Chapter 10: Evening (Part 1)

  A few days ago, the Yangning Marquis's mansion had changed its couplets, cleaned up the ancestral temple and the utensils inside, invited the gods, and redecorated the upper rooms of each courtyard. Except for the idle young masters and misses, everyone from top to bottom was busy with their feet not touching the ground. Even the small servants in the outer courtyard were running while walking. Yangning Marquis Chen Jiu personally brought the annual 200 taels of white silver reward, which was placed early in the ancestral temple. The rest of the clan members also came to the mansion to receive the New Year's gifts and asked about the opening day of the ancestral temple. After all, on this day, regardless of wealth or status, everyone had to wear good clothes to worship their ancestors.

  On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the gate of the Yangning Marquis's residence was packed with relatives from both the main and collateral branches. Inside the mansion, all the doors were wide open, from the front gate to the back hall of the main hall. When the time arrived, elder family members led the way at the forefront, guiding these clan members to the ancestral temple. The ancestral temple was located in a small courtyard on the east side of the marquis's residence, with a plaque that read "Chen Clan Ancestral Temple". The couplet was written by the Taizu Emperor himself when he conferred the title, and it read: "Faithful loyalty to report to the nation, brilliant and illustrious spirits shining brightly; Filial piety passed down through generations, endless virtues spreading far and wide". Therefore, before entering, everyone naturally had to pay their respects in front of the ancestral temple.

  This hundred-year-old family, of course, has its own rules and etiquette. Chen Lan followed the crowd in this room without a fire pit, kowtowing and standing up, standing up and kowtowing again, finally making it to the end of the ritual. After leaving the ancestral hall, the direct descendants of the clan gathered in the main house of Qing Xi Ju, specifically to pay their respects to the Zhu family.

  After the ceremony, everyone sat down in their seats again. Zhu Shi sat on the kang at the top and saw that everything, including the pillow, backrest, chair cushion, footstool, and kang table, was exactly the same as before. She couldn't help but smile with satisfaction: "I didn't expect that these few years this place has been empty, it's still the old style, nothing has changed, you are all thoughtful people."

  After all, it was the eve of the Lunar New Year, and Yangning Marquis Chen Jiu didn't disappear as usual after just a brief appearance. Hearing what his mother-in-law said, he bowed slightly and replied: "This is, after all, the old lady's residence for many years, so I wouldn't dare to make any changes. The previous madam also told me that Lianxiang Institute was narrow and inconvenient, it would be better if the old lady moved back to Qingxi Residence which is more spacious."

  Madam Ma also nodded in agreement and didn't mention it again, but Madam Zhu just shook her head and said: "I'm an old woman who's already half-buried, what am I still doing here? I know you two have filial piety, but since your husband has already inherited the title for several years, there's no need to deliberately leave it empty. In my opinion, after the Lunar New Year, you can move in."

  As soon as this was said, Chen Jiu's eyes lit up, but Mrs. Ma hurriedly made a few modest remarks, her eyes darting towards the kang from time to time. Although she had renovated her house in recent years and the decorations in Zining House were also exquisite, they were far inferior compared to Qingxi House. To say nothing of other things, the decorative pieces on the kang here were all priceless antiques from famous kilns during the Song Dynasty, not a single one of which she dared to surpass. Since her heart was not in it, her words of refusal sounded somewhat insincere. In the end, under Zhu Shi's persistent persuasion, the couple finally agreed to come down together.

  It was time for the elders to give out money to the younger generation, and the servants in the house gave a New Year's greeting to the masters of each room, distributing money according to their duties. Then another round of feasting began, with men on one side and women on the other seated and enjoying themselves. Before long, firecrackers started going off outside. The Hou estate was brightly lit everywhere, with lanterns hung high, and silk-clad maidservants could be seen everywhere, each corner exuding an atmosphere of wealth and luxury.

  Chen Lan saw Chen Bing and Chen Huan sisters supporting Zhu Shi in the corridor, watching the fireworks outside, and there were many close relatives of the clan standing beside Zhu Shi, flattering her. She didn't want to squeeze inside anymore. Because on this day lanterns were hung everywhere, and there were firecrackers, Qin Fang stayed with the little maids in Jinxiu Pavilion to watch the house, and she only brought Hong Luo and Su Mu Hu Jiao.

  Su Mu Huo was young and had already slipped away to watch the fireworks with the other girls. Hong Luo stayed with her for a while, worried that she would get cold, and suggested going inside to have some hot tea and adding more charcoal to the hand warmer. She stood alone in the deserted shadows, staring blankly at the laughing crowd not far away. It wasn't until she heard someone call out "sister" and saw Chen Yanxing rush over that she smiled and chatted with him for a bit. But seeing how rowdy it was on this side, she couldn't help but take a few steps towards the eastern wing of the house.

  Not having walked many steps, Chen Lan saw that the eaves on the other side were lit up with lanterns and there was a low murmur of voices, probably the servant women guarding the tea water chatting. She was just about to turn around to avoid them when her sleeve was suddenly pulled hard by Chen Yan.

  "Sister, let's take a look back, we must grasp what is true and give them a loss of face!"

  Facing this little troublemaker, Chen Lan shook his head and pulled Chen Yan's hand to take him away. They walked to the west side of the courtyard under a bright tile-roofed lamp, where a snake-shaped firework had already shot up into the sky. Only then did she lower her head to tighten the sash on Chen Yan's cloak and say: "Inside are probably just a few rough servant women who don't know what kind of jokes to tell. Even if there is something worth listening to, what if someone sees you sneaking around at the door? What would people think? One must be magnanimous and not give others an opportunity to criticize us on small matters. We should know that we are already not like others in this household, and we can't let people find fault with us."

  Chen Yan had been used to listening to his sister's lectures since he was a child, and they were all some nagging words that didn't have much to do with him. But this time, her words started from small things and ended up talking about big principles. He couldn't help but nod his head, but in his heart, another thought emerged - his sister only said that he himself couldn't eavesdrop on others' conversations, so it seemed that letting the young servants go and gather information was not wrong.

  Chen Lan didn't want to lecture his younger brother during the New Year's celebration, so he asked Chen Yan where the people following him had gone. As expected, Chen Yan nodded towards the crowd watching the fireworks and firecrackers, chuckled and said: "They wanted to follow me, but I thought they were a nuisance, so I let them go join in the fun and listen for any gossip."

  "You're so clever at such a young age!"

  The sister and brother were chatting, when Chen Lan suddenly saw someone rushing over from the other side. It was Hong Luo. When she approached, she noticed that Hong Luo's face looked a bit off, although she was holding a teacup in one hand and a hand warmer in the other, both hands were shaking slightly. She knew something must have happened in the room, so she didn't want Chen Yan to get involved, planning to find an excuse to send him away. But unexpectedly, Chen Yan had very sharp eyesight, snatching the tea from Hong Luo before her: "Sister Hong Luo, why is your face as pale as this?"

  "I..."

  The lantern light shone on her face, and Hong Luo knew that she couldn't hide her expression, but she didn't want to clarify it in front of Chen Yan. She was momentarily caught in a state of hesitation and confusion. Chen Lan, who was sitting across from her, felt his younger brother take the initiative to reach out and hold her hand, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke up: "Hong Luo sister, everyone else is over there making a commotion, it's quiet here, if you're having any trouble, just say so."

  At this moment, Hongluo turned her head and looked at the five main rooms for a while before finally making up her mind. She said in a low voice, "Because of the matter of fetching water and adding coal, I had a quarrel with Lanxin. It's something that would make Miss lose face if it gets out, I'm to blame."

  Chen Yan thought it was something big, but at this moment he couldn't help feeling disappointed and annoyed, pouting: "It's just a quarrel, what's there to worry about? Besides, she didn't give us anything, isn't that already a concession? Would she dare take the matter to Old Lady's place? Sister, I'll go check on my maids and have them gather some information, not let them follow their wild nature!"

  Look, Chen Yanxing has already rushed off. Only then did Chen Lan turn his head to look at Hong Luo: "Fourth brother is gone, if you have anything to say, just say it straight out, don't hide or conceal it. You're a steady person and not someone who can't take the air, how could you possibly be in this state just from quarreling?"

  Hong Luo's facial expression changed for a moment before she finally opened her mouth and spoke the truth.

  PS: It's not that I don't want to update more, but writing two books at the same time is really exhausting. My efficiency has increased a lot compared to last month, but recently there have been many things going on. This Friday morning, I need to rush out to participate in some kind of investigation, and there are also guests coming home to visit the Chinese pavilion, so it will take some time before I can see if I can update twice a day. By the way, everyone please support me with a few recommendation tickets, it's too pitiful... 55555...