The wealthy Marquis's mansion.
The patriarch of the Jin family led his descendants to open the ancestral hall to pay tribute to their ancestors.
"Today, we are granted the title of Marquis of Fuyu, and our wife is granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady. Our family has been transformed, bringing glory to our ancestors... Our daughter, Yuwan, is granted the title of Yiren, and our granddaughter, Jiaojiao, is granted the title of First-Rank Princess. Her filial piety is commendable, and she is loving towards her brothers. We are honored to have our ancestors. If our ancestors are watching over us, please bless our Jin family to prosper for generations to come."
Jin Yuwan and Jiang Jiaojiao stood between the old master and old lady of the Jin family, holding incense sticks, and performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows, with the old and young men of the Jin family kneeling behind them.
Jin Jiaojiao's mind flashed back to the fate of her mother and the Jin family in her previous life, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"Please offer incense—"
After the ceremony, Jin and Jin Jiaojiao stood up and inserted incense sticks into the incense burner.
suddenly--
A gust of wind blew by, and the incense... went out.
Silence reigned all around.
Jin Shiqilang quickly apologized, "It's all my fault. My sleeves caught the wind and extinguished the incense for my aunt and sister!"
"You little rascal—"
Old Master Jin glared at him.
"Alright, alright, today is a joyous occasion, please have two more."
The old lady of the Jin family quickly had two more sticks of incense lit and handed them to Jiaojiao and Jin Yuwan.
The two looked somewhat uneasy, especially Jiang Jiaojiao, who suddenly felt a sense of unease the moment the incense went out.
Bowing deeply in reverence.
Insert the incense sticks into the incense burner again.
Then... it went down again.
It was extinguished without warning, without even a gust of wind.
At that moment, everyone gasped and their expressions turned serious.
Grandpa Jin knelt reverently before the ancestral tablets, his eyes filled with awe. He took a deep breath and then began to recite in a trembling voice:
"May our ancestors bless our children and grandchildren with good health, longevity, and happiness."
Grandpa Jin kowtowed devoutly.
Insert the incense sticks in your hand into the incense burner.
suddenly--
With a loud crack, the ancestral tablet fell to the ground without any wind, and the incense went out.
Grandpa Jin stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Grandpa Jin, Second Grandpa, Third Grandpa...
Jin Dalang, Jin Erlang, Jin Sanlang, Jin Silang... Jin Shiqilang.
They all stood up and inserted the incense sticks in their hands into the incense burner.
result--
Without exception, they were all wiped out.
The moment Jin Shiqilang placed the incense stick into the incense burner, with a loud "bang," the incense burner cracked!
Everyone in the ancestral hall was dumbfounded.
Jin Shiqi was the first to react, shielding Jiao Jiao and pointing to the cracked incense burner, "So this damn incense burner is broken. I'll go to the temple tomorrow and get another one."
"Yes, yes, yes! It must be the incense burner that's the problem!"
"Our Jin family has been granted the title of Marquis, my grandmother has been granted the title of First Rank Imperial Consort, and my aunt and cousin have been granted the titles of Yiren and Junzhu. These are all great joyous occasions that bring honor to our ancestors. Our ancestors are too happy to even think about it!"
“Let’s get another incense burner, choose an auspicious day, and then open the ancestral hall to offer incense.”
"I've heard that the incense burners at Huangjue Temple are the best; I'll set off tomorrow to request one."
Everyone chimed in with their own words, but no one dared to utter anything discouraging or unlucky.
Jin Yuwan forced a smile.
Back at the Yiren Mansion, she was filled with remorse. "It's all my fault. I'm divorced and shouldn't have gone to the ancestral rites. The ancestors must be angry."
Granny Zhen and Granny Zhu quickly brought tea and water to comfort her, "Miss, how could this be your fault? The old master said it was the incense burner's fault. We'll bring back a new incense burner tomorrow and then hold the ancestral hall ceremony."
"Yes, Miss, if you don't think about yourself, think about our young lady. Our young lady is now a first-rank princess, oh my, this is such a great blessing! Our ancestors will be so happy when they find out!"
With the comforting words of Granny Zhen and Granny Zhu, Jin Yuwan finally stopped crying.
This side.
Jiang Jiaojiao left the mansion, took Qiu Xiang with her, avoided the crowd, and slipped into the Jiang family's ancestral hall. She took out one delicious dish after another, along with wine, from the bamboo basket she was carrying.
Offered.
"I heard that my good father's new wife is pregnant, and your Jiang family will have another grandson."
"puff--"
As soon as Jiang Jiaojiao finished speaking, the oil lamp in front of her grandfather went out... In a daze, Jiang Jiaojiao felt that the oil in the lamp was a little... green?
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a leaf.
"Now that my eldest brother has become the commander of the Imperial Guards and is also the future prince consort, he will never follow the same path as in my previous life. And my second brother... has become a disciple of Master Li, and he will surely pass the imperial examination with flying colors and have a bright future..."
"puff--"
Another oil lamp was extinguished.
Jiang Jiaojiao got angry. "This is outrageous! Whether you're a human or a ghost, you have to be honest, right? I'll protect them, so you have to protect me and make my wishes come true."
"I've come today to ask you to send a message to the Jin family's ancestors, requesting that they accept our offerings and not upset Mother. Otherwise... otherwise I will no longer concern myself with your affairs and will stop bringing you any treats!"
These words were spoken.
The remaining oil lamps all went out!
Good heavens!
Jiang Jiaojiao put her hands on her hips in anger, almost cursing out loud: "A bunch of old fogies!"
Jiang Jiaojiao patiently relit the offering lamps.
They chattered on and on for a while before finally leaving the Jiang residence.
I went in and out of the small Buddhist hall of the Jiang residence without even encountering a single servant. The Marquis's mansion is now so dilapidated that it has neither face nor substance.
Should!
at night.
As expected, Jiang Jiaojiao had a nightmare.
She dreamt that the endings of her past lives were playing out one by one.
The eldest brother was surrounded and beaten to death by a group of people; the second brother was accused of stealing poetry and was stripped of his official rank, dying of anger; she was killed by bandits while fleeing; her mother died of grief after losing three sons; the Jin family was falsely accused of treason and exiled...
Even Ayan died from poisoning.
Everything seemed to have returned to its starting point.
Jiang Jiaojiao floated in mid-air, witnessing one tragic ending after another, but no matter how much she cried or shouted, she could not change it.
Until a gentle call came to my ear.
One sound after another.
"Jiaojiao—"
"Jiaojiao—"
"Jiaojiao—"
Jiang Jiaojiao slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw was that devilishly handsome face. Although his eyes were bloodshot, it was a living face, not the cold, bluish-purple face of someone who had died from poisoning.
"Jiaojiao! You're awake!"
Jiang Jiaojiao heard her mother Jin Yuwan crying tears of joy. She turned her eyes to look, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Thankfully it was just a dream.
What's wrong with me?
Jiang Jiaojiao opened her mouth and realized that her voice was hoarse and burning with pain.
"You burned for three days and three nights, we were so worried!"
"Prince Chen has been watching over you the whole time, and he finally managed to wake you up, Jiao Jiao... You scared your mother to death!"
Jin Yuwan said while wiping away her tears.
Granny Zhen also wiped away her tears, "Miss, you haven't had any soup or water for several days. His Highness Prince Chen is here with you. Why don't you go and have something to eat and drink first, and then come back to relieve His Highness?"
Seeing Prince Chen's haggard appearance, Jin Yuwan quickly nodded, "Jiaojiao, Mother will go and cook some of your favorite silver rice porridge."
Jin Yuwan couldn't be more satisfied with Prince Chen as her son-in-law.
Putting everything else aside, just look at his heart for Jiaojiao.
Upon learning that Jiaojiao was ill, he even skipped the morning court session and devoted himself to staying by Jiaojiao's bedside.
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