Chapter 231 - 228: 3-Day Grave Rounding

Chapter 231: Chapter 228: 3-Day Grave Rounding

The members of the Li family’s first and third branches saw how impervious they were to persuasion. They all just shook their heads without another word, then stood up and left one by one. What they thought was for the best, others clearly didn’t agree, so why should they stick around and be resented? Everyone has to pay the price for their actions. That’s the plain and simple reality of it.

Seeing how dejected everyone was, Li Hua said with some irritation, "Mom, are we just going to let it go like this?"

Ge Er Ya glanced at him and said listlessly, "If we don’t let it go, what do you suggest? You’re not as smart as him, not as capable. If you don’t want to let it go, what can you possibly do?"

Glarring at his mother, Li Hua flew into a humiliated rage. "Yes, I’m not as smart as him, not as capable! But that ’smartest’ son of yours is the one who refuses to acknowledge you as his mother!"

Ge Er Ya glanced at Li Hua, but she didn’t get angry. Perhaps she didn’t even have the energy to be angry. She just said softly, "No matter how much he refuses to acknowledge me, when I die, he’ll still have to see to my funeral. All of you, go home. Don’t hang around here. It won’t do any good. Once Li Xiu makes a decision, no one can change his mind. You all know that. Now go!"

"Doesn’t everyone say Eldest Brother dotes on Sister-in-law the most? If she says something, he’ll definitely listen!" Li Hua’s wife said to her mother-in-law, glancing at her husband.

Ge Er Ya looked at her daughter-in-law as if she were an idiot. "Are you stupid?" she snapped. "Why on earth would your sister-in-law speak up for you? Don’t you have a brain? Now get out, all of you. I’m tired!"

Li Hua shot up and violently kicked away the chair he’d been sitting on before storming out, dragging his wife with him. Li Man also took his wife and left. Looking at her three unmarried children, Ge Er Ya said wearily, "You all go rest, too. We can talk later. As for your eldest brother, don’t even think about it. The only reason he hasn’t dealt with you all is out of respect for your late father. If you don’t understand why, go home and think about it."

After shooing everyone away, Ge Er Ya collapsed onto her bed. She felt calm, unprecedentedly so. She’d endured every kind of hardship and suffering in her life. ’But I just can’t understand,’ she thought, ’how did things with my own son get to the point where we won’t even see each other again in this lifetime?’

After settling Grandma Li in for the night, Li Xiu tiptoed back to their room. He saw Zhou Lian sleeping soundly on the bed, and an indulgent smile unconsciously spread across his face. All the suppressed darkness and rage from the evening vanished in that instant.

Gently pulling Zhou Lian into his embrace, Li Xiu heaved a long sigh. "Jin Chen, you’re back," Zhou Lian murmured drowsily. Patting her back softly, Li Xiu said in a gentle voice, "Mhm, go back to sleep. I’m here."

Li Xiu smiled silently as Zhou Lian snuggled into a comfortable position in his arms and fell back asleep. ’These past few days have been exhausting for her,’ he thought, ’but she still sleeps most soundly in my arms.’ At that thought, Li Xiu pushed everything else from his mind, held Zhou Lian quietly, and closed his eyes. ’I’m exhausted too. I don’t want to think anymore. So tired... My wife is the only one who truly cares for me.’

The young couple slept soundly in each other’s arms, a rare night of good rest. The sun was already up when they finally opened their eyes. Looking at the woman in his embrace, Li Xiu planted a loving kiss on her. He watched her thick, curled lashes tremble and flutter open, revealing a pair of large, bright, crystal-clear eyes. Seeing that her eyes were filled with nothing but him, Li Xiu beamed. He loved seeing himself as the sole focus of her gaze.

They finally, and lazily, got out of bed. By the time they emerged from their room, half the morning was already gone. Fortunately, both Grandma Li and Sister Fang knew how exhausted the two of them were. They had been keeping their voices down, afraid of waking them, and were coaxing Yanyan, who kept asking for his mommy and daddy, to play in the courtyard.

After they had washed up and eaten, they sat down before Grandma Li. She looked at the handsome man and beautiful woman—a perfect pair—and smiled in satisfaction. "We have to go round the grave this afternoon. After that, there’s not much else to do. When are you two heading back to the Capital City?"

"We have to head back tomorrow," Li Xiu said softly to Grandma Li. "My parents-in-law are in the Capital City with Nuonuo, and I’m a little worried. Also, Bao’er has to get back to her teaching job. Being away for too long wouldn’t be good."

"Mhm, then you should head back. Your work is important, and there’s nothing to worry about here at home. Just take care of yourselves in the Capital City!" Grandma Li said softly, taking Zhou Lian’s hand. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her eldest grandson to stay a few more days, but they were busy. Besides, with the second branch of the family lurking about, their presence was just grating.

Li Xiu looked at his grandmother and said gently, "Don’t worry, Grandma. We’re doing fine. We’ll come back to see you as soon as we have time."

Because the grave-rounding rite was on the third day, they needed to leave early. Li Xiu and Sister Fang were already busy in the kitchen. Yanyan was behaving himself, quietly looking at a book of fables nearby. Grandma Li took Zhou Lian’s hand and said, "Last night... it got very ugly. Don’t you take it to heart. It’s better this way, to sever ties completely. It’ll save them from causing you more trouble in the future. You two just need to live your own lives well."

Li Xiu had already given her a rundown of what happened when they woke up, so hearing this now from Grandma Li, Zhou Lian just looked at her gently. "Grandma, Jin Chen can be the one to decide these things. I don’t have any objections. I’ll support whatever decision he makes."

Looking at her gentle and graceful granddaughter-in-law, Grandma Li smiled. ’No wonder she was able to get into university and tame my wild, rebellious grandson,’ she thought. ’With a temperament this graceful, clever, and understanding, how could anyone not love her?’

Just after lunch, Li Bao came over to see how his older cousin was doing. Seeing that his cousin and his wife were ready to go, Li Bao said quietly, "Everyone’s gathering at the village entrance, but not all the clan members have arrived yet. Uncle sent me to see if you were ready."

Li Xiu nodded, placing the items for the grave-rounding ceremony into a bamboo basket to carry with a shoulder pole. He thought for a moment, then reached to take Yanyan from Sister Fang’s arms. The Li family’s ancestral tomb was halfway up the mountain. Yanyan was too little to walk that far himself, and Li Xiu couldn’t bear the thought of Zhou Lian carrying him all that way.

Sister Fang shook her head. She had been the one to carry Yanyan on the day of the burial. Understanding that Li Xiu was just trying to spare his wife, she took the boy back from him and said gently, "It’s alright, I’ll carry him."

Zhou Lian said in surprise, "That won’t do. The day before yesterday, we had no other choice, so we had to ask you to carry Yanyan. I can carry him today. Sister Fang, you don’t need to go."

Li Xiu hesitated as well. ’A graveyard isn’t exactly a place people like to go,’ he thought. On the day of the funeral, he and Zhou Lian truly couldn’t look after Yanyan, but they didn’t feel right entrusting him to anyone else. That was why they had asked Sister Fang to carry him. ’Asking her to go to the graveyard again today feels a bit inappropriate.’

Holding Yanyan, Sister Fang started walking out. "There’s no need for all that superstition," she said with a laugh. "Both of your children call me ’Auntie,’ don’t they? I don’t mind at all. Zhou Lian is delicate. She’d be exhausted if she had to carry Yanyan all the way up there. It’s no problem. Let’s go!"

Seeing Li Xiu and Zhou Lian’s hesitation, Sister Fang shook her head. ’Those two,’ she thought. ’Never mind that I practically raised Nuonuo and Yanyan myself; Li Xiu and Zhou Lian have always treated me like their own older sister, never once giving me a cross look. If I can dote on Nuonuo and Yanyan, why can’t I dote on Zhou Lian a little, too?’