The number one squire in Xiangxiang County was holding a funeral.
The family name was Zeng, and they lived in Hetangdu, 130 miles south of the county town.
Lotus Pond is located at the junction of Xiangxiang, Hengyang and Hengshan counties. Surrounded by mountains, it is a remote and desolate place with blocked traffic.
It was a poor place, but the Zeng family mansion that stood in Baiyang Plain was exceptionally magnificent. A white wall as tall as two people.
They surrounded the hundred or so buildings in the manor. There was a vertical plaque hanging at the gate with golden edges and blue background,"Jinshi". Beside the door were two tall and mighty words.
Martial stone lions all showed the special status of their masters. In the past, the people who came in and out of the Zeng residence always held their heads high and puffed out their chests.
It was a happy world, as if the happiness and fortune of the whole Xiangxiang County were gathered here. Now, it's covered by a thick
It was white everywhere, as if an overwhelming snow had fallen prematurely.
There was an archway built with pine branches and white flowers at the gate. The four red lights with the words "Zeng Mansion" written on them in black were the same as before.
The cages were all replaced with white silk lamps, and even the necks of the two stone lions were covered with white cloth strips. On the flagpole in front of the gate, hanging
The long soul-summoning banner was blown by the night wind. It slowly floated up and gently fell down. In the middle of the field, a tall and big
There was a vermilion plaque in large gold characters in the stele pavilion, which read,"The Right Hall of the Ministry of Rites before the 1898 examination." Beiting (4)
Four gold and silver mountains were set ablaze, and a cloud of thick smoke carried the fire, sending the ashes of the yellow and white tin foil into the air, and then falling to the ground.
Everywhere on the flat ground.
The sky slowly darkened, and the candle in the white lamp at the door was lit. The lights in the courtyard lit up one after another. In the Zeng Residence
The golden hall of the heart building was brightly lit. In the middle of the Golden Hall was a large hall with eight rooms lined up on both sides. At this moment, in this hall,
It was a solemn mourning hall. In front of it was a white curtain that connected the sky to the ground. The black coffin was placed behind the curtain, revealing only the inside of the coffin.
One head. On the top of the curtain was a line of regular script,"The Imperial Conferment of First Grade Mother Jiang Tai Lady for thousands of years." In the middle, there was a huge "libation"
Below the word "memorial" was the portrait of the old lady wearing a first-grade life robe. He saw her sitting on the armchair with a kind expression on her face.
He laughed. On both sides of the curtain hung the couplet of the children. The first one was 'Duan Zhu taught his son for forty years. He was a scholar in the countryside and a minister of the Golden Hall.”
The next poem reads: "The boat cries for its mother for two thousand li. The waves of Poyang are evil, and the clouds of Hengyue are sad.”
The walls on the left and right were covered with sacrificial curtains. The one leading the group was a thick black hala with four large words pasted on it: "Yide Yong
Yes." Inscription: is the fourth grade title Changsha prefect Mei no doubt. Next was the milky white Hangzhou textile gifted by Professor Wang Jingzhai of Changsha government school.
There were also four big words on the face,"The demeanor will last forever." Below it was a long strip of white satin, with the same words pinned with a needle: "Qiangu
At the bottom left, there was a line of small words: "My nephew, Zhu Sunyi of Xiangxiang County, kneels.”Hanging right behind the county magistrate's curtain
It was a gift from the regimental commanders of the forty-three capitals of Xiangxiang County. Right below the portrait was a black wooden table.
There was an incense burner and fruits on the table. In the mourning hall, only smoke could be seen curling up, and not a sound could be heard.
After a while, an elderly monk led twenty-three monks into the mourning hall. They first stood in two rows and looked at the old lady.
The portrait of the Grand Empress bowed and then separated. They slowly entered the curtain and sat around the black coffin. I only heard it for a moment
After the heavy sound of the wooden fish, the twenty-four monks hummed at the same time. Twenty-four voices--crisp, turbid, low
Heavy, agitated, aged, and tender mixed together, sometimes high and sometimes low, sometimes long and sometimes short, maintaining a general balance.
No one could hear what they were humming. It was as if he was reciting scriptures and singing. At this moment, bundles and bundles
The sandalwood began to burn in the iron furnace. The smoke filled the Golden Hall and was pushed out of the house, spreading into the yard like a spring mist.
It seemed to cover everything in the surroundings. The entire mourning hall became gray, with only some light colored satin of better quality.
Under the illumination of the light, a ghost-like cold light flickered. There was an endless stream of people changing incense, cutting candles, burning money and paper, and pouring tea.
All dressed in plain clothes, tiptoeing. The mourning hall was filled with a solemn and mysterious atmosphere.
In a wing room on the east side of the mourning hall, there was a 62 or 63-year-old man with a head full of white hair. He sat expressionlessly on the carved table.
On the chair, he was the old master of the Zeng Residence, Lin Shu, Zhu Ting. The Zeng family was originally from Hengzhou and moved to Hetantang in Xiangxiang in the early Qing Dynasty.
It had been passed down to Zeng Linshu's ancestors, who were officially recognized as Xiangxiang people due to the increasing number of family names and some assets. Lin Shu's father, Yu Ping
When he was young, he was strong and dissolute. He didn't like reading. After thirty years old, he walked the right path, so he worked hard to let his children study. Who knew that the three sons were in fame
No one on the scene was proud. His second son, Ding Zun, died as soon as he became an adult. His third son, Ji Yun, lived a lifetime as an old child. His eldest son, Lin Shu, should be 17 years old.
The second time was when he was forty-three years old and barely became a scholar. Lin Shu knew that he was not good at reading, so he gave up his ambition to teach Meng.
The children made a living and educated their sons with all their heart. Lin Shu was weak by nature, but his wife, Madam Jiang, was smart and capable. Madam Jiang was five years older than her husband.
The couple had five sons and four daughters. Everything in the family, big or small, was decided by Madam Jiang. The Jiang family was well organized.
She took good care of her husband and was very considerate. Lin Shu was so happy that he did not explore anything and was free. He once wrote a couplet of his own,
He hung it in his study all year round: " There are descendants and fields. The family is half ploughing and half studying. There is no official, no blame,
I don't care about the affairs of the world, and I entrust the difficult task to my son Cao.”Now that Madam had passed away, Zeng Linshu seemed to have lost his backer. such a large
Who would be in charge of the family business in the future? These days, he had been looking forward to his eldest son's return all the time. The Zeng family has today, all
It was because of this uncle who was an assistant minister in the imperial court. He still had to preside over the funeral and make decisions about the family in the future.
Just as Zeng Linshu was sitting on the armchair and thinking about it alone, a man in his early thirties dressed in heavy clothes appeared.
Xiao walked in quietly. This was Lin Shu's second son, named Guo Huang, also known as Cheng Hou. He was ranked fourth in the clan.
He called him Lord Fourth.
"Father, it's late at night. You should go and rest! I definitely won't be able to reach home tonight."
"Jiang Gui has already been back for five days." Great-Grandfather Fang opened his half-closed eyes, which were bloodshot.
I met your brother at the lake inn. Jiang Gui had only walked for sixteen days on the road. Even if your brother was three or four days slower than him, he would still have to rush in these one or two days.
I'm back."
"Father, how can Jiang Gui compare to brother!" The one who spoke was the second daughter, Guo Hui. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face was thin, and there was a lump on her head.
A long and big white cloth was cleaning the clothes left behind by his mother in a corner of the room." Jiang Gui doesn't need to stop along the way. I'm this big
Officials, along the way more than a thousand miles, which one didn't curry favor? This one treats me to a meal, that one treats me to an inscription. In my opinion, in another half a month, I will be able to arrive.
Home is a good thing."
Lin Shu shook his head and said,"You don't know what kind of person your brother is. At this time, how could he be in the mood to attend the banquet and write an inscription?
Something must have happened!" Lin Shu accidentally said the word "accident" and could not help but be shocked. An inexplicable fear surged out of him.
Come on.
"What kind of accident will big brother encounter? Although Long Hair was attacking Changsha, Yuanjiang and Yiyang were still peaceful! Horie
Didn't you come back safely?" Guo Huang didn't understand his father's feelings, but seriously considered the word 'accident'.
Fan.
"You guys don't know, but Jiang Gui told me that he was almost scared out of his wits along the way.”The one who answered was a twenty-seven-eight
He was the fourth son of Lin Shu. His name was Guo Quan, and his courtesy name was Yuan Fu. He was ranked ninth in the clan and was known as Lord Jiu. He is also dressed
It was pure white, but there wasn't much of a grimace on it. Guo Quan put down the account book in his hand and said,"Jiang Gui said that he was on his way back to Xiangxiang from Yiyang.
He had encountered two cases of Long Hair, who was wrapped in a red cloth and holding a shiny saber. He was so scared that his legs trembled and he hurriedly hid in the grass until
Long Hair only dared to come out after walking for two to three miles.”
"Where's the regiment commander? Why didn't the regiment commander grab those long hairs?”Guo Huang was the regimental commander of Hetangdu. He was very impressed by the strength of the regimental soldiers.
It was estimated to be very high.
"Fourth Brother, Yiyang hasn't organized a regiment training yet!”The one who spoke was Lin Shu's third son, Guo Hua, who was ranked sixth in the clan. This Sixth Master
He had already been taken care of by his uncle as a son. Although he was also wearing mourning clothes, he crossed his legs and sipped tea carefully. He was not so much a filial son.
More like a tea guest. He said with slight disdain," Fourth Brother is always a team warrior. If Long Hair really comes, your team warriors will be more than capable.
What use could it have? Even the official Green Camp soldiers led by the provincial governors and commanders couldn't win, so how could Long Hair be easy to deal with?
I think Changsha will be occupied by Long Hair sooner or later.”
The conversation between the young masters of the Zeng family had frightened the old man, who was known as the commander of the Xiangxiang County Regiment. He left the armchair.
He paced around the house and prayed silently,""May the heavens bless my eldest son to return safely as soon as possible.”old master
After muttering to himself for a long time, he walked into the bedroom with the help of his eldest daughter, Guolan.
Du, the name of the administrative division of the Qing Dynasty, was roughly equivalent to the current township.
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