Chapter 170: Condolences
「The next morning.」
「The funeral home.」
The Xiao Family arrived early.
They were all dressed in black suits with black armbands.
After a short while, the funeral guests began to arrive as well.
Lin Chuyue and Ye Baiwei arrived very early, but Lin Chuyue couldn't bring herself to go inside.
She was afraid that if she actually saw Xiao Ye's body, she wouldn't be able to handle it.
Just then, a car pulled up.
Chu Yan got out of the car. When she saw Lin Chuyue, her expression soured.
"Chu Yan!" Lin Chuyue ran over to her. "Xiao Ye isn't dead, right?"
Seeing her red, swollen eyes, Chu Yan said nothing. She simply brushed her arm away and strode into the funeral home.
Huo Wenhao followed closely behind. "Miss Lin, don't worry too much. I believe Master Xiao isn't dead."
Lin Chuyue was taken aback. "Why are you at the funeral? Is it because of me?"
Huo Wenhao shook his head. "No. I'm here for Master Xiao."
With that, he quickly entered, leaving Lin Chuyue alone once again.
A moment later, Yuan Tiancheng also appeared, much to her surprise.
Lin Chuyue was starting to understand. Even if it were for her sake, it made no sense for them to attend a funeral.
Besides, none of them seemed to want to talk to her. Instead, they all rushed into the funeral home, as if wanting to confirm something.
'Are they trying to confirm whether Xiao Ye is dead or not?'
Ye Baiwei whispered, "What are you thinking about? Let's go in. You can't stay out here forever."
"If something really did happen to him, we should be there to see him off one last time."
Lin Chuyue squeezed Ye Baiwei's hand and walked hesitantly into the funeral home.
In the main hall.
The space was filled with wreaths and other funeral items.
All the mourners were dressed in black.
Lin Chuyue's eyes immediately fell on the coffin at the front.
Her heart suddenly started to race.
Hearing footsteps, the people around them turned their heads.
They saw an exceptionally beautiful woman practically jogging to the side of the coffin.
She stared intently at the person in the coffin, her expression gradually going numb.
She said nothing, but her tears said it all.
Ye Baiwei rushed to catch up, steadying Lin Chuyue as she also looked toward the coffin.
Xiao Ye was lying quietly inside. His face was ghastly pale and his lips were blue—the very picture of a dead man.
"How could this be..."
Chu Yan had arrived as well. Seeing Xiao Ye, she staggered backward.
A member of the Xiao Family caught her from behind. "Miss, please accept our condolences. What was your relationship with our big brother?"
Before, they had all mocked Xiao Ye, wishing they could flay him alive.
But now, "big brother" was on the tip of their tongues. They were truly two-faced.
Chu Yan turned and saw a face that bore a slight resemblance to Xiao Ye. She violently grabbed the man's collar. "I'm asking you, why would Xiao Ye die?!"
"Tell me! Why?!"
"He was so powerful, how could he possibly be dead? You must have killed him!"
"Miss, please, calm down." The other members of the Xiao Family came to help, finally managing to restrain the furious Chu Yan.
"Miss, I know you're upset, but what's done is done."
"Xiao Ye was one of us, a member of the Xiao Family. Why would we harm him? Even a vicious tiger doesn't eat its own cubs, let alone people like us!"
Chu Yan didn't believe a word of it. "Then tell me, how did he die!"
Lin Chuyue walked over as well. She needed to know the answer too!
It was only upon seeing Xiao Ye's body that she realized she had long since developed feelings for him.
Lin Chuyue stared daggers at the Xiao Family, a single thought rising in her mind.
'Avenge Xiao Ye!'
He had saved her so many times.
But she hadn't had a chance to repay his kindness!
A member of the Xiao Family calmly explained, "Our big brother fell ill suddenly. We don't know what it was. At first, the doctor just said it was a cold."
"Then one day, we suddenly found... he wasn't breathing anymore. That's when we knew he had passed away."
"We didn't want this to happen either. He had only just returned to the Xiao Family, we all liked him very much..."
"Bullshit!" Chu Yan was so enraged she cursed outright. "Your so-called 'liking' him was just humiliating and looking down on him!"
"And when he got into a conflict with someone, you forced him to apologize, right?"
Before coming, Chu Yan had already thoroughly investigated what had happened to Xiao Ye.
While not common knowledge, plenty of people knew about these incidents. At the very least, many people spoke of Young Master Yang as a laughingstock.
The faces of the Xiao Family members changed slightly. "Miss, if you are here to attend the funeral, we sincerely welcome you."
"But if you're here to cause trouble and disturb our big brother's peace, then we'll have no choice but to show you out!"
Lin Chuyue noticed the look of contempt that flashed in the man's eyes as he glanced at the coffin.
She couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her hand and swung it hard, slapping him across the face!
She didn't care how powerful the Xiao Family was, nor that they were in the Imperial City.
Lin Chuyue only wanted to avenge Xiao Ye. These people, who looked down on him even in death, deserved to be hit!
"You bitch! How dare you hit me!"
"Someone, grab her and throw her out!"
"Just anyone dares to cause trouble on the Xiao Family's turf? You're asking for death!"
Zhuo Qinglin snorted coldly and stepped forward, shielding Lin Chuyue. "She is my friend. Are you still going to throw her out?"
"Eldest Young Master Zhuo..." When the man who was slapped saw it was Zhuo Qinglin, his face turned utterly foul, as if he'd just eaten shit.
But he didn't dare provoke the Zhuo Family, so he had no choice but to back down. "Since she's a friend of Eldest Young Master Zhuo, then naturally I have nothing more to say."
"Out of respect for Eldest Young Master Zhuo, the Xiao Family won't press the matter. But she can't get physical again!"
Lin Chuyue watched the man's retreating back and limply returned to the coffin's side.
She took Xiao Ye's hand. It was so cold, completely without warmth.
At that moment, she felt the presence of death once more.
Lin Chuyue leaned over the side, sobbing quietly.
"Xiao Ye... didn't you say you were going to marry me? How could you just die like this?!"
Chu Yan felt awful, but she couldn't stand the sight of Lin Chuyue putting on such an act.
"Stop pretending. Didn't you hate Xiao Ye?"
"Why bother faking your grief here?!"
"I didn't..." Lin Chuyue thought back to all the things she'd done, feeling even more regretful.
"I didn't mean to..."
"Whatever you say now is useless!" Chu Yan wished she could just drag her away, but she couldn't.
"I don't believe Xiao Ye is dead just like that. I will get to the bottom of this!"
With that, she strode away from the funeral.
Just as she stepped outside, she saw a beautiful woman.
Shishi, dressed in a black dress, was standing on the roadside, smoking.
Seeing Chu Yan, she raised an eyebrow. "I know you. You're the dog that follows Master Xiao around."
Chu Yan's expression flickered. "Who are you?"
"Me...? I'm one of Master Chu's dogs, too. We're the same." Shishi stubbed out her cigarette. "Come on. Let's go to the funeral."
Chu Yan frowned slightly. "Is Xiao Ye really dead or not?"
Shishi's eyebrows shot up. "The King? How could he possibly die?"