Lu Jing concluded in his heart that the widow of the Zheng family was Miaoyu nine times out of ten, so it was right.

No wonder Miaoyu has so many antique treasures in her hands, some of which are royal forbidden items, which should be the items that her aunt, who was the crown princess, rewarded to the Zheng family back then, but I didn't expect him to have such an entanglement with Miaoyu.

Lu Jun then talked about the Yang family: "The Yang family is a newly rising family after the decline of the Zheng family, and now the background is not deep, and only Yang Lin has entered the office, and his influence is limited to Gusu, but the Yang family's heirs are thriving, and there are many seeds of scholars among the younger generation." ”

"For the Yang family, my nephew has also heard of it, and Yang Hong, who won the Yakui in the Jinke Township Examination, is a child of the Yang family." Lu Jing nodded and said, he also had a brief exchange with Yang Hong at the Luming banquet after the township test, and he also knew something about his family background.

For those who raise people in the township examination, the first name is Xie Yuan, the second name is Yayuan, the third, fourth, and fifth names are Jingkui, and the sixth name is Yakui.

The Luming Banquet is a banquet for the new imperial examination after the township examination, because the banquet is to sing the poem of "Luming" in the "Book of Songs, Xiaoya" and got its name, Lu Jing got acquainted with a lot of Jiangnan talents at the Luming Banquet, and he also became famous in Jiangnan because of this Luming Banquet.

Lu Jun continued: "Our Lu family is also a century-old family in Gusu, and there are many marriages with the Gusu family, but our Lu family has not had many heirs, and it has only been passed down for more than 100 years. ”

Lu Jing hurriedly comforted Lu Jun: "Second uncle doesn't have to be sad, although there is less help, but there is also less trouble, there are many people in the clan, and there are many unscrupulous things happening, maybe he will be involved in some big trouble." ”

Lu Jun shook his head and sighed: "Having said that, our Lu family is not prosperous after all, alas, this matter is also related to the family rules of our Lu family." ”

Lu Jing heard the second uncle mention the family rules, and then remembered that one of the family rules of their Lu family is that the concubine is not born, and the concubine is not out, that is, before the wife gives birth to the concubine, the concubine and the maid must all drink the child soup, unless the main mother is sure that she cannot give birth to a concubine, the concubine will be allowed to get pregnant.

The reason why there is this family rule is also related to the murder of the eldest son of the Lu family.

Lu Jing thinks that this rule is very good, and since ancient times, there have been many cases of spoiling concubines and killing wives, which can establish the unshakable status of the wife.

Otherwise, the wife and the concubine compete for favor, which will disturb the trouble in the back house, and there will be irreconcilable contradictions between the eldest son and the eldest son.

Lu Jing comforted: "This move is also for the peace of the house, to avoid any infighting in the back house, if the back house is stable, it is also conducive to the development of men in the court." ”

Lu Jun agreed: "What you said is also good, since ancient times, there have been many dark things happening in the back house, and the lessons of the past must be guarded against." ”

Then the uncle and nephew glanced at each other, ended the topic very tacitly, and did not mention the matter of the Lu family's back house.

Then the two talked for a long time from studying to being an official, from the Su Yang family to the Jiangnan forces, from doing things to being a person.

At the first moment, although Lu Jun and Lu Jing's uncle and nephew were still a little unsatisfied, they also stopped talking and walked out of the study together.

At the second moment, Lu Jing took the prepared gifts and went to Lin Ruhai's mansion with his second uncle Lu Jun, his second brother Lu Ke and his third brother Lu Lin.

First, Lu Jun and Lin Ruhai, the two cousins, have not seen each other for more than ten years, and now that the Lu and Lin families are friendly again, Lu Jun, as Lin Ruhai's cousin, naturally wants to renew his brotherhood with Lin Ruhai.

The second is that Lu Jing wants to make up for the apprenticeship a few days ago, and officially visit Lin Ruhai, the teacher.

As soon as Lin Ruhai and Lu Jun, the two cousins, met, they naturally sighed again, because Lin Ruhai was five years older than Lu Jun, and the two were not close when they were young, when the two families broke off relations, Lu Jun was only twenty-seven years old, young and vigorous, and the two also had some verbal conflicts.

Now both of them are over forty years old, Lu Jun understands what Lu Yu means, and now Lu Jing still inherits Lin Ruhai's favor, so he also shows a little closeness to Lin Ruhai.

The two of them each talked about the officialdom and the recent situation in Beijing, and Lin Ruhai arranged for someone to hold a banquet to entertain Lu Jun and others.

After the banquet, Lin Ruhai first tried to teach Lu Jing's homework, and then saw that Lu Ke and Lu Lin were also there, so he also inspected it.

Seeing that the three of them performed well, Lin Ruhai was both envious and happy in his heart, after all, the Lu family was his mother's maiden family, and now the children of the Lu family were extraordinary, and the Lu family could be regarded as a continuation, and there were successors, and at the same time, he couldn't help but feel lonely in his heart.

Lu Jun and the others stayed in Lin Ruhai's mansion until the third quarter of the first day of Shen before they said goodbye and left.

In the next few days, representatives of the rest of the Lu family came to Yangzhou one after another, and Lu Jing settled them one by one.

After Lu Yu waited for the other representatives of the Lu family's five rooms to arrive, he dragged the sick body and held a clan meeting to officially pass the position of patriarch to Lu Jing.

Although some people in the other rooms were worried that Lu Jing was young and could not lead the clan, during Lu Yu's tenure as the patriarch, he acted fairly and clearly, and everyone respected Lu Yu very much.

In addition, Lu Jun expressed his support for Lu Jing, and they did not raise any objections to Lu Yun's decision, but after Lu Jing returned to Gusu and opened a shrine to worship his ancestors, Lu Jing could officially become the next patriarch of the Lu clan.

On the eighth night of the first month of October, the terminally ill Lu Yu failed to survive the cycle of life and death after all, and repeatedly explained in front of the hospital bed, after all kinds of advice, with a little worry, a little regret, and a little relief, he passed away at the age of 46.

It was night, and the entire Lu family was full of grief, crying to move the sky, grieving Lu Yu's immortal death.

The servants of the Lu family were grateful to Lu Yu for his pity on the poor and the weak, and for his generosity, and they all cried bitterly.

Lu Jun recalled his brother's earnest teaching to him from childhood to adulthood, and the brotherhood of supporting each other for decades, hiding his face with his sleeves, secretly weeping, and feeling sad.

Lu Zhiyu was young, seeing that her father couldn't wake up from a long sleep, and her family couldn't stop crying, how could she bear the pain of losing her father, and she fainted on the spot when she was sad.

When Lu Jing listened to his father's last words, he cried in his heart, and at this moment, seeing his father pass away suddenly, recalling the scenes with his father, he couldn't hold back anymore, and tears fell like rain in an instant.

After a while, Lu Junqiang restrained his sadness, comforted everyone on the one hand, and gathered his clansmen to discuss Lu Yu's future.

Lu Jing, as the heir of the Lu family's house and the new patriarch of the Lu clan, can only endure his grief at the moment, letting his second aunt take care of his young sister while dealing with his father's funeral.

When his mother died six years ago, Lu Jing was still young and had not personally handled the funeral, and now many things need to be presided over by him personally, so he consults with Lu Jun on all important matters, and then he personally manages them.

On the ninth day of the first month of October, under the auspices of Lu Jun and Lu Jing, the Lu family held a spiritualist ceremony for Lu Yu.

The ancients attached great importance to the conjuring of spirits, especially for people who died in a foreign land, through the conjuring of spirits can make the soul of the deceased find the way home, avoid being lonely in a foreign land, and at the same time make the soul of the deceased be able to return to the clothes, and then put the clothes on the deceased, so that the deceased can enjoy the sacrifice of incense, the clothes of the soul conjuring are also called belly clothes.

An elderly recovering man of the Lu family held Lu Yun's clothes in one hand and his waist in the other, and shouted Lu Yun's name sadly to the netherworld north, calling out three times in a row, hoping for Lu Yun's soul to return.

After the conjuring ceremony, with the second wedge of the funeral, the Lu family placed Lu Yun's body on the bed under the south window of the main bed, and pressed the horn between Lu Yun's upper and lower teeth, and stretched his mouth open so that he could eat in the future.

After the wedge is completed, the first day of the nine-fold funeral is completed after the establishment of the curtain, obituary, inscription, bathing, meal, attack, weighting, etc.

On October 11, the Lu family held a coffin ceremony for Lu Yu to complete the funeral.

Death is taboo for seven days, after seven seven or forty-nine days and seven spirits, people generally stop the spirit of 17, 37, 57, 77, etc., depending on the family's financial resources.

After Lu Jing invited Mr. Yin and Yang to calculate, he chose to set up a memorial for his father's coffin for 7749 days, and invited monks and Taoists to do things for Lu Yu, and sacrificed every seven days.

Lu Yu greeted the condolences of relatives and friends during the period of his rest, among which Lu Jing and Lu Jun presided over all the foreign affairs of the Lu Mansion, and the Lu clan helped to manage them, and the internal affairs were maintained by Mrs. Guo and the female relatives of the Lu Mansion.

Lu Yu's ancestral home is Gusu, born in Taizhou, and has served as the political secretary of Jiangning Mansion in his life, the governor of Taizhou, the governor of Yangzhou Mansion, the highest official to the prefect of Yangzhou Mansion from Sipin, during the official period, the official reputation is outstanding, and he is kind to people when he is a person and a person.

Since the obituary of the Lu family on October 10, Lu Yu's former colleagues have passed away, and the Lu family has made friends and so on have come to mourn and tell a piece of incense.

Lin Ruhai also came to worship on the first day of the ceremony, Lin Ruhai followed Lu Jun to the mourning hall, his heart was extremely sad, he and Lu Yu were close in age, and the two were very close when they were young.

Although they had not been in contact for more than ten years, as the estrangement was removed, the friendship between the two brothers had deepened over the years, and they never thought that this close cousin would die before him.

Lin Ruhai looked at the scene in front of him, and couldn't help but think of the scene of Lu Jing's apprenticeship a few days ago, and he was even more sad.

Lin Ruhai found Lu Jing, who was crying in front of the spirit, and instructed in a serious tone: "You are now undertaking the Lu family's big house, and you are the patriarch of the Lu family, and you have a great stake, remember to think more in the future, don't live up to Brother Shichang's expectations, and strive to support the lintel of the Lu family as soon as possible!" ”

"Thank you for the teacher's teachings, and the disciples will keep it in mind!" Lu Jing thanked him after returning the salute.

He is becoming more and more sad in his heart these days, and his father's voice and appearance and the bits and pieces when the two get along often appear in front of him, and he can't help himself with more and more sadness.

Lin Ruhai helped Lu Jing up, seeing that he was haggard and haggard, without the handsome demeanor of the day, knowing that he had been sad and tired in recent days, he said with concern: "No need to be polite, you also have to pay attention to your body, don't be overly sad, in the future, the Lu Mansion will depend on you to maintain it!" ”

Lu Jing heard Lin Ruhai's sincere words of concern, and replied gratefully: "Thank you for the teacher's concern, the disciple remembers, and I hope the teacher will take care of his health!" ”

After Lin Ruhai comforted Lu Jing, he stayed at Lu's house to help entertain the officialdom who came to worship, until the night fell, Lin Ruhai paid tribute to Lu Yu again, and Fang left with a heavy heart.