Misty Rain of the Old Times

Wu Hongliang's house in the east of the city covers dozens of acres, several times larger than his previous private estate. Under the moonlight, it is brightly lit, and the lamp oil and candles used for just one night are enough to support a poor family for a hundred years.

Large families naturally cannot all live together, but that does not mean they will separate.

In this era, the so-called family division meant that a branch of the family would set up roots elsewhere and spread out, with each branch being a family.

Take the Wu family as an example. The direct line is one family. Although they don't usually live together, the whole family will worship their ancestors together on major festivals. The scene is spectacular and beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Chen Xuan led Wu Hongliang deep into the inner courtyard of his house and appeared at the entrance of the ancestral hall.

This is his family's small ancestral hall, not the main ancestral hall, but it still houses the Wu family's genealogy and pedigree.

"Young Master, what brings you here so late?" When Chen Xuan and his companion appeared, the old man guarding the ancestral hall heard the commotion and immediately came out to inquire. He looked at Chen Xuan with some confusion, not understanding what was going on.

At this moment, in Chen Xuan's senses, there must be four or five hundred people in Wu Hongliang's manor, but he did not sense the aura of any innate masters. He thought about it and felt relieved. This was just Wu Hongliang's small family. Where would so many masters come from? No matter how deep the foundation of a family is, it is not enough for a direct descendant's small family to share one.

I reckon it would only be for a major interest like the Xiaoyao Pill that a few would be urgently mobilized from the head of the family.

It's not surprising that Wu Hongliang is called the eldest young master. He has parents above him, so he's the young master at home and the master outside. As for younger generations like Wu Jinxun, they can only be called the young master.

Chen Xuan's movements were swift and decisive. The place was still relatively peaceful. The events that had occurred in the underground chamber and above had not yet reached this place. In fact, the entire Wu family probably hadn't even realized how serious the matter was. Those who could afford to be carefree could continue to be carefree and enjoy themselves.

Under Chen Xuan's control, Wu Hongliang's expression was numb and his eyes were empty. He stepped into the ancestral hall and mechanically said, "I've come to get something."

For any prominent family, the ancestral hall is one of the most important places. People must bathe and change clothes before entering or leaving to show respect for their ancestors. This applies to direct descendants only. If someone is born out of wedlock, they will be punished according to family rules if they trespass.

Upon seeing this, the old man guarding the ancestral hall clearly sensed that something was wrong with Wu Hongliang. He brought a stranger to the ancestral hall late at night. Judging from Chen Xuan's age, could it be that the young master was causing trouble outside and was planning to add his name to the ancestral hall without permission?

This was no small matter. Anyone who could guard the ancestral hall was no ordinary person; they were at least a senior relative who had some free time. He immediately stepped in front of Wu Hongliang, frowning, and said, "Young Master, it's so late, I'm afraid it's inappropriate. Whatever it is, we should consult the Master..."

Pfft~!

Before he could finish speaking, the long knife that Chen Xuan had taken from Wu Hongliang slashed across his neck, and his head fell to the ground amidst a spray of blood.

Why make such a fuss? Since he's a member of the Wu family, he won't show any mercy.

Having lived in the Gao family for so many years, he knew a thing or two about the situation of wealthy families. He killed everyone around the ancestral hall without harming any innocent people.

Wu Hongliang was filled with shock and anger, but at this moment he was powerless to control himself. His mind was clear, but his words and actions were beyond his control. He could only obediently do whatever Chen Xuan told him to do.

The two stepped into the ancestral hall, where there were densely packed memorial tablets, each with an ever-burning lamp in front of it. Chen Xuan smelled a familiar scent of the lamp oil and smiled inexplicably. People really do laugh involuntarily under extreme circumstances. He hadn't believed it before, but now he did.

"This is my Wu family genealogy, recording all members of the direct line from our great-grandfather to the present. Those who are marked with red ink have all passed away. This is just a branch of the genealogy in our ancestral hall. The most complete genealogy of collateral and minor branches is in the ancestral hall," Wu Hongliang respectfully picked up a genealogy from the offering table and handed it to Chen Xuan.

At this moment, he was utterly terrified. He understood what this person wanted to do: using the family genealogy to target specific individuals was an attempt to wipe them out completely. How dare he? Who gave him the audacity? Didn't he understand that he was facing a powerful and influential family?

He wanted to stop, but he couldn't control himself at all.

With a wave of his hand, the Wu family genealogy flew over and floated in front of Chen Xuan. As he flipped through it, he sighed with emotion. As expected of a prestigious family, the genealogy was three feet long, two feet wide, and one foot thick. How many names must it have recorded?
This is just the list of direct lineage, not counting collateral and distant branches. If we add those, there would be so many that we couldn't possibly remember them all, especially the family history and the biographical information of outstanding people throughout the generations. It would probably fill an entire room!
The family genealogy book fluttered in front of him, flipping rapidly as Chen Xuan quickly jotted down the information, while saying, "Do you have a map? Bring it here."

“It’s right here, that wall is it,” Wu Hongliang pointed to one side, his eyes bloodshot, his heart bleeding, wishing he could die on the spot, but unable to change his words and actions.

Taking the family genealogy list and having to mark the residences of direct relatives is a disaster! A huge disaster!

Chen Xuan glanced at the wall, which was over a hundred square meters in size, and sneered inwardly. These aristocratic families really didn't take the imperial court seriously, openly hanging a map of the whole country on the wall, as well as a map of the capital. The level of detail was even more detailed than the military secrets map.

"Do I need to tell you anything? Go mark the distribution of your family's main members on a map. I need to plan a route to your ancestral hall later," Chen Xuan urged with a sneer.

Wu Hongliang had no choice but to comply. There were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in the ancestral hall, so he set up a staircase and got busy.

In just a short while, Chen Xuan had finished reading the Wu family genealogy. The direct descendants spanned dozens of generations, numbering as many as six or seven thousand, but most of them had already passed away, leaving only one or two thousand still alive.

These two thousand-plus people were all direct members of the Wu family. The oldest living members were only six or seven elders, who made the decisions on major family matters. Less important matters were decided by the family head. Among them were many high-ranking officials. For example, the Wu family head was only briefly mentioned in the family genealogy. He was eighty years old, but he held the title of Grand Commandant, a first-rank official who was already semi-retired. He was one of the Three Dukes, a figure who was qualified to lie down in the imperial palace.

The Three Dukes and Three Masters in the imperial court were the true pinnacle of officialdom, and they were controlled by powerful families throughout history. Even the prime minister often had to be mindful of their attitudes, and only the prime minister had the right to disrespect them.

The Wu family held one of the three dukes and three masters positions, which shows how powerful and influential this aristocratic family was.

The titles of the Three Dukes and Three Masters were already symbolic. Perhaps they didn't have real power most of the time, but who in the court would dare to disobey them with a single word? They essentially held veto power. Unless it was a tyrannical or incompetent ruler, even the emperor would have to negotiate with them.

It's no exaggeration to say that if an official reaches this position and uses shrewd methods, it's possible to truly control the government, and the emperor will become nothing more than a figurehead issuing orders.

According to the family genealogy, the Wu family only had five or six hundred people in Wu Jinxun's generation, which is quite a lot. After all, he was the legitimate son, and the illegitimate sons were not qualified to be included in the family genealogy unless they were too outstanding or even started their own lineage.

The number of people in Wu Jinxun's next generation is even greater, almost a thousand, and most of them are probably teenagers or even children.

The descendants of a large family tend to branch out and multiply more rapidly as time goes on.

However, this only applies to the direct line of the family head. Starting from the family head, the sixth generation down, unless they are not direct descendants, must be separated. This is how the direct line is kept within a certain size; otherwise, it will become increasingly bloated and the aristocratic families will not be able to support it.

Just like Wu Hongliang, he is a direct descendant and is qualified to inherit the position of family head in the future. After all, he is the eldest son of Wu Jinxun's grandfather. If he becomes the head of the Wu family in the future, then Wu Jinxun and his generation will still be considered direct descendants and can keep their names on the family tree. Otherwise, they can only separate from the family and start their own lineage.

In short, I'm not someone who specializes in these things, and just thinking about it gives me a headache...

While Wu Hongliang was busy marking things up and down a sliding ladder, Chen Xuan tossed aside the Wu family genealogy he had read and memorized, and turned to look towards the gate.

He hadn't been here long, but he killed someone as soon as he arrived. How could that not alarm Wu Hongliang's family?
A group of guards escorted an elderly man with gray hair as he arrived, while others peered around him.

The old man, leaning on a bull-head cane, was quite sturdy and resembled Wu Hongliang and his son. He strode over and angrily shouted, "You brat, what are you doing? You dare bring outsiders to the ancestral hall, a place of great importance! Do you have any respect for family rules? If you don't give me a reason today, I'll beat you to death!"

However, Wu Hongliang, busy with his work, paid no attention. If he could, he would have knelt down on the spot and shouted for them to hurry up and leave.

'Others usually get into trouble by beating the younger ones, but in my case, I specifically target the older ones.'

With this in mind, Chen Xuan reached out and pulled up a grand chair, then sat down imposingly in the Wu family ancestral hall, saying to everyone, "You've come at the perfect time, saving me the trouble of looking for you later."

This is the Wu family ancestral hall. Chen Xuan's actions are not just usurping the host's place, but clearly trampling the entire Wu family underfoot!
Upon seeing this, Wu Hongliang's father's hair stood on end, and he said in a cold voice, "You brat, how dare you! Who are you to dare to be so insolent in my Wu family?"

Buzz~!

The dog-slaughtering knife Chen Xuan brought hummed, its tip pointing downwards as it floated beside him. Its senses radiated outwards, covering the entire mansion, watching for any movement. He said indifferently, "Old dog, don't spit on me. Today I'm here at your Wu family for only one thing: to slaughter everyone from here all the way to your ancestral hall. No one can stop me."

"Now I'm telling you, do as I say. Believe me, from this moment on, without my permission, not a single chicken or dog in this entire manor will leave alive!"

"Who do you think you are? No one dares to be so presumptuous in my Wu family," Wu Hongliang's father said with a sneer, slamming his cane on the ground.

Swish~!

The 'Dog-Slaughtering Knife' floating beside Chen Xuan shot out like lightning, so fast that no one could react in time. But after a breath, it flew back to him, only now the blade was bleeding.

As blood dripped from the blade, Chen Xuan calmly said, "Just a moment ago, thirteen people were preparing to leave the mansion, I don't know if they were going to report to the authorities or to inform your master, but they're all dead now. Oh, and a few more."

As he spoke, the long sword beside Chen Xuan flew out again, signifying that someone else had died on the spot.

As the long sword flew out, Chen Xuan continued, "Old dog, you better react quickly, or I'll kill them all!"

Although he hadn't witnessed Chen Xuan's actions firsthand, Wu Hongliang's father had seen the blood-stained longsword and exclaimed in shock and anger, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Why didn't you do this earlier? It's very simple. Just give the order to gather everyone in the entire mansion outside. Is that clear enough?" Chen Xuan said in a cold tone.

...(End of chapter)