Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 637: Chapter 637: Troubles Arise During Zhongyuan Festival (Part IV)
 

And so, that was what led everyone to be here at this moment.

After paying their respects to the ancestors, they no longer lingered and headed straight to Macheng County. Naturally, there was no need to keep the rooms at the inn.

The Di family members got on their carriages, but did not go to the main Di Family residence any longer. Instead, they went straight to the location of the Di Family Ancestral Hall.

The Ancestral Hall of the Di Family’s main residence has a large area, far beyond what the small ancestral shrine in the village can compare to. At the foot of the towering and majestic green mountain, one can see the corner of a vermillion wall and flying eaves faintly revealing itself among the green shade from a distance. As the carriage turned around the mountain hollow, they arrived at a vast stretch of green grass with towering green pines and cypresses and crystal-clear pavilions. They continued following the stone path and stopped in front of an octagonal engraving.

“The residence where the main family now lives was built later, and this is the true main Di Family residence. As the population of the Di Family grew, this place became an occasional retreat for the main family members. Therefore, most of the buildings here follow the architectural style of the previous dynasty.” Elderly Mr. Di explained.

Liu Sisi got off the carriage, looked up, and saw the tightly closed door of the ancestral hall which looked black, old but heavy, and solid. There were two large door rings and two big doors tightly closed. Above the door hung a black plaque, which was written with four big golden characters: “Di Family Ancestral Hall.” It looked both solemn and solid.

The people did not have to wait long before the carriages from the main family also stopped in front of the ancestral hall.

This was the first time Liu Sisi and the others saw the people of the Di Family’s main branch. The leader was a thin old man, who was carefully escorted by two strong men as he walked towards the Ancestral Hall. A large group of people, men, women, old and young, followed him. It was like being in a Hundred-Flower Garden with a strong fragrance in the air that dazzled the eyes.

What surprised Liu Sisi and the others was not that, but the sudden appearance of Di Gaoyuan and his family among this group of people!

At this moment, Di Gaoyuan and the others looked quite different from how they had been in the Upper Village. Even Ms. Wang had changed her previous appearance of decadence, rejuvenated from head to toe. She even had two pearl and jade hairpins in her hair and was energetically talking to an older married woman next to her, making gestures as she spoke. The children of the second family branch followed closely behind them, all looking very different from before.

Liu Sisi looked back and exchanged glances with Di Yelei and others; they could see the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Why were they here?

Elderly Mr. Di did not mention this matter but went forward to pay his respects: “The 437th generation descendant of the Di family, the seventeenth grandson of the seventeenth generation, Di Fude, pays homage to the ancestor!”

As Elderly Mr. Di knelt down, Liu Sisi and others naturally followed suit, forming a large group of people kneeling down in the black shade.

The ancestor looked at Elderly Mr. Di kneeling by the road, then turned to a man beside him and asked: “Is the one kneeling down the 437th great-great-grandson of the seventeenth generation? I heard that you came to the mansion yesterday but did not enter. What is the meaning of this? Hmph! Are you looking down on the mansion or what?”

It seemed that someone had indeed set up some obstacles to their visit yesterday!

Elderly Mr. Di was not afraid of the imposing atmosphere of the other party, but said indifferently: “Yesterday, my great-great-grandson indeed led a large group of people to the main family, but there was no one at home. There was only one serving woman left to entertain guests. Even if Fude is inexperienced, he cannot take such a liberty, can he? So, I left a message and went straight to the inn to stay. May I ask the ancestor, where did my great-great-grandson go wrong?”

“Who said that no one was at the mansion?” the ancestor roared in anger!

Elderly Mr. Di looked puzzled: “This… but yesterday, only this serving woman came out of the mansion to greet us. My great-great-grandson thought that the Mansion Master had left, so a big family like ours in the Di family would only let a serving woman greet guests. Ancestor, could it be that my great-great-grandson misunderstood?”

The ancestor was speechless, as he naturally understood the meaning of everyone’s actions.

Thinking that the Di family had always been a scholarly family, suddenly producing a military officer was an utter disgrace to the ancestors. And surprisingly, this Di Fude even had the audacity to erect a monument in the ancestral hall. This was like a toad yawning – such a big mouth!

Hence, the people in the manor wanted to strike a blow to the opponent’s prestige. He naturally knew about this but chose to turn a blind eye, allowing the people below to cause trouble and suppress the opponent’s momentum.

But they never expected that the other party would just walk away!

He couldn’t bear the humiliation in his heart and couldn’t just give up like that!

“Hmph! Di Fude, you and I both know the truth, so there’s no point in you trying to sophistically argue. You should have heard from your ancestors why your branch was relocated to Macheng County. The reason I bring up this old matter today is to caution you not to be too clever for your own good and risk endangering Qingqing’s life!”

Having said that, Xuanzu didn’t wait for Elderly Mr. Di to speak further and walked directly through the crowd towards the Ancestral Hall.

“Di Family’s Ancestral Hall, the 432nd generation grandson Jinglun leads everyone to pay respects to the ancestors! Open the Ancestral Hall! ——”

Accompanied by a loud shout, the two dark main entrance doors of the Ancestral Hall opened with a response. The heavy doors made a deep creaking sound as they opened, and the Ancestral Hall looked like a deep dark hole waiting to devour countless people.

Immediately after, Xuanzu led the crowd in single file into the Ancestral Hall.

At the moment, Elderly Mr. Di was still kneeling on the side of the road, his face covered in cold sweat.

Di Yelei hurriedly helped Elderly Mr. Di up and stood him aside. Everyone followed.

Liu Sisi, seeing that everyone was too busy to pay attention to their side, lowered her head and asked, “Father, what happened back then that Xuanzu just mentioned?”

Elderly Mr. Di was reluctant to answer, but seeing that it was Liu Sisi who asked the question, he thought about it and still said it.

“Back then, our family ancestor was involved in a conflict between lineal and side branches. The candidate he supported lost, and our family ancestor was also implicated, being expelled from the family’s power core, and the whole family was relocated to Macheng County. Later, due to certain reasons, we settled in the Upper Village. The story is a long one.”

Di family’s settling in the Upper Village had something to do with Di Yelei’s biological mother.

Liu Sisi nodded, indicating that she understood.

It was not surprising that their ancestors of this branch stood on the wrong side and were expelled from the family’s core. However, the words of the so-called Xuanzu were strange.

“No matter, we originally came for a reason today. As long as we get the job done and do it well, that will be enough.”

As for the rest, let them handle it!

“I was thinking the same thing, as long as we complete the ceremony for the children to recognize their ancestors, everything else doesn’t matter.” Elderly Mr. Di’s thinking was still old-fashioned.

Ahead, everyone entered the Ancestral Hall according to their lineal or side branch status and order of birth. According to the ancestral teachings, daughters were not allowed to go up to the attic, but daughters-in-law could go there to worship the ancestors.

By the time Liu Sisi and others reached the Di Family’s Ancestral Hall with Elderly Mr. Di, Liu Sisi realized the difference of the Di family.