Chapter 660 - 654: Old Mrs. Su Is Dead
Chapter 660: Chapter 654: Old Mrs. Su Is Dead
"Something’s not right. Why is the house so quiet?" Zheng Erlian frowned.
Su Mei’s coffin had been temporarily placed by Su Shengguo’s family in the thatched shed at the end of the village. In Lihua Village, anyone who passed away was placed there before burial.
After settling Su Mei’s coffin, the family returned home and felt that the house was somehow different from usual.
Normally, when they returned, Old Mrs. Su, even though she was now paralyzed in bed, would shout out to ask who was back. But today, despite all the noise they made coming home, Old Mrs. Su hadn’t made a sound.
"Mom," Su Shengguo called out loudly.
There was no response from the room.
Su Shengguo and Zheng Erlian couldn’t help but frown and exchange a glance. Su Shengguo quickly went to Old Mrs. Su’s room to check on her.
Zheng Erlian wasn’t too concerned about Old Mrs. Su. After all, she had given the old woman a beating before leaving for Beijing; it was safe to say they’d had a complete falling out. ’If I go over there now,’ she thought, ’I’ll just get an earful.’ So, Zheng Erlian decided to take their luggage to their room, wash her face, and tidy up.
But before Zheng Erlian could take her two sons back to their room, she heard Su Shengguo’s shocked shout, "Mom!"
The cry startled Zheng Erlian. She immediately dropped the luggage and ran toward Old Mrs. Su’s room, her gut telling her something was terribly wrong.
The brothers Su Lidong and Su Lifeng exchanged a look and ran after Zheng Erlian.
"Oh my god!"
As soon as she reached the doorway of Old Mrs. Su’s room and saw the scene inside, Zheng Erlian stumbled back two steps in fright, nearly falling over. Luckily, Su Lidong and Su Lifeng, who had followed her, caught her just in time.
Inside the room, Old Mrs. Su was lying with the upper half of her body on the floor, her legs still on the bed. A bloody gash was visible on her forehead. It had stopped bleeding, but a small pool of blood by her head had congealed into a dark brown. Old Mrs. Su’s eyes were wide open; she had clearly been dead for some time.
Zheng Erlian felt her legs go weak. Her first instinct was to keep her two sons from seeing the sight. "You two," she said hurriedly, "go find the Village Head! Quickly!"
Su Lidong and Su Lifeng were terrified as well. Hearing Zheng Erlian’s words, they nodded hastily and stumbled out of the courtyard, running towards Zhao Youcai’s house.
"Mom!" Although Su Shengguo was angry with his mother, he still had a shred of filial piety. Seeing Old Mrs. Su lying on the floor, having died with her eyes open, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He called out "Mom" with a trembling voice but didn’t dare touch her.
"Let’s help her onto the bed first," Zheng Erlian sighed. She held a great deal of resentment for Old Mrs. Su, but one ought to respect the dead. At a time like this, she wasn’t going to just ignore the situation.
"No." Su Shengguo shook his head. "Mom didn’t die of natural causes. Someone must have killed her. We can’t move her. We have to report this to the police and have them investigate the cause of death."
"How could something have happened to Mom? Wasn’t Shengli at home? How did he fail to protect her?" Zheng Erlian said with a frown.
"Right, Shengli." Su Shengguo shot to his feet and headed for Su Shengli’s room. Zheng Erlian hurried after him. The couple arrived at Su Shengli’s room to find the door ajar. They pushed it open, but there was no sign of Su Shengli.
Not only was Su Lihui, who rarely came home, gone, but even Su Shengli had vanished.
Su Lidong and Su Lifeng ran frantically to Zhao Youcai’s house. It was the peak of the autumn harvest, so Zhao Youcai wasn’t home. The two of them then rushed to the fields. When they spotted Zhao Youcai, Su Lidong shouted, "Village Head! Village Head! You have to come to our house! My grandma’s dead!"
"What!" Zhao Youcai had seen the two Su boys running over and was about to ask about Su Shengguo’s trip to Beijing. He hadn’t even opened his mouth when he heard Su Lidong’s words and was so shocked he nearly lost his footing. He quickly asked, "You Su boys, what did you just say?"
"My... my grandma died at home. My parents told us to come get you," Su Lidong said, panting heavily from the long run.
This time, it wasn’t just Zhao Youcai who was stunned; the surrounding villagers were also shocked into silence. For a moment, it was completely quiet.
After a long pause, a villager spoke up hesitantly. "Um, did I hear that right? The old woman from the Su family is dead?"
"You heard right. I heard it too."
"Damn. I thought a wicked old hag like her would live to be eighty or ninety. How’d she just die?"
"Exactly. You don’t think it’s karma, do you?"
...
After a moment of silence, the surrounding villagers burst into fervent discussion. The carefree Su Lidong didn’t think much of it, but Su Lifeng lowered his head in shame upon hearing their words. He knew his grandmother had done many wicked things, so it was no wonder the villagers spoke of her that way.
"Let’s go. We need to get to your house right away." Zhao Youcai couldn’t be bothered with his fieldwork anymore and said immediately.
"Yes, okay."
The surrounding villagers thought for a moment and then tagged along. For a while, things had been quiet with the Old Su Family. But who would have thought that after less than a year of peace, so many things would happen? First, the Su family’s granddaughter, Su Mei, died far from home, and now Old Mrs. Su had died in her own house.
Many people muttered to themselves, wondering if the Old Su Family was getting their karmic retribution for all the wicked things they’d done in the past.
"Shengguo, is Aunt Su really..." Arriving at the Old Su Family’s home, Zhao Youcai saw Su Shengguo standing in the courtyard and asked hurriedly.
"Sigh... yes." Su Shengguo frowned and said, "Village Head, I’m afraid we have to report this to the police. I think my mother’s death is suspicious."
"What!" Zhao Youcai was taken aback. Hearing this, the crowd started whispering among themselves again. When they saw Zhao Youcai follow Su Shengguo into the house, a few of the bolder villagers tagged along.
HISS—
Su Shengguo hadn’t moved Old Mrs. Su’s body, so she was still in the same position. The moment Zhao Youcai reached the doorway and saw her, a cold sweat broke out on his back, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Even if Su Shengguo hadn’t said anything, he could tell that something was very wrong with Old Mrs. Su’s death.
The few bold villagers who had followed them in also saw Old Mrs. Su’s state. They yelped "Oh my god!" in terror and immediately retreated into the courtyard, saying, "Heavens, she died with her eyes open! What kind of deep-seated hatred is that?"
"What’s going on? Quick, tell us," the onlookers in the crowd asked eagerly.
The terrified villager quickly described Old Mrs. Su’s gruesome state, causing everyone to gasp in shock.
Just then, a villager said doubtfully, "Hey, wait a minute. Shengguo’s family went to Beijing, but wasn’t Shengli still here? Su Shengli should have been taking care of Old Mrs. Su. How could this have happened?"
"Yeah, where is Su Shengli?"