Funerals in this era typically lasted three days, after which the deceased would be laid to rest.

The reason is that in rural areas during that era, burial was the norm, but there was no possibility of having a proper burial after death. If the body was kept at home for a long time, it would inevitably develop a smell.

In winter it's fine, not to mention three days, five or six days is no problem, but in summer, let alone three days, the smell will start to appear on the second day.

So it gradually became a custom to keep the body for three days, chant sutras and burn paper money for the deceased, and say things that are good for the deceased's descendants.

Wang Ying has already been cremated in Kyoto, so there is no issue of her body decomposing.

Chen Ping hasn't returned yet. Xu Yaozu has already had their unit leader call the place where Chen Ping delivers goods, saying that there's something urgent at home and he needs to come home immediately.

Xu Yaozu is a policeman, and he has a keen sense of things. It's fine for Grandma Chen and the others to hear Xu Xinning's story, but Xu Yaozu doesn't believe it.

Yao Dahai also felt there was definitely something wrong. If Wang Yingzhen had been rescued, it was unlikely that someone unrelated would go to such lengths to take her to the capital for treatment.

And how did Wang Ying happen to wake up just when Xu Xinning went to the hospital?

Yao Dahai felt that there was not only a problem here, but a big problem.

When Xu Xinning got married last time, Wang Ying's younger sister came to stay at their house, and Yao Dahai was already suspicious at that time.

Although they are father-in-law and daughter-in-law, Yao Dahai can tell a lot about Wang Ying's habits at a glance.

The so-called younger sister's many subtle mannerisms are exactly the same as Wang Ying's.

Although the two are sisters, are there really sisters in the world who have the same habits?

Another thing was the voice and speaking habits; Yao Dahai suspected at that time that this younger sister wasn't really his sister.

But at that time everyone said that she was Wang Ying's sister, and that she had returned to the capital with her husband for several years, so Yao Dahai did not investigate further, after all, investigating further might not be a good thing for the Chen family.

Who doesn't know about Wang Ying's feelings for Chen Jianguo?

The so-called younger sister had passionate feelings for Chen Jianguo.

Her younger sister is in Kyoto, why doesn't she look for her?

Everyone took turns keeping watch at night.

After dinner, Xu Yaozu called Xu Xinning, Mu Jingheng, Xu Mingyang, and Yao Dahai into the room.

They closed the door and sat down.

Xu Yaozu cut to the chase: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Fearing that Xu Xinning would get tired, Mu Jingheng took it upon himself to tell the truth.

After hearing Mu Jingheng's words, Xu Yaozu and Yao Dahai both fell silent.

I never imagined that Wang Ying would actually be an enemy agent.

After learning the truth, many things became traceable in retrospect.

Xu Yaozu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Wang Ying always liked to stay at their home, whether she was in the military family compound or back in Xujia Village.

When he was in the military, Xu Yaozu never brought work home; he always handled official business in the office.

After returning to Xujia Village, he basically stopped bringing police documents home, except for the period when he was injured and at home. Colleagues who insisted on handling the documents would bring them over, but by then Wang Ying had already gotten into trouble.

Xu Yaozu then recalled the female corpse that had appeared by the river.

At that time, Wang Ying seemed very interested in the case of the female corpse. When he came back, she would often ask him about it intentionally or unintentionally. Now it seems that the female corpse should be Wang Ying's companion, which is why she cared so much.

Yao Dahai remained silent, worried about whether Chen Ping could accept the truth after learning about it, since he had witnessed Chen Ping's feelings for Wang Ying.

If he knew that Wang Ying had ulterior motives in approaching him from the beginning, could he bear the blow?

What worries Yao Dahai even more is the issue of Chen Ping and Chen Jianguo's class background. Although Wang Ying's merits and demerits have offset each other, and the higher authorities have said that helping to cover it up will not affect Chen Ping and Chen Jianguo, how could it not have an impact in reality?

When Chen Ping was about to be promoted, his superiors discovered that his ex-wife was an enemy agent. Even if they knew that Chen Ping had nothing to do with this, would they dare to appoint him?

Needless to say, Chen Jianguo has no hope of entering politics or the military in the future.

Yao Dahai was heartbroken!

His grandson is such a bright kid! He's good at studying, his future is bound to be bright, but what else can he do besides being an ordinary worker?

As the group remained silent, Xu Laosan's voice suddenly rang out, calling out to Chen Jianguo, "Jianguo, why are you standing here? Are you hungry?"

The people in the room exchanged glances, wondering if Chen Jianguo had overheard their conversation.

If that's really the case, can this little heart really bear it?

Chen Ping didn't get back until the evening of the third day. He thought something had happened to his parents, so he was very anxious and rode his bike back in the middle of the night.

When he returned home and saw the mourning hall set up in his house from afar, his legs went weak with fear.

He stumbled in and rushed straight into the mourning hall.

Chen Ping lost his composure and shouted, "Amu~ Ada~"

Only after calling out did they see Chen Jianguo kneeling there, dressed in hemp clothing. Old Mrs. Chen and a group of old ladies were chanting sutras and folding paper ingots. Yao Dahai was sitting with Old Master Xu, watching Old Master Xu pretending to smoke his pipe.

Chen Ping looked at Yao Dahai strangely, then at Old Madam Chen, and then at his youngest son dressed in hemp clothing. Were they going to hold a belated funeral for Wang Ying?

Chen Ping wouldn't admit that Wang Ying was gone, but subconsciously he had already accepted it.

Is there any particular custom associated with holding a funeral at this time of year?

When Chen Jianguo saw Chen Ping rushing back, covered in sweat, he immediately rushed over, hugged Chen Ping, and burst into tears.

Hearing Chen Jianguo's cries, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. For the past few days, Chen Jianguo had spent most of his time kneeling beside Wang Ying's ashes, silent and lifeless.

The adults noticed Chen Jianguo's unusual behavior, but they didn't know how to persuade him, so they could only keep a closer eye on him.

Yang Chunqin had also entrusted this glorious task to Xu Laosan, but no matter how Xu Laosan tried to persuade Chen Jianguo, he remained unmoved.

Now that I've cried it out and vented, I'm fine.

Chen Ping was puzzled. Why didn't his son look down on him today, even though he was so dirty?

Chen Jianguo was raised to be quite refined by Wang Ying; although he lived in the countryside, he was a bit of a clean freak.

Chen Jianguo can no longer care about the issue of dirtiness. He no longer has a mother; he has become a child without a mother. This awareness seems to have temporarily blocked his sense of smell.

Chen Ping held his heartbroken son, his own eyes reddening, and comforted him, "Your mother is just missing; she might be back any day now."

Chen Jianguo kept shaking his head, "No, my mother will never come back. She died in Kyoto."

Chen Ping looked bewildered. How could he have died in Kyoto?

Shouldn't he have died in Qingyuan County?