Chapter 695   - Don’t Leave, Uncle (1)

But what can he say? Zhang Jiren knew that he wouldn't be able to give her a valid reason why he prolonged hiding his identity from her. When he first found out that he was her twin brother, his fear that she would reject him and deny him caused him to keep his distance from her and chose to only look at her from afar.

The short time he spent with her during their highschool years was enough for Zhang Jiren as the following years were spent catching up with their father while keeping their relationship a secret from the Zhang family.

If it hadn't been for the need to keep things under wraps despite constantly watched by Zhang Xianzhe, he was sure he wouldn't hesitate to approach her. This was exactly why even after Tang Moyu had come back after she finished her studies and later returned home after her 'exile', Zhang Jiren had chosen to remain in Beijing, keeping his distance from his twin sister.

"But I can't afford to be a coward now, can I?" He chuckled, knowing that since he had now taken Li Meili as his wife, Tang Moyu would hold the expectation for him to protect her.

Tang Moyu pursed her lips together but didn't say anything in response. At least, it was enough that Zhang Jiren was aware of the situation he was now in. Since Li Meili was a very close friend of hers, she wouldn't let Zhang Jiren put her, along with her child, in danger.

magic By now, there was no doubt that the news of their marriage had reached the Zhang family and they would be eager to associate themselves with Li Meili. To think that her twin brother had managed to survive living as a Zhang, Tang Moyu wasn't sure if he was truly uninfluenced by them.

"If you are worried about the Zhang family taking advantage of Li Meili, you don't have to. I'm not sure if she has told you, but we signed a prenup that her father requested. You can ask Li Meili for details if you still doubt my words." Zhang Jiren said as if he knew what the empress was thinking at the moment.

"Do you have plans to take down the Zhang family?" Her sudden question shocked Zhang Jiren, but when he recovered, he gave his sister a sinister smile.

"What do you think?" He asked. "Would you love to assist me, my dear sister?" His last words were laced with menace as his eyes flashed with hatred upon the mention of the Zhang family's debt.

The empress was shocked to see such a response coming from him. Zhang Jiren didn't even bother to hide his hatred towards the family that ruined their lives.

"And if I do?" She challenged him, wanting to know if he was willing to go against the family who raised him, the family who tricked him into believing that he was abandoned and unwanted by his own family.

It was Zhang Jiren's turn to look at her, surprised. Was she really willing to exact revenge this time?

"Don't look at me like that. You weren't the only one who was made a fool by that family. Imagine growing up trying to please the woman you thought was your mother and finding out that she wasn't the woman who gave birth to you. What's worse was, your father keeping you in the dark for too long, leaving you with that horrible woman."

It was obvious that Tang Moyu had not only held hatred against Zhang Wuying, but she also harbor a sense of resentment against their father. If Tang Lixue had been present throughout her childhood and had protected her from Zhang Wuying and Elder Tang, she wouldn't have to suffer such horrible treatment from them.

Zhang Jiren knew that no matter how he tried to reason out for their father, it wouldn't change Tang Moyu's perception of Tang Lixue. She was hurt and disappointed for a long time and their father didn't even get a chance to make up for his mistakes even in his last breath.

"Are you sure about this? There are innocent people who might get dragged into it." He asked. Zhang Jiren knew that one of the reasons why Tang Moyu didn't proactively exact revenge on the Tang family before was because of her children, but it was a different story now that she had a powerful husband to back her up.

"I don't have the liberty to wait and see what they would do to Meili. Isn't it enough that they ruined our lives? Now they want to use Meili and her child? I won't allow that to happen. I won't stay still and watch them hurt Meili."

Because it didn't seem like the Zhang family would stop bothering her and her loved ones, how can Tang Moyu stay still and allow them to hurt those around her? They were really vicious people who only knew how to forcefully get what they wanted from other people.

"You don't have to." Zhang Jiren said after a long silence on his part. "Because I've already started a long time ago." He admitted.

"As for Li Meili, I will make sure that none of them would be able to exploit her child to get leverage against the Li family."

"How can I trust that you are telling the truth?" The empress gauged his expression.

Was this man really her brother? She wondered. Looking up close, she should have noticed that he had some resemblance to their father, Tang Lixue. It was hard to believe that the twin brother they thought dead a long time ago was right here in front of her, speaking casually.

"You don't need to." Zhang Jiren replied. "It's better for you to be cautious of people around you, Tang Moyu. Because the person who could hurt you the most may be the least person you expect." He reminded the empress.

The last thing Zhang Jiren wanted to do was to hurt her, so perhaps, it would be best for the two of them to keep their distance from each other.