149, News of the Death of My Cousin
149, News of the Death of My Cousin
In the afternoon, the family had dinner at the pancake shop. On the way back, Lu Mingfei heard from his mother that his eldest cousin had passed away.
He was a little confused when he first heard this. When he finally understood, he asked his mother in disbelief, "Ah? What, mother? You mean my eldest cousin passed away?"
"Yes, your uncle Chunping came to the city today to deliver something and told me about things in our hometown. He said that the family your eldest cousin married sent someone to the old house yesterday to report the death, saying that your eldest cousin died of some acute illness. When I first heard it, I didn't quite believe it, but your uncle Chunping would not joke about such a thing, so it must be true." Speaking of her eldest niece who passed away at a young age, Liu Sanniang couldn't help but sigh.
Although their family had not had much contact with the people in the old house over the years, Liu Sanniang felt a little uncomfortable when she heard that her eldest niece, who was so young and had just gotten married, had passed away.
Lu Mingfei was also feeling unhappy. He recalled his eldest cousin when he was a child. She would carry him to the gate of the yard to enjoy the scenery after working in the fields. She was a kind-hearted, beautiful and intelligent girl.
But now, his mother told him that his good cousin was gone?
"Your father didn't come back today, but he will probably come back tomorrow. When he comes back, I will tell him about this matter and ask him to find time to go back and see what happened. How could such a good girl die not long after getting married?" Liu Sanniang was busy here and didn't want to go back to her hometown, so she had to wait for her husband to come back to ask whether she should give some funeral expenses to the second house.
Lu Mingfei also knew that his father and adoptive father did not return to the city every day. Now that his father and adoptive father went out of the city, they often did not return until the next night.
After thinking about it, he said to his mother, "I'll go and see if my second and fourth uncles are setting up stalls on the street. I'll go and ask them what's going on first."
"That's fine. I wonder if your second uncle and his family will come to the city to set up a stall soon now that something has happened at home." Thinking that people from the second and fourth branches might be coming into the city at this time, Liu Sanniang said to her eldest son, "You go now. If they are here to set up a stall, they should have arrived by now. I can take Mingrui and the others back with me."
"You go and take a look. Xiaoqi, you follow your brother." It would be dark soon, and Liu Sanniang was worried that her eldest son would encounter danger if he walked outside alone, so she asked Zhang Qi to go with her eldest son.
Hearing this, Zhang Qi responded "Okay" and looked towards their eldest brother.
Liu Sanniang continued to say to her eldest son, "If they are here, you can ask your eldest cousin what is going on. If they are not here, wait until your father comes back, and I will ask him to go back to the village to ask."
Lu Mingfei glanced at the still bright sky and said to his mother, "It's okay. I'll take you back and come out later."
"It's good that Ruyi and A'niang are back. You two go first." Liu Sanniang knew that her eldest son was worried that they would encounter something on the road, but it was still daylight, and she was not worried about any danger in Kyoto City.
"Yes, young master, don't worry, I'm with the madam." Ruyi also said.
Hearing this, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to respond: "Well, then, you guys go back, mother. Zhang Qi and I will go to the street to look for Second Uncle and the others."
"Okay, you guys go early and come back early." Liu Sanniang remembered something and took out two taels of silver from her pocket and gave it to her eldest son. "If you meet your second uncle and his family, you can give this to your second uncle."
"No, I still have some silver here."
"Take it. This is a gift from home. It's different."
Liu Sanniang stuffed the silver into her eldest son's hand without saying a word, and then she and Ruyi took her youngest son and Zhang Xiaobao home together.
Tonight, Lu Mingcong stayed at home and did not go back with them.
After watching his mother leave, Lu Mingfei took Zhang Qi back to South Street to find his second uncle and fourth uncle.
***
At this time, most of the stalls on this street have already closed up shop. However, there are still some vendors who do night business and have just come to set up their stalls at this time.
When they found the place where his second and fourth uncles had said they usually set up their stalls, Lu Mingfei saw his fourth uncle, two cousins, and second cousin from a distance, but he didn't see his second uncle there.
"Fourth Uncle." When he got here, Lu Mingfei called his fourth uncle and two cousins, then looked at his second cousin and nodded.
"Mingfei, why are you here?" When Lu Laosi saw his little nephew coming over, his face was obviously surprised.
"I happened to be free today, so I came to check on you guys." Seeing that several of his cousins were still skewering skewers, and the charcoal fire at their stall hadn't even been lit yet, Lu Mingfei knew that his fourth uncle and his friends had just set up their stall, so he asked, "Have you packed up? Do you want us to help?"
"No, no, just let them do it."
Lu Laosi glanced back at his sons, nephews, and nieces who were grilling skewers, then looked at his little nephew who rarely came to their stall and asked, "Would you like something to eat? I'll light the charcoal and grill it for you."
"No need, we just came out after dinner." After exchanging a few pleasantries with his fourth uncle, Lu Mingfei asked about his second uncle who was not here today, "Isn't his second uncle here today?"
"Something happened at home, and your second uncle stayed at home to deal with things over there." When talking about this, the smile on Lu Laosi's face disappeared.
Lu Erhua and Lu Wulang, who were standing not far away, thought of their deceased elder sister, and their eyes became a little red.
Lu Liulang, who was standing aside, seemed to know something. He glanced at his two older brothers and sisters, then glanced at his little cousin who was looking for them, but in the end he said nothing.
"I heard everything from my mother." They were standing on the side of the main road. There were still people walking on the street. Worried that some people would be superstitious about such things and affect the business here, Lu Mingfei said to his fourth uncle, "Fourth Uncle, let's go over there and talk for a few minutes."
"Okay, wait a minute." Lu Laosi also knew that his nephew wanted to talk to him about something, so he asked his son to come over and light a fire, and he and his nephew went to the alley at the back where there was no one to talk.
After the two of them stood here, Lu Mingfei talked about what his mother had told him just now and asked, "What happened to my eldest cousin? How could she be dead just like that?" He didn't quite believe what his mother said about her sudden death from an acute illness, because his eldest cousin had always been in good health before, so how could she be dead just like that?
"This is a long story." At this point, Lu Lao Si couldn't help but sigh, and talked about the marriage that his family had arranged for the eldest daughter of the second house. "This marriage was arranged by a matchmaker from the village over there. At that time, the matchmaker said it in a very exaggerated way, saying that your eldest cousin would marry into the family as a young lady. Later, the matchmaker let it slip that the family was marrying your eldest cousin as a concubine."
"Your grandmother didn't care what her granddaughter would marry into, and she asked for a betrothal gift of thirty taels. The matchmaker went back to ask the other side, and came back saying they agreed. So, your eldest cousin's marriage was settled."
"I only heard about it later. It was said that two women had died there before your eldest cousin was married off. But at that time, your eldest cousin's marriage had already been decided. Your grandmother had taken the betrothal money, and it was impossible for her to return it." Speaking of this, Lu Laosi also felt that they were confused at the time. Why did they agree to it when they knew there was a problem?
In the final analysis, it's all because of poverty.
If everything in the family was decided by the mother, wouldn't that mean they didn't acquiesce? If it was his own daughter who died today, it would be hard for Lu Lao Si to remain indifferent.
After hearing his fourth uncle talk about how his eldest cousin was promised away by her family for a betrothal gift of thirty taels of silver, Lu Mingfei remained silent, because he had heard this from his mother at that time.
Therefore, when it comes to the death of his eldest cousin today, in fact, everyone in the Lu family’s old house is an accomplice!
However, Lu Mingfei looked at his uncle who put all the blame on his mother, but did not point it out.
Lu Lao Si wiped his face and continued, "Your eldest cousin hasn't come back since she got married. We all thought she was angry with her family and didn't come back after getting married."
"However, your second aunt and your second cousin went to your eldest cousin's husband's house once. That time, your second aunt and the others didn't see anyone there, saying that your eldest cousin didn't want to see them. Around February of this year, your second aunt went to look for your eldest cousin, but she didn't see anyone there either. So your second aunt came back. When she came back, she cried for a long time and even fell ill. Your second uncle was very angry about this and said that this daughter should be considered as if she had never been born, and asked your second aunt not to look for her in the future. After that, your second aunt never went to look for your eldest cousin again."
"Who knew that yesterday, someone sent a letter saying that your eldest cousin had an acute illness and passed away. We went there yesterday, and your eldest cousin's body had already been buried. Your second uncle and your second aunt couldn't accept this." Who could accept that a good girl died not long after getting married? If it was his own daughter who died not long after getting married, Lu Laosi would also find it difficult to accept such a thing.
Lu Mingfei narrowed his eyes slightly and asked his fourth uncle: "Do you know why the two ladies who walked ahead died?" Is it such a coincidence that one wife died after he married one?
"This...we are really not sure." Lu Laosi looked confused. Yes, what was the cause of death of the two women who died over there?
The nephew and uncle looked at each other, neither of them thought that there was such a coincidence in the world.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
