Chapter 8: Qingming
The academy is on vacation, and even the four teachers have left the academy, because the Qingming Festival has arrived, and the ancestral worship is the most important thing in the family. The Yun family is no exception.
Lao Niu left, saying that he probably wouldn’t be coming back. This made Yun Ye very sad. Without the old general’s presence, he was worried that the academy would lose its order. Lao Niu said mysteriously, “No, when he leaves, someone will naturally take his place. Who it is, I won’t tell him for the time being.”
The students of the academy were like wild horses off the leash, changing into their own brocade robes and wearing their own accessories. It was not uncommon to see flowers inserted into hats. Meng did not hang anything he could, and it was like a grocery store. He said that he had lost a lot, and that he could not show off after buying it, so he put it in the box, wasting the resources of heaven. This time, he didn’t take it down to sleep.
The young men of Chang’an were now fully displaying their style, dressed in fine clothes, riding on fine horses, and traveling in fine carriages.
Yun Ye just said, “It’s a pity that there are no young girls, otherwise…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a group of animals started howling and charging towards Chang’an.
The old lady was well prepared, with a whole pig, a whole sheep, two-foot-long fat carp, a goose with a silk ribbon tied around its neck, a chicken with its feet tied to the ground and bouncing about, mountains of dim sum, and countless paper money in boxes of paper ingots, bundles of incense and candles, and then her grandson to complete the picture.
The old lady was quite the general in her mansion, giving orders to the servants and even her aunts and uncles. Everyone was busy with their own tasks, and the family’s ceremonial guards were so polished that they could reflect a person’s image. The huge flag had a ferocious black tiger on it, representing the family’s military background.
The entire Yun family was rather shabby, with only two sets of official clothing, one for Yun Ye and one for his grandmother. One was a third-rank official, and the other was a third-rank official with a title. Only these two big shots, without the feeling of being surrounded by stars, made the old grandmother very sad. She envied the old lady of the Pei family, who was only a second-rank official with a title, but was surrounded by a large group of third-rank officials. The fourth-rank official with a title was guarded in the middle like an ancestor, with a majestic appearance.
The old lady glanced at Yun Ye with a hint of resentment. She had already told him about several good families’ daughters, but none of them had caught his eye. For example, the fourth daughter of the Ying family, the second daughter of the Wang family, and even the eldest daughter of the Changsun family all looked down on him. Could it be that he wanted to marry a princess?
This is not good. A princess is not something that a good family can marry. Not only would they have to live separately, they could only marry one, and my wife would be separated from her grandson. What’s the point of living? What if the princess can’t have children? Wouldn’t that be pushing the Yun family into a pit of fire?
A while ago, they kept sending food to the palace, but now they don’t. I don’t know what happened.
I feel a chill down my spine when I see her. I know what she’s thinking. She wants to have a grandchild soon. She always says she’s lonely. I don’t understand. With eight little girls running around, how could she be lonely?
“Oh, my ancestors, please don’t look at your grandchildren with such strange eyes. I have goose bumps on my back. If you want a great-grandchild, you’ll have to wait. In a few years, you won’t be able to hold them all. My wife, we’ll bring them home in groups. You’ll have a fat boy on your left, a fat girl on your right, and little people all around you, some of whom you’ll be annoyed by.”
Yun Ye’s words made his aunts and uncles laugh non-stop. The old lady was embarrassed and slapped Yun Ye on the head: “You little brat, that’s a daughter-in-law, not a goose, and you’re still calling her a goose. If there really were a bunch of little people around Grandma, I would be happy to die.”
The fief was only 30 miles from the ancestral hall, and it took an hour to get there.
From afar, you can see two cypress trees, which are now called the “Lord Cypresses” by later generations. They are only as thick as a young girl’s arms, and their flaky leaves overlap each other, like two large umbrellas in front of the ancestral hall.
Grandma had repainted the ancestral hall last year. The vermilion pillars, the vermilion gate, and the vermilion old man, who wore red clothes and red pants and a red scarf on his head, looked like Ah Fu if he were a little fatter.
He ran over from afar and bowed to his grandmother. Seeing Yun Ye’s surprise, the old lady said, “He was an old man in the family before. He had too much on his mind. After the Yun family fell, there was nowhere for him to go. So Grandma let him live in the ancestral hall. First, it was good for taking care of the ancestral hall, and second, it was a place for him to live in peace. As a result, he lived there for 16 years. Thanks to him, the ancestral hall would have been abandoned long ago, and you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to worship your ancestors.
The old lady was a little sad and stopped the little girl who was about to climb onto Yun Ye. Today is a big day, she forbade the little girl to be presumptuous, for fear that it would be bad if the ancestors saw it. The little girl pouted and dared not cry. Yun Ye was about to comfort her, but she was taken away by her aunt.
The old man was really called Ah Fu, and he ignored Yun Ye, just talking to his grandmother, Ah Ba, Ah Ba. The grandmother also talked to him with gestures, and it seemed that they were talking very enthusiastically. Yun Ye did not disturb them and went into the ancestral hall to look around.
It is not as grand as the later generations, especially after the two huge cement-made stone lions were removed, it looks even more cramped. The four-cornered eaves are hung with bells, and when the wind blows, they ring ding dong ding dong. This kind of bronze bell is the most seductive reverie, especially when Yun Ye seems to have a sense of constant change in time and space here. After a while, the fourth grandfather of the future generation is sitting in a tall armchair, sketching the family tree, and cursing the unworthy descendants in his mouth. After a while, the old Ah Fu in red clothes and red pants is diligently wiping dust everywhere. Close your eyes and you will only feel the world spinning around you, and the walls around you are all squeezing in on you.
“Ye’er, Ye’er.” Grandma called out a few times before pulling Yun Ye out of his nightmare.
“Ye’er, what’s wrong with you? Are you not feeling well? Today is the day of ancestor worship. You just need to hold on. It won’t take long. Maybe the ancestors are watching you. Don’t worry. This is the family temple. No wandering spirits can get in. You sit on the bench by the door and let the ancestors take a good look at the Yun family’s thousand-mile horse.”
The walls were covered with wooden tablets, and it seemed that the male spirits of the Yun family who had died over the past hundred years were all watching Yun Ye. It didn’t matter. Yun Ye let his mind go and let them watch as much as they wanted. I am a genuine descendant of the Yun family, from body to soul. I am not a fake. Isn’t it just a difference of 1,400 years?
This is the reason for the so-called suspicion and suspicion. He didn’t care at all, but he felt comfortable. He watched his grandmother and aunt busy arranging the offerings, but he couldn’t help them. He simply ignored them and walked around the world with his hands behind his back. Xiaoya and Dayu followed their brother and took the pine nuts from his pockets. Yun Ye was not used to putting things in his sleeves, so he asked his grandmother to sew two pockets on his waist. It was very comfortable to put his hands in the pockets in winter. The same was true of Cheng Chumo’s clothes. The image of the two brothers walking around with their hands in their pockets was very eye-catching.
Yun Ye didn’t like to carry a pocket full of copper coins, which made him walk with a clatter. He asked his grandmother to beat the silver into thin leaves and stamp the Yun family mark on them. One leaf was equivalent to ten coins, which was very convenient. As long as they didn’t buy luxury goods or go to the East Market, one leaf was enough for the two of them to walk around for half a day.
I don’t have any cigarettes! I never thought about quitting smoking, but now I’ve been forced to quit, so I’ve developed the habit of having snacks in my pocket. The two little girls are suffering now. Grandma not only found a teacher of writing, but also hired an old maid who had left the palace to teach the eight girls etiquette. Last time I saw Xiaoya being tortured, I said a few words, but I didn’t expect to be attacked by all the women in the family, saying that this is something they can’t ask for, and they dare to say anything. After begging for mercy for half a day, they finally let her go. The sight of hundreds of ducks flying around her was terrifying, so she ignored the tears in her eyes and ran away.
In the midst of the smoke, they reverently bowed to their ancestors. The one-zhang-long sacrificial table was covered with offerings, and in the middle was a huge, fat pig, steamed and cooked in a wooden box. It looked very delicious and oily. The same was true of the sheep. The cow was not something that the little marquis could use to sacrifice to his ancestors. If he was discovered, he would be beheaded, so the Yun family used a fish instead.
A few monks from somewhere recited some unknown sutra outside the ancestral hall, over and over again. Auntie and the others could not enter the ancestral hall, so they could only burn the huge amount of paper money outside. Red-clad Ah Fu skillfully threw the paper money into the air, letting the paper money be carried by the mountain wind to the distant mountains.
After the monk had finished reciting the sutra a hundred times, he left with a large bag of copper coins. Yun Ye and his family took the improved hoes and shovels to the ancestral graves behind the ancestral hall. The graves were well-maintained, with not a single weed on them. Grandma praised Old Ah Fu, gave him a large jar of wine, and also gave him a pig’s head. Ah Fu was overjoyed, holding the wine jar and gnawing on the pig’s head.
Grandma and Yun Ye planted a shovel of soil on each grave, with tears in their eyes, but a smile on their faces, and mumbling something indistinctly in their mouths.
After the soil was covered, the aunts and uncles each cried on the graves of their closest relatives, holding the little girl who didn’t know what to do, and leading the big girl who was confused. Grandma pointed to Grandpa’s grave and said, “Ye’er, after I die, you must bury me with your grandfather. Make a big grave. You know that I’m used to living in a big house, and I’m not used to a small house. It’s crowded.”
“Grandma, why are you talking about this today? You are still in good health, and you can still accompany your grandchildren for decades. You don’t want to look after your grandchildren? Why do you want to accompany your grandfather now? Grandpa won’t be lonely with so many relatives around him. You can’t bear to see Ye alone here, can you?”
Yun Ye was in tears. The little girl couldn’t wipe away the tears no matter how hard she tried. Grandmother hugged Yun Ye in her arms and patted her gently, saying, “I can’t bear to let you go. I can’t bear to let you go!”