Eldest Grandson

  The next morning, the housekeeper's wife brought two young servants to serve him. After all, Xu Ziqing still had the status of a legitimate son of the previous master of the Xu family, and he had come to this mansion, so even if he didn't have any real power, he still had to maintain appearances. Moreover, Xu Ziqing was also a member of the Xu family by blood, and in such a large clan with countless branches, every branch's direct descendants had produced many people with promising spiritual roots over the years. If they were slow to serve Xu Ziqing now, and if he were later found to have spiritual roots, it would be easy for him to get rid of these few servants.

  Xu Ziqing has been doing things on his own for years, but his senior brother has always been served by others. So when the young servant came to help him dress and put on his socks, he was also very composed and showed no signs of awkwardness. Seeing how dignified he was, the servants naturally didn't dare look down on him and respectfully helped him wash up before bowing their heads and retreating.

  The housekeeper's wife said: "The master has prepared a meal in the front hall and wants Master Ziqing to go and have breakfast."

  Xu Ziqing smiled warmly: "Then please lead the way."

  In the front hall, a round table was set up. The master seat was naturally occupied by Old Master Xu Mengqian, and his several sons sat below him. The young men from the branch families who had come to divide the family property were seated at another square table.

  Xu Ziqing's position was at the end of the legitimate children and before the illegitimate ones, which was also appropriate. He maintained his usual low-key demeanor, and after listening to Xu Mengxuan say a few words, he lowered his head and ate, not chatting with anyone else. This new face, presumably someone had long ago explained his identity to his older brothers and sisters, and no one took the initiative to pay attention to him.

  The dinner table was not entirely quiet either. Since they all had to go to the ancestral home, if they wanted to have a good time, they would need some companions, so that they could take root in the ancestral home and grasp certain speaking rights. Therefore, the legitimate sons and daughters on Zi Qing's left were extremely polite as they probed each other, while the illegitimate sons and daughters on the right were also chatting, but their manners were slightly inferior.

  The atmosphere was lively as they finished their meal, and when Xu Mengxuan lightly cleared his throat, everyone put down their chopsticks and looked at him. It seemed that it was time to listen to his teachings on how to conduct oneself in the Zu family.

  "Indeed, Xu Mengyuan spoke up: 'All of you are the foundation of my Xu family. Three days later, when everyone has gathered, we will enter the ancestral temple to undergo a spiritual root examination. If it is confirmed that one possesses a celestial affinity, they will be allowed to stay in the temple and enjoy the countless spiritual herbs and medicines, as well as the celestial arrays and techniques.' His voice sank at this point, 'If the celestial affinity is complete, there are even immortals from the Upper Realm who will come down. At that time, with the support of these immortals, one can ascend to the Upper Realm and attain boundless longevity, becoming an immortal or a saint. This kind of good fortune is available to all of you, so don't do anything foolish and miss out on this opportunity, only to let others benefit instead!'"

  Everyone's face lit up with joy and they sat up straighter upon hearing this.

  Xu Mengyan stroked his long mustache and nodded slightly: "You all remember, this time when we go to the Zong family, the rules are very strict. Those who have obtained a good relationship with the Zong family and can stay there should also be cautious in their actions, and absolutely cannot offend the young masters and misses of the Zong family. Otherwise, even I, your elder, will not be able to save you."

  Most of the time, he said this to his own children at home. Although the children from other branches of the family were also called "young master" or "miss", they were actually humble and well-behaved when they came to this branch of the family. When they went to the main house, they would naturally not dare to be presumptuous. But his own children were different. Although they had been taught etiquette, they had always been respected by the servants over the years, so they might not adapt well when they went to the main house and some of them had bigger temperaments and were more impulsive. If they weren't careful, they would make mistakes in the main house, and he wouldn't be able to control them. Moreover, like Xu Mengqian's family, there were at least hundreds of people from branches of the family with equal status, and when they went to the main house, they really didn't count for much.

  Xu Mengqian thought for a moment, then said: "Once you go to the Zong family, you must forget that you are young masters and misses. You must show respect to the noble people of the Zong family, even if they are just arrogant servant girls who think they're above others. Many of them were once people with good fortune and auspicious fate, their status is not comparable to that of the Zong family nobles, but it's higher than yours. I have also prepared a few servants here who understand the rules and etiquette of the Zong family. In the future, if any of you are fortunate enough to become disciples of the Zong family elders or masters, they will be given to you as gifts, so that you won't waste your talents by doing something wrong."

  As for those who have spiritual roots but shallow celestial fate, they can only rely on themselves in the sect.

  Then he mentioned a few more names, talked about some key points, and even said that there were some people in the clan who had some connections with this line.

  Xu Ziqing listened quietly below, trying to remember everything in his heart. He didn't know if he had a spiritual root or not, but if he stayed behind and didn't listen carefully, the one who would be unlucky would be himself.

  This lesson lasted for a whole hour, and after the people had tea, everyone returned to their own courtyard. Some thoughtful ones also went on to continue the "friendship" at the dinner table without mentioning it.

  Xu Ziqing also returned to his own courtyard. This was just a small yard, and there were countless such courtyards in the large mansion, but because he had the status of a former eldest son, he could have one all to himself. As for the girls and younger sons from more distant branches of the family, they lived together in the same courtyard, assigned to different rooms.

  In the courtyard, there is a small flower bed surrounded by a fence, with several orchids and banana plants inside. The large leaves of the papyrus droop down, covering a quiet corner, which looks elegant. Under the banana leaf, there is a bamboo chair, a footstool, and a round table with long legs.

  Xu Ziqing's heart moved, he walked over and sat down on the chair, stretching out his long legs and putting his feet on the couch. He narrowed his eyes, cooling off while resting his mind. Although it was spring, the sun near noon was still a bit too intense.

  A young servant came over quietly and asked in a low voice: "Young Master Zi Qing, would you like me to pour some tea for you?"

  Xu Ziqing smiled and said, "Trouble you."

  The young servant hastily said: "I dare not." Then he bowed and went down. After a short while, the sound of footsteps came, and a cup of tea was also poured and placed beside Xu Ziqing's hand.

  Xu Ziqing took a sip, and indeed the fragrance lingered on his lips. He saw the young servant holding the teapot standing by, not daring to leave, so he waved his hand and said: "Leave the teapot here, you can go now. No need to attend."

  The little servant quietly put the teapot on the round table and retreated.

  Xu Ziqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't like it when someone stared at him while he was resting.

  After drinking two more sips of tea, Xu Ziqing suddenly felt that his neck seemed to be strangled by a rope, and he hastily turned his body sideways, using his hand to pull out a dark object from his neck.

  All that can be seen is that the object has a dull color and is a long, ring-shaped thing with its head and tail connected. Only one of its heads is slightly raised, and under the horn on top of its head, a pearl is hidden.

  This thing is really old and broken, but the weight is still quite heavy. Xu Ziqing recognized it, this head-tailed one was a long dragon, at first glance it looked bad, but upon closer inspection it was very majestic.

  This object was originally found by Xu Zi Qing while sleeping outdoors, and later felt that its shape was ancient and it was the totem of his previous life's country, so he kept it, using a tight rope to string it up and put it in his clothes. It serves as a nostalgic thought.

  After playing with it for a while, Xu Ziqing carefully put it away in her clothes and then leisurely rested.

  It was just when his eyelids were getting a bit heavy that there were footsteps outside the door, and a burst of noise that made him suddenly wake up.

  "Somebody said: 'The people living inside must be special, they even have a separate courtyard!'"

  "Exactly, Sister Zi Shu, we've already paid our respects to all the brothers and sisters here, so who is this person?"

  Then there was a delicate voice with some arrogance: "The people living here are not my brothers and sisters."

  "Who is that?"

  Just then, Xu Zishu hummed and said: "Originally, my great uncle passed away and left this only descendant. He was originally living in the village, but my father is kind-hearted, and this time he went to the ancestral home, especially brought him over, and let him live alone in such a good place!"

  Hearing her say this, others hastened to flatter: "Master Xu's heart is kind and generous, he is different from ordinary people!"

  "That's right! This is because Old Master Xu has a kind heart and sympathizes with his elder brother's son!"

  Some people even went further: "If so, the guests living inside should be grateful!"

  Some people sneered: "This person's temperament must be bad, otherwise, with such great kindness, they didn't even come out to thank the elder brothers and sisters of the direct line!"

  These voices were not small, and Xuzi Qing heard them clearly. He first frowned slightly, then relaxed again.

  At first, Ziqing only thought that the Xu family was a big family, and even if they were separated, they would still raise their children in a proper manner. But it turned out that this was only in front of Xu Mengyan, and when speaking privately, they were no different from those lowly servants who loved to gossip.

  In an ordinary family, if the eldest son passes away and leaves behind an eldest grandson, the family business should naturally be inherited by the eldest grandson. Xu Ziqing is precisely this eldest grandson, but at that time he was too young to take charge of the household, so Xu Mengxuan, the second son in the direct line, took advantage of the situation. In a family with a heavenly destiny, Xu Mengxuan naturally cannot eliminate the direct-line descendants, and raising him to adulthood is also reasonable; there is no such thing as having a favor to repay to Xu Ziqing. Xu Ziqing himself has no ill feelings towards Xu Mengxuan and is grateful that he was not treated badly. However, if he wants Xu Ziqing to be deeply grateful to him... it's completely unreasonable.

  These words are a bit excessive, but they're just excessive. Xu Mengquan inherited the family property and didn't do anything seriously wrong. He raised him well and let him grow up. His children would occasionally talk behind his back, but Xu Ziqing had lived for two lifetimes, so why bother to nitpick? However, people with such a temperament will inevitably cause trouble once they can't hold it in. It's better to keep a distance from them in the future.

  He was quiet inside, and the people outside might have found it boring. After saying a few words while passing by, the footsteps faded away. Xuziqing yawned and decided to take a short rest.

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