Chapter 134: The Battle of the Patriarch
Xu Youyou really didn’t know where her confidence came from, and she couldn’t understand why He Zhilan, who had a smart face, would believe these weird words.
The Qilin jade pendant in her mouth was not an ordinary ancient jade pendant, but more like a magic weapon that gave birth to a spirit in fantasy novels.
"Are you guys overthinking it? Is it really that effective? Don't do stupid things." Xu Youyou said helplessly.
He Zhilan explained: "Ms. Xu, you should have heard a saying: After eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining guess, no matter how outrageous it is, must be the truth."
Xu Youyou nodded slightly. These words seemed to be from a detective TV series.
He Zhilan continued, "My ancestors recorded that they had lost this Qilin jade pendant several times, but it was always found by their descendants in the end. And these descendants, without exception, are the most outstanding descendants of the He family."
"Later, my ancestors used this method to select the successor to the family head. Whenever the family head was handed over, the previous family head would deliberately give away the Qilin jade pendant. Whoever could find the jade pendant would be the next family head, and the owner of the jade pendant outside would also be the He family's closest partner."
Xu Youyou said: "Are you so sure? Has nothing happened in these years? For example, did the previous patriarch secretly tell the younger generation he favored about the whereabouts of the jade pendant?"
He Zhilan smiled and nodded, saying, "Everyone has selfish desires, and this kind of thing is naturally inevitable, but the Qilin Jade Pendant has a spirit, and even if we know where it is, we may not be able to get it."
Xu Youyou opened her eyes slightly.
He Zhilan explained, "There was a family head who wanted to pass the throne to his own son, so he buried the Qilin jade pendant in his backyard. He only waited one night, but the jade pendant was dug out by an unsuspecting servant and secretly sold."
"Finally, three years later, he appeared in a place thousands of miles away from the He family's base camp. He happened to meet a branch disciple who was exiled by the family. This person who was not valued and was forced to leave home with a stigma was my great-grandfather. He also became the head of the He family."
When Xu Youyou heard her tell this story, she felt like she was listening to a story about a man's counterattack.
"The Qilin Jade Pendant is the most important treasure of the He family. It will select the real Qilin child of the He family." There was a strange glow on He Zhilan's face at this time.
Now that she has obtained this jade pendant, it means that she is definitely the next head of the family.
But Xu Youyou still felt that this was too trifling and was totally unlike the decision a big family should make.
"Without judging this person's character, and relying entirely on a jade pendant, is it possible that this jade pendant has never made mistakes?" Xu Youyou asked.
He Zhilan lowered his voice and said, "Sometimes human judgment is not as good as this jade pendant."
"During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, my ancestors tried their best to send this jade pendant to the newly appointed Emperor Jianwen, hoping that he would become the destined person for the He family, but in the end, the jade pendant appeared in the hands of Prince of Yan Zhu Di."
"Not long after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, Prince of Yan Zhu Di gave this jade pendant to his family general as a wedding gift."
"Six months after her marriage, the wife of the family commander, Ms. He, returned to her parents' home wearing this jade pendant."
"According to the choice of the Qilin Jade Pendant, the He family's destined man is Prince of Yan Zhu Di, and the next head of the family should also be this married He woman."
"But the He family at that time felt that Emperor Jianwen's throne was stable, and they were unwilling to recognize a married woman as the head of the family. They thought that the Qilin jade pendant was wrong."
"After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he advocated the reduction of feudal lords and forced the King of Xiang to death. After that, the King of Yan, Zhu Di, started a rebellion. After the Jingnan Campaign, the main branch of the He family was brutally attacked as the remnants of Emperor Jianwen, and only one in ten survived. However, the ancestor who married out and her close relatives were able to save their lives because they sided with the King of Yan."
"The remaining members of the He family, no matter how unwilling they were to accept a female head of the family, would recognize the married female ancestor as the head of the family after Prince Yan ascended the throne."
"During the years when Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was at its peak, no matter how many strange voices there were in the outside world, married women or widows, as long as they were chosen by the Qilin Jade Pendant, regardless of gender, they could become the head of the He family. This is why the He family has been able to continue to this day."
Xu Youyou was shocked. How many lives had the He family's ancestors saved in the previous life of this Qilin jade pendant? It took thousands of years to repay the favor.
At this moment, she secretly believed what He Zhilan said. After all, outsiders didn't know. However, Xu Youyou knew in her heart that the system had given her a cheat and she was not an ordinary person.
Xu Youyou was also a little curious and asked, "In the past hundred years, how did your He family choose?"
He Zhilan knew everything about Xu Youyou and explained:
"The destined person that our family followed back then resolutely joined the Anti-Japanese Revolution. In order to support him, the old family head sold all his family property in exchange for supplies to support the front line and sent several family members to the front line to fight against the Japanese. Unfortunately, the destined person died on the battlefield, and most of the family members were unable to return."
Xu Youyou was deeply moved upon hearing this, and she also had more respect for the He family. They acted so decisively, no wonder they were always one of the four great antique families.
He Zhilan was also quite helpless about this, and said: "Ever since the He family stood on the wrong side between Emperor Jianwen and Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, which almost led to the downfall of the entire family, we dare not disobey the Qilin Jade Pendant anymore."
The Qilin Jade Pendant seemed to be too effective, and Xu Youyou was even reluctant to sell it to the He family.
However, she knew in her heart that if she tried to keep an item that was so closely tied to a family, she would probably not be able to use it.
"I am lucky to have the Qilin Jade Pendant, otherwise you probably wouldn't be willing to sign Miss Zhiting to me."
He Zhilan smiled and said, "The person chosen by the Qilin Jade Pendant will definitely not be a treacherous or evil person. Miss Xu's company is definitely cleaner than other companies. I have nothing to worry about."
Xu Youyou could only comfort herself that it was not a loss at all, as she earned 100 million yuan for nothing and selected a female artist with the potential to become a top star for the company.
"It's a pleasure working with you." Xu Youyou stretched out her hand, acknowledging that she was his destined partner.
He Zhilan shook hands back: "Ms. Xu, from now on, the He family will be Miss Xu's most steadfast partner and will unconditionally support all of Miss Xu's decisions."
Xu Youyou actually couldn’t figure out what the point was of having an antiques family as a partner. After all, she never needed help from others when finding bargains.
"Ms. Xu, I have another humble request. When you bought this Qilin jade pendant at the auction, do you have relevant evidence? In order to confirm the position of the head of the He family, we must also trace the Qilin jade pendant's 'adventure route' outside." He Zhilan asked politely.
Xu Youyou nodded: "I will ask my housekeeper to send the relevant certificates to you from Shanghai later."
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