Chapter 224: Ancestor Worship
Lin Aoshan looked at Xiao Ye, who was carrying several bags. "You don't need to bring gifts when you come home!"
"Quick, someone take those from him."
"Xiao Ye, thank you for taking care of Chuyue recently."
Xiao Ye naturally took Lin Chuyue's hand. "Elder Lin, it was my duty."
"Good. I can rest easy with Chuyue in your hands! Come on, let's go home!"
"I had a feast specially prepared, just waiting for you!"
News of Xiao Ye and Lin Chuyue's return spread quickly through Jiangcheng.
Representatives from all the major families and companies, bearing their finest gifts, flocked to the Lin Family's gate.
However, before they could even enter, the butler stopped them, leaving them to gather at the entrance.
"We are here to pay our respects to Mr. Xiao and Miss Lin and to offer our engagement gifts."
"Yes, me too! I'm here to congratulate Mr. Xiao and Miss Lin. May they have a long and happy life together!"
"Please let us in. I met Elder Lin last time I was here. He even exchanged a few words with me."
The butler, smiling, looked at the crowd at the gate. "My sincerest apologies, but the Lin Family is not receiving guests for the next few days."
"Please leave for now. You may try again in a few days."
"Not receiving guests? Can't you at least announce us?"
"Yeah, look, I even brought a gift."
The butler's expression darkened, and the crowd immediately fell silent.
"Alright, then. I'll come back later."
"My apologies for the disturbance. What about this gift... should I just take it back with me?"
The butler today was no longer just the Lin Family's butler.
'He had to project an imposing air; otherwise, he would diminish the reputation of the Young Miss!'
"I apologize, but we are not accepting gifts. You should all leave at once."
"If you end up disturbing Mr. Xiao and our Young Miss..."
"We're leaving right now! Right now!"
"If Mr. Xiao asks, please don't say I was here! I had no intention of causing any disturbance!"
The crowd scattered in every direction, not daring to linger any longer, and sped away in their cars.
In just a few moments, the entrance to the Lin Family estate fell quiet.
The butler revealed a satisfied smile and turned to walk back into the old mansion.
In the living room, Lin Aoshan was drinking with Xiao Ye. "I'm so happy today, I'll just drink a little."
"This is authentic grain liquor. It's good stuff, and the alcohol content isn't high. It's fine for me to drink."
Seeing how genuinely happy he was, Xiao Ye didn't stop him and joined him for a small glass.
Lin Aoshan put down his glass and looked at the couple before him with gratification. "Seeing you two together... even if I were to die right this second, I would be completely content!"
"Grandpa, what are you saying!" Lin Chuyue immediately cut him off. "Don't say such inauspicious things ever again."
"Alright, I won't!" Lin Aoshan chuckled. "I plan on living to be a hundred, to see you two get married and have children."
"When the time comes, I'll help you look after your kids! I'll enjoy the bliss of family life!"
After speaking, Lin Aoshan turned to Xiao Ye. "I believe Chuyue will surely be happy with you."
"However, as is tradition, you must go with us to pay respects at the Lin Family ancestral tomb tomorrow. What do you think?"
"Only after we have informed the ancestors can I truly be at ease!"
Lin Chuyue wanted to say something, but a large hand pressed down on hers under the table. "Alright, Elder Lin. I will go with you tomorrow!"
"It's perfect. I also want the Lin Family ancestors to witness the bond between Chuyue and me."
"Excellent!" Lin Aoshan raised his glass again. "Come, let's have a toast!"
「Thirty minutes later.」
Lin Aoshan's cheeks were flushed red, clearly having had a bit too much to drink. He was helped upstairs by the butler and a nanny.
Even Xiao Ye was slightly tipsy.
Lin Chuyue took a deep breath, led him to his room, and after a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke.
"Xiao Ye, my family, the Lin Family, has an unwritten rule."
"Once you have paid respects to the ancestors, you must get married."
"If you back out... bad things will happen."
Lin Chuyue hadn't wanted to say all this, but she didn't want to hide it either. "Xiao Ye, there's something I have to tell you."
"Before my mother married my father, she was engaged to someone else in an arranged marriage."
"The two of them went to the Lin Family ancestral tomb as well, but later, her fiancé cheated on her and chose a young lady from a more prominent family."
"After that, his luck turned bad. On the night before his wedding, he fell from an overpass and was permanently disabled."
Xiao Ye chuckled softly. "What, are you worried I'll back out and something bad will happen to me?"
Lin Chuyue pressed her cherry-red lips together. She didn't say a word, but that was clearly what she meant.
"Don't worry." Xiao Ye covered her hand with his. "I won't back out, and I certainly won't give the heavens a chance to punish me!"
「Early the next morning.」
It was just six o'clock.
Lin Aoshan was up early, having someone prepare the items for the ancestral worship.
Various kinds of meat, longevity cakes, and a large stack of joss paper.
「By seven o'clock.」
When Xiao Ye and Lin Chuyue came downstairs, Lin Aoshan had breakfast served. "Let's eat first. We'll leave as soon as we're done!"
「Eight o'clock.」
The group took a car to the Lin Family's ancestral tomb.
The tomb was located in the forested mountains west of the Lin Family's old mansion. To get there by car, you had to enter from a road on the other side.
However, the car could only go halfway up the mountain; the rest of the journey had to be made on foot.
Lin Aoshan had also brought along many of the Lin Family's younger generation. They were responsible for carrying the offerings and followed at the rear of the group.
They had mocked Xiao Ye repeatedly in the past, but now they didn't even dare to meet his gaze.
The tall figure before them was an existence they could never hope to reach; all they could do was gaze at his back from afar.
The group reached the mountaintop in silence.
The terrain here was open, and the wind howled.
But as they approached the ancestral tomb, the wind suddenly died down.
Xiao Ye's gaze swept the area, and he nodded. "The feng shui here is excellent."
Lin Aoshan smiled proudly. "Of course. The main reason the Lin Family chose to build the old mansion here all those years ago was for the feng shui of this location."
"It's said that a very skilled feng shui master surveyed this place back then. Being buried here can protect the Lin Family for generations, ensuring they never face great hardships."
"And even if they do, they will ultimately be able to turn disaster into fortune."
The Lin Aoshan of today had become an absolute believer in feng shui.
After all, when the Lin Family was on the brink of collapse, hadn't Xiao Ye appeared and single-handedly pulled the nearly-destroyed family back from the jaws of death?
Before them were rows of well-maintained tombs, free of weeds, clearly tended to regularly.
Lin Aoshan explained, "The Lin Family has a Tomb Guardian, but we've never seen him on any of our visits."
"About twenty years ago, I saved his life, and he's stayed here ever since."
"If a fire hadn't disfigured his face, I doubt he would have been willing to stay here and become a Tomb Guardian."
After he finished speaking, Lin Aoshan looked at the tombstones before them.
"These are the successive Patriarchs of my Lin Family, and behind them are the Ladies of the House."
"Further back are the younger generations. Let's begin."