Chapter 19 Li Family
"Li Daoxuan, um, Li Daoxuan. Young Master has a nice name. Are you here to look for someone, Master Li?" The servant who opened the door saw that he had a handsome face, so he patiently asked a few more questions. If it was any ordinary kid, he would have been chased away long ago.

Li Daoxuan opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain. He couldn't say that he was the child of the Li family, could he? He thought of something that might serve as evidence, so he rummaged through the package and took it out. He handed it to the servant and said to him, "Please give this to the lady of the mansion."

The servant was quite perceptive and knew it was from the lady by the words on the letter. He asked Li Daoxuan to wait for a while and then turned around and ran towards the courtyard.

So Li Daoxuan held the package and squatted at the door, looking at the sky. The weather has been good recently, and the sky in Jinling is clear. It was dusk and night, and the sky seemed to be scattered with ink, gradually turning black into a curtain. The stars were shining, as if diamonds were inlaid on the curtain.

Just looking at the stars, I saw that the Purple Star was already quite dim among the stars. Then I looked at the five northern stars, which were located at the tail of the tortoise and snake. This image is Wei Yue Yan, which means the moon and the swallow. Wei Su is not very auspicious on the day of duty, and disasters will definitely lead to death.

Li Daoxuan learned to calculate, and looking at the hexagrams on his fingertips, he couldn't help but sigh. Even if you know the future, you can't help but feel anxious. There are really many disasters in the last years, it's God's will.

As he was thinking, the door of Li's house was opened again. Li Daoxuan turned his head and saw a beautiful woman covering her mouth and looking at him. The woman was wearing a gown and a fur coat. She had gold rings on her fingertips and her skin was white and rosy. She looked well-maintained. She didn't have much to do at home on weekdays, and she spent her days resting and taking care of herself.

"My son, you are finally back." The woman choked up and helped Li Daoxuan up from the ground. She wiped off the dust on her body and looked at his cheek carefully.

He looked similar to the woman, but he was more masculine. His eyes sparkled like pearls, attracting everyone's attention. The more he looked at her, the happier she became. The woman even led him inside with a smile through her tears.

She didn't believe it when the housekeeper brought her the letter just now. After all, the old Taoist had warned her when she took the young child away that she must not go up the mountain to look for her child, so as to avoid a reunion with flesh and blood, which would shake the child's character and ruin this last chance of survival.

As time went by, although she often missed her youngest son whom she had separated from since childhood, she also felt that she had not seen him for many years, and whether the child would be willing to come back in the future was another matter.

How much family love can a child have if he or she is not raised by your side?

The woman took the letter and did not even have dinner, and hurried out. When the door was opened, she saw the young man squatting on the steps. When he raised his head, the woman felt seven parts happy and three parts sad. He looked the same as her, and her eyebrows and eyes were familiar, even if she hadn't seen him for seven or eight years, she would recognize him.

Resist the urge to hug the child and take him back into the house first.

Li Daoxuan followed the woman into the courtyard and saw how big the Li family was. As expected, they were a business that had been able to stand in Jinling for many years, so they naturally had a lot of background.

This courtyard has three entrances and four sides. When you enter the courtyard, you can see the screen wall. It is like a screen, separating the inside and the outside. There are carvings of fortune and luck on the screen wall, and bamboo forests are planted in the corners on both sides. There are flowers and plants planted around the seat, but it is impossible to see them in this season.

Walking in, Li Daoxuan carefully looked at the scenery in the courtyard. He had learned Feng Shui from the old Taoist priest, although he only knew the basics. After going around the screen wall, he saw a small pond with trees planted in the pond and rockery on both sides. At a glance, the Feng Shui of the Li family's front yard must have been guided by an expert. The five elements are endless, just like the inexhaustible flow of living water.

The houses in the courtyard were scattered, all with red lights and green tiles. The door walls were painted red, which was more majestic and colorful than the black-tiled and white houses seen in Jinling. Before entering the middle courtyard, people's voices could be heard. Li Daoxuan followed the woman and walked into the Li family's courtyard step by step.

After passing the side room and entering the main hall, servants and maids came and went in a hurry. The hall was brightly lit, and candles were lit as if they were free.

The big table was already full of guests, and all kinds of delicacies were placed on the table. When they heard someone coming in, they all looked at the woman and Li Daoxuan with doubts. They were curious about the young man who appeared next to the woman.

Just now, the lady received a letter from the servant, and then hurriedly left the banquet and walked out. Everyone thought something had happened, but unexpectedly, the lady came back with a young man. Looking at the young man's fair and clean appearance, everyone secretly guessed who he was. After all, it was late at this time, and no young man would run around with a bag on his back. I haven't heard that the lady's relatives would come to visit at this time. After all, all the relatives and friends in Jinling are sitting at the table at this time.

Today, Mrs. Li hosted a New Year's Eve dinner for relatives, friends and businessmen from Jinling. Although Mr. Li and Mr. Li were not at home, Mrs. Li was still a big deal. After all, Mrs. Li had the final say on all matters of the Li family. Mrs. Li had made an indelible contribution to the development of the Li family to where it is today.

Seeing all the guests looking at him, Li Daoxuan felt a little awkward. But Mrs. Li was very open and took Li Daoxuan to the main banquet. Then she said to everyone, "This is my Erlang. You may not have seen him. He is the third child of me and my master."

"It turned out to be the Third Young Master. I have never heard of him before."

"I didn't expect that Madam Erlang is so outstanding. She is really lucky."

The guests were all very surprised when they heard what Madam Li said. They didn't expect that the young man who suddenly appeared was the third son of the Li family. But how come they had never heard of this matter after so many years of interaction?
Everyone was speculating in their minds, and some people even wondered if they were ignored by the Li family. What they had done recently was known, or what little tricks they had were discovered. In short, everyone had different opinions, but they all praised him out loud.

Mrs. Li was naturally very happy. Her son who had been away from home for many years suddenly came back. This was the greatest joy for a mother. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, unable to control her emotions.

After asking the servant to take Li Daoxuan's package away, Mrs. Li took him to sit at the main banquet.

As soon as he sat down, Li Daoxuan felt countless eyes focused on him. Thinking that things had come to this point, the embarrassment in his heart passed. He raised his head and looked at the people at the banquet. They were all wearing melon hats and pigtails. Although they all looked a little old, compared to the farmers he had seen outside, these people were fair-skinned and well-fed.

Most of the people who could contact the Li family were wealthy merchants in Jinling. As for the officials and dignitaries in Jinling, they were not the ones that Madam Li needed to entertain.

The servants brought chopsticks and bowls, and Mrs. Li wiped them clean for Li Daoxuan herself. She also gently comforted him not to be afraid, saying that everyone sitting at the table was her family.

After hearing what Madam Li said, everyone present smiled. An old man raised his glass to Li Daoxuan and said, "I never thought that Madam had such an extraordinary son. As soon as I saw him, I knew that the third son would be a great talent in the future. I don't know where the third son has been in these years, so let us admire him a little."

"This is Mr. Zhang, a juren in the second year of the Tongzhi reign." Mrs. Li introduced to the old man.

Before Li Daoxuan could say anything, Madam Li came to the rescue of her child: "I gave birth to Erlang more than ten years ago, but because he was born weak, the Taoist priest said that he must be raised in the temple, so I named him Daoxuan. He has been living in Maoshan for many years and has never been back."

"So that's how it is. Madam is really blessed."

The banquet became more lively after the topic was opened. Li Daoxuan also felt hungry, so he ate the food in the bowl.

Mrs. Li was afraid that he would not eat too much because of unfamiliarity, so she would pick up some dishes for him from time to time. This made Li Daoxuan feel guilty, thinking that he had not intended to recognize this mother before.

(End of this chapter)