Mo Tiange slept all the way until early in the morning. She immediately crawled out of bed.
After a night's sleep, her head didn't hurt anymore and she felt very energetic.
She put on her clothes and got out of bed. She saw that her mother had already woken up and was leaning against the bedside with a needle and thread in her hand. Mo Tiange pushed her. "Mother, if you didn't sleep well, go to bed."
The Fourth Lady didn't move.
Mo Tiange pushed her hard. "Mother —"
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the Fourth Lady fall from the bedpost and fall head-first onto the bed.
Mo Tiange was startled and hastily rushed to her. The Fourth Lady's eyes were closed and her face was frighteningly pale.
Mo Tiange finally saw that there was blood on the corner of her mouth and her clothes were dyed red.
"Mother!"
Mo Tiange panicked. She jumped up and ran madly outside.
Just as she ran out of the small courtyard, she bumped into Aunt Awang, who had just walked out of the courtyard. "Ouch!"
Before Aunt Awang could ask what happened, she heard Mo Tiange crying and shouting, "Aunt Awang, my mother fainted and vomited blood! What should I do? What should I do?"
Aunt Awang was also startled by what she said. She hastily said, "Tiange, don't worry. Let Aunt take a look at her."
She followed Mo Tiange back to her room and saw the Fourth Lady lying on the bed with blood flowing on the quilt. She hastily said, "Ask your Uncle Awang to call a doctor!"
Mo Tiange wiped her face and ran next door to call Uncle Awang, who was eating.
Hearing that her mother fainted, Uncle Awang pushed his bowl away and hurried to town.
When Mo Tiange returned home, she saw that Aunt Awang had helped the Fourth Lady to the bed.
Seeing her mother's lifeless eyes closed, Mo Tiange burst into tears.
Aunt Awang hugged her for a long time to comfort her.
Two hours later, Uncle Awang came in with a doctor.
Mo Tiange looked at him anxiously, her tears falling incessantly.
A moment later, the doctor stood up and shook his head. "This lady was born weak and exhausted. This time, her heart disease is acting up. I'm afraid she won't be able to live past tonight. Please send her home."
Finished speaking, he didn't ask for the consultation fee, picked up his medicine box and left.
Aunt Awang had long known that the Fourth Lady wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. She sighed and called Uncle Awang, "Go to the Chief's house and report the news."
Uncle Awang sighed, shook his head, and went out.
Aunt Awang stared at the unconscious Fourth Lady then at Mo Tiange, who was crying for her mother on the side. She sighed and said, "Poor child. She's going to lose her mother at such a young age."
The sky gradually darkened. Mo Tiange no longer had any tears. She sat on the bed in a daze and stared at her mother.
During this period of time, Grandpa's uncles and aunts came one after another. In the end, Grandpa and Grandma also came. After seeing the situation, they went out to make arrangements.
Her tears dried up, but her mother did not wake up.
She knew what the doctor meant. If she couldn't make it, she would die.
Mother said that when you die, you will sleep forever. You will never wake up again. You will be buried in the ground, and in the end, you will also become soil.
She felt the palm under her hand move, and quickly looked over, only to see her mother's eyelids move, as if she was about to wake up.
"Mother! Mother!" She hastily called.
Aunt Awang saw her and hurriedly came over. "Fourth Lady?"
The Fourth Lady opened her eyes. When she saw Mo Tiange, tears gushed out of her eyes. However, she didn't have the strength to raise her hand, so she could only stare at her.
"Fourth Lady," Aunt Awang said in a low voice, "If you have any unfulfilled wishes, just tell me."
The Fourth Lady looked at the deserted room. She understood that even in death, none of her so-called family members cared about her.
She looked at Mo Tiange with pity, feeling more and more bitter in her heart. She also lost her mother when she was a child. She never expected that Mo Tiange would suffer the same fate as her.
Seeing her trembling lips, Aunt Awang hastily moved closer. She only vaguely heard the two words "Tiange" and asked, "Fourth Lady, you're worried about Tiange, aren't you?"
She nodded with tears in her eyes.
"Rest assured. I'll take care of her for you."
She then moved her gaze away and stared fixedly at one place. Aunt Awang followed her gaze and brought back the dressing box. "Fourth Lady, are you talking about this?"
Seeing that Mo Tiange nodded and wanted to say something, Aunt Awang moved closer to her ear and heard some words. Aunt Awang then opened the box.
There were several good pieces of jewelry inside. She knew the Fourth Lady was very capable in those days, so it wasn't strange for him to have these pieces.
She picked them up one by one, watching the Fourth Lady's expression. When she picked up a glass bead bracelet, she saw the change in the Fourth Lady's expression and lowered her head to listen to what she said. She then asked, "Is this the Fourth Lady's?"
The Fourth Lady nodded with difficulty and looked at Mo Tiange, who was crying silently.
"Mother! Mother!" Mo Tiange shouted hoarsely. The Fourth Lady passed out again.
That night, the Fourth Lady was unconscious, but in the end, she couldn't hold on. When it was almost dawn, she finally lost her breath.
The patriarch of the Mo Clan came to check on her but left before she could close her eyes. Several sisters-in-law also came to check on her, but they were waiting to deal with the funeral.
Mo Tiange just held her mother's hand tightly. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she was in a daze.
Until she could no longer feel her body temperature, she cried until she passed out.
Three days later, the Fourth Lady was buried.
Mo Tiange was always in a daze. Sometimes she was taken care of by Aunt Awang, and sometimes she was accompanied by Mo Tianqiao.
After the funeral came back and the mourning hall was cleaned up, the people of the Mo Clan began to make arrangements for the Fourth Lady's funeral.
When the Fourth Lady looked for a son-in-law, she also divided the family like a son. Although she didn't get as much as the other sons, she deliberately built this courtyard and was given more than ten acres of good farmland. All these years, the mother and daughter lived and took medicine on these acres of farmland.
Since the Fourth Lady was looking for a son-in-law, the farmland and houses could naturally be passed on. However, Mo Tiange was a daughter. Her parents were gone, so the farmland and houses should naturally be taken back by her cousin. Therefore, the sons of the patriarch were very enthusiastic.
Although the property wasn't much, it was still something. They were just local moneybags in the countryside, so they couldn't compare to real big families.
The Mo family's patriarch furrowed his brows tightly as he watched his sons quarreling with each other.
He gave birth to this daughter outside because he was young and preposterous. In fact, he didn't have many feelings for her. However, she was his blood. Seeing his sons fighting for this little bit of property before their corpses were even cold and arguing in front of him without any regard for his face, the Mo Clan's patriarch was extremely unhappy.
Seeing that they were fighting more and more unreasonably, the Mo Clan's patriarch knocked his tobacco pipe on the table leg. The loud sound immediately silenced everyone.
The Mo Clan's patriarch said with a sullen expression, "The eldest will take care of the farmland first. Save the grain we harvest every year and return it to her husband when he comes back.
If the child doesn't come back when she's grown up, the grain and several acres of farmland will be considered as dowry. The house will be left behind. "
Since the Mo Clan's patriarch had spoken, the young masters didn't dare to say anything.
Seeing that the patriarch handled things fairly, the old villagers didn't have any objections. They only asked, "What about this child? Which family will raise her?"
The Mo Clan's patriarch said, "Take the child back and treat her as if I'm raising her. We don't need to waste their grain!"
These words made the faces of the few young masters look embarrassed.
The Mo Clan's patriarch let out a "hmph" and said, "That's enough. Let's go."
"Tiange, since your grandfather said so, Auntie can rest assured that you'll have someone to take care of you in the future," Aunt Awang said while folding Mo Tiange's clothes.
Mo Tiange sat on the edge of the bed, pressing the string of beads on her wrist. She lowered her head and didn't say anything.
Thinking about how she lost her mother at such a young age, Aunt Awang felt sorry for her. She said softly, "Tiange, your mother wants you to be safe and sound. You have to take good care of yourself. Maybe your father will come back at any time."
Mo Tiange's expression finally changed when her mother was mentioned. She looked up at Aunt Awang and said, "Aunt Awang, rest assured. I'll be fine. I won't let my mother worry."
How was this something a seven-year-old child would say? Aunt Awang felt even more sorry for her. She packed up Mo Tiange's things and said, "Everything's packed. Auntie will take you to your grandfather's house. Don't worry, we'll clean the house every day. I guarantee it'll be clean when your father comes back."
"En. Thank you, Aunt Awang."