Chapter 133 Face-Saving Words Must Be Said Beautifully!
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Li's mother also told Li Shiyue what Li Shiyang had told her while she was asleep.
"They said it's fine, tomorrow is an auspicious day. They chose a hillside facing the riverbank, and they're going to cut down trees to make a grave."
Li Shiyue followed up by asking, "Can we use that place freely?"
Mother Li shook her head. "My nephew Shiyang said he wrote a note and submitted it. It should be approved. We can let our people bury it there first."
Seeing that Li Shiyue nodded, Li's mother continued, "However..."
After saying "but," Li's mother didn't continue. However, Li Shiyue observed Li's mother's expression by the lamplight and then looked at the faces of Li Wangming and Zheng Meiniang beside her. She immediately guessed what was meant by "but."
"But I can't go?"
Li's mother nodded helplessly to Li Shiyue: "That's what the messenger said. This shouldn't be what Nephew Shiyang meant. Nephew Shiyang probably couldn't go against Uncle Youfu and the others."
In our village, it has always been customary for women not to visit graves or enter ancestral halls for worship. But this time…”
Li Shiyue's expression remained unchanged, as if she had known all along. Then she interjected, "What about Erdan's mother? Erdan is so young, can she really let him bury his father all by himself?"
Li Wangming continued Li Shiyue's words: "Uncle Wangshui came over in the afternoon and said that Erdan's mother asked him for help, and asked him to take Erdan up to bury it."
After listening, Li Shiyue nodded and continued to eat her pancake. She was still not full; she had been exhausted these past two days.
Li Wangming found it strange, as did his mother, or rather, everyone present felt it was strange that Li Shiyue wasn't angry.
The only sound inside was Li Shiyue munching on her pancake. She belatedly came out, looked up at everyone, and smiled helplessly: "What's wrong? Do you all think it's right for me to smash my chopsticks and bowls?"
Why aren't you angry this time?
Last time, Grandpa Youfu said that everyone should contribute money to build an ancestral hall. You asked if women were allowed to enter the ancestral hall, but they didn't answer, and you were unhappy.
"Why don't you care now that they won't let you go to the grave to bury the dead?"
Li Shiyue quickly ate the pancake in her hand and then said to Li Xiatian, "Sister, paying money is a big deal, burying the dead is a small matter. Which is more important?"
Money is real gold and silver; it can buy food to fill your stomach.
And burying the dead?
That's buried for the living to see; you can't eat or drink from it.
Li Shiyue reached out and picked up another pancake. "Besides, no one in our family wants to bury someone, so why should I care what other people do when they bury someone?"
Why should I bother with this?
But if my family needs to bury someone, and they won't let me go up, then I'll have to have a serious talk with them.
For some reason, Li Shiyue chuckled twice: "From now on, there will always be times when they have to beg me."
Sister, I have helped the village several times because I was mindful of our past connection as fellow villagers, since we both share the same surname, Li.
And then there's the bond forged during our escape from famine.
But what about the future?
Am I afraid of them?
Is there anything I can ask of them?
On the contrary, they will definitely need my help in the future!
So, when the time comes, if I say that women can enter the Li family ancestral hall, can they say no?
If they say no, then so be it, I'll just pay for and build a Li family ancestral hall that women can enter myself.
Li Shiyue raised an eyebrow at Li Xiatian, winked, and said with a grin, "Sister, we have money, we can build as many as we want."
Haha, one goes from 1 to 3 to 5, the other from 2 to 4 to 6.
Li Xiatian nodded. She thought to herself, "Given Li Shiyue's temper, how could she just let it go like that?"
Sure enough, this was all planned out; they were waiting for them to get to the bottom of things.
At this moment, Li Wangming and his mother looked at each other. Li Wangming finally mustered up his courage and looked at Li Shiyue cautiously, asking, "Shiyue, I have something to tell you."
Li Shiyue swallowed the biscuit in her mouth, turned to look at Li Wangming, and said, "Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."
Li Wangming coughed and swallowed twice before telling Li Shiyue about his idea of building a cenotaph for his scumbag father.
"...What do you think, is it okay?"
"Sure, why not?"
Li Shiyue readily agreed to Li Wangming's request, which surprised and puzzled Li Wangming.
Li Shiyue didn't even need Li Wangming to say anything; he could tell what Li Wangming was thinking just by looking at the expression on his face.
Why did you agree so readily?
Shouldn't you have been angry, upset, and awkwardly silent, disagreeing with my decision to build him a cenotaph?
That's what Li Wangming's face said.
Li Shiyue was genuinely amused by Li Wangming, and she actually laughed out loud.
"Second Uncle, am I really that petty?"
Even if my father is no good, I will agree to his request for my second uncle's sake.
"However, Second Uncle, do you need me to go with you to build this cenotaph? Or is it enough for just my elder brother to go?"
After asking this question, before Li Wangming could speak, Li Shiyue continued, "Second Uncle, you don't need to worry about me. Father has wronged us three, but he is still my brother's father and a member of the Li clan."
If Second Uncle wants to build a cenotaph on the land Brother Shiyang mentioned, then so be it.
Li Wangming was struggling with his inner turmoil and didn't answer Li Shiyue's question for several breaths.
After a long while, he finally made up his mind!
Li Wangming raised his head and looked at Li Shiyue, saying, "We won't go with them. We'll choose another place. Anyone can go to our family's gravesite!"
The woman is also our family's flesh and blood, so why can't we let her visit the grave to pay her respects?
From now on, not only my own daughters can go, but my wife can also go; there's no one who can't go!
Li Shiyue was genuinely surprised at this moment. She really didn't expect Li Wangming to have this awareness.
To be fair, Li Wangming was someone who had passed the imperial examination and become a student. In this era, to receive such disciplined education and still have such a broad mind, to break with tradition and establish new rules, is truly admirable!
"Okay! I'll listen to Second Uncle!"
Having said what needed to be said, the family chatted happily for a while longer before Li Wangming took Shitou back to their own room.
As the weather turned cold, and in order to save fuel, Li Shiyue, Li Qiutian, and Li Xiatian went to stay at the house of Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang.
Five people slept on one kang (a heated brick bed), which was very warm.
After turning off the light, Li Shiyue closed her eyes and listened to the sisters Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian beside her, who were breathing steadily and asleep. She gently nudged her mother beside her, turned over, snuggled up to her mother's arm, and whispered in her ear, "Mother?"
Li's mother was very sensitive to Li Shiyue's voice. Although her eyes were still closed, she responded with a soft "hmm".
"Mother, what I said just now was just to coax Second Uncle."
As soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, Li's mother immediately opened her eyes. She turned her head, and in the pitch black, only Li Shiyue's two eyes seemed to reflect light.
However, the golden light flashed by so quickly that Li's mother could no longer see anything.
As soon as Li Shiyue saw her mother turn around, she buried her head in her mother's neck and continued to whisper softly, "I was just lying to Second Uncle, Mother, you don't believe me, do you?"
Li Shiyue snorted coldly, "For someone like my father, why would we build a cenotaph for him?"
Haha, he has wronged us three, he doesn't recognize his brother, he almost killed me, and he has already killed Grandma. When my mother was his wife, she worried about him in every way and thought about him in every way. How dare he force my mother like that for Qin Tao?
If I hadn't held back, I would have killed him with one blow!
Only in this way can I quell the hatred in my heart!
He fell into the sea, which saved me some trouble.
Startled, Li's mother turned around and hugged Li Shiyue tightly, pulling her into her arms.
Li's mother truly never imagined that Li Shiyue harbored such deep hatred for Li's father!
But deep down, does Li's mother really not hate Li's father, that scumbag?
Of course I hate it!
However, Li's mother still needs to think more about Li Shiyue and Shitou!
This hatred could only be buried deep in my heart, pretending it didn't exist, convincing myself that Li's father was dead, dust to dust, ashes to ashes, the debt was wiped away with the person's death, and the matter was over.
But after twenty years of marriage, how could Li's mother not hate her husband for treating her so badly?
“Mother, Second Uncle still remembers Father as his elder brother. Even though Father killed Grandmother, Second Uncle still couldn’t let go of Father after his anger. I know all that.”
I know that if I told my second uncle not to build a cenotaph, he would be heartbroken and might even become estranged from us.
So I said okay, let my second uncle do it, it's just a makeshift grave.
Mother, Father abandoned us three back then, I will always remember that!
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