Chapter 1: Passing the Provincial Examination, Ancestral Worship

East Suspended Divine Province, Great Qian, Phoenix Creek County

The dim moon resembled a hook.

The night was dark and the wind strong.

In the Zhang family ancestral hall, however, the lights blazed brightly.

A fair-skinned, delicate-looking youth took the lead, walking out first from the moon gate at the side; he wore a treasure-blue lined gauze robe, his demeanor composed.

Zhang Jian gazed at the solemn, reverent ancestral hall in the night, a hint of strangeness in his eyes.

This was not his first time setting foot in the clan's most sacred place.

In an instant he waved his hand.

Chests of treasure notes were carried in one by one by blue-clad attendants.

Not far away, the family's temple priest set up another brazier in the ancestral hall.

This temple priest dressed entirely in black, in Daoist attire, looked stern and unsmiling.

"Young Master Jian, everything you need has been prepared!"

He paused slightly, then the black-clad Daoist furrowed his brows and said: "Actually, Young Master Jian, you need not be so diligent; as long as your intention is sincere, that is enough!"

Zhang Jian waved his hand: "Uncle Yi, our ancestors cleared thorns and braved hardship; only then do we Zhang have our present foundation. Serving the ancestors ought to be diligent!"

Hearing that, the black-clad Daoist glanced up and down at Zhang Jian, then fell silent, though there was something odd in his eyes.

But he merely thought Zhang Jian had an eccentric temperament.

Zhang Jian wore a proud smile and strode straight across the solemn ancestral shrine.

This time, however, it was proper and justified, for he had finally passed the provincial examination with success and even earned the title of Five Classics Champion.

The Five Classics Champion is not the top scorer of the provincial examination.

Actually, the third to fifth place in the provincial examination are called Five Classics Champion; it's merely a title, not much different from other successful candidates.

But those who pass become eligible for office, which is already an honor to the family.

Worshiping the ancestors and thanking the forefathers for their protection is also appropriate.

Although the Zhang family had already performed the ancestral rites for this……

Zhang Jian looked at the solemn ancestral hall before him, yet in his eyes it had become a gigantic treasure basin, light shining within, but he remained solemn and composed, betraying nothing.

Zhang Jian is a transmigrator, or one could say his past-life wisdom has awakened.

Now he is the eldest son of Zhang Yi, the clan chief of Zhang Family Hollow, talented from a young age, moreover a famed prodigy of Great Qian, passing the provincial examination at fourteen or fifteen, and highly regarded by the clan.

The Zhang family is also a prominent and well-known great household in the territory of Phoenix Creek County.

Since Sixth Uncle attained the rank of Presented Scholar, the Zhang family has gradually shifted from being merely a country gentry great household to a literary lineage.

As for his zeal in serving the ancestors, it is entirely because Zhang Jian discovered he could extract benefits from them.

At that moment, elsewhere in the corridor, a beautiful, fair-skinned woman with an alluring visage in flowing robes watched the scene coldly, a flying phoenix gold hairpin adorning her head; upon noticing the commotion at the ancestral hall's gate, she said discontentedly:

"He sure knows how to please the lord and the elders of the clan!"

Besides them stood two figures, one tall and one short; one was a youth in blue garments, who hesitated slightly but could not help but speak.

"Young lady, mother said this is filial piety! Our dynasty has always governed with filial virtue; an elder brother who is diligent in the ancestral shrine's incense, who respects his elders, would be praised wherever it spreads…"

Seeing the blue-clad youth's words grow ever more righteous, the pink-clad maid could not help but purse her lips and say: "Young Master Min, you crawled out from the young lady's womb—how can you keep helping outsiders!"

Hearing that, the blue-clad youth flushed with anger, his expression displeased; the robed woman, seeing this, scolded: "Green, this is also something you ought to say—if others heard it, would you still want your life?!"

Hearing that, Green's pretty face turned pale, and she hastily lowered her head.

Zhang Min wanted to speak but held back, merely looking at Madame Zhou's displeased expression, then instantly became unhappy; he disliked such scheming, finding it utterly sordid.

He simply gave Madame Zhou a slight apology, then turned and left.

Madame Zhou's expression was not good, a hint of gloom in her eyes.

Although the Zhang family is not a hereditary aristocratic line, ever since its rise it has strictly raised its offspring according to the standards of aristocratic houses; although Zhang Min was born to her, after birth he has always been raised by the eldest lady on her knee.

In this situation, even if she is unwilling to be lonely, she cannot exert any influence.

For now, only Green could support her as they returned to the left-side Spring Pavilion.

Inside the ancestral hall

Zhang Jian glanced straight ahead.

At the top stood rows of blue-lacquered spirit tablets.

"Lord Zhang, spirit tablet of Friendship Benevolence!"

"Lord Zhang, spirit tablet of Longevity!"

"Lord Zhang, spirit tablet of Spiritual Wisdom!"

……

Moreover, lifelike portraits of the forebears hung on the walls, appearing solemn and reverent.

Yet in the center of the ancestral hall stood a peculiar golden statue.

It was a golden statue of a woman.

It looked imposing and sacred.

Before this golden statue was held a stone mirror engraved with countless bird and beast patterns, looking exceedingly archaic, its whole body a gray hue.

This is the Zhang family's heirloom; Zhang Jian felt it somewhat strange, having once wanted to touch it, but Zhang Yi stopped him, saying it is the family's heirloom, solemn and sacred, and must not be defiled.

As for this golden statue, it is said not to be a Zhang ancestor but a benefactor of the Zhang family; having shown kindness to them, they erected the golden statue and invited it into the ancestral hall, and the Zhang descendants have offered incense to it generation after generation without cease.

At this moment, Zhang Jian's eyes were especially solemn, with a hint of hope; he had long discovered that, under certain conditions, offering sacrifices to this 'ancestor' seemed to have a chance of yielding a response.

He had previously received seven or eight responses, but the most precious were three: a spoonful of golden fate, a fate gold ingot, and a fate gold pearl.

This fate is marvelously extraordinary, yet in a short span it let him pass both the prefectural and provincial examinations in succession, and once it even saved the life of an important person.

Having gained these benefits, Zhang Jian, once an ordinary, unremarkable youth, became famed far and wide as the 'Great Filial Son'!

Even to establish this persona, he painstakingly cultivated the 'filial son' persona.

Loads of cinnabar treasure notes were taken from the servants' baskets, then divided into several piles and set alight with the help of the temple priest's ritual.

Threads of brilliance burst forth from the brazier before him.

In Zhang Jian's sight, countless cinnabar treasure notes in the brazier before him turned to ashes, among which was also a cinnabar treasure pagoda he had bought from a nearby paper-craft shop.

This is a soul-calming pagoda, said to be a new product of the paper-craft shop.

He also invited a virtuous old Daoist priest to perform the consecration.

It can soothe wandering souls and relieve the afflictions of ancestors.

It was very popular.

Zhang Jian gazed intently at those treasure notes and the soul-calming pagoda turning to ashes; he felt nothing unusual, immediately relaxed, and then looked expectant.

The seeds have been sown; next comes the time to reap.

And this time he succeeded in the provincial examination, ranking foremost among the Five Classics; there should be a surprise.

As he knows, each time his identity changes dramatically, the offerings received from ancestor worship become better.

After everything was done, Zhang Yi stepped forward and said.

"Little Jian, it's late; let us take care of cleaning here!"

"Uncle Yi, I'll leave it to you!"

Zhang Jian gave a slight nod; he could not wait to go back, believing that after he fell asleep, some feedback would arrive.

Zhang Jian hurried away.

At midnight, outside Zhang Family Hollow, firelight appeared intermittently in the distant darkness amid the mountain wind, a troop raised dust and hoofbeats thundered; in the hastening night they soon approached the outskirts of the walled settlement, and after the patrolling militiamen on the battlements confirmed the troop's identity, they hurriedly gave urgent passage.