Chapter 4: A Grand Funeral (Part 1)
706 Words
After walking along the sidewalk for half an hour, Kaiyin finally arrived home.
It was the day of the Winter Solstice. The elders of the family had returned to their ancestral home in Tianjin to visit the family graves and had not yet returned, leaving the three younger cousins to look after the house.
As Kaiyin reached for the door, Qin Ling happened to unlock it from the inside.
"You're back!"
Kaiyin nodded, standing at the entrance to change her shoes.
"Miaomiao, Rui Rui and I are going out for noodles. Hurry up, we’ll wait for you."
Having changed her shoes, Kaiyin looked up with a faint, flickering smile. "I won't be going."
"Oh, come on, let’s go together!"
Rui Rui emerged from her room and suddenly tried to grab Kaiyin’s hand, but Kaiyin quickly dodged her. She explained, "I have ashes on my hands."
"..."
The two sisters stood frozen in shock, watching Kaiyin as she headed to the bathroom to wash her hands.
"Ashes? What do you mean?"
Kaiyin squeezed some liquid soap into her palm and scrubbed thoroughly. After all, anyone would consider touching such things a sign of bad luck. As she washed, she recounted the night's events to Qin Ling and Rui Rui.
After hearing the story, Qin Ling fell into deep thought. "A Lincoln? That’s high society! There are only a handful of elite families in City T—which one could it be?"
Bending over the sink, Kaiyin’s brow furrowed slightly as she contemplated the situation. After drying her fingers with a towel, she turned to her two younger cousins and said, "Old Mrs. Jiang’s funeral is tomorrow. It was likely someone from the Jiang family."
Qin Ling and Rui Rui exchanged a meaningful look.
***
Hanchen International was a real estate giant founded and listed in Hong Kong, with primary investments across Asia. Its founder was the Hong Kong businessman Jiang Zhen. The company’s portfolio included Hanchen International Hotels, Hanchen Golf Courses, the Hanchen Financial Center, and Hanchen CBD Shopping Centers. At its peak, the conglomerate controlled multiple listed companies across Asia and was hailed as "Asia’s Premier Host."
The love story between Mr. Jiang Zhen and his beloved wife, the legendary scholar Wen Tang, was still a popular topic of conversation. The couple had lived in perfect harmony and had one daughter, Jiang Fanbi, who currently served as the Chairwoman of Hanchen International.
Kaiyin surmised that the owner of the funeral urn tonight was none other than the recently deceased Old Mrs. Jiang, Wen Tang. As for the man in the car, he was likely a grandson or a relative of the Jiang family.
In such a prestigious family, even though she had accidentally knocked over their ancestor’s ashes, she realized that if the man hadn't intentionally let her off the hook, it would have been very difficult for her to escape unscathed.
"Old Mrs. Jiang’s funeral is tomorrow. I have an on-site shoot for work, so you two go ahead without me."
With that, Kaiyin retired to her room.
***
The following day was foggy—a disaster for news reporting.
The station’s business van was parked near the Jiang family mansion. Looking around, media outlets from all over the city had already deployed their staff, waiting for the right moment to strike. Their van was just one among many.
Kaiyin and the photographer, Xiao Zhang, finished their breakfast of soy milk and fried dough sticks. They were idly playing with their phones when the Jiang family’s towering, majestic black iron gates suddenly creaked open.
The hidden reporters stirred with anticipation, dozens of cameras pivoting to face the funeral procession. As the gates swung wide, hundreds of bodyguards dressed in black suits surged out first. The camera crews were forced to use long-range telephoto lenses.
Kaiyin started the engine, ready to move at a moment's notice.
The bodyguards lined up in an orderly fashion along the Jiang family’s perimeter wall, stretching all the way to the city’s main thoroughfare, forming a human corridor.
Ten minutes later, from the far end of the vast Jiang family garden, the first hearse slowly emerged.
Kaiyin recognized it immediately—it was the same stretch Lincoln from the night before.
- Writer
