……

The delicacies are varied, the chips are staggered, and gradually, the wine is hot.

As the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner drew to an end, the butler led the maid to serve exquisite desserts, and then brought hot water and towels to the basin.

At this time, those who guessed the boxing order and pushed the cup to change the lamp all stopped the movements in their hands.

Xia Nianzhi looked at the movements and expressions of everyone present, and in a few seconds, the alcohol dissipated, and he easily recovered his shrewd calculations, as if the drowsy and confused appearance that had been eroded by alcohol just now had never existed.

"The time has come, gentlemen, please move to the second floor chamber."

……

Xia Nianzhi, who was a little drowsy, suddenly woke up, she looked forward to the whole night, and it was also one of the important reasons why she agreed to Mrs. Sheng's invitation, and finally appeared, that, only a few people knew, the second strange family rule of the Sheng family.

The next patriarch of the Sheng clan is not exclusive to the eldest son of the long house, but is elected by all the Sheng family members on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, and the meritocracy in the long house is resided, and the change is made every twelve years.

In fact, the patriarch is not a pleasing character, the family in the clan is big, the people are mixed, and the relationship between the families in the clan is usually more painful than the Secretary-General of the United Nations, but everyone in the long house flocks to it, and there is a reason for it.

The patriarch of the Sheng clan holds a key in his hand, which can also be called the golden seal, which is the only key to open the door for countless treasures and huge treasures that the Sheng clan has hidden in the vaults of major banks in the world, and has accumulated for hundreds of years and generations.

In front of the Sheng family's exposure, mountains and seas were piled up, and the yellow and white things that were rich and rivaled the country were just a drop in the bucket of their golden empire.

At this time, the people of the Sheng clan got up one after another, walked in the direction of the hall on the second floor, whispered in their ears from time to time, or made eye gestures to each other.

Seeing them walk to the second floor, Xia Nianzhi watched the looks of the ladies around him, quietly accompanied Mrs. Sheng, and took the time to look at the wall clock, thanks to the fact that he once liked to run to the ancestral house of the Sheng family, and had some understanding of the family affairs of the Sheng family, and in two hours, it was the forty-twelfth year that Mr. Sheng was in charge of the Sheng family's golden seal.

This old man, who is actually over the age of old, but still has a tough posture, has controlled the resources under the Sheng family for more than half a century, which is equivalent to half a life of an ordinary person, long enough.

Feng Shui takes turns, and it is obvious that many people in the Sheng family are already impatient.

Xia Nianzhi slowly and leisurely took a closer look in the direction of the hall on the second floor, and secretly calculated in his heart - in the generation of the Sheng family, the only three people who are qualified to participate in the patriarchal competition are Mr. Sheng, Sheng Zhen, and Sheng Can.

If the ancient throne is analogous, the emperor lived too long and lived too well, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, history has already given the answer; And the Sheng family, if Mr. Sheng does not let go of power, in the next twelve years, who can foresee what will happen.

Mr. Sheng has always held these relatives of the Sheng family in his hands, and he doesn't know how many relatives of the Sheng family will try to rebel in a while, and if she knows the list, she will be the best soldier when she rises up and attacks in the future.

The maid sent a delicate snack, Xia Nianzhi actually had a good impression of the sour plum balls in it, and drank several tablespoons in a row, seeing that for a while, the hall on the second floor would not open the door, Xia Nianzhi simply let go, who knew that the thought was galloping, and he turned to admire the wisdom of the ancestors of the Sheng family.

This family rule was set back then, so that every family leader in the past hundred years has the best means and strategies of the Sheng family, which undoubtedly ensures the continuous prosperity of the Sheng family for several generations.

……

Thirty minutes later, the door of the second-floor hall opened, and everyone went downstairs to return to the dinner table.

Whose shoulder did the patriarch fall on the left side, Xia Nianzhi never saw it, and the members of the Sheng family also cultivated their expression management to the point of perfection, she was clumsy, however, when Sheng Scar appeared in her line of sight, the two looked at each other, and Sheng Scar nodded at her lightly, as if it was to appease, or something else.

However, Xia Nianzhi stubbornly took that gaze as relief, and her hanging heart finally landed steadily.

Until Old Mr. Sheng sat down, no one present seemed to have any intention of continuing to maintain the perfect family's Chinese New Year's Eve party, Xia Nianzhi looked around, the atmosphere was depressing, and for a while, it was terrifyingly tight.

Maybe it was nervous, or maybe he ate a little too much sour plum balls, and at this time the stomach was pantothenic, which was very uncomfortable, Xia Nianzhi's smooth appearance was seen by Mrs. Sheng, and she said with concern: "Nianzhi, where is it uncomfortable?" ”

"It's okay, I'll just drink some water."

The conversation between the two was very ordinary, and Xia Nianzhi could even lower his voice when he replied in order not to attract the attention of others, however, there were still people who stood up suddenly, and the table was slammed loudly.

"Today's election of the patriarch is an internal matter of my Sheng family, what is the matter with this woman?" A man of about fifty, with thief eyebrows and rat eyes, and sharp-beaked monkey cheeks, roared at Xia Nianzhi: "A woman with a foreign surname, who is not even my daughter-in-law of the Sheng family, what qualifications do you have to stay here?" ”

"Yes, Brother Chen is right! Why don't you woman go out yet! The man next to Brother Chen followed and scolded: "Out of politeness, we let you finish this meal, since this is the case, you woman should leave with interest!" What are you doing here?! ”

There are two in one, and there are three in two, some people take the lead, and the rest echo it, and for a while, there is a lot of noise and noise.

Inexplicably became the object of everyone's accusations and scolding, Xia Nianzhi's heart was galloping, even though he looked down on her before, he still cared about his face, so, what is going on at this time? What happened to tear apart the glamorous decency that each maintained itself?

In the face of the sudden attack of the Sheng family, Xia Nianzhi was really a little at a loss, they were right, she was an outsider after all, but she was invited by Mrs. Sheng, and she didn't participate in the whole process in the conference hall on the second floor, what went wrong?

Xia Nianzhi was surrounded by jackals, tigers and leopards, birds of prey and fierce beasts, each raising their fangs, ready to attack, and suddenly laughed.

She endured her anger tonight, pretending to be deaf and dumb and endured their ridicule and ridicule one by one, but it was not for the sake of being embarrassed at this time and leaving obediently, Sheng Chinese New Year's Eve Chinese New Year's Eve this play, she made up her mind and had to see the end.

"I don't know, the Sheng family is a Pingcheng family, a scholarly family, and the way of hospitality is like this, the host hasn't spoken yet, and they are also relatives of the guests, so they can shout at the guests who are also invited." Xia Nianzhi bit his tongue, squeezed out two tears, his eyes were red, he took Mrs. Sheng's hand, and sighed faintly: "Mrs. Sheng, don't come to me in the future, tonight, I also miss you being good to me and want to accompany you; But people's words are terrifying, it seems that how can people in the world be as gentle and kind as you, visiting the elders, what has become of these words, and it is a shame to spread them. ”

Xia Nianzhi apologized to Mrs. Sheng, and then got up directly to go out, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Sheng stretched out her hand to stop her.

"Nianzhi, Sheng Ma hasn't given you New Year's money for a long time, tonight, Sheng Ma has prepared a big one."

In Xia Nianzhi's surprise and astonishment, Mrs. Sheng took her hand and patted her gently, as if to appease, Xia Nian subconsciously felt that something was wrong, until Mrs. Sheng spoke slowly and announced her decision.

"Originally, I wanted to wait a little later, when everyone is rested, and then announce it, but since Sheng Chen, you have already mentioned Nianzhi's name and questioned her identity, then I am here to explain."

Xia Nianzhi felt that the strength of Mrs. Sheng's grip on her wrist was slowly increasing, so this move made Xia Nian's heart even more puzzled, did she miss something? After sifting through the recent events in her mind, Xia Nianzhi didn't gain anything, so she couldn't help but look at Mrs. Sheng strangely.

"Nianzhi has been watched by me since I was a child, and she has a good temper and temperament, and I have recognized her as my adopted daughter." Mrs. Sheng's words were conclusive, and she was sure of it: "I called over for a reunion dinner today, I also thought that everyone was familiar with it, and in the future, after all, it was also the daughter of my Sheng family's room. ”

It's not a goddaughter, it's an adopted daughter.

As soon as Mrs. Sheng spoke, the audience was in an uproar, and almost instantly, all the members of the Sheng clan present, including Mr. Sheng, Sheng Zhen, and Lu Can, all set their eyes on Xia Nianzhi, and she became the attention of everyone in an instant, or rather, the target of everyone.

It is easy to adopt a daughter, but then there is a clear letter of the law, and the provisions of the law will give the adopted daughter many rights, which naturally include part of the inheritance; Even if it is not biological, just because she is the adopted daughter of the Sheng family, this identity is already weighty enough, and the same treatment as the biological daughter of the Sheng family, on the family tree, it is the surname 'Sheng' that brings all the benefits and resources.

Pie in the sky?

No, it's a crown from the sky!

The relatives of the Sheng family who were present overlapped with contempt and doubt, looking Xia Nianzhi up and down, left and right.

At this moment, she is very much like a monkey in the zoo, funny, funny, entertaining, and admired by onlookers.

Among them, there are two lines of sight that are the sharpest, Xia Nianzhi followed the line of sight to look at the source, which were Song Cheng and Shen Ranran.

The vicious appearance of the two beauties, Xia Nianzhi suspected, and the two of them would rush over in the next second, use the valuable nails to scratch her face, and step on a few more feet by the way, which is enough to relieve her anger.

"Sister-in-law." Sheng Chen laughed, raised his hand and smashed the sweet soup newly delivered by the maid in front of Mrs. Sheng, and asked, "In order to achieve the goal, you have all made this kind of trick?!" Foster child? I'm dressed in the morning! ”

Xia Nianzhi's first reaction was to look at Mr. Sheng, the matter of 'adopted daughter', Mr. Sheng would never agree.

However, to Xia Nianzhi's extreme shock, Mr. Sheng was noncommittal and acquiesced in Mrs. Sheng's decision.

This world is probably fantasy!!

Xia Nianzhi swore that the bleak and mournful complaint she had just made was just acting, thinking of arousing Mrs. Sheng's compassion for her and dealing with the second uncle of the Sheng family who suddenly spoke wildly, who knew that it would involve the matter of 'adopted daughter'.

If she becomes Mrs. Sheng's adopted daughter, she will have to call Mr. Sheng 'father', Xia Nianzhiguang thinks about it, she feels goosebumps all over her body, and she should panic everywhere, and the only advantage of Mrs. Sheng's 'adopted daughter' is that she can get rid of the deformed relationship between Sheng and her.

Perhaps, according to the logic of Sheng Zhen's old man's perverted bastard, maybe he will still find it exciting?

Xia Nianzhi was a little desperate, busy thinking about how to find an impeccable and reasonable reason, politely rejecting Mrs. Sheng's enthusiasm, and trying her best to make up for her guilt.