Mo Tiange slept straight through until dawn, then scrambled out of bed in a flurry.
After a full night's sleep, her headache was gone, and she felt energetic.
She dressed herself and got out of bed, only to see that her mother was already up, leaning against the bedpost with her eyes closed, a needle and thread still in her hand. She went over and nudged her. "Mother, if you didn't sleep well, go lie down properly."
Fourth Lady didn't move.
Mo Tiange pushed harder. "Mother—"
Before she could finish, she saw Fourth Lady slump forward from the push, collapsing onto the bed.
Mo Tiange was badly frightened. She rushed over, but Fourth Lady remained unconscious, her eyes shut, her face frighteningly pale. Only then did Mo Tiange notice the streak of blood at the corner of her mother's mouth, and her clothes stained red.
"Mother!"
Panicked, Mo Tiange jumped up and dashed outside like a mad thing. Just as she ran out of the small courtyard, she collided headlong with Auntie Awang, who had just stepped out of her own yard, sending the woman tumbling to the ground with a cry of "Aiyo!"
Before Auntie Awang could even ask what was wrong, she heard Mo Tiange wailing, "Auntie Awang, my mother fainted, and she's spitting blood! What do I do? What do I do?"
Hearing this, Auntie Awang was also startled. She quickly said, "Don't panic, Tian Ge. Let your auntie have a look."
Following Mo Tiange back inside, she saw Fourth Lady half-collapsed on the bed, blood now soaking into the quilt cover. "Go get your Uncle Awang to fetch the doctor!" she urged.
Mo Tiange wiped her face roughly and hurried next door to fetch Uncle Awang, who was in the middle of his meal.
Hearing her mother had fainted, Uncle Awang pushed his rice bowl aside and rushed off toward town.
Mo Tiange returned home to see Auntie Awang had already helped Fourth Lady back onto the bed properly. Seeing her mother lying there with closed eyes and no sign of life, her tears began to fall, pattering down.
Auntie Awang held her close, comforting her for a long while.
An hour later, Uncle Awang returned with the doctor.
Mo Tiange watched with desperate eyes, tears streaming down her face.
After a moment, the doctor stood up and shook his head. "This lady was born with a weak constitution, and has been toiling and worrying herself. This is a heart ailment flare-up. I'm afraid she won't last the night. See her off properly."
With that, he didn't even ask for payment, picked up his medicine chest, and left on his own.
Auntie Awang had long known Fourth Lady wouldn't hold on for much longer. She sighed now and called to Uncle Awang, "Go inform the Mo Family Patriarch's household."
Uncle Awang also sighed and shook his head before heading out.
Auntie Awang looked at the unconscious Fourth Lady, then at Mo Tiange crying and calling for her mother beside her, and sighed again. "Poor child, so young and about to lose her mother."
The sky gradually darkened. Mo Tiange had no more tears left. She sat dazedly on the bed, watching her mother.
During this time, uncles, aunts, and cousins from her grandfather's household came by one after another. Finally, her grandfather and grandmother also came, looked over the situation, then went out to arrange the funeral affairs. Her tears had dried up, but her mother still hadn't woken. She understood what the doctor meant. Not lasting the night meant she was going to die. Mother had said that dying was like falling asleep forever, never waking up again, being buried in the earth until you turned into earth yourself.
She felt a slight movement under her palm on the bed and quickly looked down. Her mother's eyelids fluttered, as if she was about to wake.
"Mother! Mother!" she called urgently.
Seeing this, Auntie Awang hurriedly leaned in. "Fourth Lady?"
Fourth Lady opened her eyes. Seeing Mo Tiange, tears welled up, but she didn't have the strength to lift her hand, and could only gaze at her like that.
"Fourth Lady," Auntie Awang said softly, "if there's any wish left unfulfilled, tell me."
Fourth Lady looked at the cold, empty room and understood that not a single so-called family member had come to show concern for her even at death's door. She gazed pityingly at Mo Tiange, her heart growing even more bitter. She too had lost her mother young. She never imagined Tian Ge would suffer the same fate.
Seeing her trembling lips, Auntie Awang leaned close. She faintly caught the words "Tian Ge" and asked, "Fourth Lady, is it Tian Ge you're worried about?"
She nodded through her tears.
"Don't worry, I'll look after her a bit for you."
Fourth Lady then shifted her gaze, fixing it intently on a spot. Auntie Awang followed her line of sight, fetched the dressing case, and brought it over. "Is it this, Fourth Lady?"
Seeing her nod and try to say something more, Auntie Awang leaned close to her ear. Catching a few words, she opened the case. Inside were a few fine pieces of jewelry. She knew that back in the day, the Fourth Son-in-law had been very capable, so having these pieces wasn't surprising.
She picked them up one by one, watching Fourth Lady's expression. When she picked up a bracelet of Liuli beads and saw her expression change, she bent down again to listen to the few words she uttered, then asked, "Did the Fourth Son-in-law leave this?"
Fourth Lady nodded with difficulty, her eyes on Mo Tiange, who was silently weeping.
"Mother! Mother!" Mo Tiange cried hoarsely, but Fourth Lady had fallen unconscious again.
That night, Fourth Lady drifted in and out of consciousness but ultimately couldn't hold on. Just before dawn, her breath finally ceased.
The Mo Family Patriarch came to take a final look, but left before she had even closed her eyes. Several of the senior wives also came by, but they were there to handle the funeral arrangements.
Mo Tiange just tightly gripped her mother's hand, sometimes weeping, sometimes staring blankly. Only when she could no longer feel any warmth did she cry herself into an exhausted sleep.
After the body lay in repose for three days, Fourth Lady was buried.
Mo Tiange remained in a daze, sometimes looked after by Auntie Awang, sometimes accompanied by Mo Tianqiao.
After the burial, when the mourning hall was cleared, the Mo family members began making arrangements regarding Fourth Lady's affairs.
Back when Fourth Lady had taken in a husband, she had been treated like a son and given a share of the family property. Although it wasn't as much as what several sons would get, this small courtyard had been specially built for her, along with over a dozen mu of good farmland. All these years, she and her daughter had relied on those few mu of land for their livelihood and medicine.
Since she had taken in a husband, Fourth Lady was considered a branch of the family. The land and house should naturally be passed down. But the problem was, Mo Tiange was a daughter. With both parents gone, of course these properties would be reclaimed by the male cousins. Thus, the Patriarch's sons were quite enthusiastic. Though the assets weren't much, even a mosquito's leg has meat on it. They were just country gentry, not comparable to true wealthy families.
Watching his sons bicker back and forth, the Old Master's brow furrowed tightly. Having fathered this daughter outside the family had been a folly of his youth, and truthfully, he didn't have much affection for her. Still, she was his flesh and blood. Seeing his sons argue over these meager assets right in front of him, before the body was even cold, completely disregarding his face, filled the Old Master with deep displeasure.
Seeing them argue more and more shamelessly, the Old Master knocked his tobacco pipe heavily against the leg of the table. The loud thud instantly silenced everyone. With a stern face, he said, "The eldest will manage the farmland first. Store all the grain harvested each year and return it together to her husband when he comes back. If he hasn't returned by the time the child grows up, the grain and the few mu of land will become her dowry. The house stays."
With the Old Master's decree, the young masters dared not say more. The village elders, seeing the Patriarch's fair handling, had no objections either, only asking, "What about the child? Which of your households will raise her?"
The Old Master said, "Bring the child back. I'll raise her myself, an old man. They won't need to waste their grain on her!"
These words made the young masters' faces flush with embarrassment.
The Old Master snorted. "Alright, everyone disperse."
"Tian Ge, since your grandfather said that, you'll have someone to look after you from now on. Your auntie can rest easy." Auntie Awang said this as she folded Mo Tiange's clothes.
Mo Tiange sat on the edge of the bed, pressing the bracelet of beads on her wrist, head bowed, saying nothing.
Thinking of how this child had lost her mother so young, Auntie Awang's heart ached with pity. She said gently, "Tian Ge, your mother wanted you safe and well. You must take good care of yourself. Who knows, your father might come back any time."
Mentioning her mother finally stirred a change in Mo Tiange's expression. She looked up at Auntie Awang and said, "Auntie Awang, don't worry. I'll be fine. I won't let Mother feel uneasy."
These were hardly words a seven-year-old should speak. Auntie Awang felt even more pity for her. Finishing packing her things, she said, "Your luggage is all packed. Your auntie will take you to your grandfather's house now. Don't worry about this house either; we'll clean it every day, make sure it's spotless when your father comes back."
"Mm. Thank you, Auntie Awang."