Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 4 If I ever see you again, I'll tear your face apart!

As soon as Pan Dayan opened her mouth, Li Ruru felt her eardrums vibrate.

"Think about it, what is this widow Zhang doing, clinging to the Chen family every day?"
"They're just after Chen Sanbao; he has 100 taels of silver on him."

"If you gave me 100 taels of silver, I'd be happy to marry a eunuch." Her words made everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Junniang bit her lip as if she had suffered a great injustice, "You're talking nonsense, nothing of the sort. Da Ya Niang and I are best friends, what business is it of yours if I stay at my best friend's house?"

Zhao quickly chimed in, "Junniang is a distant relative of my family. I can let her stay as long as I want. Don't worry about things that don't concern you."

Li Ruru walked calmly to Zhang Junniang's side and said, "I don't have a good sister like you, you shameless slut."

When everyone saw that the usually gentle Li Ruru was actually cursing, they understood what was going on.

The fact that Zhang Junniang could drive such a frail woman to this point suggests that there was no innocent relationship between her and Chen Sanbao.

Li Ruru wiped away her tears, her eyes red, and whispered to her mother-in-law, "Mother, I've worked like a slave for your Chen family for so many years, even if I haven't done anything great, I've still put in a lot of hard work."

Why is it that when I eat a meal, it's considered charity from you, while Zhang Junniang can stay at home as long as she wants without doing anything?

Zhao was speechless when questioned, gritting her teeth fiercely and silently cursing Li Ruru's ancestors for eighteen generations.

When did this usually quiet and reserved daughter-in-law become so eloquent?!
Li Ruru decided to give her acting skills to the end, and her tears flowed as if they were worthless.

“Mother, I know now. You must have been deceived by Zhang Junniang, right? She deceived your feelings and also tried to swindle Sanbao out of his 100 taels of silver.”

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhang Junniang was so angry that she was about to hit someone, and Li Ruru was so scared that she hid behind Pan Dayan.

Only his pitiful head was visible. "Aunt Pan, you saw it all, that vixen was going to hit me."

Pan Dayan put her hands on her hips, protecting Li Ruru, and looked at Chen Sanbao, who had just gotten up from the ground. "Sanbao, tell me. What exactly is going on between you and this Widow Zhang?"

Chen Sanbao covered his crotch with one hand and touched his nose with the other.

What did this make him say?
In front of Li Ruru, his relationship with Zhang Junniang had long been made clear, and their whole family knew about it.

While Chen Sanbao was sleeping with Zhang Junniang, Li Ruru had to wait on him outside.

It can be said that Li Ruru is a maid, serving the entire Chen family and also this vixen who sleeps with her husband.

Despite being the legitimate wife, she was bullied by a mistress who took advantage of her position.

Chen Sanbao, who was used to being arrogant, wanted to shout, "What business is it of yours what I do?"

I can sleep with whomever I want. So what if I slept with Zhang Junniang?!

But he still had some sense of shame; even if he didn't consider himself, he had to consider his nephew.

My eldest nephew, Chen Jinbang, is studying in the county town. His teacher says he has a good chance of passing the imperial examination this year.

Chen Sanbao didn't care about Li Ruru's life or death, nor did he care about his own daughter, but he was very concerned about his three nephews, especially his eldest nephew.

Chen Jinbang is the future hope of the Chen family. If this little thing of his gets out and ruins the Chen family's reputation, his eldest brother will not let him off the hook.

“I…we are completely innocent, we have nothing to hide. Aunt Pan, I swear to God.”

Chen Sanbao spoke with absolute certainty, leaving everyone momentarily unsure of whom to believe.

Seeing Chen Sanbao trying his best to distance himself from her, Zhang Junniang's face turned pale and then red.

He cursed inwardly, thinking that no man was any good, a heartless bastard.

Li Ruru peeked out from behind Pan Dayan and raised an eyebrow at Zhang Junniang, "Why don't you tell me, what's your relationship?"

“That’s right, Widow Zhang, you should also say something. We can’t just believe whatever a man says.” Pan Dayan said, as if she wanted to grab a handful of melon seeds and start cracking them open right there.

Only a fool would admit to their relationship; she didn't want to ruin her reputation, especially since she had two sons at home.

If she's labeled an adulterer, how will her two sons ever find wives?

"No, I have no relationship with Brother Sanbao at all."

Pan Dayan sneered; even a ghost wouldn't believe that.

"It's alright, why are you calling him 'brother'? When did Sanbao get a sister like you? How come I didn't know?"

Li Ruru looked at Pan Dayan with admiration; this person was practically her mouth double.

"Get out!" Li Ruru shouted angrily, hands on her hips. "If I ever see you again, I'll tear your face to shreds!"

Zhang Junniang didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. If she stayed any longer, she feared incurring the wrath of the crowd, and she was also vaguely afraid of Li Ruru's slap. "Where there's life, there's hope," Zhang Junniang thought, and slunk away.

Seeing that Zhang Junniang had been forced to leave, Zhao realized that the reason she had gone to so much trouble to attract a crowd was not so that Li Ruru would criticize her son and Junniang.

Distracted by Li Ruru, she almost forgot about the important matter.

Zhao's eyes darted around, and she started throwing a tantrum again, yelling, "My daughter-in-law is beating her mother-in-law! Murder! Help!"

She cried and rolled on the ground, and even cruelly slapped herself twice.

"I can't live anymore, I have no face to live. A daughter-in-law beating her mother-in-law is an outrage against heaven and earth! Everyone must stand up for me!"

Li Ruru chuckled and said to the crowd of onlookers, "My mother is old and not very bright, so please don't take it personally."

She paused, as if remembering something, "Oh right, the doctor prescribed a medicine for her last time, saying it could cure her illness completely."

Before anyone could react, she turned and went into the inner room.

Zhao was still babbling incoherently, “I’m not sick, I’m perfectly fine.”

"Everyone, make way." Li Ruru quickly came over carrying a wooden bucket.

With a splash, the liquid in the bucket was poured all over Zhao, drenching her completely.

Pan Dayan frowned first and unconsciously took a few steps back.

"What is that? It stinks! It smells like urine!"

Li Ruru wiped her hands and smiled smugly, "That's right, this bucket contains urine. See, isn't my mother much better?"

Everyone looked at Zhao.

Zhao was completely stunned; the strong smell made it almost impossible for her to open her eyes.

The yellowish-brown liquid trickled down her head, little by little.

She dared not open her mouth to shout, for if she did, that disgusting stuff would flow into her mouth.

Pan Dayan looked surprised. "It really is! This prescription really works!"

Daya covered her mouth and nose, shrank behind Li Ruru, and looked at her back with admiration.

She never expected her mother to be so powerful, daring to lay a hand on her father and that widow Zhang, and even managing to subdue her formidable grandmother.

Then she wondered if her father and grandmother would punish her mother behind closed doors after the neighbors who had come to watch the commotion left.

"Mother, I...I'm scared." Daya timidly tugged at Li Ruru's hand.

Li Ruru held her little hand and stroked her hair. "Don't be afraid, Mom is here."

Daya's hair was sparse and yellowish, a clear sign of severe malnutrition.

A pang of heartache crossed Li Ruru's eyes; what a pitiful child.

A short-tempered father, a cowardly mother, a biased grandmother, and a broken heart—this child's life was a complete disaster from the start.

Daya was momentarily dazed; her mother was being unusually gentle today.

Having watched the spectacle to their heart's content, the group was about to leave when they suddenly heard crying coming from the kitchen, followed by an angry shout.

"Sanya, you actually stole something! I'll break your legs!"

Upon hearing her father-in-law Chen Bingxiao's voice, Li Ruru immediately became alert.

When did he get back? Why did he go straight to the kitchen as soon as he got back?
Li Ruru knew that this father-in-law never cooked or went into the kitchen; the original owner would bring the food to him before he would even pick up his chopsticks.

What was he doing in the kitchen? That old geezer must be up to no good.

Sure enough, Chen Bingxiao pushed Sanya in front of everyone with a dark face.

Sanya's real name is Chen Yindi. She is not yet 5 years old. She has two pigtails sticking up in the air and her face is covered in tears.

"I don't know who this child learned from, he's so young and he's already stealing things."

After finishing his sentence, Old Man Chen looked at Li Ruru and said, "Third son's wife, what are you doing all day? Is this how you raise your children?"

Li Ruru walked up to Sanya, squatted down, and gently wiped her little face. "Sanya, tell your mother what happened?"

(End of this chapter)