Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 61 Maintaining the Norm
When Yan Maoqing arrived at the Duke of Yi's mansion in a sedan chair, he finally found out the nature of the banquet.

It was just a family dinner.

That makes sense, since there were no electric lights in this era and lighting conditions were limited, banquets that entertained a large number of guests were usually held during the day.

Only true relatives and close friends would stay after the grand banquet to continue with private or family gatherings, reveling all night long.

However, the situation was somewhat awkward for someone like Yan Maoqing, who had not taken the initiative to attend the grand banquet but was later invited by the host to a family dinner.

After all, he was Guo Xunxin's newly recognized adopted son.

When he was hosting a grand banquet, he didn't come to present gifts to his godfather to show his filial piety. Instead, after everyone had left, Guo Xun personally sent someone to pick him up so he could eat and drink for free. No matter how you look at it, it seems like he was rebelling against the Heavenly Gang.

However, this cannot be blamed on Yan Maoqing's lack of manners; the main reason is that no one told him it was Guo Xun's birthday today...

Fortunately, Yan Maoqing was not afraid of embarrassment, and he did not genuinely acknowledge Guo Xun as his godfather, so it didn't matter what happened.

What he cares about most now is what Guo Xun gave him as a birthday gift, and what kind of surprise he plans to give him in return.

With these thoughts in mind, Yan Maoqing entered the Duke of Yi's mansion.

"Oh my, look who's here! It's your fourth brother, Shouchang!"

As soon as he entered the reception room, Guo Xun immediately stood up and took the initiative to greet him with unusual enthusiasm.

"Keeping the rules?"

Yan Maoqing was taken aback again upon hearing this.

His surname is Yan, his given name is Maoqing, and his courtesy name is Jingqing. He calls himself Niubishanren in the monthly magazine of Lumingge. Where did the two characters "Shouchang" come from?
Could it be that Guo Xun has suddenly developed Alzheimer's disease, to the point where he can even mistake people for others?

However, just as Yan Maoqing was wondering, the three middle-aged men sitting at the same table as Guo Xun also stood up and bowed to Yan Maoqing.
"Greetings, Fourth Brother!"

Even the old woman sitting next to Guo Xun, along with the women and children at the other tables, all stood up and bowed:

"Shouchang has arrived (Greetings to Uncle and Fourth Uncle)!"

You can tell just by looking at his title and position, Yan Maoqing.

The old woman sitting next to Guo Xun is likely Guo Xun's legal wife.

Those three middle-aged men must be Guo Xun's sons.

As for the women and children at the other tables, they were probably Guo Xun's concubines, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.

This is a true family dinner!

Putting aside other matters, in the Ming Dynasty, nobles of Guo Xun's rank would usually use individual servings when entertaining guests to show off their status and pomp. Only when the family was in private would they use the communal dining style where everyone sat around a table.

Most importantly, why do people still call him "Shouchang"?
It's impossible that everyone here suddenly developed dementia and mistook him for someone else, right?
"Uh……"

After being messed up by Guo Xun's family, he was unsure whether he should just go along with the mistake in this muddled way.

"Hahaha, what did I tell you? Shouchang definitely doesn't know who Shouchang is!"

Upon seeing this, Guo Xun burst into laughter, put his arm around Yan Maoqing's shoulder, and introduced the three middle-aged men one by one.
"Your eldest brother is called Shouqian, your second brother is called Shoukun, your third brother is called Shougang, so you must be called Shouchang?"

"I know you are a filial son, so I will not force you to change your name. However, from now on, I will be the one in charge of this household. Your name will be Shouchang!"

"..."

Yan Maoqing suddenly realized that this was where they were waiting for him.

He was given the name "Shou" by Guo Xun, which means "guardian" or "protector," and he is the fourth son in the family.

only……

Qian represents Heaven, Kun represents Earth, and Gang represents the Three Cardinal Guides. Chang refers to the Five Constant Virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and also means rules and principles.

Has Guo Xun decided that the name "Shouchang" suits him?
Furthermore, is Guo Xun not planning to make any further efforts to add a new member to the Guo family?
That's true. Guo Xun is already this age, and even if he wanted to, he probably wouldn't be able to. Bringing him in to make up the numbers to satisfy his not-so-obsessive-compulsive needs is still somewhat justifiable.

Yan Maoqing himself didn't seem to care about this.

In any case, as far as he knew, Guo Xun's eldest son was indeed named Guo Shouqian.

He only managed to inherit the title of Marquis of Wuding from the Guo family six years after Guo Xun's death, instead of Duke of Yi, and there are no further records of him since.

This is sufficient proof that after Guo Xun died in prison for his crimes, his descendants were indeed implicated to some extent.

However, since Guo Xun did not commit a crime punishable by the extermination of his entire clan, even if he was implicated, he would not be sentenced to death. It only affected the future of his descendants and their inheritance of the title, which was exactly what Yan Maoqing wanted.

But at this moment, he was certain that Guo Xun was definitely not senile.

So what kind of "birthday gift" did he present to Guo Xun that earned him such high regard, that he was treated like a son...?

Growing increasingly curious, Yan Maoqing decided to go with the flow, first returning the greetings to Duke Yi and the others, and accepting the rather inappropriate name:
"Shouchang pays his respects to his adoptive parents, his three elder brothers, and all his aunts and sisters-in-law..."

……

As they clinked glasses and Yan Maoqing became slightly tipsy, it was already past midnight.

Several children began to cry and fuss, and the sisters-in-law led them away one by one to apologize. Madam Guo also took her leave to rest.

But even now, Guo Xun has not mentioned the so-called birthday gift he received, nor has he mentioned any so-called surprise gift in return.

Yan Maoqing tried several times to ask questions, but was interrupted by his three older brothers, who were already quite drunk, urging him to drink more. He was starting to get anxious.

Only then did Guo Xun stand up:

"Alright, that concludes today's family dinner. You all should go and rest now... Shouchang, come with me."

"Yes, foster father."

Yan Maoqing quickly got up and followed, eventually making his way to Guo Xun's study.

At Guo Xun's signal, he turned and closed the door. When he turned back, his adoptive father held a yellow scroll with a dragon design in his hand.

"This time, it's all thanks to your painstaking planning. I won't say anything more, it would seem pretentious. You should see for yourself."

"This……"

After hearing Guo Xun's words, Yan Maoqing knew that all the answers should be in this scroll, but he felt inexplicably nervous.

He quietly opened the scroll and carefully examined every word on it.

This appears to be a secret edict issued by the Jiajing Emperor...

Is it really something he can see?

But since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it. After all, he didn't watch it on his own initiative; Guo Xun showed it to him...

So, it mentions the Tatars, and also...

"???"

In a short while, Yan Maoqing's eyes widened, quickly reaching the limit of being wide open.

His face was visibly distorted and contorted, with veins bulging on his temples and even throbbing rhythmically.

His hand, holding the secret edict, trembled uncontrollably, his knuckles turning white.
"Gao Gong! You son of a bitch... I'll curse your ancestors!!!"

(End of this chapter)