sjar Chapter 576 A Beauty in Troubled Times (11)
Chapter 576 A Beauty in Troubled Times (11)
If what's hidden below isn't a large tomb, then it's very likely the Xie family's ancestral hall. After all, with over nine thousand years of history, even the ancestral tablets need a place to be placed.
Upon closer inspection, Wangyou discovered that the mountain was shrouded in an array. Apart from Dahe Village and the Xie family, or someone leading the way, no one could enter. No wonder there were no troops or bandits stationed nearby.
But none of that matters. What matters is that the two parties have started fighting again after the White Party broke off relations first. The Xie family did not participate again. For them, fighting the Japanese pirates was fine, but they would not participate in a war between their own people. That's what they have been doing for thousands of years.
Compared to the White Party, the Red Party was more popular. The great leader's policy of "a single spark can start a prairie fire" was fully embodied in this war.
Even so, the war was not easy, because there was a bald eagle behind the White Party, who did not want to see the Great Xia unified. This guy was still thinking about turning the Great Xia into their colony!
However, as the ancients said, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world." After three years of fighting, the war was finally won.
Although there are still many lingering issues, these are not problems and can be gradually improved. The most important thing is that Great Xia now has only one regime, and the land of Great Xia has been unified once again.
"What are you doing?" 16-year-old Wangyou asked, puzzled, looking at Bai Guan who was in a daze.
“I sensed the Heavenly Ribbon.”
"What Heavenly Ribbon?"
"It's my duty; I have to go and guard the gate."
"No, wait, you've already left the Zhang family, why should you still be guarding the gate? That's not your responsibility."
"It's very important, otherwise many people will get into trouble."
"Heh, what's so important about farts? My Xie family doesn't have that kind of responsibility."
"Don't swear, it's bad."
"What's inside the bronze door can't be let out; someone has to guard it. I have to go."
"Can't we just let it disappear?"
"No."
Wangyou looked at the sky speechlessly. Maybe this dilapidated world should just be destroyed. It's always going to have accidents, so what's the point of fixing it?
Heaven trembled in fear and hid, not daring to utter a sound. Even He couldn't control this matter!
“But ever since you ran away, the Zhang family has sent someone to take over the position of clan leader. Why do you still want to go? Shouldn’t the current clan leader go?”
When the Zhang family discovered that their patriarch was gone, he was taken away by the Xie family. They didn't dare to ask any questions, fearing that the Xie family head would remember them and wipe them out. So they secretly sent someone to take over the position of patriarch.
“I don’t know. I only know that He told me I had to go. It’s my mission in this world,” Bai Guan said to Wang You with a serious expression.
"Oh, then go ahead. Once you're gone, I'll have my mother cook all the rabbits you raised into spicy rabbit meat and eat them all."
"Okay, I'll raise it when I get back."
When Ms. Zhang and Mr. Xie returned and learned that Bai Guan was going to guard the Bronze Gate, and that he was a Heavenly Official, they had no choice but to leave without further objection. Bai Guan left the next day.
Not long after Bai Guan left, the Xie family members rushed back from all directions.
For the first time, Wangyou directly experienced the sheer size of the Xie family clan, as there was nowhere to stay and the nearby mountains were filled with tents.
Zhao Shuquan, the newly appointed county magistrate of Ping'an County, saw this scene and quickly led a group of people to investigate. After learning that the Xie family was preparing for ancestral worship, he returned home.
Within a few days, the county town was also overcrowded, with all available places to stay filled with people, including those who had come back from abroad.
Some of these people were dressed in fancy clothes, while others were dressed simply and plainly, but what was undeniable was their shared temperament.
Wangyou then realized that the Xie family's wooden plaques were not only symbols of status, nor were they only used for storage or as amulets; they were more of a ruler, a ruler that regulated their behavior.
On the day of the ancestral worship, the place was packed with people. The back of Dahe Mountain was finally opened up, and just as Wangyou had guessed, it was indeed the Xie family's ancestral hall down there. The number of ancestral tablets was so dense that it was impossible to count them all. No wonder it occupied such a large space.
Wangyou held three incense sticks, preparing to follow her father to worship their ancestors, but her father pulled her aside.
"Father?"
“If we stand here, we can’t worship. If we do, the ancestral tablets will be in trouble,” Old Xie whispered to Wangyou, then continued to preside over the ancestral worship ceremony.
Wangyou stopped asking questions and stood obediently to the side watching the grand ceremony. She also saw that after the ancestral worship, a ray of golden light flew out from each person's wooden tablet and returned to the ancestral tablet.
The placement of these memorial tablets is significant. The one in the very center is the direct descendant, the holder of the dragon tablet. The two on either side are the collateral descendants who are closer to the direct descendant, holding dragon tablets. And the ones on the very next to them are the collateral descendants of the collateral descendants, holding snake tablets.
Therefore, there are specific rules to follow when worshipping, and the position one stands in is closely related to the pattern on the wooden plaque.
Then came the reading of the family rules together. There were more than five thousand rules, and everyone knew them by heart. Not a single person was lip-syncing. The sound was incredible; it shook all the living creatures that could run and jump nearby to their deaths.
As Wangyou recited along, her eyes darted around without stopping her. She saw a white light appear behind the Xie family members who were reading the family rules, and they eventually disappeared into the wooden plaque.
Watching this scene, Wangyou felt it was very unscientific. If it was so unscientific, why did they have to stop them from changing? Wangyou really didn't understand.
After the ancestral worship ceremony ended, just as they had come, the Xie family members disappeared one after another, going about their business.
"Father, Mother, will Brother Xiao Guan starve to death if he goes to guard the gate?" After being forgotten for more than a month, Xiao Guan was finally remembered by Wang You.
"Probably not. There shouldn't be a shortage of food on the Bronze Gate side. I've never seen a gatekeeper starve to death before."
"Oh, then let's go to the capital. I heard there's going to be a grand founding ceremony on October 1st. Let's go and see!"
"Right on my mind!"
After sealing off their ancestral hall once again, Old Man Xie took Ms. Zhang and Wangyou out, while those who stayed behind began to store grain in the tunnels, stockpiling the food that the Xie family had collected from various places.
In fact, Beijing was one of the least affected areas by the war. Most of the buildings here are well preserved, except for the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, which was burned down. People have hope for life and are in a very good spirit.
The entire city is now preparing for the founding ceremony, and the army is doing everything it can to defend itself. On such a big day, it's obvious that any spies left behind will try to sabotage it.
The founding ceremony of the nation is of utmost importance; how could we allow anyone to disrupt it!
Therefore, the atmosphere on the street was quite serious.
Old Xie led his family to a garden villa, and after removing the array that had been covering it, they found that everything inside was exactly as it had been, without a speck of dust, as if the owners had never left.