Chapter 3341: One branch
The Xia family sent people to guard the city gate. When they saw the emblem of the Bai family's carriage, they immediately stepped forward to inquire, and then warmly invited the people back to Hongtian Village.
Zhou Man declined politely, thinking it would be most convenient to stay at the post station in Shangzhou City and go to Hongtian Village the next day.
Most of the contact with Shangzhou is with Xia Rui's family, and there is only sporadic contact with Patriarch Xia in Hongtian Village, and the relationship is not deep.
The family stayed at the post station and then sent someone to Xia Rui's shop to inform him.
Xia Rui quickly came over with his eldest son, "When did you arrive? Why didn't you send a letter home in advance? So we could pick you up..."
Zhou Man smiled and said, "It will be the same if we contact you when we get there. I've already discussed this with the clan leader."
Xia Rui rubbed his hands awkwardly, "Did you bring the child this time?"
Zhou Man agreed with a smile and asked Wu Yue to bring Wu Yuan over.
Wu Yuan looked like his mother at this time, with a round head and round face. He shook off Wu Yue's hand, stumbled over, threw himself into his mother's arms, then raised his red face to look at Xia Rui.
Xia Rui was delighted to see her, "She really looks like Sister Xin."
Bai Shan: ... People from the Bai family saw him and said he looked like his father, people from the Zhou family saw him and said he looked like his mother, Manbao. Now, the Xia family saw him and said he looked like his mother-in-law.
Zhou Man held his youngest son's face and looked at it, "Really?"
"Really? Your mother has a round face." Xia Rui stared at the child with sharp eyes and asked, "What's his nickname?"
"Wu Yuan."
"This name is very descriptive, good!"
Zhou Man smiled slightly and said, "My name is Xia Mu."
"That's a nice name too," Xia Rui said, standing up and bowing when he saw Madam Liu and Madam Zheng. "Thank you for your support, in-laws."
Seeing him bow deeply, Old Lady Liu quickly reached out to stop him and said with a smile, "This is the alliance we made with our in-laws long ago. We are just keeping our promise. We don't deserve Master Xia's gratitude."
Zhou Man said: "I came back this time to discuss the matter of dividing the sect."
Xia Rui was startled. "You want to split up your group?"
Zhou Man nodded, "Yes, let's start with my grandfather's lineage. After all, Wu Yuan won't be in Shangzhou often in the future, so it's enough to connect with this clan."
Xia Rui mused, "I'm afraid the clan won't agree so easily."
Zhou Man said nonchalantly, "As long as the clan leader agrees, it's done, right?"
Xia Rui nodded. "That's right, but how can you get the clan leader to agree?"
That’s easy, just spend money.
Although the Xia family of Shangzhou has successfully recognized Zhou Man as their relative over the years, they have never gained any benefits from Zhou Man.
It is also a coincidence that after so many years, the former County Magistrate Zhai has been gradually promoted and is still in Shangzhou. He is now the Sima of Shangzhou.
With him, who knew the ins and outs of the Xia family, everyone inside and outside Shangzhou City knew that although the Xia family was nominally Zhou Man's maternal family, she had no feelings for the Xia family at all, and even had some conflicts in private.
Therefore, even if someone wanted to use Zhou Man's name to do something, it would be impossible. In addition, Zhou Silang had to go to Shangzhou at least twice a year. With him watching, it would be even more difficult for the Xia family to act.
It is easy to choose between a tribe member who gets no benefits and a ready-made sum of money.
Over the years, Zhou Man has been cold towards the Xia family. Except for the time when she invited the Xia family to her wedding, she never invited them again. It was all because of today.
Xia Rui is not his father and will not force Zhou Man to stay. In his opinion, it is better for Zhou Man to split the sect. That way, she will be the one in charge of their branch and can do whatever she wants.
"So...when are you going back to Hongtian Village? Do you want me to come with you?"
Zhou Man smiled and said, "I was just about to ask Uncle Xia for help."
Zhou Man and Bai Shan prepared a box of silver ingots to bribe the leader of the Xia clan.
The next day, the couple left the child with Mrs. Liu and Zheng. They took money and picked up Xia Rui and went to Hongtian Village together.
Chief Xia had been waiting for a long time. He welcomed the guests in and looked back, "You didn't bring the child?"
Zhou Man smiled and said, "The child is young, and it would be a burden to take care of him. Today we are mainly discussing business, and we will bring him over after we have finished the discussion."
"That's right," said the Xia clan leader with a smile, "Ancestor worship and family tree entry are both important matters. We can discuss the matter first and then bring him to worship the ancestors."
Zhou Man sat upright, "Chief, since you're going to open an ancestral hall, I'd like to separate my branch and build a separate ancestral hall. How about we do it together this time?"
Patriarch Xia was shocked. "What? You want to split the clan?"
Zhou Man nodded and said, "Yes, as you know, we are mainly in the capital now, and we don't have much business in Shangzhou, so we plan to build the ancestral hall in Chang'an and connect with Shangzhou in the future."
"No, your branch is dwindling, how can you split up the clan?"
Zhou Man said, "This is just for now. When the child grows up, he can naturally expand the Xia family. I didn't mention branching out before because I took my father's surname. But now that we have a boy in our lineage, branching out is only natural."
Clan leader Xia refused. He said, "The capital isn't far from Shangzhou. Your grandparents' graves are here. If your lineage doesn't return home, the clan can still help with the memorial service. If you split up and don't come back for ten or eight years, do you expect the grass on your grandparents' graves to grow wildly?"
It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.
Zhou Man thought to herself, before she came back, only Xia Xia remembered to pay homage to his grandparents' graves. Who else in the clan would burn a stick of incense for him?
Zhou Man looked at Xia Rui.
Xia Rui waved at them and said, "You go out first. I want to talk to the clan leader."
After they left, Xia Rui took the hand of the Xia clan leader and said, "Clan leader, what's the point of forcing her to stay? Look at how high an official she is now. Who outside knows that she is a descendant of our Xia family who left home?"
Xia Rui said, "It's better if they don't know. If they do, I wonder how they'll laugh at us. With their lineage now in this state, who wouldn't laugh at us behind our backs for bullying the weak? That's why we've pushed our own bloodline so far away and refused to even look after the clan."
Chief Xia's face flushed red.
The Xia clan is not a very large clan in Shangzhou, but because there are many clan members gathered together, most of them are poor and their influence is limited.
I don't care much about reputation.
But no matter how little I care about it, I still feel sick when people look at me like this, especially when I'm talking about marriage.
Xia Rui also said: "Look at the young men in the clan who have been looking for marriage partners over the years. How many of them have been able to find particularly good ones?"
"If we hadn't used Zhou Man's name, it would have been fine. Everyone would have chosen each other and married quietly. But if we used her name, people would have asked around and what kind of people would have come?" Xia Rui said, "They're all snobs who only care about profit and avoid harm. There aren't many good people."
Patriarch Xia's expression became increasingly ugly.
"So instead of keeping her here, why not let her split up and leave? That way, we can all part ways amicably. At least we still have a bond of kinship, right?" Xia Rui lowered his voice and said, "Besides, she didn't just say she wanted to split up for nothing. She even brought some silver with her this time..."
(End of this chapter)
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