Chapter 35 Persuasion
At the evening banquet, the Li family gathered together. After these days of running around, it was a rare opportunity for them to have a meal together. Mr. Li looked around the table and saw that except for the two concubines who had returned to their parents' home, the rest of the children were at home.

Mr. Li was somewhat pleased, thinking that the Li family had grown up under his leadership. In addition to the three brothers and sisters Li Daoxuan, who were born to Mrs. Li, the two concubines also gave birth to children for Mr. Li.

The first concubine has a son and a daughter, and the second concubine has two daughters.

The youngest was only six years old, and the oldest was already over 18. However, because the eldest son, Li Mingda, had not yet married, the illegitimate son, who was 18 years old, had to wait, which was why Master Li urged the eldest son to get married.

In this era when the etiquette of the clan has not completely collapsed, if the eldest son is not married, the marriage of the younger sons will not be arranged. The eldest concubine is also very anxious about this. After all, her sons have grown up day by day and are already at the age of starting a family and building a career. However, since the eldest son has not married, the younger sons can only delay it.

However, Master Li didn't want to mention this matter today. After all, it's better to have a happy reunion during the New Year. If this matter caused unrest between father and son and damaged the harmony in the family, Master Li didn't want to see it either.

The servants brought the dishes to the table, and the children sat obediently, staring at the delicacies on the table. Before Master Li started eating, no one dared to eat first.

After waiting for the dishes to be served, Mr. Li put down his chopsticks. He looked at Mrs. Li, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Madam, you and Ying'er will not go to the old man Wang's 80th birthday party."

"What's the reason?" Madam Li was a little confused. After all, it was the old man's 80th birthday. This was a big happy event, and as the mistress of the Li family, how could she not go? If this got out and people knew about it, they would probably gossip about her behind her back, saying that she was throwing a tantrum and damaging her reputation as a virtuous woman.

This was unacceptable to Mrs. Li. After all, no woman wanted to be accused of being unvirtuous.

In this society where reputation is more important than life, once your reputation is tarnished, it is equivalent to social death. Especially for women in this period, if you do something worse, no matter how others look at you, even the vegetable vendors will not sell you anything.

It is called "immersing in a pig cage", which is also a characteristic of this era.

Mr. Li knew that this matter was unacceptable no matter what, so he had to tell Li Daoxuan about his fortune-telling. Then he signaled to Li Daoxuan, and Li Daoxuan understood.

Seeing Madam Li's surprised expression, he said seriously, "Mother, it was indeed predicted by my son. There are too many variables in the divination when we go to Wang's house, and there may be unexpected problems. Mother, why don't you stay at home and rest for a day and wait for us to come back."

"But……"

Madam Li was still struggling. Li Daoxuan quietly wiped his eyes with his hands and looked at Madam Li with red eyes.

"Mom, I just came back not long ago, and I haven't seen you for several years. You also said in the letter that you are not in good health. If something unexpected happens, what should I do..." Li Daoxuan said, his voice became low. He looked a little sad, and his gloomy expression was really distressing.

Because Li Daoxuan left home when he was young and had not been with Madam Li for many years, she was always worried about him. When he came back, Madam Li felt the most sorry for him. She stood up and walked to him and took him in her arms to comfort him. Hearing her son's choking voice, her mother felt upset. She could only obey her son and not go to the party.

"Mother won't go, mother won't go." Madam Li smiled gently. "How old are you, and you just learned to cry in the mountains? Okay, okay. Don't cry, don't cry."

The tender scene made Mr. Li shed tears, for no other reason than that he felt the scene was too dazzling.

As for the youngest girl, who was six years old, she was already pouting and missing her mother, and asked her sister for comfort.

So, with Li Daoxuan and Mr. Li appealing to her feelings and reasoning, Mrs. Li agreed not to attend the Wang family's banquet. The family ate happily, but Li Daoxuan felt a little uncomfortable. After all, he was really sad just now, and in order to build up his emotions, he inexplicably thought of his parents who had been gone for many years. When he was a child, they treated him so gently, allowing his life to always be on a bright road. It was also because of these reasons that he could live alone calmly even after his parents left.

Missing is like aged wine, hidden in the deepest part of the heart. You can’t smell the aroma of wine or see people getting drunk on weekdays, but it is the most intoxicating when it is opened. It is like the tide in the night, spreading and rising, surging under the calm waves.

Rubbing his nose to calm himself down, Li Daoxuan looked at Mr. Li and Mrs. Li beside him. Inadvertently, he saw two figures waving at him, then slowly left and disappeared in the candlelight.

His expression was a little dazed, but then Mr. Li patted him on the shoulder and woke him up from his trance.

"What are you thinking about, brat?" Mr. Li asked with a smile. He filled Li Daoxuan's glass with sake and raised his own glass towards Li Daoxuan. "Let's have a drink together?"

Li Daoxuan did not say anything either. He just raised his glass and clinked it with Master Li. They looked at each other and smiled before drinking.

The meal lasted until very late, mainly because Mr. Li was particularly talkative today. He kept talking to the whole family, saying things that should and shouldn't be said. In the end, it was only under Mrs. Li's urging that Mr. Li stopped with a red face.

Everyone dispersed, and Li Daoxuan took a bath and then practiced sitting on the bed. He was too emotional today, and he didn't want to go to Uncle Jiu to study today.

"It's okay to be lazy for a day." Li Daoxuan found an excuse for himself and prepared to fall asleep after a short meditation. He usually spent his days in a dreamland, and this time he wanted to have a good rest for a night.

Just as he was about to undress and get into bed, he heard a strange noise outside. Li Daoxuan's hearing was not as good as before, but now it was extraordinary. He listened carefully and heard the sound of footsteps, the sound of breaking through the air, and the sound of metal colliding. Li Daoxuan couldn't help but stare and turned over.

"Do you want to have a good New Year?" Li Daoxuan thought it was ridiculous. He didn't expect that someone would be a night rat again and again. And they were always wandering around his house. Could it be that his house really had something to hide? Li Daoxuan thought he had to ask Master Li about this tomorrow.

After putting on simple clothes, Li Daoxuan gently pushed open the window. The moonlight shone in from the sky, bringing in a bit of tranquility.

But under the moonlight, two night-wearers were fighting in the dark. Their punches and kicks were fierce, and every move was a lethal move that could kill someone. Li Daoxuan secretly watched for a while and had an understanding of these two people.

The young man with a slightly higher head should be practicing horizontal Kung Fu, with strong limbs and powerful moves. If he guessed correctly, it should be Luohan Fist. The other one practiced leg techniques, which seemed to have some shadows of Mantis Fist. However, his feet were extremely sharp, and every move was to sweep and kick the tall man's vital points.

"Which group of people are fighting here again? Are there really some treasures in Lijia Village now?" Li Daoxuan was extremely surprised. He had just seen two people with extraordinary skills in the past two days, and he could see two more tonight.

However, these two were far inferior to the two who came to the Li family before, not to mention the strong man. Even the little girl might not be defeated by these two.

After all, Uncle Jiu had taught him this trick for quite some time, so Li Daoxuan could still see some clues. He squinted at the two people who were getting closer and closer to the Li family's house, looked around the house, and tore off a piece of cloth to tie on his face.

Then he jumped out of the window, tapped the tiles with his toes and flew towards the two people.

(End of this chapter)