After I awakened my inner voice, I became the treasure of my family.

Chapter 90 Zhou Liang's Helpless Explanation

Meanwhile, in the bamboo garden bedroom within the General's Mansion, Madam Zhou, who had been unconscious, lay quietly on the carved bed. After a moment, Madam Zhou's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she finally awoke.

She slowly opened her eyes, her vision still a little blurry, but when she saw Zhou Liang sitting by the bed with a concerned look on his face, her face turned deathly pale.

"Madam, how are you feeling now? Is there anything wrong with your body? Are you thirsty? Would you like some water to soothe your throat?"

At this moment, Zhou Liang looked extremely anxious, and a series of questions came out of his mouth, his eyes full of worry and anxiety.

Faced with Zhou Liang's sudden display of concern, Madam Zhou was at a loss for words. She simply closed her eyes again, refusing to look at Zhou Liang or think about the matter any further; she needed some peace and quiet.

"Wow wow wow!"

Standing to the side, Zhou Jingyao was crying her eyes out, sobbing as she said, "Mother, you're finally awake! You don't know how scared I was just now, I thought... I thought... Waaah..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was already sobbing uncontrollably.

However, at this moment, although Madam Zhou was unwilling to pay attention to Zhou Liang, upon hearing Zhou Jingyao's cries, she slowly opened her eyes, turned her head, and looked directly at the wailing Zhou Jingyao.

At this moment, Madam Zhou's heart was filled with mixed feelings and confusion. Looking at the child she had raised herself since childhood, she felt extremely complicated both emotionally and psychologically. However, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She had cared for and nurtured this child with great care and love since he was a baby, pouring countless days and nights of her heart and soul into him.

But who could have imagined that just today, she would be shocked to learn that Zhou Jingyao was actually the daughter of the two people she had never expected? This left her momentarily at a loss for what to do. Seeing Zhou Jingyao crying, she herself felt terrible.

What pained her even more was that Zhou Liang had kept such an important matter a secret from her all along, never revealing a single word to her. This man was really tight-lipped.

But this feeling of being deceived and ignored pierced her heart like a thousand arrows, making her feel that her life was too tragic and that she could hardly breathe.

Zhou Jingyao noticed that since Madam Zhou woke up, she had ignored her father and herself. She had also heard Jiang Mianmian's words earlier.

She didn't know what to do, so she just kept crying, staring at Madam Zhou in disbelief. Ever since her mother woke up, she had completely ignored her and her father, as if they didn't exist.

Just now, Zhou Jingyao had personally heard the astonishing things Jiang Mianmian said.

Just as she was still in shock, something unexpected happened—her mother suddenly fainted without warning!

In that instant, Zhou Jingyao's mind went blank. She couldn't care about anything else at the time; all she could see was her mother falling heavily to the ground, unconscious.

At that moment, Zhou Jingyao's heart clenched tightly, and an unprecedented sense of fear and helplessness surged into her heart.

She secretly vowed that she would pay any price to keep her mother safe, even if her mother would never speak to her again.

But when her mother truly stopped paying attention to her, she felt an overwhelming sadness. Tears blurred Zhou Jingyao's vision, and her lips trembled as she murmured to herself:

"Mother, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I had no idea I was their daughter. But please believe me, you've raised me with such care and hardship all these years."

In my heart, you are my only and only mother forever! Even if they were still alive, this feeling would never change.

Because in my view, the debt of giving birth is far less profound than the debt of raising. In my world, no one can surpass you!

Before Zhou Jingyao could finish speaking, Mrs. Zhou, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes and stretched out her arms to hug Zhou Jingyao tightly.

In an instant, the mother and daughter embraced and wept, their tears flowing like a burst dam.

Madam Zhou was heartbroken, and even more surprised and resentful: Just because Jingyao was born to those two people, did she have to disown her daughter? Why should she? She raised her, so she is her daughter.

Just because Jingyao was born to those two men, does that mean he has to harden his heart and disown his obedient and sensible daughter?

No, absolutely not! Back then, I painstakingly raised her from a kitten to adulthood. How could I just sever that deep mother-daughter bond?

In any case, in her heart, Jingyao had long become an indispensable part of her life, her Bai Rui daughter!

At this moment, Zhou Jingyao hugged Madam Zhou tightly, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam. She wailed and cried, her sobs heart-wrenching.

Deep inside, she was filled with fear and unease, afraid that Madam Zhou would abandon her and leave her to become a child without a mother's love.

"Mother, please, please don't abandon me! Jingyao promises that from now on I will be obedient and never make you angry again. Please don't leave me, okay..." Zhou Jingyao sobbed and begged.

Hearing her daughter cry like this, Madam Zhou felt an unbearable pain in her heart. She instinctively hugged Zhou Jingyao tighter and whispered words of comfort:

"Silly child, how could your mother abandon you? No matter what happens, you will always be my daughter!"

Standing to the side, Zhou Liang silently watched the mother and daughter embracing and weeping before him, his eyes welling up with tears.

He slowly opened his arms and pulled them into his embrace, saying in a slightly choked voice, "Alright, stop crying. We're a family, and no one can live without the other!"

After a while, Madam Zhou finally stopped crying. She gently pushed away Zhou Jingyao, whose face was covered in snot and tears, chuckled, and tenderly wiped away her tears. Then, with a smile, she instructed:

"Jingyao, look how you've cried your eyes out. Go back to your own yard and tidy yourself up. Your mother has some important things to discuss with your father."

Zhou Jingyao nodded reluctantly. She knew what her mother wanted to talk to her father about, but she was still a little worried. She left the room looking back every few steps.

As the door was gently closed, the originally warm and touching atmosphere inside the room suddenly became heavy and oppressive, and the atmosphere instantly fell into silence.

Coming to his senses, Zhou Liang looked at Madam Zhou's eyes and felt a chill run down his spine, his mind replaying everything that had just happened.

He finally came to his senses, and when he thought about how it was all Jiang Mianmian's fault, he couldn't help but curse inwardly: This woman is simply insane! She actually ruined their marital relationship like this.

If anything were to happen to his wife, or if anything were to go wrong between the two of them, he swore he would never let their manor off easily.

"I can explain this," Zhou Liang turned to Madam Zhou, his heart filled with unease, and stammered as he began to explain:

"My...my wife, I really didn't mean to hide this from you!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Liang calmed himself down a bit before continuing:

"Back then, my elder brother and Bai Rui disregarded social norms and eloped, throwing our family into chaos. But not long after, I learned that they had met with misfortune."

During a later outing, the two encountered a band of vicious bandits and ultimately lost their lives, leaving behind only their newborn daughter, Jingyao, who was delivered to me by a loyal servant at the cost of his life.

At this point, Zhou Liang's eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion:

"As for me, I was really at a loss when faced with such a sudden change. Especially the things about my older brother's past, I didn't know how to bring them up with you."

Did you know? My older brother and I were twins, but from the moment we were born, our fates were completely different. It all started because some stinky Taoist priest who appeared out of nowhere made up a bunch of lies, saying that my older brother was destined to bring misfortune to his family.

So, without a word, Grandmother made the decision to send my eldest brother to a remote village, and strictly forbade anyone in the family from getting close to him.

After a pause, Zhou Liang continued, "And so, my elder brother lived a lonely and miserable life on that estate until my grandmother passed away. Only then did my parents dare to bring him home."

However, to the family's surprise, the moment the eldest brother stepped back into the house, his eyes were filled with deep hatred for his parents and everyone in the family. Seeing this, his parents worried that he might do something rash.

After much deliberation, I felt that the only solution was to find him a wife. Having a wife and children might quell his anger, help him understand the hardships his parents had endured, and finally bring him peace of mind.

At that time, his parents had no idea that he already had a woman he loved. At that time, the late emperor harbored suspicion and fear towards our General Zhenbei's Mansion.

After careful consideration, the parents felt that only by forming a marriage alliance with the Wei family, a loyalist faction, could they alleviate the late emperor's suspicions about the General's Mansion. This marriage was even personally approved by the late emperor.

Who could have predicted that something so unexpected would happen? The very day before the wedding, the eldest brother actually wanted to elope with Bai Rui!

My elder brother was sent away by my grandmother, and as someone who acted in the best interests of the situation, I felt deeply guilty towards him. In the end, I decided to let them both go. After all, my brother was with the woman he loved, and I... I simply couldn't bear to separate them.

However, with my elder brother gone, a problem arose. If I hadn't stepped forward to marry you in his place, I'm afraid the late emperor would never have let the entire General's Mansion, with its two hundred and eighty lives, go unpunished!

"But under those circumstances, our General's Mansion had no other choice! How could I just stand by and watch my parents and everyone in the old mansion die in vain..."

Zhou Liang expressed his grievances with a helpless expression.