"Does the Sleeping Dragon still have descendants?" Zhu Yanyi asked with curiosity.
She did not mean the direct bloodline of Zhuge Kongming, but the inheritance of the wise bloodline.
"Yes, we do," Old He said. "But our bloodline here is very thin. If we truly had the Sleeping Dragon’s bloodline, we wouldn’t be in such a bad state. We would have seen through Wang Xiuliang long ago."
Zhu Yanyi laughed at this. "What does that have to do with anything? So much time has passed. Talking about this now is meaningless."
"How is it meaningless? If we had the Sleeping Dragon’s bloodline, we could see through Wang Xiuliang’s hypocritical nature just by looking at his face. Then A-Tu wouldn’t have suffered," Old He insisted firmly.
Zhu Yanyi said, "Actually, you can’t blame A-Tu. After all, A-Tu and Wang Xiuliang grew up together. Uncle She, would you suspect a bare-chested brother you grew up with?"
Old He was speechless. He was only complaining slightly. Since he wasn’t the one involved, it wasn’t his place to question everything. But he couldn’t deny that he felt a bit depressed in his heart.
Zhu Yanyi smiled lightly. "Besides, it’s not too late to see clearly now. But I’m curious. Even if you saw through her, what would you do? Call the police?"
"Calling the police is useless," Old He knew this very well. "We have no proof that Liangzi did this. We can’t convict him just based on A-Tu’s words. That might even be seen as a false accusation."
Old He sighed helplessly.
Zhu Yanyi smiled lightly. "Actually, you can let A-Tu test Wang Xiuliang. In the next couple of days, Uncle She, you can have people spread the news about A-Tu’s family situation. Then, have people watch Wang Xiuliang to see how she reacts.
If he is the one, he will absolutely not allow himself to fail. Because that would mean his life is imperfect. People with twisted psychology cannot tolerate this. So, he will definitely try to find trouble with A-Tu again. Then, you can catch him in the act."
Old She listened to Zhu Yanyi’s idea, pondered for a moment, and then nodded. "Girl, you are right. We can indeed do this. But Wang Xiuliang has gone to Guang City. I don’t know when she will return."
Zhu Yanyi chuckled. "I was just saying it casually. How to do it specifically is up to you and A-Tu to discuss. I don’t understand these things."
"That is enough. Often, those involved are confused, while bystanders see clearly. Your reminder helps me know what to do. That is enough," Old He said with a smile, satisfied in his heart.
Zhu Yanyi smiled slightly. Was she a bystander? No, she did not act as a bystander. She was just trying every way to make herself the fisherman.
Wang Xiuliang’s gu poison was ordinary, but for an ordinary farmer to possess such gu poison was unusual. Therefore, there must be some unexpected inside story. Also, why did she only target A-Tu? This was another question. Zhu Yanyi did not have the answers yet, but it did not stop her from making arrangements.
Yan Aohan knew her intention when Zhu Yanyi spoke. He smiled slightly without saying anything, put down his bowl, and said, "Uncle She, you can rest after lunch. We will go out around two o’clock."
"Okay," Old He nodded. Looking at the snow outside, he thought of something and said, "We still have some honey tangerines picked from the mountain a while ago. They are small but very sweet. Since we have nothing to do, let’s sit around the heated brick bed, roast by the fire, peel tangerines, and chat."
"Great," Zhu Yanyi said seriously. "Actually, I am curious about your life here. When the Sleeping Dragon let you hide from the world, there was no need to change your surname completely. Aren’t you afraid that other descendants of Kongming won’t be able to find you?"
Old He pondered for a moment before saying, "Naturally, we were worried. But our ancestors had no choice. If they didn’t hide, it would be disastrous if discovered. Besides, since we changed, there is naturally a unique way to contact us. As long as they can find their way here, they will definitely find us. Then we can use special methods to connect."
"Indeed, people from a family with deep heritage," Zhu Yanyi admired. "I didn’t expect you to have special contact methods."
Zhu Yanyi recalled in her mind. She didn’t remember the Zhu family leaving any special methods. So, this situation could only be explained in two ways: either the ancestors lost the special contact method, or they forgot to pass it down. Or, there was no special contact method at all.
If it was the first case, Zhu Yanyi shook her head silently. It was unlikely. Although the Zhu family was only a branch, if there really was a contact method, it would be hidden, never forgotten or withheld. So, was this contact method with the Zhu family in Zhu City?
Zhu Yanyi thought this possibility might exist, but it was small. Regardless, she would still contact them to ask. If there wasn’t one, it meant Old She was lying. Then, why would Old She lie?
This was probably the truth. Or perhaps, this hid the truth that others couldn’t imagine.
Zhu Yanyi’s thoughts kept turning. Old She went inside and brought out a basket of honey tangerines. Each tangerine looked plump, showing they were very juicy.
Zhu Yanyi picked one up. The honey tangerine was very red, with shiny red skin. This was a protective oil sheen produced by the plant itself. Zhu Yanyi peeled the honey tangerine, smelled it, and said, "It is indeed fragrant."
"That’s right. This is a wild honey tangerine from here. We originally wanted to graft these tangerine trees, but we tried many ways and failed. So now, we can only pick them from the mountains when they are ripe. Every household here prepares these wild honey tangerines to enjoy during the New Year. Sometimes we also make tangerine jam."
Old He laughed heartily and invited everyone to eat.
Zhu Yanyi broke off a segment and put it in her mouth. It felt a bit cool, but there was a faint fragrance that made her want to eat another segment.
Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. This wasn’t like her personality. Although she was immune to resisting delicious food, she had never liked something this much before.