Protect Our Clan Leader

"Old Mo, oh Old Mo~" Qian Xuehan changed his address to him, seizing the chance to gently tease, "You better polish up those eyes. Our Master Shouzhe, so profound and towering, extraordinarily distinguished, is he really not up to your taste?"

Then, ignoring the surprise of the Mo family head, he respectfully invited the Old Ancestor Longyan to take the chief seat while also pulling Wang Shouzhe to sit in the guest seats.

After re-arranging, everyone took their seats around the large round table.

However, he adhered to Wang Shouzhe’s principle of not being too conspicuous, and merely reintroduced him as the family head of the Changning Wang Clan from Longzuo and the family’s Old Ancestor Longyan.

Between his words, he subtly hinted at certain aspects that set the Wang family apart from a regular 7th-rank aristocratic family.

Upon hearing that it is the Changning Wang Clan from Longzuo, Wang Shihai couldn’t help his eyebrows twitching. "May I ask, Master, I heard the Qian family’s master refer to you as... Master Shouzhe? Your name is Wang Shouzhe? Which ’Shou’? Which ’Zhe’?"

Wang Shouzhe well knew what he was thinking, yet at this moment there was nothing worth hiding. Before coming, he indeed hadn’t thought about bonding with the Wang family from the Southern Desert.

However, on this unexpected meeting, he didn’t feign modesty to intentionally hide it. Immediately, Wang Shouzhe smilingly said, "Shou’ as in ’keeping to one’s heart,’ and ’Zhe’ as in ’knowing people.’"

"Bang!"

Wang Shihai felt as if he had been hit by thunder, leaving him stunned and his face alternately turning green and white, seeming to be consumed by his thoughts.

His friends around him exclaimed, "The 39th lord... The man has the same name as your grandpa, just the ’Zhe’ symbol is different!"

"Shut up!" Wang Shihai’s face flushed crimson. He glared back and said, "No one would take you as a mute if you keep your mouth shut!" Then he looked at Wang Shouzhe with some hostility. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Oh, I wish it were a coincidence too." Wang Shouzhe smiled, "But we can’t help it. We can’t mess with the name sequence that our ancestors have passed down, can we?

Our Changning Wang Clan of Longzuo is a branch of the Longzuo Wang Clan, and the Longzuo Wang Clan is a branch of the Great Qian Wang Clan...According to your ’Shi’ (Room) generation sequence, following the tradition, based on my rank in my own clan, you will need to address me as, ’Great-grandfather’."

"Great-grandfather? I... Uh..." Wang Shihai’s face turned beet red, and he was angry and annoyed at the same time. When he was about to swear, he seemed to remember something and quickly swallowed his foul language.

Each prominent family has its own rules, and the older the family, the stricter the rules tend to be. Families with millennia of origin have various branches, and the generation ranking is based on the name sequence.

The relationship between the Changning Wang and the Southern Desert Wang, is called same-clan-different-lineage. They are not the same family, but they are from the same clan. And everyone can trace their lineage back to the Great Qian Wang Clan, and these relationships are called Clan Relatives.

Every individual in the lineage of an aristocratic family has a distinct origin and order that cannot be meddled with.

Like the Changning Wang and the Southern Desert Wang, if they normally do not interact, that’s one thing. But if they meet and talk about the name sequence, they should rank their seniority according to it. Your journey continues on NovelBin.Côm

As long as the other party is not impersonating a family, even if they are destitute, you have to meticulously address them according to their generation.

Even if Wang Shihai is normally capricious, he wouldn’t dare to break the rules in this matter, or else he would probably be punished by his family.

"Hehe, my young friend Shihai, I can vouch for Master Shouzhe’s identity." Qian Xuehan, as if he expected it, said with a smile, "The Longzuo Wang Clan and Changning Wang Clan, are not unknown clans in my Longzuo County. Who would dare to impersonate in such important matters?"

"I’ll send someone back to ask if there is a Longzuo Wang Clan." Even though Wang Shihai already believed it 90%, he still sent a household servant outside to run back to the main residence and ask about the situation.

The atmosphere that followed was a bit heavy, Wang Shouzhe and Qian Xuehan were enjoying their meal though.

Less than an hour later.

A solemn-looking man with a formidable presence came in with a group of people. As soon as he entered, he bowed and said loudly, "We were negligent in not receiving our Longzuo clan relatives who came to our Southern Desert, we are sorry for any perceived disrespect."

"Father …" Wang Shihai’s face turned awkward in an instant.

Usually, when an aristocratic family visits another’s territory for business, they also make a visit and are hosted with the appropriate courtesy in return.

It doesn’t matter if they didn’t know, but if they knew the guest arrived and didn’t extend their hospitality, the Southern Desert Wang would inevitably bear the reputation of disdaining the poor and loving the rich, being without ancestors — a humiliating name that would be ridiculed if spread.

Wang Shouzhe also stood up ceremoniously, returning the gesture, and jovially laughed, "Master Zonghao, don’t blame yourself. I originally didn’t want to trouble fellow clan members on this trip, which is why I hid my identity. We can’t blame Master Zonghao."

Wang Shihai quickly stood up, his face flushing red as he bowed, "Great-Grandfather, I apologize for my previous disrespect."

...