Chapter 81 Do you have any worries and want to stay here with me?

"Wei Wei, are you free tomorrow?" Zhou Youguan asked, "I'd like to treat you to a meal."

"Isn't tomorrow the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Wei Wei meant that during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhou Youlan had to attend the family dinner.

Zhou Youlan turned away, "You don't have to participate."

"It's better to join in the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion."

Zhou Youlan said nothing, with his head down and a sad face.

Wei Wei added, "It's not too late to eat it after the Mid-Autumn Festival."

He could see that Zhou Liyue was actually very happy that Zhou Youlan could come back to celebrate the festival together. When chatting with those relatives at the dinner table, his words were full of praise and pride for Zhou Youlan, so he didn't interfere on festivals like Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Really? So you agreed? Then don't regret it later."

Wei Wei nodded gently, "Yeah."

…

No matter what festival the Zhou family celebrates, they must first go to the ancestral temple to burn incense and offer sacrifices. It is rare to maintain such a custom in this era. In addition, except for members of the Zhou family, no one else can enter at will. Even Assistant Zhou is left outside.

Wei Wei came here last night while taking the opportunity to walk the cat, but the door was locked. The housekeeper who stayed at home warned him not to enter at will, so he had to leave.

As far as he knew, in fact, in this era, very few people could truly continue the ancient etiquette and customs. People nowadays prefer to celebrate various festivals in a simple and convenient way. Families like the Zhou family who stick to the rules are really rare.

Moreover, although outsiders are generally not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, it is not hidden so tightly that you can't even get close to it.

The Zhou family has had only one descendant for several generations and the family has lost many descendants. Now the only ones who can burn incense are Zhou Liyue and his son Zhou Youlan.

Wei Wei and Assistant Zhou stayed outside. Wei Wei took a few glances inside and saw nothing special. However, when Zhou Youguan bowed and walked around to burn incense, he saw a wooden box placed in the middle of the altar.

The wooden box is only slightly larger than a book, but it looks old and simple. The patterns and craftsmanship on it are very familiar, like an old object, and it is very eye-catching.

Wei Wei was cautious and turned around after just a few glances.

After Zhou Youguan finished burning incense, he wanted to leave, as if he couldn't stay even a second longer. Zhou Liyue couldn't help getting angry at his perfunctory behavior and called him out in a stern voice.

"What?" Zhou Youguan looked lazy.

"I taught you this since you were little: to keep your mind calm when burning incense and to remain respectful in front of your ancestors. Look at your eyebrows, they're so fickle they can barely touch your forehead."

Zhou Youguan couldn't help but retort: ​​"I haven't disciplined my son in front of the ancestral hall yet, and don't you always make the same mistake?"

"You!" Zhou Li's anger reached his chest, but he quickly suppressed it. Seeing Zhou Youguan was about to leave, he said, "Just stand there!"

But Zhou Youguan still didn't listen. He went straight to the door of the ancestral hall and stood with his back to the inside.

After Zhou Liyue finished burning incense and came out, he saw Zhou Youguan's indifferent look and was furious. "You've grown wings, haven't you? You ignored everything I said to you. What kind of place is this? You're so flustered even when burning incense. You're so impetuous. Stop teaching me."

"Isn't it your fault that I don't teach you enough?" Zhou Youguan couldn't help but argue with Zhou Liyue. "From childhood to adulthood, you've never cared about me. I'm just like a cat or a dog. You feed me when you get home, and when you're busy you never even think of my existence."

"In this ancestral hall, we have to pay our respects every year and every festival, but who do I know of those people on the memorial tablets? I haven't even met my grandfather recently. If I want to pay my respects to my mother, I have to go to the cemetery. People come every day to light lamps and candles, but my mother has no right to be here. That's what you said. 'Family rules, everything is family rules. If my mother married you, her memorial tablet wouldn't even be allowed into the ancestral hall after she died. What a bullshit family rule!'"

Zhou Liyue couldn't help but slap Zhou Youguan. "That's treasonous! How can you say that?"

The slap stunned both the father and the son.

Although Zhou Liyue was not a qualified father, he rarely hit him when he was angry. He remembered that the last time he was beaten was when his mother passed away. Zhou Liyue was busy with work and could not get back in time. It was Assistant Zhou and others who handled the funeral arrangements. Zhou Liyue did not return home until the day of the burial.

He didn't understand what kind of thing or work could have caused Zhou Liyue to not rush back immediately when his wife passed away, and not even be by her side when she was dying.

Because of this incident, hatred and resentment arose between him and Zhou Liyue, but he did rely on his father because Zhou Liyue was the closest relative he had left in this world.

He blames Zhou Liyue, but he also longs for Zhou Liyue's affirmation. The more Zhou Liyue denies him, the more he wants to prove something, so this father-son relationship is difficult to live in peace.

He understood, but there was no way he could remain calm.

But this slap brought the relationship to a freezing point.

Wei Wei and Assistant Zhou, who were standing outside the door, did not expect that the situation would suddenly develop into a fight. Assistant Zhou entered first, but did not dare to get too close to the ancestral hall. He could only stand not far away with a worried look on his face.

Wei Wei put one hand behind his back and slowly walked to Assistant Zhou's side.

They were not in a position to get involved in the Zhou family affairs, and Wei Wei's attention was more focused on the wooden box on the altar where the tablets were placed.

This time, I could see it clearly. The carvings on the wooden box were clearly Daqi craftsmanship. Even if it wasn't from the Daqi period, the patterns on the box were definitely a Daqi inheritance. The Panzhihua pattern on the top was a common pattern used by many aristocratic families in Daqi, often used to store important documents or antiques in their homes. This pattern was not used in the homes of ordinary people.

Therefore, the box must contain something extremely important to the Zhou family, but it is hard to say whether it is a family heirloom or something else.

This wooden box aroused Wei Wei's great curiosity. He returned to Zhou's house hoping to find out something. All the information was too fragmented, so he would only find out what he could.

Turning his eyes again, Wei Wei noticed something else was wrong.

On one side of the numerous tablets, near the southeast corner, there was actually an unnamed tablet placed on a small table. The arrangements on the table were all the same, and the incense in the incense burner was still emitting a faint smoke, but why was there a nameless tablet placed alone?

Could it be that this was what Zhou Youlan mentioned during the argument with Zhou Liyue just now, that this was Zhou Youlan’s deceased mother?

But that's not right. If it was Zhou Youguan's mother, he wouldn't even look at her. The incense was also offered so perfunctorily. Wei Wei's gaze couldn't help but linger on the nameless tablet for a while.

Zhou Youguan and Zhou Liyue were still encouraging each other, "Are you feeling guilty or just furious? Was I wrong?"

"Did you really think about my mother on a holiday like this? If you really thought about her, you wouldn't just light a few incense sticks and kowtow here, but you would actually be willing to go to her cold grave to take a look at her."

"Master, stop talking." Assistant Zhou didn't dare to listen. "Master, you haven't forgotten your wife. Master..."

"Alright." Zhou Liyue interrupted Assistant Zhou. "Go back down and kneel down. Wait until you've figured out how to talk to me."

Zhou Liyue walked away without looking back, but it was obvious that he was holding his anger. Otherwise, based on Zhou Youlan's performance today, it was likely that he would be punished more than just kneeling in the ancestral hall.

Assistant Zhou looked at Zhou Youguan with pity. When Zhou Liyue raised his head, he didn't dare to say too much. He could only leave with Zhou Liyue first. When he left, he winked at Wei Wei, indicating that he should stay and accompany Zhou Youguan.

This was exactly what Wei Wei wanted. He wanted to see what secrets were hidden in the Zhou family's ancestral hall. The wooden box and the anonymous tablet were feudal things that were difficult to survive in this era.

Zhou Youguan went back to the ancestral hall without saying a word, pulled a cushion beside him, placed it in front of him and knelt down directly. Judging from his nonchalant look as if he was used to it, it was obvious that he had been punished to kneel down many times.

Wei Wei was originally standing outside the door. After all, as a person of an outsider family, it was not appropriate for him to directly step into someone else's ancestral hall.

Noticing that Wei Wei didn't leave with him, Zhou Youguan turned around with a smile on his face, "Will you stay here with me?"

It seems like a question, and also like a request.

There was no place to sit in the ancestral hall, so Zhou Youxuan picked up the cushion under his knees, pushed it aside and let Wei Wei sit over, while he himself knelt obediently on the ground.

Wei Wei looked at the cushion at his feet where two dimples had been made by Zhou Youxuan's knees. Zhou Youxuan smiled foolishly. The floor was so hard, but he pushed the cushion to him without even thinking.

There are many sincere people, but it is rare to find someone like Zhou Youlan, who has been spoiled all his life and still has such a character.

In Zhou Youlan's eyes, there is a rare purity.

"Sit down." Zhou Youguan patted the cushion.

Wei Wei still stood, glancing at the tablets in front of him, "This is fine. Sitting is not appropriate."

"What's inappropriate about that?" Zhou Youguan scoffed. "When I was a kid, I even crawled on the altar and lay down. There's no need for so many formalities. It's all old-fashioned feudalism. With all these rows of tablets, not to mention my dad, even my grandfather might not remember who's who."

"Just sit down. How can I talk to you if you stand?"

Wei Wei was dragged by him to sit on the cushion, with his buttocks resting on it, so Wei Wei had no choice but to sit.

"Are you often punished to kneel?"

Zhou Youguan nodded, his lips curled up. "I can't remember clearly, but I've been kneeling often since I was a kid. My dad would make me kneel here whenever he got angry. Other children would be scolded for making mistakes, or at most, made to face the wall and reflect on their mistakes. But in our Zhou family, we have the custom of kneeling in the ancestral hall as punishment."

Wei Wei was not surprised. He had been punished as a child, and so had his older brothers.

"If your suitors saw you being punished to kneel, they would probably be surprised and feel sorry for you."

Zhou Youlan smiled and said, "I rarely expose my private life to the public. I only like them to see my work. I don't like people paying too much attention to my private life, and I'm not used to dissecting my life for anyone to see."

"Except you."

Wei Wei: “…”

"Are you hungry?" Zhou Youguan knelt down and took a few steps forward to take the mooncake from the altar. "Eat this first to fill your stomach. Assistant Zhou will bring you food later."

Wei Wei chuckled: "It seems that you didn't feel wronged when you were punished to kneel. No wonder you didn't learn your lesson."

Zhou Youlan shrugged indifferently. "My dad and I often quarrel, but no matter how angry he is, he will never really starve me."

"Then since you know he loves you, why don't you be more gentle and have a good conversation?"

Chewing on the cloyingly sweet mooncake, Zhou Youxuan sighed softly, "I don't know. People with knots in their hearts can't communicate properly unless they untie them."

"What about you? You can actually apply for a holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why don't you go home and celebrate with your family?"

Zhou Youguan was also deliberately looking for an opportunity to get to know Wei Wei, but it was obvious that the topic he chose was wrong, because Wei Wei's face turned visibly colder.