Chapter 1338

Taishu Yuanxiang stepped aside to make a phone call. Although he claimed his influence was primarily in the North, every major figure maintained hidden networks elsewhere, and he was no exception. He did not know the specific grievances between the Zhu family of Zhushi and Zhu Shunyao’s branch, but he could hear that Zhu Shunyao held a deep dislike for the villains of the Zhushi branch. Since his father-in-law disliked them, he needed to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Zhu Yanyi, however, smiled upon hearing the news. "Do they still refuse to give up?"

Zhu Shunyao shrugged. "I’m not sure." He added, "Anyway, it’s better to be careful."

Zhu Zhibin entered, holding a rice cake ball in his hand, clearly having just returned from the rice cake workshop. He announced loudly, "Father, many people are making rice cakes recently. I checked the schedule with them. We are scheduled for the morning of the day after tomorrow, around seven o’clock. We will be the first batch."

"Good," Zhu Shunyao nodded. With the rice cake making settled, they could begin preparing other New Year gifts.

Zhu Shunyao was no longer short of money, so the New Year gifts for each branch were quite generous. However, while delivering the gifts, Aunt Qiao shared a piece of news: Zhu Xiangyao had gone missing.

"Zhu Xiangyao is missing? Wasn’t she broken in four places and sent to a psychiatric hospital? How could she disappear from there?" Zhu Yanyi couldn’t understand. "She is essentially useless now. Who would want a useless person?"

Yan Aohan said from the side, "We don’t know who took him yet. However, based on some fragmented clues, I suspect this is connected to the Zhu family of Zhushi."

Zhu Yanyi sneered. "Do they really think that because they have some distant relation to our Gratitude Village Zhu family, I won’t wipe them out completely?"

Yan Aohan smiled gently and comforted her, "We will likely know the truth soon. However, they have planned to come here on the third day of the first lunar month. I fear their intentions are not good."

"If they had good intentions, they wouldn’t bother disturbing us," Zhu Yanyi said coldly. "They can play their moves, but whether I respond depends on my mood. Do they really think the Zhushi Zhu family is destined by heaven?"

She decided she needed a way to deal with this Zhu family properly. No, she needed to handle them.

"I heard a legend," Taishu Yuanxiang said, as if remembering something.

"What?" Zhu Yanli looked at him from the side. "Stop being mysterious. Tell us quickly. What is it?"

Taishu Yuanxiang smiled helplessly and explained, "You just mentioned that the Zhushi Zhu family claims to be descendants of Zhuge Liang, right?"

Since Taishu Yuanxiang was unaware of the details regarding the Zhushi branch, Zhu Yanli had quietly explained the feud between their families to him earlier.

"There is such a legend, but what does it have to do with us?" Zhu Yanyi said indifferently. "I only share the surname Zhu. I never considered myself a descendant of Zhuge Liang."

Taishu Yuanxiang waved his hands hurriedly. "It’s not that. The legend says that Zhuge Liang once predicted the fall of Shu Han. He told Liu Bei about this. Before Liu Bei died, he gave Zhuge Liang a token representing the emperor’s authority. It is said this token was related to the treasures for the restoration of the Liu Han dynasty. Liu Bei also stated that if the Liu descendants were unworthy, immoral, or incompetent, the Zhuge family could take their place, and he allowed the Zhuge family to use these treasures as startup capital."

Everyone listened as Taishu Yuanxiang continued.

"Perhaps moved by Liu Bei’s trust, Zhuge Liang tried to save Shu Han, even though he knew Liu Shan lacked imperial talent. Unfortunately, Shu Han eventually fell, and Zhuge Liang died because he had窥探 (peered into) too much of heaven’s secrets.

After Zhuge Liang’s death, many people searched for this token. However, Zhuge Liang left a letter. The content was: 'Descendants of Zhuge, scattered in two generations. To rise again, two souls must appear.'"

While others could only understand the first three sentences, Zhu Yanyi’s heart skipped a beat. She was a soul reborn in two lives. Could Zhuge Liang have predicted her rebirth thousands of years ago?

Yan Aohan gently squeezed Zhu Yanyi’s hand. Suppressing her doubts, Zhu Yanyi glanced at him. He smiled tenderly. "No matter what this is, the Zhushi Zhu family has nothing to do with our Gratitude Village Zhu family. If they come to scheme against us, we will ensure they never return."

A hint of killing intent rose in Yan Aohan’s heart. How could he allow others to scheme against the treasure he carefully protected? If the Zhushi Zhu family had such thoughts, he would destroy them. He had even destroyed protective clans; a mere branch like the Zhushi family could be wiped out by him just as easily.

Zhu Yanyi smiled lightly and said, "I think it is necessary to let the Zhushi Zhu family know my bottom line. Since they are coming, let them come. Once they arrive, they will make good guests."

Zhu Yanyi was no longer the soft-hearted person she used to be. After killing someone once, she realized that killing was not terrifying. No wonder the profession of assassin existed. It was no different from a butcher; one killed people, the other slaughtered pigs.

Taishu Yuanxiang detected the killing intent in Zhu Yanyi’s calm tone. It seemed she was not as kind as she appeared on the surface.

She had previously wondered why Yan Aohan liked a doctor. Was it just because of her medical skills? Now she understood. Her sister-in-law and her wife were two completely different types of people.

His wife was gentle inside and out. This gentleness was like sunlight to him, a man who had once wandered in the darkness. It was not easy for someone like him to grasp a ray of sunlight, so he had fallen for Zhu Yanli the moment he met her.

Yan Aohan, however, was someone who carried his own light. Such a person needed a partner who also possessed light. Zhu Yanyi was clearly such a person, which was why they were a match.

Not wanting Zhu Yanyi to overthink, Yan Aohan smiled lightly. "It’s almost New Year. Why keep these people in mind?"

"Exactly. Ignore them. Tomorrow morning, we make rice cakes. Who wants to go together?" Zhu Shunyao asked with a smile.

"I’ll go," Zhu Yanyi said. "I won’t eat breakfast. I’ll just wait for the rice cake flowers."

"Good. I’ll prepare various fillings for you tomorrow morning. Then wait for Ani to bring the rice cake flowers and rice cake balls over," Xie Xinlian said with a smile.

"I won’t go. I’ve been quite sleepy lately," Zhu Yanli said. Her pregnancy was going well.