Chapter 2: Struggle
Xiao Cui entered the courtyard, looked around and saw Xia Yan in the house, raised an eyebrow and walked straight in. Xiao Cui was wearing a purple cotton skirt, with a pair of white delicate feet wearing pink soft-soled cloth shoes, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, she had a few points of beauty. However, at this time in front of Xia Yan, she put on a proud expression, somewhat looking down on him.
"Xia Yan, the clan leader wants you to go to the conference hall immediately!" Xiao Cui walked into Xia Yan's room. Xia Yan didn't respond to her and continued writing slowly on the rice paper with a brush. Xiao Cui glanced at Xia Yan and called out his name directly, without any respect in her tone, clearly not treating him as her master.
Xia Yan didn't care about this either. He had been living in this forgotten corner of the Xia family for fourteen years, so why would he be bothered by a servant's arrogant attitude?
"Uh-huh, got it." Xia Yan responded casually, but his mind was racing with guesses as to why the clan leader would send him to the council hall. The council hall was such an important place that even the favored younger generations of those families couldn't enter at will.
Just as Xia Yan was frowning and thinking deeply, Xiao Cui suddenly slapped the table heavily, startling Xia Yan who was lost in thought.
Xiao Cui snorted softly and said with a mocking tone, "Xia Yan, the clan leader has called you to the council hall. How can you still not go immediately? Are you going to make the clan leader wait for you?"
At this time, Xiao Cui's tone was as if the master was scolding a servant. As a direct descendant of the Xia family, even if he wasn't treated with courtesy, he shouldn't be ordered around by a servant like that, right? Seeing Xiao Cui looking down on him, Xia Yan gave her a cold glance.
Xiao Cui was looked at by Xia Yan, and suddenly felt a little guilty, her fingers trembling slightly. Perhaps sensing her own weakness, she immediately sneered with a disdainful expression: "Hmph, living in such a thatched cottage where even servants wouldn't stay, yet still thinking oneself is the master? Looking at that sickly appearance, just like that annoying woman."
The woman in Xiaocui's mouth is naturally Xia Yan's mother. She has been in the Xia family for seven or eight years, and she knows Xia Yan's mother.
Xia Yan's face suddenly turned black, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he suppressed his anger and said: "Heh, even if my body is weak, it's not difficult to kill you now. Xiaocui, you know that even if I killed you, it wouldn't be a big deal. For a large family like the Xia family, killing a few servants won't lead to anyone investigating!"
Looking at Xia Yan's cold smile revealing his white teeth, Xiao Cui felt a wave of panic and hastily retreated several steps, her eyes frantically looking at Xia Yan as her chest heaved violently. She was truly frightened by Xia Yan's words. As if she really feared that Xia Yan would kill her right there, she retreated several steps but still didn't feel safe, so she lifted her foot and exited the room, her face full of shock.
Xia Yan's expression just now was too frightening!
Xiao Cui, standing outside the door, twitched her mouth a few times, seemingly wanting to say some sarcastic words. Her eyes flickered as she looked at Xia Yan, but in the end, she didn't dare say what she wanted to and quickly turned around, taking small steps out of Xia Yan's courtyard.
After Xiaocui left, Xiaoyan quickly put away the books on the table, tidied up her long shirt that had been washed and was full of wrinkles, and rushed out of the courtyard towards the discussion hall in the front yard of the Xia family.
"The clan leader asked me to go to the council hall, could it be because of mother's spirit tablet?" Xia Yan's face showed a hint of excitement as he walked and thought.
The Xia family's mansion was very large, and it took Xia Yan half a cup of tea to walk from the back yard to the front yard. When he arrived at the outside of the council hall, Xia Yan saw two uncles standing guard in front of the solemn council hall door, so he calmed his mind and walked straight past them.
"Two uncles, the clan leader has asked me to enter the council hall to see him!" Xia Yan said respectfully as he approached.
The two elder uncles guarding the gate glanced at Xia Yan and said expressionlessly, "The clan leader and the elders are discussing matters inside. When you go in, don't speak out of turn, or you'll provoke the clan leader and risk losing your own life!"
"Two uncles, rest assured, I naturally won't speak recklessly!"
“Creak!” The large red door of the council hall was pushed open, and Xia Yan took a somewhat nervous step forward, this being his first time entering the council hall. The council hall was extremely grand, with no excessive decorations in the room, yet it gave off a heavy oppressive feeling. In the center, at the edge of a massive table, sat the patriarch of the Xia family, Xia Fei Long, and the nine elders of the Xia family.
Third Grandfather Xia Changhe sat among them, his face expressionless at this time.
The clan leader and the great elder, as well as several other elders, looked at Xia Yan with a scowl on their faces, seemingly displeased. Xia Yan saw this and felt a sudden jolt in his heart, thinking to himself: "Could it be that the clan leader and the others still won't allow Mother's spirit tablet to enter the ancestral hall and be placed alongside Father's?"
"Xia Yan, your mother's spirit tablet cannot be placed in the Xia family ancestral hall. Your mother is not a person of the Dragon Continent, and therefore does not qualify to become a member of the Xia family." The clan leader's stern voice spoke directly, and under the sharp gaze of the clan leader, Xia Yan felt a surge of oppressive air come towards him, making him feel powerless to resist, even wanting to kneel down in worship.
The frail figure trembled slightly under the pressure, and Xia Yan suddenly raised his head, biting his teeth, with a fearless gaze at the ten most powerful people in the Xia family present.
"Mother is Father's wife, why can't she enter the ancestral hall? The Third Elder also said that since Mother married Father, she is a member of the Xia family! Eldest Elder, Third Grandfather told me, don't you think Mother's spirit tablet should be placed in the ancestral hall too?" Xia Yan looked at Third Grandfather Xia Changhe and Eldest Elder Xia Lai.
"How dare you!" The elder's face changed in an instant, his eyes wide with rage as he slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Xia Yan and scolding him.
"Xia Yan, don't be reckless." The Third Elder Xia Changhe also furrowed his brow, looking at Xia Yan with a hint of helplessness on his face. He had done his best, but was powerless to do anything more.
"Third Grandfather, my mother is not a bad person!" Xia Yan's eyes turned cold as he saw Xia Changhe like this. "Third Grandfather, you understand Mother, you know that she really isn't a bad person. Before Mother died, she told me her last wish was to be with Father forever after she passed away. Mother lived in the Xia family for nine years and never did anything to harm others!"
"Ancestor! Please, please let my mother enter the ancestral hall!" Xia Yan's eyes were filled with a bloody haze, his hoarse voice full of sincerity and hope. For his mother's spirit to enter the ancestral hall, Xia Yan was willing to do anything.
Xia Yan had been waiting for six whole years, and during these six years, Xia Yan's greatest wish was to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, in the Xia family, he had no right to speak, and even a servant dared to look at him with disdain.
The clan leader, Xia Fei Long, gazed at Xia Yan with a piercing stare. In his heart, he thought that this young man indeed had an unyielding determination, but unfortunately, he was the child of that demoness. That demoness was from the Dark Night Continent, and among the nine elders of the family, only three agreed to place her spirit tablet in the ancestral temple.
