Bone-Returning Seed (VI)
I turned to look at Wei Ji, who was drinking tea with his head down, and I couldn't tell what his expression was.
Shi Yu was followed by two people, who, judging from their clothes, were the local Liao people from the mountains. The elderly Liao woman was hunched over, with a few strands of snow-white hair escaping from her tattered blue turban, brushing against her dark and thin face, adding to her aged appearance; the Liao man supporting her beside her also looked no younger, and the two of them had a vague resemblance in their features.
The two men walked to the table and bowed their heads to kneel, but Wei Ji stopped them.
"No need for formalities. Tell everyone here who you are."
The Liao man said in broken Mandarin, “I am Aborgan, she is Aborgan’s mother, we came down from Lotus Mountain, and Sister Ashu is Aborgan’s third sister-in-law.”
Asangzi interrupted him, saying, "Abo's family, you forced my younger sister, Asang, to her death! The mountain god will punish you!"
Abolgan, his face flushed with anxiety, cried out, "Brother-in-law Asang, Abolgan swears to the mountain god—no!"
The two spoke in their local dialect. Suddenly, Grandma Huai Xu became agitated and quickly said in Liao dialect, "A Shu is my daughter-in-law and my daughter! I consider her my daughter! The mountain god is my witness! How could I harm her?! How could I harm her?!" As she spoke, she burst into tears.
Wei Ji reached out and offered a helping hand, saying, "Old man, don't be in a hurry, speak slowly."
Abolgan held his mother tightly: "Mother, the adults told you not to rush, to speak slowly."
Grandma Huaixu cried out, “I have four sons, three daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.”
"My eldest daughter-in-law died of illness in the fifth year after she married into the family. Two years later, my second daughter-in-law died in a difficult labor while giving birth to twins. Ten years ago, government troops came to our village to capture bandits. My husband, eldest son, and second son all died. Our shack was also burned down. We were so poor that we had to take turns wearing the same trousers when we went out."
"In order to earn more money to support his family, San'er went to Wuchidao to work as a caravan driver. On the way, he encountered rolling stones, his horse was frightened, and he and his horse fell off a cliff and died. After San'er died, the people in the village said, 'The younger brother sits on the elder brother's bed,' and asked my youngest son to marry his sister-in-law."
“But if we do this, the third daughter-in-law will suffer too much. She already has six grandchildren to take care of. She can’t even support the first ones. If she has any more children, they will drown. The mountain god will be angry.”
“After Ashu came to my house, she was always very good to me. I am a woman too, and I can't bear to see her suffer here. She is still young and has a younger sister. It shouldn't be difficult for her to remarry. So I made the decision to let her go back to Mahu so that her father and brothers could arrange for her to remarry. It's better than her staying here and the whole family freezing and starving to death.”
"I didn't mean to harm her, I didn't mean to harm her! Mountain God! Open your eyes! We Liao people have a hard life, and the women of the Liao people have an even harder life!"
The two chieftains were nowhere to be heard; only the sobs of Grandma Huai Xu and I could be heard at the banquet.
I never cry in front of strangers, and I don't usually carry a handkerchief. I could only keep wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, but the more I wiped, the blurrier my vision became. Just as I was crying miserably, a cloth was handed to me from the left. I reached out and took it, wiped my eyes, and finally I could see things clearly again.
I looked across at Asangzi, whose head was hunched over, his expression hidden. Dongla's face was ashen, and the other chieftains all looked like they had swallowed flies and wanted to vomit but couldn't.
Song Ninghai had been there for a long time, so he should have understood a lot of what Grandma Huaixu said. He sighed, tears welling up in his eyes, and got up to walk to Grandma Huaixu and Aborgan. He said in fluent local dialect, "Grandma, you've worked hard. We already know the cause and effect of the matter. It's not your fault. Go home now."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Thank you, sir!"
The mother and son were so excited that they tried to kneel, but Song Ninghai forcefully held them back, saying, "No, no!"
While the argument was at an impasse, Grandma Huaixu suddenly grabbed a section of Song Ninghai's sleeve and said urgently, "Sir, I want to see the benefactor who raised my granddaughter!"
Song Ninghai pointed in my direction: "That's Qing Niangzi."
I stood up from my seat, and Grandma Huaixu rushed to me, crying, and took my arms, saying, "Qingniangzi, I'm kowtowing to you on behalf of my deceased third son and third daughter-in-law!"
I quickly pulled her away, saying, "Grandma, you mustn't!"
Wei Ji waved for Abolgan to come and help the old man, and asked, "Old man, your third daughter-in-law entrusted her child to Qing Niangzi before she passed away, and it has been ten years since then. Do you acknowledge that she is the child's adoptive mother?"
Abolgan said to his mother, "Mother, Sister Ashu entrusted Qingniangzi to take care of Xiaowu for ten years. The adults are asking you if you acknowledge Qingniangzi as Xiaowu's foster mother?"
"I acknowledge it! I acknowledge it!" Grandma Huaixu gripped my hand tightly, nodding repeatedly. "If you don't even acknowledge this, are you even human?"
The old woman's palms were covered in thick calluses, so painful to the touch, yet warm to the touch. I asked slowly, "Grandma Xiao Wu, a few days ago, Xiao Wu's mother's brother came to me, wanting Xiao Wu to go to his house to 'return the bone seed.' Do you think I should agree to that?"
Uncle Huai Xu whispered, "Mother, Sister A Shu's eldest nephew has a mental illness."
Grandma Huaixu froze, her hands, which had been gripping mine tightly, suddenly fell to her sides, and her cloudy eyes gradually seemed to spit fire. She moved slowly, her gaze sweeping over the people at Mahu. Asangzi shrank back slightly, a subtle movement that the old woman precisely noticed.
A piercing scream suddenly burst from her throat, like a wounded mother leopard launching a deadly attack on anything that tried to harm her cubs!
"Mother!"
"My lord, save me!"
Uncle Huaixu clung desperately to his mother's waist, causing Asang Zihe to fall off her chair and scramble behind Song Ninghai. Song Ninghai turned pale with fright, and in his panic, he tripped over his robe and stumbled, landing on top of Asang Zihe.
The sounds of crying, cursing, and shouting never ceased.
I quickly stepped forward: "Grandma Xiao Wu, Uncle, you should go back to the village. Leave this to me. Don't worry, they can't wrong Qingcheng, much less wrong your granddaughter!"
On the other side, Wei Ji reached out to pull Song Ninghai, but Song Ninghai tilted his head and glared at him. He then used the momentum to stand up, slapped Wei Ji's hand away, and sat back down in the seat on the left.
Grandma Huai Xu and Abolgan walked away supporting each other, and all the chieftains present breathed a sigh of relief, and the room fell silent for a moment.
I stared intently at Asangzi across from me, wishing I could bore two holes into him with my gaze. Suddenly, I felt thirsty, so I reached for the teacups on the table. I grabbed one with my straight arm, lifted the lid, and drank it all in one gulp. As I bent down to put the empty cup down, I suddenly realized that something felt off.
I pulled my gaze away from Asangzi's face and glanced at the table to my left. I saw that the teacup on the side closest to Weiji was empty, and his left hand was pressing on the teacup on my side. If he hadn't covered it in time, both teacups would have been destroyed.
I calmly withdrew my hand, and Wei Ji calmly took the teacup, held it in his hands for a while, and then placed it on his side.
The leaders of Mahu whispered among themselves for a while, and then the eldest, Abu, stepped forward and said, "Since the two prefects say 'harmony is precious,' then let's all compromise. We in Mahu don't want this girl anymore, and her future husband's family can return the child. Let Asang and Abo's families discuss the amount!"
Asangzihe looked smug and was about to speak.
I slammed my teacup down: "Shut up, Asangzi! There's no room for negotiation between us!"
Asangzi jumped up, furious, and said, "You, you barbarian woman! You don't know what's good for you!"
Dong La, standing to the side, frowned and said, "Qing Niangzi, what do you mean by this?"
Luo Chong turned to me and whispered, "Qing Niangzi, if you're short on money, no matter how much, I'll cover it for you."
I close my eyes, but the image of Asangzi lying in a pool of blood, and the hunched back of Grandma Huaixu, lingers in my mind...
The faint hope that the Wuman and Nanguang Liao people of Mahu had ignited through the lives of two generations of Yi women must not be squandered in my and Huai Xu's hands!
Thinking of this, a sudden clarity appeared in my mind, and I stood up and said, "Two great leaders, if I pay this money today, even if Huai Xu doesn't enter his family, it's equivalent to Huai Xu being sold by her uncle again!"
"How long is a woman's life? How many times will she be betrayed by her own family?"
“That beast Asangzi, what will he do with my money? Won’t he just buy other people’s daughters?”
"One Huai Xu escaped the fire pit, while another Yi girl was forced into it. Such a thing cannot be allowed in Qingcheng!"
"The mountain god's cursed half-barbarian! Are you possessed by an evil spirit? Wizard! Wizard!" Asangzi jumped up and down in anger, suddenly pointing at Elder Amo and shouting, "Old Amo, are you blind or deaf? Do you know what this woman is doing? An evil spirit has taken over her body and is devouring her soul!"
Elder Amo stood up, leaning on his cane, his face cold and stern: "Old Amo is neither blind nor deaf. Asangzihe, greed arises, and all evils are born. You are the one with a guilty conscience!"
Asangzi hysterically roared, "Old Amo! These are all good daughters born to your family!"
“Her mother broke the rule against intermarriage between Han and Yi people, and now her daughter is breaking the rule of ‘returning the bone seed’! Old Amo, you are the shaman of Qingbin Village, how could you sit idly by! The mountain god will punish you!”
"What kind of despicable thing are you! How dare you mention my mother!" I was furious. "Who says that people from different ethnic groups cannot intermarry?"
"Neither the laws of the previous dynasty nor the laws of this dynasty have ever prohibited this. What is not prohibited by law is permissible! My mother and father were deeply in love, understood and cherished each other, and were a match made in heaven!"
"Besides, my mother left the village long ago before she died. Although Elder Amo and I are blood relatives, we have no worldly ties! What are you, you spineless mad dog, barking at him for?!"
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