Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 30: Winter Beginning Ancestor Worship
"Sister-in-law!"

"Uncle, come in quickly!"

Zhu Shencui walked in happily. Zhang closed the door and then looked at Zhu Shencui, who looked exhausted.

"Look at all the dirt on me. I'll go boil some water. Uncle, you go and take a rest first."

"Excuse me, sister-in-law. By the way, this is the meat I cut on the road, and there is also a fish. Let's make a delicious meal tonight. Where's Qiao'er? Why don't I see her?" Zhu Shenzhu handed over the piece of meat and fish in his hand. Zhang took it with a smile and said, "Qiao'er is playing on the kang in the room. She has been thinking about you these days. I wonder how happy she is to see you back."

Zhu Shenzhui smiled. He also brought gifts for Qiaoer this time. In addition to the same rattle that his sister and brother-in-law gave to Zhou Bin last time, there was also a bag of sesame candy. Qiaoer would definitely like it when she saw it.

But now he was exhausted, so he had to wash his face and change clothes before he could go see Qiao'er. Children have poor resistance, and the medical science of this era was not well developed, so the infant mortality rate was not low. Zhu Shenzhu didn't want Qiao'er to be infected with any disease because of his negligence, so he went back to his room first, packed up the things he brought back, washed himself with the hot water that Zhang had fetched for him, changed into clean clothes, and then went to the main room with the things for Qiao'er.

As Zhang said, Qiaoer was so happy when she saw Zhu Shenzhui coming in that she stood up from the kang and ran over. She hugged Zhu Shenzhui's neck and laughed, shouting "Father! Father!"

Zhu Shenzhui picked up Qiao'er and held her high up, which made her even happier. After playing with the little girl for a long time, he took out the rattle and sesame candy he had brought back.

When Qiao'er saw these, her eyes lit up. She used her hands and feet to grab the things, played with the rattle for a while, then licked the candy. Her eyes became slits with joy, and she leaned close to Zhu Shenzhui's face and gave him a kiss.

"Why bring these? Isn't it a waste of money if they are not practical?" Zhang was happy in her heart, but couldn't help but complain again. Zhu Shenzhui didn't say anything, but just laughed and held Qiao'er to teach her how to play the rattle.

Zhang watched Zhu Shenzui and Qiao'er playing, and her heart was filled with sweetness, but also a little sad.

She thought of her deceased husband again. How wonderful it would be if her husband were still alive! Just like now, the family of three is sweet and happy, and this life also makes her feel at ease.

Unfortunately, although Zhu Shenzui looked very similar to his elder brother, he was not her husband after all, and the illusion just now was just her imagination.

But she was still very happy that Zhu Shenzhui was back. As a young widow living with her children and brother-in-law, she was most afraid of all kinds of gossip. Although Zhang and Zhu Shenzhui both knew that even if there were gossips, they were just gossips, but if the gossips were really spread out, Zhang would feel uncomfortable.

So when Zhu Shenzhui was at home, Zhang, as a widowed sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law treated each other with respect and kept their distance from each other, not daring to cross the line.

But Zhang was relieved that Zhu Shenzhui was not at home. But within a few days, she could not help but worry about Zhu Shenzhui again, wondering how he was doing outside, when he would come back, whether he was eating well, whether he was wearing warm clothes, whether he had encountered any troubles...?
This complicated emotion made Zhang not know what was going on. Today, Zhu Shenzhui finally came back, and Zhang finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in her stomach for the past few days. Seeing him teasing Qiao'er and making her laugh, Zhang also felt at ease and warm.

After playing with Qiao'er for a while, the little guy seemed a little tired and fell asleep in Zhu Shenzui's arms unknowingly.

Looking at his lovely niece lying in his arms, Zhu Shenzui did not put her down. He patted her gently with one hand in a slightly rhythmic manner, and carefully changed the position of his other hand to allow her to sleep more soundly.

"I'm not at home these days, how is my sister-in-law?"

"Thank you for your concern, uncle. Everything is fine at home." Zhang said with a smile, and then asked, "How has your uncle been away these days..."

"It's fine." Zhu Shenzhu gave her a reassuring smile. Zhang didn't know about Zhu Shenzhu's salt smuggling with Wangjia Village, and she never told her. All along, Zhang just thought that Zhu Shenzhu went out for half a month from time to time to do other things. After all, the lives of low-ranking royal family members were not easy. If they only relied on the salary that was never paid, I'm afraid that ordinary royal family members would have starved to death long ago.

Zhu Shenzhui worked very hard to support the family, and Zhang saw all of this. In addition, she was just a widowed sister-in-law, and her uncle was a man, so it was not easy for a woman to find out what a man did outside.

"Rice and other things at home..."

"I have already bought it, along with coal."

"I brought some money with me this time. I'll give it to you later, sister-in-law. Winter came early this year, and next year's spring may be late. Try to store as much food and rice as possible at home. Also, buy some other things in the next few days. After two months, we can have a good New Year."

"Okay, don't worry about that, I'll arrange it." Zhang nodded, and was calculating in her mind what else the family needed to buy. If the expenses were not too high, she would save the money in case of emergency.

It's hard to be poor. The family now depends on Zhu Shenzhui alone, and Zhu Shenzhui is not young anymore, so he will have to get married eventually. Zhang thought about saving some money in the next two years so that she could find a suitable wife for Zhu Shenzhui.

After chatting for a while, Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhang whether anyone had come to visit him at home during the days he was away, or whether anything else had happened.

Zhang didn't tell Zhu Shenzhu anything else, but she did come to see him. However, Zhang followed Zhu Shenzhu's instructions and sent him away with a random excuse, saying that Zhu Shenzhu was not at home, and she didn't tell him where he went.

As for the person who came, he was not an outsider, but an old steward of the General Fuguo's Mansion. His purpose of coming was to tell Zhu Shencui to go to the General's Mansion on the day of the Beginning of Winter.

After hearing what Zhang said, Zhu Shenzhui suddenly remembered this incident.

The auxiliary generals Zhu Minfan and Zhu Shencui both belonged to the Jin Wang lineage, and their ancestors were also from the Jiaocheng Wang lineage.

However, compared with Zhu Shenzhui, Zhu Minfan's title was much higher, and their lineage separated from the Jiaocheng Palace later.

In the fourth year of Longqing, after the death of the last Prince of Jiaocheng, the title of Prince of Jun was abolished, and the lineage of Prince of Jiaocheng was now under the jurisdiction of the lineage of Prince of Jin, but in Pingyang Prefecture, General Zhu Minfan, the one with the highest title in their lineage, also had the best life.

According to the family tree, Zhu Shenzui is Zhu Minfan's uncle, but the two families did not have much contact on a daily basis, and this so-called seniority is merely reflected in the family tree.

Although they did not interact with each other on weekdays, the royal family members in Pingyang Prefecture would still get together for a few days every year. The organizer was naturally the auxiliary general Zhu Minfan.

According to local customs, ancestors must be worshipped on the day of the Beginning of Winter. Zhu Minfan is the closest branch of the lineage of the former King of Jiaocheng, and his title is also the highest, so the ancestor worship ceremony is currently being conducted by his family.

As for ordinary clan members, those who can come can come, and those who don't can come don't matter. According to the rules, they just need to be notified. But although Zhu Shenzhu is young, his generation is not low. Except for a few clan members from the Jin Wang Mansion in Taiyuan, there are not many people of the same generation as Zhu Shenzhu in Pingyang Mansion. So from this point of view, it is normal for the general's mansion to send a butler to invite Zhu Shenzhu.

After calculating the time, the day after tomorrow would be the Beginning of Winter. Zhu Shenzhui nodded and said that he understood. He would definitely go. This was not only a gathering within the royal family, but also a good opportunity to inquire about information. Moreover, there would be a banquet on the day of ancestor worship. The general's mansion was not short of money. He could go there and have a good meal and drink. How could Zhu Shenzhui miss such a good opportunity?
(End of this chapter)