The Li family obviously had a tradition of valuing females over males. After seeing her precious "granddaughter-in-law", Old Mistress completely forgot about the existence of Li Yi, her real "grandson". She pulled Liu Ruyi's hand and walked into the house.
Old Mistress's enthusiasm far exceeded Li Yi's imagination. At this moment, he could only follow behind them.
However, a few maidservants beside Old Mistress stole a glance at this young master whom they were meeting for the first time. After being discovered by Li Yi, they turned their heads away with blushing faces.
There were quite a number of people in the hall. When Old Mistress pulled Liu Ruyi in, the crowd happened to come out to welcome them.
"Good, good!" A middle-aged man in his thirties strode over to Li Yi. He patted his shoulder hard and said a few words with a face full of "good".
Li Yi felt some pain in his shoulder, but when he saw the man's slightly red eyes, he didn't argue with him.
"Young Master, this is Second Master. You should call him Second Uncle," Uncle Li reminded him.
There were three sons and one daughter in the direct line of descent in the Li family. The eldest son was not around, so the second son inherited the family business. This meant that the person in front of him was the master of the Li family, the uncle of the original owner of this body.
"Second Uncle," Li Yi bowed and greeted.
Perhaps it was because they shared the same bloodline, even though it was the first time they met, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with these people.
"This is Third Master," Uncle Li said as he pointed to another younger man.
Li Yi bowed again.
This Third Uncle only nodded slightly and didn't appear to be very enthusiastic.
Li Yi didn't mind this. Uncle Li had told him long ago that the Third Master of the Li family had a mild temper. He treated everyone like this and didn't have any ill intentions.
There were Second Uncles and Third Uncles. Naturally, there were Second Aunts and Third Aunts. As long as one was born in a big family, which man did not have at least one or two concubines? Li Yi recognized a circle of people, but in the end, he only remembered the most important ones.
Most of the womenfolk were circling around Ruyi. Li Yi saw a woman point at the bracelet that Old Mistress had just given her. She exclaimed with an exaggerated expression, "This bracelet looks so familiar. It looks like the one that Old Mistress is wearing."
Then, everyone's eyes were glued to the bracelet on Liu Ruyi's wrist.
Some were amazed, some were envious, and some were jealous. Li Yi immediately knew that Old Mistress might have given a big gift.
"These two children have been on the road for a few days. I'm sure they're exhausted. They've met everyone they need to meet. Let them go and have a good rest. If there's anything else, we'll talk about it at night." After a while, the old mistress issued an order.
Out of all virtues, filial piety was the most important. The ancients had deeply implemented this traditional virtue. In this family, the men made the decisions for external matters. As for the domestic matters, Old Mistress was the one in charge.
"Ruyi, come with Grandmother for a while." When Li Yi was escorted away by a few maidservants, he saw Old Mistress holding Miss.Liu's hand and happily walking to the back hall.
Although this was still a society that valued appearance, and it was easier to be liked by others if one was beautiful, Li Yi felt that the way Old Mistress looked at him was not quite normal. Just as he was feeling puzzled, he was brought into a room by a few maidservants. A pretty maidservant said crisply, "Young Master, this servant will help you bathe …"
It had been a tiring journey and he was really tired. It would be nice to have a comfortable hot bath. Li Yi took off his outer robe and suddenly felt that something was wrong. He turned around and saw that a few maidservants were standing behind him, looking at him with red faces. There was clearly some kind of light in their eyes.
Li Yi did not have the habit of being surrounded by people when he was bathing. He just wanted to have a good bath alone. After the bathtub and hot water were prepared, he sent them out.
Lying comfortably in the bathtub, he began to miss Xiao Huan.
At this time, if only he could have a little maidservant's hands massaging his shoulders. How good would it be …
He had arrived at the capital, and the favor was almost repaid. When Old Mistress's birthday was over, he could say goodbye. Ruyi and Xiao Huan were still waiting for him at home.
No matter how big the Li family's business was, it was not his turn to inherit it. Moreover, he was really not interested in it. Coming to visit the Li family was just the obsession of the child in his dream. Li Yi had a premonition that when he dreamed again, he would not be able to see him.
Just as Li Yi was lying comfortably in the bathtub, a few maidservants sat in the corridor by the door and whispered.
"That is the young master. It seems that the story of the young master running away from home twenty years ago is true …" A maidservant with two buns exclaimed.
A slightly older maidservant whispered, "Of course it is true. The elders in the manor all know that the young master ran away with a woman. Otherwise, how could the second master become the master?"
"I heard from Old Mistress that the young master looks exactly like the young master. I don't know if it is true." A round-faced maidservant murmured.
"It is true, it is true. There is a portrait of the young master in Old Mistress's temple. I have seen it before. The person in the portrait is very similar to the young master. Old Mistress always cries when she looks at the portrait. It should be the young master …"
"The young master is really handsome. Although he looks thin, when he takes off his clothes, he is really well-built … Say, who do you think Old Mistress will send to serve the young master?"
In these large families, the maidservants who served the young master would usually become concubines. Although it was not to say that they would fly up the branches and become phoenixes, they would be able to live a life of luxury. Therefore, becoming the young master's maidservant was the dream of most maidservants.
Hearing this, one of them sneered, "Stop dreaming. I think the young master doesn't have any feelings for us at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven us all out just now. Even Young Mistress's second daughter is so beautiful. I think Young Mistress is also a first-class beauty. Will the young master like us?"
The maidservant who spoke just now was obviously disappointed. She changed the topic and said, "Old Mistress likes the second daughter very much. She even gave the jade bracelet on her hand to her. I heard that the jade bracelet is only passed down to the first wife of the Li family. Second Mistress has always wanted the jade bracelet, but Old Mistress never gave it to her. This time, Second Mistress will definitely be unhappy."
When they had nothing to do, they would secretly gossip about their masters. It was probably one of the few entertainment for these servants. Especially when there was no one around, the topic would also be bolder.
At this time, in a hall at the back of the house, an angry woman pointed at Li Mingze, the current head of the Li family and said, "Look, look, how biased she is. Can that bracelet be given away so casually? Does she want that outsider woman to be the first wife of the Li family?"
"I knew it. I knew it. After so many years, the old lady is still thinking about her eldest son. She keeps calling him 'good grandson'. Does she still care about us? She can give away the family heirloom bracelets today, and she can give away the Li family tomorrow …"
"Shut up!"
Li Mingze suddenly pounded the table, stood up and said, "He is the only blood of my eldest brother. He is a descendant of the Li family. I owe my eldest brother too much. I can't treat this child badly … Don't say these words again!"
After that, he directly flicked his sleeves and left, leaving only the woman in the hall, cursing even louder.
…
…
As soon as Li Yi woke up, he felt refreshed. It was rare that he didn't have any dreams recently. He raised his head and looked out of the window, finding that it was already dark.
"Young master, Old Mistress asked me to take you to dinner."
After knocking on the door, a clear and crisp voice was heard.
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