Standing at the door of the ancestral hall that was once the main house of the old Duke and his wife, and now the ancestral hall of the Zhenguo Palace, Shen Haolin, Shen Cha and Shen Jiu put away the smiles on their faces, lowered their heads, and reorganized themselves He walked in with his clothes on and a serious expression on his face.
As the steward of the Duke's Mansion and the closest brother of the old Duke, Yan Bo is the only outsider who is qualified and allowed to enter the ancestral hall. He comes here once a day and cleans the ancestral hall himself. If he doesn't come one day , it feels like this day has been in vain. He didn't just clean, he also sat in front of the old man's tomb, talked to him, and confided to him the things in his heart that he couldn't tell anyone, just like they did when they were young. .
Every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is the official day for worshiping ancestors at the Zhenguo Palace. Uncle Yan will come here very early, wipe each spiritual tablet with a rag, wipe the table where the spiritual tablet is placed, clean the floor of the ancestral hall, and then help Shen Haolin. , agarwood tea, agarwood wine, prepared items for ancestor worship, a brazier for burning millet stalks, a large pot of millet stalks, a new ever-burning lamp and lamp oil, and three brand new futons were prepared in front of the memorial tablet. After finishing these preparations, Uncle Yan quietly returned to his yard, lay down next to Qin Zheng, and took another nap.
"Uncle Yan has already arrived."
"Yes, Uncle Yan won't be able to sleep well if he doesn't come over to clean it up." Shen Haolin nodded in agreement, pushed open the door of the ancestral hall, and smelled a fresh smell with a faint pine scent. "My father likes this taste very much."
"Uncle Yan is really very considerate. Everything is done according to the preferences of his father and mother during his lifetime."
Shen Haolin walked to the memorial tablet of the ancestors of the Shen family and knelt on the first futon. Shen Cha and Shen Jiu knelt behind him and kowtowed three times to the memorial tablet respectfully. After kowtowing, Shen Haolin stood up with Chen Cha and Chen Jiu, lit the everlasting lanterns one by one, and replaced the old ones.
"The lamp oil this time looks different from every year." Shen Jiu looked at it curiously, "It feels much thicker."
"This lamp oil was sent out by Your Majesty yesterday at the request of Eunuch Pan. It is made by the imperial government, so it is naturally different from the previous ones." Shen Cha took the ever-burning lamp that Shen Jiu had lit and gently placed it on the old man's spiritual place. Next to him, "The shops that make lamp oil in our city don't have this kind of craftsmanship." Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin and said, "As a rule, brother invites you first!"
Shen Cha pulled Shen Jiu and stood at the door, watching Shen Haolin kneeling on the futon, holding a handful of millet stalks and putting them into the burning brazier.
"My ancestors and clans are here, the 18th generation eldest grandson Shen Haolin congratulates my ancestors and clans on the new year!"
Shen Haolin kowtowed again and slowly told in detail what happened in Jiaping Pass, Shen Jiajun and the Zhenguo Palace this year. After finishing speaking and kowtowing again, Shen Haolin clasped his hands together and slowly closed his eyes.
"Father, mother, there is something very important. I want to confess to you two in front of all the ancestors." Shen Haolin thought silently in his heart, "My son has fallen in love with Cha'er and wants to marry Cha'er. The son is his wife. He will love her and take care of her all his life, and will not let her suffer any grievances. Just like his father does to his mother, he will always protect her. The son asks his father and mother’s spirits in heaven to protect him so that he can fulfill his wish. He also implores his father and mother. May Cha have a healthy and smooth life, stay away from disease, and stay away from pain."
Shen Haolin slowly opened his eyes, looked at the more than thirty spiritual tablets in front of him, kowtowed three times respectfully, then slowly stood up, walked to Shen Cha's side, stretched out his hand to touch She turned her head and said, "Go ahead and tell your father and mother whatever you have in mind. They have spirits in heaven and they will definitely hear you."
"Okay!" Shen Cha nodded, slowly walked to the memorial tablet, and knelt on the futon that Shen Haolin had just been on. She looked at the souls for a while, then slowly picked up a handful of millet stalks and put them into the fire basin. Watching the millet stalks being slowly devoured by the flames in the basin, she kowtowed solemnly and closed the door gently. Eyes, he said silently in his heart, "My ancestors, I have a request for my unfilial grandson. Ancestors, please keep my brother safe. No matter what happens, please protect him from getting sick or getting hurt. If my brother is there, If you didn’t do well, please let your unfilial grandson bear all the punishment that your brother should bear. Please!” Shen Cha opened his eyes, looked at the tombs of the old Duke and his wife, and said silently in his heart. , "Father, mother, I haven't come to see you two for a while. I hope you won't blame me." Shen Cha took a deep breath and continued silently, "A lot of things have happened in the city recently, brother. I have already explained it, so I won’t go into details. After this series of things, I realized my feelings. Therefore, I have something very important to tell my father and mother. I have developed feelings for my brother other than brother-sister feelings. Emotionally, I hope that my father and mother can understand my son, and I also hope that my father and mother will not be disappointed in my son because of this. If my son can be with his brother in the future, he will definitely not let him down, nor his father and mother's expectations."
After saying everything he wanted to say, Shen Cha kowtowed to the spiritual throne again, stood up slowly, and walked to Shen Haolin's side.
"It's your turn, speak properly and don't talk nonsense." Shen Cha patted Shen Jiu on the shoulder, "Go!"
"Oh!" Shen Jiu responded, happily ran to the memorial tablet, knelt down on the futon, "Ancestors above, Xiaojiu, you kowtow, wish you a happy New Year!" Shen Jiu kowtowed three times, smiling. He looked at the memorial tablet in front of him and said, "Eldest brother and sister must have said a lot of very emotional words, and they are probably very heavy. I am different from them, we can talk about something more relaxed. Well, father, mother, sister's master , that is, Uncle Qin Zheng has returned to Jiapingguan City. He has made peace with Uncle Yan, and he is tired of it every day. Wherever Uncle Yan goes, he will follow him. Also, Uncle Qin collected three The young apprentices are all orphans on the battlefield. This is really good news for me, because I am no longer the youngest child in the house, and I am also an older brother. This feeling is very good!" Chen Jiu turned around. He turned around and looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha who were standing at the door. He blinked at Shen Haolin, then turned back and said, "Well, I have to admit a mistake. I drank behind my sister's back yesterday. It was a gift from His Majesty." The wine. But...well, this wine doesn't taste good at all. It doesn't taste like wine at all. It feels lighter than plain water. I don't like it very much." Shen Jiu took a handful of millet stalks and put them into the brazier. Looking at the graves of the old Duke and his wife, he said in a low voice, "Father, mother, Jiu'er misses you. You must be well in heaven, and wish your eldest brother and sister happiness. They are the ones Jiu'er has met." The best, the best, the best person. Jiu'er has grown up now and can help her elder brother and sister share some of their burdens. Therefore, Jiu'er hopes that her elder brother and sister will not be so tired, get injured, or get sick again. Got it!"
After hearing Shen Jiu's words, Shen Haolin and Shen Cha looked at each other, holding each other's hands with happy expressions on their faces.
Their younger brother has grown up unknowingly. Although sometimes he is still very naughty, childish, and a headache for them, but today, he can say such words in front of all the ancestors, They were very moved.
"Okay, I have finished what I want to say. Ancestors, father and mother, Jiu'er will come to visit you often in the future. I hope you don't dislike Jiu'er coming too often!" Shen Jiu kowtowed three more times. He jumped up from the futon happily and trotted up to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. He pretended not to see the two people holding hands, blinked his eyes and said, "Are we leaving?"
"Yeah!" Shen Haolin patted Shen Cha on the head, "Let's go!"
The three people bowed deeply towards the spiritual throne again, turned around, pushed open the door of the ancestral hall, and left.
After returning to the entrance of the main courtyard along the original route, Mei Lin and Mei Zhu, who had been guarding here, ran to them.
"The Duke of the State, the eldest lady and the young master!" Mei Lin and Mei Zhu saluted, "The Marquis sent someone to deliver a message. After paying homage to his ancestors, he will take Sister Hongye to visit the temple fair. He will come to the country at noon. We had dinner at the Duke’s Mansion. A message came from the military advisor that he was going to bed and would come over for lunch. Also, Sister Miao Miao also had to take her three children to visit the temple fair, so she ate lunch outside, and then came over for lunch in the evening. return."
"Temple fair?" Shen Jiu jumped up excitedly, "Ah, today is the first day of the new year, there must be a temple fair! Brother, sister, let's go to the temple fair too?" He looked pitifully at Shen Haolin and Shen Tea, "We haven't been to a temple fair for many, many years."
"That's really what happened!" Shen Cha nodded, "Jiu'er, you are not on duty today, and you don't need to patrol, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Shen Jiu nodded, rushed over and held Shen Cha's arm with one hand, and Shen Haolin's arm with the other, swaying back and forth, "Go, go, go!"
"Okay, let's go, let's go!" Shen Haolin's head was about to explode from the shaking of Shen Jiu, so he quickly agreed to him.
"Great, we can go to the temple fair!" Shen Jiu shouted, letting go of the hands holding Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and skipped forward.
"Be careful and watch the road under your feet!"
As a result, before Shen Haolin finished speaking, he heard a shout of "Hey, wow". He and Shen Cha looked around and couldn't help laughing.
Shen Jiu was so happy when he knew that the three brothers could go to the temple fair. When he was happy, he got a little carried away and forgot to pay attention to the traps under his feet. As a result, he accidentally fell into a big pit.
