Star Trace Gate

"Yeah, we are already rich, why should we take risks?"

Wang Shoucai turned his back to his daughter and sighed softly, as if he was asking himself, his tone filled with ridicule and a bit of helplessness.

He slowly turned around and walked towards Wang Lili: "When I had no money, I was full of fear; when I had money, I was scared. The Shen family fell, and six other families rose. If one day, my Wang family also fell, how many people would step on our blood and shamelessly divide up our bodies and wealth?"

Wang Lili frowned.

Wang Shoucai put his hands behind his back and lowered his head: "When we went to the provincial capital, the masters sitting in the official chairs told us that the profit distribution next year will be increased by 20%. If you don't give it, you are just being arrogant; if you give it, where will the extra profit come from?"

She remained silent, not knowing how to respond to her father.

Wang Shoucai walked over to his daughter, raised his hand to grab her wrist, turned around, and gently led her to the window: "There are still people alive in the Shen family, and Gao Jiansheng is also eyeing them covetously. The unscrupulous means used to turn the tables in the past are the reason why you can't sleep all night today. How difficult is it to successfully withdraw?"

He held his daughter's hand with one hand and stroked the large and luxurious office desk and chair with the other hand, then walked to the window again.

The father and daughter looked outside and saw that the servants in the mansion had already started to get busy early, pasting longevity characters, arranging tables and chairs, and setting up the scene for today's birthday banquet in a joyful atmosphere.

Wang Shoucai raised his arm and pointed at the endless mansion and the busy servants, his eyes revealing undisguised greed and nostalgia: "Human desires are endless. Who can not be greedy for such a scene?"

Wang Lili looked at him and nodded slightly: "I understand."

……

Inside the Stone House safe house.

Xiao Gui listened to Ren Ye's question with a somewhat surprised expression: "I... I never realized that Mr. Zhou is left-handed."

Isn’t the head of the Zhou family a left-handed person?

Ren was also stunned for a moment: "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Xiao Gui said confidently: "I have been in contact with him for quite a while, and he has never shown that he is left-handed."

Ren also blinked: "Then how did you know for sure that Zhou Bo wanted to get Yin Wan'er? Do you have any evidence?"

"In fact, I'm not the only one who knows about this. Many people in charge of the Shen family at that time also knew something about it." Xiao Gui narrated truthfully: "More than a year before the Shen family was exterminated, Shen Jishi often went to the provincial capital to build relationships. Once Zhou Bo got drunk and broke into the Shen family's women's courtyard late at night, but was stopped by Madam Shen's personal servant, and then there were rumors. And when Zhou Bo was dating us, he also said drunkenly... Madam Shen is so beautiful, but she has no man to nourish her. It's really hard for her."

When Old Liu heard this exciting plot, he couldn't help but quietly move the thing in his crotch, and asked excitedly: "What does it mean that no one is moistening it? There won't be a scene where Shen Jishi is a eunuch, right?"

"That's not the case." Xiao Gui shook his head and said, "Shen Jishi is a normal man, and he has many concubines in the outer courtyard. But before the Shen family was wiped out, he and Madam Shen didn't seem to have a good relationship... Of course, these are all rumors passed down by word of mouth. I don't know the details."

"So, Zhou Bo is really a pervert, and he's obsessed with Yin Wan'er." Old Liu commented softly, "Just think about it, there are so many women out there, and they have money, so what kind of women can't they find? He can say such things when he's drunk several times... That can only mean that he's just like me, Old Liu. Once he falls in love with someone, it's not something that can be solved with one or two tablets of Valium."

"Zhou Bo was indeed obsessed with Yin Wan'er. He once told me that if he could get this woman, he would be willing to exchange his shares in the Shen family for her." Xiao Gui added, "At that time, Zhou Bo's position among the seven brothers was second only to Wang Shoucai and Shen Jishi, and his shares were also considerable. The fact that he could say this... was enough to show his obsession with Yin Wan'er."

After listening to this, Ren Ye came to a conclusion in his heart: "Then what? Doesn't Shen Jishi know about Zhou Bo's attitude towards Yin Wan'er?"

"There are rumors in the mansion, how could he not know as the head of the family?" Xiao Gui commented: "It's just that Shen Jishi is a tyrant, and his emotions are not revealed on his face. He has never shown his dissatisfaction with Zhou Bo, nor has he taken the initiative to mention such things."

"However, before the Shen family was wiped out, cracks did gradually appear between the seven brothers." He paused and carefully recalled that era: "It's easy for people to share adversity, but it's hard to share wealth. When the seven brothers were fighting for the country, each of them was in charge of their own business, each doing their own job, complementing each other and sticking together. But after the Shen family became bigger, the various interests became complicated... Before the Shen family was wiped out, a total of three major events happened."

"What's the matter?" A Pu also became interested.

"First, Shen Jishi's son at the time, Shen Yuan, was going to marry Guo Litao's daughter, and even the wedding date was set." Xiao Gui narrated: "Guo Litao was in charge of a lot of businesses, and he was also in a relatively high position among the seven brothers. During the period when the two families were going to become in-laws, many of Wang Shoucai's shopkeepers were also dismissed by Shen Jishi."

When Ren Ye heard this, he frowned and thought to himself that Shen Jishi might be trying to win over some people and suppress others.

"Secondly, for some unknown reason, when Shen Jishi's son Shen Yuan was about to become in-laws with Guo Litao's daughter, the wedding was suddenly cancelled, and Guo Litao also sent his daughter to Qijia Town, not to Qingyu Village. Later, I heard from Zhou Bo that Wang Shoucai and Shen Jishi had a serious quarrel, but few people know about it."

"You go on."

"The third thing is that after the wedding was cancelled, Mrs. Shen also suddenly disappeared. No one knew where she was. The Shen family searched the entire Love Village but couldn't find her." Xiao Gui continued, "Not long after that, Zhou Bo had frequent contact with Wang Shoucai. I saw him secretly twice."

Old Liu instinctively asked, "Is Mrs. Shen's disappearance related to Zhou Bo?"

"...I'm really not sure about this, and I don't dare to speak carelessly." Xiao Gui replied: "But during that period, Zhou Bo did go out late at night and was very restless."

"Yeah." Ren nodded slowly: "And then?"

"Then, Wang Shoucai, together with Zhou Bo, persuaded Guo Litao, Pang An and other brothers, and finally brought Gao Jiansheng into the game. On a rainy night, they massacred the Love Village with blood." Xiao Gui recalled this incident with horror in his eyes: "Everyone in the village, except for the close relatives and confidants of the six brothers, was killed. No one was left alive."

"The Gao Jiansheng who was finally won over?" Ren also felt that he had grasped the key point, and asked urgently: "This matter...you remember it so clearly, is there any special situation?"

"I didn't know when Wang Shoucai and Zhou Bo tried to win over the other brothers, but he was definitely the last one to find Gao Jiansheng." Xiao Gui replied seriously, "Because I was waiting outside the door on the day they negotiated with Gao Jiansheng. They talked for a long time before Gao Jiansheng finally decided to work together. And they talked in the afternoon and started in the evening."

The amount of information Xiao Gui said was so huge that Ren Ye felt it was difficult to remember it with his brain alone, so he took out a small notebook and wrote down all the details he had just heard.

Next to him, Old Liu thought for a long time and asked in confusion: "I can understand killing Shen Jishi, and I can also understand wiping out the whole family, but why did these bastards kill even the villagers?"

Ren also heard this and replied on behalf of Xiao Gui: "You have to pay attention to the details. Shen Jishi has connections in the provincial capital, and they are close cousins. If you keep him alive, it will be a big trouble."

"Oh, yes, Shen Jishi's cousin is a high-ranking official in the provincial capital." Old Liu nodded.

"You guessed right. Three years after the Shen family was destroyed, Shen Jishi's cousin was poisoned to death in the provincial capital." Xiao Gui only said the secrets he knew, without expressing any opinions: "Whether they did it or not, you can judge for yourself."

Ren Ye narrowed his eyes and muttered eagerly, "Master Gao was the last one to join the village massacre team... This information is crucial."

"What's the key?" Apart from some talent in poetry, it's hard to describe the rest of Lao Liu's mental work.

Ren Ye looked at him and didn't respond.

"There is one more thing." Xiao Gui suddenly added: "The temperaments of the several family heads are all different. This is why after the demise of the Shen family, everyone seemed to be on good terms with each other, but in reality they all had their own calculations."

"What's the difference?"

"Among the seven brothers, Shen Jishi, after he became powerful, was good at playing with power and people's hearts; Wang Shoucai loved money and was a little greedy; Zhou Bo was lustful and also obsessed with power; Guo Litao was very capable but narrow-minded, and had always been jealous of Wang Shoucai and Zhou Bo; Pang An was an opium addict; Zhang Lu was indecisive and a little cowardly, and never took charge easily. As for Gao Jiansheng, although he was polite on the outside, he was violent on the inside... When he was helping Shen Jishi, he was extremely ruthless, and those who offended the Shen family would be killed without leaving any alive." Xiao Gui added in detail.

After listening to this, Ren Ye suddenly recited a sentence: "Pride is considered the most original and serious of the seven deadly sins, because Satan has the power to rule the world. Playing with power and abusing power is a kind of arrogance."

Old Liu was shocked by what he heard: "Can you please stop acting like a philosopher?"

"I'm talking about Shen Jishi." Ren Ye smiled at him, and suddenly grasped the key point in his mind: "The first of the seven sins is arrogance. Forget it, it's too profound. Even if I tell you, you won't understand."

"??!"

Old Liu was not convinced, but after holding it in for a long time, he shook his head and said, "I really didn't understand."

……

Inside the Wang Mansion.

Wang Lili walked out of her father's office and whispered to Butler Zhu, "I've been waiting for him for three days and I don't want to wait any longer. Find a servant to call him. I want to confront him."

"Okay, I'll go call that kid in a minute."