Zhu Xinfu looked at Zhu Guifu with cold eyes. "Stop acting," he said, his tone icy. "Guifu, you know who you are, and I know too. If you want to see Zhu Xiangyao, I won’t stop you. But that has nothing to do with cutting off our brotherhood."
Zhu Guifu had hoped to brush off the matter of severing ties, but he hadn’t expected Zhu Xinfu to hold his ground so firmly.
"Brother, this isn’t right," Zhu Guifu said hurriedly. "And the paperwork is troublesome."
"The paperwork is easy," Zhu Xinfu said calmly. "I’m telling you so you know that from now on, within the clan, we are just fellow clansmen. No other relationship. I will have someone handle the formalities to end our brotherhood."
They were already separate households. The "paperwork" simply meant removing the record of their brotherhood from accessible files. By stating this publicly, Zhu Xinfu’s main goal was to let the entire clan know that he and Zhu Guifu were no longer brothers.
Zhu Guifu took a deep breath. He realized there was no turning back. Seeing Zhu Xinfu’s determined expression, he knew he wouldn’t be given a chance to refuse.
She sighed deeply and finally nodded. "Fine. If it’s cut, it’s cut."
Zhu Xinfu gave Zhu Guifu a faint, mocking smile. "Guifu, you are a smart man. After this, do not use our past relationship to cause trouble. This is the best advice I can give you as a fellow clansman."
Zhu Guifu agreed because he had no choice. He knew that if he refused, Zhu Xinfu would find another way to sever the tie. Currently, he was already flustered by the information regarding Zhu Xiangyao and had no capacity to deal with Zhu Xinfu further. Besides, he hadn’t benefited from his brother’s glory for years. Cutting ties was perhaps for the best.
Zhu Xinfu turned to Zhu Shunyao. "Shunyao, tell Lei Yao about this. In the future, in the clan genealogy, my relationship with the Fourth Branch will no longer be that of biological brothers."
"Understood," Zhu Shunyao nodded immediately.
Seeing that matters were settled, Zhu Xinfu stood up. "Everyone, I have returned. I will host a banquet in a couple of days. I hope all clan members will attend, so I can properly meet everyone."
"We definitely will!" the surrounding Zhu clan members shouted loudly.
Zhu Xinfu then said to Zhu Shunyao and the others, "Alright, let’s go back. This is someone else’s home after all."
"Wait," Gan Juhua suddenly spoke up. "You said you would send us to see Xiangyao."
Zhu Xinfu glanced at Gan Juhua, then nodded. "Fine. I will have someone buy train tickets for you. They will be delivered to you tomorrow or the day after, for your trip to the capital."
Since they insisted on going to their own doom, Zhu Xinfu would not stop them. "However, I hope you consider this carefully. Chonglou is not a kind person. He does not like others bringing up his past."
Hearing this, Zhu Guifu paused. Gan Juhua, however, had no such complex thoughts. Her only thought was that her son, Zhu Xiangyao, was in the capital and very wealthy. She wanted to find her. "Xiangyao is my son. I know she won’t let us suffer. she must have had reasons for not returning."
"Do as you please," Zhu Xinfu said indifferently. It was a minor matter to him. He did not care what Zhu Guifu and his family thought.
Back home, Zhu Xinfu told Taishu Yuanxiang about the Zhu Guifu household’s situation.
Taishu Yuanxiang said directly, "Grandpa, let me handle this. I will have people send them there."
Zhu Xinfu nodded in agreement. "Alright, leave it to you."
Taishu Yuanxiang smiled lightly. "Our stay here feels like a vacation. This isn’t a big deal. Besides, keeping the Zhu Guifu branch in Sicheng Town might not be a good thing."
The Zhu Guifu family valued fame and profit too much. If Taishu Yuanxiang worried about the Zhu family in Zhushi City finding a weak point, he believed the Zhu Guifu family was actually a perfect target.
It was a pity that the Zhu family in Zhushi City hadn’t noticed this. Otherwise, Zhu Xinfu felt, a breakthrough against the Sicheng Town Zhu family would have been inevitable.
Meanwhile, in Zhushi City, Zhu Yongfu watched Zhu Yanyi treating patients and adjusting prescriptions without any apparent resentment. She felt something was wrong. By her calculation, she was her enemy. Why was she so calm? Was she really not angry at all? Zhu Yongfu was full of doubts.
She took the medicine home, where Zhu Jinfu and Zhu Shenfu were already waiting.
Zhu Yongfu looked at them and sighed. "Yesterday, I couldn’t see through this little divine doctor. Today, I still can’t. I don’t know what she is planning."
Zhu Jinfu said from the side, "Could it be that she really doesn’t know Shenfu is her grandfather?"
"It’s impossible not to know. Who in the world doesn’t know their grandfather’s name?" Zhu Yongfu said helplessly.
"I don’t know," Zhu Jinfu said directly. "I only know everyone calls me Grandpa Gen. I don’t know my full name."
Zhu Yongfu glared at Zhu Jinfu, who quickly added, "I really don’t know, Brother. I’m not lying to you about this."
"The problem is that the little divine doctor knows she has a grandfather. And the information she gave us says her grandfather’s name is not Zhu Shenfu. That’s why I’m surprised," Zhu Yongfu explained. she then asked Zhu Jinfu, "Have there been any news from the Sicheng Town Zhu family recently?"
"Very little news from there," Zhu Jinfu answered honestly. "As you know, for some reason, information from Sicheng Town has always been blocked. It’s really hard for us to get news from there."
"If that’s true, could there be news about Zhu Shunyao being adopted out?" Zhu Yongfu asked.
Zhu Jinfu thought for a moment. "At least I haven’t heard such rumors. And given Zhu Shunyao’s personality, he wouldn’t agree to be adopted out anyway."
"Oh? Explain," Zhu Yongfu said, gesturing for him to continue.
Zhu Jinfu pondered and said, "Zhu Shunyao is the regional steward of Azure Sovereign Qingdi Group. His status makes him unsuitable to be adopted by anyone. No matter which branch he joined, other branches would object. Not to mention, Zhu Shunyao has three children: the eldest daughter married Taishu Yuanxiang, the Seventh Master of Taishu Industry; the second daughter is the little divine doctor; and the youngest son is the National Top Scholar. In this situation, he must remain an independent branch. Adoption is absolutely impossible."
Zhu Yongfu nodded in agreement with Zhu Jinfu’s words. "You are right. Zhu Shunyao certainly cannot be adopted out."
Her original guess that they were adopted out was based on Zhu Yanyi not knowing Zhu Shenfu. Now, the problem returned to the starting point. "But if that’s the case, how could Zhu Yanyi not know that Zhu Shenfu is her grandfather’s name?"