In the morning in the countryside, the air is particularly fresh. The fresh and fragrant air blows on your face, making you feel particularly refreshed.
Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan got up early in the morning, had a casual breakfast, and prepared the things they wanted to bring. Li Jingxiang then took them to their fourth uncle's house to get to know them first, and then hold a banquet to formally recognize them as relatives after the adoption.
It is now the autumn harvest time. Along the way, we can see the fields are golden, a scene of a good harvest. The tribesmen have already gone to the fields to work. When they see the tribe leader, some of them greet him warmly and say hello to him. It can be seen that Li Jingxiang is very prestigious in the hearts of the tribesmen.
Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan also benefited from this and became familiar faces in front of the tribesmen.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, we arrived at my fourth uncle's house. It was a small farmhouse built with blue bricks. There were two osmanthus trees planted at the door. The fragrance of the flowers could be smelled from a long distance away.
As if he had known they were coming, a scholar in his thirties was waiting at the door.
"This is your third cousin." Li Jingxiang pointed at the scholar and introduced him.
"Hello, third cousin."
"Hello, third cousin."
Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan hurriedly saluted.
The scholar looked dignified and serious. He smiled back at them in a friendly manner, bowed and returned the greeting, and said with a smile: "Come in quickly, Grandfather is waiting anxiously."
After entering the house, Li Yaonan discovered that in addition to his great uncle and aunt, there were three uncles, seven cousins, two cousins, not counting the three married cousins, there was also a younger cousin, six nephews and four nieces. It can be said that the family had four generations living under the same roof.
When Li Yaonan saw the room full of people, his first impression was that there were too many people. His second feeling was that the ancient family planning policy was really effective in giving birth.
Lin Yixuan had already inquired about it and knew how many people there were in Fourth Uncle's family, so he quickly asked someone to deliver the gifts. Then the two of them greeted everyone in turn, and soon everyone became familiar with each other.
It was only then that Li Yaonan realized that his fourth uncle's family actually had two scholars. The third cousin he mentioned just now was the most promising one. He was currently reviewing his lessons at home, intending to accumulate his knowledge and strive to pass the imperial examination next year.
Several nephews are also studying in school. Li Jingxiang revealed that the reason why his fourth uncle helped him so much was because he gave his family a place in Mingwei Academy. That's because his third cousin's second son is very talented in studying. He is only ten years old this year, but he has already finished reading the Analects of Confucius, which is even better than his father was.
No wonder the third cousin came to greet them personally. Li Yaonan understood instantly, but he didn't feel angry. This is how people interact with each other. If there is no exchange of interests, what about feelings? Nonsense! Why would someone help you for no reason? Even he and Lin Yixuan were involved because of interests. If it weren't for this marriage relationship, he wouldn't trust Lin Yixuan. If it weren't for the adoption, Lin Yixuan wouldn't cooperate with him happily. I remember that a few days before the wedding, Lin Yixuan never showed a good face to him.
But he himself was not much better. As a grown man, he bullied a teenager. Li Yaonan felt a little ashamed. However, if it happened next time and he had to choose between injustice himself and injustice to others, Li Yaonan would probably still have to apologize to Lin Yixuan.
In fact, Lin Yixuan is a pretty good person, except that she is a little cold and difficult to please. Putting these two points aside, if Lin Yixuan was really a woman, no matter whether Li Yaonan has a lover or not, he would really want to snatch her back to be his wife. She is so capable and virtuous, and is simply prepared for a second-generation rich man. Just looking at the efforts Lin Yixuan put in for the clan members after returning to her old clan, Li Yaonan felt ashamed. He would never be able to do these trivial things.
Back to the topic, Li Yaonan saw that his fourth uncle had clear eyes but behaved in a chaotic manner, and he couldn't help but admire him in his heart. Fourth uncle was really a talent. Generally speaking, when adopting a son to a brother, one would choose one from his own sons. Fourth uncle's family had many sons, but they were able to adopt him to the third uncle's family. It was really not easy.
Li Yaonan had to admit that although crying, making a fuss and threatening to hang oneself were disgusting, they did work.
The two of them stayed at Fourth Uncle's house for dinner that day, and both the host and the guests had a great time.
The next morning, Li Jingxiang invited the respected elders of the clan to open the gate of the ancestral hall and preside over the adoption ceremony for Li Yaonan.
The Li Clan Ancestral Hall is a large courtyard house with a solemn and dignified architectural style. It is usually opened only when there is something going on in the clan.
This was the first time that Li Yaonan had seen an ancient ancestral hall. The house with green tiles and white walls was simple and solemn. There was a path made of stones under the steps. Walking along the path, he saw the main house which was a lobby. Tablets of the clan members from past generations were placed in the lobby. When he got here, even his mood seemed to become heavy.
Li Yaonan was kneeling in the middle of the main hall, bowing to his ancestors first.
Then the clan leader began to read the sacrificial text: "Here is Li Guangdong, a descendant of the Li family. He mourns the early death of his brother and the young death of his nephew. There is no one to worship him at his grave. How can this not make people sigh? We have chosen an auspicious date, September 18th, the sixth year of Qingyuan, to burn incense and report to the temple. We will name our son Yaonan, who was born at noon on June 22nd, the third year of Chengze, as the heir of his younger brother's son Taicheng..."
Li Jingxiang said a lot of random things, and then warned Lin Yixuan to be respectful and polite, abide by her husband's rules, and get along harmoniously with her husband.
Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan kowtowed non-stop. Li Yaonan felt very miserable. The ancient rules were troublesome. His forehead was red from kowtow.
As the husband of the Li family, Lin Yixuan knew very well that this might be the first and last time he would come here in his life. His expression unconsciously became serious and cautious.
After Li Jingxiang finished reading the document of establishing an heir, he took out the family tree in the presence of all the Li elders, turned to the page of Li Taian, and lightly stroked with a brush to remove Li Yaonan's name. Then he replaced it with another family tree and added Li Yaonan's name under Li Taicheng's name. Next to Li Yaonan was Lin Yixuan. If he had girls in the future, the names of his children would also be recorded under their names.
After writing the last stroke, Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan were officially adopted and were no longer members of the Yangzhou Li Mansion.
Li Yaonan had mixed feelings as he watched the clan leader write his name stroke by stroke. For a moment, he couldn't describe the feeling. The thing he had been waiting for for so long was done with just a few strokes. His heart seemed to settle down as the clan leader's pen moved. An inexplicable sense of belonging surged in his heart and took root there. For the first time since he traveled through time, he truly and clearly realized that he was an ancient man.
Lai Yiu-nam and Lam Yi-xuan bowed three times and kowtowed nine times under the order of Lai Tai-cheng.
After the ceremony, they went to the clan cemetery to pay respect to the ancestors of the six families. When they were done, it was almost afternoon.
The clan leader invited all the Li clan members, and Li Yaonan held a grand banquet that lasted for three days and three nights.
As for the second branch, Li Yaonan took Lin Yixuan with him on the day of adoption. Just as the clan leader said, after becoming the heir of the sixth branch, Uncle Qian did not turn them away, but he was not too friendly either. It was not until Lin Yixuan promised to find a way out for his eldest grandson that Uncle Qian smiled at them.
Li Yaonan was touched but also a little worried. After all, he knew very well that Lin Yixuan's marriage would completely sever ties with the Marquis Jingyang's Mansion. Was it okay for him to make such a promise to Uncle Qian
Lin Yixuan's expression was as cold as ever: "Although I have severed ties with the Marquis' Mansion, my brother is still in Beijing and my mother is the third wife of the Marquis of Jingyang Mansion. It won't hurt to help out a little." The most important thing is that he has met the eldest grandson of Uncle Qian. He is steady and mature at a young age. He is a promising talent. Now he has just turned thirteen. It will take him at least a few years to prepare for the imperial examination. A few years is enough time for him to arrange everything, and his brother should have made a name for himself by then.
What's more, he still has the biggest trump card. As the attendant of the Prince's Mansion, he knows the direction of the court very clearly. Even if everything changes, the questions in the imperial examination will never change. He cannot help with the boy's examination and the provincial examination, but he remembers the questions of the joint examination and the palace examination in the next few years clearly. He and Li Yaonan will prosper together, and it is also a good thing for them if the Li family's children have a promising future.
Only when the entire family rises, will others look up to you. No matter how brilliant a person's achievements are, once he loses power, they will collapse and even his shadow will disappear. Otherwise, why do people say that aristocratic families have deep roots? This is the connection!
In the next few days, Uncle Qian would give Li Yaonan some advice on academic matters when he had nothing to do. After all, he was a juren (imperial scholar) and although Li Yaonan did not agree with some things, he benefited a lot from Uncle Qian's advice and his level of writing eight-legged essays improved dramatically.
The two lived in the old clan for half a month, during which time the clan leader allocated them ten acres of land. From then on, they would be members of the sixth branch, and it would be unreasonable for them to not have land.
Li Yaonan politely declined, but Li Jingxiang said that it was a sacrificial field and they did not need to cultivate it. It was the share of the clan members. However, they had to pay 10 taels of silver every year, which would be waived after they passed the examination to become a scholar.
Li Yaonan thought for a while and accepted the kindness of the clan leader. After being adopted, he was no longer a son of an official family, but a commoner. Only if he passed the examination to become a scholar would he not have to pay heavy taxes to the court, which would also be beneficial to the clan members.
The current imperial household registration system is strictly managed. To prevent farmers from evading taxes, a scholar can only own 50 acres of land at most. The clan leader must have this idea. Using his status as a scholar to exempt the clan members from taxes, Li Yaonan actually couldn't understand why the clan leader had the confidence that the owner of this body would pass the exam twice and fail.
As the end of the month was approaching, Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan discussed and decided to return to Yangzhou as soon as possible to settle some matters in the Li Mansion.
Before parting, Li Youxin told Li Yaonan that he would set off for the capital in the next few days, and three children from the clan who were about ten years old would travel with him.
After Lin Yixuan knew about it, he gave Jiao Li Youxin a three-story mansion, which was the dowry prepared by Lin's mother for him. At the beginning, Lin's mother always thought that he would marry in the capital, and most of the properties she bought were also in the capital. As for Yangzhou, it was the manor and villa that Lin Zhiyuan hurriedly bought after he came to Yangzhou.
Li Youxin was grateful and did not hesitate to be polite with them. Although he was studying in the Imperial College, he still needed a place to live. He didn't know how high the cost of living in the capital was. Although Lijiazhuang was rich, it could not compare with the prosperity of the capital. He remembered Lin Yixuan's kindness in his heart.
On the way back, Li Yaonan and Lin Yixuan also took the water route.