I don't know if I slept enough to relieve my fatigue, or I knew the priorities, I was afraid that I would really be delayed on the road and couldn't send the patriarch to the last ride, and Shen Jue's spirit was much better from the next day. When eating, it is no longer about counting the grains of rice, and it is no longer about swaying when riding on a horse.

Shen Ji also seemed to have discovered his previous negligence, and began to care about Shen Jue's body, and his concern for others did not fall. Even though he needed to be vegetarian during the filial piety period, he still sent someone to buy two old ginseng slices with silver, and made ginseng tea for everyone to replenish their strength before leaving every morning.

The next journey was much smoother, and Shen Dong, who was the least suitable for the long journey, gradually adapted to the daily rhythm of rushing after a few days of haggardness.

On this way, the weather was beautiful, except for the delay of one day during the heavy rain, the other time was still good weather, everyone was in a hurry, less than 80 miles a day, more than 120 miles, and finally arrived in Songjiang on July 25. This day was the third day after the patriarch's "May Seven", two days earlier than the day when Shen Ji originally planned to plan.

When the group arrived at the gate of the old mansion of Zongfang, someone reported all the way in.

Because they were in a hurry, the group of people were all plain clothes on the road, and they had to wear them when they arrived at the door of the sect, especially the two grandsons Shen Jian and the great-eldest grandson Shen Dong, both of whom were sub-heavy filial piety clothes. When I returned home, I first had to pay homage to the grandfather.

When he arrived at Shen Jue's place, Shen, the second brother of the sect who was out to greet him, was a little hesitant.

There are several kinds of filial piety clothes next to him, some are coarse linen cloth in natural color, and there are cooked linen cloth in natural color.

The former is the uniform system of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and it is a heavy filial piety, and Shen Ji and Shen Dong wear it like this; The latter is a "great meritorious" uniform.

It stands to reason that even if Shen Jue returns to his hometown for funeral, he is not the grandson of the patriarch's grandfather, and the "great merit" of surrendering is; But thinking about his relationship with his grandfather, Shen couldn't bear it.

The patriarch's wife did not leave silently, so before leaving, it was also the grandson and the girl who surrounded the bed, and the old man was most at ease, that is, the little grandson Shen Jue, who chattered several times. Even when he returned to the private room, the patriarch did not forget to leave a copy for Shen Jue.

Shen Ji and Shen Dong changed into filial piety clothes and went to the mourning hall first.

Shen Rui and Shen Qi, who were standing beside Shen Jue, had not changed their clothes yet, Shen Rui hesitated, not knowing whether to speak or not, so Shen Jue took the filial piety clothes of cooked linen cloth and put them on.

Shen was stunned for a moment, then showed a little gloom, and beckoned Shen Qi and Shen Rui to change their clothes.

These two people are the younger generations of the patriarch's grandfather who have come out of the five suits, and they are no longer in clothes, and they only need to wear "floating filial piety", which is a plain clothes with a bleached cloth filial piety belt around their waists.

Because it is not the day of "burning seven", only the descendants of the descendants of the sect are guarding the spirit in the mourning hall.

Seeing the people who were mourning in the capital coming back, everyone paid attention not only to Shen Ji, but also to Shen Jue. Especially the second master's family, they kept looking at Shen Jue. They didn't think that Shen Jue's succession was a pain of separation, but felt that he had great luck and jumped from the son of a squire to a young master of an official family. The third and fourth brothers of the second master's family are also faintly jealous of this cousin. Coupled with the gift specially specified by the patriarch before his death, it made the second master's family even more unhappy.

In their opinion, Shen Jue is no longer the grandson of the sect, so he is not qualified to share the private property of the patriarch's grandfather.

Now that Shen Jue has come in, he is not sad and heartbroken, and his body is not covered with burlap, so they are even more and more unable to see it. But they don't know that sometimes they are so sad that they can't shed tears. Filial piety is not filial piety, and it is not in the system.

Although Shen Cang and his wife had instructed Shen Jue before leaving Beijing, telling him not to take care of a lot and to wear linen and filial piety for the patriarch's grandfather, Shen Jue did not obey the orders of his elders, but chose the second-class "great merit" uniform, because in front of his grandfather, he wanted to be a good grandson who was obedient and polite. He knew that then the patriarch would be truly at ease.

The mourning hall is located in the front yard of the old house, because the weather is too hot, in order to stop the spirit cheaply, ice is put under the coffin

Although Songjiang is not as good as the capital that can store ice in winter, some people use saltpeter to make ice, but the price has increased several times.

Ordinary people naturally can't afford this, but the Shen family is wealthy, in addition to a large number of spices in the coffin, the iceberg in the coffin has not been broken these days, so that there is no trace of summer heat in the mourning hall, but a little shade.

After Shen Ji and Shen Dong offered incense in front of the coffin, Shen Jue knelt down in front of the coffin.

He didn't say a word, nor did he shed tears, he just kowtowed respectfully, and then put on the incense, stepped aside, and gave up the position of the incense to Shen Qi and Shen Rui.

The eldest lady of the sect was also above the mourning hall, and when she saw that the young son didn't even give herself a look, she only felt panicked in her heart.

The second master of the sect frowned, only feeling that Shen Jue was too cold, and his face was a little ugly. With the patriarch's love for Shen Jue, even if Shen Jue is not grief-stricken, he should be crying bitterly.

Shen Jue was unconscious, his expression was wooden, like a clay carved wood sculpture, with a pestle beside him.

Shen Ji had already taken Shen Dong to greet the elders, and when he didn't see the eldest master of the sect, he couldn't help but worry, so he asked: "Madam, where is ......the master?"

"I'm tired these days, so I'm taking medicine and resting a few days......" said Mrs. Zongfang.

Shen Ji glanced at Shen Rui, Shen Qi and the others, and said, "If it's cheap, let's go see the master first, and then the clan brothers should also rest for a ......."

Mrs. Zongfang had already asked someone to prepare the guest room, but she was thinking about her master, and she didn't know if she could see guests now.

She was hesitating when she heard someone say, "It's the eldest brother and the younger brother who are back......"

The old man wearing filial piety clothes and holding a cane came in at the door of the mourning hall, it was not a bystander, but the master of the sect.

White things are already tiring, not to mention that it is this season, and the eldest master of the sect is also in the year of the sixtieth year, and after more than a month of hard work, people are a little unable to stand up. After the "May Seven", he fainted on the mourning hall and was carried down from the mourning hall.

But as a filial son, how can he recuperate with peace of mind?

The eldest master of the sect always asked people to keep an eye on the mourning hall, and when he heard that the mourners in the capital had arrived, he came over on crutches.

"The old man is not filial and is back" Looking at the old father who was old, Shen Ji only felt a tremor in his heart, picked up the placket of his clothes, and knelt down.

Since he knelt, Shen Dong naturally followed.

Looking at the eldest son and eldest grandson kneeling in front of him, the eldest master of the sect had red circles in his eyes, and choked up: "It's good to come back, it's good to come back, get up quickly, can you incense with the master?" ”

"It's done." Shen Ji got up and replied.

The eldest master of the sect looked at Shen Rui and Shen Qi at this time, and sighed: "It's Brother Qi and Brother Rui, you have worked the road...... The master knows the underground, and he will also lead your ......"

Shen Qi said: "My father and mother also went south to mourn, but my sister-in-law and her party were behind, and my nephew took the first step. ”

The eldest master of the sect was quite surprised when he heard this, and said with emotion: "It's too busy to travel in such weather. It must have been your father's idea, and his reluctance to come up with the idea, but no one could persuade him."

Shen Qi said: "My father often thinks of my uncle's kindness, and since I got the news, I haven't seen a happy face, if I don't come back to send my uncle the last ride, I'm afraid that my father will not be able to live in peace in this life." ”

When the eldest master of the sect heard this, he was quite moved.

At that time, the four rooms were decayed and the five rooms were chaotic, and it was the sect room that came forward to help, and the two rooms got better. Shen Hong is the same age as Shen Juren, and he was a frequent visitor to the sect in his early years, and the two snot babies who followed the eldest master of the sect, the patriarch also regarded these two as his own nephews. Now, the funeral letter has been reported, and Shen Juren, who is a professor in Yangzhou Mansion, only sent the housekeeper back to pay tribute; Shen Hong, who was far away in the capital, dragged his sick and weak body and ran thousands of miles to mourn.

Thinking like this, the elder of the sect looked at Shen Rui's gaze a little complicated.

However, Shen Rui is not the fourth-room concubine now, but the second-room heir, representing the second room in the capital to come back to mourn, and the eldest master of the sect has to say a few words of greeting.

After the politeness was over, the eldest master of the sect finally looked at his most concerned son Shen Jue.

Seeing that Shen Jue's face was sallow and his body was so thin that he was afraid of people, the eldest master of the sect moved his lips, but he couldn't say a word.

When the young son was arranged, although the eldest master of the sect was out of love for his son, he regretted it later. He originally thought that he was old, the second room was powerful, and the young son could be sheltered by the second room as the heir, and he would also help the future of the young son, but the heir was the heir, not his own son; Parents are parents, not parents.

In the past few years, whenever he heard about the contradictions and entanglements between the heirs and heirs of the childless families in the people, the eldest master of the sect was frightened, and he thought of Shen Jue.

is worried that Shen Zhou will have a concubine and give birth to a child, and Shen Jue's identity will be embarrassing; I was worried that Qiao's was mean and bullied Shen Jue, and it was difficult to rest assured left and right.

Until the patriarch's wife was sick and he never forgot his young grandson before he died, the regret of the eldest master of the sect added guilt. In his opinion, although the patriarch is old, he has always been healthy, and his body has turned south in the past two years, not necessarily because he misses his little grandson.

But going out is not child's play, even if the eldest master of the sect repents and is ashamed, he will not say anything to let Shen Jue return to the sect

He lowered his head in a dejected manner, not daring to look at Shen Jue's shimmering gaze again.

Since the elder master of the sect entered the mourning hall, Shen Jue's eyes fell on the eldest lord of the sect, there was attachment and expectation in it, and with the old man of the sect room bowing his head, there was only despair and indifference.

Although the eldest lord and his wife of the sect invited everyone to rest, after all, everyone came for the funeral, who can rest at ease? After freshening up from the guest room, everyone returned to the mourning hall in unison.

Above the mourning hall, in addition to the descendants of the Zongfang branch, there is also a young man in plain clothes, who is not an outsider, it is Shen Quan, who returned from the capital in February to take the boy's test.

He had already passed the college examination and became a new epiphytes of Songjiang Mansion, so he returned to Songjiang Mansion. I originally planned to go back to the capital first after completing the study tour procedures, but I didn't want to catch up with the funeral of the patriarch's grandfather, so I stayed in Songjiang.

The Shen family's various houses live together, all of them are in Shenjiafang, there is movement on the side of the sect, and it didn't take long for the other houses to get the news.

Hearing that the mourners in the capital had arrived, Shen Quan thought of his brother Shen Qi, Shen Rui, and Shen Jue.

The patriarch is gone, and Wufang will definitely send someone to the south, and there is no one else for this candidate, only Shen Qi, who is still not a prominent person; In the same way, there is also Shen Rui's side; As for Shen Jue, it is flesh and blood.

didn't care if he asked someone to ask who was coming or not, so he rushed over directly, not wanting to see the people in the capital in the mourning hall, but instead heard the third brother and the fourth brother talking sour words.

The third brother said: "The fifth brother is really a young master of the official family now, and he refuses to wear linen and filial piety for the grandfather, this is for fear that his parents will be annoyed......

The fourth brother said: "What is the fifth brother? He is no longer the grandson of the sect, where can he use the ranking of the sect house again? Only the master is eccentric, he doesn't say anything good, and he has to give him a private room when he comes, why not? ”

"If he really wants face, don't ask for it," the third brother snorted coldly: "I want to see how the young master of Shangshu Mansion is embarrassed to come to Songjiang to rob the family wealth?" ”

When Shen Ji's father and son first arrived, they said goodbye to the master of the sect and the lady of the sect; Shen has been working hard inside and outside these days, and he has long been tired, even if he is in the mourning hall, he still closes his eyes and recuperates; Shen's children are juniors, even if they hear the third brother and the fourth brother speak disrespectfully, they will not be secretly angry; As for the second master and the second wife of the sect, what the third brother and the fourth brother said was exactly what they were talking about, if they hadn't supported them in the back, the two juniors wouldn't have dared to talk about these things in the sect......