Sister Dies, Sister Remarries (Part Two)
Wang Yunhui's eyes suddenly reddened, and she pulled me into the inner room, saying urgently, "Qingcheng, I... I have something to tell you—"
I could feel her hands trembling slightly, and her breathing was a little heavy, so I quickly helped her sit down: "Don't rush, tell me slowly."
Wang Yunhui gripped my hand tightly and said, "Qingcheng, Niyi's death is suspicious!"
I was startled: "What do you mean?!"
Wang Yunhui replied, "Niyi is quick and efficient, and she is also very hardworking. Among the weavers in my weaving workshop, she produces the most cloth. Every month, when I settle wages with them, Niyi only takes half of it with her. She insists on keeping the other half with me and asks me to keep it a secret."
I asked urgently, "Did Nii ever tell you what she was saving the money for?"
“Niyi had a younger sister named Zimo, and the two sisters were very close. Niyi said she had suffered enough from not having a dowry and didn’t want Zimo to suffer the same fate, marrying empty-handed and being looked down upon by her husband’s family. So she wanted to save some money for her sister’s dowry.” Wang Yunhui choked up as she said, “Qingcheng, you know Niyi’s personality; she’s so resilient and strong-willed. I really can’t imagine how she could hang herself with her unborn child.”
I couldn't help but gasp: "If that's the case, then Ni Yi's cause of death is indeed questionable, and the fact that the man went to the temple to 'step into the mountain' before the festival is probably not just a coincidence."
"What is 'stepping up the mountain'?"
"'Stepping onto the mountain' is a Liao people's funeral custom. Unlike the Han people's burial, the Liao people place the coffin in a cave on the mountain cliff. Once the coffin is in, it is impossible to remove it by manpower alone."
“If that’s the case, there will truly be no way to prove it.” Wang Yunhui looked worried and asked me, “Qingcheng, what should we do now?”
I resolutely said, "There's no time to lose, let's report this to the authorities right away!"
A hint of hesitation flashed across Wang Yunhui's face: "Ke Ni kept the matter of saving money a secret from both her husband's family and her own family, and even her closest sister was kept in the dark."
“If I were to report this to the authorities, I would have no evidence and no witnesses; if Ni Yi’s husband were to insist that I had withheld his wages first, even if Prefect Wei wanted to protect me, I would not be able to escape the responsibility of making a false accusation.”
Wang Yunhui's concerns were not unfounded. No one else knew of the agreement Ni Yi had made with her before her death, and Ni Yi's husband's family could easily countersue her for fabricating it. Even if the authorities ultimately found a connection between Ni Yi's death and her husband's family, the reason given for reporting to the authorities was untenable, and she would still be punished. As a former exile under military control, Wang Yunhui would likely face an unbearable burden if she were to be further punished for this.
I thought for a moment: "Let's leave aside the matter of Ni Yi's deposit for now. As for the reason for reporting it to the authorities—that the people of Niu Men Dong are using the pretext of announcing a death to commit extortion."
Wang Yunhui grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, saying, "Qingcheng, this method is feasible!"
We went to the outer room together and immediately instructed Huai Xu to rush to the state government to report the case. We also told everyone about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Ni Yi's suicide.
Liu Yu said, "Hanging is not difficult to distinguish; an experienced coroner can tell at a glance. What is rare is the opportunity to perform an autopsy."
Mrs. Xu said indignantly, "Such a good girl, she can't just die like this without knowing why!"
After a moment of contemplation, Liu Xingjian said, "The most urgent task is to postpone the time for sealing the coffin and placing it in the mortuary. However, if we do this, we may cause a conflict if we are not careful. At that time, I'm afraid even if the government arrives, they may not be able to handle the aftermath."
Wang Yunhui asked anxiously, "Qingcheng, what should we do next?"
I looked at everyone and said, "Since Niyi's husband has come to Yanziping to report the death, why not go with the flow and take the funeral gifts to Niumendong to pay our respects? Let's first confirm his extortion attempt. As for how far our inside help will go, we'll see."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After a brief discussion, they took a piece of hemp cloth to use as a funeral offering and summoned Qu Bu to act as their guide into the mountains. The group of six set off for Niumendong.
Qubu comes from Bajiaodong, which is adjacent to Niumendong. The two villages are separated by only one mountain and share more than half of their travel route. They should be as close as lips and teeth, but in reality, they have been enemies for many years. After the spring, the prefectural government helped them repair the suspension bridge, which solved the problem of travel between the two villages and eased their long-standing resentment.
According to Qubu, Niyifu's family was related to the headman of Niumendong. The family made a living by growing tea on the headman's mountain land. Although the mountain people were poor, Niyifu's husband, Agurtso, had four older sisters. As the only male in the family, he was pampered from a young age, which also made him unable to endure hardship or suffer losses.
On the way to the village, we encountered several groups of villagers who had also come to attend a funeral. Regardless of age or gender, they all lamented that Agu's family had spent a fortune to marry off his daughter-in-law, but in less than a year, they had ended up losing both their money and their daughter.
Upon arriving at Niyef's residence, a circle of white cloth tents had already been set up in the open space outside the main hall. Relatives and friends who had come inside to pay their respects were sitting in twos and threes. In the center of the open space, a "gafang" (a traditional Chinese room) made of pine branches was placed to hold the coffin. The sound of the "hehe-hehe-" dance could be heard from inside the main hall, indicating that it would be some time before the coffin was sealed and placed in the mortuary.
The funeral director was Agu's eldest son-in-law. He had accompanied Agu'ercuo to Yanziping early that morning to announce the death, so when he saw us, he asked with an unfriendly expression, "What are you doing here?"
I took their hands and replied, "These are my friends from Yanziping. I heard that you had some misunderstandings this morning due to a language barrier. Nobody wanted what happened to Niyi, but since it has already happened, we can discuss it together." As I spoke, I waved my hand, signaling Qubu to hand over the condolence money.
Ercuo's brother-in-law took the cloth, his expression softening considerably. He nodded and said, "Please come in, everyone."
Following the guide into the main hall, one sees Niyi's body, covered with a white sheet, lying horizontally on a mat in the center of the hall; a shaman draped in thatch, holding a silk knife in his left hand and a bell in his right, leads the mourners around the mourning hall; Agur Tso, with a mourning cloth on his head and holding a memorial tablet, kneels to one side, his gaze blankly fixed on the bulge in the center of the white sheet, never moving an inch from beginning to end.
After we finished our performance, we found an empty spot in the tent and sat down. A little while later, we saw two raggedly dressed boys helping a sobbing Liao woman walk towards us.
Qubu whispered to me, "This is Niyi's mother and her two younger brothers."
I asked, "Where is Nii's sister, Zimo?"
Qubu gestured towards the direction of Jiafang: "The one with the mourning headscarf, and the one next to her with the hunched head, is her father."
I glanced at her and saw that Zimo was not tall and had a slender figure. The stubbornness in her eyes was just like that of her older sister, but she also had a calmness beyond her years, which was in stark contrast to her father who looked panicked beside her.
The two men also walked towards the tent. As they passed by us, Zimo suddenly stopped, faced Wang Yunhui, bowed deeply, and without waiting for Wang Yunhui's response, quickly walked forward.
Wang Yunhui hadn't yet recovered from the shock of walking around the spirit hall, and asked in a daze, "Qingcheng, who was that who just walked past me?"
I leaned close to her ear: "The one bowing to you is Zimo, and over there are her family members."
Wang Yunhui exclaimed, "I've never seen this child before, how could she recognize me?"
"Perhaps Nii mentioned it to her before she died." Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught sight of a group of people pouring out of the main room, all of them looking excited, heading straight for the tent. I quickly asked Qubu, "Who are these people?"
Qubu replied, “It’s from Agu’s family. The two older ones in front are Agu’s parents; those following behind are his older sisters and brothers-in-law.”
Agur Tso's mother rushed to Niyi's family, beating her chest and stamping her feet, saying, "Your family raised such a good girl! Since she married into our family, have we ever mistreated her? She doesn't want to live anymore, and she even wants to take my grandson with her!"
Agur Tso's older sister chimed in, "Your Niyi is a bully at home! She doesn't say a word when she's wronged outside, but when she comes home, she throws a tantrum everywhere. Because she earns some money working at the weaving workshop, she often bullies my brother!"
Nii's mother sobbed uncontrollably, "My Nii... she's the most sensible of the four children... she, she's not like what you say..."
“No matter what,” Agur Tso’s father said coldly, “Our son spent a whole iron pot, two animal hides, thirty catties of salt, and forty catties of tea to marry your daughter! And what about your family? Your daughter came in empty-handed, and in less than a year, she didn’t even leave behind a child, leaving our family penniless!”
“That’s right!” shouted one of Agur Tso’s brothers-in-law. “Return the betrothal gifts!”
"Return the betrothal gifts! Otherwise, it's marriage fraud! We'll take it to the headman and have their whole family expelled from Niumendong!"
"Return the betrothal gifts!"
Niyi's mother cried until she nearly fainted, while Niyi's father muttered blankly, "The debt must be repaid; it can't be returned, it can't be returned..."
Agur Tso's father seemed to have been waiting for this, and immediately replied, "If you can't back out, then follow the rules!"
Both families turned their gazes to Zimo. Niyi's father lowered his head, wiping away tears, and said, "Erni, your father is useless. I'm sorry... I'm sorry to your sister..."
Nii's two younger brothers knelt before Zimo, weeping and pleading, "Second sister, second sister! Please save Father! Please save Mother!"
Zimo glanced at them with disgust, biting his lower lip tightly, and remained silent.
The Han people of Yanziping couldn't understand the local dialect. Seeing Niyi's family crying their hearts out and Agu's family acting aggressively, they asked me and Qubu what the two families were arguing about. After hearing the story, they were all shocked.
Aunt Xu asked, "What rules are they going to follow? Why are they all staring at Nii's sister?"
Qubu replied, "The custom in the village is that if the elder brother dies, the uncle marries the sister-in-law; if the elder sister dies, the younger sister marries the elder sister. The Agu family wants Niyi's younger sister to marry into their family."
Aunt Xu blurted out, "These are headless bastards—" I quickly reached out and covered her mouth.
Wang Yunhui sighed, "I wonder when the people from the prefectural government will arrive."
Liu Xingjian said solemnly, "Unless it can be proven that Ni Yi's death is related to her husband, Ni Yi's sister will still have to go through this ordeal. The key to governing the prefecture is to appease and pacify the people. It is not easy to intervene in acts that go against the customs and cause rebellion. If there is any mishap, it will cause great chaos."
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