Chapter 505: Returning Home in Splendor

Chapter 505: Returning Home in Glory

June 15th, Year 12 of Jiaqi, Datong Street, Central District, Jinling City.

Before the newly renovated main gate of the Gu Clan mansion, a carriage slowly came to a halt.

Gu Xi, dressed in plain clothes, had just stepped out of the carriage when the Gu Clan's steward, who had been waiting at the gate with servants, immediately hurried forward to greet him.

"Young Master Xi, you must be weary from the long journey by boat and carriage."

Gu Xi looked at the old man before him with his fawning expression, and a trace of melancholy flashed in his eyes.

Once upon a time, this Gu Clan steward was also an important figure he could not afford to offend; gifts large and small had never ceased during festivals and holidays.

But ever since he became the Magistrate of Chengdu County, the man had not only returned all the gifts collected over the years converted into cash, but doubled them as congratulatory gifts.

"Every step is an ordeal, like treading on thin ice."

He followed respectfully behind Gu Xi, lowering his voice: "Young Master Xi, upon hearing you would return home to visit family, the Master specifically ordered us to open the ancestral hall, saying he wished to worship the ancestors with you, to thank the Gu Clan's forebears for their protection."

Gu Zhiwei didn't need to turn around to feel the stifling gloom and grievance radiating from the younger clansman behind him.

Gu Zhiwei spoke softly, stepping aside to yield the position of chief officiant, handing three long incense sticks to Gu Xi.

The pale green liquid in the glass jars placed behind the spirit tablets suddenly rippled, giving rise to a string of fine bubbles.

Dozens of ancestral brains contracted and twitched simultaneously, as if responding to the incense Gu Xi offered.

"Xi'er, come offer incense to the ancestors."

"Misfortune and fortune are interdependent; a calamity that kills may also be the ladder to ascend to the heavens."

"Uncle means well."

As soon as the New Donglin Party announces the second phase of the New Policies, I fear I won't live to see tomorrow's sun; I, along with the Chengdu County yamen, will be blasted to dust by the Dao Ancestor's magical artifacts patrolling the Heavenly Rules.

The projections of the Gu ancestors dissipated thereupon, the ripples in the jars slowly fading, returning once more to stillness.

Gu Xi's face was full of struggle and hesitation, but after taking a deep breath, he spoke in a hoarse voice: "But Uncle, I really can't hold on much longer. Once the next phase of the New Policies begins, Mount Qingcheng will surely purge all Confucian forces in the Sichuan-Shu region; by then, I fear I won't escape death."

Gu Zhiwei sighed: "Actually, it's not just you; the entire Gu Clan's situation is hardly any better. Because of my retirement, the Gu Clan has lost the quota to fill a vacancy in the New Donglin Party. If your generation cannot quickly shoulder the burden, the Gu Clan will soon fall from the ranks of the Great Clans. By then, we won't just lack the qualifications to remain in Jinling; we'll face the danger of clan extermination."

"But if it weren't for that, how could the position of Chengdu County Magistrate have fallen into our Gu Clan's hands?"

"Good then." Gu Xi nodded: "After you retire, if you tire of Jinling, come visit Chengdu County; the mountains and rivers there nurture people better than Jinling."

Even more eye-catching was that behind these spirit tablets stood a transparent vessel, similar in shape to a jar. Soaking within them were, shockingly, whole brains, one by one.

"Six years gone in a flash, are your bones still sturdy?"

It was none other than the current Gu Clan Head, Gu Xi's uncle, Gu Zhiwei.

Gu Xi lowered his head: "Uncle, the court's New Policies have completed the first phase; greater moves will likely follow. Those Daoists aren't fools; they know the court's aims; an uprising is probably only a matter of time."

"I know it's hard for you. But no matter how hard, you can only grit your teeth and endure."

Gu Zhiwei, standing to the side, saw this and a faint smile appeared on his face; he said amiably: "It seems the ancestors are very satisfied with your performance; rise."

Gu Xi raised a hand to touch his left cheek; at this moment it was fair and smooth, showing no abnormality whatsoever.

Gu Xi was no stranger to ancestral brains.

The warmth and coldness of human relations, the intimacy and distance of feelings—words alone cannot describe even a fraction of the taste.

As a Third-Rank Great Clan, the Gu Clan wasn't considered a prominent power in Jinling City; their mansion naturally had only three simple stories.

"The Three Teachings, Nine Streams, Twelve Sequences—all have their own territories here. In the North City, the Buddhist Sequence gathers near Jiming Temple; the Daoist Sequence occupies Lion Mountain in the northwestern suburbs; the Confucian Sequence camps around the Old Imperial City. In the South City, the Nine Streams' forces interlock like dog's teeth. On the surface, everyone is harmonious; underneath, it's already a cauldron of boiling oil, undercurrents surging."

These were all clansmen who had broken their Genetic Locks and advanced in Sequence, successfully entering officialdom, leaving this legacy to the clan upon their deaths.

Gu Zhiwei spoke with an envious tone: "Like those Great Clans who participated in the Wo District Feast—some lost their lives, buried in foreign lands; but others rode that long wind, soaring straight up. Coincidentally, perhaps our Gu Clan's rise and prosperity rests on you, Gu Xi."

The opportunity his uncle spoke of, he naturally knew.

Third-Rank Great Clans' buildings exceed not three stories; Second-Rank not six; as for First-Rank Great Clans, they reach the ultimate nine stories.

"Jinling is a land of wealth and honor, and also a killing field. The mixture of dragons and snakes here far surpasses the Chengdu Prefecture where you are; even the Chongqing Prefecture where Pei Xingjian sits cannot compare."

"Besides, your relatives have all moved from the first floor to the second floor to reside; all age-appropriate clansmen have been arranged into the best Confucian Academy in Jinling; in a few years, your branch will produce many more scholarly seedlings."

He could even be certain that the New Donglin Party and the Daoist Sequence's Mount Qingcheng would definitely make Chengdu County a battleground to test each other's bottom lines and strength.

Within the Confucian Great Clans, there even circulates a saying: the depth of a Great Clan's foundation depends on how many ancestral brains are enshrined in the clan's ancestral hall.

Gu Xi bowed respectfully again upon hearing this, only slowly rising after finishing.

The old steward's face was layered with wrinkles, the creases filled with a grin of tearful gratitude.

"In this city, the Gu Clan is but an ant, the smallest of ants. To survive, we must desperately seize every opportunity. And Chengdu County, where you are, is the Gu Clan's only way out at this moment of life and death. Gu Xi, do you understand this?"

According to the rules within the Confucian Sequence, the construction height of a Great Clan's mansion must strictly match the Great Clan's rank.

The old steward smiled: "And the Master said, when this old servant's organs fail one day, the Gu Clan will pay for my replacement, granting this old servant a comfortable old age."

And they would also secretly convey all movements and news within the Gu Clan, no matter how trivial, to him.

Deep within the ancestral hall stood an altar ten feet high. Upon it were laid the three sacrificial animals and five fruits, meat and vegetables mixed; amidst the swirling incense smoke, dozens of spirit tablets with black backgrounds and gold characters were enshrined.

Even if the New Donglin Party has countermeasures, I will still hardly have a good end.

Before he became Chengdu County Magistrate, he had once sent people to the Yang Clan in Mianzhou County to contend for the brain tissue slices left by their ancestor.

"Many thanks, Young Master Xi."

Gu Zhiwei removed the heavy ceremonial crown from his head, revealing a head of graying hair, and as he walked out of the ancestral hall, he asked Gu Xi beside him in a low voice.

The ancestral hall's main gate was open; the three-courtyard yard was filled with high-hanging plaques and couplets. Phrases like 'Poetry and Books Pass Down the World, Farming and Reading Pass Down the Family' were countless, dazzling the eyes.

"My current situation is truly difficult."

To have grown from a cadet branch clansman to the point where the clan opens the ancestral hall for him, Gu Xi was naturally not someone who would be addled by a few grand words.

"I know."

Gu Xi gave an 'mmph', striding into the Gu Clan through the wide-open central gate.

Gu Xi's expression was solemn; holding the incense, he performed three bows and nine kowtows; the instant the long incense was inserted into the censer, an inexplicable palpitation surged in his heart.

Yet he didn't dare utter a single harsh word, only forcing a smile.

Gu Xi's face turned bitter upon hearing this; he didn't pretend to be strong, speaking the truth: "I thought I'd picked up a great bargain, but it turned out I'd grabbed a hot potato. Can't let go, can't hold steady; I can only grit my teeth, endure the pain, and bitterly persist."

The first floor housed the clan's cadet branches; the second floor belonged to the Main Branch; the third floor was the residence of the current Gu Clan Head, Gu Zhiwei, and the location of the clan's ancestral hall.

Without visiting his relatives, Gu Xi went straight to the top floor of the mansion, arriving at the clan ancestral hall that many Gu clansmen would likely never have the qualifications to enter in their entire lives.

One by one, miniature projections manifested, standing before their respective spirit tablets, looking at Gu Xi kneeling on the ground, smiling and nodding.

"Thanks to Young Master's blessing, this old servant has no other ailments besides my genes having locked and begun to degrade."

"You've been Magistrate of Chengdu County for a while now; how does it feel?"

Before leaving Jinling for the Empire's Southwest, Gu Xi had always lived on the first floor.

Gu Zhiwei said softly: "Entering officialdom is only the first step of our Confucian Sequence; there is much more for you to learn; living under another's roof, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens—that is a required course."

"I fear Mount Qingcheng won't give me the chance to finish that course."

Before the altar stood an old man in a tall crown and broad sash, dressed in grand ceremonial attire.

But not long ago, a Daoist surnamed Liang from Mount Qingcheng had forcibly broken into the Chengdu County yamen, and with an engraved talisman, slapped his face until it was bruised black and swollen.

When the time comes, even if the imperial court bestows some form of relief, only the Gu family would reap the benefits; what relevance does that hold for me?

His brief tenure as a county magistrate made Gu Xi realize that the situation outweighs the individual; between the colossal forces of Confucian order and Daoist order, he was but a trivial expendable pawn.

Even the New Donglin faction now waits for his death notice, for only then do they have a legitimate pretext to launch an assault against Qingcheng Mountain.