Zhou Bai, who had been sleeping for many days, woke up. Uncle Fu was very happy and did not stop Zhou Bai from going to the ancestral hall.

Three years ago, following the arrangement of the clan, Zhou Bai did not attend the spring festival. If he missed it again this time, he would have to wait another three years next time.

Besides, the quota must belong to my young master?

Both the master and the servant understood what was going on here. Uncle Fu silently stuffed the boiled eggs he took out from the kitchen into Zhou Bai's arms, then turned back with his rickets and continued to clean the fallen leaves in the courtyard.

Needless to say, the tacit understanding between an old man and a young man has lasted for many years. Zhou Bai touched two still warm eggs, tightened his crane cloak tightly around his body, and stepped out bravely in the cold morning wind.

The ancestral hall is located in the core area of ​​the Zhou clan settlement, and is surrounded by the residences of powerful figures in the family. It is like an invisible circle, representing the status of each house in the family.

That's it, Zhou Bai's dilapidated courtyard is not far from the ancestral hall, and he is not late even if he sets out so late.

In the minds of some tribesmen who are good at camping, only the upper echelons of the family are worthy of occupying the position of this courtyard. A "young master" like Zhou Bai, whose crane cloak even looks old, can only be assigned to a remote manor to see the garden at most.

The Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall is very grand, with carved brackets, blue brick and stone walls, and beams and columns painted with red paint, creating a somewhat solemn atmosphere.

The members of each clan have already taken their positions according to their direct lineage, order of houses, and seniority.

The door was completely open, and the Haonu warriors stood guard. Inside the threshold were the direct clan members and high-status collateral clans, and outside the threshold were most of the collateral clans and branches.

At this time, no one should have arrived yet, and there was quite a noise inside and outside. Everyone was chatting with each other and exchanging some "private information."

Most of them talked about the blessing objects of this ancestor worship, and some people mentioned Zhou Bai, but they were limited to mentioning it.

Occasionally, I would say a few more words, but I was still jealous of Zhou Bai's status. As a direct descendant, he would definitely receive a blessing from his ancestors when he was of the right age.

Immortals and gods exist in the world, and the imperial examinations reach the sky. Even ordinary mortals have more or less understanding of extraordinary power.

In the Zhou clan, the ritual of blessing and worshiping ancestors once every three years is the most intuitive manifestation of extraordinary beings.

The probability of a clan member who has been blessed to be admitted as a child student or a scholar is much higher than that of those who have not been blessed.

In recent decades, there have been very few people who have been able to pass the imperial examination without relying on family luck, and as for scholars, there are even fewer.

Zhou Bai walked to the threshold of the ancestral hall. A steward wearing a brocade robe and a coat was patrolling with two slaves. Sometimes he would look at the situation inside, and sometimes he would give a few words to the martial arts thugs standing in two rows.

"Today is a grand ceremony that only happens once every three years. Please stand up straight and don't lose the majesty of our family."

Zhou Datian was in charge of the affairs of the clan and was responsible for part of the money and food affairs. He had a humble and powerful position, but in fact he was just a distant relative of the Zhou family who had taken refuge with the third family member, and could barely rely on the upper branches.

A line of information in his memory emerged in Zhou Bai's mind, that is, this guy likes to target him.

Although he was only a distant relative of the Zhou family, he looked down upon the collateral branches and often humiliated him.

Maybe it was because of his poor background that he was very jealous of Zhou Bai, a helpless descendant, so the benefits he received were always at the lowest level, or even withheld.

The show off in front of the servants was endless, and when he saw Zhou Bai coming over, Zhou Datian suddenly felt that the joy of scolding the servants was no longer good, and his eyes lit up and he stepped forward.

"Hey, isn't this Young Master Bai from the seventh room? I thought you were so brave that you didn't even dare to participate in the ancestor worship." The words were half mocking and half provocative, as spitting stars splashed on Zhou Bai's crane.

Put on the cloak.

Zhou Bai frowned slightly and said in an unkind tone: "Today my ancestors have blessed me with a place for me, so how dare I not come. Also, my crane cloak was left behind by my late father, so the stewards of Datian should pay more attention to it."

Zhou DaTian was suddenly a little surprised. Why did this boy become seriously ill? He seemed to have changed into a different person. Not only was he no longer cowardly and low-key, but he dared to provoke me.

However, this surprise only lasted for a moment in my heart. The embarrassment of being contradicted by Zhou Bai already welled up in my heart, and my mean face became rosy.

"You are late and talk too much. Don't go in. What if you spread your illness to the clan elders?" Zhou Datian was used to being bossy, and he actually wanted to block Zhou Bai's way without saying a word.

The two bastards behind him blocked Zhou Bai at the right time. The martial arts masters on both sides did not move, but they all stared at him with strange eyes.

Zhou Bai sneered. Not only was he not afraid of Hao Nu blocking his way, but he slapped him twice.

"Pah, pah!" The sound of bows being fired from left to right attracted the tribesmen who were not paying attention behind them.

"You! How dare you!" The situation seemed to have suddenly lost control with Zhou Bai's two slaps. Zhou Datian screamed in his heart and looked ferocious. He wanted to yell loudly but didn't know what to say.

The two slaves were also confused and forgot to fight back for a moment, or they still remembered that Zhou Bai was the master of the Zhou family.

Zhou Bai dismissed Zhou Datian's stern expression, but turned to the side and said to a captain of the servants: "Zhou Yuan, according to the rules of my Zhou family, what kind of crime should a servant below commit bullying the master of the family?!"

The expression on Zhou Yuan's face was very complicated. I don't know how much ideological struggle he was going on in his heart. Is it appropriate to fight against Zhou Datian and offend the third room who holds real power for the sake of a run-down lineage with no sense of existence?

No matter which way you look at it, it’s better to just get lost in the mud at this time. This is also what most smart onlookers think.

But when Zhou Yuan saw that Master Bai had a completely different attitude from before, he decided to take a gamble. He was from a collateral family. How could he get ahead without gambling?

"Master Hui Bai, any evil slave who deceives his master will be served with sticks and whips, even if he is beaten to death."

The deep and loud voice was enough for the people around to hear clearly. A cold look flashed in Zhou Bai's eyes. He slowly walked up to Zhou Yuan and said softly: "Then enforce the clan rules. Don't beat them to death before they take action. Five

Ten sticks will do."

Fifty sticks? Either dead or disabled. Many people watching the show took a breath of cold air at the same time and took a few steps back.

The young master Qifang, who is usually in poor health and has a timid temperament, is actually so cruel.

Zhou Yuan carried out Zhou Bai's order meticulously, and immediately led his men to drag away the two wealthy slaves who were blocking the way.

Amidst the faint screams, Zhou Bai continued to move forward, as if nothing had happened. The slaves shuddered, and Zhou Datian was also stunned.

Zhou Bai's originally pale complexion due to illness has now become a symbol of ruthlessness in Zhou Datian's eyes.

He had always bullied the weak and feared the strong, but he actually forgot to teach Zhou Bai a lesson and allowed him to stride across the threshold of the ancestral hall.

Perhaps it was because the eyes of the tribesmen watching below were too hot, Zhou Datian was extremely embarrassed and whispered viciously behind his back: "Wait, little bastard, we have a fight."

Zhou Bai didn't even pause when he heard this kind of "scene talk", as if he didn't notice Zhou Datian. This made him very angry, and he might be thinking of some trick.

Stepping through the gate of the ancestral hall, there is a worship hall inside, and the atmosphere is different. The hustle and bustle outside seems to be completely invisible.

No one spoke, and the spiritual tablet on the altar was surrounded by fragrance, solemn and solemn.

At the top is the god card of the ancestor who established the clan, followed by the god card of the two ancestors who raised people, and at the bottom are the scholars of the past dynasties or the ancestors who have made outstanding contributions.

As for other Tong Sheng and ordinary tribesmen, they can only go to the side halls on both sides to worship after death. This shows that Tong Sheng actually has no status.

In the main hall of the worship hall, there were gathered the clan elders, stewards, men from the tenth direct lineage, and the chiefs of the three collateral lines. They all looked at Zhou Bai.

Logically speaking, there should be at least twelve scholars in the worship hall. However, Zhou Bai's cheap father died early and he had no blood relatives to support the seventh family, so there were only eleven scholars in the hall.

These scholars were all scholars recognized by the Daxu court. They had official scholar status and were a class that could enjoy privileges.

Not to mention things like not kneeling before officials and walking with swords in hand, the privilege of each scholar being exempted from taxes on three hundred acres of land is the foundation for the prosperity of a family.

The Zhou family has 3,300 acres of fertile land every year without paying taxes. All this surplus can be used to support the family's children. How could it not be able to raise talents?

In front of a group of senior Zhou family officials, Zhou Bai was calm and composed. He had seen this kind of scene many times.

Most of the looks he received were indifferent, with little distinction between good and evil. The few in the front row even seemed to have pity.

Only the owner of the third room, Zhou Chang, had a bit of dissatisfaction on his face. What happened outside just now made him lose face.

Zhou Bai walked to the front row and saluted the elders one by one. He showed a certain magnanimity in a calm and leisurely manner, which surprised the senior officials.

After all the etiquette was complete, Zhou Bai took the lead and said: "Uncles, for the sake of the overall situation, my nephew is willing to withdraw from this ancestral blessing."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was a little stunned, some nodded slightly, and some sighed.

Zhou Rui, who had previously reminded Zhou Bai to participate in the clan ceremony, was even more anxious now and winked at Zhou Bai from the corner.

"Do you know that your ancestors are not allowed to speak nonsense in front of you?!" Suddenly, a heavy and solemn shout came from the side.

"My father and ancestors are all here, how dare you, Bai? The patriarch is in serious trouble." Zhou Bai turned around and saluted, neither humble nor arrogant.

The person who came was none other than Zhou Mingxuan, the head of the Zhou family. He had a reputation as a scholar. When he was young, he had served as a clerk in the Pingcang County government for twenty years. He had extensive connections. He took over the family at the age of forty-five and has enjoyed great authority within the clan ever since.

"Well, you can do it voluntarily. If you have any requests, you can make them now." Zhou Mingxuan walked up to Zhou Bai, his expression was quite complicated, but it was not difficult to see a hint of appreciation.

A strange feeling flashed in Zhou Bai's heart. The clan leader was trying to gain benefits for him.

"I would like to report to the clan leader, my uncles and nephews, I don't dare to beg too much, I just hope that the clan will restore the treatment I deserve as a direct descendant."

Everyone nodded slightly, this was the right thing to do, even Zhou Chang, who was in the third room, all looked dissatisfied, because his son just needed this spot.

"First, I need resources from the clan to cure my cold; second, I don't need the blessings from my ancestors, but I still have to take the February county examination."

After talking about the two points, no one had any objections, even if they thought the second point was a waste of time.

Zhou Bo paused for a moment, then continued in a serious tone: "Third, please Uncle Chang punish Zhou Datian severely. It is best not to let me see him in my house again."
Chapter completed!