"Gu Jian, is the title lost because of you?" the clan leader asked coldly, every word piercing the heart, "You lost your ancestral title, and now you want to disobey the clan rules!"
The clan leader stared at Gu Jian coldly, anger surging in his eyes.
Gu Jian felt as if he was slapped in the face again and again in public; his face felt hot.
When he was in front of the emperor, he held his breath, but was afraid of losing his manners in front of the emperor, so he could only suppress it. But now they have returned to the marquis's mansion, and the person he is facing is not the emperor who is high above and has the power of life and death, but an old man who is not even an official.
The humiliation that Gu Jian had been holding in his heart for a long time suddenly erupted like a volcano, and he shouted angrily: "You people who bully the weak whenever you can, I'm just down and out for a while, and you guys are going to bully me, right?!"
"Uncle, don't you think about how you... and all of you, have the good life you have now? Isn't it all thanks to me, my late father, and my late grandfather?"
Gu Jian became more and more excited as he spoke. He pointed at the clan leader and elders and felt that they were really looking down on others when it was obvious that they were able to live their current good life thanks to the Marquis' Mansion.
He is just down and out now, but he may be able to turn things around in the future.
A new emperor appoints new ministers. As long as Prince Kang ascends the throne in the future, Gu Jian will definitely be able to restore the Marquisate to its former glory.
Yes, he could definitely do it.
Gu Jian told himself this over and over again in his heart.
He said it so many times that even he began to believe it, his eyes sparkling.
“Bang!”
The clan leader slammed his palm on the coffee table, furious.
The atmosphere instantly reached its peak.
He raised his hand and pointed at Gu Jian who was a few steps away. His right hand was shaking. He gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Gu Jian, you don't follow the clan rules, and you look down on an old man like me. Then I really can't do anything to you. In this case, your family should be expelled from the clan."
The two words "eliminate the clan" caused an uproar in the room.
Gu Jian’s face turned pale and he swallowed hard.
The elders of the clan also took a breath.
Since ancient times, a person's surname has represented the clan to which the person belongs, and it is a person's "roots".
To expel a person from the family is to remove his name from the family tree, which means that the person has no roots.
Normally, only when a person has committed an unforgivable crime would he be excommunicated.
"Father." Gu Xiao looked at Gu Jian nervously.
He was only fourteen years old, and within just a short period of time he had to face two major events: his father was stripped of his title and expelled from the clan, which made him completely confused.
Gu Jian was also panicking in his heart, but he pretended to be strong and said in a strong voice, "Uncle, your words alone don't count."
After hearing what his father said, Gu Xiao raised his neck again.
"Wait a minute!" Madam Gu's voice suddenly came from the direction of the gate.
Supported by Nanny Li, Madam Gu appeared at the door of the main hall with unsteady steps.
She had just rested for a while in the carriage before she came to her senses. She learned from Nanny Li that the family was being divided, so she hurried over. She didn't expect to hear the patriarch outside angrily saying that he wanted to expel the second branch of the clan.
Madam Gu’s face was as pale as paper, and she was thinking more and more deeply than Gu Jian.
Just as Gu Jian said, the clan leader's words alone do not count, but if more than 80% of the clan elders agree, then the second branch can be forcibly expelled from the clan.
Now that the second branch has lost its title, these people in the clan are resentful.
Not only the clan leader, but 99% of the other elders would probably agree to this as a way to retaliate against their second branch.
When the wall falls, everyone pushes it. Now that the second branch is in trouble, I'm afraid everyone would want to step on it. How many people would be willing to help it?
Madam Gu stepped into the main hall and quickly explained to the clan leader, "Clan leader, Hou...Ajian didn't mean that."
Madam Gu walked to the center of the hall and stopped. She slowly looked around at the familiar faces in the hall, calmed herself down, and said in a calm tone: "Although Ah Jian made mistakes, Gu Ce of the eldest house was guilty of surrendering to the enemy."
As she spoke, she glanced at Gu Yuan indifferently, implying that although the second branch had done it this time, the eldest branch was not much better and was equally ineligible to inherit the family business.
Madam Gu said confidently: "The third, fourth and fifth wives are all illegitimate children, and it is even more impossible for them to inherit the family business."
"The second branch lost this title, and the second branch will be responsible for earning it back."
In fact, what she said made sense. Gu Xiao nodded frequently, thinking that he was no worse than his eldest cousin. They had the same ancestor, and what the great-grandfather could do, they, the descendants, could do too.
“Puff.”
As soon as Madam Gu finished speaking, a crisp laugh rang out, breaking the originally solemn atmosphere.
Madam Gu clenched the Buddhist beads in her hand, and couldn't help looking at Gu Yanfei and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Gu Yanfei held her chin with one hand, smiling sweetly, as beautiful as a dewdrop on the tip of a grass petal.
She said slowly, "My great-grandfather gathered troops in Bingzhou in his early years, and later surrendered to Emperor Taizu. He followed Emperor Taizu in the Northern Expedition, conquered the capital, and defended the two northeastern states. His meritorious service was outstanding, so Emperor Taizu gave the Gu family the title of Marquis of Dingyuan."
These words made the clan leader and elders quite excited, and they nodded repeatedly, especially those who were over 50 years old and had experienced the hard times of the previous dynasty in their childhood, who showed expressions of nostalgia.
The next moment, Gu Yanfei's tone suddenly turned cold, and he chuckled and asked, "You want to earn it, how do you plan to earn it?"
Her eyes swept over Gu Jian lightly, "Are you a man who can bring peace to the world with a pen, or a man who can rule the world with a horse?"
"When it comes to horse riding and archery, I'm afraid you're not even as good as me!"
Gu Yanfei sighed and shook his head.
After she said this, everyone followed her gaze and looked at Gu Jian.
At this moment, Gu Jian's face looked extremely ugly, with blue veins bulging on both sides of his forehead. Anger filled under his skin, causing his body to tremble slightly.
Not only the clan leader, but all the clan elders present had watched Gu Jian grow up. Gu Jian was not good at either literature or martial arts. He had never taken an imperial examination, nor had he ever been on a battlefield. It was only because of Gu Ce's accident eight years ago that Gu Jian got the title for nothing.
If Gu Jian was really capable, he would not have lost his title, nor would he have had no outstanding military achievements in eight years of holding the title.
Unlike Gu Yuan, who entered the military camp at a young age, and made great contributions in the past two years when he followed the imperial guards to the coast to wipe out Japanese pirates. It was because the late emperor was displeased that he was not promoted at that time. Now, only one year after the current emperor ascended the throne, Gu Yuan has already shown his talent and was promoted to the fourth-rank captain. Now he has made the contribution of saving the emperor, and he has a bit of the style of Gu Yao and Gu Ce in the past.
Seeing that the situation had changed again because of Gu Yanfei's few words, Madam Gu's face was as gloomy as water. She stared at Gu Jian and motioned for him to say something.
Gu Jian really spoke up, and said angrily: "Gu Yanfei, you are a troublemaker. The family is in turmoil because of you!"
Until now, Gu Jian still does not reflect on himself.
The clan leader was extremely disappointed and resolutely made the decision: "Gu Ce of the eldest house is the legitimate son of the first wife, and Gu Yuan is Gu Ce's only legitimate son. The family business shall be inherited by the eldest house, and it is legitimate."
The elders had already heard the explanation from the clan leader, and they all knew that Madam Gu was the second wife and Gu Ce was the son of the previous eldest Qi. Now when they thought about this pair of very different brothers, they couldn't help but sigh, "So that's how it is."
No! A voice in Mrs. Gu's heart was shouting, shrilly and hysterical: "Gu Ce surrendered to the enemy!"
The usually graceful and dignified woman now had a mean look on her face.
The clan leader asked calmly, "Then, has the court made a decision?"
"My sister-in-law submitted a memorial to the late emperor claiming that Gu Ce surrendered to the enemy. Did the late emperor convict her of any crime?" The clan leader looked at Madam Gu mockingly.
“……” Madam Gu seemed to have a blockage in her throat and could not utter a word.
Everyone knows that Gu Ce is guilty, but the late emperor did not formally convict him.
The clan leader stared at Madam Gu's dark eyes and said, "Gu Jian made false accusations and deceived the emperor. He was punished for both crimes. That's why he was stripped of his title and dismissed from his post. This was decided by the emperor himself today."
"If Gu Ce is guilty and cannot inherit the family business, then Gu Jian is even less worthy!"
Gu Jian was so ashamed and angry at the clan leader's words that he wished he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
The clan leader did not even look at him. Instead, he looked around at the other clan elders and asked, "What do you guys say?"
Whenever the elders thought of Gu Jian losing his title, they felt as if their hearts were broken by a knife. They were heartbroken, angry, and even a bit resentful.
At this moment, even the elders who were usually close to Gu Jian no longer stood on Gu Jian's side, and all spoke out: "The clan leader is right."
"Gu Jian has committed a heinous crime and has a flawed character. He is truly unworthy of the family business."
"If the family business falls into his hands, I'm afraid it will all be lost."
“…”
Even several of the old Marquis Gu Xuan's half-brothers stood up to express their opinions, and all chose to support Gu Yuan.
For a time, Gu Yuan became the people's favorite and the one that everyone expected.
The clan leader was satisfied, his eyes sparkling, and he made the decision while the iron was hot: "Then I will make the decision on behalf of cousin Xuan. From now on, cousin Xuan's lineage will be inherited by the eldest son, Gu Yuan."
"According to the ancestral system, the heir to the family business will inherit 70% of the property."
"The eldest son's house accounts for 70%."
(End of this chapter)
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