On the day of the funeral procession.
The three brothers stumbled out of the Ling Tang.
The crowd was stunned, their jaws agape.
“Oh heavens!” A clansman exclaimed, stepping back in shock. “These three brothers are far too sincere! Who keeps vigil like this?”
Following the voice, everyone saw the trio.
Their faces were ashen and dull, as if drained of vitality by seductive spirits.
Were they even human?
The deceased father lying inside probably didn’t look as ghastly as they did!
Even Song Jinyao, who had orchestrated this torment under the guise of “fulfilling filial duties to atone for sins,” was taken aback.
The crowd murmured in astonishment.
Song Jinyao immediately pressed a handkerchief to the corner of her eye, her voice choked with emotion. “The children are so filial—they insisted on keeping watch day and night by their father’s side. No matter how I tried to dissuade them, they wouldn’t listen—”
Lu Xiao, Lu Yue, and Lu Chuan felt nauseated upon hearing this.
Hadn’t their mother forced them to do this?
But they couldn’t say it—doing so would contradict the “filial piety” Song Jinyao claimed for them.
Who didn’t desire a good reputation?
No matter how aggrieved they felt, the three brothers bit back their retorts.
Some in the crowd echoed Song Jinyao’s praise.
“Ah, these three are truly devoted sons! Look how haggard they’ve become—if Xiuyuan knew of this in the afterlife, he would be comforted.”
Song Jinyao sneered inwardly.
Filial piety?
Hah—
She would further cement the reputation of these three ungrateful wretches as paragons of filial devotion!
After kneeling for three days and nights, the brothers were dizzy and disoriented.
They had hoped to slip away during this time to meet their father, but Song Jinyao kept a tight watch. Aside from meals and restroom breaks, she didn’t allow them even a moment’s rest.
Once, they had inexplicably fainted and were carried by servants to a side room to sleep. But before two hours had passed, Song Jinyao dragged them back to the Ling Tang.
These three days and nights had been sheer torture.
Now, their legs were so weak they had to lean on each other to avoid collapsing.
Since when had their health deteriorated so badly?
The brothers wondered but didn’t dwell on it.
Little did they know, it was all part of Song Jinyao’s scheme.
Lu Yue took a deep breath.
Forget it—once they endured today’s burial, the entire process would be over. Then they could rest and focus on their real plans.
He even felt somewhat relieved: guarding the Ling Tang had its advantages, at least ensuring Song Jinyao didn’t detect anything amiss with the corpse.
He had already devised a plan for the money matters—just waiting for today to end—
No sooner had he thought this.
Than!!!
Before the coffin was lifted, another thunderbolt struck without warning.
“Your father has many burial artifacts. For safety’s sake, the second, third, and fourth sons will take turns guarding the tomb for forty-nine days.
“This period is when your father’s consciousness is in transition—whether he finds his way on the Yellow Springs Road depends on it. Ensure no further mistakes occur.”
Song Jinyao struggled to contain her glee, speaking with solemn gravity.
Hearing this, the three brothers felt their breath catch.
Was there no end to this?
“Mother? Is this really necessary?” The fourth son, Lu Chuan, pleaded with a mournful face. His father was still alive—what path could he possibly lose?
“Why the wailing? If you three hadn’t let the Changming Lantern go out, would you be suffering like this?”
“Even if the sky were falling right now, our first priority must be to ensure your father is laid to rest properly! If his spirit strays from the path to the underworld and brings misfortune upon all the Lu descendants—you three would be the eternal sinners of the Lu family!”
Yet another grave accusation was hurled at them.
As these words landed, the many members of the Lu clan turned their piercing, threatening gazes squarely upon the three brothers.
“Hmm?”
Song Jinyao shot them a glare and continued in a raised, unyielding tone, “There’s no room for negotiation. Remember, this is your atonement. If you don’t want to face the clan’s punishment, you’d better obey.”
“You can’t let your own negligence put the entire clan at risk!”
Every word sounded righteous, every phrase showed great consideration for the bigger picture!
It seemed that if any of them dared to refuse, they would be branded as unforgivable villains.
Was this a case of building them up only to tear them down?
The three brothers felt like crying inside.
Several Lu clansmen nearby nodded in agreement, “Song Jinyao is truly reasonable!”
The brothers’ faces grew paler by the second, their legs nearly giving way beneath them.
They felt their mother had changed her attitude far too quickly.
And she was truly ruthless!
Song Jinyao secretly relished the moment, raising an eyebrow as she glared at the three. “What? Are you unwilling?”
Human nature is such that only when common interests are at stake will people unite against a shared enemy.
After Song Jinyao’s speech, the Lu clansmen chimed in one after another, pointing fingers at the three brothers.
“Exactly, you brought this upon yourselves—don’t drag us into it. What’s the big deal about keeping watch at the gravesite for a few days? If you can’t even manage that, then perhaps you should be removed from the Lu family registry.”
Being struck from the Lu family registry would mean they were no longer considered part of the Lu clan, and any misfortunes would naturally no longer affect the Lus.
The speaker grew more pleased with himself the more he talked—damn, his mind was just too sharp!
“Sec—Second Uncle, how could you—” How could he say such a thing?
Lu Yue clutched his chest, enraged, a metallic taste of blood rising sharply in his throat.
He had just gifted this old fool some presents a few days ago.
Dammit!
What a waste of good stuff!
Several clan elders also chimed in with persuasion, “The weather is warm now—it’s no hardship to sleep outdoors for a bit. I’ll have your cousins bring you a couple of bedrolls.”
Hearing this, the fourth brother slumped to the ground, wailing loudly.
“It’s not about the bedrolls! I’m afraid of ghosts!”
Song Jinyao nearly burst out laughing. Her fourth son was as cowardly as ever.
But how could someone so timid have been so cruel to her in her past life?
In her past life, the medicine she begged for but never received, the mansion gates she pounded on but could never open—
And those words: “Mother, if Third Brother doesn’t give the order, I dare not help you. If you truly care for your son, please don’t come again!”
Scene after scene flashed through her mind.
Involuntarily, her gaze fell upon her third son, Lu Yue.
Just then, Lu Chuan was tugging at Lu Yue’s sleeve, pleading, “Third Brother, say something! What should we do? I’m scared—”
Lu Yue, still struggling to swallow the metallic taste in his throat, couldn’t speak. He shot a fierce glare at Lu Chuan, who immediately fell silent, obedient as a tame cat.
Suddenly, Song Jinyao understood.
The fourth brother had always been the third brother’s shadow since childhood, never daring to contradict him.
Of course, there were times when a tempting offer or personal gain would stir his courage, making him bold enough to play the fence-sitter.
For example, before this, he even dared to compete with the third brother for that cloth shop.
After a few turns of thought, Song Jinyao understood—her status as a mother wasn’t as important as a cloth shop!
Thinking this, her voice grew even colder: “What’s there to be afraid of? The whole mountain is filled with the Lu family’s ghosts. They’re all family—do you think they’d harm you?”
The whole mountain is filled with ghosts?
Oh, my dear mother!
At this, the three brothers truly couldn’t hold back and fainted dead away.
One passed out from fear, another from disgust.
As for the remaining older brother, Song Jinyao couldn’t quite tell how he had fainted, but it didn’t matter anymore.
In any case, this time, she genuinely hadn’t drugged anyone.
Next, she directed the crowd to carry the unconscious brothers into the side room, then turned around and decisively began arranging the funeral proceedings.
Time waits for no one. Even if those three wretched sons were unconscious, the funeral had to proceed as scheduled.
“Seal the coffin—”
Inside the Ling Tang, with a loud call, the heavy coffin lid slowly closed.
Song Jinyao choked back sobs as she addressed the crowd: “May I have a moment alone to bid farewell to my husband?”
“Ah, such a pitiful soul. Come on, everyone, let’s step out and let Song Jinyao and Xiuyuan have a proper talk.” The crowd expressed sympathy and offered a few words of comfort: “Don’t grieve too much. Xiuyuan was blessed to have married such a wonderful wife! Today’s funeral is grand—you’ve truly done right by him.”
With that, the people in the Ling Tang filed out one by one, the last one thoughtfully closing the door behind Song Jinyao.
With no outsiders around, Song Jinyao stopped pretending to cry.
She hurried to the side of the Coffin Guo, a cold smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Done right by him?
But he had wronged her!
One incense stick later.
When Song Jinyao reappeared, the funeral procession outside was already prepared to depart. She straightened her plain white mourning garments, the corners of her eyes still marked with undried tear stains.
“Begin the procession—”
The piercing sound of the suona tore through the sky, and the sharp crack of the shattered bowl startled the sparrows under the eaves into flight.
The grand funeral procession set off.
According to tradition, the chief mourner must be led by the eldest son in wailing.
Lu Yuan, having received his instructions, took a deep breath.
“Waaah—” he wailed.
His cry was so earth-shattering that it startled the crows on the roadside trees into flapping away in a frenzy.
Beside him, Song Jinyao shuddered violently.
She had never known the eldest son could reach such a high pitch—she had underestimated him.
Since everyone was crying, if she, as the wife, didn’t cry, it would give people reason to gossip.
Song Jinyao tried to summon the emotions.
No use—she couldn’t cry.
It seemed she would have to resort to her secret weapon.
“Wuuu—my husband—” She lightly dabbed her eyelids with her sleeves, soaked in chili water, and immediately, bean-sized tears began to fall in torrents.
She hung her head low, her shoulders shaking with sobs, but in reality, she could barely suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
Right now, she felt absolutely exhilarated.
In her previous life, she had personally kept vigil and handled the funeral arrangements, exhausting herself to the point of fainting.
This time, it was the three ungrateful sons’ turn.
Truly, fortunes change.
The funeral procession moved forward slowly, paper money fluttering down to cover the ground.
Song Jinyao’s weeping blended with the sound of the suona, and no one could tell what was real or fake. Only she knew that in these tears, three parts were acting, and seven parts were sheer delight.
The Lu family cemetery was located on the western hills outside the city. To get there, they had to pass through the city gate and then travel a short stretch along the official road.
The funeral procession moved smoothly all the way to the city gate but suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
The city gates, usually wide open, were today for some reason flanked by two rows of soldiers carrying blades. Everyone entering or exiting the city had to undergo strict inspection.
“What’s going on?”
Song Jinyao frowned as she asked the clansman beside her, inwardly calculating that it was probably too late to take a detour now.
“I heard the authorities are investigating a case. Who knows what earth-shattering crime could have prompted Lord Pei, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to come personally.” The clansman lowered his voice, eyes sparkling with excitement. “He’s quite an extraordinary figure.”
“Pei Jingzhe?” another clansman exclaimed. “That lord is a living King of Hell – he even dared to publicly beat to death a young master from the Duke’s mansion who committed a crime.”
Hearing this, Song Jinyao slightly tightened her brow.
Pei Jingzhe, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review?
Song Jinyao murmured this name quietly under her breath.