Chapter 238 - Upper Family Tree
On the third day of the new year, there were many lanterns and decorations in Duke Zhen's residence. There were a lot of guests coming and going, and even those who did not receive the post took the opportunity to send over a congratulatory gift.
Zuo Xiaolang was wearing a red robe. If there were two bun on his hair, he would be no different from a celestial child. Unfortunately, his hair that had just sprouted out was obviously too short.
Zuo Shaoqing was also wearing a long, dark red robe. He was holding Zuo Xiaolang in his hands and looked like a father and son.
When Chen Shizheng opened the gate of the Lu Family's shrine, Lu Zheng was standing at the entrance in a martial attire with a solemn expression. Seeing the father and son who were being escorted over, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.
Zuo Shaoqing had only been to this place once after he had gotten married. At that time, Lu Zheng had imprinted his name onto the Lu Family's genealogy book.
Lu Zheng invited ten old and respected officials as witnesses. Zuo Shaoqing held Zuo Xiaolang's hand and greeted them one by one. When they saw Wen Shuming, Zuo Shaoqing said a few more words.
“Master Wen, in the future, this son of mine will be cared for by Master Lai. This little thing really has a lot of skin, you can go ahead and teach me whatever you want!” Wen Shuming was the Crown Prince's tutor, so he was naturally Zuo Xiaolang's mentor. Zuo Shaoqing wanted him to show respect to Zuo Xiaolang out of respect for his family.
Zuo Xiaolang had been studying etiquette for the past few days. At this moment, he bowed to Wen Xueming and said crisply, “Good morning, mister!”
Wen Shuming was quite old, with a white beard on his chin, but he looked very energetic. He touched Zuo Xiaolang's short hair, “Very good, since your father authorized it, then don't blame him for beating the board in the future if you dare to be naughty, haha …”
Zuo Xiaolang was somewhat conflicted. He seriously asked Zuo Shaoqing, “Dad, you said that if someone bullies you, you can retaliate. If Mister wants to hit me, can I?”
Zuo Shaoqing blushed and smacked him on the head. Why did he have such a simple son? Just ask him in private. He would definitely teach him a hundred moves to defend against teachers.
“Cough, cough …” “Of course not!” Just as Zuo Shaoqing was about to teach him a lesson in public, Lu Zheng walked over to rescue the father and son.
“Time's up. Let's go in.” Lu Zheng took one in each hand and led the old officials solemnly into the ancestral hall.
Ever since the founding of Great Yang, the Lu Family had been supporting the emperors of every generation, and had made impressive achievements in battle. The ancestral tablets of the ancestors were filled to the brim, but unfortunately, after these hundred years, the bloodline of the Lu Family had become increasingly thin, and in Lu Zheng's generation, he had only taken in adopted sons.
Zuo Shaoqing felt a burst of sadness in his heart. It was probably only at this time that he was unable to look straight at the ancestors of Lu Family.
He muttered in his heart: Even though I can't continue the bloodline of Lu Family, I will definitely work hard to continue the prestige of Duke Zhen Manor.
Someone sighed, and the atmosphere became even heavier.
Lu Zheng brought Zuo Shaoqing and Zuo Xiaolang on three knees and kowtowed nine times. Then, he taught Zuo Xiaolang the teachings of the Lu Family one by one in front of his ancestors.
Seeing the tiny child reciting the teachings of the Lu Family with a straight face, Lu Zheng had personally carved the three words “Lu Xiaolan” into the family tree and completed the most important ceremony.
“Remember, I, Lu Family Men, may not have the ability to establish a name for myself, but I cannot remain unyielding. If your actions go against my teachings in the future, I, your father, will personally erase your name from my clan tree!”
The Lu Family's genealogy book was an iron book. Every generation's name must be engraved with the current Patriarch's inner force, and if it was erased, not even a single trace would be left.
Zuo Xiaolang raised his head and looked at his dad, then firmly held his hand and nodded his head. At this moment, Zuo Xiaolang's little heart was filled with determination. Maybe he still doesn't understand the responsibility, but the thought of not letting his dad down had already been deeply rooted.
During the lunch banquet, Zuo Xiaolang was undoubtedly the main character. He was able to receive many gifts without even walking past a table.
When they returned to the capital, many people knew that Master Lu had brought back a child. Originally, everyone had been looking on from the sidelines, but there were also people who did not hold any hope for this child.
On New Year's Eve, the emperor publicly conferred the title of the child's heir to the throne and selected him as the Crown Prince's reading mate. The name Lu Xiaolan swept across the entire capital overnight.
The most disappointing one was none other than the branch members of Lu Family. There were also wives who had a better relationship with the madame, and their words were all asking how could they find a child who was not related by blood.
In the past, the madame had planned to take on children from these bystanders, but after looking at their attentive faces, she slowly calmed down. Nobody wanted to have a grandson and even some relatives of their grandson.
In the eyes of the madame, Zuo Xiaolang was not too outstanding, he was even a bit less intelligent than his peers. After all, the environment in which he grew up was too special, when he was three years old, he was actually just like a 1 year old child.
However, the child was definitely lovable. After getting along with him for so long, the madame had grown more fond of him. That was why she had taken the initiative to suggest that he change his surname to Lu.
Zuo Xiaolang followed behind Lu Zheng and walked in a circle. His facial expression remained the same. Everyone thought that he didn't know anything, especially after the news of him being bought off by the Crown Prince with delicacies spread on New Year's Eve.
Of course, as long as Duke Zhen Manor was here, no one would be stupid enough to bully them.
Actually, Zuo Xiaolang was very sensitive. He was very clear about other people's kindness and malice. As long as he walked in a circle, it would be easy to tell who he was smiling at.
But he didn't care about that. Daddy said that the heart of a person is the most unfathomable thing, you can't stop others from thinking about you, but you can lead change. In order to make people like you, you first have to make them like you, whether it's money, power, or status.
Halfway through the banquet, someone ran in to inform everyone that the Crown Prince had arrived.
The guests were instantly in a frenzy. Many of them had never seen this newly crowned Crown Prince. It was good to be able to see him from afar.
The madame stood up and led the crowd to welcome them. From afar, she saw a child standing silently in the yard with only two guards following behind him.
The old mistress was about to bow, but was stopped by Young Prince. “Aunt, don't be like this. I can't accept such a big gift alone.”
The madame did not insist as she took his hand and asked, “How can His Highness bring so few people out?”
“It's fine, I'll come over to take a look. This is the first time I've left the palace.” Even though Young Prince's tone was calm, the madame could tell that he was happy.
Thinking of his past, the old lady felt sorry for him. She took his hand and led him into the hall.
Zuo Xiaolang's impression of Young Prince was very deep. His eyes lit up when he saw him, but when he thought about how he was taught a lesson by his father, he didn't dare to get close to him.
It wasn't safe for the madame to be afraid of people, so she let Young Prince and Zuo Xiaolang enter the inner courtyard. Since the mansion was so big, she could just let them play with it.
With the departure of the guests, the news of the Crown Prince's personal visit to Duke Zhen's residence spread out. Everyone then knew that this newly conferred son of Duke Zhen had probably really entered the eyes of the Crown Prince.
Regardless of how the outsiders looked at it, Liu Steel Manor's people still did what they should do. Because Zuo Shaoqing was leaving the capital after 15, this time Zuo Xiaolang obviously couldn't go with him.
Lu Zheng, the crown prince's bodyguard, was also just a title. He didn't need to ride the horse himself, but for the sake of Zuo Xiaolang's safety and martial arts training, he had personally chosen ten secret guards to protect him. In addition, he had recommended a few people to be the riders for Young Prince and Zuo Xiaolang.
The undercurrents in the palace were quiet for a while because of the establishment of the crown prince's position. All of the concubines' attention was focused on Young Prince, and for a moment, no one paid any more attention to the identity of the person concealed by the emperor.
“Could it be that Your Majesty is doing this to divert everyone's attention?” Zuo Shaoqing felt that this was the most likely scenario. Otherwise, why would Zhan Yuanfeng, who was in his twenties, be so anxious to establish the crown prince?
Holding him in his arms, Lu Zheng told him about his conversation with Zhan Yuanfeng after the first ceremony, “A portion of it, but it is only a part of his plan. The Crown Prince only wants to announce to the world that there is a successor to the Great Yang, so no one will make things difficult for him regarding the issue of the heir.”
This matter was related to Zuo Xiaolang. It was impossible for Lu Zheng to allow Zhan Yuanfeng to push the two children to the heart of the struggle and ignore them. He had to figure out Zuo Xiaolang's intentions no matter what.
If Zhan Yuanfeng simply wanted to use his son as a shield, he would never agree to let Zuo Xiaolang join in.
“Looks like brother Cao is destined to be unable to overcome this tribulation.” To make a king spend so much time and effort to carefully lay out a plan for him, he had to have it all.
“Right, I almost forgot to tell you. Previously, Jiang Che told me that Emissary Beidi had secretly contacted a black-clothed man.”
Hearing Jiang Che's name, Lu Zheng frowned, “I already know about that. That man in black was a dancer who was bought by a rich businessman. That night, he was gifted to Beidi by a wealthy businessman.”
“Why is there a rich businessman sending someone to Beidi?”
Lu Zheng explained: “Our Great Yang and Beidi still maintain a trading relationship. That rich businessman is the one in charge of this business, it's normal for them to curry favor with him.”
Although Zuo Shaoqing still had some doubts, but this explanation made sense, so he didn't pursue it.
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