I Cremated My Husband. He Deserved It

01

In my past life, I drank the water the doctor handed me and fell into a three-day coma.
When I woke up, my husband Zhao Mingyuan was already ashes, leaving me with tens of millions in debt.
I was sold into a red-light district and tortured to death.
Before I drew my last breath, I saw him driving a luxury car, his arm around his "white moonlight" (his untouchable first love), mocking how I’d cried like a honking goose back then.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of his "death".
This time, I won’t shed a single tear.
I’ll make every last one of them pay.
Chapter 01
Chen Siqi walked over in her white coat, holding a glass of water.
"Qingxue, drink some water and calm down."
In my past life, consumed by grief, I’d drunk it down without a second thought.
When I woke up, Zhao Mingyuan had been reduced to a box of ashes.
Before I could even process my grief, a gang of debt collectors showed up at my door.
They said Zhao Mingyuan had owed tens of millions in usurious loans before his "death", and that a wife was responsible for her husband’s debts.
What followed was years of hell.
For years, I was tortured like an animal.
I fought tooth and nail to escape, but by then I was already terminally ill.
On that frigid winter evening, I huddled on a street corner, ragged and emaciated.
A luxury car rolled slowly past, revealing Zhao Mingyuan’s smug, triumphant face.
Curled up beside him was Wu Shiman, his "white moonlight".
"Well, well, if it isn’t Qingxue? What happened to you, you look like a ghost?"
Zhao Mingyuan looked down at me, his eyes full of mockery.
He pulled out a few hundred-yuan bills and tossed them at my feet.
"Here, take it. It’s a tip."
Wu Shiman covered her mouth and giggled coyly.
"Darling, she looks older than my grandma."
In that moment, I wanted to lunge at them and tear them apart, but I collapsed face-first onto the pavement.
Zhao Mingyuan laughed uproariously.
"I could actually hear everything in the hospital, you know. I still haven’t forgotten the sound of you crying. It’s so weird—how can someone cry like a honking goose? Honk honk honk! It was hilarious!"
Amid their mocking laughter, I drew my last breath, consumed by endless regret and resentment.
"Qingxue? Qingxue, are you listening to me?"
A voice dragged me back from my bitter memories to reality.

Chen Siqi stood right in front of me, plastering a worried look across her face.
“Qingxue, drink some water to calm down first. Mingyuan passed away all of a sudden. You have to take care of yourself.”
“Thank you.”
I pulled on a sorrowful face, set the water cup down on the table, then turned toward the hospital bed.
Chen Siqi stretched out a hand to block my path.
“Qingxue, don’t look. It’ll only break your heart further.”
“I need to see him one last time.”
I shoved her aside and flipped open the white death sheet.
Zhao Mingyuan’s complexion looked ruddy.
His chest rose and fell with faint, barely noticeable movements.
Grief had blinded me completely in my past life.
I’d never spotted these obvious flaws back then!
Faking his own death? Fine.
I’d grant his wish wholeheartedly.
I raised my palm and landed two sharp slaps right across his cheeks.
Crack. Crack.
His head lolled to one side, yet he stayed perfectly still, showing no sign of waking up.
They’d pumped him full of anesthetic, hadn’t they?
Chen Siqi’s face drained of all color in an instant and lunged to stop me.
“Qingxue! No matter how heartbroken you are, you can’t hit him like that!”
I ignored her.
I grabbed Zhao Mingyuan and smacked his body repeatedly while letting out shrill, wailing sobs.
“I told you not to pull all-nighters! I begged you to get regular checkups! I warned you to cut down on cigarettes! Why never listen to a single word I said? How am I supposed to survive alone after you leave me behind!”
My piercing cries sold the grieving widow act flawlessly.
Staring at my hysterical, grief-stricken performance, Chen Siqi swallowed hard, frozen at a loss for what to do.
While she stood dazed, I pulled out my cellphone and dialed a number.
“Hello, city Organ Donation Center? Yes. A volunteer here just suffered a sudden heart attack and wants to donate all his organs. Send your staff over as soon as possible.”
The second those words left my mouth, Chen Siqi turned deathly pale.
She ached to stop me, yet dared not admit Zhao Mingyuan was still alive.
She could only sneak out her phone and fire off a frantic secret text message.

02

In less than ten minutes, doctors and nurses from the Organ Donation Center hurried into the hospital ward.
I clutched my chest with a grief-stricken expression, tears spilling on command.
“Doctor, my husband was always a kind man. He passed away unexpectedly, and I hope his life can live on to save countless strangers.”
The attending doctor looked deeply moved.
“You are incredibly noble, madam. On behalf of all families waiting for transplants, I thank your husband. Which organs do you plan to donate?”
I pointed toward Zhao Mingyuan on the bed.
“He died from sudden cardiac arrest, and I have no clue which of his organs remain viable. Please cut him open and check directly; take whatever can still be used.”
“If nothing is usable, donate his entire body to medical school for anatomical research. Helping others was always his greatest wish.”
“What insane nonsense are you spouting?!”
Chen Siqi’s face blanched with terror, throwing her arms out to block the medical staff.
“You can’t do this, Qingxue! Mingyuan never agreed to organ donation!”
“We have to respect his final wish! He wanted his whole body intact!”
I fixed her with a cold stare.
“Siqi, I am Mingyuan’s legal wife. You are merely his former classmate. You know full well who holds the legal right to make this call.”
“You are a doctor yourself. Aren’t you supposed to save lives? Or are you hiding some dark secret?”
The doctor nodded in agreement.
“That’s right, Dr. Chen. Step aside at once. Time is critical for organ recipients, we cannot afford delays.”
Panic gnawed at Chen Siqi, pacing like an ant trapped on a hot pan yet refusing to budge an inch.
“I... I already called his mother! At the very least let her see Mingyuan one last time!”
The second her words faded, the ward door slammed open.
Sun Guilan, Zhao Mingyuan’s mother and my mother-in-law, stormed in carrying shopping bags.
Relief washed over her the instant she spotted her son’s seemingly intact “corpse”, which quickly morphed into explosive rage.
Smack!
She lunged forward and struck me hard across the cheek. My ears rang from the blow.
“You useless jinx! You couldn’t bear a single child for years, and now you’ve cursed my son to his grave! And you dare to carve him open for organ harvesting! Mingyuan was doomed from the day he married you!”
Sun Guilan waved her arms aggressively at the medical team.
“Nobody lays a finger on my son today! The donation is off! Go bother someone else!”
Though disappointed, the organ donation crew had no choice but to wheel their equipment and leave.
Chen Siqi hastily pulled the white sheet back over Zhao Mingyuan’s body.
Sun Guilan dropped heavily into a nearby chair, screaming abuse while jabbing a finger straight at my face.
“You damned vicious bitch! You don’t mourn your dead husband, refuse to arrange his proper cremation, and instead want him butchered piece by piece! If you’re so eager to play the saint, donate your own body! Drop dead right now and let them harvest every part of you!”
I cupped my stinging cheek, putting on a thoroughly wronged act as big teardrops plopped down my cheeks.
“Mom, I’m so sorry, it was my mistake. I only wanted Mingyuan’s passing to mean something...”
“Your good intentions don’t count for a thing! Pack your belongings and get out right now. I’ll personally take my son to the crematorium later!”
Sun Guilan pointed sharply at the doorway, ordering me to leave without mercy.
“Fine, I’m leaving at once.”
I fell silent instantly and shuffled obediently toward the bedside table.
My gaze landed on the spiked glass of water sitting atop the surface.
I picked up the cup and held it out toward the still-ranting Sun Guilan.
“Calm down, Mom. You’ve shouted yourself hoarse. Have some water to soothe your throat.”

03

Sun Guilan rambled on with nonstop cursing, her throat parched and scratchy from all the shouting.
She snatched the water cup and drained every last drop in one gulp.
Chen Siqi beside her tried to stop her, yet she was far too late. Horror bloomed across her face as if she’d seen a ghost.
Seconds after drinking, Sun Guilan swayed unsteadily and slumped into a deep slump on the sofa.
Cold sweat beaded all over Chen Siqi’s forehead; she stammered out her words.
“Qingxue, what’s wrong with Auntie... did you plan to put her down for organ donation too?”
I shook my head and gently laid Sun Guilan flat across the couch.
“Of course not. My mother-in-law already banned organ harvesting, so I won’t push the matter any further.”
Chen Siqi forced a shaky composure.
“Auntie’s sudden collapse is ominous. You ought to rush her to the emergency room. I’ll handle all formalities for Mingyuan’s cremation myself.”
I stared back at her with a half-smirk, my gaze dripping with open mockery.
“You’re the qualified doctor, Siqi. It makes far more sense for you to take her for examination while I arrange the cremation.”
Before she could formulate a reply, I dialed the crematorium straight away.
“Hello, crematorium service? Send a transport van over immediately.”
Panic spiked inside Chen Siqi. She shook Sun Guilan violently again and again.
No matter how hard she jostled the older woman, Sun Guilan remained limp and unresponsive like a lifeless hog.
It did not take long for crematorium staff to arrive.
They lifted Zhao Mingyuan onto a stretcher with practiced ease and wheeled him toward the hallway.
Chen Siqi finally snapped.
She darted forward, clinging tightly to my sleeve and begging through quivering, tearful words.
“Qingxue! I swear I just saw Mingyuan’s fingers twitch! We can still save him!”
I shoved the official death certificate right into her face.
“Dr. Chen! My mother-in-law personally requested the cremation, so choose your next words wisely.”
“If Mingyuan is alive, you bear full legal responsibility for reckless endangerment of human life. I don’t know if your hospital will stay open, but you will definitely rot in prison. Think carefully now—did you truly catch him moving?”
Sweat soaked straight through Chen Siqi’s white lab coat, leaving her without a single retort.
Admitting he was alive meant she had forged official medical documents, a crime carrying devastating consequences.
I ripped free of her grip and strode out of the hospital alongside the rolling stretcher.
Zhao Mingyuan laid on the stretcher, nearly identical to the version I had encountered on the street in my past life.
Flashback: Past Life Street Scene
Back then, I strained my eyes to confirm it was him, desperate to call out, pour out all my longing and endless suffering.
The car window rolled down slowly. He wore tailored designer clothes and an expensive luxury watch on his wrist.
Hope lit up my face.
“Ming... Mingyuan, you’re alive!”
All I received was his sneering ridicule.
“Sure am. Thanks to you, I’ve lived a lavish life all these years.”
“B-but you...”
“Still confused? I faked my entire death just to get away from you.”
“I heard every single one of your sobs back in the hospital, and I’ve never forgotten the noise. How does someone manage to wail like a honking goose? Honk honk honk... It was hilarious, absolutely priceless!”
Wu Shiman poked her head out from beside him, his idealized first love.
“Dear sister~ thank you for all your years of sacrifice~”
The pair roared with cruel laughter.
I crumpled onto the pavement amid their jeers.
The luxury vehicle sped off, swallowing my world into total blackness.
Present Moment
Beneath gaps in the white covering draped over his body, one of Zhao Mingyuan’s fingers gave a faint twitch.
The anesthesia was wearing off; consciousness was creeping back to him.
“Driver, step on the gas please! My mother-in-law tried stealing my husband’s corpse to force organ donation. All I want is for him to leave this world whole, just as he came.”
Warm-hearted and helpful, the driver slammed hard on the gas pedal.
“Got it, miss! Hold on tight!”
Inside the speeding van, I leaned down and pressed my cheek against his chest.
“Darling husband, I know you’re still alive.”
My voice dropped to a whisper, audible only to him.
“I know about your long-running affair too. You staged this entire fake death plot to run off with Wu Shiman, leaving me stuck footing tens of millions in your debts.”
I pulled back and locked eyes with his shut lids.
“But I hold no hatred for you, darling. I’ll respect your final wish. Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll get you to the cremator as quickly as possible.”
Beneath his closed eyelids, his eyeballs darted frantically back and forth.

04

But his body remained paralyzed by the anesthesia, completely motionless.
I reached out, gently stroking his cheek.
"Don't be nervous, Husband."
"Once you're inside the cremation furnace, it will only hurt for a brief second, and then you'll be free."
My phone kept vibrating.
I didn't need to guess; it was Chen Siqi and the others calling.
Right now, I was just a "pitiful woman who had lost her husband and was drowning in grief."
Wasn't it perfectly normal that I had no mind to answer the phone?
Thanks to the driver speeding all the way, the thirty-minute journey took only twenty minutes to reach the crematorium.
A long queue stretched across the crematorium hall, filled with the sound of suppressed weeping.
I frowned, walked up to the registration counter, and instantly shifted my expression, bursting into theatrical sobs.
"Sir, please, I beg you, let my husband be cremated first!"
"He passed away from a sudden heart attack, and my mother-in-law couldn't handle the shock."
"She fainted and is currently fighting for her life in the hospital."
"I must rush back to take care of her as soon as possible."
"Please, help me out!"
The manager had never encountered someone trying to cut the line for a cremation before.
"I know you're in a hurry, but others have been waiting for a long time too."
"This is difficult to arrange."
He refused verbally, but his thumb and index finger rubbed together.
I immediately pulled out my phone and transferred two thousand yuan.
"Please, sir, help me out."
"I'm an orphan, and my husband and mother-in-law treated me so well."
"I truly cannot afford to lose her too."
The manager's attitude did a complete one-eighty.
"Sigh, you really are pitiful."
"Alright, let me see if I can arrange something for you."
Less than ten minutes later.
Under the manager's "special arrangement," Zhao Mingyuan was wheeled right up to the mouth of the cremation furnace.
The staff member pushed the stretcher into the chamber and was about to press the incineration button when I reached out to stop him.
"Young man, please step aside."
"I want to send my husband off with my own hands."
The staff member refused.
"This is against the rules, and the operation is dangerous."
I acted extremely stubborn, even starting to throw a tantrum.
Under my intense demands, the staff member reluctantly stepped aside.
I walked toward the control panel.
Just then, an anxious shout echoed from the entrance.
"Stop! Don't cremate him!"
Sun Guilan and Chen Siqi came sprinting in, their hair disheveled and looking utterly wretched.
My hand was just about to press the button.
Sun Guilan stumbled and fell to the floor, crawling toward me like a pathetic dog.
"Stop right there!"
"Push my son out!"
Chen Siqi also lunged forward, gripping my arm with a death grip.
"Qingxue, wait!"
"Auntie still has something to say to Mingyuan!"
Sun Guilan scrambled to her feet, pointing her finger right in my face and roaring.
"I forbid you from cremating my son!"
"I will do it myself!"
I sneered inwardly:
We were at this crucial juncture, yet neither of them would tell the truth.
They were actually still clinging to their fake death scheme.
Seizing the momentum, I dropped to my knees.
My voice was filled with sorrow, putting on a performance even more convincing than theirs.
"Mom, Mingyuan is already gone."
"Let him be laid to rest."
"Please, stop tormenting him!"
Our dispute attracted quite a crowd of onlookers.
A staff member stepped forward, looking highly impatient.
"What kind of tragic drama are you putting on here?"
"A crematorium is not a place for you to mess around!"
He reached out to press the incineration button.
Seeing this, the two of them lunged forward like starving tigers pouncing on their prey to stop him.
"Don't press it!"
The staff member was startled and instinctively dodged to the side.

05

Chen Siqi and Sun Guilan couldn't stop in time.
Their hands slammed directly onto the activation button.
With a dull thud, rolling flames instantly erupted from the cremation furnace.
The scorching heat swallowed Zhao Mingyuan on the stretcher in a split second.
"Ahhh!"
Sun Guilan and Chen Siqi let out blood-curdling screams.
Amidst the raging fire, I faintly saw Zhao Mingyuan reaching out, struggling desperately in the sea of flames.
The excruciating pain jolted him completely awake.
But their screams were so deafening that no one noticed the commotion inside the furnace.
A moment later, the crowd finally snapped out of it.
They turned their heads to look back at the cremation furnace.
The crematorium staff began whispering in sheer disbelief.
Staff A: "Oh my god, that hand is reaching so high."
Staff A: "It really looks like a living person."
Staff B: "Could it be a corpse twitching?"
Staff C: "You live and learn."
Staff C: "It's probably just muscle spasms."
I raised my hand to wipe away tears that didn't even exist.
Then, I turned to face the crowd.
"My husband loved my mother-in-law the most."
"He probably heard her voice and just wanted to take one last look at her."
I wiped my eyes while facing the furnace and clasped my hands together in prayer.
"Husband, have a safe journey."
"Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of our mom."
I added silently in my heart: I will work hard to reunite her with you as soon as possible.
Chen Siqi lunged at the control panel, frantically mashing the buttons.
Her face was a mess of tears and snot.
"Why won't the fire go out!"
"Put it out! Hurry!"
"Someone help! Save him!"
The staff had never seen a family member this hysterical and out of control.
They rushed forward immediately.
Two of them forcibly dragged Chen Siqi away.
"Please accept our condolences!"
"We know you are grieving, but the dead cannot be brought back to life."
"If you act like this, your loved one won't be able to rest in peace!"
Chen Siqi collapsed onto the floor, muttering to herself.
"It's over..."
"It's completely over..."
Sun Guilan gripped my pant leg with a death grip.
She cursed at me viciously, her face streaked with tears and snot.
"You damn bitch!"
"You killed my son!"
"Give me back my son's life!"
"Mom, I know you are devastated."
"But Mingyuan's death has absolutely nothing to do with me."
"I don't care!"
"It's you, you bitch!"
"You killed my son, and you will pay with your life!"
I let out a soft sigh.
I pulled the death certificate from my bosom and held it right in front of Sun Guilan's eyes.
"Oh, Mom, please stop this."
"Mingyuan would be so distressed if he knew about this down in the underworld."
"You don't want him to leave this world in unrest, do you?"
"Besides, look at this death certificate."
"Mingyuan passed away from a sudden heart attack."
I turned my head to look at Chen Siqi not far away.
I barely managed to suppress the smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth.
"If you don't believe me, ask Siqi."
"She was the one who personally tried to resuscitate Mingyuan."
"And she was the one who personally issued this death certificate to me."
Chen Siqi had no idea what to say.
She was trapped in a dead end.
If she said he wasn't dead.
Then where did the death certificate come from?
She would rot in prison.
If she said he was dead.
Sun Guilan would never believe it.
After all, this was a trap they had set up themselves.
Sun Guilan suddenly realized the truth.
She lunged at Chen Siqi out of nowhere.
Her hands clamped down on Chen Siqi's neck with a death grip.
"It's you!"
"You are the one who killed my son!"
"He was clearly still alive, yet you insisted on issuing a death certificate!"
"This is all your fault!"
"Compensate me for my son!"
Hearing this, the crowd was utterly shocked.
They all pulled out their phones and started recording.
"Oh my god... This is murder!"
Chen Siqi struggled desperately.
She shoved Sun Guilan away with all her might.
"Auntie! Calm down!"
"Mingyuan is already dead, don't you know how he died?"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Do you want to die too?"
Blood rushed to Sun Guilan's head.
Her eyes rolled back.
She fainted dead away, stiff as a board.
I took a step forward.
Smack!
I slapped Chen Siqi hard across the face.
"Chen Siqi, are you out of your damn mind?"
"My mother-in-law was already so heartbroken and emotional just now!"
"And you had to go and make her faint from anger!"
"How could you do such a thing!"
"Couldn't you just let her vent her anger a little?!"
Chen Siqi was stunned by the slap.
She slumped to the floor, covering her face.
Her eyes were filled with sheer disbelief.
I picked up the urn and walked to the door.
I turned back to look at the dumbfounded Chen Siqi.
"You made my mother-in-law faint, so you are responsible for taking her to the hospital."
"If anything happens to her, I will absolutely not let you off the hook!"
It wasn't that I didn't want to stay and watch the drama unfold.
It was just that I had far more important things to do.

06

Back home, I casually tossed the box onto the coffee table.
I immediately dialed Attorney Jiang's number.
In my past life, I was too consumed by grief. By the time I realized what was happening, the company had already been stripped bare by them.
If I didn't act fast, they would undoubtedly beat me to it.
"Attorney Jiang, I need you to pull every string you have. Find out all his actual assets under his name within twenty hours."
Attorney Jiang hesitated on the other end of the line.
"Ms. Lin, as far as I can tell, Mr. Zhao only has the property and that near-bankrupt medical consulting company under his name. Plus, there's..."
"Plus tens of millions in debt, right?"
I cut him off.
Zhao Mingyuan was a cunning bastard. If I hadn't discovered the truth at the very end, I would have been kept in the dark until the day I died.
He would rather fake his death than divorce me. That meant the assets he was desperately trying to protect were far more valuable than those millions in debt.
"Attorney Jiang, don't worry about the details. Just investigate. I'll triple your commission. If you find anything, it doubles again."
Soon, I received an encrypted email.
Zhao Mingyuan had been using the medical company to launder money and funnel assets.
While sorting through his belongings, I noticed a hollow sound coming from the floorboards beneath our marital bed in the master bedroom.
I pried the floorboards open with a screwdriver. A black metal box lay hidden inside.
I opened it. Inside were thick stacks of US dollars, gold bars, and jewelry.
The total value had to be at least seventy or eighty million.
Hiding your secrets right under our marital bed... trying to play the 'safest place is the most dangerous place' card? Too bad. This house is mine now.
You planned to leave me drowning in debt and struggling in hell, while you ran off with all this wealth to live happily ever after with Wu Shiman, his idealized first love.
I let out a cold sneer and locked the metal box back up.
Then, I contacted the loan company, stating that a third party would be handling all communications with them from now on.
Next, I dialed Attorney Jiang again.
"Attorney Jiang, I need you to make a trip for me. The money is ready, and the terms are clearly written. You have full authority to act on my behalf."
Late that night, Attorney Jiang met Brother Long from the loan company in a private room at a teahouse.
"Here is the first installment of the interest. Ms. Lin will repay the remaining debt in installments once she takes over the company. However, Sun Guilan and Chen Siqi are spreading rumors everywhere, claiming Ms. Lin murdered her husband to obstruct the takeover."
Attorney Jiang slid a piece of paper across the table.
"These are their addresses. Ms. Lin hopes you can pay them a visit. Keep them from interfering with the takeover, and let them experience the 'joy' of debt collection firsthand."
"Ms. Lin also mentioned she doesn't like seeing blood, nor does she wish to have any further direct contact with you gentlemen. All future repayments will be routed through my law firm's account. Good day."
Brother Long pocketed the paper, a vicious, twisted grin spreading across his face.
"Alright. Since Ms. Lin is so sincere, we naturally must return the favor."
Holding a glass of red wine, I looked at the message Attorney Jiang had just sent.
It's done.
I downed the red wine in one gulp.
Next, it's the company's turn.
The next day, I stepped into the company with twenty female security guards.
Li Qian, the finance supervisor, stood by her cubicle, clutching a stack of documents.
"Ms. Lin, this is highly irregular, isn't it?"
"Irregular?"
I slammed a financial document onto the desk.
"Irregular? Embezzling company funds to buy a house. Supervisor Li, do you want to talk about rules, or do you want to rot in prison?"
The papers scattered across the floor. Li Qian's face turned deathly pale.
"I'll give you half an hour to copy all the emails and transaction records between Zhao Mingyuan and Wu Shiman. Consider the embezzlement charge a free house. Fail to deliver, and you're going in."
Half an hour later, Li Qian handed over a USB drive, her hands trembling violently.
I plugged it into the computer. A massive amount of data popped up on the screen.
It contained irrefutable evidence of Zhao Mingyuan illegally transferring assets to Wu Shiman, along with contracts for properties they purchased abroad.
Between Zhao Mingyuan's fixed assets and the stash under the marital bed, the total value exceeded eighty million.
As for the tens of millions in debt, through my maneuvering, it was reclassified as Zhao Mingyuan's personal fraudulent debt.
The debtor was dead. The assets were liquidated to offset the debt. The remaining bad debt was legally dumped onto the guarantor, Sun Guilan.
In the afternoon, a knock sounded at the door.
I opened it.
Standing outside were Chen Siqi, Sun Guilan, Wu Shiman, and a four- or five-year-old boy.
A few police officers stood behind them.
The boy bore a striking resemblance to Zhao Mingyuan.
Could he be Zhao Mingyuan's illegitimate son with her?
The moment Sun Guilan saw me, she immediately pointed a finger at me and accused me to the police.
"Officer, it's her! She had my son cremated while he was still breathing! Arrest her immediately and cremate her too!"
Instantly, my eyes welled up with tears.
"Mom, how can you joke about something like this?"
I pulled out the document and handed it to the officers, my voice trembling.
"Officers, this is my husband's death certificate. My mother-in-law can't accept her son's passing. She might be experiencing some mental distress."
The police officer took the death certificate, examined it, and nodded.
"Hmm, this seems to be in order."
I put on a sorrowful expression, my voice choking with suppressed sobs.
"My husband and I were married for three years, and our relationship was always incredibly strong.
I just wanted him to be laid to rest as soon as possible. At the hospital, my mother-in-law shared the exact same sentiment."
Sun Guilan grew agitated, pointing at me furiously.
"Bullshit! My son grew sick of you a long time ago!
If Shiman hadn't been unable to get a divorce back then, Mingyuan would never have married you.
You deliberately rushed his cremation just to seize the inheritance and the company!"
My eyes reddened further, my face a mask of utter grievance.
"Mom, you can curse at me all you want, but our love was real.
If there was no love, why would he make me his sole heir?
You claim he was alive, but in a hospital that large, could they really not tell the difference between life and death?
Dr. Chen personally declared that he had stopped breathing. How can you slander me like this now?"
Sun Guilan turned to Chen Siqi, signaling her to testify.

07

Chen Siqi kept her head bowed, not daring to utter a single word.
Wu Shiman tugged at Sun Guilan’s sleeve and stepped forward.
"Oh, Qingxue... Mingyuan is truly not dead. I was his... former girlfriend."
She pointed to the child beside her.
"Back when we broke up, he married you out of spite. By then, I was already carrying his child.
This year, I divorced and brought our child to find him. He wanted to fake his death just to escape this marriage.
I never expected you would just... have him cremated."
Wu Shiman’s expression was painfully sincere, laced with a hint of condescending pity.
"Please, don't blame him. He just didn't want to hurt you.
Now that he's gone, we only hope you can accept this child and let him receive his rightful inheritance."
No wonder my medical checkups were perfectly fine, yet I couldn't conceive. He had already planted his seed with his idealized first love.
I clutched the urn to my chest, letting large, heavy tears spill down my cheeks.
"An ex-girlfriend? An illegitimate child? You should at least pick a better time to spin your fairy tales. Mingyuan’s bones aren't even cold yet, and you waltz in with a child from who-knows-where, demanding his estate. How am I supposed to believe this?
Even if, for the sake of argument, the child is his, you’re just an ex-girlfriend. The seven-day mourning period hasn't even passed, and you're already fighting over the inheritance. Your greed is truly repulsive."
I turned to Sun Guilan, my face a mask of heartbroken despair.
"Mom, how could you bring an outsider into our home to bully your own family?
I would have taken care of you with all my heart! You shouldn't have done this to me!"
Sun Guilan pointed frantically at the boy.
"I can do a DNA test with the child to prove I'm his grandmother! Doesn't that prove he's Mingyuan's son?"
The police officer shook his head.
"That doesn't count. It only proves you are related to the child, not that he is related to Zhao Mingyuan."
Wu Shiman gritted her teeth and pointed a trembling finger at me.
"But Mingyuan is really not dead! She’s the one who had him cremated! She’s a murderer! She has no right to inherit anything, she should rot in prison! And this inheritance belongs to my aunt and the child."
I suddenly whipped my head around and pointed straight at Chen Siqi.
"Siqi, you tell them. Is Mingyuan alive or dead?"
Sun Guilan’s face turned an ugly shade of green. She opened her mouth to curse, but—
Chen Siqi’s psychological defenses shattered completely.
"Mingyuan... he's really dead."
Wu Shiman suddenly thrust her phone into the air, a smug, triumphant smile spreading across her face.
"I have proof!"
On the video screen, Zhao Mingyuan, Chen Siqi, Sun Guilan, and Wu Shiman were sitting together on a sofa.
Sun Guilan’s voice rang out: "Xiao Yuan, what’s your plan?"
Zhao Mingyuan: "When the time comes, I'll take an anesthetic. Siqi, you figure out a way to knock Qingxue out, and then tell her I've already been cremated."
Wu Shiman chimed in, her voice dripping with sickening sweetness: "Oh, darling, you're the best."
Chen Siqi hesitated: "Maybe we should just get a divorce. I'm afraid something will go wrong."
Zhao Mingyuan: "Don't worry about that. Relax. Once it's done, I'll give you two million."
The video ended.
There was no explicit dialogue about framing me for the debt, but this was more than enough to prove their conspiracy to fake his death.
Chen Siqi collapsed to the floor, utterly at a loss for words.
"I really... I didn't know! I just took the money..."
Wu Shiman looked at me, beaming with self-satisfaction. "See? You killed Mingyuan, so you should go to jail. And this inheritance belongs to my aunt and the child."
I was utterly speechless.
I had originally planned to make them pay in other, more creative ways. I never expected Wu Shiman to be this spectacularly stupid.
Oh well. No choice now.
I took a deep breath, summoning the perfect amount of grief, and looked at the police officers with tear-filled eyes.
"Officers, I want to report a crime.
These three women knew my husband was faking his death, yet they deliberately kept it from me.
They knew I was planning to donate his organs and have him cremated, yet they intentionally concealed the truth.
They maliciously set me up to cremate my own husband, and then showed up at my door to snatch the estate!"
Sun Guilan and Wu Shiman froze.
They clearly hadn't expected me to be so articulate and logically airtight.
My eyes burned red, my voice hoarse with fabricated agony.
"When I wanted to donate his organs, Mom, you were right there! Why didn't you tell me the truth? If he just wanted a divorce, how could I possibly refuse? How could Mingyuan end up dead?"
I pointed a trembling finger at them.
"It was clearly you who fed him this nonsense and convinced him to fake his death! Your hearts are truly vicious!"
I held up my phone, displaying the call log.
"On my way to the crematorium with Mingyuan, you only called me. Why didn't you send a text message?
I was grieving so desperately, I was only focused on saying my final goodbyes to Mingyuan. I didn't even look at my phone.
If you had just sent a text, I might have seen it!"
I pressed my advantage, relentless.
"At the crematorium, when Mingyuan was still perfectly fine, why didn't you speak up? Instead, you pushed the incineration button right in front of everyone?!"
Sun Guilan and Chen Siqi were struck dumb, exchanging panicked glances.
They had been so arrogantly confident they had time.
They thought all they had to do was distract me for a few minutes at the crematorium, and their scheme would succeed.
They were simply too greedy.
Seeing the chaos, the police officers wasted no time and escorted all of us back to the precinct.

08

Chen Siqi clawed at her hair, teetering on the edge of a complete mental breakdown.
"It wasn't me! They forced me! Zhao Mingyuan threatened me with my son!"
She suddenly snapped her head up, her eyes wild with desperation.
"Wu Shiman is no saint either! She's been sleeping with Zhao Mingyuan for years. That kid is already five!
Sun Guilan knew everything, and she helped them keep Lin Qingxue in the dark for three whole years!"
The police officer stopped writing and stared at her.
"So, all three of you conspired from the very beginning to trick Lin Qingxue into taking on Zhao Mingyuan's tens of millions in debt, just so you could embezzle all his assets?"
"Yes! Exactly! I was just an accomplice. They were the masterminds!"
Wu Shiman sat upright in her chair, wearing a perfectly calibrated expression of sorrow.
"I was his idealized first love.
We were supposed to get married, but my family disapproved and forced me to marry someone else.
I haven't been happy all these years.
Last year, I got divorced and reconnected with Mingyuan.
We are the ones who truly love each other."
When questioned about the fake death plot, Wu Shiman shook her head violently.
"I didn't know! Mingyuan cried and said he couldn't stand Lin Qingxue anymore.
He said he just wanted to live a quiet life with me and our child, and that faking his death was the only way.
What else could a helpless woman with a child do?
I just had to listen to him."
The officer slid a document across the table.
"These are Zhao Mingyuan's bank statements transferring money to you. He wired you fifty thousand yuan every single month.
Furthermore, that oceanfront villa you bought abroad is registered under your name."
Wu Shiman's complexion paled slightly.
"That was because Mingyuan said he owed us mother and son too much!
I am innocent. I knew nothing.
I was just a pitiful woman blinded by love."
Meanwhile, inside Sun Guilan's interrogation room, it was absolute chaos.
Sun Guilan slammed her hands on the table, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Bullshit! Chen Siqi was the greedy one!
That vixen Wu Shiman seduced my son!
My son was perfectly fine until those two bitches ruined him!"
"Then why didn't you tell Lin Qingxue that Zhao Mingyuan was faking his death? Why didn't you tell the truth at the crematorium?"
Sun Guilan's eyes darted away.
"I... I... I was just afraid Lin Qingxue would make a scene! Who knew... who knew the fire would burn so fast..."
As she spoke, Sun Guilan burst into loud, wailing sobs.
The officer rubbed his temples in exasperation and stood up to leave the room.
After the interrogation concluded, the officer escorted me out.
"Ms. Lin, thank you for your cooperation.
For now, the testimonies of Chen Siqi, Sun Guilan, and Wu Shiman contradict each other. We will continue our investigation and notify you the moment we have results."
"Thank you for your hard work. I only hope for justice for myself, and for my late husband."
A month later, the court delivered its verdict.
Chen Siqi was sentenced to life in prison for forging documents.
Sun Guilan was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for her deliberate complicity and obstruction of justice.
Wu Shiman was sentenced to twenty years in prison for fraud.
All of Zhao Mingyuan's assets were legally transferred to me.
I later heard the rumors.
Sun Guilan suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in prison, leaving her partially paralyzed.
Chen Siqi's husband visited her with divorce papers in hand.
Wu Shiman lost her mind behind bars. She spent every day clutching a pillow, pretending it was her son. She was completely broken.
I stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, gazing out at the glittering city lights.
I picked up a glass of champagne from the table.
"The first glass, to the naive fool I was in my past life. You are dead."
"The second glass, to Lin Qingxue in this life. You survived."
"Every glass from now on, is for myself."
My life has only just begun.