Chapter 508: Thanks for the Invitation, Get Out
Grandpa Wu stroked his chin and pondered, "You're quite sincere."
Seeing that there was a chance, Shi Yuyan's eyes lit up slightly: "You've agreed?"
"Promise what?"
"Promise to let me take the punishment in their place, promise to let me see them."
"I didn't agree to that."
Shi Yuyan panicked: "I meant everything I said. It was indeed my fault, and I should take responsibility. Tao Wan is physically weak and can't withstand the punishment. Whether you accept my relationship with her is another matter, but can this punishment be..."
"Seeing how sincere you are, I'll give you a chance."
"What opportunity?"
"According to the clan rules, Tao Wan had a relationship with someone outside the clan and became pregnant. She should kneel in the ancestral hall, be subjected to water torture, and be tied to the central pillar as a demonstration for three days."
Shi Yuyan's expression changed slightly. Putting aside the matter of kneeling in the ancestral hall, the mere mention of Shui Xing made his heart pound with fear.
With winter fast approaching and the weather getting colder every day, Tao Wan, who had just given birth not long ago, could hardly bear being soaked in icy water, let alone being tied up and paraded outside in the wind and rain for three days.
"Have you punished her yet? How is she now? Can I see her right now?"
"Not yet. We've just locked them up for now, we haven't harmed them, but that may not be the case after that."
Since it concerned his son, Wu Yan had originally planned to wait for Wu Chi to return before discussing how to handle the matter with him.
What happened back then was something the Wu family had wronged the Tao family. Now that this has happened, they would feel bad if Tao Wan were punished as Grandpa Wu just said.
But this matter still needs to be addressed to the clansmen; it cannot be left unresolved. Wu Yan is also very troubled.
However, to their surprise, their son did indeed return, and he also brought back the culprit who had caused this predicament.
"The opportunity I'm giving you is for you to kneel in the ancestral hall for her all night, tonight. If you behave well, I'll make an exception and let the two of you meet."
Shi Yuyan's eyes lit up, then she realized what he meant and frowned, asking, "What counts as good performance?"
"Do not cheat or shirk your duties; be solemn and sincere, and kneel for the full hour."
Shi Yuyan pursed her lips and looked at the others: "What do you think?"
"What can we say? The person is yours, and so is your heart. Whether you see them or not is entirely up to you."
Seeing that he couldn't rely on many people and knew he had to shoulder the responsibility alone, Shi Yuyan gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I accept."
Grandpa Wu, having achieved his goal, pointed out a young man: "Xiao An, take him to the ancestral hall."
"Yes." The young man named Xiao An was the one who had just come and gone to deliver the message. He was seventeen or eighteen years old, thin, with a round, smiling face that made him easy to like.
"Come with me."
Shi Yuyan took a deep breath and followed Xiao An.
He took two steps forward, then seemed to remember something, turned around and glanced at Ye Wanxi and the others, but ultimately didn't dare to call Ye Wanxi and Feng Tianyu along.
The young Taoist priest wasn't familiar with him, and Shi Yuyan figured that this older brother was the only one he could rely on.
"Brother, aren't you coming with me?"
Shi Lang was still furious at his younger brother's talk of marrying into the family, and when he heard his brother's question, he replied sarcastically without thinking, "What would I do there? Be a lovey-dovey third wheel for you two, or kneel down with you to their ancestors?"
Shi Yuyan choked for a moment, then muttered softly, "It doesn't necessarily have to be kneeling. You can just stand there and watch me."
After all, it's someone else's ancestral hall. If there's some powerful ancestor inside, or if it harbors snakes, insects, or rodents, having the eldest brother there can at least share some of the burden and provide a sense of security.
"Dream on." Shi Lang saw through his younger brother's little scheme at a glance, feeling both annoyed and amused. "Thanks for the invitation, get lost."
"……oh."
Shi Yuyan followed Xiao An dejectedly.
Grandpa Wu then turned his attention to Ye Wanxi and the others: "This must be your first time visiting us, right? Since you're already here, why not stay a few more days? It's getting late, so please make yourselves at home for the night. We can talk about anything else tomorrow."
Ye Wanxi's eyes narrowed slightly. This place was clearly very xenophobic, yet they were arranging accommodations for them and trying to persuade them to stay a few more days. Something just didn't seem right.
Unfortunately, Shi Yuyan was there, and Tao Wan and her grandson were also there, so they really couldn't leave for the time being.
"Then I'll have to trouble you all."
"No trouble at all. Ah Chi, please find them a place to stay for the night."
Wu Chi was caught off guard by the mission. After a moment of silence, he nodded and led Ye Wanxi and the others inside.
The village has a small population and many empty houses. Since the Wu family is the clan leader, their house is naturally larger than others.
Their family alone has several empty rooms, which is more than enough to provide for Ye Wanxi and the others in case of emergency.
Wu Chi led Ye Wanxi and the others to the guest room, then instructed the housekeeper to look after them before leaving.
As soon as he left, Ye Wanxi's face darkened: "What do you think about this?"
"It's eerie, eerie in every way."
Ye Wanxi nodded, stroked her chin, and said, "They clearly reject outsiders, and even their marriages are off the table, forbidding any union with outsiders. Why are they suddenly so friendly to us outsiders? I always feel like they have ulterior motives."
"Um."
Ye Wanxi pursed her lips, slightly troubled: "But I didn't sense any obvious malice from those old men just now. What exactly do they want?"
"Don't dwell on problems that are too troubling. We're already inside, and we'll find out the rest sooner or later."
Ye Wanxi nodded, agreeing with Feng Tianyu's point.
There's no point in guessing until the other party reveals their true intentions.
"Miss Ye, my brother..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I'm just worried that those people might... dislike him and deliberately release insects to bite him while he's kneeling in the ancestral hall."
Don't let him die before he can even marry into the family; that would be such a waste!
"That's alright, he still has that insect repellent pill with him, right? The bugs shouldn't be able to get close to him."
Shi Lang paused for a moment before remembering the pills. He slapped his forehead and said, "That's good." Then he turned and walked out.
The young Taoist priest was assigned to share a room with him, and when he saw him leave, he followed him, asking, "Aren't you worried about your brother?"
"There's no need to worry, we have deworming pills."
"But what if someone dislikes him and takes this opportunity to beat him up? After all, we're on someone else's turf now, and falling behind is already quite dangerous."
"That's alright, that kid's pretty wild, he might not get beaten up. Even if he does, as long as he's still alive, we can use that as an excuse to demand compensation, and then make them give him his sister-in-law. Hmm, that's a really good idea, I'm so clever."
The young Taoist priest: "..." Why is he making such a fuss about staged accidents so confidently? And using his younger brother to hook up with his sister-in-law, that's really outrageous!
(End of this chapter)
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