue was startled and hurriedly grabbed Cheng Si, telling her not to speak recklessly.
Bang!
“As my son, if he is ruthless and vicious and refuses to learn chivalry, then that is the greatest wrong under heaven!”
Seeing that his daughter actually dared to talk back, Cheng Zhenjiang slapped the table and replied.
He was a great hero respected by all.
He did not ask that his son be especially outstanding, but since he insisted on becoming a disgraceful Jinyiwei, then that was an unforgivable sin!
“He is your son. Have you ever fulfilled your duty as a father? What have you ever taught him?”
With reddened eyes, Cheng Si bit out the question toward her father.
“He wandered outside for a full eighteen years without receiving even a trace of your guidance. What right do you have to demand so much from him now?”
“Just because he is your son, he should be a man peerless in benevolence and righteousness, even when you yourself gave him nothing at all?”
“Insolence!”
Cheng Zhenjiang had never expected his daughter to speak to him like this.
It was outrageous!
Since when were children allowed to point fingers at their parents’ rights and wrongs?
Besides, he had done nothing wrong.
“You say I did nothing? Then who was it that brought him back to the River-Severing Sect? Who was it that carefully taught him the principles of chivalry and righteousness and let him learn and experience the qualities of our heroic ancestors?”
“Wasn’t it still he himself who refused to improve, with his head full of nothing but violence and killing, unable to learn anything, and in the end he even killed others and committed an unforgivable crime!”
Cheng Zhenjiang explained himself harshly.
These past few days, his younger son’s breakthrough into the Fifth Rank had already made him understand something.
He was perfectly capable of educating an exceptionally outstanding son. There was nothing wrong with him!
The one with the problem was Cheng Yu!
“And now you say you carefully taught Second Brother, but who was it that destroyed the keepsakes from his adoptive parents, forbade him from entering the Martial Practice Ground, and left behind that ridiculous painting?”
It was you, Cheng Zhenjiang, Great Hero Cheng!
“Insolence! Utter insolence! Have you also become lawless?!”
Hearing those two questions that he simply could not answer, and unable to excuse himself at all, Cheng Zhenjiang grew even more furious.
In anger, he said, “Wasn’t I busy taking care of the three of you siblings? And now you actually have the face to question me?”
“Besides, if that rebellious son had a problem, why didn’t he say so? If he had just explained the situation to me, I definitely would have handled it. It was he who kept all his malice bottled up inside and severed ties over some trivial little matter!”
“He is selfish to the extreme, and he has placed his parents in an unrighteous position!”
“I would rather have no such unfilial and unrighteous son. Even if he were raised up, he would only go on to commit monstrous evil!”
Hearing those words, Cheng Si revealed an expression of utter disbelief.
So the benevolent and righteous father she had always imagined in her heart was actually a coward who only knew how to shirk responsibility?
She turned to look at her mother, elder brother, and elder sister, who all remained silent.
“You all think so too?”
Zhao Xichun lowered her head and wiped away her tears as she said softly, “Your father may indeed have done some things badly at times, but that is not your second brother’s reason for abandoning his family. We had already been separated for so many years. How could he bear to do that...”
At the side, Cheng Yue silently nodded, saying nothing.
Originally, she had still held some sympathy for Cheng Yu, but after what happened last time in Qinghe County, she only felt that Cheng Yu himself now had very serious problems.
Cruelty, viciousness, and ruthlessness had already been carved into his bones.
“Little Sister, you shouldn’t speak to Father like that.”
Cheng Feng spoke gently from the side. “Father’s status is not the same as ordinary people’s. He has to devote more of his energy to the great matters of the jianghu.”
“As the child of a hero like Father, one naturally has to bear more responsibility. One must learn to stand on one’s own, rather than cry and complain and resent the heavens and others.”
That was what they all believed.
Cheng Si looked at her family in confusion, her heart filled with a sense of absurdity.
She had only gone out for five years to learn martial arts. How had they all become like this?
Or had they always been like this?
Because he was Father’s son, they demanded that Second Brother bear more responsibility, yet he had never enjoyed any special treatment or resources.
Why?
Was this the chivalry Cheng Zhenjiang spoke of?