"I don't know how you found out about that! I don't know how you knew my secret." Old Tian's tone was icy. "I hope you can keep this secret! You'd better keep your mouth shut. I don't want this to leak out of your mouth, otherwise... We've known each other for a long time, and I've never liked killing people I know! Because I've lived too long, and I don't know many old acquaintances left in this world. So, don't force me to do things I don't want to do, understand?"
Shi Gaofei looked directly into Old Tian's eyes. Despite being enveloped in a thick aura of killing intent, the old madman showed no fear whatsoever. He even smiled, a relaxed smile. Nevertheless, he stood up, nodded, and said with a smile, "Alright, as you wish, General Tian."
“…Thank you,” Old Tian said simply.
Then, Lao Tian suddenly frowned and turned his head to listen to the noise outside.
A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, and the door was pushed open with a bang. The fat man walked in first with a strange expression, followed by Zhu Rong and Gong Gong, the couple, as well as Xu Ershao, Bai Cai, Ya Ya, and that old madman Prince.
"Why are you all here too?" Old Tian frowned and stood up.
"Do I even need to ask?" Shi Gaofei leaned back and stretched. "Even a fool could figure this out. Although we didn't inform them, our little fatso has a crush on that blue-blooded girl, so of course he secretly tipped them off. Sigh..."
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong gave Lao Tian a warm hug as soon as they entered. Lao Tian looked somewhat helpless, while Zhu Rong casually lay down on the bed, while the younger generation stood somewhat awkwardly to the side.
“Except for Champagne and Lin San, who stayed in Shanghai to take care of that suicidal peacock… everyone else is here.” Zhu Rong laughed heartily.
Chapter 269 of the main text: [Me!]
To sum up the opening of the Xiao Family Clan Association, only one word can describe it: grand!
The ancestral hall of the Xiao family in Lingnan is located not far from the old Xiao family residence, closer to the mountains. The ancestral hall covers an area of twenty acres, with a front hall, a back hall, side corridors, and a fifty-meter-long alley leading to the main hall. After nearly a hundred years of development, it has almost become a miniature town.
Along the way, colorful tents stretched as far as the eye could see. As we entered the alley, several strings of firecrackers with a capacity of 100,000 firecrackers were lit. Amidst the deafening crackling of the firecrackers, smoke filled the air, and crowds surged forward. In front of us, a lion dance troupe leaped back and forth to the sound of gongs and drums.
Old Master Xiao was dressed in a Tang suit and leaned on a dragon-headed cane—in Chen Xiao's opinion, this attire was a bit too pretentious. Everyone knew that this old man was more agile than a young man! Yet he insisted on carrying a cane.
Beside the old man were several senior figures from the main branches of the Xiao family clan, all with white hair. The mayor of Xiao Family Town also followed behind the old man.
The lion dance lasted for more than an hour. The young men performing the lion dance were already panting heavily. The sun was also quite strong today, and everyone was covered in sweat. The other elders from various branches of the family around Old Master Xiao were also struggling to keep up. Some were barely able to stand with the help of those around them, while others were constantly wiping their sweat with a damp towel. Only Old Master Xiao squinted his eyes, his back still standing straight.
After the excitement subsided, things quickly quieted down. Old Master Xiao took a stick of incense from someone and bowed respectfully to the gate of the ancestral hall. Behind him, the members of the Xiao family had already stood in order of seniority and bowed along with the old master.
When the old patriarch announced in his deep voice, "Open the ancestral hall," the heavy teakwood doors of the ancestral hall were pushed open, and the high threshold had been freshly painted.
At the bottom are dozens of rows of long benches, while in front of the ancestral hall are ten grand master chairs.
The ancestral hall was filled with a solemn atmosphere. The main hall of this old-fashioned building was somewhat dim, and the smell of new paint mixed with the smell of candlelight, which was quite unique.
Adults in the Xiao family who were eligible to enter the ancestral hall for clan gatherings entered the main hall in an orderly fashion and sat in their designated places.
The hall was packed with people, but there was no noise inside.
The doors of the ancestral hall only slowly closed after everyone had been seated…
It was as if the somewhat heavy and solemn atmosphere had just been locked inside the ancestral hall.
At this time, the most excited were the children, who didn't have to go inside to participate in the clan meeting and weren't bound by the somewhat oppressive atmosphere. They played and frolicked in the alley, picking up firecrackers from the ground.
At this moment, Chen Xiao stood in the side corridor, watching everything outside. This corridor led to the ancestral hall, and he felt somewhat nervous—it was ridiculous; he should have experienced plenty of grand occasions by now, yet...
The clan gathering in the ancestral hall was proceeding according to a fixed procedure that had been in place for many years: burning incense, worshipping ancestors, and each branch of the family and local leaders paying their respects.
Then there are some recent events in the clan that need to be decided by the elders—of course, these are just formalities. As long as Old Master Xiao, the absolutely powerful figure in the Xiao family, is still alive, he has the final say on everything in the family.
Chen Xiao was waiting, waiting for the final procedure of the sect meeting.
He stood at the window, watching the children playing in the alley outside, and Chen Xiao let out a soft sigh.
Is this... what "home" is?
Chen Xiao was lost in thought for a while. Finally, after a long time, the door in the side corridor was pushed open, and a member of the Xiao family came in to signal to Chen Xiao that it was time.
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When Chen Xiao entered the ancestral hall through the side door, most of the clan's affairs had already concluded. Old Master Xiao, a man of his word, had handled most of the clan's internal affairs, and without hesitation, he had revoked the authority of the heads of several poorly managed businesses. Under Old Master Xiao's authority, the power controlled by each branch of the family was reshuffled, and no one dared to utter a word of dissent against this supreme ruler of the family.
There were hundreds of people sitting in the ancestral hall, but when Chen Xiao walked in, there was complete silence.
He saw Old Master Xiao sitting upright in the middle armchair, smiling and nodding at him; he saw Xiao Qing sitting in the front row looking at him with a complicated expression; and he could feel hundreds of eyes watching him.
Actually… Chen Xiao wasn't the only one undergoing the clan registration process today. At each clan assembly, a formal ceremony is held to record the births of new members in the Xiao family during this period into the family genealogy. And today, along with Chen Xiao, two newborn babies who have joined the Xiao family during this time are also being recorded in the genealogy.
However, because of Chen Xiao's special identity, hundreds of eyes were naturally focused on him.
The son of Xiao Saran, formerly a member of the eldest son's family, is engaged to the daughter of the current deputy chief financial officer of the Xiao family... and it's rumored that Old Master Xiao's attitude towards him is ambiguous. This suddenly appearing young man might just be a heavyweight in the future succession battle of the Xiao family...
A person from the Xiao family ancestral hall brought up a register and led Chen Xiao to the ancestral tablets in the hall. Just as they were about to say something, Old Master Xiao, who was sitting in a grand chair, suddenly stood up. In full view of everyone, this powerful figure in the family actually walked up to Chen Xiao, took an incense stick from someone next to him without saying a word, lit it himself, and handed it to Chen Xiao.
With a rare, kind smile, the old man said to Chen Xiao, "Don't be nervous. Come, kneel down and offer incense and kowtow to our ancestors. Three times is enough."
When has this old master Xiao ever spoken to anyone with such a kind and gentle expression? Even when facing the most favored children in the family, such as Xiao Qing and Xiao Que'er, he always has a stern face.
Chen Xiao silently accepted the incense, bowed, knelt down and kowtowed, then stood up and placed the incense into the incense burner.
The old master was already grinding ink himself, taking a fine wolf-hair brush, dipping it fully in ink, and handing it to Chen Xiao. He pointed to the booklet on the table in front of him, turned to a new page, and pointed to a corner: "Write your name here, and you will be considered a member of the Xiao family."
Chen Xiao smiled and stood in front of the desk, pondering for a moment.
At that moment, many people noticed that Old Master Xiao was staring at the young man with an expectant and slightly anxious look in his eyes.
Finally, Chen Xiao put down his pen and wrote the two characters "Chen Xiao" on the page—he had never practiced calligraphy, so the two characters were naturally written crookedly.
However, some people noticed that when the young man wrote the character "Chen", Old Master Xiao suddenly sighed slightly, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Chen Xiao put down his pen, turned around and bowed to Old Master Xiao, saying in a low voice, "Old Master, I'm sorry to have disappointed you."
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