Chapter 1678: Giving Up Is Liberation

He told the butler to go out and distribute the rice to everyone; he was not hungry!

The butler sighed and went out.

Zhu Qingrui knew that he was now at a dead end, with no possibility of a comeback.

Death was not terrifying to him; he was simply unwilling to accept it, as his revenge had not yet been exacted.

He had been able to hold on until now not because he was reluctant to part with this shell that he himself found incomparably repulsive, but because he was unwilling to give up!

He was unwilling to accept that despite his abundance of talent, he had failed repeatedly; clearly, his schemes could be called perfect, so how could he have lost so thoroughly?

But now he had let go; in a situation of absolute hopelessness, he had suddenly seen the light.

He had been wrong from the very beginning!

Wrong in a way that was outrageous.

All of this was self-inflicted; he could blame no one else. If he could have let go of his hatred, there would not have been so many things that followed.

It was not that Shi Youxuan had never given him a chance; it was that he himself did not want it and gave it up.

Shi Youxuan had not only given him a chance, but she had also given his brother a chance, yet both brothers had abandoned such opportunities and chosen to resist.

Was it really just for the sake of revenge?

He was suddenly calm now, beginning to reflect on his life.

To others, of course, he said it was for revenge, and he even said as much to the person closest to him, his butler, but what he truly thought in his heart, only he himself knew.

Of course it was not just revenge; there was also ambition.

He wanted to be the true Head of the Family of the Zhu Family, to recreate the former glory of the Zhu Family; he wanted to be high above, respected by all people.

He had lived enough of those days in his childhood that could not see the light, and the status of an illegitimate son; he wanted to walk in front of people, upright and bright...

But then?

All of this was over, and this life was also over.

This was fine, too; he was finally liberated.

He no longer needed to rack his brains to scheme against others, nor did he need to be chased everywhere like a street rat!

He called the butler in, not letting him close the door, nor letting him come near, just having him stand guard at the entrance.

With his only remaining finger, Zhu Qingrui removed his mask, revealing a face that was crisscrossed with scars and terrifyingly hideous!

The butler had a very bad premonition, and he asked urgently, "Head of the Family, what do you want to do? You must not do anything foolish. We have walked through so many hardships and difficulties, should we worry about this small difficulty now?"

Zhu Qingrui smiled, a smile from the bottom of his heart.

The smile made his face look not so hideous and terrifying, possessing a beauty of liberation.

He said to the butler, "Foster father, although you and I have a master-servant relationship, I grew up watching you, and your position in my heart is more important than my father's..."

"Head of the Family, please do not say that, this old servant is terrified!"

Zhu Qingrui said, "Let me finish; I have a few things to entrust to you."

"I am leaving; I am going alone. You all must live well; do not think about revenge. If I had not sought revenge, I would not have ended up at this step."

"Death is a liberation for me. I no longer have to live in fear and pain all day long. Nianyin can no longer threaten me, nor can she control me."

He suddenly burst into loud laughter, laughing heartily, laughing so hard that the dentures in his mouth fell out.

How ridiculous; when will the cycle of vengeance end? Such a simple truth, and he had only just realized it now.

"Head of the Family, Head of the Family, do not think like this. You must live; only by living will there be every possibility. Have you forgotten? These are the words you said to this old servant..."

The butler wept bitterly, trying to persuade the Head of the Family, even though he knew the hope was slim.

Zhu Qingrui left him with his final words: "You must have a good end; forget me, forget the Zhu Family."

After speaking, he had no more breath, and soon, black poisonous blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

This way of dying was the final dignity he reserved for himself.

The butler and several trusted aides were preparing to bury him in the courtyard; the pit had just been dug when, with a "Bang," the door was kicked open, and Nianyin rushed in with people.

"Take them."

At Nianyin's command, before the few people could react, they were disarmed.

She discovered that Zhu Qingrui was dead and stamped her feet in regret.

"Damn it, how could you just die like this? I still arrived a step too late!"

She was unwilling to accept it and personally verified his identity; the last shred of hope was gone, and the person who died was indeed Zhu Qingrui.

The butler and the others cursed Nianyin angrily, but they were tied up tightly and their mouths were sealed with tape, so they could no longer curse, unable to make any sound, and could only glare at her in anger!

"What are you glaring at? Do you believe I will gouge out your eyeballs and make you running dogs wish you were dead!"

Nianyin was ruthless and kept her word; she said it, and she was truly prepared to do it.

But she did not succeed; Black Widow also rushed in from the outside with people and stopped her!

"No, you are a foreigner; you cannot do whatever you want on the soil of L Country. These people are citizens of L Country and should be handed over to me."

Black Widow had just returned to L Country, not even a week ago.

She was wearing a military uniform and was still stunningly beautiful.

Black Widow was originally a subordinate of Liu Kai. With Liu Kai coming out of retirement to fully support Qi Shishi, and Black Widow being Qi Shishi's "sister-in-law," it was not difficult to get her to return to the country to help; almost as soon as they made contact, she agreed.

However, one mountain cannot hold two tigers, unless one is male and one is female.

From the first moment Nianyin saw Black Widow, the two of them had looked at each other with displeasure.

Now that Black Widow had come to stir up trouble, Nianyin naturally disagreed: "Get lost. Don't use a chicken feather as an arrow; don't force me to deal with you as well."

"I'm afraid of you? This lady wasn't scared into growing up!"

Both women had fiery tempers, and they started fighting as they spoke.

Fortunately, there was still a final shred of restraint; it was only a physical fight, and no weapons were used.

The two fought for a long time without a winner!

In the end, both sides, panting for breath, indicated that they would stop fighting and sit down to negotiate.

Black Widow did not have a good impression of Zhu Qingrui either; besides, the man was already dead, and Zhu Qingrui's corpse had no value to her whatsoever.

However, when she arrived, the order she received was to capture him alive!

Since a living Zhu Qingrui could not be brought back, she would take his subordinates back instead, which would also fulfill her mission.

Nianyin did not agree at first, but since she hadn't won the fight, she agreed; anyway, she wasn't interested in those few people, so they could take them if they wanted.

She ordered her men to pour gasoline on Zhu Qingrui's corpse and burn it on the spot.

As the blazing fire lit up, she received a call from Mother.

Upon learning that Zhu Qingrui was dead, Ji Yingjie sighed and said, "Give him a proper burial, and invite some monks to chant sutras for his deliverance; I hope he can be reborn into a good life in his next incarnation and start over as a new person."

"Mother, are you just going to let him off like this? He is the culprit who caused our Ji Family's thousand-year foundation to be destroyed in one fell swoop."

Ji Yingjie said, "That is all in the past. Since the matter is already over, you should not keep dwelling on it; just let it go. The man is already dead, so let it be."

Although Nianyin was not very willing, she had developed the good habit of obeying Mother implicitly over the years; since Mother had said so, she had to comply.

The Wife Always Wants to Anger Me