The daily life of a concubine's daughter

Sweep the hut away from the hustle and bustle, and worship the sky with a stick of fragrance.

All things welcome the spring and send off the remaining wax, and the year ends tonight.

The fire in the pot is roaring, and the sound of bamboo is heard while the New Year's Eve party is held.

The wild traveler predicts that farming will be good, and that the auspicious snow of three winters has not yet completely disappeared.

This is "New Year's Eve" written by Dai Fugu of the Song Dynasty. In her previous life, when Shi Yao was watching the Spring Festival Gala with her parents, she impatiently checked her phone and saw that someone had posted this poem on WeChat Moments.

There were many New Year greetings and poems posted on WeChat Moments, but this poem was the most lively, so she took a closer look at it.

Unfortunately, she only remembered seven or eight words and did not memorize the whole poem. She wanted to write it down from memory to show off and make the old man and the old woman happy. After thinking for a long time, she only memorized "(Spring) Cleaning", "Welcome the Spring", "(Unforgettable) Tonight", and some Ode to Pepper Flowers, and could not remember anything else.

Aunt Liu Hua had tested her and found that she had no idea what she was doing, so she forced her to memorize "Ode to Pepper Flowers" these past few days, so that she would not just be able to recite the dry line "The sound of firecrackers bids farewell to the old year."

Soon after lunch, the entire Duke's Mansion began to move.

The masters were refreshed and came to the ancestral hall to pay homage to their ancestors.

The rituals are complicated and the process is lengthy, but the atmosphere is solemn and dignified.

Shi Yao took a quick look and saw that all the masters of the Duke's Mansion who could get up had already done so.

The wife of the Duke, Zheng, Shi Mingwu and his wife, Shi Mingwei and his wife, and Shi Mingzhu all showed up.

Except for the Taifu, the first wife Zheng, the third wife Rong, Shi Mingzhu and two old ladies of the same generation as the Taifu in the clan, who were allowed to stand inside the ancestral hall gate, all other female family members stood outside the ancestral hall gate.

Among the men with the surname Shi, the older ones can enter the hall directly, while the younger ones and those of lower seniority stand in the yard.

Shi Yao and her sisters-in-law stood together.

Although the Duke's Mansion was extremely powerful, on the surface it still respected the order of seniority. There was a group of old ladies and middle-aged women in front, and Shi Yao and others could only hang in front of the younger generation.

Further back were some respectable male servants in the Duke’s Mansion, including the stewards, big and small, and further back were the wives of these male servants.

The huge crowds of people showed the prosperity of the Shi family and the high spirits in the mansion of the Duke of Zhenguo, which could bring together so many clansmen to worship their ancestors.

Today I finally got to see what a wealthy and powerful family is like.

Shi Yao had a blank expression on her face and dull eyes as she listened silently to the long prayer.

She was illiterate and only understood a little bit.

For example, thanks to the strong foundation laid by their ancestors, their descendants can enjoy the wealth and prosperity left behind;

For example, they would report to the ancestors that the Shi family had a new baby this year, and thank them for blessing the Shi family to prosper forever;

For example, if the children have made progress in their studies and achieved success in martial arts this year, and the family has been honored and there are successors, the ancestors can rest in peace...

Shi Yao nodded as she listened. What he said was all right, except for the last point. Shouldn't she be more humble?

It's fine for other families, but this branch of the Duke's Mansion, from the eldest brother Shi Mingwu to the eighth brother Shi Minghui, have come to the ancestral hall to reflect on their ancestors countless times.

Early this morning, our ancestors were woken up and forced to listen to the sound of whips.

You tell lies with open eyes, aren't you afraid that your ancestors will be angry?

The lengthy ceremony lasted for an hour. The ancestors also listened to the old Duke, the Duke of Zhenguo, Shi Mingwu and several clan elders talking nonsense for an hour. Then they offered sacrifices, lit bamboo whips and salutes, and the men and women of the Shi family bowed three times and kowtowed nine times. Only then was it over.

The tribesmen left in an orderly manner, bowing to each other and wishing each other a happy new year.

Shi Miao's family is familiar with Shi Yao and they met her last time, so they came to wish Shi Yao a happy new year.

Shi Yao pulled herself together, her smile full of joy, and said with a cupped hand: "Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, Brother Yu, Sister Yu, Sister Miaomiao, you all have a happy new year too! Congratulations to Uncle Shen on his promotion and wealth!"

When Shi Hanlin heard this, he smiled at her with his eyes curved, his face becoming even happier.

After saying hello, she saw other relatives who she had met before coming to greet her. Shi Yao had forgotten who they were and was so scared that she pretended not to see them and quickly left the place with her legs filled with lead.

The Shi family members whispered, "Is that the concubine's daughter from the third room of the Duke's Mansion?"

"He's handsome, but a little mean. He doesn't even say hello when he sees people."

"You're shy, right? It's normal for a little girl to be shy. Don't talk nonsense. This is the Duke's Mansion, the territory of her grandfather."

"What are you afraid of? She's just an unloved and despised little girl! The real jewel in the palm of your hand has entered the ancestral hall and stood with the men. What is she?"

"..."

Shi Yao listened to a sentence or two but didn't take it to heart.

I didn’t see anyone eagerly greeting every member of the tribe?

Is it a butterfly or a dog?

No one talked about others but only talked about her, firstly because she was not favored and secondly because people were jealous that she was the granddaughter of the old duke.

As favored as Shi Mingzhu, who dares to say anything about her?

Like the inconspicuous Shi Miao and other girls and wives, and even those mediocre men, who would take them seriously?

Damn! Aren't these gossipy old ladies standing outside the yard? How dare they say such things about her!

Humph, your jealous and twisted faces only increase my happiness!

After leaving the ancestral hall, Shi Yao walked leisurely.

As the sound of firecrackers rang out all over the capital, snowflakes fell down in response to the scene.

Shi Yao took off her handcuffs and handed them to Mu Xiang. She stretched out her fair and tender hands and caught the largest snowflake. She was about to show it to Mu Xiang and the others happily when the two brothers Shi Mingchen and Shi Mingmo appeared from nowhere. Shi Mingchen said sarcastically:

"Pretending! Shi Yao, did you feel the disparity between being favored and being unfavored? Zhuzhu was able to enter the ancestral hall, but you could only stand outside the door. That's why you were so jealous that you ran away early?"

Muxiang, Banxia and others dared to be angry but not to speak out.

Banxia took a step forward and was about to say something when Shi Yao pulled her back - Banxia was tongue-tied and of low status, and she had no place to cry on New Year's Day after being scolded, and it would be no easier than for her to do it herself.

She looked at Shi Mingchen, who had a sarcastic expression on his face, then at Shi Mingmo, who she was not familiar with, and smiled slightly, "Seventh Brother, are you afraid that I will eat you, so you ask Sixth Brother to help you?

What are you two planning to do? You look so aggressive, are you planning to beat me up if you can’t win the argument? Oh, I’m so scared! "

As Shi Yao spoke, she patted her chest exaggeratedly, looking terrified.

Shi Mingchen was so angry that he wanted to hit her, and his fists in his sleeves made crackling sounds.

He glanced at Shi Mingmo: Did you see that? This is Shi Yao's true face. Her mouth is really infuriating!

Shi Mingmo held his head high and chest puffed out, looking ferocious, to encourage his brother.

Shi Mingchen snorted, "Shi Yao, don't provoke me. If you really piss me off, I'll punch you. Don't blame me for not warning you then!"

Shi Yao took two steps forward, forcing Shi Mingchen and Shi Mingmo to take a step back.