Zhang Yun's ancient life

In the early winter of the 19th year of Rende, in the Zhongjinghou Mansion in Beijing, white wan flowers were hung above the imperial plaque. Under the high eaves, a long string of white lanterns swayed left and right with the cold wind, and the candles inside the lanterns followed suit. The swaying movement fluctuates up and down, as if it might go out at any time.

At the main entrance of the Hou Mansion, people who came to express their condolences came and went quietly. In the mourning hall, facing the coffin, there were three young men kneeling.It was getting late and late, and all the guests who came to express their condolences had left, and the only ones left in the mourning hall were some members of the Zhongjinghou's family.

The elders of the Li family saw off the guests and came to the mourning hall. They looked at the three young men kneeling in front of the coffin with complicated expressions. The one on the far left was in his early twenties and had been kneeling there. Weeping loudly, when he heard someone coming in, the young man cried even louder, as if he was afraid that others would not hear him.

Kneeling in the middle was a teenager about fifteen or sixteen years old. He had been kneeling there straight since the coffin was carried back. The tears on his face were still wet, but his eyes were dull, as if he hadn't recovered from the loss of his father. Waking up from grief.

Kneeling on the far left is a child about eleven or twelve years old, who has been sobbing softly, probably because he has been kneeling on the ground for too long, his thin body trembled slightly, and then sneezed hard.

The boy kneeling in the middle seemed to be awakened by the sneezing. He quickly turned his head to look at his younger brother on the right. After seeing his pale face, he immediately took off his cloak and put it on his younger brother.

The clan elders looked at the young man who put on clothes for his younger brother, and they kept saying it was a pity in their hearts. He was capable of writing and martial arts, respectful, filial and virtuous. What a good heir.If he wasn't a double, wouldn't everything be easier to handle.

The clan elders glanced at each other without saying anything, and came to the mourning hall in silence.After a while, a prestigious clan elder said to the people serving him, "Go and invite Aunt Huan and Mrs. Jing over here."

The servant led the order to go to the inner hall, and invited out Mrs. Jing and Aunt Huan who were mentioned by the clan elders. Aunt Huan was a plump woman who was helped out by the servant girl. As soon as she came out, she threw herself on the coffin in the mourning hall Then he cried and said: "Master, you are so cruel, just go like this, this will make us orphans and widows live like this."

The people in the mourning hall frowned when they heard this, and the clan elder who invited them out said coldly, "Aunt Huan, what are you doing? Your wife is still here or there."

When Aunt Huan heard this, she immediately jumped up and went back: "I can't understand what Uncle said. Our wife passed away a year ago, and it's still here."

When the old man heard it, he replied: "Jing girl's identity is different from the beginning. Your master wants to adopt her as a wife. He has greeted all the elders of our clan. The family members have already changed their name to Mrs. You can get by with just one word."

After hearing this, Aunt Huan replied: "It's just a few banquets and a few people invited to dinner. Is there a genealogy? Is there an order from the court for the marquis? Nothing, just say that I am a wife. Who knows."

The elder of the clan was turned away and returned very unhappy: "The date of opening the ancestral hall has already been fixed. If it hadn't been for this war, girl Jing would have already entered the genealogy. This is a recognized thing in the clan. You Don't mess around here, this foolish woman."

Aunt Huan glared at each other and returned: "His uncle also said that she is not on the genealogy, as long as her name is not on the genealogy, she is still a concubine, just like me."

The clan elder replied after hearing the words: "How can it be the same? Jing girl was married with her sister. She is Teng's concubine, and she also has coal and employment."

Aunt Huan immediately replied after hearing this: "She has coal and employment. I was also brought in by the old lady at the time. It's the same as being a concubine with others. Why is she superior to me? Why is she her child? Inheriting the master's title, if the wife's son has nothing to say to the Nu family, but Wei Ge'er can't inherit it, then according to seniority, my elder brother is the eldest son, and he should be the one who inherits the title."

At this time, a fat clansman next to him said: "That's right, Brother Wei will marry or marry in the future, and whether he will have children is still a matter of opinion. If he wants to have an heir, he must be an adult, brother Yin." My son is still young, and it will take seven or eight years for him to reach adulthood, there are too many variables, so it's better to be a brother, to be on the safe side."

Seeing someone supporting her, Aunt Huan immediately smiled and said: "Heaven has eyes, and finally there is someone who can uphold justice."

Hearing this, the clan elder frowned and replied: "But at the beginning, Brother Ying entered the genealogy as his son. Even the late Mrs. Ming recognized this. There is no such etiquette in this world."

Aunt Huan immediately jumped up and replied: "That doesn't count, his mother is just a concubine Teng, what kind of son is he, his wife is his own aunt, of course she is for him, you can't be deceived. "

After being dismissed in succession, the clan elder growled from embarrassment in a low voice: "What kind of thing are you? Do you have the right to intervene in the clan's discussion?"

Aunt Huan was taken aback by the yelling and then she came to her senses, threw herself on the coffin in the mourning hall, and wailed, "Look, sir, someone came to bully you before you were buried in the ground, how can we live? Let me go with you today."

As he said that, he was about to bump his head against the coffin. The clan elder obviously didn't expect that his words would cause such a thing, and he didn't want to bear the reputation of killing people, so he hurriedly ordered his servants to stop Aunt Huan .

The mourning hall was in chaos for a while, Li Wei looked at the chaos in the hall, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said: "Uncles, don't stop her, since she wants to go, let her go. "

The mourning hall fell silent for a moment because of these words, and Li Jie, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly raised his head and asked, "You want my mother to die."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei asked sharply, "Who is your mother? Who is your mother?"

Li Jie didn't dare to reply when he heard that, concubines are children, so they can't call their mother mother, they can only be called mother, and they can only be the wife of the head of the family, and Li Wei can be punished for his unfilial crime.

Seeing that his elder brother didn't reply, and Li Wei didn't entangle him too much, he said to the dying Aunt Huan: "Aunt always says that she has the deepest affection for Daddy, and I believe it too. , since my aunt is going to go with my father this time, then Wei'er is also the beauty of an adult, don't worry, auntie, we all see your affection for your father, even though concubines are not allowed to enter the ancestral grave Tablet, but because of your friendship, I will give you a place next to mother's tablet after you leave, so that you can continue to serve father and mother, do you think this is good?"

When Aunt Huan heard this, her legs went limp and she carried her to the side of the coffin, trembling and unable to utter a word.

Li Wei looked at Aunt Huan who was limp into a ball, and the sarcasm in his eyes became deeper and deeper. He ignored Aunt Huan and his elder brother, who had already failed to become a climate, but straightened up and stood up to face the elders in the clan Said: "Thank you, uncles, worry about it, but you really don't have to worry about the issue of establishing an heir, because the time to open the ancestral hall for Mrs. Jing has already been set, so in order to save time, before this battle, Daddy has already set up the ancestral hall. Please submit the memorial to Aunt Jing, it is estimated that the result has already been obtained, Mrs. Zhongjinghou’s name has been decided, her child is naturally my son of Zhongjinghou’s mansion, there is no need to discuss this point.”

The people in the room were silent for a long while after hearing this, and after a while, the clan elder who had been in charge said: "Your Majesty has already made arrangements, so we don't talk too much, we wait for the order to come down and talk about it." .”

After speaking, the clan elders got up to leave one after another, and Li Wei bowed to see them off. Li Jie, who was kneeling on the ground, got up when he saw this, and chased after him as if he wanted to say something, but Li Wei said behind him: "Brother, What are you going to do?"

Hearing this, Li Jie looked back at his younger brother in horror, and Li Wei sneered and said: "Brother has been tired all day today, so hurry up and help my aunt to go back to the house to rest. Keep it in the house, don't go out."

Following his words, several strong women came over and dragged Aunt Huan out. Seeing this, Li Jie didn't dare to argue with him, and shouted: "You slaves, let me go!" .” While talking, he chased him out.

When the farce was over, Li Wei helped up his younger brother who was kneeling beside him, sent him to Mrs. Jing's side and said, "Auntie, take Brother Yin into the house to rest."

Mrs. Jing helped Li Wei, and made a half-respect, but Li Wei avoided it. Mrs. Jing didn't say anything when she saw this, and led her son back to the back room.

The mourning hall was completely silent, only the paper money burning in the copper basin was still whistling.

Suddenly, there was a sound of staggering footsteps, and a middle-aged man with a disheveled face and ragged clothes and a wine bottle in his hand appeared in the mourning hall. He staggered to the coffin, and Li Wei recognized who it was. , waved away the servant who was going to stop him, and said to the man, "Uncle Wei? How did you become like this?"

Wei Xian didn't answer Li Wei's question. He knelt down beside the coffin with his legs bent, and let out a laugh that was worse than crying. Seeing this, Li Wei fell silent and didn't ask any more questions. Turning around and preparing to leave, Wei Xian, who hadn't replied all this time, suddenly said to him, "Boy Wei, are you really going to join the army?"

Li Wei replied after hearing the words: "Uncle, do I have any other choices now? What kind of character is Aunt Huan? If no one instructs and supports her, she dares to come out and make a noise today? It means that the imperial decree has been issued and the status has been given." Surely, if there is no one in my mansion who can speak with his back straight, he will still be ridden on his head in the future."

Wei Xian replied after hearing the words: "You should know how the world sees you. No one will choose you under the condition that you are equal or can be replaced."

Hearing this, Li Wei raised his head and said to him: "Then I will make them unable to find an alternative reason. I am loyal to Jinghou Li's family, and I can only speak based on my strength."

Wei Xian watched the haughty figure slowly fade out of sight, leaned on the coffin and gulped strong alcohol into his mouth, then slammed the bottle on the coffin, knocked on the coffin with his hands and said: : "Li Jin, did you see that kid looks so much like you, you coward, you bastard, you just retracted like this, you pushed everything to that kid, come out, come out and see Take a look, you bastard."

The people in the coffin did not give any response. Wei Xian leaned on the coffin with tears streaming down his face. After a while he said: "Li Jin, that child still needs me, I can't let go, Li Jin, you said I was It’s not that I owe you, so I’ve paid off the old ones and the young ones, that’s all, I admit it, you wait for me until everything is over, I’ll have a good talk with you when I come back.”

After Wei Xian finished speaking, he got up, walked crookedly to the door, and didn't even look back.