After some deliberation, Chen Shuangbai chose Chen Mingxuan over the two younger men.
Both boys were kind-hearted, but Chen Minglang had lost some of his edge, while Chen Mingxuan was more spirited.
Although Chen Shuangbai wasn't too worried about his brothers being bullied by the clan, and knew that Chen Moyan was wary of him and wouldn't do anything out of line, things were unpredictable.
In this world, the only one you can truly rely on is yourself.
I will soon be returning to my ancestral home. As my grandfather gets older, his thinking will become increasingly unclear. Only if I have my own sharpness can I stand firm.
Chen Shuangbai slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the ancestral hall, finally settling on Chen Mingxuan, and said:
"Let's choose him."
After the words were spoken, the ancestral hall fell silent, followed by low gasps and whispers.
Chen Mingxuan's face lit up with joy, while Chen Minglang looked somewhat disappointed and resentful.
Old Master Chen was delighted. He stepped forward and smiled at Chen Mingxuan, saying, " Mingxuan, why don't you come forward to pay your respects to your elder brother and parents, and express your gratitude to our ancestors and Lineage for their blessings?"
Chen Mingxuan then seemed to wake from a dream, took a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in his heart, walked to the ancestral tablet of the eldest son in front of Chen Shuangbai, and respectfully kowtowed three times, addressing his parents and elder brother.
After doing this, Chen Shuangbai transformed into a streak of bluish-white light and vanished without a trace under the astonished gazes of the Chen Clan clan members.
The rest will naturally be taken care of by the clan.
After he left,
Old Master Chen stood up, his voice loud and clear, and said with satisfaction:
"Open the ancestral hall, register the family genealogy, and inform our ancestors that our eldest son has a descendant, so that the ancestral line can continue."
That evening.
When Chen Mingxuan arrived at the mansion, he saw his elder brother, Chen Shuangbai, standing in the courtyard practicing meditation, with a bluish-white light flowing around him. He stood respectfully at the door, waiting for the other to finish his meditation and be summoned.
He was filled with trepidation, after all, the feeling of ascending to the heavens in one step still made him feel as if he were floating on clouds, his whole body light and airy.
Chen Shuangbai sighed softly, then with a flick of her wrist, pulled the person inside, uttering only one sentence.
From now on, you will be my brother; just call me Big Brother.
"I have no other requirements for you. Now that you have been adopted by your father, you must continue the family line and be filial to your elders. Do you understand?"
a long time.
Chen Mingxuan couldn't remember how he left the guest room; he only knew that the feeling of elation had finally subsided, and he felt more grounded.
Over the next few days, Chen Shuangbai used her Law Power and elixirs to help her grandfather and Chen Moyan recover.
My grandfather married early, and now he has a house full of children and grandchildren, and he is not even sixty years old yet. He has been taking longevity pills for many years and is still in good health.
My second uncle, Chen Moyan, was in the prime of his life.
But the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.
This day.
The two daughters of the White Water Chen Clan who had married into other counties returned home with many carriages and horses. Anyone with eyes could see that they had come to pay their respects to the Chen Household's son.
Chen Shuangbai's two aunts, one married into a merchant family in a neighboring county and became their principal wife, the other... was a little rebellious and ran away with a scholar who had once traveled to White Water County. Although she later received a letter from home saying that the scholar was actually the son of a prince of the Jing Kingdom, and although she was a concubine, she was still considered a descendant of a prince.
However, Old Master Chen resented her for leaving without saying goodbye all those years ago and for not hearing from her for many years, and for not being able to see his wife one last time. Therefore, he disliked her very much and said more than once that he should pretend he didn't have this daughter.
Now that both aunts have returned to their maternal homes, there is naturally a difference in their closeness.
Chen Shuangbai didn't really want to see them.
Old Master Chen didn't want them to bother his Zhangsun, but what Chen Shuangbai didn't expect was that... these two aunts actually brought back people from the Prefecture City Chen Clan in their carriages.
When her second uncle Chen Moyan, came to report this matter, Chen Shuangbai was slightly surprised, but also felt that it was reasonable.
The main family of the Chen Clan in the county seat had long coveted the property of the White Water Chen Clan. They even sent people to oppress the family in the name of the clan. However, Chen Shuangbai was selected to join the Jade Spring Sect and later returned home after achieving success in his cultivation. He then dealt with the Meng Household in White Water County, which dispelled his idea.
Now that I've made such a high-profile return home, several days have passed. If my master still hasn't reacted, then it's really time to change the head of the family.
Inside the main hall.
Old Master Chen sat on the right, Chen Moyan sat on the left.
A gentle-looking woman dressed in green knelt beside Old Master Chen, holding his right hand in one hand and wiping away tears with a handkerchief in the other, muttering words like "your daughter is unfilial."
A little closer to the door stood another woman, dressed much more luxuriously than the first one, adorned with dazzling jewels, clearly from a wealthy family. Her appearance was somewhat similar to the first woman's, and her gaze was also fixed on Old Master Chen, but she hesitated, not daring to approach.
The eldest daughter, Chen Wanru, was standing near Old Master Chen, while his rebellious youngest daughter, Chen Wanying, was closer to the door.
The two great-aunts are now returning home, and their feelings are naturally quite different.
Just as everyone was lost in thought, suddenly the sky outside brightened a bit, and a blue and white light shone in from outside, falling on the ground and rippling like water. In the dim light, it seemed as if cool, watery moonlight appeared, and golden flowers fell all over the ground.
When everyone came to their senses, a handsome Daoist priest dressed in a pine-frost-colored robe was already standing among them. There seemed to be a ray of moonlight between his brows, which was golden and white, making him look very noble.
Old Master Chen and Chen Moyan didn't make any big moves, but the other two people standing at the door immediately kowtowed and respectfully addressed him:
"Greetings, Your Excellency!"
Chen Shuangbai sat upright in the main seat, her gaze calmly fixed on the two kneeling figures, without immediately telling them to get up.
Those few breaths of silence felt like years to the two kneeling figures.
After a long silence, Chen Shuangbai finally spoke:
"I never expected it to be someone from the host family. It truly brings honor to the White Water Chen Clan!"
The two knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads, and their hearts skipped a beat upon hearing these words.
This person is holding a grudge!
Of the two, the slightly older middle-aged man in black took a few steps forward, kowtowed several times, and said in a very sincere tone:
"Shangxiu, a man of extraordinary talent, has successfully Foundation Establishment and returned to his hometown in glory. This is truly an unprecedented event for our Chen Clan clan in a century! The patriarch was overjoyed upon hearing Wenhe and specially sent Wenhe to offer his congratulations, bringing a small gift as a token of our goodwill."
As he spoke, he took out a brocade box from his Storage Bag and presented it with both hands.
Su Lan entered from somewhere, and seeing Chen Shuangbai there, she stepped forward, took the document, gently opened it, and presented it to Chen Shuangbai for inspection.
Inside the brocade box, wrapped in red cloth, was a jade ruyi (a type of scepter).
Chen Shuangbai noticed the spiritual light swirling around it and knew it was a Law Artifact, but instead of taking it, she softly asked:
"Master... what is the meaning of this?"