Passed the Provincial Examination, Ancestor Worship

Eastern Hanging Divine Continent, Great Qian, Fengxi County

A crescent moon hung in the secluded night.

The night was dark, the wind high.

Yet the Zhang ancestral hall blazed with lamplight.

A fair-skinned, handsome youth took the lead as he emerged from the moon gate to one side. He wore a sapphire-blue lined gauze robe, his expression calm and composed.

Zhang Jian gazed at the solemn, imposing ancestral hall in the night, a peculiar look flickering in his eyes.

This was not his first time setting foot in the clan's most sacred place.

A moment later, he waved his hand.

Crates of treasure notes were carried inside by sturdy servants dressed in blue.

Nearby, the clan's temple priest had also set up braziers within the ancestral hall.

The priest wore black and was dressed like a Daoist. He looked stern and unsmiling.

"Brother Jian, everything you asked for has been prepared!"

After a slight pause, the black-clad Daoist frowned. "Actually, Brother Jian, there is no need to be so diligent. Sincerity is enough!"

Zhang Jian waved a hand. "Uncle Yi, our forefathers hacked through thorns and brambles, laying the foundations through hardship, before our Zhang family could possess its present estate. It is only right that we serve our ancestors with diligence!"

Hearing this, the black-clad Daoist gave Zhang Jian a once-over and said no more, though something strange lingered in his eyes.

Still, he merely thought Zhang Jian had an eccentric temperament.

With a 'proud' smile on his face, Zhang Jian strode directly into the solemn ancestral hall.

This time, he had every right to do so. After all, he had finally passed the provincial examination and earned the title of Five Classics Laureate.

The Five Classics Laureate was not the top rank in the provincial examination.

Those placed third through fifth in the provincial examination were known as Five Classics Laureates. In truth, it was merely a title, with little difference from other provincial graduates.

Yet provincial graduates could already become officials, and this was considered a glory to one's ancestors.

It was only fitting to worship the ancestors and thank the generations before them for their protection.

Though the Zhang family had already held an ancestral rite for this...

Zhang Jian looked at the imposing ancestral hall before him, but in his eyes, it had become an enormous treasure basin. His gaze gleamed, though his expression remained grave and unreadable.

Zhang Jian was a transmigrator—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the wisdom of his past life had awakened.

Now, he was the eldest son of Zhang Yi, the chief of Zhang Family Hollow. Accomplished at a young age, he was also a famed child prodigy of Great Qian. At fourteen or fifteen, he had already passed the provincial examination and was highly valued by the clan.

The Zhang family was also a prominent household in Fengxi County.

Ever since their Sixth Uncle had passed the metropolitan examination, the Zhang family had gradually shifted from being merely a wealthy local gentry household toward becoming a scholarly family.

As for why Zhang Jian was so keen on serving the ancestors, it was entirely because he had discovered that he could shear wool from them.

In another corridor, a fair-skinned and beautiful woman in a gauze skirt watched the scene coldly. Her features were alluring, and a flying-phoenix gold hairpin adorned her head. Seeing the commotion at the entrance to the ancestral hall, she said with dissatisfaction,

"He certainly knows how to curry favor with the master and the clan elders!"

Two more figures stood beside her, one tall and one short. One of them was a youth in blue. He hesitated slightly, but could not help saying,

"Little Mother, Mother says this is called filial piety! Our dynasty has always governed the realm through filial piety and brotherly respect. Elder Brother is diligent in maintaining the ancestral hall's incense offerings and respects his elders. If word gets out, it will be a fine tale indeed..."

As the blue-clad youth spoke, his expression grew ever more righteous. A maidservant in pink beside him could not help pouting. "Brother Min, you crawled out of Little Mother's belly. Why are you always speaking up for outsiders?"

At once, the blue-clad youth's face darkened with anger, displeasure written across his features. Seeing this, the woman in gauze rebuked, "Lü'er, is that something you should say? If others hear you, do you still want to keep your life?!"

Lü'er's pretty face turned pale, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

Zhang Min seemed to want to say something, but seeing Consort Zhou's unhappy expression, he became dejected. He disliked this sort of scheming and intrigue, finding it utterly filthy.

He simply offered Consort Zhou a slight apology, then turned and left.

Consort Zhou's expression was poor, her eyes somewhat dim.

Though the Zhang family was not a household of hereditary officials, ever since it had risen to prominence, it had strictly raised its younger generation according to the standards of such families. Though Zhang Min had been born to her, he had been raised at the principal wife's knee since birth.

Even if she were unwilling to fade into obscurity, there was nothing she could do.

For now, she could only let Lü'er support her as she returned to Spring Garden Cottage on the left.

Inside the ancestral hall

Zhang Jian glanced ahead.

At the head stood rows upon rows of blue-lacquered ancestral tablets.

"The spirit tablet of Zhang You Ren!"

"The spirit tablet of Zhang Changsheng!"

"The spirit tablet of Zhang Linghui!"

The walls were also hung with lifelike portraits of former ancestors, all looking solemn and dignified.

Yet in the center of the ancestral hall stood a peculiar golden statue.

It was the golden statue of a woman.

It looked immensely majestic and sacred.

Before the statue, she held a stone mirror engraved with countless patterns of birds and beasts. It looked exceedingly ancient, gray throughout.

This was a Zhang family heirloom. Zhang Jian found it rather strange. He had once wanted to touch it, but Zhang Yi had stopped him, saying it was the Zhang family's inherited treasure, solemn and sacred, not to be desecrated.

As for the golden statue, rumor had it that she was not a Zhang ancestor, but rather a benefactor of the Zhang family. It was said that she had once shown the family great kindness, so they had erected her golden statue and invited it into the ancestral hall. Generation after generation of Zhang descendants had kept incense burning in her honor.

Zhang Jian's expression was especially solemn now, though anticipation flickered in his eyes. He had discovered long ago that, under certain conditions, worshipping this 'ancestor' seemed to offer a chance of receiving a response.

He had already received seven or eight responses before, but the three most precious had been a spoonful of golden fortune, a golden ingot of fortune, and a golden pearl of fortune.

Fortune was extraordinarily mysterious. In a short span of time, it had allowed him to clear both the prefectural and provincial examinations, and on another occasion, it had saved the life of someone important.

Having tasted the benefits, Zhang Jian had transformed from an utterly ordinary youth into a renowned "filial son" known far and wide!

To establish this persona, he had painstakingly cultivated his image as a "filial son."

Loads of cinnabar treasure notes were taken from the servants' back baskets, then divided into several piles and lit under the temple priest's ritual guidance.

Strands of radiance blossomed from the braziers before him.

Under Zhang Jian's watchful gaze, countless cinnabar treasure notes in the braziers turned to ash, along with a cinnabar pagoda he had bought from a nearby paper-effigy shop.

This was the Soul-Calming Pagoda, supposedly a new product from the paper-effigy shop.

It had even been consecrated by a virtuous old Daoist priest.

It could soothe the souls of the dead and spare the departed ancestors from suffering.

It was extremely sought-after.

Zhang Jian watched with bright eyes as the treasure notes and Soul-Calming Pagoda turned to ash. When nothing unusual happened to him, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a look of expectation.

The seeds had been sown. Next came the harvest.

And this time, having passed the provincial examination and ranked among the Five Classics Laureates, there should be a surprise.

As far as he knew, whenever his status underwent a dramatic change, the things he gained from ancestral worship would be better.

Once everything was finished, Zhang Yi stepped forward and said,

"Brother Jian, it is late. Leave the cleaning here to us!"

"Uncle Yi, I'll leave it to you!"

Zhang Jian nodded slightly. He could no longer wait to return. He believed that once he fell asleep, a message of response should arrive.

Zhang Jian hurried away.

At midnight, outside Zhang Family Hollow, flames gradually appeared and vanished amid the mountain wind in the distant darkness. A troop of riders raised clouds of dust, hoofbeats rumbling through the night. Before long, they had reached the stockade. After the patrolling village men atop the battlements confirmed the troop's identity, they hurriedly opened the way!