The Red Chamber: The Rise of the Shuzi

Chapter 83
When everyone in Jia's family finished their congratulations and came back from the banquet in the palace, it was already Shenshi.

But even if everyone returned from the palace, they did not return to their respective mansions, but went directly to Ningguo Mansion.

Because Jia's New Year's Eve ancestor worship is just about to start now.

Jia Jing, Jia Amnesty and others rode horses, and the speed on the road was faster, so they returned to Ningfu first.

They first dismounted in front of the gate of Ningguo Mansion, then entered through the gate, passed through the main courtyard, passed the Yimen Gate, the hall, and finally went straight to the main hall behind the Neiyi Gate.

Along the way, all the main gates of the Ning Mansion were frozen open, and under the steps on both sides of the main road, there were all tall red candles, and the candlelight flickered, illuminating the entire Ning Mansion brightly.

From a distance, everyone felt as if there were two golden dragons lying on both sides of the road.

Jia Jing and the others waited for a while before the sedan chairs of Jia Mu, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang and You Shi arrived.

The four got off the sedan chair at the Nuan Pavilion, and Mother Jia led the three of them to the back room to rest for a while.

After all, a few of them set off from home early in the morning and came back from the palace until this point. They were already exhausted, and Jia Mu was not young, so of course they needed to rest for a while.

At this time, many members of the Jia family had already lined up outside the Yimen, just waiting for the sacrifice to begin.

The major events of the family and the country are in the worship and the Rong.

Now it's the [-]th year of the Jia family ancestral hall's great sacrifice, and even Jia Jing, who "wholeheartedly practiced Taoism" outside the city, also specially came from Xuanzhen Temple to preside over the Jia family's sacrifice.

In the back room, Mother Jia, who was resting for a while, asked, "Is everyone outside here?"

"Old lady, everyone is here!" Jia Rong stepped forward and responded.

"That's good."

As she said that, Mother Jia looked at Jia Jing and the others beside her, "Then let's go to the ancestral hall together!"

Jia Jing and the others all respectfully answered "Yes", and then went to the ancestral hall in the east of Ning Mansion with Jia Mu.

……

At the black oil fence at the gate of the ancestral hall, two rows of servants had already been there to greet everyone respectfully.

From the gate of the ancestral hall, everyone filed in and entered the ancestral hall along the white stone corridor.

At dusk, the green pines and cypresses on both sides of the road are illuminated by candles to become greener and greener. Coupled with the small servants standing silently around, the ancestral hall at this moment is extremely solemn.

Going forward, you can see on the platform, a group of bronze sacrificial vessels tied with bright red braided ropes, and green smoke rising from the incense burner.

In front of the Baosha at the back, a Kowloon gold plaque was polished brightly, and the four golden characters "Xinghui Prime Minister" inscribed by the late emperor on it were shining brightly under the light of candlelight.

After everyone entered the ancestral hall, even though they were divided into Zhaomu according to their seniority, and their respective shifts were established, the long line even lined up on the platform outside Baoxia.

Last but not least, from the outside, one can only see the bright lights and embroidered curtains inside. Although there are many spirit cards of the ancestors of the Jia family listed, they are all in a daze and cannot be seen clearly.

The ancestral hall is presided over by Jia Jing, accompanied by Jia Amnesty and Jia Jing. Under it, there are Jia Zhen presenting the noble, Jia Lian presenting silk, Baoyu holding incense, Jiachang and Jia Ling displaying worship mats and guarding the burning pond.

Amidst the music played by Tsing Yi next to them, everyone first presented their titles and worshiped, and then burned silk books and made a drink to pay their respects.

In this way, the sacrifice is just finished.

……

Afterwards, all the men withdrew from the ancestral hall, and Mother Jia led a group of female relatives into the main hall before the images of the remains of the ancestors.

In the middle is the portrait of Ning Rong's second ancestor, all of whom are dressed in python suits and jade belts around their waists.

On both sides of the images of the ancestors, there are brocade tents hanging high, color screens guarding them, and in front of them are bright candles and cigarettes...

Except for Jia Rong, all the male members of the Jia family stood one by one under the corridor of the main hall. Because Jia Rong is the eldest grandson of the Jia family, he was the only one who could wait for errands in the main hall with all the female relatives.

Near the threshold of the main hall are Jia Jing, Jia She, Jia Jing and others, while inside the threshold are the female family members of the Jia family.

Whenever a dish came from outside, it was passed from outside to Jia Jing who was outside the threshold for the first time.

Then, Jia Jing came over with the offerings, and first passed the dishes to Jia Rong, then Jia Rong passed them to his wife, Qin Shi, and then uploaded them to Jia Mu one by one, who placed them on the altar table above.

It wasn't until all the food, soup, wine and tea were delivered that Jia Rong left the main hall and stood still in the queue outside.

After that, all the people knelt down and kowtowed without mentioning it, following Jia Mu's burning incense.

For a moment, the only sound heard in the entire ancestral hall was the slight swaying of the golden bell and jade pendant, and the rustling of boots and shoes between kneeling knees.

The prosperity of the Jia family members can be seen in general.

…………

After the ancestor worship was over, all the members of the Yuanfang clan went back, and all the people from the three residences gathered in Jiamu's Rongqing hall, and made a special trip to pay New Year's greetings to Jiamu.

Jia Mu was sitting on the low floor of the Rongqing Hall, and everyone kowtowed to Jia Mu one by one according to their seniority and inferiority. younger generation.

This is lucky money!
After the ceremony, everyone returned to their homes.

Before leaving, Jia's mother told Jia Zhen again, "Haosheng sent a proper person to watch the incense at night, but don't be careless!"

Jia Zhen nodded in agreement.

……

After Jia Jing finished all her work and returned to her house, it was already the beginning of Hai.

In the Hou Mansion, Hu Po and Lai Fu had already summoned all the servants, and they all lined up in the courtyard in front of the main hall.

After Jia Jing returned to the mansion, she went directly to the head of the main hall and sat down.

Afterwards, under Jia Jing's signal, the two Laifu Amber led a group of servants in the Hou's mansion to pay their respects.

And Jia Jing also distributed the gold and silver curds, New Year's purse, rice, grain and meat that had been prepared one by one.

Amidst the sound of clattering gold and silver crocks on the tea tray, the voices of appreciation from all the servants could be heard endlessly. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the whole Hou's mansion immediately became lively.

Afterwards, Jia Jing ordered wine to be held for a banquet for all the servants in the mansion to eat, drink and celebrate.

Hou's mansion has become even more lively!
The commotion lasted until Zishi, when it was time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, all the people in the Hou Mansion stopped their laughter for a while.

Right at the middle of the hour, on Ningrong Street, fireworks from the three mansions soared into the sky, converging into the numerous fireworks above Shenjing, leaving fleeting flashes of brilliance in the sky.

Throughout the whole night, this city of Shenjing was full of people's voices, laughter, and the sound of firecrackers and fireworks...

And amid such excitement, the seventh year of Hongde has arrived!
……

In the early morning of the next day, when it was only five watch drums, Mother Jia and others had already finished putting on make-up according to the order, and arranged a full set of deacons to enter the palace to celebrate the New Year.

Jia Jing also put on her New Year's court clothes early in the morning, and stood in front of the palace gate before dawn, together with other civil and military officials, quietly waiting for the start of the Zhengdan court ceremony.

It's another year of Zhengdan celebrations, and the order and customs are the same as in previous years...

In short, after more than half a day of busy work, the morning celebration on the first day of the first lunar month has come to an end.

……

It is worth mentioning that after the congratulations, Emperor Hongde summoned a group of civil and military ministers in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and made the decision to send troops to the Northern Expedition after the Qingming Festival.

This time the leading general was Qiu Lu, Duke of Qi. Later, Emperor Hongde sent four Marquis Wu, Hou Wangming of Wucheng, Huoyu of Tong'an, Wang Zhong of Jing'an, and Li Yuan of Anping, as assistants.

As for Jia Jing, since the wedding date has already been reported to the Ministry of Rites for the record, Emperor Hongde and the ministers deliberately skipped it this time...

(End of this chapter)