mountain chase

When Fourth Master Qiao learned about the Nanjing Military Quarteryard, he was still taking a nap. Because the matter was more important, the housekeeper came in and said it directly.

Well~ this is the inevitable result.

A few days later.

On the ninth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the succession ceremony of the Patriarch of the Qiao Family.

——There are no taboos for offering sacrifices, traveling, bathing, and marrying.

It's an absolute good day.

"Fourth master... Fourth master is up... Fourth master?"

"boom!"

After receiving the pillow thrown by the person on the bed, the housekeeper walked forward helplessly, helped the person who was still in a daze from the bed, and worked together with the two maids standing beside him to put Fourth Master Qiao's clothes on.

Fourth Master Qiao didn't really wake up until he wiped his face with a wet towel.

"What time is it now?"

"It's just after seven o'clock." The butler glanced at his watch.

"It's only seven o'clock..." Fourth Master Qiao held his forehead. His blood pressure was low, and getting up in the morning was always a painful thing.

"I can't help it," the housekeeper was also very helpless. If possible, he didn't want to wake up fourth master, but it's just that today is such a big day, fourth master Qiao had to get ready early.

"Forget it, let's get up." After washing his hands, Fourth Master Qiao stood up, "Is everyone here?"

"Some of the principals of Qiao's family have already arrived for more than half, and the rest and invited guests will not arrive until after ten o'clock."

"Well," Fourth Master Qiao nodded, "You can take care of these things yourself, and call me when everyone is almost here. I'll go to the study to sit for a while now."

"Okay." The butler nodded.

Study room—Si Ye, you just said that you want the concubine's couch next to the window in the study room...

However, the butler swallowed the words obediently, turned around, took the two maids with him, and obediently went down to take care of things.

The succession ceremony of the Qiao family is a very old traditional way.

Worshiping heaven, offering sacrifices to ancestors, taking oaths, and offering sacrifices to blood.

——The entire ceremony is considered complete.

At eleven o'clock at noon, people gradually gathered in the courtyard of Qiao's main house.

In Beiping, the people who can be invited to participate in the succession ceremony of the Patriarch of the Qiao family are quite prestigious people. Most of the people who receive invitations will be there in person. If something really happens, they will send people to congratulate. .

When Duan Honggang arrived, Fourth Master Qiao was already receiving people in the courtyard.

He was wearing a very formal three-piece black suit today, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, and was talking to the commander of the Self-Defense Force in Beiping.

"Fourth Master, congratulations."

"Mr. Duan?" Looking back, Fourth Master Qiao saw Duan Honggang startled slightly, and then smiled, "Why are you here when you have time?"

Still immersed in the smile of the person in front of him just now, Duan Honggang let out an "ah" before saying, "Today is your big day, how can I not come?"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Duan, sir, please—"

"Okay. Of course I won't be restrained. You can go ahead." Duan Honggang also wanted to talk to Fourth Master Qiao for a while, but there are really many people here today, and they are very considerate of Fourth Master's hard work.

"Then...Mr. Duan can do what he wants," Hearing what Duan Honggang said, Fourth Master Qiao didn't shirk, raised the wine glass in his hand, and walked away.

It's eleven fifty at noon.

The guests are all here.Led by Mr. Qiao's direct younger brother, Qiao Hengjing, and the butler, they invited the family's ancestral scarlet gold-threaded nanmu altar table and [-] spirit tablets of the ancestors of the Qiao family, and placed them in the courtyard facing north.

From the entrance of Qiao's house to the altar of Schering, a straight red carpet was laid out. The guests were standing on both sides. On the left were the direct descendants and collateral members of the Qiao family, and on the right were the guests invited by the Qiao family.

No one spoke at this time, and everyone knew that the main event had begun.

Twelve o'clock noon.

"Qiao Xuemei, the [-]th patriarch of the Qiao family—worshiping heaven—"

Amidst the steward's singing and shouting, the gate of the ancestral hall of the Qiao family opened.

Fourth Master Qiao was wearing a black wide-sleeved toga, with auspicious clouds embroidered with silver thread on the sleeves, a complex purple dark gold pattern on the front of the chest, and an eagle soaring high embroidered on the back. The eagle's eyes are inlaid with black onyx, which is lifelike.Around the waist is a belt sewn from pieces of jade, decorated with jade pendants, fen bags, fan pendants and sachets.On his hand, he wore an emerald gemstone ring that everyone present was familiar with—it was the symbol of the Patriarch of the Qiao family.

Cigarettes curled up in the sunlight.

His delicately carved facial features seemed to be shrouded in a halo, his brows were calm, his eyes were steady, he walked slowly step by step, everyone present almost forgot to breathe—they seemed to see, The fairy comes.

"Kowtow—"

With his hands up, Fourth Master Qiao knelt straight on the slate floor, kowtowing to the red gold silk nanmu altar that had been passed down for hundreds of years by the Qiao family and the spiritual tablets of the ancestors of the Qiao family.

Once, twice, three times.

Fourth Master Qiao stood up, and he raised his left hand.

Opened the mouth: "My Qiao Xuemei, the [-]th generation descendant of the Qiao family, swears an oath to the ancestors of the Qiao family here-to defend the Qiao family to the death, to maintain the purity of the blood of the Qiao family, and to continue the glory of the Qiao family."

The voice is not loud, but the words are clear and firm.

After finishing speaking, Fourth Master Qiao picked up the dagger on the table and slashed at the wrist of his left hand, dripping blood into the white porcelain bowl on the altar.

The ceremony is over.

All the people present, no matter what they want or are unwilling to do, no matter whether they are related to the Qiao family or not, at this moment, there is no one who does not applaud.

They all understood - the Qiao family now really belonged to Qiao Xuemei, Fourth Master Qiao.

No matter how long Fourth Master Qiao can sit in this position, the Qiao family, a large family with a century-old foundation, will have Qiao Xuemei's name on it.