Chapter 440: This Is a Bad Custom from the Old Times

There were many people in Butler Yang’s family, and the birthday was grand. On the first day of the birthday, an opera troupe was invited over to perform.

After Tang Li and Qi Yihan finished dinner, they followed the others into the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall here was different from the one in the Imperial Capital.

In the Imperial Capital, only rich families had ancestral halls. Almost every family here had one.

Butler Yang knew that Third Uncle didn’t have much time to live and felt sad. In order not to let the old man notice his sorrow, he came over to watch the show and chatted with Tang LI.

“We don’t have a head in our family, so if there’s anything important in the family, a few respected elders will discuss it together. Every year, there will be a huge worshiping ceremony in the family. During that day, everyone will gather together.”

Tang Li imagined that scene and said, “It must be very grand.”

“That’s right, but we are by no means the largest family here. A few miles away, there is a whole village occupied by people with the same surname.”

“Will outsiders be allowed to settle down there?”

“Yes, as long as they don’t interfere with the internal affairs of that family.”

Tang Li nodded and did not comment further.

The three of them watched the show until ten-thirty before returning.

Butler Yang went straight to his Third Uncle’s house.

Tang Li and Qi Yihan walked back together.

The rainy night was a little cold. Coupled with the wind, Tang Li suddenly sneezed. Qi Yihan quickly took off his jacket and wrapped her in it. As he walked, he said to her, “I told you to wear a jacket, but you didn’t listen. What if you catch a cold?”

Tang Li rubbed her nose and said, “I won’t catch a cold. I sneezed because of the wind.”

Qi Yihan looked at her disapprovingly. “A sneeze is a sign of a cold. You have to be careful.”

“Alright.”

Tang Li smiled at him and changed the topic. “Butler Yang must be feeling very sad now.”

Qi Yihan nodded.

The two of them quickly walked back to Butler Yang’s house.

Tang Li stood under the eaves and waited for Qi Yihan to put away the umbrella. “I’ve always heard that the rainy season in Jiangnan will last for half a month or even a month. I think this kind of weather is the most comfortable.”

Qi Yihan put the umbrella away and held her hand as they walked in. As they walked, he said, “If you want to sleep in, we can stay here for two more days when we find Butler Yang’s sister.”

Tang Li nodded. “I was planning to do so.”

After going upstairs and taking a shower, Tang Li laid in Qi Yihan’s arms with one leg on top of him and started chatting with him about the ancestral hall.

“I heard from others before that decades ago, once a woman marries into a big family, she can’t be disloyal. No matter how bad her husband’s character is and how violent he is, she can’t ask for a divorce. Otherwise, she will be accused of something she didn’t do and be punished.”

Qi Yihan stroked her back and said, “This is a bad custom from the old days. It definitely won’t happen now.”

Tang Li thought about it and felt that it made sense.

The two of them chatted for a while longer before Tang Li suddenly fell asleep.

Qi Yihan looked at her sweet sleeping face and lowered his head to kiss her forehead before closing his eyes.

The next day, Tang Li was sleeping soundly when she was suddenly woken up by Qi Yihan.

Tang Li opened her eyes and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Yihan had obviously been up for a while and was already dressed neatly. There was still some water vapor on his hair, obviously just returning from outside.

He told Tang Li, “Butler Yang’s third uncle is dying. Butler Yang wants you to go over and take a look.”

Tang Li nodded and sat up. She took the clothes Qi Yihan gave her and quickly put them on. After washing up, she went downstairs with Qi Yihan.

At that moment, Butler Yang was standing in the living room downstairs. When he saw Tang Li come down, he looked extremely sad. “Madam, my Third Uncle is dying. Can you go over and look at him?”

Although Butler Yang knew that life and death were common, he still had a little hope that Tang Li could save his dying uncle.

Tang Li nodded. “Sure.”

The three of them walked towards Third Uncle’s house.

At this moment, many people were gathered at the house. Because the old man was suddenly dying, the originally festive atmosphere turned into a scene of grief.

“Third Uncle was fine last night. Why did he suddenly…”

“Why don’t we go get the doctor? Maybe it’s not what we think.”

…

At this moment, everyone was gathered in the courtyard of Third Uncle’s house, discussing in low voices.

Butler Yang raised his voice and said, “Please make way.”

Everyone subconsciously turned around. When they saw Qi Yihan and Tang Li standing beside Butler Yang, they subconsciously made their way.

The three of them strode in. Everyone gathered around and looked into the living room while discussing why Butler Yang brought the two of them in.

After the three of them walked in, Butler Yang said to a middle-aged woman who was crying in the living room, “Auntie, Madam is a doctor. The ambulance hasn’t arrived yet. Let Madam in to take a look.”

The middle-aged woman looked up and quickly shook her head. “No, no… Let’s wait for the ambulance. It’s better to send your Third Uncle to the hospital.”

It was obvious that she didn’t trust Tang Li.

Butler Yang frowned and walked straight to Third Uncle’s room. Soon, he and another middle-aged man walked out.

The two of them exchanged a few words in the local language. Butler Yang said to Tang Li, “Madam, please go in and see my Third Uncle.”

Tang Li nodded and followed him in.

At that moment, many people were gathered in the old man’s room. These people were all his descendants. Tang Li said, “It’s best if you guys can give the patient some space. Crowding here is not going to help him.”

Butler Yang said a few more words to the middle-aged man before he called everyone out.

At that moment, Tang Li walked to the bed and sat down. She took the old man’s pulse and took out a set of silver needles.

The middle-aged man was shocked and wanted to stop her, but he was stopped by Butler Yang.

Tang Li poked one of the old man’s acupoints and asked seriously, “Third Uncle, do you have something to tell Butler Yang?”

The old man gurgled and reached out his hand. When Butler Yang came over to hold his hand, the old man said, panting, “I remember now. A few days before Yingying was taken away, someone who claimed to be from the Education Bureau came over to register the birth date of children above the age of three and asked about the exact time of your birth.”