Chapter 67 – First Condition
The Li family’s patriarch, the twelfth uncle, was already in his sixties. Perhaps due to his lack of concern over his health or owing to age, his hair had turned completely white, his face was creased over with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy. It was as though he was a piece of decaying wood that would break into pieces at any moment.
From the moment he entered the Pei family’s hall, his eyes were half closed and he remained silent as if whatever happened in the hall had nothing to do with him.
It was only after he was called on by Pei Yan did he then open his eyes and straighten up in his seat, saying slowly, “Third Master Pei, I am already almost like a half-deaf and mute man. It’s already good enough that I can understand the gist of the situation, so what else can I say? Let’s just follow what Li Duan says on this.”
Evidently, his words indicated that the handling of this matter was beyond his control and he would do whatever Li Duan said.
The people stilled. The family’s patriarch was being controlled in such a way by the branch family? When they recalled the incident earlier outside the Pei family’s residence, where Li Duan and his brother were walking ahead and the Li family’s patriarch was panting hard as he hurried to catch up with them, they all felt quite uncomfortable.
Many of the men sitting here were patriarchs of their own families.
Therefore, Li Duan undoubtedly ruffled the feathers of the majority by acting in such a way.
Many of them showed their displeasure.
They felt that Li Duan’s branch house was being too disrespectful towards the patriarch house.
Li Duan, on the other hand, cursed Li He and his son internally.
As their family rose in prominence, the patriarch house’s attitude towards them grew strange and unpleasant. They did not inform the patriarch house of this trip to the Pei family’s residence as they feared that the patriarch house would only make things worse. They were prepared for someone to alert them and thus had someone to keep watch and prevent them from coming, but who knew that the patriarch house still managed to sneak in at the very last minute.
Till now, they were still in the dark about the informant.
As expected, the patriarch house was up to no good.
Li Duan was filled with anger in his heart, but he couldn’t show it. Instead, he said deferentially, “I’m terribly sorry to hear that, Twelfth Uncle. My father isn’t around and I am still young, so if I do anything improper, please offer me your guidance.”
Even though things were bad between them, he didn’t think that Twelfth Uncle would have the courage to turn against them right now.
If the Li clan did not have the backing of their branch family, they wouldn’t even be able to benefit at all from things like tax deduction and the like.
Evidently the Li Family’s patriarch house was aware of this and didn’t dare to outwardly go against Li Duan’s family. No matter their discontent, at most they would only make a few snide remarks here and there. If they really were determined to sever ties with the Li Duan’s branch family, not only would they fail to preserve the dignity of patriarch house, but it would also negatively impact their family’s interests.
Therefore, the patriarch house could only show their discontent up to a certain point.
As expected, after hearing Li Duan’s words, the twelfth uncle came forward and said in defense, “Our Li family has always been a family with integrity, and Li Yi has taught his sons well over the years. The Yu and Wei families cannot falsely accuse the Li family of this crime. Moreover, it’s preposterous for the Li family to kill someone just over a child’s marriage! Clearly, the head steward of Li Duan’s family is the most suspicious one. Although there have been cases in history like Cheng Ying saving the orphan, there were also cases like Lu Bu committing regicide. Therefore, we cannot judge all cases in clear cut, black and white terms. As for why the Head Steward of Li Duan’s house would act in such a way, I would like to ask Third Master Pei, Master Yu and Master Wei to show leniency and not pursue this matter further. I will write to Li Yi and let him give both your families an explanation. Is this acceptable?”
After speaking, he stood up and gave a formal bow and said resolutely, “Our Li family will definitely fulfill whatever compensation terms you think is warranted.”
In any case, it’s Li Yi who should be the one to think of a suitable compensation, so why should he be the villain?
Of course the Yu and Wei families wouldn’t be happy with this outcome, but what could they do even if they weren’t?
Unless Li Duan family’s head steward decide to betray them and stab Li Duan in the back.
But that was impossible.
If he admitted to this crime, the head Steward might lose his life, but his family would remain alive and well in the Li household. However, if he confessed that the Li family was the one behind this, not only would he lose his life, but the lives of his entire family would be gone as well.
The outcome of this matter was clear.
That was why Yu Tang would rather seek the Pei family’s help rather than fight the Li family in a legal proceeding in court.
However, it was impossible for the Yu family and the Wei family to let this matter drop just like this.
Prior to this, Yu Tang had discussed with her father and elder cousin numerous times about what they should do after reaching this point. At first, Yu Wen was a little dubious about Yu Tang’s proposed terms, but after discussing it with Master Wei and his son, all of them thought that it was feasible, which put his fears to rest. Upon hearing the Li family’s patriarch’s words, he and Master Wei exchanged glances and both of them stood up, with Yu Wen speaking up as a representative for both families, saying “In that case, we, the Yu family and the Wei family, are not unreasonable. When a master is shamed by the servant, the servant is to be put to death, but the master too should bear some responsibility for what the servant has done wrong. We too hope that the Li family would show their sincerity and true remorse. These are our conditions. The eldest son of the Li family would be in mourning and go to Zhaoming Temple to perform a three-day ceremony in honor of Wei Xiaoshan; and Madam Lin will personally go to the front gates of the Yu family residence and kowtow three times as an apology to the Yu family.”
What?!
The crowd was in shock.
Li Duan’s face even turned blue, as he quickly suppressed his surprise as he exclaimed, “What did you say?”
Yu Wen, however, had expected such reactions.
When he heard this from Yu Tang, he too didn’t think it was possible, just like everyone else.
At least things were heading in the right direction for them.
He calmly reiterated both the Yu and Wei families’ request, saying “The eldest son of the Li family will be in mourning attire as he goes to Zhaoming Temple to perform a three-day funeral service for Wei Xiaoshan; while Madam Lin will kowtow three times at the entrance of Yu family’s residence as an apology.”
“Impossible!” Li Duan replied reflexively, his eyes flashing with anger.
Did they really think that the Li family was powerless and incapable of handling them?
Otherwise, why didn’t the Yu and Wei families go straight to the magistrate?
He merely wanted to avoid offending the Pei family.
Hmph, these people were a bunch of ungrateful fools, ignorant of their own lowly status! They wanted his mother to kowtow three times to the Yu family at their front door as reparation?
Did they know his mother’s status? She was the wife of the fourth-ranked official of the Li family! If she kowtowed to the Yu family in front of the inhabitants of Lin’an City, how would she lift her head in public in future?
Even Pei Yan struggled to suppress his astonishment at this.
This kind of compensation, a complete humiliation of the Li Family, was something that was likely to be thought up by a woman kept in the inner courtyards.
This should have been Lady Yu’s idea.
What she was thinking?
To have a three-day funeral ritual was fine, but to let Madam Li make amends like this was an absolute disgrace for the Li family and the Li family would rather fight it out in court rather then agreeing to such terms. Instead of striving to shame the Li Family, it would have been better to ask the Li family for monetary compensation.
Pei Yan looked towards Yu Tang.
However, he saw that Yu Tang was calm and collected, as if she had already foreseen this.
Pei Yan couldn’t help but rub the pixiu(winged lion) in his hand, the uneven pattern on the surface had already been rubbed smooth by him and was no longer sharp but round.
At this moment, he was curious, what was Yu Tang thinking? What will she do next?
Yutang did not disappoint.
She went forward and addressed Li Duan, “Impossible? Which condition are you referring to? And why does Eldest young master Li think it’s impossible?”
Yu Tang had been in the limelight for a while, and it was easy for her to be a prime target of malicious talk. Therefore, Yu Wen did not want Yu Tang to show her face again, so he coughed gently, indicating that Yu Tang should not speak, and that it would be better to leave it to him.
However, Yu Tang felt that it would be better for her to intervene instead of her father, so that everyone could see how Li Duan, a scholarly gentleman, would lower himself to squabble with a young lady.
She placed her hand behind her back and waved reassuringly to her father as she continued speaking, “Are you unwilling to apologize to our two families? Or do you think that the terms are too harsh? Both our families; one without a son and the other with a tarnished reputation, are they unworthy of your Li family giving us a proper apology?”
Yu Wen didn’t want to diminish Yu Tang in front of everyone, and therefore although he was extremely anxious, he couldn’t speak up and could only watch on as Yu Tang and Li Duan argued.
The sound of Yu Tang’s voice was as clear and melodious as refined jade, and it made Li Duan’s heart stir and his mind cleared.
The Yu family had obviously came prepared, and if he could not deal with it with equanimity, he might find himself in a deeper hole.
“Lady Yu, I have came today in good faith to solve this issue and make amends to your family.” He said solemnly, “however, I did not come here just to be insulted by you. Having my mother kowtow to your Yu family in front of everyone at the front gates of your Yu family is too much!”
Yu Tang laughed sardonically as she replied, “In that case, does Eldest Young Master Li think that wearing mourning attire to perform a three-day ceremony at the Zhao Ming Temple for the Wei family’s second son wouldn’t be an insult to your honor then?”
Of course Li Duan was unwilling!
However, it was more acceptable to him than the matter of his mother kowtowing.
Moreover, if he made a showy display of making amends to the Wei family like this, others would only think that he was kind-hearted person, generous and compassionate, with an air of nobility. Not only would it not discredit him, instead it would be advantageous for his reputation.
Was this what the Yu and Wei families intended?
The contrast between the two proposed conditions made him subconsciously choose the more acceptable one.
Did the Yu and Wei families only want him to put on mourning attire for Wei Xiaoshan and pay his respects?
I wonder if this was Yu Wen’s idea or Lady Yu’s?
Li Duan observed Yu Tang intently.
She was of average height and she wore an ordinary fine cloth men’s green robe, her dark, glossy hair was tied nondescriptly in a bun, but her simple clothes could not hide her snowy skin and her delicate curves. Even her cold demeanor could not hide the warmth and brilliance of her gaze.
This shouldn’t be her idea.
She was such a beautiful woman; how could she harbor such vindictive thoughts?
It should have been her father who deliberately asked her to come forward in order to make everyone sympathize with their family.
With a measure of calmness restored, Li Duan remarked, “Lady Yu, it’s acceptable for me to wear mourning clothes for Wei Xiaoshan, but it’s definitely out of the question for my mother, a highly respected woman in my family’s inner courtyard, to kowtow to your family at your front door!”
Pei Yan pricked up his ears.
He too felt that having Li Duan observe the mourning was what the Yu and Wei families were after.
Now it seems that the Yu family’s aim has been achieved.
However, it was unlikely for the Yu family to only have this one condition.
The next step would be to see the next condition Yu Tang has and how the Li family would react.
Chapter 67 – First Condition
The Li family’s patriarch, the twelfth uncle, was already in his sixties. Perhaps due to his lack of concern over his health or owing to age, his hair had turned completely white, his face was creased over with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy. It was as though he was a piece of decaying wood that would break into pieces at any moment.
From the moment he entered the Pei family’s hall, his eyes were half closed and he remained silent as if whatever happened in the hall had nothing to do with him.
It was only after he was called on by Pei Yan did he then open his eyes and straighten up in his seat, saying slowly, “Third Master Pei, I am already almost like a half-deaf and mute man. It’s already good enough that I can understand the gist of the situation, so what else can I say? Let’s just follow what Li Duan says on this.”
Evidently, his words indicated that the handling of this matter was beyond his control and he would do whatever Li Duan said.
The people stilled. The family’s patriarch was being controlled in such a way by the branch family? When they recalled the incident earlier outside the Pei family’s residence, where Li Duan and his brother were walking ahead and the Li family’s patriarch was panting hard as he hurried to catch up with them, they all felt quite uncomfortable.
Many of the men sitting here were patriarchs of their own families.
Therefore, Li Duan undoubtedly ruffled the feathers of the majority by acting in such a way.
Many of them showed their displeasure.
They felt that Li Duan’s branch house was being too disrespectful towards the patriarch house.
Li Duan, on the other hand, cursed Li He and his son internally.
As their family rose in prominence, the patriarch house’s attitude towards them grew strange and unpleasant. They did not inform the patriarch house of this trip to the Pei family’s residence as they feared that the patriarch house would only make things worse. They were prepared for someone to alert them and thus had someone to keep watch and prevent them from coming, but who knew that the patriarch house still managed to sneak in at the very last minute.
Till now, they were still in the dark about the informant.
As expected, the patriarch house was up to no good.
Li Duan was filled with anger in his heart, but he couldn’t show it. Instead, he said deferentially, “I’m terribly sorry to hear that, Twelfth Uncle. My father isn’t around and I am still young, so if I do anything improper, please offer me your guidance.”
Even though things were bad between them, he didn’t think that Twelfth Uncle would have the courage to turn against them right now.
If the Li clan did not have the backing of their branch family, they wouldn’t even be able to benefit at all from things like tax deduction and the like.
Evidently the Li Family’s patriarch house was aware of this and didn’t dare to outwardly go against Li Duan’s family. No matter their discontent, at most they would only make a few snide remarks here and there. If they really were determined to sever ties with the Li Duan’s branch family, not only would they fail to preserve the dignity of patriarch house, but it would also negatively impact their family’s interests.
Therefore, the patriarch house could only show their discontent up to a certain point.
As expected, after hearing Li Duan’s words, the twelfth uncle came forward and said in defense, “Our Li family has always been a family with integrity, and Li Yi has taught his sons well over the years. The Yu and Wei families cannot falsely accuse the Li family of this crime. Moreover, it’s preposterous for the Li family to kill someone just over a child’s marriage! Clearly, the head steward of Li Duan’s family is the most suspicious one. Although there have been cases in history like Cheng Ying saving the orphan, there were also cases like Lu Bu committing regicide. Therefore, we cannot judge all cases in clear cut, black and white terms. As for why the Head Steward of Li Duan’s house would act in such a way, I would like to ask Third Master Pei, Master Yu and Master Wei to show leniency and not pursue this matter further. I will write to Li Yi and let him give both your families an explanation. Is this acceptable?”
After speaking, he stood up and gave a formal bow and said resolutely, “Our Li family will definitely fulfill whatever compensation terms you think is warranted.”
In any case, it’s Li Yi who should be the one to think of a suitable compensation, so why should he be the villain?
Of course the Yu and Wei families wouldn’t be happy with this outcome, but what could they do even if they weren’t?
Unless Li Duan family’s head steward decide to betray them and stab Li Duan in the back.
But that was impossible.
If he admitted to this crime, the head Steward might lose his life, but his family would remain alive and well in the Li household. However, if he confessed that the Li family was the one behind this, not only would he lose his life, but the lives of his entire family would be gone as well.
The outcome of this matter was clear.
That was why Yu Tang would rather seek the Pei family’s help rather than fight the Li family in a legal proceeding in court.
However, it was impossible for the Yu family and the Wei family to let this matter drop just like this.
Prior to this, Yu Tang had discussed with her father and elder cousin numerous times about what they should do after reaching this point. At first, Yu Wen was a little dubious about Yu Tang’s proposed terms, but after discussing it with Master Wei and his son, all of them thought that it was feasible, which put his fears to rest. Upon hearing the Li family’s patriarch’s words, he and Master Wei exchanged glances and both of them stood up, with Yu Wen speaking up as a representative for both families, saying “In that case, we, the Yu family and the Wei family, are not unreasonable. When a master is shamed by the servant, the servant is to be put to death, but the master too should bear some responsibility for what the servant has done wrong. We too hope that the Li family would show their sincerity and true remorse. These are our conditions. The eldest son of the Li family would be in mourning and go to Zhaoming Temple to perform a three-day ceremony in honor of Wei Xiaoshan; and Madam Lin will personally go to the front gates of the Yu family residence and kowtow three times as an apology to the Yu family.”
What?!
The crowd was in shock.
Li Duan’s face even turned blue, as he quickly suppressed his surprise as he exclaimed, “What did you say?”
Yu Wen, however, had expected such reactions.
When he heard this from Yu Tang, he too didn’t think it was possible, just like everyone else.
At least things were heading in the right direction for them.
He calmly reiterated both the Yu and Wei families’ request, saying “The eldest son of the Li family will be in mourning attire as he goes to Zhaoming Temple to perform a three-day funeral service for Wei Xiaoshan; while Madam Lin will kowtow three times at the entrance of Yu family’s residence as an apology.”
“Impossible!” Li Duan replied reflexively, his eyes flashing with anger.
Did they really think that the Li family was powerless and incapable of handling them?
Otherwise, why didn’t the Yu and Wei families go straight to the magistrate?
He merely wanted to avoid offending the Pei family.
Hmph, these people were a bunch of ungrateful fools, ignorant of their own lowly status! They wanted his mother to kowtow three times to the Yu family at their front door as reparation?
Did they know his mother’s status? She was the wife of the fourth-ranked official of the Li family! If she kowtowed to the Yu family in front of the inhabitants of Lin’an City, how would she lift her head in public in future?
Even Pei Yan struggled to suppress his astonishment at this.
This kind of compensation, a complete humiliation of the Li Family, was something that was likely to be thought up by a woman kept in the inner courtyards.
This should have been Lady Yu’s idea.
What she was thinking?
To have a three-day funeral ritual was fine, but to let Madam Li make amends like this was an absolute disgrace for the Li family and the Li family would rather fight it out in court rather then agreeing to such terms. Instead of striving to shame the Li Family, it would have been better to ask the Li family for monetary compensation.
Pei Yan looked towards Yu Tang.
However, he saw that Yu Tang was calm and collected, as if she had already foreseen this.
Pei Yan couldn’t help but rub the pixiu(winged lion) in his hand, the uneven pattern on the surface had already been rubbed smooth by him and was no longer sharp but round.
At this moment, he was curious, what was Yu Tang thinking? What will she do next?
Yutang did not disappoint.
She went forward and addressed Li Duan, “Impossible? Which condition are you referring to? And why does Eldest young master Li think it’s impossible?”
Yu Tang had been in the limelight for a while, and it was easy for her to be a prime target of malicious talk. Therefore, Yu Wen did not want Yu Tang to show her face again, so he coughed gently, indicating that Yu Tang should not speak, and that it would be better to leave it to him.
However, Yu Tang felt that it would be better for her to intervene instead of her father, so that everyone could see how Li Duan, a scholarly gentleman, would lower himself to squabble with a young lady.
She placed her hand behind her back and waved reassuringly to her father as she continued speaking, “Are you unwilling to apologize to our two families? Or do you think that the terms are too harsh? Both our families; one without a son and the other with a tarnished reputation, are they unworthy of your Li family giving us a proper apology?”
Yu Wen didn’t want to diminish Yu Tang in front of everyone, and therefore although he was extremely anxious, he couldn’t speak up and could only watch on as Yu Tang and Li Duan argued.
The sound of Yu Tang’s voice was as clear and melodious as refined jade, and it made Li Duan’s heart stir and his mind cleared.
The Yu family had obviously came prepared, and if he could not deal with it with equanimity, he might find himself in a deeper hole.
“Lady Yu, I have came today in good faith to solve this issue and make amends to your family.” He said solemnly, “however, I did not come here just to be insulted by you. Having my mother kowtow to your Yu family in front of everyone at the front gates of your Yu family is too much!”
Yu Tang laughed sardonically as she replied, “In that case, does Eldest Young Master Li think that wearing mourning attire to perform a three-day ceremony at the Zhao Ming Temple for the Wei family’s second son wouldn’t be an insult to your honor then?”
Of course Li Duan was unwilling!
However, it was more acceptable to him than the matter of his mother kowtowing.
Moreover, if he made a showy display of making amends to the Wei family like this, others would only think that he was kind-hearted person, generous and compassionate, with an air of nobility. Not only would it not discredit him, instead it would be advantageous for his reputation.
Was this what the Yu and Wei families intended?
The contrast between the two proposed conditions made him subconsciously choose the more acceptable one.
Did the Yu and Wei families only want him to put on mourning attire for Wei Xiaoshan and pay his respects?
I wonder if this was Yu Wen’s idea or Lady Yu’s?
Li Duan observed Yu Tang intently.
She was of average height and she wore an ordinary fine cloth men’s green robe, her dark, glossy hair was tied nondescriptly in a bun, but her simple clothes could not hide her snowy skin and her delicate curves. Even her cold demeanor could not hide the warmth and brilliance of her gaze.
This shouldn’t be her idea.
She was such a beautiful woman; how could she harbor such vindictive thoughts?
It should have been her father who deliberately asked her to come forward in order to make everyone sympathize with their family.
With a measure of calmness restored, Li Duan remarked, “Lady Yu, it’s acceptable for me to wear mourning clothes for Wei Xiaoshan, but it’s definitely out of the question for my mother, a highly respected woman in my family’s inner courtyard, to kowtow to your family at your front door!”
Pei Yan pricked up his ears.
He too felt that having Li Duan observe the mourning was what the Yu and Wei families were after.
Now it seems that the Yu family’s aim has been achieved.
However, it was unlikely for the Yu family to only have this one condition.
The next step would be to see the next condition Yu Tang has and how the Li family would react.
