That night, the family gathered at Lan's Sanchun Hall to prepare for dinner.
After Lan's drastic renovation, the ancestral house is now in order.
The servants in the ancestral home have returned to their respective places. Lan also made an agreement with them that if they want to go somewhere new, she will not stop them and follow their new master. If they want to stay in the ancestral home, she also welcomes them.
Starting from this month, the monthly payment will be distributed to their room.
Naturally, the servants of the ancestral home had some considerations, and except for those who originally followed Fang and Liu Fang, the others who were originally in the ancestral home stayed behind.
It's just that the people in the two rooms haven't moved out yet, and Lan doesn't want to share the big kitchen with them.
Fortunately, the original Sanchun Hall had a kitchen, including the main courtyard where Qiao's father and Qiao's mother lived, so the family tidied up the small kitchens in each courtyard. The family still ate together as before. Today
Everyone gathered in Lan's Sanchun Hall.
With the care of Mr. and Mrs. Ding Er and the clan leader, everything was quickly prepared for shopping. By evening, a sumptuous table of local Yizhou dishes had been cooked.
The whole family was very happy to see them, and just as they were sitting at the table enjoying the meal, they heard Xiang Xiu come in and report that several gentlemen had come to pay their respects to the Lan family.
Mrs. Lan glanced at Xiangxiu. This girl came to Qiao Mansion with her as a dowry. She has suffered a lot in these years. Now that she is back, she takes Xiangxiu by her side as her mother in charge.
Xiangxiu's real name is He, so she calls her mother.
When Mother He saw Lan looking over, she whispered: "Old madam, it's the second master. The fourth master and the fifth master have arrived with their families."
The second and fourth masters are the two brothers Jingcang and Jingya who were born by the Fang family. The fifth master is Qiao Jingshan who was born by the Liu family.
Including Qiao Jing'an, the third master born by Aunt Xia, and Qiao Jingkun, the legitimate son of the Lan family, Qiao Xingcun has five sons in total.
Just now, Qiao Jing'an and his wife came over to say hello. Lan left them to talk for a while and then sent the family to dinner.
Lan Shi glanced at Mother He and said, "Please invite them in."
After hearing this, Qiao Mingjin and others also moved from the dining room to the flower hall.
After the family sat down, the curtain was opened and a group of people filed in from the outside.
Qiao Jingcang and Xiao Fang took the lead, followed by Qiao Jingya and Qiao Jingshan.
Many adults and children came.
Qiao Jingcang's face was expressionless, but Qiao Jingya and Qiao Jingshan were smiling.
"Greetings to mother. I've met my elder brother and sister-in-law."
in unison.
The juniors who followed also knelt down and kowtowed.
Father Qiao looked at them with his eyes since they came in. When they knelt down, he quickly got down from his seat and helped them.
"Brother is finally back. He has suffered a lot these years." Qiao Jingya looked like an official, and he supported Qiao's father and made a gesture of sorrow.
Qiao Jingshan also echoed.
Father Qiao took them to talk about their brotherhood.
Qiao Jingcang's face was as dark as water, and he occasionally glanced at Lan and others.
Lan received his gaze and looked back at him lightly. Qiao Jingcang was startled and quickly lowered his head.
Qiao Jingya's wife Yang took her son and daughter to salute Lan: "Come and see your grandmother. You have been feeling unwell for the past two days and your grandmother has not come to visit you since she came back. Come and apologize to your grandmother."
Lan didn't want to argue with the children, so after they bowed, she asked: "What's your name? How old are you?"
The older girl said: "Go back to my grandma. My granddaughter's name is Ru Lan. She is sixteen years old."
The young man standing next to her said after she finished speaking: "My grandson's name is Ming Fang. He is fourteen."
Lan glanced at the two of them and called Ru Lan beautiful and Ming Fang handsome. She nodded and motioned to Mother He to give red envelopes to the two children.
After the two children took it and thanked them, Lan asked Mingjue, Mingyu and others to get to know them.
A sweet-looking woman standing behind Yang also pushed the son and daughter beside her to greet Lan.
Yang glanced at her, then called a girl next to the other woman and two other slightly younger boys, took the four of them and said to Lan, "These are also my wife's children."
While doing so, he introduced who was who to Lan and others.
Qiao Mingjin took a look. These four children were probably Qiao Jingya's four concubine children. The eldest was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and the youngest was only seven or eight years old.
After the Qiao Jingya family met with the Li Lan family, the little Fang family was not far behind. Her two daughters were already married, but she still had two bastards. Seeing that the red envelope given by the Lan family was not light, she naturally also
Don't want to fall behind.
One of the two children is named Mingyi, who is fourteen years old, and the other is named Mingzhi, who is only ten years old.
The younger one had a tiger-like appearance, and Lan smiled and touched him and gave him an extra purse. He was so happy that he grinned at Lan.
Then came Qiao Jingshan’s children.
Qiao Jingshan has two sons and two daughters. Because he was born late, he was only in his early thirties, and his children are also young. The oldest is only ten years old, and the youngest is only six or seven years old.
The eldest son Mingli and the eldest daughter Rulan were born to Zhang, the first wife. The concubine Mingzhi was nine years old, and the concubine Rulan was only seven years old.
Lan treated everyone equally and gave them the same purse.
The children were young and quite polite, but Qiao Jingcang's two concubines showed some disdain on their faces. They held the purse in their hands and even squeezed it.
Lan didn't care either. He talked to them for a few words and then sent them away.
Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Fang haven't come over yet. Mrs. Lan doesn't care at all. Anyway, they won't be able to live together for long. Everyone lives in their own courtyard and is quiet.
The next day, the family got up early in the morning.
Qiao Jing'an's family also came here early and said they wanted to go to the ancestral graves to worship together, and Lan agreed.
The master, servants, and seven or eight cars drove towards the ancestral graves.
After walking outside the city for more than an hour, we arrived.
The ancestral tomb occupies a very large area, with green trees, luxuriant grass, slopes and streams.
It is said that this place was visited by a Feng Shui master. It is a real treasure of the underworld. It can bless future generations with peace and wealth.
Later, when the Qiao family became prosperous, they bought land next to their ancestral graves at a high price and found someone to renovate it. The scenery was truly beautiful. Those who didn't know it thought they had arrived at some scenic spot with beautiful scenery.
On the central axis of the ancestral tomb are the tombs of direct descendants, on both sides are the tombs of direct descendants, and further away are the tombs of collateral descendants.
All the tombs of direct descendants are arched with blue bricks and stones, and are circled with bluestones, paved with stone steps, and a stone table for placing offerings is built in front of the tombstone that is as tall as an adult.
Pines and cypresses were planted in front of the tomb, one on the left and one on the right.
There is no such thing for the side branches and general branches. Some of them are just rounded with soil. Even the inscriptions are barely legible.
Wan'er felt a little scared since she arrived at this place. She held Qiao Mingjin's hand tightly and refused to let go.
Qiao Mingjin took her and walked slowly.
Qiao's father's eyes were red since he got out of the car. When he found Qiao Xingcun's tomb, he threw himself on the steps and choked.
Lan just walked around the tomb silently, then stared at the tombstone higher than her for a long time without saying a word.
Qiao Mingjin and others helped place the offerings, and then they knelt and worshiped according to the instructions of the slave guarding the tomb.
Finally, Mingjue and Mingheng were instructed to add soil to Qiao Xingcun's tomb and paint the tombstone red. Qiao Mingjin, Mingyu, Mingqi, and Qiao's mother helped burn paper money.
When the paper money burned to ashes, Father Qiao still knelt in front of the grave and murmured sadly.
Qiao Mingjin looked at Lan and Father Qiao, then pulled the family back.
It wasn't until I turned a corner and lost sight of the two of them that I heard Father Qiao's sad voice...
Half an hour later, Lan called them over in a hoarse voice to spread the wine and collect the offerings.
He pointed to the open space next to Qiao Xingcun's tomb and showed it to Qiao Mingjin: "That place is reserved for my grandmother."
Qiao Mingjin had a lump in her throat.
A person's life will only end with dust returning to dust and dust returning to dust.
Cherish while you are alive.
Then he stepped forward to help Lan.
The family visited the graves of Qiao Xiangyou and Fang again.
According to custom, they shared the food and meat in front of the tomb. They rested for a while before boarding the car and leaving.
The next day, it was early again, and the whole family went to Baoxiang Temple outside the city for a three-day ashram.
Because Qiao Jing'an's family went to worship yesterday and received praise from the clan, they went to Baoxiang Temple that day. Fang and Liu's family members also went with their wives and children.
Suddenly, the carriages in the ancestral home were not enough. A few were temporarily borrowed from the clan leader and several clan clansmen.
Because we have to stay at Baoxiang Temple for two nights, we have a lot of packages and people accompanying us.
Qiao Mingjin went out and took a look at the people in the two rooms, and found that the people in the two rooms had even brought their makeup boxes.
Ming Qi rolled her eyes when she saw it. She only brought a change of clothes. Put them together with Ming Yu's clothes, and a furoshiki couldn't fit them all. She didn't know who she was dressing up for with the makeup box.
The family's trip naturally attracted the attention of every household in Yizhou City.
Within half a day, almost everyone in Yizhou City knew that the eldest son of the Qiao family was back. He was going to do a dojo for his late father.
The first wife of the Qiao family was empty, and the head of the family had not restored the family for more than twenty years. People who knew the inside story were paying close attention. As soon as the first wife returned, many people came to inquire about the news.
Since the Lan family fell into despair many years ago, they have already moved out of Yizhou City and lived in Zhuangzi on the outskirts of the city.
There was such a big battle in the Qiao family today, so they naturally knew the news.
In the Lan family, Lan Antai's wife Shi Shi ran to her husband's study excitedly after hearing the news from her eldest son.
"Have you heard? Your eldest sister is back!" Mrs. Shi said with joy on her face.
The child's great-aunt is back and she has brought her family with her. Naturally, the head of the Qiao family is the son of the great-aunt. The Lan family has hope and can return to the original Lan family mansion!
She was really tired of living in this country.
Lan Antai glanced at his wife lightly, then turned his eyes to the book in his hand.
"Did you hear me talking to you? Look, you keep your hands on the book all day long. In so many years, I haven't seen you pass the Jinshi examination or be awarded an official or a knighthood. On the contrary, you buy pens and ink every month, and your grandchildren haven't been laid off for a long time.
Got some clothes?"
Lan Antai's book was taken away, and he became angry and shouted: "Don't mess around there! I haven't bought a pen or ink in the past few months! If you hadn't used the money at home to put usury, our family would have ended up in this situation.
!”
Shi was furious and rushed to scratch him.
Lan Antai had already been treated like this before, so he ducked away.
Shi couldn't scratch it and cursed angrily: "You have the nerve to blame me! If you hadn't failed every test, our family would have been ruined? If you had been awarded the official title as early as your elder brother, our family would still be prosperous and popular today.
Woolen cloth!"
"You have the nerve to mention my eldest brother!"
"Why don't I dare to mention it?"
Lan Antai was so angry that his chest heaved violently. His wife reminded him of the past, and he was in a trance. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.
