Chapter Seventeen: Recognizing Ancestors and Returning to the Clan

  Just as Qin Yu was puzzled and couldn't understand, Qin Qiong took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Qin Yu, "Take down the jade pendant on your neck and take a look."

  Qin Yu was slightly stunned, and then took off the jade pendant that had been passed down from his family since he was a child. He looked at his own jade pendant, then looked at Qin Yu's jade pendant, and subconsciously combined the two. A circular emerald green jade pendant appeared in front of Qin Yu, with an ancient character "Qin" on it.

  The two jade pendants fit together perfectly, without any flaws, as if they were originally one piece. In an instant, Qin Yu was stunned, "No wonder, previously I couldn't make out what the carvings on top were, it turns out to be half of an ancient character."

  Qin Qiong smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "The name you mentioned has a great connection with my ancestral home. I originally felt that you were the son of my elder brother, but this time when I saw you, seeing the jade pendant on your neck, I was certain."

  Qin Yu felt a sense of nostalgia upon hearing this, regardless of whether any other situations had arisen over the past thousand years. The jade pendant in front of him was indeed one piece, and it wasn't unreasonable for Qin Qiong's nephew to have it. It was just a bit strange. "Shouldn't there be another half from the Tang Dynasty? How does that count?"

  "This jade pendant originally belonged to the head of the Qin family, now that you've appeared, it's only right that you take care of it. Don't decline, look," said Qin Qiong, pointing at the jade pendant on Qin Yu's hand.

  Qin Yu lowered his head to take a look, and was suddenly shocked. He didn't know when it happened, but the two halves of the jade pendant had somehow merged together, without even a hint of a crack, as if they had never been broken apart in the first place. "What principle is this?"

  "The jade pendant has been passed down from the Qin family, seemingly made by a square scholar. Now it is intact and flawless, which means that the Qin family should not be extinct. You are the son of the eldest brother, so you should take good care of this thing and don't lose it." Qin Qiong continued to say.

  However, his tone was somewhat severe and did not allow for refusal. Qin Yu hastily nodded solemnly, and the idea of handing it over to Qin Qiang for safekeeping also dissipated. He immediately hung the complete Qin character jade pendant around his neck. Unbeknownst to him, Qin Yu felt that this jade pendant seemed to have an extra warmth to it, but he couldn't tell if it was just his imagination.

  Qin Qiong saw Qin Yu nodding, and smiled slightly before asking about his past life. Qin Yu couldn't possibly talk about his previous life, so he fabricated a story about living in the mountains and forests. Qin Qiong listened with tears streaming down his face, but Qin Yu's tale was as tragic as he could make it sound.

  Qin Yu saw Qin Qiang's true feelings revealed, and at that time he was a bit embarrassed, but he couldn't tell the truth, so he could only secretly say sorry.

  They chatted for half a day, and Fu Bo just stood at the door, like a tall and straight pine tree, motionless, not shaking, which made Qin Yu surprised.

  It wasn't until then that Qin Yu knew that Mingming had a son of Qin Qiang, but didn't see the reason why he died in the war. Qin Qiang thought that calling himself back to Chang'an was to confirm whether there were any descendants of the Qin family left. As long as there were descendants, he could close his eyes and go to see his ancestors with peace of mind.

  The ancients' idea of passing on the family lineage was extremely serious, and it was only then that Qin Yu had a deeper understanding. Seeing Qin Qiong's regret, Qin Yu hastily spoke out the possibility that he might still have grandchildren in this world. After all, Qin Qiong's son had died in the war when he was over 20 years old, and according to the current marriage age, it was impossible for him not to have any descendants.

  Qin Yu's inference, however, was based on the epitaphs unearthed from previous generations' tombs. Qin Qiong listened to Qin Yu's words and found them reasonable and convincing, his eyes suddenly shining brightly. The incense of the Qin family had been passed down continuously, but its transmission had not yet taken hold. Upon hearing this, Qin Qiong became so excited that he could hardly control himself, coughing repeatedly.

  He immediately ordered Fu Bo to go to the locations mentioned by Qin Yu to search for Qin Huai Dao, who might still be alive. Of course, Qin Yu would never mention Qin Huai Dao's name, otherwise it would be too outrageous.

  Fu Bo's identity, Qin Yu now also clear, but is the follow Qin Qiong many years of personal soldiers, his arm is in order to protect Qin Qiong and lost, after the unification of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong afraid Fu Bo life without dependence, so stay by his side.

  Fu Bo also made up his mind to follow Qin Qiong, and was unwilling to marry and have children. In his opinion, since Qin Qiong had no offspring, he couldn't either.

  Even if Qin Qiong tried to persuade him, it was no use. Fu Bo had a stubborn personality, but he was loyal and devoted. All along, it was Fu Bo who took care of Qin Qiong. In the large Qin manor, there were only two other servants: one groom and one cook. They were all former soldiers who had followed Qin Qiong on his southern and northern campaigns, each with some disability.

  Although he was a servant, Qin Qiong treated him like a brother and sternly warned Qin Yu to treat them with uncle-nephew courtesy. After his death, he would take good care of the three old brothers. Qin Yu originally had some respect for these three old soldiers who had fought on the battlefield, so he solemnly promised.

  When they were almost done chatting, a lame old man walked in with a hobbling gait, carrying dishes of food. Qin Yu thought to invite him to join them for dinner, but the old man refused, saying it would be against etiquette and propriety. In the end, he left and went to eat with the old men who worked in the kitchen and stables.

  Qin Yu naturally had no curiosity about Qin Qiang's lack of servants, since they were all brothers, why not buy more servants to take care of the three of them. Unexpectedly, however, their killing aura was too strong, and no one could last for three days, so it ultimately came to nothing.

  Qin Yu had no choice but to shut his mouth, indeed, the killing aura of these few people was astonishing at times, if it weren't for Qin Yu being Qin Qiong's nephew, I'm afraid the three of them wouldn't have held back, in their eyes, as long as it wasn't Qin Qiong, everyone else had to be on guard, naturally, the killing aura overflowed.

  It's also because of this that the Qin Mansion rarely has guests, and the only ones who dare to come are Li Shimin and those high-ranking military generals. When Cheng Huailiang saw Fu Bo, he was like a small cat, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  After lunch, Qin Qiong took Qin Yu to the ancestral hall. After a ceremony of worship, he inscribed Qin Yu's name on the family tree of the Qin clan. The uncle and nephew paid their respects to each other, and from this moment on, Qin Yu officially became Qin Qiong's nephew.

  Qin Yu could see that Qin Qiong had relaxed by more than half, at this time, Qin Qiong took out a deed and handed it to Qin Yu, Qin Yu took a look and was stunned, the deed on his hand was exactly the one Cheng Yaojin bought, originally intended as dowry for Cheng Lingyun, but in the end, it was going to be given to Qin Yu, that mountain villa worth 50,000 taels.

  For this mountain villa, Qin Yu had been entangled for a long time and even bought land and houses in Yongnian to set up a business, just as Qin Yu was about to speak, Qin Qiong spoke up.

  "My family, the Qins, are not without money, how can we take something that belongs to others? I bought it from Zhi Jie, and from now on, this place will belong to you. Tomorrow, you can move in, and afterwards, you can live there. If you have a kind heart, come visit your uncle often, and he will be satisfied."

  Qin Yu's heart was suddenly moved, and he knew that in ancient times, there was a saying that "a gift from an elder should not be declined". Qin Yu naturally understood this, and with a quiet sigh, he bowed his head and said, "Yes, thank you, Uncle Zhong, for your gift."

  "Uh, go rest." Qin Qiong nodded somewhat tiredly and said.

  Qin Yu's recognition of his ancestors and return to the clan was a matter for the Qin family, so it didn't need anyone else's proof. Besides, Qin Qiong wasn't fond of noisy gatherings, so he hadn't invited anyone to attend the ceremony.

  At this time, in the imperial palace, Li Shimin listened to the report from below, waved his hand and signaled the reporter to withdraw. Li Shimin sat on the bed for a long time without speaking, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh, "Alas, the Duke of Wing State has paid too much for the Great Tang."

  The Empress nodded and said softly, "Your Majesty, I heard that this son is going to marry the daughter of Lu Guogong."

  "Guanyin, I am not an unfeeling person. Relying solely on the Duke of Wing State, I would also like to reward this son once. However, a country has its laws and a household has its rules. An official cannot be enfeoffed, so let's enfeoff him as the Count of Kaiguo County, with a fief of 300 households. If this son is talented, he can be reused in the future." Li Shimin grasped the hand of Empress Changsun and said solemnly.

  Cheng Fu, Cheng Yaojin held a whip and scolded Cheng Huailiang, "You rascal, how dare you steal my wine? You're so late coming back!"

  Cheng Huailiang was beaten because he wanted to drink more, so after leaving the Qin's house, he lingered until evening before returning home, reeking of alcohol, and couldn't even hide it.

  He didn't have much of a drinking problem at first, but after Cheng Yaojin took a sip of the wine he brought from Yongnian County, he suddenly got angry. A big jar of fine wine is now less than a third left, how can you not be angry? The good stuff hasn't even been enjoyed yet, and more than half of it is gone.

  Cheng Yaojin started scolding and drinking while hitting, but just as he was about to hit again, Mrs. Cheng furiously walked over, without saying a word, pinched two fingers together and twisted them with force: "You damned thing, you dare to hit my son when I'm not around!"

  "Alas, madam, madam, don't use force, don't use force, my ears are going to drop off." Cheng Yaojin hastily apologized, but it was no use. Madame Cheng had made up her mind to punish Cheng Yaojin, hadn't she seen that even Cheng Huailiang had been beaten unconscious?

  "Madam, listen to me, listen to me." Cheng Yaojin's eyes rolled around and he hastily shouted. This time it seemed to have some effect. At this moment, Cheng Yaojin quickly freed his ear from Madame's hand, carefully massaging the swollen ear while explaining.

  "This kid has drunk more than half of the fine wine your son-in-law brought, which was meant to entertain guests at the wedding. Look, he's now completely drunk! I asked around and it turns out that he drank all along the way here. Isn't this infuriating?" Cheng Yaojin said gritting his teeth.

  Madam Cheng immediately became anxious and said, "Give me the whip, these two young men are being beaten too lightly."

  Cheng Yaojin smiled with satisfaction and hastily handed over the whip.

  Madam Cheng took the whip and handed it over, while General Cheng sneaked away towards the wine jar. At this moment, Madam Cheng suddenly remembered something, turned her head, and saw General Cheng's appearance. She was suddenly enlightened, "Xiao Cui, go and put the wine sent by my brother-in-law in a safe place. Whoever dares to move it will have their legs broken."

  "Yes, ma'am." The maid Xiaocui thought of smiling but didn't dare to, and hastily replied, then quickly left to call someone to take the wine away.

  Cheng Yaojin's face immediately fell, but he didn't dare to make a move. This shows that Cheng Yaojin is not much worse than Fang Xuanling, who became famous in history for being afraid of his wife. However, Cheng's wife is still relatively gentle compared to Fang Xuanling's wife, and at least Cheng has more than one wife.