"Inspector Xie is actually the ancestor of my grandfather's Xie family," Zhu Yanyi said, looking at Xie Xinlian.
Xie Xinlian nodded naturally. "Exactly. Inspector Xie was originally from Zhuangyuan Village. But back then, it wasn't called that. After he became the top scholar, he renamed the village Zhuangyuan Village.
She also set the naming order for Xie men and built the ancestral hall. The generations follow ten characters: Dian, Tao, Chun, Zhong, Yu, Yun, Juan, Meng, Hong, Chen. They rotate in this order.
Your grandfather is the fourteenth generation, so he uses the character 'Zhong'. But he was special. His original name was Xie Zhongfa. When he grew up, he said 'Fa' brought bad luck, so he dropped it. Now his single name is just Zhong."
"So my uncles are the fifteenth generation?" Zhu Yanyi asked.
"Yes. That’s why all three of your uncles have the character 'Yu' in their names," Xie Xinlian confirmed.
"Have you heard of Inspector Xie’s treasure?" Yan Aohan asked casually.
Xie Xinlian thought for a moment. "I heard the legend in my maiden home. The treasure has two parts. First, when the country was in trouble, Inspector Xie saved the Emperor’s younger sister. The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Princess rewarded him richly. The Princess was very grateful and kept sending treasures later. That formed one part of the wealth.
The second part is more interesting. Back then, there were no villages here. This place wasn’t called Gankeshan Village; it was called Ganze Village because of the wild sugarcane. But because it was near Sicheng Mountain, a bandit group appeared. They hid in the mountains and harassed the village. The officials couldn’t stop them.
When Inspector Xie retired and returned here, he was angry. He brought an army and wiped out the bandits. They found a lot of wealth in the bandit hideout. Inspector Xie divided it, and he kept a share for himself."
"So the treasure is in Inspector Xie’s tomb?" Yan Aohan asked.
Xie Xinlian shook her head slightly. "I really don’t know. The legend says the treasure exists, but Inspector Xie hid it so her descendants wouldn’t become spoiled brats. To this day, the Xie family hasn’t found it."
"Is it in his tomb?" Taishu Yuanxiang asked curiously.
Xie Xinlian smiled lightly. "You have to find the tomb first."
"Huh?" Everyone was surprised.
Seeing their curiosity, Xie Xinlian wrapped a shaomai before speaking. "The ancestor had several tombs. After he died, his trusted aide buried him, then the aide disappeared. No one knows which tomb he is in. The ancestor said we don’t need to sweep the tomb every year, just burn an extra incense stick during ancestor worship.
So, we descendants don’t know where the real tomb is. Some people looked, but they only found empty tombs with clothes inside. Even we don’t know."
"Aohan, does the Zhu family in Zhushi know where the tomb is?" Zhu Yanyi asked.
Yan Aohan didn’t answer directly. "Do you remember when Haitao got into trouble?"
"I remember. It was also in Sicheng Town. We found that organization was in the Sicheng Mountains, but they escaped," Zhu Yanyi said. She wouldn’t forget that.
Yan Aohan explained, "Those people wanted a place for research. It was for the Madman, but we stopped them."
"Did you find the tomb then?" Zhu Yanli interjected.
"Not found, but we found a clue. A treasure map carved on a cliff," Yan Aohan said.
She kept rolling dough while talking. "Actually, I didn’t care much. I’m not interested in treasure. Even if Inspector Xie’s treasure is huge, it won’t interest us, right?" Yan Aohan smiled at Zhu Yanyi.
Zhu Yanyi laughed at her winking. Of course not. They had the treasure from the Gusi Lan Ruins. That was the real treasure, priceless relics of an era. Inspector Xie’s treasure might be large, but it couldn’t compare.
"To be honest, I’m not interested in Inspector Xie’s treasure," Zhu Yanyi said calmly. "It doesn’t matter if it’s much or precious. I don’t care. Besides, Inspector Xie has descendants. If we find it, it should go to the Xie family." She didn’t hide her selfish thought.
She didn’t care about the wealth, but if found, she wanted to give it to Xie Zhong. He was the fourteenth-generation direct descendant. "If we don’t find it, fine. If we do, give it to Grandpa."
"Ani," Xie Xinlian looked at her daughter speechlessly. Her daughter was always like this.
Zhu Yanyi made a face. "It should go to Grandpa. I’m not wrong, Aohan. Am I?"
Although the state didn’t allow individuals to keep such treasure, Zhu Yanyi still wanted to be selfish.
"No, no. Ani is right," Yan Aohan smiled at Xie Xinlian. "Auntie, don’t blame Ani. She’s right."
If Xie Zhong really wanted the treasure, it wasn’t impossible. It would be tricky, but Yan Aohan could manage it.
"Even if you’re right, don’t say it loudly. It’s bad if others hear," Xie Xinlian said. She was happy her son-in-law valued her daughter, but she still had to warn her.
Yan Aohan laughed. "Auntie, you’re too careful. Who here would tell outsiders?"
She handed a piece of dough to Zhu Yanyi. "Since I chose Ani, the Zhu family’s security is top-level. Not only are the documents safe, but I’ve set up defenses around the house. We’d know if even a fly appeared, let alone eavesdropping."