Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When the doctor told me that my husband Ji Huaike’s vital signs had completely disappeared, tears streamed down my face.

Holding back my grief, I called the funeral home.

When they came to move the body, I gave each of the staff an extra five hundred yuan and asked them to be gentle with my husband.

I had planned to spend one last night with him and talk to him properly.

But after we arrived at the funeral home, I changed my mind.

I asked one of the staff members if they could cremate my husband’s remains right away.

The staff member covered the pocket where he’d put the five-hundred-yuan red envelope, his expression hard to describe. “Cremations here start at five-thirty in the morning. It’s only a little after three.”

“Let my husband be the first cremation of the day. I’ll add ten thousand yuan!” I pleaded.

As I spoke, I took out every document: my marriage certificate with Ji Huaike, our ID cards, the household register, his death certificate, and so on.

The staff member looked at the documents, then at the sincerity on my face, and immediately nodded. “Wait here. I’ll call Old Zhang right now!”

At five-thirty in the morning.

More than a dozen buses and hearses were already parked in the funeral home’s parking lot. In the still air, the sound of grief-stricken weeping could be heard faintly.

I patted the urn in my arms. “Honey, look at how efficient we are. These people only just got here, and I’ve already had you cremated.”

The box did not speak.

All of a sudden, I felt a little sad. I really wanted to cry.

I raised my head and looked at the sky.

A faint light was piercing through the darkness, breaking free of the night’s hold little by little.

I lowered my head, and my tears fell onto the urn. “Ji Huaike, a brand-new day has begun for me again, while you will lie forever in this tiny box.”

When my parents-in-law learned of my husband’s death, they beat their chests and wailed in agony.

When they learned that their precious son had already been cremated by me overnight, one rolled their eyes and fainted, while the other rushed over and slapped me twice.

My head was ringing from the blows, and it took me a long while to recover.

I called the police.

So did my parents-in-law.

I reported my father-in-law for intentional assault. After he slapped me, I could barely hear what other people were saying.

My parents-in-law reported me for cremating their son without their consent, causing them to miss seeing him one last time.

Half an hour later, two separate groups of police arrived.

The officers handling my case told me to get my injuries examined, and that if it constituted bodily harm, the person who hit me would be held responsible.

The officers handling my parents-in-law’s case informed them that a wife had full authority to handle matters such as her husband’s cremation and funeral arrangements, and did not need his parents’ consent.

In summary: what she did was immoral, but legal.

I carried Ji Huaike’s urn out of his study.

“Dad, Mom, here are Huaike’s ashes. Will you take them home, or should I deliver them for you?”

My mother-in-law’s eyes went bloodshot. She pointed at me, her lips trembling as she tried to curse me.

But after saying, “You, you, you…” for a long time, nothing else came out.

I took out Ji Huaike’s will. “Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to bury him. He asked me to give this to you, and said you should bury him at some place called Peach Blossom Slope.”

My mother-in-law finally snapped back to her senses. Like a madwoman, she lunged at me, trying to tear at me.

Timidly, I hid behind the police, leaving only my head peeking out.

“Since he left a will arranging his own funeral, what right did you have to cremate my son without our consent? My son, my poor, ill-fated child…” My mother-in-law howled and burst into tears.

The police looked at me sternly.

One of the officers who had responded to my parents-in-law’s report reprimanded me. “A wife can handle her husband’s funeral affairs in full, but that’s only when there is no will specifying otherwise. You may be suspected of breaking the law.”

My mother-in-law immediately stopped crying, a spark of hope rekindling in her eyes.

I handed Ji Huaike’s recorded video will and written will to the police.

“In his will, my husband only arranged for me to hand his ashes over to his parents and have them bury him at Peach Blossom Slope. He didn’t specify who should cremate him, nor did he specify that his body had to be kept for several days before cremation.”

The officer read it carefully three times, then returned my phone to me. Finally, he nodded helplessly at my mother-in-law. “She’s right. If you suspect there is an issue with the will, you can pursue legal proceedings.”

My mother-in-law nearly rolled her eyes back and fainted again. She started trembling all over, and my father-in-law hurriedly supported her as they headed upstairs to the room where they usually stayed.

Watching their backs, the officer sighed. “You’re family. Why make things so ugly? What you did was indeed inappropriate. Try looking at it from another perspective. That was their son. Was it fair to them for you to do this?”

I remained silent.

Fair?

When they all joined forces, kept me in the dark, and played me for a fool, had they ever considered what was fair to me?