117: Chapter 117 The Foundation of the Pei Clan of Longxi

Elder's Courtyard.

Two elderly men dressed in brocade robes sat opposite each other at a stone table, upon which lay a massive chessboard, with black and white pieces scattered like stars.

If viewed from afar, it looked like two giant black and white Dragons locked in a struggle, yet there were gaps in certain places.

One of the Elders had a thin face, his brows and eyes exuding a sense of dignity. The other Elder was slightly plump, his face wearing a kindly smile as he leaned forward slightly.

Both men were focused, staring meticulously at the chessboard.

Suddenly.

The thin Elder lightly twisted a chess piece, his gaze scanning the board like a hawk, before suddenly dropping a black piece.

In the next moment, the black pieces on the board connected into a single mass, and the strangling momentum formed by the black giant Dragon was completely set.

The thin Elder finally revealed a smile, "Dingming, you have lost."

The slightly plump Elder smiled, slowly putting down the white piece in his hand, seemingly unconcerned, "It is my loss."

Just at this moment.

A Pei Clan guard hurried into the Elder's Courtyard and bowed to both of them, "Greetings, Elder Dingming, Elder Dingxuan, I have something to report."

The thin Elder spoke up, "What is it?"

The guard said, "Someone outside is requesting an audience, claiming to be from the Wuyang branch Family."

The thin Elder frowned and looked at the slightly plump Elder with an inquiring gaze, muttering to himself, "Wuyang branch Family? Among our Longxi branch families, it seems none are located in Wuyang."

The slightly plump Elder replied, "Dingxuan, have you forgotten? Did Ancestor Yuanji not take the direct descendants of his lineage to Jinhuai Prefecture back then? If I am not mistaken, Wuyang is the lineage that Ancestor Yuhuan brought back that year."

With the slightly plump Elder saying this, the gaunt Elder was suddenly enlightened, and a bit of spirit returned to his cloudy eyes.

He stood up and said to the guard before him, "Since they are of Ancestor Yuanji's lineage, then let us meet them."

The slightly plump Elder said, "Dingxuan, I will go with you. As it happens, I also want to meet the descendants of Ancestor Yuanji's lineage."

The thin Elder was one of the Elders of the Longxi 'Ding' generation, named Pei Dingxuan, while the slightly plump Elder was Pei Dingming.

Before long.

The two of them arrived at the main gate with the guard, and they also saw Pei Qingyun not far away, as well as the seven carriages behind him.

The two had initially thought it was just descendants of a branch Family coming to pay a visit, and had not expected such a grand display.

But regardless, the two still stepped forward with full smiles.

"Are you all of Ancestor Yuanji's lineage? I am a current Elder of the Longxi Pei Clan, Pei Dingxuan, and the person beside me is also a current Elder, Pei Dingming," Pei Dingxuan spoke first.

Pei Qingyun would not lose his manners either; almost at the same time, he also walked up to greet them, "Ancestor Yuanji is indeed the founding ancestor of our lineage. I am a current Clan Elder of the Wuyang Pei Clan, Pei Qingyun, greetings to Elders Dingxuan and Dingming."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on their faces became slightly unnatural.

They were already over seventy years old.

In terms of age, they were less than ten years younger than Pei Qingyun.

But Pei Qingyun's seniority was too high; if ranked according to the clan genealogy, they should address Pei Qingyun as Great-Grandfather.

However, the two families had not been in contact for over a hundred years, and the Bloodline connection between them had grown somewhat distant. Since Pei Qingyun was visiting the main branch in his capacity as a Clan Elder of a branch Family, it was naturally impossible for the two to address him that way.

Unless the two families had only recently separated and both sides' direct blood relatives were still present, would they address each other according to seniority.

"Clan Elder Qingyun, please, come inside." Pei Dingxuan turned slightly to the side and made a gesture of invitation.

Pei Qingyun cupped his hands in greeting, then walked over unhurriedly.

Subsequently, the group from the Pei Clan, led by Pei Dingxuan, followed closely behind and entered the Pei Clan residence.

Once inside the Pei Clan residence, Pei Qingyun discovered that the interior was extremely spacious.

It was much larger than it had appeared when he viewed it from the outside. In addition to dozens of courtyards with different styles, there were also many pavilions and several side chambers within the residence.

These pavilions were exquisitely and uniquely designed, exuding an aura of gravity that fully displayed the deep historical heritage of the Longxi Pei Clan.

The only fly in the ointment was that many parts of these pavilions showed signs of disrepair, clearly having not been renovated for a long time.

As for the reason, whether it was a lack of money for renovations or an attempt to preserve the original appearance, it was unknown.

But regardless of that.

The heritage displayed by the Longxi Pei Clan was still something the current Wuyang Pei Clan could not compare to.

In terms of the size of the residence alone, there was a twofold difference.

On this point, Pei Qingyun still had self-awareness.

The Longxi Pei Clan was, after all, a second-rate aristocratic Family with a four-hundred-year heritage; even at its lowest point, it had never fallen out of the ranks of second-rate aristocratic families.

After walking for a while, Pei Dingxuan stopped and pointed to several courtyards in front of them, saying, "Clan Elder Qingyun, you may stay in these courtyards for now. Everyone has traveled a long distance from Wuyang, and the journey must have been exhausting. You must be tired, so please rest for a while. I will go and report your arrival to the Clan Chief."

"After the Clan Chief has made the arrangements, we will hold a reception for you all. Clan Elder Qingyun, is this arrangement acceptable?"

"Then I will have to trouble Elder Dingxuan," Pei Qingyun said.

Having arrived on someone else's territory, and with Pei Qingyun needing something from the Longxi main branch, it was naturally impossible for him to overstep his bounds.

Even though the main branch's Clan Chief did not meet him immediately, considering that he hadn't given advance notice.

Pei Dingxuan's arrangements were already considered reasonable.

Moreover, this visit to the Longxi main branch was even smoother than he had imagined; there was no drama of the main branch deliberately making things difficult for the branch Family.

He hadn't even taken out the token proving the Family branch's identity.

Having traveled all the way, stopping and going, Pei Qingyun wasn't actually tired from riding in the carriage.

However, he also wanted to take this time to rest a little, tidy up his appearance, and freshen up.

In the blink of an eye, the time arrived at dusk.

Pei Dingxuan arrived again; this time, the Longxi Pei Clan Chief was personally meeting them, and a banquet had been set up in the Shenglong Tower.

Shenglong Tower.

It was the place where the Longxi Pei Clan entertained distinguished guests.

The Longxi Pei Clan did not neglect them because of their status as a branch Family.

The food served to entertain them was all delicacies.

Among them, there were nearly ten types of second-rank exotic beast meat, and there were even two types of third-rank exotic beast meat.

There were also some types of dishes that Pei Qingyun had never tasted before.

Just this one meal was estimated to be worth nearly ten thousand taels, which could be called extremely luxurious.

Even though Pei Qingyun had made a fortune in the past few months, he would not dare to let the Family be this extravagant.

In Shenglong Tower, Pei Qingyun also met the Longxi Pei Clan Chief, a middle-aged man of about fifty years old, named Family Head Pei Yongsheng.

He wore a cloud-patterned silk brocade robe and a gilded crown, and his appearance was handsome. However, time had left a few traces on his face, which, combined with the few strands of silver in his hair and his deep eyes, faintly revealed wisdom and dignity.