Chapter 146: Funeral

Pei Huaiye's eyes turned red as he spoke.

Su Qianyue wiped her eyes and hugged him tightly.

"A Ye, I'll go to Beijing with you! We'll go to send Master off!"

This trip had to be made; the children could only be left for the family to look after.

The two left in a hurry. At dawn, they packed everything for the two milk-babies, gave instructions to the family, and left.

"Dad, Yuanyuan likes to suck his fingers; make sure to wash his hands and feet every day."

"Tuantuan likes to gnaw on her little feet; those need to be washed frequently too."

"Huaimei, there are two milk bottles in the house. When feeding, make sure to do it at the same time; don't let the time gap be too long, otherwise the other one will get jealous and cry."

"Diapers also need to be changed and washed frequently. Qingxi, help look after them after you get back from school."

Before getting into the car, Su Qianyue gave detailed instructions over and over again. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were both grinning with their little mouths, smiling foolishly at their parents.

Only when they saw their parents get into the Jeep did the two milk-babies let out a "waa" and start crying.

The wailing shook the heavens.

In the car, Su Qianyue covered her mouth and sobbed quietly. Yuan Guang was driving in front, so she was embarrassed to cry too loudly.

"Alright, alright, we'll be back in a few days."

Pei Huaiye hugged Su Qianyue and coaxed her. "The children are crying, why are you, an adult, crying too?"

His voice was low and gentle; Yuan Guang in the front seat felt goosebumps rising.

He smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. Brother Pei has arranged for people to guard your courtyard; not even a fly can fly in. Rest assured!"

How could Su Qianyue not be heartbroken to leave her children for the first time!

Upon learning that the house was well-protected, she felt relieved.

Another day passed, and it wasn't until evening that the three of them arrived in Beijing.

Pei Huaiye took Su Qianyue to attend the funeral, and they immediately saw Qiu Lu in the crowd.

Qiu Lu's eyes widened when she saw Su Qianyue and her husband; she hadn't expected them to come in person.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, you're here."

Qiu Lu looked sorrowful. "You should go see Master."

Pei Huaiye walked closer to examine him carefully, and later questioned the doctor. It was indeed gout caused by excessive alcohol consumption, and Master had fallen down the stairs while walking unsteadily.

"Where were you at that time?"

Pei Huaiye's highly oppressive gaze sank onto Qiu Lu.

Qiu Lu's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe why Pei Huaiye would ask that. The flash of malice in her eyes was still caught by Su Qianyue.

"I was at work at the time; you can ask my colleagues."

Qiu Lu cried and pulled her colleagues over to prove she was at work that day, then finished by crying and wailing in public.

"Brother, you know that Dad has had gout for all these years, and Sister-in-law knows it too."

"But you were far away in Xichuan. Every time Dad had an attack or was hospitalized, I was the one who spent night after night watching over him."

"The reason I haven't married even at this age is because I'm afraid that if Dad gets sick, there won't be anyone close by to take care of him."

"I'm very happy you came to Beijing to see Dad off, but you can't just start accusing me of not taking good care of Dad."

Qiu Lu sobbed uncontrollably, and everyone gathered around.

"I was just at work that day. Dad received your letter and learned you had twins; he was so happy he drank two extra cups of wine. I never expected he would trip while going downstairs to mail a letter..."

As she spoke, Qiu Lu took out the letter Qiu Zhiyang had written and handed it to Pei Huaiye.

Pei Huaiye's face turned pale. He steadied himself and opened the letter to look; it was indeed Master's handwriting.

His heart tightened. Did Master fall down the stairs just to mail a letter to him?

He couldn't accept this result.

Su Qianyue held Pei Huaiye's large hand tightly, not wanting him to lose his reason.

Qiu Lu then took Qiu Zhiyang's will out from her bosom. "Dad's will says we should split it equally. You already received your share last time."

Just a moment ago, she had publicly said that the couple hadn't taken care of Qiu Zhiyang while he was sick.

Now she was bringing up the inheritance; wasn't this intentionally slapping them in the face?

Pei Huaiye was so angry he was about to say he didn't want the inheritance.

But Su Qianyue tugged on his sleeve, and he stopped himself abruptly.

Walking out of the mourning hall, Su Qianyue whispered to Pei Huaiye, "Don't you think Qiu Lu is a bit strange?"

"She had the letter and the will ready, as if she knew we would come today."

"Setting that aside, we can't let her use Master's inheritance. We can donate it."

Pei Huaiye frowned. "I had arranged for people to take care of Master before; she only went to the hospital occasionally to put on a show, not taking care of him every day."

Su Qianyue sneered. "It must have been a show. She told everyone she went to the hospital, but in reality, she didn't."

The two sighed and walked toward the hotel.

Pei Huaiye suddenly saw an extremely familiar figure. He ran a few steps, but the person was very alert and slipped away instantly.

"What's wrong? Who are you chasing?"

Su Qianyue jogged to catch up, gasping in surprise.

"Qingyue, I think I saw Shen Xunbao?"

Pei Huaiye's voice was very low, but Su Qianyue heard it too.

She widened her eyes in disbelief. "Are you sure you saw clearly?"

"He wears glasses and shirts all year round. Even though it was a fleeting glance, I definitely didn't recognize him wrong!"

"Didn't you say before that he went to the farm to look after Su Qianqian? How could he be here?"

"That depends on the Shen family; perhaps they didn't want their son to suffer on the farm."

Pei Huaiye thought it over and still felt it was very suspicious. After meeting Yuan Guang, he gave a few more instructions, asking him to investigate whether Shen Xunbao was really not on the farm.

The next day, Pei Huaiye took Su Qianyue to the hospital where Master had been hospitalized. The nurse said Qiu Zhiyang had a very good mindset and was recovering well; it was impossible for him to have a relapse in such a short time.

"Unless he drank a large amount of alcohol, but it's unlikely he would have an attack from just one time."

"His daughter did come, but she only went through the motions when she got off work, and then left. It was a military officer comrade who arranged for a caregiver to look after Old Man Qiu."

The military officer comrade was someone Pei Huaiye had asked his colleagues at the Beijing Base to help with at the time.

The two visited a circle of people, and Pei Huaiye confirmed that Qiu Lu had indeed not taken much care of Master. The hatred in his heart was overwhelming!

For the past two days, Qiu Lu had mentioned the inheritance from time to time. Even Master's old comrades-in-arms, who didn't know the situation, had scolded the couple.

They said they were heartless, not serving Master while he was alive, and only coming to Beijing for the inheritance after he died.

Pei Huaiye didn't refute them.

They consulted with a lawyer and divided the inheritance into three parts: one part to pick a new tomb for Master, one part donated to an Old Age Charity Center specializing in gout treatment, and the last part donated to a children's charity organization.

"Master was kind all his life and had no children; he loved children very much. With this arrangement, I believe his spirit in heaven will not blame us."

"I was his child, and I wasn't there at the time..."

Su Qianyue held Pei Huaiye's hand tightly. "A Ye, don't blame yourself! Master wouldn't want to see you like this."

Several old comrades-in-arms saw Pei Huaiye's inheritance arrangement, then looked at Pei Huaiye crying like a child, and compared it to Qiu Lu bustling about with a fawning smile—what else was there to not understand? ===== CHAPTER 147 =====