Kissed and Seduced By the Most Rough Man in the Village-Chapter 505: The Sanctimonious Zhang Zhiyuan

The three of them got into the car, and the chauffeur immediately started the engine, driving slowly towards the compound.

Zhang Zhiyuan looked up through the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun in the back seat. It seemed as if he was deep in thought, as a trace of melancholy flickered in his eyes.

"Speaking of which, it’s been over twenty years since I’ve been to Shanghai. I wonder how the city has developed now?" Zhang Zhiyuan casually remarked, as though making small talk.

Su Xiaoxiao pondered for a moment before answering, "From what I’ve seen growing up, Shanghai hasn’t changed much. There are more buildings now, and places like the supply and marketing cooperatives and the Friendship Store have gone from two stories to three."

Her words weren’t dismissive, but a reflection of the reality of post-war China. The new country had to rebuild its war-torn lands, take on massive foreign debt, and still deal with consecutive natural disasters—all while ensuring people’s basic needs were met. There was simply no extra money for large-scale urban development.

After speaking, Su Xiaoxiao glanced curiously at Zhang Zhiyuan. "Uncle Zhang, it seems like you have a special attachment to Shanghai. Why is that?"

Her question, though somewhat rude, was intentional. She wanted to see how Zhang Zhiyuan would talk about his disgraceful past.

Zhang Zhiyuan didn’t show a hint of guilt or unease. Instead, a nostalgic and somewhat entranced expression appeared on his face.

"My previous wife was from Shanghai," he began. "After she had complications during childbirth, I sent her back to be buried in Shanghai. After that, I never went back."

Su Xiaoxiao nearly lost control of the calm expression she had worked hard to maintain. The words that escaped her mouth were barely held back. She tightly gripped Jiang Yexun’s hand.

Jiang Yexun gently stroked her hand, calming her down bit by bit.

"Why was she buried in Shanghai? Shouldn’t she have been buried in Beijing since she married you?" Su Xiaoxiao tilted her head, asking in confusion.

"Because her difficult childbirth was partly my fault," Zhang Zhiyuan explained, his tone tinged with regret. "My in-laws blamed me for their daughter’s death, so..."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhiyuan’s eyes darkened, as if something painful had been scratched open. His throat tightened, and he fought to suppress the wave of sadness.

"It’s all in the past now," Zhang Zhiyuan said quickly, attempting to change the subject.

But Su Xiaoxiao clearly wasn’t going to let it slide so easily.

"After all these years, didn’t you ever think of visiting her grave? Even if you’re not allowed to, didn’t you ever think about talking to her at the grave? And the child she almost died giving birth to, you just lost track of him, didn’t you think to explain things to your former in-laws?" Su Xiaoxiao’s innocent-looking face was full of sharp questions, each one more pointed than the last.

The guard beside them suddenly stiffened, his face changing as he interjected. "Our commander visits the grave every year. It’s just that his former in-laws weren’t in good health, and he didn’t want to upset them. And also, half of the commander’s salary goes to support his in-laws as a way of showing respect."

Liars!

Su Xiaoxiao was furious and almost retorted immediately, but instead, she forced a look of "I see" onto her face.

"Well, that sounds pretty good. But if you’re sending half of your salary away, wouldn’t your current wife and children have any complaints?" she asked, feigning curiosity.

The guard looked displeased at her questions, clearly finding Su Xiaoxiao’s words impolite. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Zhang Zhiyuan’s hand.

Zhang Zhiyuan smiled. "Of course, they have their complaints. But even though I don’t deal with family matters much, there are still things I can decide. Besides, the remaining half of my salary is more than enough to support them. They are my family, and they should understand my responsibilities."

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to believe Zhang Zhiyuan, but seeing the guard’s anger and the commander’s open, nonchalant expression, she found it difficult to doubt him.

However, beyond this, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t fathom how a woman like Peng Huijing would tolerate her husband constantly thinking about his deceased first wife’s family.

Her dark eyes circled as she asked, "So you send the money every month at the post office yourself?"

"Of course not! Our commander is too busy for that!" the guard quickly retorted.

Zhang Zhiyuan explained, "When I first started sending the money, I gave half of my salary to my current wife. The other half was sent by a guard. Later, when he was injured and retired, I asked the elderly guard beside my father to send it for me."

He could tell from Su Xiaoxiao’s questions that she didn’t trust Peng Huijing. In truth, neither did he. If not for the incident back then, he would never have married Peng Huijing.

That’s why he made sure Peng Huijing never handled the money. He had changed two guards to send the money, but her grandparents had never seen a penny of it. Was that possible?

Su Xiaoxiao had hoped to give Zhang Zhiyuan a bit of trust, but hearing this, she completely crossed him off in her mind. Not only was he sanctimonious, but he was also a master at acting.

It seemed that the Zhang family’s affairs were even more complicated than she had imagined.

Did they still not know that she was actually from the Gu family?

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. Cold sweat broke out along her spine.

Jiang Yexun noticed the change in her mood and gently scratched her palm with his fingers.

Su Xiaoxiao looked up with wide, round eyes, her gaze filled with panic, locking onto his calm, deep, and comforting eyes. His steady, soothing gaze began to calm her down little by little.

No matter what, she needed to investigate further.

At this point, the Zhang family was the most likely suspect, unless they could find another mastermind.

But the key question was whether the Zhang family or Peng Huijing had been behind the scheme. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She needed to stay calm and investigate thoroughly. There could be no mistakes in her judgment.

After all, the lives of three families were now in her hands.

Looking at the outcome of her past life, the mastermind wouldn’t stop with just one or two key figures dead. They wanted to completely uproot the problem.

Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath to calm herself, forcing a soft, innocent smile. "Uncle Zhang, you really are thoughtful. But I think, after all these years, you can let go of the past."

"Mm." Zhang Zhiyuan smiled bitterly.

Though he agreed, anyone sitting in the car could tell his response was insincere.

The guard beside him looked at Zhang Zhiyuan with pity.

Their commander was someone who valued emotions deeply, especially when it came to his previous wife.

Though he had come into the picture later, having spent many years by the commander’s side, the guard had heard enough to know just how much the commander had loved his first wife.