The steward heard the sound and came over. When he got closer, he glanced at the table and was slightly stunned. Then he quickly apologized to them and quickly found the servant to serve snacks again.
After waiting, the steward saw Zhu Qiuqi waving to him impatiently before going down. When I went down, I was still wondering. All these snacks had been laid out a long time ago, so how could one be missing inexplicably? Could it be that he was snatched away by the greedy cat in the house?
After the steward left, Zhu Qiuqi slowly stretched out his hand to twist a piece of cake and put it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly and nodded slightly, saying that the cake tasted good. Seeing that Zhu Shenzui and others were useless, he smiled and said that he had I was in such a hurry that I didn’t have breakfast, so why don’t my uncle and his two uncles share some?
Zhu Shenzui waved his hand and said that he didn't need it since he came here after breakfast, but he asked them to leave two pieces for him, and he would take them back to Qiao'er at home to taste them after they were done here.
Zhu Minfeng smiled and took a piece of it and put it into his mouth. Only Zhu Minxi lowered his head and said nothing. He looked very embarrassed now. The pastry was hidden on his body. Zhu Qiuqi suddenly shouted in his voice just now. When he went out, Zhu Min's face flushed red, and he was even more panicked. Today was a clan gathering, and it would be a big loss if everyone knew that he had taken away the cakes as soon as he arrived.
Just as he was panicking, he suddenly felt someone kicking him at his feet. Zhu Minchu raised his head subconsciously and saw Zhu Shenzui reminding him: "What are you thinking about? So lost in thought? Come on, come on, Xiao Shiba is calling you to use pastries." Well, try it with a piece?"
"Oh...oh..." Zhu Minzhu finally came back to his senses. At Zhu Shenzui's reminder, he reached out and took out a piece of pastry, put it into his mouth and chewed it slowly. At the same time, he paid attention to Zhu Qiuqi's and the others' reactions. They had normal expressions and were relieved.
There were not many pastries, just such a plate. After using two pieces, Zhu Qiuqi's throat felt dry, so he picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip.
"Fifth Uncle, I haven't seen you for a while. How are you doing?"
"Haha...Okay...Okay..." Hearing Zhu Qiuqi suddenly ask himself, Zhu Minchi, who was already a little flustered, subconsciously replied.
"What's good? Do I still know about your family's situation? Stop pretending to be fat! Xiao Shiba, don't eat any more of these pastries. Leave two pieces for your uncle, and you'll get the rest for five Uncle will bring some of your younger brothers and sisters back to try." Zhu Minfeng interjected at the side. He and Zhu Minsu were of very close blood. The two families had the same grandfather, so they were considered serious cousins.
He knew the situation of Zhu Minxu's family very well. After Zhu Minshu's father, his biological uncle, left, the family's life was not very good, and the family's salary was in arrears. , Zhu Minxi would not be able to survive if he didn't rely on selling his meager property and receiving support from his cousins.
Zhu Qiuqi just called for the steward. Others didn't know. Didn't he, Zhu Minfeng, know? My fifth brother was almost burying his head in his crotch in embarrassment just now. Needless to say, Zhu Minchun must have hidden those pastries that were gone in front.
As for why you hide it? Does this need an explanation? Nothing more than to take home for the kids. Thinking of this, Zhu Minfeng couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It was really sad that the dignified clan had fallen into such a state.
Zhu Qiuqi was stunned, but not stupid, and he was also very smart.
Does he still understand when his uncle says this? He immediately nodded in agreement, and helped put away the remaining pastries, giving two pieces to Zhu Shenzui, and the rest to Zhu Minchu.
"Put it away, this table is full of family members, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Zhu Shenzui generously stuffed the paper bag containing two pastries into his arms, and said with a smile to Zhu Minlu, who was a little at a loss.
"Sixth uncle is right, fifth brother, we are all members of our own family, just keep it." Seeing that Zhu Minxi was still stunned, Zhu Minfeng simply helped him pick it up and put it directly in his hand.
Only then did Zhu Minsu come back to his senses. He glanced at a few people gratefully, nodded and hid the things. After putting them away in his arms, a smile appeared on his face at first, but then he became sad again.
Patting Zhu Minxi's shoulder, Zhu Minfeng sighed and said nothing. The life of Zhu Minsu's family is difficult. Although his family is slightly better than Zhu Minsu's, to be honest, it is not much better.
The living standards of the entire clan are polarized. The high-level clans are pretty good, but it can be said that few families in the middle and low-level clans have a good life. Most of them don't live a good life, and they are even very miserable. Not to mention that Zhu Minsu's family had a good meal, some clans were even worse than his family, and some even starved to death.
Speaking of which, the middle and lower-level clans, especially the lower-level clans, had resentments towards the imperial court. The key is that the imperial court's control over the clan is too strict. Let's not talk about what the clan can't do. Nowadays, the salary is often withheld and underpaid, which makes the clan members feel unhappy.
These clans may look glamorous on the surface, but in fact most of them live worse than ordinary people. Because of the difficult life, there are many people who curse their mothers in private, not to mention the court and officials. Even the current emperor Wanli does not Spare them a few curse words.
But today's occasion is different. With so many clan members here, you still have to be careful about what you say. Their table is okay, at least they are all relatively close, but the other tables are different. In addition, we are in the general's mansion today. There are many servants in the general's mansion. The partition wall has ears. In case I am wrong. If your words are heard, there is no guarantee that they won't cause trouble.
So, although there were a lot of things in my stomach that I wanted to talk about, a few of them still didn't say much. Everyone sat quietly, chatting about ordinary topics, drinking tea, and patiently waiting for the ancestor worship ceremony to come.
More than half an hour later, the ancestor worship ceremony is about to begin.
Zhu Minfan, the general of the auxiliary state, is the chief priest today. Since today is a big day for the clan, not only the Taiyuan Jin Palace sent stewards to attend, but also the Pingyang Prefecture.
However, according to the rules of the imperial court, both the Jin Palace and the Pingyang Prefecture only sent their subordinates to show up. No one with status on either side came. This is also a common practice. After all, the jurisdiction over the vassal kings was very strict. Not to mention King Jin, even the crown prince of Jin and the eunuchs in the palace were not allowed to leave Taiyuan Mansion.
The prefect of Pingyang, as usual, only sent the master below for a visit and did not show up himself. After all, it is not a good thing for officials to get involved with the clan, and suspicion needs to be avoided in this regard.
The ancestor worship ceremony began like this. With the arrival of the auspicious time, the clan members who came today got up one after another, walked out of the flower hall one by one, and followed Zhu Minfan to the front.
Everyone lined up according to seniority and title, and under the leadership of Zhu Minfan, they began to worship their ancestors.
The whole process is very complicated, so I won't describe it one by one. It took a long time to complete. After the tossing was over, everyone got up from the ground and rubbed their numb knees. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time they were filled with great expectations.
When Zhu Minfan announced that the ancestor worship was completed, a banquet had been prepared in the General's Mansion, and all the clan members were invited to sit down and enjoy the banquet together. Everyone's mouths were filled with saliva and their eyes were bright. Especially several lower-level clan members who haven't eaten since last night are looking forward to it with great anticipation. After struggling for so long and kowtowing so much, isn't it just for this meal? What are you waiting for? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up to get started!
The banquet at the General's Mansion was quite good. Zhu Minfan was not short of money. There was wine and meat on the table, and the portion was not too small.
Everyone sat down one by one. As soon as Zhu Minfan asked everyone to sit down, everyone eagerly picked up their chopsticks. The chopsticks were like raindrops heading towards the meat and vegetables on the table. In the blink of an eye, the table was completely empty. After a few meat dishes, the food disappeared.
Looking at this group of wolf-like clan members with their mouths bulging and the chopsticks in their hands still stretching and retracting, the host Zhu Minfan felt very uncomfortable.
He sat at the main table, drank a glass of wine, picked up a chopstick of food and tasted it, and then left the table citing physical discomfort.
He knew that the clan was having a hard time, but every clan member was wolfing down food like the refugees, which made him feel uncomfortable. When did the dignified clan fall to this point? Thinking about his own age, and then thinking about his children and grandchildren, maybe in a hundred years, his general's palace may also decline. Thinking of this, Zhu Minfan felt uncomfortable, and simply turned a blind eye.
