Chapter 2318

The death of Old Zhang, the scrap collector, was not a major incident in itself. However, Zhu Yanyi was curious about why Zhang Yanhong had targeted her.

"What is Zhang Yanhong thinking?" Zhu Yanyi frowned slightly.

Yan Aohan said, "I have asked Pei Tiandu to investigate. We will likely get some results soon. However, I suspect that since Old Zhang died by Zhang Yanhong's hand, she must have a purpose. But what that purpose is, I do not know."

Zhu Yanyi snorted. "Regardless of the purpose, we must first investigate if it concerns us. If it does not, we will uphold justice. If it does, honestly, I am not someone who speaks softly."

"Of course. Don't forget your husband is no pushover either. So there is no need to worry about that." Yan Aohan gently pinched Zhu Yanyi's cheek.

Since the truth was known, Old Zhang's soul proceeded with the normal process of becoming a ghost. Yan Aohan and Zhu Yanyi then returned to the real world.

They did not reveal the truth they had learned. Some things they knew, but they still needed evidence from the real world. This evidence depended on Pei Tiandu.

Pei Tiandu spent three days. On the tenth day of the first lunar month, she brought a file to Yan Aohan and Zhu Yanyi.

After reading the file, Yan Aohan said calmly, "How much of what Zhang Yanhong said do you believe is true?"

The file stated that Zhang Yanhong had surrendered. She claimed she killed Old Zhang because, although she was her adoptive father, she had attempted to make improper advances toward her. Enraged, she killed her. However, how much of this was true was hard to guess.

Zhu Yanyi read it and sneered. "It is all nonsense. Old Zhang was eccentric, but she would never do such a thing. I still remember when she carried Zhang Yanhong to seek medical help because she had chickenpox. She had deep paternal love for her."

Yan Aohan nodded. "It seems Zhang Yanhong has secrets, just as we suspected."

Zhu Yanyi said, "Why don't we visit Zhang Yanhong? Honestly, I haven't used the Truth Powder in a long time. Perhaps we should try it now?"

Seeing Zhu Yanyi eager to join the fun, Yan Aohan did not stop her. She nodded and said, "If that is the case, let us go together."

The couple greeted Zhu Shunyao and the others, then left with Pei Tiandu. When they saw Zhang Yanhong again, her expression was poor. Her face was pale, and she seemed lonely in the hospital ward.

However, Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan never believed such a Zhang Yanhong was harmless.

"Sister Ani, Brother-in-law, hello." Zhang Yanhong looked very obedient.

Zhu Yanyi looked at Zhang Yanhong. "Yanhong, I heard you surrendered?"

"Yes, I killed my father." Zhang Yanhong seemed sad. "My father had no wife and wanted me to be his wife. I refused. He wanted a de facto marriage, so I resisted."

Zhu Yanyi snorted. "Zhang Yanhong, are you sure Uncle Zhang wanted to force you, when you were fifteen days pregnant?"

"What do you mean, I am pregnant?" Zhang Yanhong was slightly stunned.

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "You are currently fifteen days pregnant. Rest assured, with my medical skills, there will be no error. As for whether this child is Old Zhang's, it is very easy to verify. We will notify the forensic team to extract and freeze Old Zhang's DNA. When your child is three months old, we can use remote sampling for DNA comparison. If the child is Old Zhang's, then what you said is true, and the law will consider your situation. If it is false, then the result… hehe. I need not say more." Zhu Yanyi did not finish, but she believed Zhang Yanhong understood her meaning.

Zhang Yanhong's face looked particularly bad. She looked at Zhu Yanyi. "I cannot keep this child. Sister Ani, please prescribe me some medicine."

"A fetus is a living being. I will not casually destroy a life. Rest assured, even if you give birth later, as long as the child is Old Zhang's, it will still be time to handle it at the hospital after three months. Even at seven months, induction is possible. So rest assured, there will be no problem for you."

Zhu Yanyi's words made Zhang Yanhong's heart skip a beat. She could not keep this child. If she did, she would lose her life.

Zhu Yanyi glanced at Zhang Yanhong. "Rest assured, I will not let you come to harm. At least for three months, I will ensure you and your child are safe. If you intentionally abort the child before the DNA test, it shows you are guilty. That means you intentionally killed Old Zhang. Intentional homicide is no joke."

Zhang Yanhong naturally knew that intentional homicide and killing for self-defense had completely different sentencing standards. However, she really could not keep this child. Thinking of the cruelty of the Masked Man, if she knew she was pregnant, she would definitely kill her. She was merely a pawn.

"Sister Ani, I really cannot keep this child." Zhang Yanhong said.

"I know. That is why I only protect you for three months. After three months, once the relationship between the child and Old Zhang is confirmed, how you handle it is your business." Zhu Yanyi said directly.

The problem was that Zhang Yanhong absolutely could not let the child undergo DNA comparison with Old Zhang, because it was not Old Zhang's child. "This child is not Old Zhang's."

"Really? You said Old Zhang made improper advances. Your child is only fifteen days old. During this time, the person who contacted you the most was Old Zhang. Could this child be Shi Xiong's? I remember Shi Xiong was indeed very persistent with you half a month ago." Zhu Yanyi looked confused.

"No, it is not Shi Xiong's." Zhang Yanhong answered with difficulty. This matter had reached a point where she did not know how to handle it. Now, she realized that the situation was contrary to what she had arranged. She had never expected to be pregnant. This child was a flaw. If she had known she was pregnant, she would never have surrendered.

"That is strange. If it is not Old Zhang's, and not Shi Xiong's, could you be the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary? You can get pregnant without a man's help. How amazing." Zhu Yanyi looked admiring.

Zhang Yanhong forced a smile. "No, this child is my beloved man's."

"If it is your beloved man's, why do you not want this child? This makes me even more confused." Zhu Yanyi seemed to be playing a game of 'Ten Thousand Whys,' asking every possible question.

Zhang Yanhong gritted her teeth. "My beloved man cannot easily appear in public. Therefore, she absolutely does not want me to be pregnant."

"Did you become a mistress?" Zhu Yanyi asked again.

"No." Zhang Yanhong actually did not know if she was a mistress. With the Masked Man's ability and power, what woman did she not want? She was probably just one of them.

"If it is not a mistress, it is easier to solve. Just let her admit it." Zhu Yanyi was rarely enthusiastic.

Zhang Yanhong looked at Zhu Yanyi. After a while, she said, "Sister Ani, not everyone is as lucky as you. You have your husband accompanying you personally. Even if you do not hold a wedding, you do not worry about no one acknowledging the child. My situation is completely different from yours."

Zhu Yanyi tilted her head and looked at Zhang Yanhong. "Honestly, I do not agree with what you said. If you decide you are not lucky, why follow a man so blindly? Are you not degrading yourself?"

"Yes, I am degrading myself, but I have no choice. With my family's conditions, if I do not seize this opportunity, I do not know who I will end up with in the future. I am human too. I also hope to succeed. So I naturally do not want to stay in this countryside. Selling myself is wrong, but as long as she can help me realize my wishes, it does not matter if I sell myself a few more times." Zhang Yanhong did not know what else to say. The Masked Man could not be mentioned. It was better to lie and say she had fallen.

Zhu Yanyi looked at Zhang Yanhong and shook her head slightly. Zhang Yanhong's performance was wonderful. If someone who could not see through people were here, Zhang Yanhong's acting could definitely make her a top-tier movie queen. But acting is just acting. It is ultimately superficial. So Zhu Yanyi naturally saw through it, but she also admired Zhang Yanhong. She was only nineteen years old. Her life acting skills were so good. If she entered the entertainment circle, she might succeed.

"Zhang Yanhong, it is a pity you do not go into the entertainment circle." Zhu Yanyi said seriously.

Zhang Yanhong was startled and smiled awkwardly. "What do you mean? What do you mean it is a pity I do not enter the entertainment circle?"

"Because you are too good at acting." Zhu Yanyi looked at Zhang Yanhong calmly. "Honestly, your acting skills can definitely compare with a movie queen. But acting is just acting. It is not real. So no matter how well you act, it is useless, because it is just acting."

Zhang Yanhong bit her red lips and looked at Zhu Yanyi. "Sister Ani, I do not understand your words."

"You do not need to understand. Just listen and remember." Zhu Yanyi was straightforward. "A bowl of Mapo Tofu took the life of the adoptive father who raised you for nineteen years. Do you not feel shocked? Do you not feel guilty when you sleep every night?

Animals know how to repay their parents. But you? You are probably worse than animals. I only feel sorry for your adoptive father. He devoted his life to you. He worked hard every day, rising early and sleeping late, just to give you a good future. But what is the result? He does not know if you have a good future. You will definitely go to prison."

After speaking, Zhu Yanyi pulled Yan Aohan and prepared to leave. "Actually, I came to see you just to look at you. But now your appearance makes me understand that people like you are not worth looking at. I will not believe a single word you say."

After walking a few steps, she seemed to remember something. "The so-called Masked Man does not dare to confront me directly yet. However, what role you play in this, honestly, I am quite curious. But, this curiosity is not interesting today."

Without caring about Zhang Yanhong's expression, Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan left hand in hand.

As soon as Zhu Yanyi left, Zhang Yanhong collapsed to the ground. Zhu Yanyi knew. She knew about the Masked Man. Did she know about her relationship with the Masked Man? No. If people knew she intentionally killed Old Zhang, she would probably not be able to live here anymore.

In fact, even if it was manslaughter, she could not live here in the short term. However, she was too confident in the Masked Man's ability. She thought that with the Masked Man, she did not need to worry about anything. Unfortunately, the Masked Man was not so willing to exert effort for someone. Just like Zhang Yanhong now, even though they had a special relationship, Zhang Yanhong was merely a toy in her eyes. So Zhang Yanhong's life or death had nothing to do with her.

"Why did you not use the Truth Powder?" Yan Aohan asked Zhu Yanyi as they left the hospital.

Zhu Yanyi said, "No need to waste it. Looking at her like this, I know she is definitely someone's pawn. Even if we know who is behind her, so what? What she can know is limited.

If she were a very high-level pawn, she would not have poisoned Old Zhang. Even if she wanted to, it would be a broken move, and someone on that side would stop her.

Since no one stopped her now, it means she is basically a discarded pawn. For such a person, using the Truth Powder will not yield many answers. Besides, do you not know? She already said who is behind her, didn't she?"

"You suspect the Masked Man?" Yan Aohan naturally understood the meaning in Zhu Yanyi's words.

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "If it were not the Masked Man, how would she know about the Masked Man? I never believe in coincidences. The only deduction is that she and the Masked Man must know each other. I do not know the nature of this relationship, but I can confirm one thing: the flesh in her belly is likely related to the Masked Man or people around her.

As a discarded pawn, she will not know too much about the Masked Man. Since we know she will not know too much, why waste our resources? We only need to provide evidence of her intentional homicide."

Zhu Yanyi paused and continued, "Moreover, regardless of whether she is related to or knows the Masked Man or people around her, she is a discarded pawn. A destined discarded pawn. Why should we spend too much mind on her?"

Zhu Yanyi's attitude of directly letting go of Zhang Yanhong made Yan Aohan laugh. "What you say makes sense. But after visiting Zhang Yanhong today, are you not worried that Zhang Yanhong will cling to you?"

"I gave her a chance in the ward. If she truly had remorse, she would have told us many things. In that case, I would still help a little. After all, even if we are not of the same clan, we are still from the same village."