Chapter 360: Reluctance
"I don't know what you're talking about," Yang Pojun replied to Guo Xuehua's questioning without batting an eye.
Guo Xuehua seemed even more convinced of her speculation. She said, "The first time I saw Yang Chen in the orphanage that day, I felt as if I had seen that young man somewhere before, as if he was someone from my past. But I couldn't figure out who he was, so I didn't dwell on it. Today, when I went to beg him to save Lie'er, I felt a strange emotional connection with him that I couldn't explain. Why do I feel like I have an inexplicable fate with him even though I don't know him?"
Guo Xuehua smiled bitterly, "Only a confused mother like me would fail to recognize her own child. Just now, when I saw you, I suddenly realized that Yang Chen looks a lot like you did when you were young, don't you think? Although your faces aren't exactly the same, the contours are almost identical. Your eyes, your nose, almost a carbon copy."
"Xuehua, you're overthinking it. It's just a coincidence," Yang Pojun replied with a hint of complexity in his eyes.
Guo Xuehua sneered, "A coincidence? Yes, what a coincidence. His surname is Yang, he looks so much like you when you were young, and when I first saw him, I felt like I knew him right away. Even Xiaogu just met him and spoke to him as if he were a relative. What a coincidence that Xiaogu actually knows this young man. Also, when I begged him to help Lie'er, I knelt down before him, and he told me never to kneel to him again?"
"What?!" Yang Pojun's eyes widened, "You knelt to him?! How could you kneel to your own son?!"
As Yang Pojun angrily uttered these words, he suddenly realized—it was a trap set by Guo Xuehua!
Sure enough, a gleam of ecstasy flashed in Guo Xuehua's eyes. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, as if she had been reborn, trembling as she stared at Yang Pojun with tear-filled eyes.
"You... you finally admit that Yang Chen, that child, is really my son, right?"
Yang Pojun's eye twitched uncontrollably, his face darkened. "So what if he's here now? It's not the right time."
But Guo Xuehua didn't even listen to what he said next. She only heard the affirmative answer she was waiting for, and she was already immersed in overwhelming joy!
Tears streamed down like a fountain. After more than twenty years of separation and desperate searching, her lost son had miraculously come back to life in this world. Guo Xuehua felt as if all the clouds had been blown away by a refreshing breeze.
"My... my son! I always knew I would find him."
Guo Xuehua wiped away her tears, a contented smile on her lips, as she walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?!" Yang Pojun swiftly moved to block Guo Xuehua's path, stopping her from leaving.
In a hurry, Guo Xuehua said, "Of course, I'm going to bring Yang Chen back! I want to tell him that Mom has been looking for him for over twenty years, and I want to tell him right away!"
"Ignorant! Do you think she doesn't know you're his mother?" Yang Pojun asked.
Guo Xuehua was stunned for a moment, her mind racing. She recalled how Yang Chen had told her not to kneel to him—didn't that mean he knew her identity?
"He knows you're his mother, and he knows I'm his father. But that kid treats us like strangers. Do you think he'll welcome you when you go looking for him?" Yang Pojun pressed on.
Guo Xuehua clutched her chest, feeling a pang of pain, but then she bit her lip, took a deep breath, and said, "We abandoned him for over twenty years, showed no concern, of course, he would resent us and refuse to acknowledge us. But that's different from me going to recognize him. I will let him know that my love for him hasn't diminished one bit. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to him. So, whether he acknowledges me or not, I will go see him and tell him the truth."
"What?! Do you realize the consequences of your actions? If others find out that our Yang family inexplicably gained a son, what will people think of us as a couple? The past will be dredged up, embarrassing not just me, you, but even our father! Our entire family will be disgraced! Do you understand?" Yang Pojun exclaimed angrily.
"But all of this is our own doing, isn't it?! Are you willing to ignore your own flesh and blood just to save face?!" Guo Xuehua shouted back.
Proudly, Yang Pojun retorted, "I am doing this for the sake of the Yang family, for our family's honor. Sacrificing a brat who disappeared over twenty years ago means nothing!"
Guo Xuehua's anger turned to laughter as she looked at her husband, who now seemed like a stranger to her. "Yang Pojun, how did you become like this? This isn't the person you were before. Back then, you swore to me that you would bring our child back from the orphanage. Now that Xiaogu has found him, you only think of your own status and power. In your eyes, is family honor worth abandoning your own flesh and blood? Do you want your wife to despise you?!"
"Smack!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Yang Pojun slapped Guo Xuehua hard across the right cheek!
Guo Xuehua, an ordinary woman, was struck by the hand of a military expert like Yang Pojun, and her body flew to the side. Her right cheek swelled and reddened, and she fell to the ground, her tearful eyes filled with shock and confusion. She was stunned!
Seeing his wife's stunned and unbelieving expression, Yang Pojun felt a pang of regret and quickly stepped forward to help Guo Xuehua up.
"Xuehua, I didn't mean to..."
"Don't touch me!"
Guo Xuehua waved away Yang Pojun's attempt to help her, staggered to her feet, and gently touched her throbbing, swollen cheek. She smiled sadly and said, "Yang Pojun, I've been married to you for nearly twenty-five years. From the moment I met you, no matter what mistakes I made or what wrong things I said, you never once scolded me. But today, you actually hit me to stop me from seeing our long-lost son?"
Yang Pojun closed his eyes, collected himself, and said firmly, "Xuehua, I was wrong to hit you. But you must understand, if you acknowledge him, the consequences will be that I will lose the election next year and the Yang family will be completely out of the national core leadership for the next decade. Do you know what that means for our family? Do you know how many people depend on the Yang family and will suffer because of this?"
"You think I don't understand? What does it matter if you don't become Vice Chairman of the Military Commission just for the sake of your father-in-law's face? His disciples are everywhere in the central leadership. At most, the Yang family will stagnate and no longer be at the top. So what?" Guo Xuehua sneered coldly. "You're just unwilling, aren't you? Unwilling to lose your power, unwilling to let go after all these years of maneuvering, unwilling to drop your facade."
"You!" Yang Pojun's face alternated between red and pale as he raised his hand, wanting to strike again. But seeing Guo Xuehua calmly looking back at him, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
With a cold snort, Yang Pojun turned and opened the door. Outside, Guo Xuehua's guards Xiaowen and Xiaoli were waiting. They had faintly heard the adults arguing inside and were trembling with fear.
"Commander!" Both of them greeted Yang Pojun respectfully when they saw him.
Yang Pojun instructed them, "Take Madam back to the secondary villa. From today onwards, without my permission, she is not to have any contact with the outside world, nor is she allowed to leave the compound. Accommodate her needs as much as possible. If anyone wishes to see her, report to me first. Without my approval, no one is allowed to see her!"
"Yang Pojun! You can't do this! I want to go see Yang Chen!" Guo Xuehua shouted anxiously upon hearing that Yang Pojun intended to confine her, preventing her from seeing Yang Chen.
Xiaowen and Xiaoli exchanged a look of distress but nodded in agreement.
Though they were Guo Xuehua's personal guards, they were also female soldiers under Yang Pojun's command and had to fully obey.
Yang Pojun glanced back at his wife, whose face was filled with resentment and unwillingness, hesitated for a moment as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he just turned away indifferently and walked off.
"Madam, please come with us," Xiaowen said to Guo Xuehua with a hint of sadness. Despite not understanding why the Commander was treating her this way, they had to follow his orders regarding Madam.
Guo Xuehua, seemingly oblivious to their presence, suddenly felt her legs go weak. She sat down on the ground, her eyes vacant, murmuring something unintelligible that no one could hear.