On the first day of the new year, visit relatives and friends.
The main residence of the Xiao family is like a city.
The Xiao family in Lanling has countless relatives and friends, and the descendants of the Xiao family are spread all over the north and south. At this time, anyone with the surname Xiao in the world, no matter where you are from, as long as you have some status, you must find every way to be in the lineage of the Xiao family in Lanling.
Even if you can't go to Lanling's ancestral land to pay homage to your ancestors and recognize your ancestors, you still have to go to the Xiao family's residence in Chang'an to pay homage to them. Only then can you boldly say that you are a descendant of the Xiao family.
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In the back house of the mansion, Xiao Yu got up early.
He does not live in a residence on weekdays, but has his own mansion in Buzhengfang.
In other words, although he is the current head of the Xiao family in Chang'an, he is busy with government affairs due to his position as Zhongshu Ling, so the affairs of the family are left to a few brothers to take charge.
That is to say, during the holidays, he would return to his residence to gather his brothers, nephews, and descendants of the Xiao family to worship at the ancestral hall and test the knowledge and martial arts of the young people in the clan.
If something big happens in the clan, he will rush back to preside over it.
In fact, in the final analysis, it was Li Yuan's problem that caused him to fall behind. He was in a precarious situation, and his promotions and demotions were sudden, so he became more cautious and did not get too close to others in the clan, so as not to implicate the family.
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For Xiao Yu, the first day of the Lunar New Year is a difficult day.
I got up early in the morning, washed up in a hurry, and then went to pay New Year's greetings to a few clan elders, who were the elders of Nanliang.
Xiao Yu is relatively young among his peers in the clan, so he has a higher seniority. Several of his sisters and brothers-in-law have passed away, leaving only Mrs. Cheng Guo, Xiao Ting.
It's a pity that Mrs. Chengguo has never come back to the main residence since she returned to the south, and she doesn't even send people back to greet her during the holidays. Fortunately, the descendants of the Xiao family can still visit the door of Mrs. Chengguo's house, so it doesn't mean that they have completely cut off all contact with her.
And Xiao Yu only has one brother left, and that is his second brother Xiao Jing, the Linhai King of Nanliang. Xiao Jing serves as Secretary Supervisor in the Secretary Supervisor. He is not a big official, but he is very leisurely and noble.
Most people in the Xiao family are like this. Those who are highly employed like Xiao Yu are the top talents in the Xiao family.
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Although most of Xiao Yu's brothers and sisters have passed away, today, the Xiao family has formed an extremely large group. If you want to cut off their inheritance, another war in the late Sui Dynasty will not work.
There are still seven or eight elders of Xiao Yu's generation left, three of whom live in the main house, and the others are recuperating in their descendants' mansions or in the ancestral home of Lanling, and few of them still hold official positions.
There are still two people alive in my grandfather's generation, and they are both in the ancestral land of Lanling. On the contrary, there is no trace of the descendants of the Xiao family in the old land of Liang. A few years ago, the Xiao Mian lineage was defeated, which affected the families there and killed many people. , the rest were taken back to Chang'an.
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Xiao Yu paid New Year's greetings to several clan elders, and was extremely tired. The clan elders were all in their seventies or eighties, and the youngest was already in his sixties. He was deaf and blind, but he still remembered the affairs of the clan.
Seeing him coming, he rambled on and on, making it difficult to deal with.
Back in the main hall, Xiao Yu had no time to relax. His children and grandchildren first came to pay New Year's greetings to their father and grandfather, and then their brothers and nephews. Anyone who was qualified to appear in front of him would come over to meet him one after another.
Although most of his brothers are older than him, given Xiao Yu's current official position, it is impossible for him to go to his brothers one after another to greet him, so he will not do it according to etiquette.
This is a very common thing among wealthy families. No matter how polite a family is, it is impossible for a Zhongshu Ling to travel back and forth.
Xiao Yu's brother Xiao Jue came, followed by a large group of descendants.
Xiao Yu greeted him at the bottom of the steps and first greeted his brother. Xiao Jing hurriedly stepped forward to help him, holding his arms and laughing and talking very affectionately.
Then Xiao Jing's descendants came forward to salute their uncle and say hello.
The main hall suddenly became lively. The two families were serious direct relatives. When they met, they didn't have to worry too much about what they said. The aroma of tea filled the hall. After everyone greeted them, they took their seats. People of the same generation talked cordially, but they didn't raise their voices.
Because three generations of grandparents are here, being disrespectful at this time will have very serious consequences.
It was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and knowing that Xiao Yu was very busy, Xiao Jing would not stay here much longer, so he ignored his nephews and grandchildren and only pulled Xiao Yu to talk in a low voice.
After chatting for a while and asking about each other's health, Xiao Jing whispered: "The imperial court has deprived me of nobility, and my family's nobility has been deprived of all titles. I feel uneasy. I would like to ask my eighth brother if there is any chance of redress?"
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The reduction of titles has the greatest impact on a large family like the Xiao family that has had an emperor. For example, Xiao Jing herself was granted the title of King of Linhai during the Southern Liang Dynasty. After entering the Sui Dynasty, he was granted the title of Duke of Liang. When Li Yuan entered Chang'an, he was promoted to the title of Huangmen Minister.
Later, he was changed to Secretary to Supervisor, which also recognized his title.
But now, after the Tang Dynasty brought peace to the world and gradually stabilized its political power, it began to make fuss about the title. Naturally, people like him could not keep the title and were in the process of losing it, because you had no achievements in the Tang Dynasty.
Well.
Moreover, the capital of the Nanliang regime had already been exhausted, so it was a tragedy.
There are many examples similar to him. In the main branch of the Xiao family alone, dozens of people had their titles taken away. The losses were indeed quite heavy.
In fact, what depresses Xiao Jing the most is that his eighth brother Xiao Yu was granted the title of Duke of Liang this year. When Xiao Jing heard about this, she couldn't bear it at the time. The emperor doesn't do human affairs. Isn't this inciting their brothers to turn against each other?
The title of Liang Guogong is definitely a signature of the Xiao family. Xiao Jing was awarded the title of Liang Guogong only after the death of Xiao Cong, the last lord of Nanliang. It is of extraordinary significance because the Xiao family is a member of the royal family of Nanliang.
Then... the signboard became Xiao Yu's, and he, Xiao Jing, was not dead yet. He really had seen a fucking ghost.
So even if you know that you shouldn't talk about this matter to your brother, so as not to create a gap between the brothers, but the world is like this, everyone understands the truth, but there are not many people who can always stay rational.
As soon as Xiao Yu heard this, he knew that his brother still had resentment, and he felt extremely embarrassed.
He refused to accept the title granted in the middle of the year. The emperor called him into the palace and told him personally, "I approve the title granted to the Xiao family by Duke Liang. If you don't want it, you can't do it if someone else is granted the title."
Blame me."
Speaking of this, Xiao Yu had to accept it. If the emperor could say it, he could do it. Wouldn't Xiao become a joke by then?
He had explained this to his brother, and now he came to ask again. It was obvious that his brother was still holding on to his feelings and had never been relieved.
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly, "With the general situation being like this, there is nothing we can do. But wait a minute, second brother, aren't you compiling history? With the talent of second brother, it is always appropriate to fight for the opportunity to major in Liang history.
It can be considered that we unworthy descendants can do our best for our ancestors."
Xiao Jing frowned and said, "Majoring in Liang History, I'm afraid I want to avoid suspicion."
Xiao Yu said: "Second brother, don't worry, I still have some face. When the second brother completes the compilation of the history, it will be considered as a meritorious service to the country. I will submit a letter to see if I can give my brother the title of Duke of Lanling County. What do you think?"
Xiao Jing's tacky eyes lit up, and she was obviously moved. This was another signature piece of the Xiao family. It was no worse than Liang Guogong's. It was Xiao Yu's before. If the two brothers could exchange it, it wouldn't really be a disadvantage.
As a result, Xiao Jing laughed with satisfaction, but still said coquettishly: "Brother, don't blame me for being vain. The reason why I came to ask my brother today is not for my own title.
So many sons have had their titles deprived of them, I am really worried, otherwise why would I bother my brother?"
The corner of Xiao Yu's mouth twitched, "Well, to this day, the Xiao family's descendants are so prosperous, and we can still have such a prosperous scene, all thanks to the blessing of our ancestor Yu Ze. If we insist on it again, we will be unlucky."
Xiao Jing nodded, said yes again and again, and chatted with Xiao Yu for a few more words, then stood up and said goodbye, "I know I won't have any free time today, so I won't disturb you, so I will take people to my sister's house to wish her a happy new year."
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Xiao Yu nodded and said with a smile: "Then I won't keep you. My second brother also brought good things to my sister for me, so I told her that I would go visit her in the evening and leave some food for me."
After seeing off Xiao Jing's family, Xiao Cong's grandson Xiao Quan came to the door.
Xiao Cong is the last lord of Nanliang and a direct descendant of the Xiao family. However, this branch is thin, and now only Xiao Quan is left. Because he looks exactly like his ancestor, he is favored by the clan.
Both Xiao Yu and Cheng Guo's wife, Mrs. Xiao, looked at him differently.
This guy is considered a treasure in the clan, but because of this, he has developed into a loser. He only knows how to travel around the mountains and rivers, making friends, drinking and beauties, and does not do serious things. He is a serious Chang'an libertine.
It's just that he can be favored by his uncle Xiao Yu, so he is naturally different from other libertines. He doesn't usually make trouble, he is a pretty good person, and he is a moral libertine.
When he saw Xiao Yu, the guy's face blossomed with a smile, "My great-nephew is here to wish my great-uncle a happy new year."
As he spoke, he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to Xiao Yu several times.
Xiao Yu was also very happy. He waved his hand and said with a smile: "The 14th Master is here. Sit down quickly. You can't run around today. Come with me to your great-aunt's place for dinner in the evening."
Xiao Quan got up from the ground and said with a smile: "The 14th Master is not waiting here. He will go there first in a while. My aunt is alone. I will go and talk to her."
The few people who accompanied Xiao Yu in the hall looked at Xiao Quan who was smiling and talking freely. Their eyes turned blue with envy, and they were mostly cursing secretly. This guy has a habit of pleasing his elders, but he has no real ability at all.
This is actually Xiao's shame.
Xiao Yu, in particular, treated his grandnephew differently. On the contrary, his children and grandchildren could not even smile in front of him.
Xiao Yu laughed loudly, lit Xiao Quan and said: "If you are filial, you don't need to stay here. Go to the ancestral hall to burn incense first, and then go and wait there."
Xiao Quan agreed and turned around to leave.
Xiao Yu seemed to remember something, so he waved to him again, stood up and walked out, gesturing for Xiao Quan to follow him.
Xiao Quan didn't know why, so he followed his uncle to the outside of the hall, muttering, "It's cold outside, uncle, don't freeze, it's better to go back."
Xiao Yu asked him to come closer and whispered: "I heard that you often go to Lu Xiangjun's house to hang out. Is this the case?"