It was dusk, and the sunset sky glowed with the brilliance of the setting sun.
They departed from the Autumn Leaf Courtyard.
Outside the gate, the area was desolated.
Everyone's shadows were stretched long by the sunlight, occasionally overlapping one another.
Qing Chen lifted his foot and followed the servant toward the eting hall.
On the way, he asked Li Su and the others, "Were these kinds of family etings common in the past?"
"Not really," Li Su shook his head, "They usually happen after the annual ancestral shrine worship, once a year. Representatives of the various factions within the clan would report the most important settlent data to the Family Head and then new appointnts for the coming year would be made."
"How long do they usually last?" Qing Chen asked, curious.
"There have been etings that lasted three days and three nights," Li Su said with a smile, "Many people attend these etings wearing adult diapers just in case."
Qing Chen had heard about such lengthy etings in big companies of the Outer World, where participants, not wishing to go to the bathroom, wore adult diapers.
The atmosphere at those etings was extrely serious, and attendees would not even dare to ntion going to the bathroom.
In Qing Chen's impression, the old man was very kind. Could such a person preside over a eting that would instill fear in the clan's mbers?
Perhaps this was sothing those in high positions simply had to do.
"Is the Li Family's elder usually very serious?" Qing Chen asked.
Li Su explained, "Grandfather isn't particularly serious, but he is decisive and deliberate in his actions, and once he makes a decision, it's hard to change. Everyone dreads this eting mainly because it's so important—a single eting can appoint or dismiss dozens, if not hundreds of people, and it can even determine the fate of certain factions within the family for years to co; no one dares to take it lightly. So lose power during the eting and might not return to the heart of power for decades."
By this ti, the servant had led them to the eting hall.
However, as everyone entered, they suddenly discovered the hall was completely empty.
The eting was not here!
Li Ke said, "There are two eting halls in the Half-Mountain Villa, one is called Shou Zen, and the other is called Ming Li. The eting must be taking place in the other one."
The group turned their heads to look at the servant, only to see the servant say with fear and trepidation, "I am sorry, everyone, I don't know what happened either. My orders were to bring you to the 'Shou Zen' eting hall!"
Li Su looked at Qing Chen, "Sir, it seems soone does not want you to attend the eting."
Qing Chen smiled, it was quite obvious.
Soone did not want him to attend the eting.
Ever since the servant had ntioned that he had the power to not attend, Qing Chen knew it was an insinuation.
Qing Chen thought for a mont, "How far is the other eting hall from here?"
"A twenty-minute walk," Li Ke answered, "According to the ti, the eting should start in ten minutes."
"Interesting," Qing Chen said with a smile.
This was unexpected, but not entirely surprising.
If there weren't any cunning plots and sches in a large family estate, Qing Chen would actually find it odd.
Whenever the established ruling class sees the ergence of a newcor, they invariably spare no effort to suppress them because everyone is well aware that the pie is only so big; one more person ans one less portion for themselves.
But the thing is...he was just a re tutor, so why target him?
Li Su whispered, "Sir, everyone is now saying that you are the old master's illegitimate child, and that before the old master ascends to the sky on a crane, he wants you to acknowledge your ancestry and enter the ancestral shrine to pay homage..."
Qing Chen was taken aback, so that was it!
Indeed, the old man had been too kind to him, resulting in many people misunderstanding sothing.
That's right, a tutor naturally wouldn't affect others' interests, but an illegitimate child acknowledging his ancestry would be a different matter.
However, the problem was...he wasn't any illegitimate child at all!
Look at the ss this had beco!
Qing Chen said, "Let's go; we'll head to the next eting hall."
Li Su said, "Sir, aren't you angry that they made you late on purpose?"
Although he hadn't formally kowtowed and beco a disciple, during this ti, Qing Chen's selfless teaching and the dedicated empowernt he provided made all the students feel grateful.
Seeing their tutor being deliberately sidelined, they naturally felt indignant.
"Angry? Oh, I can hold a grudge quite well, but getting upset here with a servant is futile; he's just a runner," Qing Chen said calmly, "However, setting out imdiately whenever you want to go sowhere, there's nothing wrong with that."
Li Su and the others exchanged glances and quickly followed him.
...
...
Inside the Ming Li eting Hall, nearly a hundred people were already seated.
In the middle, there was an empty long table with only 11 people sitting at it, while the rest of the people sat at the side benches not far away.
The aura of these 11 people was more formidable than the next, to the extent that those seated on the side benches hardly dared to look at them directly.
Any decision these individuals made could influence the fate of millions of people.
Next to the long table, a gaunt middle-aged man asked, "How is the old master's health? Holding a family eting at this ti won't have any impact on his health, will it? Big brother, won't you persuade him?"
After speaking, he looked at Li Yunshou, who sat in the first position on the left side.
Li Yunshou did not respond to him, rely continuing to look at the docunts in his hand.
For this eting, all participants were required to carry their docunts in paper format, and it was prohibited to bring any electronic devices into the eting.
If a mber carried a chanical limb, soone outside would be responsible for disassembling and safeguarding it.
After the eting, a designated chanical limb physician would be responsible for installing them back on.
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