The next morning, there were noises in every room.
But only Liu's room was quiet, without a sound.
At first, everyone thought that Liu was planning to sleep a little longer, but until breakfast time, Liu still didn't show up, which was a bit unusual.
After everyone finished breakfast, the men carried their hoes and went to the fields. The women and children had to clean up the kitchen, feed the pigs and chickens, do laundry, cook, etc., and only go to the fields when they had time.
Seeing that Liu had not come out to eat at this time, Zhou couldn't help but frown. She casually sent away Sun, who had a sarcastic look on her face, and went to check inside Liu's room.
Sun readily agreed - how could Sun miss the opportunity to mock Liu face to face?
Even if Zhou didn't call her, she would have rushed over on her own initiative.
But when she reached Liu's room, Sun found something wrong.
Why is this door half open?
When Sun entered the house, she saw a long bloodstain on the ground, which stretched all the way to the head of the kang.
Liu, lying on the kang, had a pale face and closed eyes. She wasn't even covered with a quilt. The thick mattress beneath her was soaked in blood, red with purple and black.
Sun screamed in fright, startling everyone in the Xia family.
When the others heard this cry, they dropped what they were doing and rushed over. Before they even reached Liu's room, they saw Sun crawling out, "Oh, sister-in-law, sister-in-law, something happened to her! She seems to be dead!"
Zhou couldn't help but scold Sun: "What are you talking about? It's so early in the morning, and you don't think it's unlucky! How can you say such things casually?"
When Sun saw Zhou, she felt even closer to her than when she had seen Xia Yougui. She rushed over, howling and crying, and hugged Zhou's legs tightly. "Oh, mother, mother, I was so scared! I was so scared that I almost couldn't breathe! I'm afraid my sister-in-law is dead! Not only has she passed away, but her body is also cold!"
Sun's words shocked Zhou, and everyone else was also frightened. For a moment, they didn't care to think, and all they said was a flurry of words.
"Are you serious?" "Get up quickly! The ground is cold!" "Is sister-in-law suffering from some kind of emergency?" "Don't block the way, let's go and take a look. If she still has a pulse, maybe she can be saved!"
In the midst of the chaos, Sun suddenly caught sight of the blood on the ground and jumped up with a cry of "Ah!" "Mom, mom, look, look!"
Zhou and everyone else looked towards the place where Sun was pointing, and saw a pool of blood that had changed color.
Looking around, I saw that the bloodstains came from the toilet and formed a discontinuous line. The closer to the door, the more bloodstains there were.
What's going on?
Everyone couldn't help but start to wonder in their hearts.
After looking at each other for a while, Zhou asked the children to stay, straightened her back, and took the lead to take the wives to see the situation in Liu's room.
The more people there are, the more courageous they are. Moreover, Zhou is at the head of the group.
Everyone encouraged each other, pushing and pulling each other, and rushed into Liu's door together.
But Sun refused to go in again.
She had even tried to feel Liu's pulse, including her neck and wrist, but her hand felt cold, which scared her to death.
Seeing that everyone was about to go in, Sun even let go of Zhou's thighs and hid behind everyone. She didn't dare to enter Liu's room, nor did she dare to go far away.
It looks a bit pitiful.
Zhou didn't care about Sun. She looked at the bloodstains on the ground and Liu on the kang, and couldn't help feeling a headache.
Although my eldest daughter-in-law always likes to complain about pain here and there, she is actually quite strong. I have secretly observed her and she doesn't seem to be such a fragile person!
After thinking about it, Zhou decided to ask Wu, who was still relatively calm, to call a doctor, and asked Cheng to go to the fields to call back Old Man Xia and his children and grandchildren.
Such a big thing must be known to my family.
When Mrs. Wu returned with the doctor, Old Man Xia and his family had already arrived home, and they all looked worried.
Liu's death was sudden and somewhat strange, and everyone couldn't help feeling depressed.
Although it was not a festival now, it was still an ordinary day. But Liu was not that old!
Everyone couldn't help but have a vague sense of foreboding. They always felt that these things at home kept happening one after another, almost without interruption. Could it be that this was a bad year?
How many things have happened since the Chinese New Year?
Zhou had already sent the second son, Xia Yougui, out to the town to deliver a message to Xia Youcai's home. When Xia Yougui left, he happened to meet Wu and the doctor coming in.
After a brief greeting, Xia Yougui left in a hurry.
This time the matter is a bit serious. Sun was the first one to discover Liu's condition... Xia Yougui was very worried along the way. How should he tell his eldest brother so that he would not hold a grudge against him?
When the doctor arrived and saw Liu's condition, he took one look and shook his head:
"My condolences! Judging from the situation, he must have passed away last night."
The doctor was also a quick-witted person. When he turned around to leave, he couldn't help but complain to Mrs. Wu who had invited him:
"My two tricks aren't particularly impressive to begin with, but I'm grateful you all don't mind. I can only use them to treat headaches and fevers. This guy is completely frozen, yet he still comes to me. You think too highly of me!"
Mrs. Wu sent the doctor out with a wry smile.
Next, we have to wait for news from the first wife.
After all, what happened to Liu happened in the old house. No matter whether she encountered an accident or a sudden illness, the eldest wife had reason to blame the old house.
But there are no wrong parents in the world. The old couple really didn't do anything to Liu.
No matter how much Xia Youcai blamed others, he could not blame the old couple.
Then, aren't they the only brothers left to bear the resentment and anger of the eldest wife?
Apart from anything else, Liu's departure would delay Xia Dalang's imperial examination.
The matter of Jinhua remarrying also has to be put aside for the time being.
According to the rules of the Great Chu Dynasty, children who lost their parents had to observe a three-year mourning period. During this period, they could not marry, take the imperial examinations, attend banquets, or eat meat.
Of course, this kind of rule is mainly aimed at princes, nobles, officials, and scholars who aspire to take the imperial examinations and become officials.
For farmers, the rules of mourning are actually not as strict as this.
But who made Xia Dalang a scholar?
Liu's sudden departure really caught the eldest wife off guard.
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