The scene instantly fell silent.
Only the shrill sound of the wind sweeping past could be heard. Everyone held their breath, their minds racing. Once they figured it out, their eyes widened in sheer shock, frozen in disbelief.
Subconsciously, the gazes of everyone present landed on the woman.
She stood there as if struck by lightning.
Had she been found out?
No, it couldn't be. She hadn't actually wanted to sell those things; it was a choice made out of absolute necessity. Besides, before Fernand passed away, he had apologized and confessed his guilt to her, saying he was sorry for failing to fulfill his vow to give her a lifetime free of worries.
So, she wasn't wrong to do what she did.
The man was already dead.
You can't bring possessions with you at birth, nor can you take them with you in death. What value would they have buried in the ground, other than to rot away? Fernand would probably be happier if they were exchanged for her financial security.
After all.
She was the true love of his life.
Having convinced herself, the woman suppressed her rising guilt. Her expression calmed down significantly as she looked up with tearful eyes at the cold and indifferent Madam Anna:
"I don't know what you are talking about."
Suddenly, she threw herself at the coffin and cried out in a breakdown, "Fernand, why didn't you take me with you? Without you, it's so cold, cruel, and terrifying here. Everyone is bullying me, slandering me..."
Her demeanor was utterly pitiful, her voice deeply emotional.
Not only did the crowd hesitate.
Even Su Ning couldn't help but sigh in amazement. This was truly a hidden master among the common folk.
She was just born in the wrong era.
If she were born a century later, purely based on this sense of conviction, her incredibly thick skin, and her acting skills that allowed her to cry on cue, she could at least become a top trending star in historical idol dramas, reaping the adoration of millions of fans!
Anna, who was implicitly targeted by her words, remained expressionless. Instead, she nodded in agreement and said:
"It is indeed so. Without Fernand, you are nothing but trash. You have absolutely no ability or need to survive. In that case, I will grant your wish."
The woman's crying abruptly stopped.
Before she could react, someone grabbed her and pressed her directly toward the inside of the coffin. That bruised, deformed, and even slightly rotting face drew closer and closer.
She could almost smell the stench of the dead.
No, not almost.
It was really there!
"As Fernand's wife in the legal and religious sense, I voluntarily give up the right to be buried with him, to fulfill the destiny of you two true lovers."
The last two words carried an inexplicable sarcasm.
However, the woman had no time to retort. She struggled frantically, trying to escape, her screams mixing with her cries, "Let me go! I don't want to! Ah—"
Although she was crying in both instances, anyone with eyes could see the difference.
Earlier, she cried fiercely but looked beautiful doing it.
Like pear blossoms bathed in spring rain.
Now, it was also rain, but it was a torrential downpour. Her facial features were twisted, tears and snot flowing together. There was no beauty to speak of, but it was absolutely genuine.
The people present frowned one after another.
Seeing this, what was there left to misunderstand? They all felt as though their feelings had been played.
Just then, a man's furious shout rang out, "What are you doing? Let my mother go right now!" Antonio, his face ashen, ordered his men to step forward and help. Surprisingly, the moment they approached, those men let go.
Having narrowly escaped disaster.
The woman hugged her son, trembling while sobbing uncontrollably.
But this time, she didn't dare to call out for Fernand.
Instead, she called out for Anton.
Su Ning thought rather unkindly that it sounded like she was calling out for a stunt double. Was she trying to get Fernand to drag Antonio down to the underworld with him?
"It's okay now, it's okay."
Over here, Antonio naturally had no idea about someone's wicked thoughts. After comforting his mother with a few words, he glared at Anna:
"Madam Anna, I know that my mother's and my existence has hurt you, but this is also a trick of fate. We both feel guilty towards you, which is why we have respected you all these years, hiding away and trying our best not to appear before you. I didn't expect you to still hold such a grudge, being so vicious as to try and kill my mother at my father's funeral."
"You have truly gone too far."
"Let me tell you, even if my father is gone, I am still here to protect my mother."
"You will never get away with this."
"Now, please leave this place!"
Hearing the last sentence, an expression finally appeared on Anna's face. She sneered, "A mere illegitimate son, what right do you have to ask me to leave?"
"On the grounds that my father entrusted his funeral arrangements to me."
Antonio looked toward the male elders of the family and spoke with sincere words:
"Everyone is here right now. I remember when my father was alive, he specifically informed all of you about this matter. So now, I hope you all can testify for me whether this is true or not."
The elders exchanged glances.
They sighed and nodded.
"Good, now what else do you have to say?" Antonio looked at Anna with disgust. "Now I finally understand why my father made such arrangements before he died. It was to guard against a vicious woman like you taking revenge on him and on us."
"Of course, I still have things to say."
Anna actually smiled. "Fernand was truly an idiot."
"What?"
Antonio flew into a rage: "My father is dead, and you still want to humiliate him."
"Oh, and you are an idiot too."
At this point, the sons and daughters behind Anna also started laughing. Originally, time was tight, and they hadn't had the chance to fully clarify things. But now that he had stepped forward himself to find witnesses, what else was there to say?
However, one man's idiot.
Is another man's genius.
Anyway, they were very happy. Without waiting for Antonio to react, they gave a look to the subordinates standing by the coffin.
Clack—
The coffin lid was completely pushed open.
The crowd, attracted by the noise, instinctively looked over. They saw the corpse wrapped in layers of magnificent clothing, its face powdered snow-white. Even so, it could not hide the abnormal degree of decomposition.
"Good God, is this some kind of curse?"
"Of course it's not a curse. Someone simply concealed the time of Fernand's death."
"It was Antonio..."
Because of the earlier drama, the people present naturally didn't point the finger at the wrong person. Amidst the uproar, they also remembered what Anna had said, and suspicious gazes fell upon the mother and son.
Antonio broke out in a cold sweat.
What should he do?
What should he do, what should he do?
Suddenly, his shifting gaze landed on that conspicuous figure outside the crowd... He had it!
"So this is what you were after." Antonio's handsome face was filled with pain. "This is indeed my fault. If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't win Ningning's love for the longest time, my father wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Su Ning was disgusted.
Ningning?
Was this guy intentionally trying to gross her out? There wasn't even a need for translation or explanation—those two words were spoken in Chinese!
The others weren't stupid either.
After a moment of stunned silence, they guessed who this "Ningning" referred to.
But what was the connection between the two?
Antonio provided the answer: "It's all my fault. Because I made Ningning angry, we argued and gave each other the cold shoulder. The pain of love tormented me until I lost my mind, so I told my father about it. Who knew that my father, in order to prevent me from losing the chance to salvage my romance because of his funeral, would actually... actually make such a decision."
He sobbed uncontrollably.
As for what kind of decision, the crowd thought they understood.
Their hearts were filled with deep emotion.
To conceal his own death for the sake of his son's love... what a good father. Although it felt a bit exaggerated, Fernand was exactly the kind of man who valued love above all else.
It seemed the situation had been resolved.
Anna's expression darkened slightly as she took a step forward. "You might be able to talk your way out of concealing the time of death, but what about the burial items? It is a fact that you stole Fernand's burial items!"
