My spirit appeared on the road to exile, and I was treated as an ancestor.

Chapter 135: Win people’s hearts
The woman hurriedly stuffed the comb into her bosom. Overwhelmed with excitement, her hands trembled as she took it. When she saw what was inside the bag, her legs went weak, and she knelt down on the ground, kowtowing heavily in the direction where the offering had been made.

"This humble woman kowtows in gratitude to the gods!"

This collision was deeply moving.

When she looked up again, her face was covered in tears.

Lu Xingyao was stunned for a moment, then gestured to the clansmen next to him to quickly help the person up.

When the people behind saw that they could actually receive food, their eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and their minds began to race forward, afraid that they would miss out if they were late.

"Me! Me! Me! I made offerings too! It was that longevity lock that the gods took away!"

"I also made an offering, those two copper coins!"

"I have one too."

The Lu family members calmed the crowd, asking them to line up in order and take back the offerings they had made earlier, along with a meal.

Those who received the food were overjoyed and thanked the Lu family profusely.

"I didn't expect the Lu family to be so generous. They didn't accept our things, but instead gave us food!"

"Perhaps they gave it to us because they saw our sincerity?" someone speculated.

Some people vaguely felt that the Lu family seemed to be trying to win people's hearts, but they had nothing. The Lu family was blessed by the gods, so why would they try to win over someone like them who had nothing?
The crowd was filled with excitement, as if it were Chinese New Year.

Those who hadn't offered sacrifices were filled with regret as they watched others receive food. Some, dissatisfied, tried to sneak some food back, but were caught red-handed and beaten by the officials.

The officials were also very attentive. They had no offerings, but if they could please the Lu family, they might be able to get some as well.

Seeing that the man was beaten half to death, no one dared to claim the prize anymore, and everyone behaved themselves.

Soon, everything on the ground was taken back, leaving only the large pancake.

The man who offered the cake was a big guy, taller than the others. He waited until the very end before hesitatingly stepped forward to take back his cake. Under the mocking gazes of the crowd, he began to have second thoughts.
"Why is it a pancake?"

"Are these all from yesterday?"

"If it were me, I would definitely feel embarrassed to offer alms to the gods. Wouldn't that be an insult to them?"

Upon hearing these veiled words, the man froze, feeling even more ashamed, realizing he truly shouldn't have put the pancake on there.

At this point, some bystanders couldn't stand these words and spoke up in their defense, saying, "Look at what you're saying! You didn't make any offerings yourselves, yet you're talking about how others made offerings. What's wrong with the cakes? Didn't you eat any?"

"that is!"

"The gods have everything they need, but they don't care about things; they care about the intention!"

"Are you saying that the flatbread that everyone has is also a token of goodwill?"

"What's wrong with pancakes? We've been eating pancakes all month long. If you're so capable, then don't eat them!"

The man steeled himself, stepped forward, retrieved his pancake, and haphazardly stuffed it into his pocket.

Just as he turned to leave, Lu Xingyao blocked his way, saying, "You haven't received your food yet."

The burly man gave an awkward laugh, "It's just a pancake, so I won't take it."

Lu Xingyao glanced at the people who were speaking coldly and recognized them as those who had been at odds with the Lu family ever since they were exiled from the city. They had made sarcastic remarks several times and had not offered any tributes, so naturally they had no food to receive.

He roughly understood that his grandfather wanted to use the exiled troops for the Lu family's benefit, but these few people were impossible to subdue. Keeping them around would only hinder the Lu family's efforts to win over the people. If another opportunity arose, they should be eliminated.

Lu Xingyao carried two portions of food and handed them to the person in front of him. "My gods said that flatbread is just something to fill your stomach. As long as it comes from the heart, it makes no difference."

Hearing this, the man's eyes inexplicably reddened. He forced back his tears and accepted one of the food items, saying, "Thank you!"

Lu Xingyao handed over the other copy as well.

The big man was stunned for a moment, "?"

Lu Xingyao explained, “My gods said that you offered food to fill your stomach even though you were hungry, which shows that you are extremely kind and sincere. This other portion is what they specially instructed me to leave for you. Please accept it.”

No one knew that when Lu Xingyao uttered the words "my family's deity," he himself was deeply moved.

The burly man, who had been holding back tears, quietly let them fall. With trembling hands, he took another bag of food. "I'm just a rough man, and I don't know what to say. Young Master Lu, if there's anything I can do to help in the future, I certainly won't refuse!"

Lu Xingyao was silent for a moment, then asked, "May I ask how I should address you, brother?"

"My surname is Liang, and my given name is Yang!"

Liang Yang carried the food back, facing so many stares. He wanted to hide the food, not wanting to attract attention, but there was nowhere to hide it.

The two bags of food were gleaming, attracting a crowd of envious and jealous people. Everyone else was making offerings, so why did Liang Yang only get a flatbread? The gods didn't want it, yet he still got two portions of food!
If they had known the gods liked flatbread, they would have given them flatbread too!
Meanwhile, a clever man approached Liang Yang and exchanged many pleasantries, saying, "Congratulations, Brother Liang! Now that you've caught the eye of the gods, the best days are yet to come!"

"Yes, Brother Liang, if you can do things for the Lu family in the future, don't forget to help us out."

With nowhere to put the two bags of food in his hands, Liang Yang gave an awkward laugh and said, "Definitely, definitely."

Besides the prisoners who offered sacrifices, the officials who did not also received some food.

Except for a few who were at odds with the Lu family, the entire exile procession was in a harmonious atmosphere, which made those few people almost grind their teeth to dust.

"The Lu family is truly outrageous! While we are still in exile, they are openly bribing officials to win people's hearts!"

"It's a shame that someone surnamed Lu used to be a Grand Secretary. His behavior is truly despicable."

"You are all descendants of upright officials; we must never associate with such people!"

The group of people on this side gave a passionate speech, while the people eating the food given by Lu Jiaci sneered, "It's as if the Lu family wants to associate with a bunch of poor and downtrodden people like you."

The men's faces turned green instantly. "You—!"

"Listen up, everyone! What we received from the Lu family was a bribe, while what they got was a helping hand from someone else in their time of need!"

"Don't say that, or you'll offend these old-fashioned and conservative people. They'll hold you accountable."

The sarcastic remarks came one after another. The Lu family was surprised to find that when they were first exiled, no one cared about the rumors about the Lu family and just watched from the sidelines. But now, they were all speaking up for the Lu family.

I must say, watching from the sidelines is actually quite a pleasant experience.

For those who benefited from the Lu family, they had no chance to curry favor with the Lu family when it was at its peak. Now that the Lu family has fallen on hard times, they still have the ability. They are all exiled criminals, and no one looks down on anyone else. Now that they have the opportunity, they naturally want to hold on tightly to the Lu family as their powerful backer!

I have no backbone as a scholar.

At this moment, Lu Qing was instructing someone to open the jar of aged wine, on the grounds that it was inconvenient to carry it while traveling.

Lu Xingyao was extremely reluctant to part with it, lying on the ground clutching the wine jar tightly, refusing to let go. "Grandfather, this was something your grandson painstakingly selected for our ancestors."

Waaaaaah, how can I open this and drink it?!