Chapter 25 Secrets of the Ancestral Hall
Shanjia Villa.
As soon as the door was opened, a strong smell of alcohol hit the nose.
Shan Yurou subconsciously covered her nose, her face revealing her disgust.
Shanxiong's eyes were bloodshot, and he was slumped on the table like a lump of mud, muttering curses: "My brother has gone mad! He actually obeys a good-for-nothing like that!"
"Just because of one sentence from that good-for-nothing, you kicked me out of the charity?"
"Ha! This is insane! Insane!"
Shanxiong angrily picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of wine, his anger finding nowhere to be vented.
When Shanming saw that Shanxiong had drunk himself into oblivion, a sly smile of triumph flashed in his eyes.
He subtly gave Shan Yuru a wink, and Shan Yuru immediately understood. She quickly stepped forward, her face filled with guilt, her voice choked with emotion: "It's all my fault, Second Uncle! If it weren't for speaking up for me, you wouldn't have ended up like this..."
Seeing that Shan Yuru was feeling extremely guilty, Shan Xiong comforted her, "This has nothing to do with you, it's my older brother who's blind!"
"If you ask me, my great-grandmother was blind back then. I was clearly more capable than my eldest brother, but she insisted on the order of seniority and chose my eldest brother as her successor."
"Now look what's happened! That old bastard has gone mad and passed the position of family head to a good-for-nothing. Isn't this going to bring shame to our Shan family?"
"Second Uncle is right." Shan Mingyuan said, and hurriedly poured another cup of wine, not forgetting to pour one for himself as well. "Second Uncle, the old master is really quite ill. He actually summoned twenty-four collateral branches and asked them to come to the main house before the 15th. It seems that he wants to hold some kind of twenty-four-bow ceremony in the ancestral hall."
"What? Twenty-four bows?" Shanxiong's eyes sharpened, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water and suddenly became much more alert.
Shan Mingyuan nodded: "Yes, it's news that just came out. Second Uncle, is there anything special about these twenty-four bows? I don't think I've ever heard of them before."
Shanxiong glanced at him and said with a look of disdain, "It's normal that you haven't heard of it. This twenty-four-bow ceremony hasn't been held for hundreds of years."
“My family has a total of twenty-four branches, each responsible for different things. The lowest in status is the agricultural branch.”
"Once the Twenty-Four Bows are convened, it means that any branch of the family can participate in the election for family head, and anyone can become the family head, even the lowest-ranking agricultural branch!"
Shan Mingyuan was completely confused, but his focus had long since shifted beyond the Shan family, so he simply put the matter out of his mind and changed the subject to the ancestral hall: "By the way, Second Uncle, is there any secret in that ancestral hall? I noticed that the old man takes it very seriously."
Upon hearing this, Shanxiong frowned slightly: "Ancestral hall? Isn't that the place where my Shan family ancestors are enshrined? What secrets could there be in that place?"
Seeing that Shanxiong was unaware of the situation, Shanmingyuan felt somewhat irritated.
That night, he clearly shot that wretched girl Shanxi, but after she entered the ancestral hall, she came out completely unharmed, as if the ancestral hall had some kind of magical elixir that could bring people back to life!
He wouldn't believe it if you said there were no secrets hidden in that ancestral hall!
Unfortunately, the ancestral hall was protected by a restriction placed by the Shan family's ancestor, and only members of the Shan family could enter.
Just when it seemed they were about to convince the old man to give Yu Rou a blood transfusion, another unexpected problem arose...
"Second Uncle, are you aware of the blood transfusion in the Shan family?" Shan Mingyuan pressed on, unwilling to give up.
"Blood transfusion? Blood transfusion is a taboo in the Shan family!" Shan Xiong looked at Shan Mingyuan with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot. "The Shan family forbids learning cultivation techniques, how would I know?"
Seeing that Shan Xiong knew nothing about the secrets of the ancestral hall and was now unable to undergo a blood transfusion, Shan Mingyuan's gaze toward Shan Xiong gradually became impatient.
I thought I had found a powerful backer, but it turns out he's a good-for-nothing who knows nothing!
If he can't get anything out of them, how can he explain it to that person?
Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Shanxiong, Shan Yuru became impatient. She let go of Shanxiong's hand and was about to leave when Shanxiong suddenly put his arm around her waist and leaned drunkenly against her, mumbling incoherently, "Yuru, you've been talented since childhood, with exceptional aptitude. This time, your second uncle has wronged you, making you suffer such a great injustice..."
Shan Yurou was completely shocked and furious that Shanxiong would do something so outrageous and overstep the bounds. She quickly pushed him away, saying, "Second Uncle, you're drunk."
Looking at Seon-woong's drunken state, wasn't he obviously drunk?
"But Second Uncle, even if Yu Rou isn't his biological daughter, does the old man really need to be in such a hurry to give way to Shanxi?" Shan Mingyuan asked with a worried expression.
If Shanxi were to become the head of this charitable family, would he still have a good outcome?
"Heh... You probably don't know, but my elder brother has already decided on the heir." Shanxiong sneered, a wicked glint in his eyes. "My elder brother only has one daughter, Shanrou, but she has no interest in the family head. Seeing that Shanrou was unreliable, Yurou came."
"The moment my brother discovered that Yu Rou had exceptional talent, he had already decided that she would be his successor."
"All sorts of precious cultivation methods, rare magic treasures and pills were thrown at her like they were free!"
It's impossible to say that kind words and gentleness don't equate to kindness.
The resources that the benevolent family gave her were something even the royal family might not be able to afford!
"Does Second Uncle mean that if no one knows about Yu Rou being switched at birth, then Yu Rou will be the next head of the family?" Shan Mingyuan's eyes widened unconsciously as he belatedly realized this.
His gentle words actually put him only one step away from becoming the head of the family.
"Switched babies?" Shan Xiong sneered, looking at Shan Mingyuan's feigned ignorance, and realized that he had really underestimated Shan Mingyuan before!
Shan Yurou is more than half a month older than Shan Xi, and she is Shan Mingyuan's biological daughter. How could they have been switched at birth? Do they really think they are all fools who can be easily deceived?
However, since they were currently staying at Shanmingyuan's residence, Shanxiong could only go along with it: "That's right, my elder brother has always been grooming Yuru as his successor."
Shan Yurou is beautiful, talented, and highly qualified. In addition, she is eloquent and charming, which makes the old man very happy. How could he not groom her as his successor?
Upon hearing this, Shan Mingyuan was filled with deep regret!
One step away!
It was just one step away!
"But Second Uncle, the Shan family has now fallen into the hands of that good-for-nothing Shan Xi. What are we going to do?" Shan Mingyuan looked distressed.
If the secrets of the ancestral hall cannot be uncovered, that person will definitely not let him go, and he can forget about leaving the Shan family.
"What's there to be afraid of? Wouldn't it be better if she fell into the hands of a good-for-nothing?" Shanxiong sneered as he took a swig of wine. "She's just a good-for-nothing. It's incredibly easy to kill her. Besides, she dug her own grave by holding some kind of 'twenty-four bows' ceremony. Ha, I'm not the only one who wants to kill her now."
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