In the ink-black night, the two carriages drove into an inconspicuous alley. The luxurious and spacious carriage made the alley seem even narrower and narrower. As the base of the Green Faction, Xiangfan City was clearly divided between wealth and nobility. Rich nobles like Wang Linquan, because they did not have a family background or scholarly achievements, even if they had a residence in the city, they did not live there for long. Noble nobles like the Lu Family, who had a pillar of the country as their family's mainstay, hid in the city with the other families. On the two sides of the alley, their residences were almost the same size as the residences of the imperial family. As for Wang Linquan's main gate on Mount Lao, no matter how imposing it was, it was only the residence of a rich family and could not be considered a residence. In this alley, which was called the Sheep Alley by the people of Qingzhou, there were many influential people. Other than the Lu Family, the oldest of the six assistant ministers of the imperial court, the Assistant Minister of Personnel, Wen Taiyi, and the Qingzhou General, Hong Lingshu, who held the military power of Qingzhou, lived next to each other. It was these three influential families of Qingzhou that supported the Green Faction, which could compete with the Zhang and Gu Factions in the imperial court. Unfortunately, success was due to three surnames, and failure was also due to three surnames. Following the dissension and discord of Lu Wenhong and the other two elders, the Green Faction ceased to exist and scattered to other forces. The other influential families also scattered when the tree fell, and each of them found another branch to rely on. It was difficult to unite the people's hearts again.
If someone could look closely, they would find that the threshold was in line with the status of the owner of the residence. It was much higher than that of an ordinary family. The rules here were insurmountable. People said that families of equal social status were like carps leaping over the dragon's gate. On the Sheep Alley, the Lu Family's residence was the most talked about in the marketplace. When the residence was built, the two main gates were directly carved from a tree, which was then made into a door and transported over. Such a huge tree was destined to be too big for two people to wrap their arms around. It was said that the threshold of the Lu Family's residence was so high that many children had to climb over it. Commoners usually had to take a detour around the sheep house lane. There was no way for them to get close to this alley, so they didn't have the ability to go to the Lu Family's front door to investigate.
A kind old man with snow-white eyebrows stood at the foot of the steps of the mansion's entrance. He was holding a bamboo lantern, and the candlelight was swaying slightly, illuminating the old man's kind face. Sixty years old was already considered old, but the old man was actually eighty years old. Beside him, the eldest legitimate grandson was also almost forty years old. The man had an elegant appearance and wore a gorgeous fourth-rank brocade official's robe. He was originally an upright official with a good reputation. However, as the end of the year approached, there were many affairs to attend to. These days, in addition to sitting in the yamen, he also had to visit his superiors and entertain his colleagues in the prefecture. There were also young scholars who came to ask for advice. These were all trivial matters that could not be neglected. Originally, he was supposed to stay up all night to deal with a large pile of thin documents and documents, but the mansion's servants informed the Old Ancestor at the last minute that he had to rush home. Lu Dongjiang, the governor of Taixi Prefecture, had no choice but to rush home without changing out of his official robe. The future head of the Lu Family looked at the end of the alley and turned his head to ask his grandfather in a low voice if he could help him carry the lantern. The old man, who used to be the backbone of the Green Party, shook his head. The old man did not tell his eldest legitimate grandson who was coming to visit in the middle of the night. Lu Dongjiang, who had been afraid of his grandfather since he was young, did not dare to say anything. This kind of reverence continued until Lu Dongjiang, who was known as Lu Jianque, was 30 years old. It was only in these two years that he went to Taixi Prefecture to become the governor of the prefecture. He could barely be considered an outsider official. Only then did his attitude improve slightly. He no longer trembled every time the old man asked him face to face, afraid that the old man would look down on him. No wonder the famous scholar of Qingzhou, Lu Dongjiang, was so unmanly. It was really because his grandfather was too successful and famous. Just the fact that he formed a cabinet with the current Grand Secretary's teacher in the previous dynasty was enough to make people respect him like a god.
The Lu Family already had six generations, but everyone, without exception, lived under the protection of the old man's achievements. Perhaps only Lu Dongjiang's daughter could talk and laugh freely in front of the old ancestor. The others did not have this kind of courage. After retiring and returning to his hometown, the old man, who still had the title of Pillar of the State, glanced at the mansion across the alley. It was the old man Wen Taiyi's mansion. Thinking about it carefully, one was in the imperial court while the other was in the wilderness. They had not seen each other for about four to five years. It was good that they did not meet each other. At least they could maintain a cordial relationship on the surface, unlike Hong Lingshu, who had to lower her head and raise her head constantly. Instead, they went further and further apart, implicating the descendants of the two families who had a good relationship with each other. Not long ago, they even had a big fight. It was to the extent that the matter reached the young vassal king's side. That young man also knew how to conduct himself. He did not hesitate to use his status as a vassal king to put on a posture of bearing a bramble and asking for punishment. You, the Lord of Qingzhou, who was watching the fire from the other side of the river, should be punished 50 times. What crime did you commit? To be able to stay in the capital at the age of seventy, often working day and night to seek peace for the emperor, he did not feel tired. At this moment, the old man truly felt a little tired. Turning his head to look at the door knocker on the Yi Door, Lu Feichi laughed at himself. He had worked cautiously and conscientiously all his life. So many times, he had made fearful choices in exchange for this green tin knocker, which was not inferior to that of a duke or marquis.
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