A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

The Chiang family.

Firecrackers crackled and popped incessantly, leaving a trail of festive red debris on the ground.

Since Jiang Runsheng was transferred to work at the credit union this year, he has been promoted and bought a car, but his family has never held a proper banquet.

The two elders in the family discussed it and decided that they should take advantage of the fact that the year was not over yet and quickly hold a banquet to invite some distant relatives to come and have some fun.

Qiao Nianshan was not present. Chen Xiuying led her son Qiao Yi and a group of relatives to the banquet.

Chen Xiaomeng stood beside Jiang Runsheng, both of them wearing polite smiles as they went from table to table toasting the guests.

The compliments from relatives around me kept pouring into my ears.

"Runsheng, you've really made something of yourself these days. You're a credit union cadre and you even drive a car. From now on, your great-uncle will be counting on you to help him with everything."

"Xiaomeng, you really need to take good care of the household, keep a close eye on Runsheng's logistics, and hurry up and give birth to a big, healthy baby boy!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Runsheng paused, and Chen Xiaomeng's expression also became somewhat unnatural. She vaguely laughed it off.

With her son-in-law so successful and respectable, Chen Xiuying felt a sense of pride and smugness. She sat to the side, cracking sunflower seeds, secretly pleased with herself.

I'm so glad I raised such a lucky daughter; she'll have endless blessings to enjoy in the future.

In the kitchen, Jiang Chunhua, her mother Wei Yongqiu, and two relatives were busy preparing the meal.

A relative peeked into the courtyard and whispered to Wei Yongqiu as the two were toasting each other:

"Runsheng and Xiaomeng have been married for over a year, how come there's no sign of pregnancy at all?"

"They said themselves that they don't plan to have children right now," Wei Yongqiu replied casually as she ladled rice into her bowl.

"Runsheng is now successful in his career, all he needs is a son. Young people aren't in a hurry, but as an elder, you have to urge him. Carrying on the family line is the most important thing."

Wei Yongqiu forced a smile but didn't reply, though her heart felt heavy.

Actually, she has always been very anxious about having a grandson.

Chen Xiaomeng is lazy and unambitious. Apart from being good at farm work, she has almost no other skills. In her spare time, she either plays cards or plays cards.

Even though she was full of dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law, the die was cast, and her son was already married, so she could only swallow her grievances.

She had previously advised Chen Xiaomeng to read more books and learn more about culture, so as not to hold Jiang Runsheng back. She believed that having common topics would help their marital relationship to be stable and lasting.

The other party ignored her completely and instead got into a big argument with her, saying: "If you want a daughter-in-law like Qiao Qingyan who is well-educated and reasonable, you'll have to wait until your next life."

Initially, Wei Yongqiu managed the family's money, but later, Chen Xiaomeng whispered something in his ear, and Runsheng only gave her half of his salary, giving the rest to Chen Xiaomeng.

Chen Xiaomeng didn't need to buy anything for the house; she only used the money for eating, drinking, having fun, and gambling.

Wei Yongqiu had privately advised her son several times that the people who frequented the gambling table were all idle gamblers, and there were not many decent people among them. She told him to keep a close eye on Chen Xiaomeng and keep her away from gambling.

But she found that her son seemed unable to control his wife at all, and sometimes even spoke up for her.

Wei Yongqiu suspected that Chen Xiaomeng had some kind of leverage over Runsheng, which was why she had him so tightly under her control.

She longed to have a grandson, but the thought of Chen Xiaomeng's appearance and personality filled her with worry.

Chen Xiaomeng's appearance is far less fair and delicate than Qiao Qingyan's. If the child simply inherits her appearance, it wouldn't be a big deal. The worst thing is that the child might inherit all of Chen Xiaomeng's bad habits.

— Narrow-minded, lazy, sharp-tongued, short-sighted, vain, gossipy, and fond of spreading rumors.

Raising a child with this kind of mentality will only cause real trouble later on.

Jiang Chunhua squatted by the stove, picking vegetables, and casually chatted with her mother: "Mom, I heard a few days ago that Qingyan got first place in the civil service teacher exam. They even posted a big red congratulatory notice at the Education Bureau. That girl is really outstanding, it's such a pity..."

Unfortunately, Runsheng did not manage to marry a woman.

Another relative chimed in, "I heard from others that someone wrote a letter of complaint against her recently, accusing her of misconduct and lack of professional ethics, and that she almost had her exam results invalidated."

"Who would do something so despicable!" Jiang Chunhua slammed the vegetables in her hand into the basin. "Qingyan is someone we've watched grow up. She's gentle and honest, and she's dedicated to teaching. Everyone in the village praises her. How could she possibly be of bad character?"

The relative sighed, "That whistleblower letter almost ruined her secure job."

Jiang Chunhua said coldly and angrily, "The person who wrote the whistleblower letter is just petty and jealous. They are utterly immoral."

As the group whispered among themselves, Chen Xiaomeng walked to the kitchen door with a gloomy expression, leaned against the doorframe, and knocked on the wooden door: "Is the food ready yet? Why are you taking so long?"

"If you think it's too slow, then come and help," Jiang Chunhua said.

Chen Xiaomeng gave a forced smile: "Big sister, I'm just busy greeting guests outside."

Today was her day to shine, and she didn't want to argue with her sister-in-law in front of her relatives.

As she carried two plates of stir-fried dishes out of the kitchen, a group of women in the courtyard immediately surrounded her, offering their help, showering her with compliments and flattery.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, a sudden, sharp siren blared from outside the courtyard.

Shortly after, a police car pulled up directly at the gate of the Jiang family compound.

Two police officers in green uniforms got out of the car, followed closely by a tall man.

The laughter and toasts in the courtyard came to an abrupt halt.

Village chief Jiang Decheng quickly stepped forward to greet them, his heart pounding: "Comrades, who are you?"

The lead police officer asked sternly, "Who is Chen Xiaomeng?"

Jiang Decheng's heart sank. He hurriedly glanced back at his daughter-in-law, then forced a smile and said, "She's my daughter-in-law, comrade. What brings you here?"

"We are police officers from the township police station." The police officer pulled out his black plastic-covered work ID, which flashed briefly in front of him.

"She is suspected of interfering with the recruitment of public officials, damaging the order of public official selection, and seriously damaging the reputation of others. We are now summoning her in accordance with the law."

Upon hearing this, the guests in the courtyard erupted in uproar.

Jiang Runsheng frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on Chen Xiaomeng.

Chen Xiaomeng's legs suddenly went weak, and she hurriedly grabbed the edge of the wooden table next to her to barely stand. Her face was as pale as paper.

Her relatives and friends were all taken aback, and all eyes fell on her.

"What?" Jiang Decheng's mind went blank. This charge was no small matter.

He quickly stepped forward and offered a cigarette in an attempt to ease the tension: "Officer, could there be some misunderstanding here? I am Jiang Decheng, the village head of Shidianzi Village. My son, Jiang Runsheng, works at the credit union; he's a legitimate cadre..."

The police officer pushed the offered cigarettes back, saying, "No need for formalities. Where is Chen Xiaomeng?"

Xiao Jingye walked out slowly from behind, wearing a black jacket and dark trousers. His eyebrows were lowered, his face was cold, and his hands were in his pockets. His posture was casual but exuded a strong sense of oppression.

He slowly raised his hand across the crowd and pointed to Chen Xiaomeng in the crowd: "The one with really dark skin and who's really ugly."

The police officer strode forward, immediately pulled out handcuffs, and snapped them onto Chen Xiaomeng's wrists: "Come with us."

The wedding banquet turned into an arrest scene.

The courtyard filled with people chattering like a flock of birds.

"What exactly happened? Why did the police take Xiaomeng away?"

"Didn't you hear what the police said? Interfering with public office recruitment could land you in jail!"

"Speaking of which, Qiao Qingyan was reported for failing her teacher exam a while ago. Could she be the one who wrote the smear letter?"

Chen Xiaomeng was escorted into a police car in full view of everyone.

The police car sped toward the township police station with its siren blaring loudly.