I Read Their Tragic Fates, and My Family Reads My Mind?

The younger generation snapped out of their daze and hurriedly lit a new bundle of incense.

The elders took them. In the time it took to turn around, the incense in their hands snapped in half again, every last stick falling to the ground.

Everyone: "!!!"

"Again!"

The head of the third branch—Silas Rhodes’s useless father, Felix Unger—refused to give up and had someone light the incense for a third time.

Unsurprisingly, this third batch of incense met the same fate, breaking in the middle.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"This..." An older clan elder, leaning on his cane with a deathly pale face, stammered. "For all the incense to break during the ancestral rites... this is a terrible omen! A terrible omen indeed!"

"Exactly. For something like this to happen three times in a row... it can’t be a coincidence. Someone in the family must have done something shameful to anger the ancestors. That’s the only explanation."

"What’s that supposed to mean? If you have something to say, say it. Why are you looking at me? Are you suggesting I did something shameful? You’re one to talk. If anyone angered the ancestors, it was clearly you."

"Did I say your name? You’re in such a hurry to jump in and take the blame. Sounds like a guilty conscience to me."

"You!"

"Enough!" In the end, it was the same clan elder who shouted, putting a stop to the farce. He then turned to First Uncle’s family, who had been in charge of this year’s ceremony.

"You, from the second branch," he said, his gaze landing on First Uncle. "Your family arranged every aspect of this ceremony, including the incense and offerings. Now that the ritual incense is the source of the problem, do you have nothing to say in your defense?"

The moment he said that, First Uncle’s face fell.

’What does he mean? Is he trying to pin the blame for today’s disaster on my family? To make us the scapegoats for the entire clan!’

First Uncle couldn’t possibly let such a malicious plot succeed.

"With all due respect, how could we possibly be negligent with something so important? We personally bought this incense from the biggest and best shop in the city. I still have the receipt. How could there be a problem with it?"

Walter Rhodes quickly chimed in to support him. "That’s right. I bought the incense myself. There’s absolutely no way there’s a problem with it. If any of our uncles and cousins don’t believe us, there are plenty of unused packs right here. You’re welcome to inspect them."

Upon hearing this, a few other relatives immediately stepped forward to inspect the remaining incense. As expected, they found nothing wrong with the unused sticks.

But when they lit the sticks, paid their respects, and handed them to the elders to place before the tombstones, the incense once again met the same fate, snapping cleanly in half.

"This..."

The clan elder who had spoken was from the same generation as old Mr. Rhodes. Unwilling to let the man pin the blame on him again, First Uncle decisively cut him off before he could speak.

"We’ve inspected them, and we’ve observed them. The incense is perfectly fine before being lit. It’s fine during the prayers. The problem only happens at the very end, just before they’re placed in the burner. If you ask me, should there truly be a problem, it must lie with the person who handles them last."

The clan elder’s face darkened. Due to his seniority, most of the incense from the second and third branches was handed to him to complete the final part of the ritual.

First Uncle’s words were a direct accusation, turning the elder’s own attack back on him.

"You of the second house! How dare you speak like that? You have no respect for your elders! It’s precisely because of descendants like you that our ancestors’ spirits are enraged."

"Third Uncle is right. First Brother, everyone here has been talking about what’s going on in your household. First, you tricked your wife into signing organ donation forms, and then you secretly took out a massive insurance policy on her. That’s truly despicable.

"If we were to press the matter, that would be considered attempted assault. You’d be eating prison meals. Our family is supposed to be respectable. If word got out that we have a relative who’s been behind bars, we’d be utterly disgraced. No wonder the ancestors are furious in their graves! They refuse to even give you, the person officiating this ceremony, a shred of dignity."

Backstabbed by his own brother, First Uncle laughed in fury. "Well said! Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re some paragon of virtue, a great philanthropist who despises evil. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re all plotting. So I’m not a good person? And you’re any better? Push me too far, and we’ll see if I don’t air all of your dirty laundry. Then we can all find out who’s truly the most disgraceful, and who the ancestors really can’t stand!"

In a matter of moments, the relatives who had been chatting and laughing together just a short while ago were now wearing completely different faces. No one was willing to yield an inch, each looking as if they wanted to tear a pound of flesh from the other.

Compared to the tense, explosive atmosphere on their side, the scene with Arabella Donovan and her group was the very picture of serene tranquility.

Both of their families had many relatives, but they were generally harmonious. They had rarely witnessed such a spectacle of internal strife and family members turning on one another.

They were now watching from the sidelines with great relish, just short of grabbing a handful of popcorn to enjoy the show.

"Brilliant, just brilliant."

"March 23rd, the Year of the Snake, during the Grain Rain solar term. Here at the Rhodes Family’s ancestral rites in Kael, a war of words has broken out! The Blue corner strikes first with a ’Blame Game’ attack, drawing first blood! Not to be outdone, the Red corner counters with the ’Misdirection’ skill, successfully dodging the fatal blow! But Blue isn’t giving up their advantage, activating their secondary skill ’Shameless Harassment’ to bog down their opponent.

"Red is enraged and has gone berserk, unleashing their ultimate for massive AOE damage! It’s a classic ’wound the enemy by a thousand to damage yourself by eight hundred’ play, narrowing the gap between the two sides! The battle has now reached a fever pitch, and it’s anyone’s game! That’s all from your frontline correspondent, Serena, reporting live."

The moment Arabella Donovan finished speaking, appreciative applause broke out beside her.

"Setting aside everything else, with eloquence like that, it would be a huge loss to the media world if Serena didn’t become a journalist."

Arabella Donovan immediately puffed out her chest with pride, accepting the compliment.

Nearby, Hector Donovan was enjoying both the drama and his sister’s antics, but he didn’t forget to seize the opportunity to badmouth Caspian Rhodes.

"Did you see that? Did you? This is the downside of a family that doesn’t get along. Open attacks and hidden daggers—impossible to defend against. A small fight every three days, a big war every five. It always ends in serious injury, and the entire family knows no peace. When you girls find a husband in the future, you must absolutely avoid this kind of situation. I’m not asking for them to be wildly successful, but their family must be harmonious and their elders kind. A family like theirs... that’s an absolute deal-breaker."

Zane Lynch felt a flash of awkwardness. ’Dude,’ he thought, ’could you be any more obvious? Be careful or you’ll just trigger her rebellious side.’

He had barely finished the thought when he saw his cousin nod with great gravity, voicing his strong agreement. "Exactly. A harmonious family is the key to prosperity. A complicated family like theirs is no place for our Serena."

"..." ’First a duet, and now you’re naming names,’ Zane thought. ’I seriously suspect you two are doing this on purpose, just to get back at someone over that so-called marriage contract with the Donovans’ little sister!’

Zane Lynch silently glanced at his cousin, who stood nearby, completely unaware of the turmoil in Zane’s mind. In his heart, Zane silently lit a candle for him.

Arabella Donovan frowned slightly but didn’t comment on the duo’s incredibly pointed "advice."

Just then, a cry of surprise came from someone in the crowd nearby.

"Quick, look! The incense sticks held by First Grand-uncle’s group haven’t broken!"