156: Chapter 156 When the Plums Ripen: Childhood Sweetheart Male Lead 34

Qinghe Garden had grown busy over the past few days, with lanterns and colorful streamers hung everywhere.

In the warm pavilion of Yihe Courtyard.

Nan Li had just finished dinner accompanied by Old Madam, and was now obediently shelling walnuts.

Old Madam held a cup of hot tea, her gaze falling affectionately on Nan Li.

"Zhaoyu,"

she slowly began.

"For the ancestral worship ceremony of tomorrow, did that child, Courtesy Name, tell you anything? Are you nervous?"

Nan Li placed the shelled walnut kernels into a small dish, looked up with curved eyes, and smiled, her expression revealing ease.

"Grandmother, do not worry, Courtesy Name Brother already told me this afternoon."

Her voice was crisp.

"Courtesy Name Brother said to let me follow him to welcome guests at the main entrance of the main residence."

Speaking of this, Nan Li patted her chest.

"Rest assured, I can definitely handle such a small matter."

Hearing this, the hand of Old Madam holding the teacup paused slightly.

Welcoming guests?

If the two of them were making progress, they should be learning how to officiate the ancestral worship.

It seemed they were still far from that.

Old Madam sighed silently in her heart.

"Good, as long as you are not nervous."

Old Madam reined in the emotions in her eyes, put down the teacup, asked no more, and simply patted the back of Nan Li's hand.

"Welcoming guests tomorrow will be busy too; go back and rest early tonight to get enough energy, and wear more tomorrow so you do not catch a cold."

"Mm, then I will head back to Tingyu Pavilion first, Grandmother, you should rest early too."

Nan Li obediently acknowledged, put on her cloak, and flew away like a light butterfly.

Until the door curtain fell.

"The Old Matriarch."

Auntie Hua immediately stepped forward.

The expression of Old Madam sank slightly.

"Go and make arrangements immediately, give a heads-up and send a notice to all the collateral branches and clan relatives coming tomorrow."

Auntie Hua was slightly stunned.

"The Old Matriarch, what notice?"

"Just tell them that Young Master Courtesy Name and Miss Zhaoyu will be welcoming guests at the main entrance tomorrow."

Auntie Hua had spent her entire life in the Meng Family, and her mind turned extremely fast.

Almost instantly, she came to a sudden realization.

Welcoming guests tomorrow, Zhaoyu would definitely wear that hairpin of Golden Jade Good Fate.

This was to prevent those people from saying the wrong thing out of shock.

"Rest assured, The Old Matriarch, I will go handle it right away!"

...

Originally, Meng Zhu had also made arrangements for this matter.

But through the barrage comments, after learning of the arrangements of Old Madam, he felt it was fine.

He simply stopped bothering with it.

Thus, the next morning, coinciding with the Winter Solstice.

Inside Qinghe Garden, bells and chimes rang together, and agarwood smoke curled.

Those able to step through the gates of the main residence today were all power-holders and core elders of the various collateral branches.

Amidst the biting cold wind, the vermilion gates of the main residence stood wide open.

Meng Zhu wore a Chinese-style formal suit with white dark patterns, while Nan Li stood by his side, wearing an elegant moon-white embroidered qipao.

On her dark hair bun, the Golden Jade Good Fate exuded a warm luster under the morning light.

As the first batch of collateral relatives stepped onto the bluestone steps, ready to pay their respects, they froze at a single glance.

As if struck by lightning, they swallowed back the words that had reached their lips.

Only then did they understand the meaning of the notice from Old Madam yesterday.

These old foxes were shrewd people; how could they not recognize the Golden Jade Good Fate?

After a brief shock, their gazes shifted rapidly between Meng Zhu and Nan Li, their thoughts turning a thousand times.

If the eldest branch truly married a head matriarch, that would be a major event requiring a three-month prior notice to the entire clan, along with ancestral sacrifices and reports!

Yet now there was not even a whisper of wind about it.

There was only one answer: these two had not even engaged yet; at most, they had just established a dating relationship.

Yet simply for dating, Meng Zhu had given away the Golden Jade Good Fate.

You must know that this hairpin was not just jewelry; it was also the token of the Incense Workshop.

Once the Golden Jade Good Fate was given away, there was no reason to take it back.

That is to say, even if Meng Zhu and Nan Li broke up in the future, this Incense Workshop would still remain the private property of Nan Li.

At this moment, cold sweat broke out on someone's body.

Giving the hairpin at this time was clearly Meng Zhu intimidating the collateral branches and backing up this adopted daughter!

"Young Master Courtesy Name, Miss Zhaoyu, greetings."

The person who reacted first immediately put away their previous thoughts, their eyes dodging as they became well-behaved.

After finishing their greeting and turning around, they immediately sent this news to other collateral branches they had good relations with.

Nan Li was completely oblivious, assuming that the elders were unusually polite today, and returned their bows one by one with a polite smile.

The gaze of Meng Zhu today was somewhat unusual, as if he was brewing something.

[Haha, awesome! These old foxes are dumbfounded!]

[The adopted daughter has become the master of the Incense Workshop, they must be dying of anger in secret.]

[Look, look, just now Meng Qingyuan and Lu Yu had expressionless faces, completely failing to notice the pale complexion of the wife.]

...

As the guest welcoming concluded.

Nearing noon, everyone moved to the ancestral hall.

The process of ancestral worship was cumbersome and solemn.

But Lu Yu was full of doubts about the atmosphere at this time.

What he felt was not solemnity and dignity, but weirdness.

The Meng Family collateral branches that he was on good terms with were all somewhat absent-minded at the moment, occasionally meeting his eyes with a hint of grievance in their gazes.

Even more had ashen faces and were trembling all over, not daring to even glance at Lu Yu.

It was clear that most of the collateral branch power-holders were somewhat absent-minded today.

Lu Yu frowned tightly, suppressed the doubts in his heart, and forcibly endured until the grand sacrifice was over.

Stepping out of the ancestral hall, Lu Yu prepared to act according to the original plan.

He wanted to initiate a family council once again.

After sending down the notice, he walked casually toward the main hall.

Unexpectedly, he was blocked at the door by someone.

"Mr. Lu, please stay your steps."

The expression of Lu Yu sank.

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Mr. Lu."

The servant was expressionless, bowing slightly, but their tone allowed for no negotiation.

"Young Master Courtesy Name has just initiated a family council. At this moment, only collateral branch power-holders can enter the Zhenghe Hall."

Lu Yu was stunned at first, then sneered.

"That is just right, I also have matters to discuss and was just about to go in."

"You cannot enter."

The arm blocking him did not loosen in the slightest.

"Mr. Lu, this council is an internal family affair of the Meng Family, and people with different surnames have no right to interfere—"

"You!"

The expression of Lu Yu instantly turned ashen, and irrepressible anger flashed across the bottom of his eyes.

He was a senior executive of Meng Group and even the legal husband of Meng Qingyuan, yet he was blocked outside the door by a single phrase of "person with a different surname".

What kind of ancient-rite family, putting on a pretense of being noble, extremely hypocritical.

Subconsciously wanting to throw a fit, he forcibly held his temper back in.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at his son, Lu Jin, and asked in a cold voice.

"Did you see that girl Nan Li? Did she enter Zhenghe Hall?"

Lu Jin, who was beside him, was just about to mention this matter.

"No, Dad, she went to the backyard to accompany Old Madam, and I want to go too."

Hearing that Nan Li was not there either, the grievance in the heart of Lu Yu finally found some balance.

"Alright, get lost!"

Lu Yu gritted his back teeth, staring with a gloomy gaze in the direction of Zhenghe Hall.

Thinking to himself, go ahead and hold your council; in a moment when he initiated the second round, let us see if they could still laugh.

Just as he was indulging in fantasy, he did not know that inside the main hall, the atmosphere was treacherous.

Those who had good relations with Lu Yu felt even more restless.

Among them, the most apprehensive one was none other than the aunt of Meng Zhu, Meng Qingyuan.

She and Lu Yu had arrived late, worshipped the ancestors shortly after arriving, and were called into the main hall right after it finished.

She had not found the opportunity to explain things properly to Lu Yu yet.

She only had time to tell Lu Yu not to target Nan Li today, and talk about it after the council concluded.

Yet she did not know that how could a conceited person like Lu Yu possibly listen to advice?

Her husband was brewing anger outside the door at this moment.