Chapter 769 The Ritual at Xuandu Temple
On her last day at home, Li San Niang got up very early. Just after dawn, to the sound of the last clapper, Li San Niang stayed in bed for a while, hugging the dewdrop and sleeping soundly, before finally getting up.
As agreed upon the night before, Li's second sister-in-law stayed home to take care of the children, while the rest of the Li family went to Xuandu Temple with Li's eldest brother.
Li Erxiong was a man who could put aside his pride. When he went to knock on the door of the Guo brothers' house to call for them, he showed no trace of the anger and rage he had displayed yesterday when arguing with the Guo brothers in the main hall of the Li family.
In this respect, Li San Niang is no match for Li Er Xiong.
Li San Niang was certainly capable of calling for help, but it was impossible for her to be as expressionless and unperturbed as Li Er Xiong.
Brother Li made very good arrangements. In addition to the carriage that was originally intended for Li San Niang to use when she was on duty, he also ordered two more carriages outside.
From Li's father and mother, to Li's eldest brother's family of four, including Li's second brother and Li's third sister, as well as Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi who followed Li's third sister, and the Guo brothers, a group of more than ten people rode in three carriages and headed towards the town gate without even having breakfast.
Xuandu Temple is always crowded, so the Li family set off early to make it to the agreed time.
Li San Niang's mother and sister-in-law, who were riding in the same carriage with her, did not look well. Li San Niang could tell from the dark circles under their eyes that they must not have slept well last night.
"Here, Mother and Sister-in-law, have one."
Looking at the candy offered to her, and seeing Li San Niang's gaze, although she wasn't very hungry, Li's mother still reached out and picked up a piece of candy.
Seeing this, Sister-in-law Li also took a piece of candy and ate it. Only then did Li San Niang put her bag of candy in front of Qiu Xiang. Qiu Xiang had been with Li San Niang for a long time and they were already very close.
Without a word, Qiu Xiang took two pills for herself. She casually lifted the carriage curtain and gave one to Lao Shi, who was sitting on the carriage shaft, and put the other one into her mouth.
Li San Niang herself had one in her mouth, and the sweetness made her feel much better after waking up early.
Why do you think about this, Mother?
Once my elder brother makes a decision, he won't easily change it.
Besides, since my elder brother has done this, he must have his reasons. He must think it is the most appropriate method.
Mother, there's no need to worry. My eldest brother is over thirty, and Tiger Head has grown up too. They can do it.
"Sigh, I know, I know."
But deep down, I felt something was off.
Sister-in-law Li understood her mother's feelings. She reached out and took her mother's hand, and everything was understood without words.
Mother Li was very satisfied with her sister-in-law. She took her sister-in-law's hand in return and said, "Look at me, I, as a mother, am very anxious, let alone you, as a wife and a mother."
"Mei Niang, listen to Third Sister, let's stop thinking about it. Things have already come to this point, there's no use thinking about it anymore."
Along the way, Li Sanniang and her dozen or so companions each had different feelings. The carriage traveled slowly, and after more than an hour, they finally arrived at the gate of Xuandu Temple.
Actually, it was quite a coincidence that I was able to make an appointment with the Taoist priest at Xuandu Temple so quickly.
Because of the letter Li Dalang sent back to the Li family that mentioned encountering Sun Hongniang and the Guo family who came to claim kinship in the border town, Li Dalang had mentioned at that time that he would go to the Taoist temple to light a lamp for Sun Datou's passing.
As for why the lights weren't turned on in the past?
The first reason is naturally because the Li family was not well-off in the past. After all, supporting four children to study at the academy was no small expense.
In addition, among the Li family, apart from Li's mother herself, Li's father, eldest brother, second brother, and even Li's third sister-in-law, they didn't really believe in these things. Li's father had never lit a lamp for his own parents, so how could he have thought of lighting a lamp for Sun Datou?
After Brother Li told Brother Li Er about this, Brother Li Er said directly, "The lamps for the deceased must be lit. However, if we are going to light the lamps for the deceased, then we might as well hold a Buddhist ceremony for Uncle Sun."
This way, Uncle Sun can also tell his children that they have found each other, and from now on, his elder brother will have another family to marry into.
After hearing Li Erxiong's suggestion, Li Daxiong asked Li Dasao for some money and asked Li Erxiong to help him contact the Taoist priest at Xuandu Temple.
Thus, through a series of coincidences, Brother Li and his companions found themselves standing on the street where the Xuandu Temple was located.
The group entered the temple together, each receiving three incense sticks from a young Taoist boy. They lit the incense in the incense burner placed in the spacious courtyard in front of the main hall and bowed in turn.
Since he had already spoken with the Taoist priest in charge of the temple beforehand, Brother Li went up and said a few words to the young Taoist boy. Soon after, a young Taoist priest came to greet him.
The group followed the young Taoist priest through two turns in the temple before being led into a main hall.
“Please sit for a moment, believer, the time has not yet come.”
Two quarters of an hour later, Master Xuancheng will lead a group to set up an altar and perform rituals for the believers.
After the young Taoist priest left, Li San Niang specifically asked Li Er Xiong about the intricacies of the ritual.
"This is a ritual to summon the soul of the deceased. The Taoist priest opened the altar and performed a ritual to summon the soul of Uncle Sun from the Sun family for my elder brother. After my elder brother came forward to inform him, the Taoist priest chanted scriptures to help Uncle Sun pass on and to bless him in his rebirth."
Li San Niang nodded. In the quiet of the Taoist temple, she was too embarrassed to ask, "Thirty years have passed. If there really is an underworld or something, then Uncle Sun should have drunk Meng Po soup and been reincarnated long ago."
Where else can I find someone to come and listen to these kinds of stories?
Therefore, those who have undergone nine years of compulsory education are true materialists. Even though Li San Niang experienced time travel, she is still a thorough materialist.
However, most of the things the living do for the deceased are because the living want to find peace of mind, and also to show others.
Just like Brother Li's current situation, he really needs such a ritual to prove something to the Guo brothers or to shut up Sun Hongniang and Commander Guo behind the Guo brothers.
Li San Niang actually wanted to ask how much silver this religious ceremony cost.
But she was too embarrassed to ask. She was just curious, but she knew that this was not the right time to ask such a question.
The Li family had been sitting for a short while when two young Taoist boys came with a teapot and cups to serve tea to everyone.
Li San Niang sipped her tea absentmindedly, glancing at the sour faces of the Guo brothers sitting opposite her. Only two words popped into her mind: "Serves them right."
Just as the young Taoist priest had said, exactly two quarters of an hour later, he came to invite the Li family to the small square in front of the side hall.
Upon arrival, the atmosphere was truly solemn and dignified.
Wearing a blue Taoist robe and sporting a beard, Master Xuancheng stood in front of the long table set up in the courtyard. Following the young Taoist's instructions, Brother Li took the wooden box that Brother Li had carefully carried all the way from Brother Li and took out Sun Datou's memorial tablet from it.
After Brother Li respectfully placed Sun Datou's memorial tablet in the center of the long table, Master Xuancheng, holding a whisk, stood in front of the tablet and began chanting scriptures.
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