The ancestral hall is solemn and solemn. In front of the mourning hall, there are ten levels of memorial tablets for ancestors of the Lin family. They are scattered at different heights, representing the ten generations of ancestors of the Lin family over the past two hundred years. Lin Su looked from top to bottom...
Lin Xiliang, general of Da Cang Kingdom's northern town...
Lin Lijun, the great cavalry general of Da Cang Kingdom...
Lin Wanfang, the great cavalry general of Da Cang Kingdom Xiao Yong Bo...
The Lin family has been a general for two hundred years, and has been a general for generations. There is only one exception, which is the bottom and middle tablet. There are only seven words on it: The spirit of Lord Lin Dingnan.
This is his father, who was originally the Marquis of Dingnan and the commander of Xueyuguan, but he was stripped of his official position and no title. There is only one name on the spiritual tablet without any title.
The second brother inserted a stick of incense into the incense burner in front of his father, and knelt down with a bang: "Dad, when you were on your way, the third brother couldn't make it back. Today I'm here to offer you incense. Don't worry, dad, no matter what happens, no matter what happens,
Things will change forever, as long as the child has a breath of life, he will definitely protect his mother and brothers!"
After kowtowing nine times, he slowly stood up: "Third brother, come here!"
Lin Su respectfully put the incense in his hand on the incense burner, kowtowed nine times, and slowly stood up.
"Second brother, why did daddy die?"
The second brother's eyes shone with anger and he said a lot...
The situation of the Lin family is actually a common problem in feudal society...
The duty of a military general is to kill the enemy and protect the border, and his foreign attitude is to fight.
Civil servants firmly believed in the influence of Confucian classics, and their external attitude was weak and ambiguous.
This created a political environment in which civil and military forces were in opposition.
Civil servants controlled the right to speak, and military generals were increasingly marginalized. Later, a strange situation emerged where military generals did not go to court. Among the people, military generals even became synonymous with lowliness. The entire society valued civility over military affairs.
In such an environment, no one dared to be rash, and Lin Dingnan was not a rash person. He knew that officialdom was dangerous, so he always acted cautiously and with his tail between his legs, so he was granted the title of Marquis. However, something unexpected happened.
Storm.
Last year, one of his subordinates colluded with the demons and became a shameful traitor to the human race. How could Lin Dingnan let him go? He was punished by military law. Unexpectedly, this person was deeply connected with the court. Zhang Wenyuan, the Minister of War, fabricated the facts and falsely accused Lin Dingnan of treason.
His Majesty sent a team to Xueyuguan to investigate the matter. This team was also controlled by the court officials. In the end, Lin Dingnan was determined to have rebelled, and the Dingnan Hou Mansion was destroyed.
Lin Su's heart was filled with rage. What kind of court is this?
The soldiers defended their homes and the country, but a bunch of people behind them tried every means to kill them. There were no charges or fabricated charges, and the culprit was actually the Minister of War who was in charge of military affairs!
The second brother ended this tragic past with one sentence: "Fortunately, Your Majesty still thought of the Lin family's two hundred years of generals and ten generations of military service, so he did not kill all the Lin family. The eldest brother was still serving at the border and was not affected, and my mother was able to save her life."
"
Lin Su breathed out softly: "Mother's illness... doesn't matter, does it?"
The second brother said: "My mother also fell ill because of mental depression. If she took medicine and stones, supplemented by "Qi Guiding Wen", she would recover quickly. However, the doctors in the city did not dare to come to the door. Just relying on "Qi Guiding Wen" alone, my mother would be cured quickly.
There may still be several days of pain and suffering.”
Lin Su was slightly startled: "What do you mean the city officials don't dare to come to the door?"
"It's still the Zhang family that suppresses them! Zhang Wenyuan's hometown is also in Haining, and the Lin family is suppressed everywhere. The Lin family wants to sell some wooden goods and furniture to make a living, but no one dares to come to the door. Because of my mother's illness, the doctors don't even dare to come, because they are afraid.
If you leave the Zhang family, you may suffer a disaster... But don't worry, third brother, I will go to the city gate tomorrow to sell calligraphy and write letters for my brother, which will eventually ensure that the Lin family has a hot soup..."
The second brother considered that Lin Su had just returned from a thousand-mile journey and had been running all the way, so he asked him to go and rest quickly. However, he entered the study room with staggering steps. He still needed to study and prepare for the exam. Lin Su watched him try to straighten up.
The back view made me feel a little sour for some reason.
He could not imagine how much pressure this scholar in feudal society had experienced in the past few months. His father died, his mother was ill, and the burden of the entire Hou family suddenly fell on his shoulders.
He is a person who reads books from sages, and he is not essentially a person who bears the ups and downs of his family. Can he afford all this?
I am back and I am also a member of this family!
Regardless of whether it was the case before, now...he is!
Lin Su returned to the West Courtyard, his former small courtyard.
The courtyard is also very dilapidated. Under the dim light, there is a girl, Xiaoyao!
"Brother!" Xiaoyao ran over, grabbed his hand, and rubbed his waist with her little head.
Lin Su gently touched her head: "Xiaoyao, brother promised you that he would search for jelly beans all over the city for you, but he can't do it today."
"Brother, why are you like this? You make it sound like Xiaoyao is delicious. Xiaoyao doesn't like eating jelly beans. Really." Xiaoyao denied it, but the sparkle at the corner of her mouth clearly betrayed her.
Lin Su smiled softly: "Go to sleep. I know you didn't sleep well last night."
"Um!"
Xiaoyao fell asleep in the wing room outside Lin Su's bedroom. She soon began to breathe evenly and slept soundly.
Lin Su, on the other hand, lay on his back on his big bed, tossing and turning for most of the night. He didn't fall asleep until the white line of fish belly appeared in the east.
The next day, at three o'clock in the morning, Lin Su finally woke up. When he woke up, he walked out of the yard and came to his mother's main hall. He wanted to see how his mother's illness was. Just as he was about to enter, there was a sudden exclamation from inside: "Two
Young Master, what’s wrong with you..."
Lin Su pushed open the main hall door and saw her second brother lying on the ground. There was no color on his face. Xiao Tao and her mother hurriedly helped him up.
Lin Su quickly stepped forward and helped his second brother up: "Second brother, what's wrong with you?"
The mother broke down in tears: "It's all because of my mother who harmed him. Ordinary scholars would take all their energy to write a "Qi Guo Wen". Your second brother has been writing two articles a day for several days. How can he not be exhausted? Xiao Tao, hurry up and give it to the second young master.
Prepare some soup... Erlang, you lie down..."
Lin Su and her mother worked together to help the second brother to bed. The second brother finally recovered and slowly opened his eyes...
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Excuse me, is the Second Young Master Lin Jialiang and Lin here?"
It's a clear female voice.
Lin Su looked through the window. In front of Xiao Tao, who had just gone out, stood a petite man in Tsing Yi, dressed in men's clothing, but she was obviously a girl.
Xiao Tao said: "The girl is..."
The woman said: "This slave is Cui'er who serves the girl from Yuxianglou... I've come here to see Mr. Jialiang..."
Xiao Tao said: "Second Young Master is not feeling well, so I'm afraid he won't be able to see guests."
Cui'er was anxious: "What should we do?...Sister, please let me meet the young master no matter what. The matter is urgent and cannot be delayed."
Then...come in!
Cui'er and Xiao Tao entered the main hall. Lin Jialiang, who was lying on the bed, was shocked when he saw the woman: "Cui'er, why is it you? But Yulou...what happened?"
"Second Young Master!" Cui'er said, "Sister Yulou is resigning from the building today, do you know?"
Resigning from a brothel is a step that all girls in a brothel take. When they are young, they work in a brothel. When they get older and are no longer suitable for this kind of business, resigning from the brothel and marrying a concubine from a wealthy family is the best ending. Although Jade Tower is a jade house,
Even the most popular courtesans in Xianglou cannot escape this law of brothels.
Lin Jialiang was in a daze: "She once said she would resign from the building, but I didn't know that today...she asked you to come over..."
"My servant went out today without telling my sister. She secretly hid the invitation written by Yuxianglou to the young master last night, just because she didn't want him to attend the farewell party, just because she knew that Zhang Xiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the
Many talented people in the Quzhou literary world have always wanted to end the young master's literary career. It is very dangerous for the young master to participate in any literary meeting... The slave girl also knows that what her sister said is right, but the slave girl is still worried. Zhang Xiu has already said that,
How can my sister resist when she is about to hug her back from the farewell party? What if she just jumps into the fire...how can she turn around and talk to the young master again on the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Lin Jiali's conscience was in turmoil and his whole body was shaking...
Mother Lin sighed softly: "Erlang, Yulou's concerns are indeed reasonable. You'd better rest in peace and wait and see what happens."
"But...but the Zhang family..." Lin Jialiang's chest rose and fell sharply, but his face was pale with a hint of red...
Mother Lin said: "The Zhang family conspired to kill your father, and the worst thing is to see the Lin family rise again. As the only literary member of the Lin family, you are a thorn in their side. Everyone knows that the Zhang family wants to cut off your literary career. This is
Without the protection of the Hou Mansion, even if you are in good health, it will be extremely dangerous to go back, not to mention that it is meaningless to go away with your body and bones now, and it will also harm Miss Yulou..."
Lin Jialiang stared at the roof blankly, and suddenly he coughed violently. When he took his hand away from his mouth, there was a shocking bright red color on his palm...
Mother Lin was shocked. She wiped her son's blood with her sleeve and helped him to sleep...
Cui'er was also shocked and stared blankly, her face also turned pale...
Lin Su gently pulled her, and Cui'er followed him out of the room in confusion.
As soon as she left the room, Cui'er knelt down in front of Lin Su with a bang: "Master, I really didn't expect this to happen. It caused the second master to vomit blood and fall ill. It was my fault..."
"Tui'er, I know you also have good intentions, thank you!" Lin Su helped her up: "You have also seen the condition of my second brother... Can the resignation party be postponed?"
"No, the invitations have been sent out." Cui'er replied.
Lin Su pondered for a long time: "Then...I'll go!"
Cui'er was suddenly startled, "Are you participating? It's a literary gathering. Are you a literati?"
"You go back first, I will go there later!"
Cui'er hesitated for a moment, took out an invitation from her arms and said: "Third Young Master, this invitation was drawn up by the host. Sister Yulou hid it after seeing it, and the slave took it over secretly. I really don't know whether it is right or wrong.
, you should discuss it with the Second Young Master, this slave has left..."
Turn around and leave.
Lin Su opened the red invitation, which read a neat line of small letters: "In honor of Master Lin Jialiang, one of the ten most talented people in Quzhou, we hereby arrange to hold a farewell banquet for the Girl from the Jade Tower at Haining Tower at noon on April 21st.
You are cordially invited to attend.”
The signature below is: Yuxiang Tower.
Cilou banquet, gathering of literati, ten beauties of Quzhou...
What Xiaocui said to her mother just now flowed through Lin Su's mind...
Taking advantage of the literary meeting to cut off the second brother's literary path? He knew that the literary path was the path forward for literati, but could a person's literary path be cut off with just a banquet? How to cut it off? Why did my mother say it was extremely dangerous?
The literary meeting was at noon, and there were still two or three hours left. He needed to fully understand the literary culture of this world.
Lin Su walked towards his second brother's study... This chapter has been completed!