Chapter 516: Treasures in the Ancestral Hall
"They ended up together in the end, on the sixth day of the first lunar month in the third year after they moved to the village. Although it was your aunt getting married, the man knew our village's customs and offered to hold the wedding banquet here first. Afterwards, they would go back and have another banquet with their relatives and friends on their side."
Grandpa Wu paused at this point, his expression turning gloomy.
Wu Chi noticed his grandfather's unusual behavior and asked in a low voice, "Grandpa?"
“Let me tell you,” Wu Yan took a deep breath and took the initiative to speak. “It happened on their wedding day. The village was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations that day. Your aunt is cheerful and popular, and the man is also good at dealing with people. During the two years he didn’t get a yes, he often came to see your aunt and became familiar with many people in the village. Everyone was very happy when they got married.”
"That's why eight or nine out of ten people in the village attended the wedding banquet that day, including the people who were in charge of looking after the ancestral hall."
Upon hearing this, not only Wu Chi, but also Ye Wanxi and the others who were watching everything from inside the room through the paper dolls were stunned for a moment, and turned to look at Shi Yuyan questioningly.
Ancestral hall? The ancestral hall you knelt in last night? The treasures inside the ancestral hall.
Wu Chi clearly had doubts as well, and frowned as he said, "The people from the ancestral hall have also come, then..."
"Back then, our ancestral hall wasn't as big or sturdy as it is now; it was just a rather ordinary little house. We assigned a few people to guard it, and there was no such thing as taking turns on duty. That night, most of the people responsible for guarding the place went to a banquet, leaving only the two who had gathered beforehand to guard it."
"After the wedding ceremony, everyone's attention was on the banquet. The bride was sent to the bridal chamber early. After the toasts, everyone thought the groom was in a hurry to see the bride and left early. But unexpectedly, he didn't go to see your aunt at all, but... went to the ancestral hall."
Wu Chi was stunned: "What is he going to the ancestral hall for?"
"Naturally, it's because there's something he wants inside."
"What?"
Wu Yan sighed: "We only heard about this later. There was a rumor circulating outside that our ancestral hall contains a treasure that can transform a person and grant them immortality. With this treasure, one can have all their wishes fulfilled and become as rich as a country."
The people standing next to the paper figure were dumbfounded when they heard this. Shi Yuyan couldn't help but complain, "What kind of childish and brainless rumor is this? Rebirth and immortality? So many emperors in ancient times pursued immortality, and they all died earlier than anyone else. Are the people who believe this out of their minds?"
Everyone agreed, but couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
There are certainly many rational people in this world, but there are also quite a few irrational ones.
Even though reason tells them that this is impossible, as long as such rumors spread, there will definitely be people who believe them and act on them.
Wu Chi had never imagined that his family's ancestral hall would contain such a rare item. After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly realized what it was when he recalled what his grandfather had just said.
"He came for the treasures in the ancestral hall? His purpose in approaching Aunt from the beginning was not pure. His relationship with Aunt was just a setup, not something he was sincere about at all."
"Um."
"Bastard!" Wu Chi was only two or three years old back then, and even his aunt couldn't remember him. She had long since lost any impression of this legendary man.
But after hearing what the two said, he couldn't help but feel a burning rage in his heart, wishing he could tear him apart.
"While the banquet was in full swing, he sneaked into the ancestral hall and rummaged through it. Of course, he found nothing, but in the process, he accidentally made a noise and was immediately discovered by the clansmen guarding outside. In desperation, he knocked over the candles in the ancestral hall."
Wu Chi's expression changed slightly. Everyone in the village knew that the ancestral hall was so important to them not only because it contained the ancestral tablets of their ancestors, but also because it was buried beneath it with many Gu worms that had been dormant since the passing of their ancestors.
Upon seeing his son's expression, Wu Yan knew he had already guessed the truth: "The candle ignited the curtains inside the ancestral hall, and the fire quickly spread. There were too few people guarding outside at the time; one of them even ran after the man, and the remaining one tried to put out the fire, but the fire spread rapidly inside. By the time we realized something was wrong, it was too late."
"The fire above the ancestral hall was too intense, which awakened the sleeping Gu worms. The pain of being burned by the flames caused them to collectively lose control."
Of all those present, everyone except Wu Chi had experienced what happened back then.
Even after so many years, many people still turn pale when they recall the scene.
“The scene at that time was nothing short of hell on earth. So many people died. Even me, if Tao Wan’s father hadn’t come and pulled me up, you might have become an orphan like many other children in the village.”
Unfortunately, Tao Wan's father saved him, but couldn't save himself.
Tao Wan's mother was so grief-stricken by this incident that she almost followed her father in death.
If it weren't for the fact that Tao Wan's mother unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant a month later—which happened to be the day before Tao Wan's father's accident—she might have really gone with her husband.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to emotional distress during her pregnancy, Tao Wan's mother experienced premature and difficult labor when giving birth to Tao Wan. She lost her life after finally giving birth to the child.
Tao Wan was unaware of this matter; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to get together with Shi Yuyan so easily.
"And that man, and my aunt..."
"Your aunt knew nothing about this beforehand. It wasn't until the matter was exposed and the two guards identified the culprits that the evidence was irrefutable. Some people went to deal with the out-of-control Gu worms, while others went to catch that bastard. But no one expected that he had actually put Gu in the wine at the wedding banquet beforehand..."
Wu Chi's heart skipped a beat: "Golden Silkworm Gu?"
"That's right, it's the Golden Silkworm Gu."
"His aunt taught him?"
Grandpa Wu shook his head: "He probably only mentioned it briefly. Your aunt probably didn't expect him to secretly raise this and use it on us."
When Wu Yan thought of that scene, his face turned as black as ink. He had put a poison in the wine at the wedding banquet. If the matter hadn't been exposed so quickly, and if the people in the village hadn't been quite knowledgeable about poison and noticed the anomaly when they drank it, the number of dead would have been much greater than just a few people.
That beast, he wants to kill them all and be done with it!
"After your aunt learned about these things, she was very sad and blamed herself. She felt that all the misfortune was brought on by her, so after the truth came out, she chose to sacrifice herself and suppress the out-of-control Gu worms again. At that time... she was already pregnant with that beast's child."
(End of this chapter)
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