Chapter 356 Shen Family
This man seems calm and decent, but he is actually a deep-minded person. Even when facing his woman, he remains cautious, making it difficult for people to figure out what he is thinking.
After Lady Zhao finished speaking, Luo Qinghan said indifferently.
"You did a good job. You can have more contact with Chu Ji in the future. It would be best to find out if Qiu Yuan's face is different from before?"
Concubine Zhao thought the prince's question was very strange.
But seeing that he had no intention of explaining further, Lady Zhao did not dare to ask further questions and bowed her head and replied, "Yes."
After Lady Zhao left, Luo Qinghan turned to look at Xiao Xixi, but saw that she was still reading, holding the Diamond Sutra in her hands, but her eyes were closed.
This woman actually fell asleep while watching!
Luo Qinghan walked over, took the scripture from her hand, then picked her up and put her on the bed.
Xiao Xixi woke up for a moment, and when she saw that the person in front of her was the prince, she closed her eyes with relief and fell asleep again.
…
The next morning.
The royal chef prepared a vegan breakfast in accordance with the prince's instructions.
Xiao Xixi is not picky about food. Even if it is vegetarian, she will eat it all up.
But after eating, she still felt a little unsatisfied.
She smacked her lips and said with emotion, "Without meat, it always feels like something is missing when eating."
The snow outside had stopped, and the snow in the courtyard had been swept clean by the servants.
Luo Qinghan decided to go out. He wanted to go to the Shen family's ancestral hall to burn incense for the ancestors of the Shen family.
As a diligent and responsible leg pendant, Xiao Xixi naturally had to go along.
She sat lazily in the carriage, holding the heater in one hand and the Buddhist scriptures in the other, reciting the scriptures weakly.
Luo Qinghan listened to her humming sound, which was as thin as a mosquito, and frowned slightly: "You should either stop reading it out loud, or read it louder. Don't make such a humming sound, it sounds like a pig."
Xiao Xixi: “…”
Xiao Xixi raised her head angrily and glared at him: "You can insult me, but you can't insult the pigs I raise!"
Luo Qinghan: “…”
Too many complaints and no words to say!
When Xiao Xixi saw that he stopped talking, she felt that she had won the argument.
She smiled triumphantly, revealing two dimples at the corners of her mouth.
The Shen's Ancestral Hall is located outside the city, in a quite remote location.
The carriage passed through most of Panyun City and drove outside the city for half an hour before finding the Shen family's ancestral hall.
Also coming with the carriage were Zhao Xian and two hundred Yulin Guards.
Before the prince got off the car, Zhao Xian ordered the Yulin Guards to surround the ancestral hall and not let anyone approach.
Xiao Xixi followed the prince out of the car and walked into the ancestral hall.
As a prominent family in Chenliu County, the Shen family was once prosperous. Unfortunately, as the family's talents dwindled, fewer and fewer descendants were able to serve as officials in the court, and the Shen family gradually declined.
There are many tablets quietly placed in the ancestral hall.
These are the ancestors of the Shen family.
Although Luo Qinghan's surname is not Shen, he has half of the Shen family's blood, so he is considered half a member of the Shen family.
He took three lit incense sticks from Eunuch Chang, bowed deeply to the ancestors of the Shen family, and then inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner.
Luo Qinghan glanced at Xiao Xixi and motioned for her to come over and kowtow as well.
Xiao Xixi did as she was told, knelt on the mat, and kowtowed three times respectfully.
Luo Qinghan looked around and found that the tablets and incense tables were covered with dust, the floor tiles were cracked, there were spider webs in the corners, and a few tiles were missing from the roof. Through the small holes, he could see the sky outside.
If it rains or snows, the ancestral hall will definitely leak.
There was a faint musty smell in the air, and an indescribable sense of sadness.
The aristocratic family that was once at its peak has now fallen to this state.
Luo Qinghan asked: "Isn't this place usually taken care of?"
Eunuch Chang was not very clear about this, so he said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will ask someone to find out."
A moment later, Eunuch Chang came back with an old man.
The old man knew that the person standing in front of him was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and he was terrified. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down with his forehead touching the ground, and his voice trembled with nervousness.
"I, Liu Huo, greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Eunuch Chang introduced: "This Liu Huo is the one who is in charge of taking care of the Shen's ancestral hall. His family lives nearby."
Because the Shen family has no descendants, they have to ask people from other families to help take care of the ancestral hall.
Luo Qinghan signaled Liu Huo to stand up and speak.
Liu Huo stood up but didn't dare to look up. He looked like an ordinary farmer. His skin was dark and rough due to working in the sun for many years. He wore a patched coarse cloth short shirt.
Luo Qinghan asked: "Have you always been in charge of this ancestral hall?"
Liu Huo did not dare to hide anything and answered truthfully: "Since the fire, the Shen family has no descendants, and this ancestral hall has been taken care of by mere commoners."
"How long has it been since you last came here?"
When the prince asked this question, his tone was cold and indifferent, without any ups and downs, but Xiao Xixi keenly noticed that he was not in a good mood at the moment.
Liu Huo said tremblingly: "I have been busy at home recently, so I haven't been able to take care of this place."
Luo Qinghan asked again: "Who arranged for you to be in charge of the Shen family ancestral hall?"
Liu Huo: "Yes, I am the chief steward of Chenliu Palace."
Although the Shen family had fallen into decline, they still retained some reputation in the local area. In addition, Shen Zhaoyi's son became the crown prince. Even for the crown prince's sake, Prince Chenliu did not dare to let the Shen family ancestral hall be completely deserted. So Prince Chenliu specially asked the housekeeper to find a reliable person to help take care of the ancestral hall, but he did not expect to invite such an unreliable thing.
Luo Qinghan was too lazy to look at Liu Huo again, and said calmly: "Pull him away."
Immediately, two Yulin guards came in, grabbed Liu Huo's arms and dragged him out.
Liu Huo was extremely frightened and wanted to scream, but his mouth was blocked by Yu Linwei and he could not make any sound.
Soon Liu Huo was dragged away.
Luo Qinghan asked someone to call the local headman.
The head of the village knelt down and saluted the prince in fear and trepidation.
Luo Qinghan didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "Go find a few bricklayers to renovate this ancestral hall and try to make it stronger. Also, find a reliable person to help take care of the ancestral hall. Just list the price and I'll have someone take over the job."
The village chief quickly responded, "Yes!"
Afterwards, Luo Qinghan went to the Shen family's old house again.
However, the old Shen family house had long disappeared, replaced by a newly built Bodhisattva temple.
This temple is quite popular, with pilgrims constantly coming in and out.
Xiao Xixi looked out through the car window. From here, she could just see the gate of the Bodhisattva Temple.
Xiao Xixi asked curiously, "Is this the Shen family's home? It doesn't look like it."
Luo Qinghan did not explain, and said calmly: "Let's go in and take a look."
(End of this chapter)
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