Inside the house, an old man in a fox fur coat stood opposite Linglong with an angry look on his face, and said firmly: "I have no right to interfere with you recognizing your granddaughter. But I don't agree with you entering the Ling family temple."
"Third elder, if you have anything to say, sit down and talk slowly. Don't argue. We are all family, there is no need to hurt the harmony over these trivial matters." The speaker was an old man in a gray robe sitting on the side. His hair and beard were all white, and he looked majestic but kind. This man was Feng Yuan, the second of the twelve elders of the Ling family.
The one who is called the third brother is the third elder Lan Yanqing.
Of the twelve elders of the Ling family, except for the chief elder Ling Lan, the other eleven are from outsiders.
Because he had received kindness from the ancestors of the Ling family, he swore allegiance.
After hearing what the second elder said, the third elder became even more unhappy.
"A small matter? Letting a girl of unknown origin worship the ancestors in the ancestral temple is also a small matter? Second elder, tell me, what is a big matter?" The third elder walked up to the second elder, grabbed the second elder's arm, pulled him up, and stared at him straight, as if he was really waiting for him to say something big.
The second elder smiled and shook his head, waved his hand to break free from the third elder's pull, and was about to explain a few words when he was interrupted by an angry voice.
"Who are you calling a nobody? She's my granddaughter. You can say whatever you want, even call me an old man, but you can't call me your granddaughter!" Linglong got angry as soon as he heard this, his eyes widened. "I'm telling you, Lan Yanqing, don't think I won't beat you just because you're an elder!"
"Oh, you old thing, you haven't shown up for a long time, your ability hasn't improved, but your temper has become worse and worse. You still want to beat me, come on, come on, can you beat me!"
"I..." Linglong rolled up his sleeves and was about to walk towards the Third Elder, looking like he was about to have a fight.
Upon seeing this, the others immediately stepped forward and grabbed the two of them.
"Master, Third Elder, what are you doing? Can't we just talk it out? We have invited many distinguished guests today. If you start fighting, will the Ling family still have face?"
The sixth elder Feng Qingyang pulled Linglong's arm from behind, the seventh elder Hua He opened his arms to block the third elder, and everyone gathered around them, talking in unison.
"That's right, you are so old and still so impulsive."
"You don't want this old face anymore."
"Calm down and sit down and talk."
"We are a family, there is nothing we can't discuss."
... ...
"Negotiate? There's no room for negotiation. You can recognize each other as relatives, but I don't agree to her entering the ancestral temple! Even if she is your granddaughter, she is not surnamed Ling. How can she deserve a pre-selected position as the heir? There are many outstanding children in the Ling family. How do you want them to feel?" Although the situation was tense, the third elder still maintained his position firmly without wavering.
Recognizing one's relatives is a trivial matter, as long as it is confirmed that Ling'er is really Lingxi's bloodline. However, once she enters the Ling family ancestral temple, it means that her identity is recognized by the ancestors and she becomes one of the reasonable candidates for the heir. Generally, only direct legitimate sons or illegitimate sons with outstanding talents are eligible to obtain this status.
As a woman, and of a different family name, why should Xia Ling'er enter the ancestral temple
"Master, what the three elders said seems to make sense. After all, she is your granddaughter."
The other people also nodded in agreement.
"He knows nothing. I have my reasons for doing this. Do you think I am just an old fool?"
"Oh, your reason? Then why don't you tell me what your reason is? Come and tell us all about it? Ah!" The third elder stretched his neck and stared at Linglong. The seven elders standing in front of him felt the pressure.
"I... I can't tell you." The previous head of the family had said that the secret of the forbidden area must not be revealed to anyone else. If he could tell you, he would have told you long ago.
"Can't tell? Haha, you old thing, do you think I don't know? You just prefer Lingxi and feel that you owe her something, so you plan to use the entire Ling family to make it up to her. Do you think I don't know your little tricks? Let me tell you, although you are the head of the family, the Ling family does not belong to you alone. As long as I am still alive, I will be the first one to disagree!"
"The head of the Lan family is here!"
"The Master of Feng Pavilion has arrived!"
"... ... "
Voices announcing the arrival of guests continued to ring out, and Linglong was a little confused.
What's going on? Shouldn't the guests be in the front hall? Why are they all in the front yard of the ancestral temple
Suddenly he understood something, and his flaming eyes shot straight at the third elder.
"Lan Yanqing! Is this you who did this?"
The Third Elder was a little afraid to look Linglong in the eyes, but he didn't know what he was thinking of. He encouraged himself again and straightened his chest.
"Yes, it was me who did it. I did it alone. It has nothing to do with others!"
He just couldn't believe that in front of all the forces, this old man dared to favor his own granddaughter.
That wild girl, with unknown origins and no background, was so scared when she saw such a scene that she almost cried. How dare she enter the ancestral temple? Humph!
"You! You are really incapable of success and are more likely to cause trouble!" Linglong was really at a loss at this moment. 'Where the fog disappears, the Ling family will emerge from the hidden world';. This is a secret passed down from generation to generation by the head of the family. Regardless of whether this girl is willing to take over the Ling family in the future, she is qualified to enter the ancestral temple. It was originally a simple matter, but it became troublesome after being mixed up by Lan Yanqing.
Ling'er, that girl, doesn't have any background, so it's a bit difficult to keep the secret and send her into the ancestral temple.
Those old guys are all worldly-wise and are very particular about the door.
"You really got me into trouble, eh."
As they were talking, footsteps were approaching, followed by various voices.
"It is a cause for great joy that Brother Ling has found his long-lost granddaughter."
"I heard that Lingxi is getting better, it's a double blessing."
"Yes, yes, back then, that little girl was famous all over the continent."
Those who came were Lan family patriarch Lan Yanhong, Feng Pavilion master Feng Shulou, grandmaster-level talisman master Liu Chu, and representatives from some affiliated small families.
Linglong immediately suppressed the anger on his face and went to the door to greet him.
"Brother Lan, Pavilion Master Feng, Brother Liu, your presence here is truly an honor to our Ling Family."
"Hahaha, we have known each other for so many years. How can we not come to congratulate Brother Ling for such a happy event?"
"That's right. I just didn't expect that the elusive Grandmaster Liu would come. He's a rare person. I was able to see Grandmaster Liu thanks to the help of the head of the Ling family."
"Hahaha, you guys are really embarrassing me. I am lazy and don't like worldly things. I like to hide away in places with mountains and rivers. This time, I heard that Brother Ling found his granddaughter. I haven't seen Brother Ling for a long time, so I came here uninvited. I hope Brother Ling doesn't look down on me." Liu Chu is a generous person with an unrestrained temperament. He doesn't like to be bound by rules and regulations. Therefore, many people who claim to be nobles don't like him. But there is no way, his strength is there. He is the only master-level talisman master in this continent.
Linglong stepped forward and patted Liu Chu on the shoulder, "Brother Liu, what are you talking about? I'm very happy that you can come."
He looked back at Ling Zheng who was standing not far away, "Zheng'er, come over quickly and take these elders to the front hall for tea."
Lingzheng didn't know what he was thinking and looked at a loss. After hearing Linglong's words, the expression on his face became even more confused.
"Zheng'er, why are you still standing there like an idiot? Hurry up and go." Linglong was a little annoyed when he saw Lingzheng didn't move for a long time, but because there were so many people present, he didn't show it obviously. He just spoke in a heavier tone.
Lingzheng frowned and finally moved. He walked to Linglong and whispered, "Reporting to Grandpa, when these guests were at the door, they were all told to attend my cousin's ancestral worship and recognition ceremony first..." So these people were brought directly to the front yard of the ancestral temple.
"What's going on?" Linglong was really angry. He had originally planned to make Ling'er's identity known to the public, and then secretly build connections for her. When everything was ready, he would announce Ling'er's admission into the ancestral temple. He had never thought that things would turn out like this. Now it was a bit difficult to deal with.
The others were easy to deal with, but he was mainly worried about two aspects: one was Lingyuan, and the other was the Lan family!
"How do you do things? You can't even handle such a small matter?"
"Yes... it's my second uncle." Ling Zheng said this hesitantly. After all, he was a relative, and he didn't expect his second uncle to do this. Now that he has made grandpa angry, grandpa will definitely settle the score with his second uncle after this.
"It's really the second son, this troublesome thing. I thought that putting him under house arrest would help him reflect and correct his mistakes, but he became even worse!" I was in a good mood today, but now this unfilial son has appeared.
"Grandpa, please don't get angry. It's not worth it to get yourself hurt. At this moment, it's too late to back down." I've already told them to watch the ceremony, so I can't go back on my word. No matter how much trouble there is in the Ling family, it's a family scandal. I can't lose face in front of outsiders.
"Forget it, since they want to use everyone to make things happen, let them do it. I don't believe that I, as the head of a family, can't even protect my own granddaughter! Humph!" Not to mention that everyone opposed it, even if the whole world opposed it, Ling'er's ancestral temple would be in trance!
"Please come in and take a seat, guests." After Linglong figured it out, he let out a long sigh and said to Lingzheng.
"Yes, Grandpa."
The front yard of the ancestral temple was a large courtyard, which was soon filled with tables and chairs. Everyone sat down one by one according to their status and relationship with the Ling family.
Linglong looked at the guests in the courtyard, and his troubled heart calmed down.
"Where's Ling'er?"
Ling Zheng was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Didn't my cousin get called to the ancestral hall by grandpa?"
After hearing this, Ling suddenly thought of something and his face became gloomy again.
Oops, how could he have forgotten about this.
Shicai was arguing with Lan Yanqing in the ancestral hall, and I don’t know if the girl heard it.
That girl had a dispute with the Ling family, and the reason they were able to recognize each other was because the idiot Old Two offended her. If she heard what the elder said to her again, she would probably feel very uncomfortable.
At this point, we can only hope that she didn't hear it.
While thinking, Linglong had already walked outside the ancestral hall, thinking about looking for Ling'er. Just as he stepped out of the door, Ling'er's big face suddenly enlarged in front of him and jumped in front of him.
"Grandpa!"
It really scared the spirit dragon, but it also dispelled the depression caused by those troubles.
Linglong stood still, hurriedly tidied up his hair and beard that were messed up by the panic, and then said seriously: "You girl, you are never serious all day, and your lively personality is not at all like your grandfather."
Ling'er giggled, walked to Linglong's side, hugged Linglong's arms with both hands, and leaned her head on Linglong's shoulder, "Of course I take after my mother. If I took after my grandfather, wouldn't I become a serious little old lady? It's not fun to be so serious all the time. Grandpa, you should smile more, as the old saying goes, a smile makes you look ten years younger. Grandpa is so handsome, if you can smile more often, maybe you can find me a step-grandmother."
Linglong's face flushed as he was told this, and he gently pushed back Ling'er's body, which was leaning against him desperately. However, his strength was very small, and he didn't really want to push her away.
"Go, go, go, go, go, I don't know what's going on in your head every day, and now you dare to make fun of your grandfather, be careful that your grandfather will punish you with family rules."
"Grandpa is the one who can't bear to part with it."