Chapter 689: The Treasure Worthy of a Nation

He would chat patiently with Ji Yingjie, mainly because she was Shi Youxuan's elder, and she held no malice toward them.

But keeping them detained here was absolutely out of the question.

Although Ji Yingjie's attitude was decent, the certainty in her tone allowed for no rebuttal: "Have I not made myself clear enough? Fine, then I'll be more blunt. I intend to pass the position of Clan Leader to Xuanxuan. You two don't need to separate; you can govern the Ji Family together."

"Heh."

Sheng Hanyu was so angry he laughed.

This woman was too self-righteous.

"Xuanxuan will not agree to this; don't be wishful thinking."

Ji Yingjie: "She doesn't agree because she doesn't know how much wealth the Ji Family possesses. If she knew the Ji Family's foundation, she would likely wake up laughing from her dreams."

Sheng Hanyu: "She doesn't care for it, and neither will I."

Ji Yingjie: "No one can oppose what I decide. This matter is settled."

Sheng Hanyu was disdainful and scoffed: "In your dreams!"

The conversation began on friendly terms and ended in a sour breakup.

Two days passed.

The three of them still refused to yield. The lobbyists sent over by Ji Yingjie came in wave after wave, but without exception, they were all scolded away by Shi Youxuan.

She was unhappy and very angry.

No good deed goes unpunished.

The story of Master Dongguo and the wolf was playing out on her again and again!

First, it was the family of three, the Bai Lang.

Then, it was Ji Yingjie.

All of them were harmless on the surface but actually treacherous.

The last group of people who were scolded away knelt before Ji Yingjie and apologized: "I'm sorry, Clan Leader, your subordinates are incompetent and failed to persuade the young lady to change her mind."

"Get up, I don't blame you."

"Cough, cough..."

Ji Yingjie's face was pale, and she looked unsteady even while sitting.

Although she had woken up, she felt her body was far worse than before, as if she could run out of oil and die at any moment.

That was why she was so desperate to appoint an Heir for the Ji Family.

The people sent to lobby had all been scolded away; the only person who might be useful left was Nianyin.

But Nianyin had no desire to go at all. She locked herself in her room, washing her face with tears all day, burning incense and praying, chanting scriptures for Feiying!

She made a vow before the Buddha to eat a vegetarian diet for three years to observe mourning for Feiying!

She ate vegetarian because Feiying had committed too many sins while alive; Nianyin hoped that by eating vegetarian, she could wash away his sins so he could be a good person in his next life.

She observed mourning not just because Feiying died saving her.

It was because after he died, she realized that the man had unknowingly walked into her heart and become an eternal pain.

It was impossible to shake off, and she dreamed of him every night.

Ji Yingjie could not bear to disturb her.

She had to do it herself.

She did not give up and went to the Prison again to see her niece.

Shi Youxuan turned her back as usual and ignored her completely.

She did not mind; her subordinates laid a thick fur cushion on the chair to make her sit more comfortably.

She then covered her legs with a thick wool blanket and finally placed a constant-temperature electric heating pad on her legs to keep her warm.

The weather outside was not cold.

Although it was damp here, it was not cold enough to warrant this.

"Xuanxuan, can we have a calm talk? If you are still not prepared to stay after this conversation ends, I will let you go."

Shi Youxuan turned around and asked: "Is your word good?"

Ji Yingjie: "The women of the Ji Family all keep their word. If you feel it's necessary, I can swear on my spirit tablet."

Shi Youxuan:...

She complained inwardly: You're alive and well, and you're swearing on your spirit tablet? Are you sick?

She wanted to say it wasn't necessary.

But the words changed to: "Fine."

Ji Yingjie started by dropping a bombshell: "Xuanxuan, there is a great secret in that Swamp. Do you know what it is?"

Shi Youxuan: "I know. There is advanced technological equipment inside that helps you play god and act like ghosts."

Ji Yingjie:...

Fine.

Although what she said didn't sound good, it couldn't be called wrong.

She said: "You are very smart, then guess again: what are we trying to achieve by going to such great lengths to play god?"

"The devil knows what you're after. Anyway, I don't want anything from you. I just want to go home. At home, there are parents-in-law who care about me, a pair of lovely children, and friends. Let us go; returning evil for good is not something a woman of the Ji Family should do."

It wasn't that Shi Youxuan couldn't guess that a great secret was buried in the Underground Castle; she just didn't want to know that secret.

To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.

If she didn't know the secret, they wouldn't let her go anyway; she feared that once she knew the Ji Family's secret, Ji Yingjie would have even more reason to detain her.

Ji Yingjie saw through her niece's thoughts and praised her inwardly as a woman of great wisdom; she was worthy of being her sister's child, exactly the same as her sister back then.

Even if she didn't want to know, Ji Yingjie was going to tell her!

"The Underground Castle is actually a treasure vault, containing the Treasure accumulated by successive Clan Leaders of the Ji Family. Any single item taken from that wealth would be worth a fortune. Countless people want to obtain the Ji Family's Treasure and are drooling with greed..."

When Ji Yingjie began to speak, she covered her ears with her hands, and later simply shouted: "I'm not listening, I'm not listening! Don't say any more. I can't hear anything, and you haven't said anything."

Ji Yingjie: "Xuanxuan, such a large sum of money, aren't you tempted?"

Shi Youxuan: "I'm not tempted. My husband and I don't spend much, and besides, we can both earn money; we don't need to rely on others."

Ji Yingjie: "Didn't you say you couldn't hear anything?"

Shi Youxuan:...

She had been tricked.

Hmph!

Usually, she was the one setting traps for others, yet now she had actually been calculated by Ji Yingjie.

She changed the subject: "Are you very cold? You're wearing so much."

Shi Youxuan glanced at the temperature and humidity gauge hanging on the wall—twenty-eight degrees Celsius above zero.

Ji Yingjie was wearing a full-length fur cloak that reached her ankles, and a pair of thick, cotton-lined leather boots on her feet!

With this attire, she wouldn't even be cold in twenty-eight degrees below zero amidst heavy snowfall.

Yet she was still sitting on a cushion and covered with a blanket, not even afraid of getting heatstroke.

Ji Yingjie smiled faintly, her tone light and indifferent, as if she were talking about someone else's affairs: "Yes, it is very cold. Although I have woken up, the toxins in my body are too deep; I fear even an immortal would find it hard to save me."

"Xuanxuan, I won't live much longer. Before I close my eyes, I want to return the position of Clan Leader to you all, so that I can rest in peace in the afterlife."

Shi Youxuan:...

She did not want to be the Clan Leader, and she knew Wan'er was not willing either.

Since neither of them was willing, it was better to be blunt: "Aunt, you should find someone else suitable in the Clan to be the Clan Leader. Neither Wan'er nor I will stay."

"Why?"

Why? Wasn't it obvious?

They had family, children, careers, and friends.

Their circles were all outside; it was impossible for them to move everything here, and impossible for the Ji Family to move everything out!

But Ji Yingjie would not accept such reasons, nor could she understand them.

She felt that they could just bring their children and men back. Friends? Unnecessary; the women of the Ji Family did not need outsiders as friends.

Outsiders all had ill intentions and were all coveting the Ji Family's wealth.

As for parents-in-law?

What the hell was that?

The women of the Ji Family only recognized their own maternal clan; they could even ignore their own fathers, so why bother with parents-in-law?

Could a man's parents even be called relatives?

This conflict of values was simply irreconcilable.

It was precisely because she thought of this that Shi Youxuan refused no matter what.

She suggested appointing Nianyin as the candidate for Successor.

Nianyin was loyal to the Ji Family, capable, intelligent, and talented.

No matter how one looked at it, she was very suitable.

But Ji Yingjie disagreed: "No, Nianyin does not have noble blood. If she becomes the Clan Leader, she won't be able to command respect." Although Nianyin was also a member of the Ji Family, her bloodline was meant for guarding the Ji Family, not for managing it.

The reason this mysterious, ancient Clan had been able to endure throughout the long river of history was precisely because of its strict bloodline inheritance!