The last time someone from the Xu family was elected was ten years ago. Not long after Xu Song became an official. If someone from the family was elected, of course something had to be done.
But that was just setting up a few tables at the house and inviting some friends who usually moved around a lot to celebrate.
This year is different.
In the blink of an eye, the Xu family has not had a candidate for the exam for a long time in the past ten years, and there are not even a few people who have passed the examination.
To put it bluntly, compared with a family like the Shen family, which had someone serving as an official since the beginning of the country, their background is still a bit thin.
If Xu Fan's father, Xu Kui, had not served as the chief registrar of Yin County and consolidated the Feng family, they would have been nothing more than small landowners in the countryside.
But when Xu Fan and Xu Song became high-ranking officials, the Xu family also felt that they were a high-ranking family in the Shili family.
But a weak foundation means a weak foundation. After Xu Song, he tried his best to teach the children of the clan, but the children did not make progress at all. On the contrary, there were many dandies like Xu Luan.
In the past two years, if Xu Song's son Xu Feng had not been an official in Fujian because of his father's influence, the Xu family had fallen so bad that they would not even have a fig leaf to cover it.
However, since the younger generation Xu He was born, the Xu family finally managed to keep the clouds clear and the moon shine bright.
The first case of the county examination, government examination and road examination in South Zhili is Xiao Sanyuan.
Now I took part in the provincial examination for the first time, and I passed the high school at the age of sixteen.
What's this?
What a genius.
How many people in the country are able to achieve high school education at the age of sixteen?
Yes, very few.
But our Xu family is out.
Therefore, Xu Dai did not ask his elder brother in Beijing for instructions, but directly opened an ancestral hall to express condolences to his ancestors and reward the villagers.
Liushui's banquet had been prepared two days ago, and today, the queue has almost reached the west end of the village.
"Hey! The Xu family from Tongzhou sent people over today, and they heard that they want to join our clan!"
"Bah, what are you thinking about? The people over there with the surname Xu, from a small family, now see the bright voice and understand Yuan, knowing that we will be developed for another few decades, so they are here to take advantage of it! No!"
"Have you heard? All the people who went to Liangsheng's house to donate money yesterday were kicked out!"
"Is there anything strange about this? Liang Sheng is very ambitious. How can he care about the two or three acres of land in this village?"
"Two or three acres? More than a thousand hectares!"
"...Oh, my heart hurts so much! What a waste of money!"
At this time, in the Xu family, Gao Guoguang looked at the elegant courtyard and said with envy: "I didn't expect brother Liangsheng to be so rich. If I had known, I would have eaten more of your meals when I was in school!"
Xu He laughed and said: "It's not about being rich, but I just don't have to work for a living! That's right!"
He turned to look at Wu Decao. Wu Decao smiled, turned around and left the main room. After a while, he took an envelope and handed it to Xu He.
Xu He put it on the table and pushed it to Gao Guoguang: "Guoguang, this is my thank you gift to all the teachers in Fu Xue. Please help deliver it!"
When Gao Guoguang saw the thick envelope, he knew it was a banknote, so he quickly said: "I have already used the banknote, I don't dare to hand it over!"
Xu He smiled: "If it weren't for the kindness of all the instructors, how could Xu He be here today? If it wasn't for you, you can't refuse it without permission!"
Gao Guoguang didn't know that this was the last time Xu He saw them living in poverty, so he found an excuse to help. He clasped his fists movedly and said, "Thank you, Brother Liangsheng!"
Xu He said speechlessly: "You are obviously older than me, but you keep calling me old!"
Gao Guoguang laughed.
At this moment, someone was sent from the ancestral hall to urge Xu He to attend the ancestor worship because the guests had almost arrived.
Today is a big event for the Xu family, and it is also very important for Xu He.
Because of his father, Xu Wei's spiritual tablet was placed in the ancestral hall to accompany his ancestors.
Although, because they are a small sect, even if they enter the family temple and ancestral hall, they must abide by the court regulations and make the spirit tablet smaller, and no decorations are allowed around the spirit plate. .
But for Xu's side sect, it was an earth-shattering event.
It's probably hard for people to understand now, but it's just a wooden sign. It doesn't matter whether you can get in or not.
But in this day and age, that's a supreme honor.
Giving face to your ancestors is the greatest form of filial piety.
Entering the ancestral hall, Xu Fan and Xu Song were awarded the title of Jinshi, as well as the plaques of his junior Sanyuan period hanging high.
All the tribesmen who were watching gradually became silent.
Xu He looked at the wooden frame in front of him. The top divine tablet was that of the great ancestor Xu Kui. It was not placed in the middle, but to the left.
There is a truth here, which is called Zuo Zhao and You Mu.
Zuo Zhao and You Mu are a long-standing patriarchal system.
A row facing south faces the sun, so it is called "Zhao".
The north-facing column has a dark front with backlight, so it is called "Mu".
To put it bluntly, the top is where the spiritual tablet of the founder of Xu Jia's lineage is placed.
But Xu Kui's parents died early when he was young, and he came from Hailing alone from Dongtai, so there was no central god.
The second, fourth, and sixth generations are located on the left side of the ancestor, facing south, and are called Zhao.
The third, fifth and seventh generations are located on the right, facing north, and are called Mu.
In other words, Xu Fan's god is on the right, and in Xu He's father's generation, it is on the left. By analogy, if Xu He can enter the ancestral hall a hundred years later, it will definitely be placed on the right. .
The patriarchal clan takes care of everything, so there is no need to worry about it.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Xu Dai specially invited an old Confucian from Yangzhou who was good at writing blessings to read the sacrificial articles in front of the god's main tablet.
Of course, the article was reporting good news to the ancestors, saying that the Xu family had another person named Xu He. This junior was a bit remarkable, and he was a member of the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, Xu Wei, who gave birth to Xu He, was a meritorious official of the Xu family. Well, We invited him over to accompany the ancestors. Are you happy?
After the blessings were recited and burned, Xu He burned incense and knelt down to pray in the curling smoke. After a while, the Xu clan members helped him up and offered incense respectfully.
He muttered some words again. These were all written by someone in advance and given to him to memorize.
The ceremony is almost over now.
Xu Dai was just about to announce the end when suddenly two people walked in from the Xu family ancestral hall.
As soon as these people entered the door, Xu Dai said in surprise: "Oh, it's your neighbor here!"
It turned out that it was Wang Liangchen and Shen Xuan who came to the ancestral hall.
Xu He was a little surprised to see the two of them.
But if you think about it, you will know the whole story. The other party wants to eliminate the influence. As long as he, the sufferer, has no objection, then with the power of the Shen family, it is estimated that no one in the court will dig deep into Shen's hometown to try to frame Xu He.
Because the matter had not spread yet, Xu Dai walked towards the two of them enthusiastically without knowing the inside story, which surprised Wang Liangchen and Shen Xuan.
There are also surprises in accidents. Xu He didn't even tell Xu Dai, which shows that in terms of attitude, he doesn't want to break up with the Shen family, which makes the next action much easier to operate.
Wang Liangchen breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Mr. Taiqiu, please come out quickly. The emperor gave Liangsheng a plaque and asked him to come quickly and thank the emperor for his kindness!"
