Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1360 Returning home in glory

This Spring Festival, many people are destined to be restless.

Although Huai Ling was not on the northbound route from Fengdu, it was also affected by the cold wave caused by the wind and snow. Many people fell ill for a time, and the death of civilians was inevitable.

When Lu Ning rushed back to Huai Ling in the old chariot in a moment, what he saw was a desolate scene, with a feeling that everything and everyone had changed.

The shops were closed and no one cleared the snow on the streets. There were no celebrations that should have marked the turn of the year. There were no temple fairs, no worship of gods and Buddhas, and no people walking on the streets buying New Year's goods.

How can there be peace when there are natural disasters, famines, and demons?

She rushed to the old courtyard of the Lu family.

Even though they encountered a snowstorm, the Huai Ling Lu family still had enough property. Although many people fell ill, it did not affect the annual ancestor worship.

Lu Qingxu sat in the middle of the courtyard, and the Lu family members were coming and going around him, but few of them stopped to greet him. If he had not lost his official position, he would definitely be sitting at the top, at the head of the scholar system. However, now, the person sitting there is another official in the clan, and this person is not the highest official in the Lu family. But as long as you are an official, how can you have the opportunity to return home? Now this person has only been appointed to a sinecure, and he will take up the post after the new year, so he has the opportunity to sit there, and now he looks quite high-spirited.

As for the leaders of agriculture, industry, and commerce, although Lu Qingxu recognized them, he was not familiar with them. He did not have much contact with the Lu clan members, and now he did not let his parents come here to avoid causing more trouble.

The Lu family's ancestors established the rule that only capable people can hold high positions, and it is still being strictly enforced today. However, it is not certain what kind of abilities these "capable people" have.

Soon, the clan elders also walked into the courtyard.

After a snowstorm, several elders fell ill. Only four of them could attend the clan meeting. The rest sent their own managers to attend. This made Lu Qingxu feel that the previous snow was a bit serious. Fortunately, he had prepared enough things and did not let anyone go out during the snowy days.

Slowly, the twelve seats at the top were filled. Four new members from the four factions, plus eight elders, two from each faction, formed the "main family" of the Huai Ling Lu family.

Lu Qingxu picked up the teacup and took a sip. It was already a little cold. There wasn't much wind in the yard, but it was open air after all, so it was still a little cold after sitting for a long time.

"Light the fire!" shouted an elder.

Bonfires were immediately lit around and in the center of the yard. The flames shot up into the sky. Members of the Lu clan stood up one after another and, led by the twelve leaders, bowed to the five bonfires.

"Take a seat!"

In this way, the clan meeting officially began.

Lu Qingxu couldn't remember the last time he attended a clan meeting. Anyway, he hadn't been there since he left home to work as an official. Although he always received letters, he always refused them by saying that it was inconvenient for him to return home as an official.

The clan meetings in my memory were not as rigid as they are now. When setting up the venue, if you arrived a little early, the children from different families would play together. The children were not divided into factions as they are now, and Lu Qingxu was the king of the children at that time. He would always search the old house with a bunch of tails, and was finally punished to stand on the porch.

But the children would never stand still. If you didn’t pay attention, they would disappear and only reappear when eating. At that time, the adults were not so tense during meetings. They would say Happy New Year to each other, ask about the children’s academic performance, the new land of the farmers, whether the craftsmen had improved their skills, and where the merchants had made their fortunes…

Now, the four new representatives stood up one by one, holding a roll of thick paper, reciting what achievements their faction had made this year, and secretly belittling other factions, with many tit-for-tat expressions in their words. Lu Qingxu felt that he could no longer feel the flavor of the past New Year.

Fortunately, no one came to laugh at him for losing his job, otherwise Lu Qingxu felt that he had to let them see the "truth" he learned from the capital.

At this time, the man from the Shi family read to the end and suddenly changed the subject: "Although I hold an official position, I am not the highest one among the Shi family members present here. My Lu clan should think that an official can determine the head of the Shi family, but it is my duty and I cannot refuse. Now that the eldest brother Qingxu of the Lu family is here, why not ask brother Qingxu to speak a few words to inform our ancestors."

Lu Qingxu narrowed his eyes and looked at the man who had taken up a sinecure. That face was not young. He thought carefully for a long time before he connected this man with the snot-faced kid who was one of his "tails" back then.

He stood up slowly, smiling.

"Qingxu has been an official in Beijing for several years, but he has not made much achievements. Instead, he has attracted a lot of resentment. I am honored by the favor of my master, so I cannot say that I can teach him. I just want to say to the students of the scholar family that when you are an official, you should be cautious when you are alone."

After saying that, he sat down directly and picked up the teacup again. Only then did a young man come over and refill his hot tea.

People were neither enthusiastic nor critical of his speech; only a few nodded.

After the four factions finished talking about their achievements this year in a lengthy and boring manner, the time came to reward the young people who had made achievements this year, which was the so-called talent selection event.

The talents selected at this meeting did not receive ordinary rewards, but rather the cultivation of the entire family. Although the Lu family was large, its resources were limited, so each family attached great importance to their own children, hoping to receive rewards at this meeting.

Lu Qingxu was relieved because it had nothing to do with this. He had not participated in the talent selection meeting in the first place, and his daughter, whom he had personally taught, certainly did not need to participate either. And according to the information he had learned from walking around the streets these days, there might be some trouble before this talent selection meeting.

Sure enough, when the elder made the announcement, someone immediately stood up.

Lu Qin's family originally had a pair of talented children, but one of them had a brain problem and the other became mute. As far as Lu Qingxu knew, Lu Qin had approached the main family several times, but nothing came of it.

"Dear clan members, my name is Lu Qin." The handsome man bowed to everyone, "I'm sure you all know my name. I won't go into details about my family affairs to avoid upsetting everyone. However, my family is not the only one whose children have been killed. Before selecting talents, shouldn't we first decide whether we can really convince everyone!"

...I came prepared.

Lu Qingxu took another sip of tea. He had no intention of seeking justice. After all, this was something that happened to Huai Lingdi. Even if he, who had just returned, spoke up, no one would probably appreciate it.

Sure enough, several more people stood up. They were all people whose children had met with misfortune. These people had obviously discussed it beforehand and were ready to attack together.

But the clan was probably prepared for this kind of thing. Lu Qingxu also stood up, and in the surprised eyes of the people around him, he said: "Excuse me, I drank too much tea, I'll go to the toilet for a while."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. However, this interruption did ease the tense atmosphere that had just risen.

"Maybe there won't be a fight..."

Lu Qingxu turned to the back of the house, and then followed his vague memory to search, and came to the edge of an old wall. The sundries piled here were already covered with a thick layer of dust, and there was not much change compared to his childhood, but now he only needed a little leverage to climb over the wall.

"I really want to get some wine..." He swiftly climbed over the wall. He remembered that there were still a few wine shops open when he came here. If that didn't work, he could go to a restaurant and ask for a pot of wine. Anyway, he didn't want to go back and get involved in that chaos. His memory was not bad, and he quickly found a wine shop. There was a magnificent horse tied at the door, which made him look at it a few more times.

In Huai Ling, besides the Lu family, are there any other dignitaries? I guess there isn't even a prefect in this place...

While Lu Qingxu was thinking, he walked into the wine shop. Just as he was about to greet the boss, he saw his daughter holding a pot of wine and looking at him with a complicated expression.

"I'm late. The clan meeting should have started by now, right?" Lu Ning asked.

"It was a mess. I drank a lot of water there and I felt cold." Lu Qingxu shrugged and then smiled, "Are you back?"

It was as if Lu Ning had just come back from a day out. The two of them felt so familiar with each other, which was also the reason why Lu Ning thought Lu Qingxu was a good person.

"I've got some wine for you." Lu Ning raised her hand and glanced at Lu Qingxu. "I know you probably won't be looked down upon at the clan meeting, but you probably can't drink as much as you want. It just so happens that I still have some money now, so it's just right for me to bring you some wine."

"This can't be considered a New Year's gift." Lu Qingxu took the wine pot with a smile, opened the lid and smelled it, and exclaimed, "This is considered a good wine in this place."

"It's not easy to get drunk, which is not bad." Lu Ning waved his hand, "Are you going back to the tribe meeting now?"

"I didn't plan to go back originally." Lu Qingxu took a sip and smacked his lips, quite satisfied. "But now that my daughter is back, I have to let them see it no matter what."

"I remember Uncle Jun reminded you to hide me more."

"Uncle Jun hasn't been with us for a long time, so I don't know how you are doing. But I am your father, so how can I not know what abilities my daughter has?" Lu Qingxu said proudly.

"Then I really have to show off my skills to my family." Lu Ning's speech became much more relaxed as he spoke.

She has been under a lot of pressure these days, especially after the Xingyin Incident. Since she entered the game, she has been constantly trying to figure out the truth of the matter and the means to break the impasse. Whether she was meeting the emperor or facing pressure from Fengdu, she could feel the increasingly urgent situation gradually strangling her throat before she even reached the frontal battlefield.

Seeing Jiuli and the Human King entering the capital again, although it was only a matter of a few days, Lu Ning had to pay attention to it. Even though she was a tourist, she had to pay attention to the subsequent impact in the short term.

Lu Qingxu just chatted with her. If Lu Ning didn't say anything, he wouldn't mention what Lu Ning experienced when she went out. Lu Ning didn't know whether he didn't ask or saw something. Anyway, she really needed to relax a little now.

When they returned to the old courtyard of the clan association, the receptionist at the door was stunned when he saw Lu Qingxu, but Lu Qingxu took out a few red envelopes and stuffed them into them with a smile: "It's stuffy inside, come out and take a look, bring a pot of wine, there were too many people when I came in just now, now I'm going to wish you all a happy new year."

"That's too polite, Mr. Lu." A receptionist accepted it with a smile, and the others dared to do it.

"How's it going in the yard?"

"It's not good, it's almost a fight. I can hear the quarrel inside from here. Alas, one family accuses the other family, and the other family refutes the first family. Even such a private matter has been revealed. Isn't it for the sake of the children?"

The receptionist sat down on the doorstep and suddenly saw Lu Ning behind Lu Qingxu.

"this……"

"My daughter."

"This guy's spirit is really good, better than the others inside." The receptionist was happy, "Would you like to sit for a while or go in?"

"Come in. It's rude to be away from your seat for too long." Lu Qingxu clasped his fists.

The receptionist waved his hand, asking others to make way and let Lu Qingxu in. After entering, there was still a long way to go to the clan meeting place, so Lu Ning asked Lu Qingxu in a low voice: "Father, the receptionist..."

"He's a smart guy. Although he doesn't have any other special abilities, he knows everyone in the clan and doesn't offend anyone. He's a rare person in the Lu family today." Lu Qingxu said with a smile, "A Ning, I know you won't come back in vain, but if there's anything too surprising, it's best to let me know in advance."

"Does it count if you have been reinstated, father?"

"Oh..." Lu Qingxu's tone dragged out a little, "So soon... Did His Majesty really die in Xingyin?"

"You are still so observant."

"Let's talk about it when we get back. I won't stop you from doing anything you want to do, but please don't mess up the clan. I still recognize this ancestor."

"will not."

When the two arrived at the yard, they saw that the families had already formed several factions, and the scene was obviously a bit chaotic, but it was not to the point of a real fight. Several elders were speaking, and it was obvious that they had already reached some conclusion. Lu Qingxu listened carefully and it was just the same as before, but this time he promised that the family would give some compensation to the child for the hardship he had suffered.

As a result, some families stopped complaining. After all, each family in the Lu family always had several children. The resources gained from one child were enough for some smaller families to raise the next one.

People like Lu Qin who were still arguing were suppressed by the clan elders - the clan required Lu Qin to provide solid evidence for the accusation, but the evidence Lu Qin could produce had probably been refuted before.

"...Aning, let's stop the current chaos first." Lu Qingxu said.

Lu Ning nodded and took the imperial edict out of the package.

"Huailing Lu Clan, Lu Qingxu accepts the order!"

Lu Ning took out an imperial edict that Yuan Weinong had given her and a token that Dong Zai had given him at the same time. Before everyone present could react, the new member of the Shi family recognized the two items and knelt down on the spot. With such an example, everyone in the Shi family faction immediately knelt down to welcome the imperial edict.