Chapter 101: Ancestral rites in the Lin family

April 4, Saturday. It was the first day of Qingming.

Deep within the capital, behind the vermilion gates of a centuries-old siheyuan, the Lin family had already hung silk banners, arranged flower baskets, and begun preparing for the ancestral rites.

The ancestral tablets of the Lin family were housed in a centuries-old siheyuan at the heart of the capital. The ancient siheyuan was no longer suitable for living. It was now reserved solely for the Lin family to perform their ancestral rites.

The first day of Qingming came with a fine spring drizzle, moistening the gray bricks of the old courtyard and leaving them damp and dark.

The moment Lin Feng stepped out of the car and entered the ancient siheyuan, it felt as if two vastly different eras had overlapped and merged.

The elegance of ancient times, with its silk banners, flowing hanfu, and tiled eaves, seemed to coexist with the prosperity of the modern world, with its towering skyscrapers and gleaming vehicles.

The two worlds stood side by side, separated by nothing more than the threshold of the vermilion door.

This place looked very much like the Lin family courtyard where Madam Lin had once lived, although it was smaller, as if several sections of the grand mansion had been cut off, leaving only the central siheyuan.

Lin Feng stood in a daze for a long time, not coming back to his senses until someone behind him coughed.

"Xiao Feng, you’re blocking the way."

Lin Feng was startled and turned around.

Lin Wei and Rong Shuang stood behind him. Further behind them were a young woman and two young men.

Lin Feng greeted the elders. "Good morning, Uncle and Aunt."

Then he nodded at his cousins. "Good morning, Big Sister Mengyao, Second Brother Chengye, and Third Brother Junhao."

The young woman, Lin Mengyao, snorted unhappily. "What’s so good about seeing you in the morning?"

Lin Wei said without losing his smile, "Mengyao."

It was a warning.

Lin Mengyao pursed her lips and said nothing more.

She still could not get over the fact that her engagement had fallen through because of this cousin. Although the incident had also exposed how unreliable her fiancé was and potentially saved her from an unhappy marriage, Lin Mengyao had sincerely loved that man.

After all, he was really handsome and came from a political family.

Sadly, it turned out that politicians really could not be relied on.

Lin Chengye nodded at Lin Feng with a calm expression, while Lin Junhao...

He was looking at Lin Feng again with that same inexplicable expression.

Lin Feng could not help looking back, feeling a little confused.

Their eyes met.

Lin Feng’s eyes were clear.

He was still as quiet as before, still gentle.

But this time, the boy looked much softer, more... carefree.

Lin Junhao had been watching the boy all this time, his eyes never leaving him for a second.

However...

’Something is different.’

The young man, who was as gentle and upright as bamboo, clenched his fists as a hint of melancholy rose in his heart once more.

The ancestral worship ceremony of the Lin family proceeded quickly because there were not many ancestors to honor or descendants to attend.

As if cursed for generations, each family branch, whether the main or a collateral line, usually had only one or two children. Only rarely did a family have three children.

Not everyone survived to adulthood, either.

Because of this, the Lin family precepts were quite strict and family-oriented. Since they could not maintain their numbers, they strove to cultivate the quality of their descendants instead.

However, they had clearly failed in Lin Dong’s case.

Yet, it was also because of the strict family rules that, when Lin Dong’s crimes came to light, the clan elders easily reached a decision and decisively removed him from the genealogy.

Their family was small, and a single mistake could bring them down. They had already made one mistake, and they could not afford to make any more.

Removing Lin Dong, the disappointment and shame of the Lin family, from the family was easy. However, they found it difficult to reach a decision regarding Lin Feng.

The boy’s actions did not exactly constitute a violation of the Lin family rules. Furthermore, the Lin family had declined so much that it could not withstand any attack from the Bai family if it truly offended them. The Bai family clearly still treasured Lin Feng because of Bai Yufei, the family’s precious pearl.

The Lin family elders also felt guilty because it was their own descendants who had caused the most trouble. Lin Dong had driven an innocent woman to her death, while Lin Feng had brought the scandal to light.

They could not afford to offend the Bai family, yet they felt too guilty to do so. At the same time, they were unwilling to bow their heads.

They had their own pride and did not want to become a laughingstock by acting as though they had no backbone. However, they could not gamble with the family’s future and risk its very foundations crumbling.

It was sad, but that was reality.

Thus, when the Bai family took the initiative to reach out, the clan elders were secretly relieved.

At least they did not appear too much like pushovers.

They were even more relieved when a massive amount of funds was injected into the company at a crucial moment. They saw it as a silver lining.

Even before the scandal broke, they had already been worrying about the company’s lack of funds. Had the scandal never happened, the Lin family would not have received such a large investment through the dowry of a woman who had married into the family.

Therefore, when Lin Feng showed up at the family’s ancestral hall, no one made things difficult for him.

Of course, there were some unfriendly looks, but overall, the ancestral worship ceremony concluded quickly.

Lin Wei told Lin Feng, "For the rest of the Qingming period, the other Lin family members can visit the clan’s mausoleum and other graves on their own. Tomorrow, just pay your respects at the Lin family mausoleum, and then you can visit your mother’s grave in the Bai family mausoleum."

"Um, I know, Uncle. I will."

Lin Wei sighed. "Don’t mind your big sister. She’ll get over it soon."

The boy smiled gently. "Um, I know, Uncle."