Chapter 62: The Grand Ancestral Worship Ceremony

  It was just before the hour of the Dragon on the thirteenth day of the fifth month, or a little after four o'clock in the morning, when the whole city of Yuke was already bustling with activity. Yuke Yu had also left his room early and changed his clothes under the supervision of Mrs. Yuke Zhang.

  ——Like Ruan Li, Yue Bingqian was also wearing a brand new moon-white brocade robe. The style was extremely similar to the ancient clothing of the country in Yue Yu's previous life, except that this era valued martial prowess. Even for a large clan like the Yue family, the sleeves were tightly tied and the feet wore leather boots suitable for battle.

  When he walked out of the door, two four-horse-drawn carriages were already parked outside. In addition, there were six martial artists waiting outside, all dressed in new clothes.

  Just as Yue Yu thought that this might be a bit too exaggerated, he saw a group of carriages approaching from the other side of the alley. Six luxurious horse-drawn carriages were followed by twelve first- or second-class warriors riding dragon-blood horses. The armored guards behind them numbered over a hundred. As they passed by, the curtain of one of the carriages was lifted, revealing several gazes that held a hint of disdain and surprise from within.

  Yuè Yǔ Dùn's face turned pale and he was speechless, thinking to himself that it had come to this. This ancestral worship ceremony, which took place once every three years, seemed not to be simply for the purpose of worshipping ancestors after all.

  No wonder, Mrs. Yue started preparing early a few days ago and even spent so much money to buy this horse-drawn carriage.

  That car is nothing, it's not worth much money. The problem is the draft animals, although the Dragon Horn Horse is the lowest grade riding war beast on the East Victory Continent, each one costs more than 50 taels, which is roughly the price of a sixth-grade heterodox soldier. And the high-quality feed needed to domesticate them every year is equivalent to what three robust men need for a whole year.

  Compared to the previous team, their family is already quite frugal. The six hired martial artists, not to mention a second-class war beast like the Dragon Blood Horse, don't even have a single mount. The guards only number thirty, and what they wear on their bodies are merely third-rate iron armor.

  Yue Bingqian hummed softly and turned her head, seemingly somewhat disdainful. However, in her eyes, there was a hint of uncontainable envy. Yue Zhangshi remained calm as usual, methodically loading the offerings onto the carriage. Only when everything was ready did they proceed towards the ancestral temple. As their procession exited the alley and entered the main street, even Yue Yu dared not lift the curtain to look at the outside scene.

  When the Yue family castle was first built, almost all of the important members' homes were placed in high locations due to safety concerns. Although it has been several hundred years since then and the mountain beasts have long since disappeared, this area north of the city still belongs to the clan's inner circle and ordinary clan members do not have the qualifications to live here.

  In the era of Yue Yu, to put it bluntly, this was what was known as a wealthy district. The people who lived here were either rich or influential. As one looked down the road, the rows of carriages that followed were even more luxurious than the last. Their family's two horse-drawn carriages stuck out like a sore thumb among them.

  Yue Yu didn't mind, it's just that he didn't want to see the strange gazes cast his way from the people beside him. It was one thing for him to not care in his heart, but he also didn't like being scrutinized by such gazes.

  The ancestral temple of the Yue family is located in the northeast part of the city, occupying almost one-eighth of the entire urban area. The bluestone plaza outside can accommodate more than 100,000 people. By the time Yue Yu and his party arrived, it was already packed with people.

  It wasn't until then that Yue Yu slightly changed his view of this ancestral worship ceremony.

  This grand ceremony was naturally utilized by the various branches of the Yue family to compare and show off with each other. However, it also served to demonstrate their power to the surrounding forces and intimidate them.

  The Yue family has a total of over 1,300 martial artists, but at this moment, there are more than 4,000 mid-to-low-level martial artists gathered in the ancestral hall. The vast majority of them are directly or indirectly under the control of small families and merchants affiliated with the Yue family.

  According to Yue Yu's knowledge, such an important sacrifice, as long as it is within the sphere of influence of the Yue family, must be in a state of high alert. The intensity of the precautions and the number of personnel will far exceed normal times. In addition, apart from this, Yue Yu estimated that there should still be some hidden martial artists among the clan members.

  This display of power is truly boundless and more than enough to offset the impact of the previous incident at the City Lord's Manor on the Yue Family.

  However, this ancestral hall, although occupying a vast area of land, only has the several halls built in the central part. Only the four houses of Yuejia - Cloud, Wind, Rain and Thunder, as well as some elite young men, are allowed to enter.

  But by the time she got here, Yue Bingqian's expression had gradually returned to calm. No matter how rich and powerful you are in Yuejia City, if you're not a direct descendant of the Yue family, you'll have to stay outside obediently!

  However, this mood only lasted for a moment. As soon as he entered the temple, Yue Yu let out a bitter laugh. He saw the offerings piled up in front of him, almost all of which were third-grade or even fourth-grade demon beasts. And when he looked at his own family's offering, it was just a single second-grade upper-tier Prickly-Toothed Tiger.

  Yue Yu now somewhat admired Yue Zhangshi's mental quality, calmly letting the servants place the already steamed and cooked spiky tiger and various fruit plates, wine, and tea offerings on their own dedicated offering table.

  Even if it were him, even without the intention of comparing, in this environment, he would still feel extremely uncomfortable. However, Yue Zhang was not affected in the slightest.

  After the offerings were placed, it was time for the order of worship, that is, the order in which they would offer incense to their ancestors. Naturally, the elderly and male members of the clan went first, followed by the women and children. This time, Yue Zhangshi clearly didn't plan on competing with anyone, directly leading three people to stand in a slightly left-leaning position in the middle of the hall. Although this was somewhat far from the front row, it also allowed them to avoid many unnecessary disputes and awkwardness. As for Yue Yu, he wasn't surprised by this; he had long heard from Ruan Li that since his father's death in battle, their clan's elders had generally done things this way.

  However, no matter how good Yuezhang's plan was, many things were not something she could avoid just by wanting to. Just as the few of them had barely stood up for a while, a temple servant-like person led a woman and two young men over, then forcibly inserted themselves in front of them. Seeing this, Yuezhang was helpless, and seeing that the sides were already packed with people, she could only pull Yue Yu and the others back another step.

  The matter had only made people feel a little uncomfortable. But at this time, the woman who had rushed to grab the seat turned her head around, with a look of surprise and delight as if she had met an old friend.

  "Oh dear! So it's Yaoyi sister! Do you still remember little me?"

  Yue Yu glanced sideways, and it was a woman in her thirties. A melon-seed face, which could be considered beautiful, with a hint of vulgarity. However, the dress was slightly tacky.

  This was not just a sour thought in Yue Yu's mind, but it was indeed the case. The woman on her body wore gold and silver, and just the hair ornaments alone weighed about two or three catties. However, looking at the exquisite craftsmanship of the carvings and inlays, Yue Yu estimated that the price of this set of small items alone would be enough for him to buy two Strong Bone Pills.

  It seems that she had finally realized the inappropriateness of her behavior, and the elaborately dressed woman hastily covered her mouth, her face full of extreme embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I was a bit rash just now!"

  Yue Yu blinked, this woman's words were nice, but at the moment she didn't intend to give in at all. Yue Zhangshi furrowed her brow and thought for a long time before tentatively asking the other person, "Are you Hui Ling? The one from Seventh Uncle's room?"

  "Haha! Yaoyi sister has a good memory, I thought you were too busy with important things and had forgotten!"

  The woman smiled and turned around. "Speaking of which, I should thank Elder Sister Yao Yi even more! It was all thanks to following you as a dowry to the husband's family that we had this good marriage."

  Yue Yu's confusion was finally cleared up. In his mind, he estimated that this fox-like woman should be a sister or something similar to the Yue Zhang family. On the Dongsheng continent, when the daughters of large and wealthy families got married, they would always have accompanying sisters and maidservants. If there were any among them who were not favored by the master of the house, or if he did not want to take them in as concubines, they would be given to servants or younger brothers born out of wedlock. He estimated that this 'Hui Ling' was probably also one such case.

  It's just that this woman, although her words were clearly expressing gratitude, there wasn't a hint of sincerity in her tone. On the contrary, there was a hint of arrogance.