Chapter 135 I wonder who will be the first to accuse me of breaking the rules?
(Thanks to Amu for casting a monthly vote.)
Li Shiyang didn't think Li Shiyue was such a filial person. Based on his understanding of Li Shiyue from their journey of fleeing famine, he knew that Li Shiyue was definitely not someone who would be led by the nose by others.
If this news could be spread, then it must be because Li Shiyue herself wanted to spread it.
Li Youfu underestimated Li Shiyue.
Although Li Youfu was not blind to Li Shiyue's fighting prowess and ability to befriend influential figures like Yan Jiuniang and Liu Tan, he still underestimated Li Shiyue.
That day, Li Shiyue asked him, "Are women allowed to enter the Li family's ancestral hall?"
Li Youfu's silence was the answer.
Today, Li Shiyang presided over the funeral of many clansmen who died because of the Japanese pirates, but still did not allow Li Shiyue to attend, even though Li Shiyue had escorted their bodies back all the way. They still followed the so-called rule that "women cannot visit graves".
Why?
Even if Li Shiyue is a capable young woman, she is still a woman, a woman.
Yes, it's that simple, just because Li Shiyue is a woman.
However, these were all just thoughts that Li Shiyang pondered in his mind; he would never tell Li Youfu any of them.
Currently, there is only a superficial peace between him and Li Youfu.
After all, it was he who deliberately allowed the Japanese pirates to kill Li Wangren.
He doesn't deny this, nor can he deny it.
There's still Li Wangren's life separating him from Li Youfu.
As for Li Shiyue?
Her luck was really bad this time. As she herself said, due to the wind and snow, the roads were difficult to travel, and they did not return by evening, but only in the middle of the night.
A coffin lay on the horse-drawn cart, which Li Wangming had bought from carpenter Tian at a high price.
After unloading the coffin into the yard, Li Shiyue led the horse into the stable. Li Xiatian, who had been waiting nearby, quickly poured the lukewarm water into the water trough.
Next to the water trough was the feeding trough, which was already filled with fodder containing a lot of beans and wheat.
After seeing that the horses had eaten and drunk their fill and after checking the safety of the stables, Li Shiyue went inside.
As soon as she entered the room, she felt the warmth she longed for.
After shaking off the snow from her body at the door, Li Shiyue took off her coat and the fur hat covering her head before bending down to take off her shoes. Her feet had been numb from the cold all the way here.
"Quickly, get on the kang (heated brick bed) to warm up, and drink this hot water right away."
We were so busy that it was past midnight.
Li Shiyue had only been asleep for about an hour when she got up again.
Today is the day to dig the grave and lower the coffin for Li's father. This was a date that Li Wangming had planned in advance, so we have to get up early to get started.
As soon as Li Shiyue moved, Li Qiutian, who was sleeping with her, woke up. Li Shiyue sat up halfway to get dressed, and Li Qiutian tried to get up as well, but Li Shiyue pressed her down.
"Sister, Moqi, Shitou and I should go. Sister, you don't need to go. He doesn't deserve it!"
Seeing that Li Qiutian was no longer moving, Li Shiyue released her hand, nodded to Li Qiutian, and then got off the kang and left the room.
Li Wangming was already waiting with Shitou in the main room. Li's mother brought the food into the room, and after the four of them ate together, Li Shiyue opened the coffin and put in a set of clothes that Li Wangming had chosen for his father.
After closing the coffin lid, Li Wangming did not go to find the coffin bearers. Even though he did want to build a cenotaph for his father, it did not mean that he had truly forgiven his father for killing his mother.
There was no one in the coffin, and the coffin was not made of any expensive wood, but just the most common pine wood found on this mountain.
It was enough for Shi Tou and Li Shiyue to lift it, one in front and one behind. In fact, Li Shiyue could have carried it all by herself in the middle.
Li Wangming, dressed in mourning clothes and carrying a basket, walked in front, while Li Shiyue and Shitou followed behind, carrying the coffin.
Li's mother followed at the back of the three, carrying two shovels. In fact, Li Shiyue said that Li's mother did not need to go, as she could carry the coffin on her right shoulder and hold two shovels in her left hand.
But Li's mother was still worried, so she carried two shovels and followed behind the three of them.
Once on the road, Li Wangming began scattering paper money into the wind. As the wind blew, the paper money swirled and flew everywhere.
They walked silently towards the spot that Li Wangming had chosen long ago, with only the rustling sound of paper money fluttering in the wind.
Li Wangshui, who got up early and went out of the yard to sweep the snow in front of the door, saw the paper money that had been blown onto the road. He then looked up sharply towards the back mountain and just happened to see Li Shiyue, who was carrying the coffin, turning the corner up the mountain.
However, Li Wangshui did see his mother following behind.
Fortunately, Li Shiyue and Shi Tou were strong and had a stable chassis, so they didn't fall over while carrying such a heavy coffin all the way.
By the time they arrived at the spot Li Wangming had chosen, it was already broad daylight and the snow had stopped.
Once the snow stopped, things got easier. First, we shoveled the snow, then cut down the trees that were blocking the way, dug out the tree roots, and so on. This whole cleaning up took about half an hour.
Li Shiyue, who was resting with her shovel, felt someone looking at her from below. She turned around sharply and met Li Wangshui's gaze.
She nodded to Li Wangshui, but since they were far apart, she didn't say anything.
After resting enough, Li Shiyue took out a tinderbox, dug a firebreak, and lit a fire on this small patch of land.
Yes, they would have to light a fire to warm the ground. It was the dead of winter, and there was snow on the ground. Li Shiyue and the others had only cleared the surface layer. If they wanted to dig deeper, they could dig hard, but no matter how strong they were, with only three people and two shovels, it would take them forever to dig.
The fire burned for more than an hour. The steam was so thick that the whole thing was covered in thick smoke, but amidst the choking smoke, you could smell a pine scent.
Li Shiyue watched the fire from the side. One had to keep an eye on it. If the fire was blown sideways by the wind, one had to quickly put it out to prevent it from burning down the forest.
However, what Li Shiyue was thinking at that moment was: "What a waste of this fire. If we could have used it to smoke some meat strips, we could have cured meat to eat next year."
By the time the fire was extinguished and Li Shiyue and Shi Tou were sweating profusely from digging, it was already afternoon.
When the pit was deep enough to fit the coffin, a lot of people from Li Family Village had already gathered halfway up the mountain. Li Shiyue could see that Li Wangshui, Li Shiyang, Ma Zi, and Gou Laosan were standing at the front.
Li Shiyue didn't care much about people coming to watch them dig graves. "Let them look," she thought, "there's nothing wrong with letting people see it."
Since it was just the two of them, Li Shiyue had carefully planned the location of their father's cenotaph and pushed it directly into the pit.
Put the coffin in and bury it in the soil.
In the late afternoon, a burial mound began to take shape.
Li Wangming took out the white candles he had prepared in advance from the basket, as well as the tombstone he had carved himself over the past two nights. He had even bought the wood from that carpenter, Tian.
Finally, Li Wangming knelt at the front, Shi Tou knelt behind Li Wangming on the left, and Li Shiyue knelt on the right. They kowtowed three times and offered incense, thus completing the ceremony.
Regardless of what Li Shiyue was thinking, she had done enough on the surface. Anyone who wanted to criticize her for her father's funeral would have to think carefully about what they could say.
When the four of them came down the mountain, the people from Li Family Village who had been looking towards Li Shiyue from halfway up the mountain were no longer there.
However, Li Shiyue believed them; they were probably at home gossiping about her scumbag father's cenotaph and how she went up the mountain to dig up his grave.
"I wonder who will be the first to accuse me of breaking the rules?"
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