Chapter Ninety-Five: Leaving the Clan
The news of the clan meeting spread throughout the Zhao family immediately. Originally, it was approaching the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the clansmen thought it was just a gathering for the ancestral worship during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Half a day later, they heard the rumors and realized that the matter was related to Xiaochangfang.
Xiao Zhang Fang had lived in the capital for many years, and even Niu Shi and Zhao Yue rarely returned to their hometown. At most, when Old Duke Guo was still alive, they would return once a year during the New Year's festival to pay respects to their ancestors. Although Niu Shi was the eldest daughter-in-law, she had married the eldest illegitimate son. The people in the clan were more emotionally inclined towards Old Duke Guo's first wife, Qin Shi, and under her influence, they kept a distance from Zhao Jiong, this illegitimate child. Zhao Jiong also didn't like to bother with the clansmen, always feeling that they only knew how to fawn over the second son-in-law, gossiping about him behind his back, treating them as country relatives who were beneath him. Niu Shi and her son had been influenced by their surroundings, and in front of the clansmen, they loved to put on a high and mighty air, while the clansmen pretended to respect them, but privately, there was never a shortage of idle chatter and gossip.
Only the Zongfang and Xiaochangfang have a natural blood relationship. The birth mother of Rong Da Lao Ye, Qian Shi, and Zhao Jiong's mother, Qian Lao Niang Niang, are biological sisters, so they are particularly close. However, after Qian Shi passed away, Rong Da Lao Ye's first wife, Lu Shi - also the birth mother of Zhao Jiong - became the head of the Zong household, and the Qian family gradually declined. The relationship between the younger generation of the Zongfang and Xiaochangfang became increasingly distant. Rong Da Lao Ye also felt that he had been used by Zhao Jiong due to the sinking ship incident, and harbored some resentment in his heart.
The sinking of the ship had a great impact on the Zhao family, and Zhao Hui was convicted by the imperial court. Jiang's family also entered prison, and everyone in the clan knew that Xiaochangfang had killed his relatives for the sake of his title and to keep secrets, which according to the clan rules should have led to the entire family being expelled from the clan. If it weren't for the fact that Xia'erfang had few descendants, while Xiaochangfang had several children, in order not to let the old duke's ancestral line die out, everyone didn't pursue other members of Xiaochangfang after the main culprit was convicted. Xiaochangfang stayed in the capital and never came back. Everyone ignored them, treating them as if they were invisible, never thinking of going to curry favor with them. Everyone knew that Xiaochangfang had ruthlessly harmed his own flesh and blood for wealth and glory, so how could he possibly look up to these clan members who were distant relatives and ordinary people?
These years, the second son's house has been living in the clan, and Zhang Shi is kind-hearted. He has helped many clansmen, and in recent months, Zhao Xiu has repeatedly rescued and assisted disaster-stricken clansmen, and proposed several new clan rules that are not bad. As a result, everyone has become more close to the second son's house. This time, it was heard that the fourth son's house had bribed the second son's servant, intending to harm the second son's three generations in a thousand miles away, in order to seize the family property, and they were all very disgusted. The next day, the clan meeting was held, and Zhang Shi personally brought his grandson and took Lu Daoshou to the ancestral temple, explaining the situation from beginning to end, and also produced the package of poisonous powder, asking Zhao Jiong to invite the most famous doctor in Fengxian to come and testify. Everyone knew the truth and expressed their agreement to expel the fourth son's house from the clan. The old master did not even mention the matter of the fourth son's house colluding with Ying Wang.
Among the clan members, there were also those who had doubts. They heard that Zhao Yue was now a sixth-grade military officer. How much can be taken out of hand? If Xiao Changfang is removed, the entire Zhao family will not have any official status, relying solely on Zhang's one imperial edict to support them. What if she dies someday? At that time, the Zhao family would really fall into an ordinary household.
"Then what's the use of a sixth-rank military officer? He doesn't even worship his ancestors, and in all these years, he hasn't returned to his hometown to visit his grandmother once. Such an unfilial son, what's the point of having him? Wanting someone with official status in the clan is so that when clan members encounter difficulties, there will be someone to support them. Will Zhao Yue support the clan members? This year, when the clan suffered a disaster, every household contributed money and effort, but his family's land was mostly unaffected. Has he ever helped the clan members with even one cent? If he doesn't consider us as kin, what difference does it make whether he exists or not? What if he gets into trouble outside in the future and implicates the clan, wouldn't that be unjust to everyone? Wanting an official status isn't necessary for him; there are several book-smart kids in the clan."
This year, although there was a flood disaster, the imperial examination is still the top priority. After the June trial ended, two more Xiucai Gong were added to the family. Others who didn't pass the exam weren't discouraged either. Everyone's level is about the same, and someone passed, proving that everyone has hope. At most, this time was just unlucky and didn't perform well, but it will be possible to become a Xiucai later. Once you become a Xiucai, work hard for another two years, and next year participate in the provincial examination. If you pass, then you are a Juren, can be appointed as an official, and the family's land property can also pay less taxes. Therefore, after listening to the old man's words, everyone felt that there was still hope to cultivate several officials from the family, and the imperial examination is a more promising path than being a military officer like Zhao Yue who rose from a small official.
The subsequent program went very smoothly, with several experiences, whether it was voting or queuing to vote, the villagers were all familiar with it. On the contrary, Zhao Wei spent some time listening to Zhao Jing's instructions because he was doing this for the first time. After everyone finished voting, Zhao Jing asked the old man to supervise the counting of votes in front of everyone, and the result was that out of 56 households, 54 voted in favor, 2 abstained, and no one opposed it, so the resolution was passed.
Zhao Jiong immediately ordered his son to retrieve the family tree and, in front of the owners of each house, remove the names of all members of the Xiao Chang House from the family tree. Afterwards, he would also report it to the government office for filing, and most likely also report it to the capital. The news would be sent to the Beijing government office, and from then on, the second branch of the Zhao clan would only have the Xiao Er House left. The ancestral property of the second branch would no longer have any connection with the Xiao Chang House. People from the clan would also be sent to the capital to ask the Xiao Chang House to return the ancestral tablets and property. If Zhang Shi had any requests, they could even take back the things that the old Duke had left behind. This was because the Xiao Chang House was no longer a descendant of the old Duke, so they were not qualified to have his things.
Zhang's eyes welled up with tears as she watched Zhao Zhuang heavily crossing out the names of the people in the small house on the family tree. She silently begged for forgiveness from her deceased husband, not because she was unwilling to take care of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but because she could no longer bear it. As a mother and grandmother, she had already lost a son and daughter-in-law, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing more children! If the old duke were to blame her, she would take all the anger upon herself. Even if it cost her her life, she would have no regrets!
Zhaowei watched as his grandmother shed tears, but he knew why she was sad. He quietly went over to her and grasped her hand, wanting to give her more strength. In his heart, he never thought that what he did was wrong. His grandfather must have hoped for a harmonious family with many children and grandchildren. It was the younger son who first destroyed all of this, making mistake after mistake, trying to put his own flesh and blood in harm's way. His grandfather must be resentful towards them. Otherwise, how could Zhao Jiong have fallen? When the funeral procession reached the city gate, why did the white sedan chair suddenly stop? Everything he and his sister had done was just following their grandfather's wishes, with a clear conscience before heaven and earth, without shame or guilt. His grandfather would not blame them, and when they met again in the afterlife, he might even praise them!
The family tree was finally settled, and the matter was considered a done deal. Zhang suddenly brought up: "It turns out that Xiaochangfang also got a share of the land, including both public and private fields. In recent years, they have been sending someone to manage them, selling the harvested grain on the spot every year, and sending the money back to Beijing. Now that they've been expelled, neither the public nor private fields can be returned to them. It's better for the ancestral house to take over. Let's take back the land! I heard that many families in our clan suffered from disasters this year, and many fields were flooded. Even after the floodwaters recede, the losses cannot be recovered. Each house in our clan has been contributing money and effort to help our people get through the difficult times, but this is not a long-term solution. I think that after Xiaochangfang's land is taken back, it will still belong to the second house, so let's just put these fields into the sacrificial fields as public property of our clan. From now on, whenever any family in our clan suffers from a disaster, we can take money out of the output of these fields to provide relief."
The whole family was stirred up. Even the sixth house outside was moved by Zhang's words. In those years, when the second house divided the family property, the small long house occupied the majority of the land, except for the imperial reward, there were more than 9,000 mu of land, some in Fengxian local and some nearby in Songjiang and Suzhou, which were all good fields acquired by the Duke after he became rich. Every year, they produced over 10,000 taels of silver. If all were returned to the public, the family would be rich!
Zhaowei was taken aback, not expecting his grandmother to say such a thing. However, he had been wealthy since childhood and wasn't particularly concerned about the land. After some thought, he nodded in agreement: "Grandmother is right, the public fields were originally purchased by grandfather with the help of others, and there aren't many. Except for the annual festivals and supporting the widows and orphans, there's not much left over. The clan also wants to establish a school, but relying on those 100 mu of land won't be enough. It's better to include all 900 mu of land in the calculation, so that in the future when the clan needs money, each household won't have to take out their own funds. This way, grandmother and I can also demonstrate our integrity to everyone, proving that we're not trying to drive them out of the clan just because we covet the small estate's property. If Zhao Yue's family slanders us outside, we'll ask the uncles, elder brothers, younger brothers, and nephews in the clan to testify on behalf of our second household."
He was the only male heir of the second house, and his words were to some extent more authoritative than Zhang's. When he spoke, the clan members were overjoyed. However, the Eighth Old Master felt that this land was not a small amount, and it seemed too much to casually use it as sacrificial land, so he suggested: "The clan's land is fine, it's originally the second house's share, but the private land is your family's private property, how to divide it depends on your ancestors' wishes."
The ancestral land under the name of Xiao Changfang was 4,000 mu, and the rest were all private fields. Although it was less than the original 9,000 mu by a small margin, the clan members were already satisfied and unanimously agreed with this proposal. Even if Zhangshi and Zhao Wei insisted on not wanting to, Zhao Jing and the Eighth Old Master also let the whole clan discuss and vote, and the result was that the 4,000 mu of land still belonged to the second house.
The method of public voting was originally proposed by Xiao Er Fang. The clan members all insisted, and Zhang Shi's stubbornness was meaningless, so they had to temporarily give up. Zhao Jue took the opportunity to propose that such a large amount of property be put into the public domain, it is not something that one person can manage alone, but rather each of the major houses should send a representative to jointly manage this property. The clan members thought of the still-absent Da Lao Ye and nodded in their hearts, and began to discuss who from each house should participate in the management.
The owner of the outer six rooms also cleverly suggested that although Xiao Changfang is far away in Beijing, the manager of his family's land is still waiting in Fengxian. What if he hears rumors and reports back? If Xiao Changfang secretly hides his property, it will be a huge loss for everyone in the clan. Shouldn't they first take control of these managers, get hold of the fish-scale maps of the land, and ensure that nothing is left out?
The villagers all thought it was reasonable and started discussing it in a flurry. Just as the ancestral hall was bustling, the door of the second house was knocked on, and the gatekeeper saw that it was Da Ye, and hastily reported to Zhao Xun. Zhao Xun remembered that the ancestral hall was still busy with the matter of expelling the eldest son from the clan, and Da Ye rushed back at this time, hoping not to ruin things, so he personally welcomed him out, smiled and asked Da Ye to enter the flower hall and take a seat, and also ordered someone to serve tea.
"Niece, don't be in a hurry." Mr. Rui stopped her action and pointed to the unfamiliar 12 or 13-year-old boy behind him, "This is Ze Ge'er of Xiaolong House, who will take the imperial examination next year. He followed me back to prepare for the exam. He's from your second house, quickly arrange for someone to clean up the yard and let him move in."
