Chapter 946: The Queen of the Memorial Hall

While Wang Qigang was being dealt with, Wan Xiaoqing's days were also not going well. The person who came to Jinxi County to pick her up was her wealthy boyfriend, fifteen years her senior—Chen Jiansheng.

The mountains on both sides of the highway sped backward.

Wan Xiaoqing leaned against the passenger seat, her eyes red and swollen, her makeup smudged. Chen Jiansheng drove, glancing at her now and then, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.

The phone suddenly rang.

Wan Xiaoqing picked it up, not daring to delay; it was a call from the Municipal Affairs Office.

"Hello, I'm Wan Xiaoqing from the Tax Bureau."

Wan Xiaoqing struggled to suppress her bewildered emotions.

"Comrade Wan Xiaoqing, Mayor Lin has instructed that you must return home immediately to handle Comrade Wan Yan's funeral."

Upon hearing this, Wan Xiaoqing froze on the spot—had the old man really died?

It took her a while to recover.

Wan Xiaoqing weakly asked, "Mayor Lin... did he say anything else?"

"Comrade Wan Yan worked for the Party and the people his whole life. Mayor Lin gave high praise to his life of self-discipline and public service. To arrange Wan Lao's funeral well, Mayor Lin has designated the Civil Affairs and other departments to establish a Funeral Committee." The Municipal Affairs Office emphasized: "Having you return to keep vigil and wear mourning is the duty of a child."

"I understand, thank you."

After hanging up, Wan Xiaoqing's emotions could not settle for Along time.

However...

What made her feel lost and adrift was not her father's death.

But her own future.

This time, having sacrificed everything to come to Jinxi County, she had originally intended to bring warmth to Mayor Lin, but instead her efforts backfired, and she ended up being humiliated by Ye Jiaying.

She gazed out the car window at the sky, suddenly feeling a thread of light seeping through the clouds.

She secretly pondered: "Mayor Lin told me to return to observe mourning, and specifically said this is the duty of a child. Is he trying to give me a chance to redeem myself through service? If so……"

"Whose call was that?"

Chen Jiansheng suddenly spoke, interrupting Wan Xiaoqing's train of thought.

Wan Xiaoqing did not answer.

She clenched the phone tightly, her mind revolving around a single thought—no matter what, she must seize this chance to redeem herself through service! As long as she handled the funeral well and played the role of a filial daughter to the fullest, letting everyone see her attitude of knowing her mistakes and changing, she might even keep her position as bureau chief.

Thinking this through,

Wan Xiaoqing urged Chen Jiansheng: "Drive faster."

"What's going on?"

As her older boyfriend, Chen Jiansheng still didn't know that Wan Xiaoqing had come to Jinxi County hoping to sneak into the leader's bed.

He didn't even realize he was about to be cuckolded.

He simply thought Wan Xiaoqing had come to report work, and he was very concerned about her.

Wan Xiaoqing was also truly skilled at acting; one second she decided to seize the chance to redeem herself, the next she launched into the role of a great filial daughter.

She blinked her eyes.

She squeezed out two cheap tears, adopting a low tone: "Just now the Municipal Affairs Office called, they said my dad passed away, I need to rush back to handle the funeral."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiansheng didn't waste words, he pressed the accelerator.

The speed immediately rose to 130 km/h.

……

Wan Yan's memorial hall was set up in the Songhe Hall of the Wuzhou Municipal Crematorium.

The surroundings were filled with flower wreaths and elegiac couplets sent by leaders of various units; the wreath that Lin Dongfan paid respect with was placed by the staff in the most prominent position.

The crystal coffin was placed in the middle of the hall.

Wan Yan, covered with the Party flag, lay peacefully inside.

Accompanied by relatives, the elderly lady sat in vigil beside him, her eyes already red from crying. Seeing Wan Xiaoqing rush in sobbing, the old lady wanted to speak but held back, her tears unstoppable.

"Dad!"

"It's the daughter who is unfilial, the daughter is sorry to you……"

Wan Xiaoqing knelt before the spirit with a thump, her heart-rending wail—truly a filial piety that moves heaven! Her sobbing made the old lady also feel a pang of sorrow, and the various resentments in her heart gradually faded.

"Dad!"

"Sorry, I was wrong!"

"I really didn't mean to anger you, sorry……"

The more Wan Xiaoqing cried, the more agitated she became, causing those around her to redden their eye sockets.

The mourners whispered to each other, some sighing, some shaking their heads, some murmuring softly: "This child, at least she still has a conscience."

Hearing such comments, Wan Xiaoqing felt quite pleased inside, and her acting became even more superb.

She cried so hard she couldn't stop at all.

"Dad, open your eyes and look at me. Dad, I know I was wrong. Scold me two sentences, hit me twice, get up."

Wan Xiaoqing knelt before the spirit, repenting while kowtowing—one, two, three……

Each knock sounded with a thud!

The old lady tottered over, tears in her eyes, and grabbed Wan Xiaoqing: "Xiaoqing, stop kowtowing. Your dad is already gone; kowtowing won't bring him back……"

"Mom!"

Wan Xiaoqing then clung to the old lady's legs.

She wept bitterly: "Sorry, I was clueless before. I'm not human, I'm a beast! Mom, slap me twice, that would ease my heart; I'm sorry to you……"

The old lady also burst into tears.

In the old lady's heart, no matter what mistakes her daughter made, she remained her own flesh and blood, bone connected to sinew.

If you want her to slap someone, she can't bring herself to do it.

The number of people coming to the memorial hall to pay their respects kept increasing.

People came from the Civil Affairs Bureau, the Old Gan Bureau, and the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

Seeing Wan Xiaoxing cry like that, the leader of the Civil Affairs Bureau couldn't help sighing, and gently stepped forward to advise: "Comrade Wan Xiaoxing, the dead cannot be brought back to life; please restrain your grief."

……

The funeral lasted three days.

During these three days, Wan Xiaoxing did not leave the memorial hall even a step.

She kept kneeling there.

Her voice went hoarse from crying, her eyes swollen, her knees worn from kneeling, yet she didn't get up. Someone urged her to rest, she shook her head and said: "I want to keep my father company…"

Those who came to pay their respects saw it in their eyes and kept it in their hearts.

The leader of the Civil Affairs Bureau reported to Lin Dongfan: "In my view, Wan Xiaoxing doesn't seem to be acting; she should truly be remorseful. These days, she has been kneeling before the memorial hall, and she has cried herself thin."

"I hope she is truly remorseful." Lin Dongfan sighed: "Old Master Wan, if you know in the afterlife, you would feel some comfort."

……

On the day of burial, Wan Xiaoxing held the portrait and walked at the front.

She walked very slowly.

Each step felt like stepping on the tip of a knife.

Arriving at the cemetery, she knelt before the grave, watching her father's ashes box being placed into the tomb, watching shovelful after shovelful of earth being piled on.

She lay on the ground, forehead pressed to the dirt, crying for Along, long time.

Finally, Chen Junsong helped her up.

After the funeral ended, Wan Xiaoxing did not go home to keep her mother company; instead, she went to a hotel, opened a room, first took a shower, relaxed her mind and body, and slept.

That sleep, she didn't wake until noon the next day.

She had a dream.

In the dream, Lin Dongfan highly praised her behavior of remorse and filial mourning, and convened a standing committee meeting, re-evaluating her disciplinary action—revoking the decision to remove her from office.