Chapter Forty-Eight

"If you want a divorce, then get a divorce. But don't regret what you've said. Don't even think about taking a cent of our Zhang family's money." Old Mrs. Zhang spoke harshly, a flash of smugness swiftly crossing her eyes.

When Lü Yao married into the Zhang family, Old Mrs. Zhang had demanded from the start that they sign a prenuptial agreement before she could enter the family. Zhang Shijing had eventually agreed, signing the agreement before registering his marriage with Lü Yao.

According to the agreement, if they divorced, Lü Yao would have no claim to the Zhang family's assets and could only receive a limited amount of child support.

In fact, Old Mrs. Zhang had initially refused to give her even child support. She had only agreed to add it after Zhang Shijing repeatedly persuaded her.

"Mom... Yaoyao is still carrying my child." Seeing this, Zhang Shijing could only remind her.

Old Mrs. Zhang sat back down and muttered indistinctly, "It didn't even turn out to be a boy after all that. What use is there in giving birth?"

That master had clearly said it would be a boy. He had also praised the child in Lü Yao's belly to the skies, even calling it an Immortal Child. At the time, her mind had not been clear, and she had believed everything the master said. Now, though, she could not help wondering if that so-called master had deceived her.

Although she had been persuaded for a brief while before, her deep-rooted beliefs still controlled her. In Old Mrs. Zhang's heart, only a boy could be considered a child of the Zhang family, and only a boy was worth her attention.

On top of that, everything Lü Yao had done had completely changed Old Mrs. Zhang's expectations for the child. Her suspicions of the master grew deeper and deeper. No, she had to find that fortune-telling master.

Zhang Shijing had not heard her clearly. He looked at his mother in confusion, but Old Mrs. Zhang ignored him and said to Lü Yao, "Then I'll give you some extra child support. That'll count as our Zhang family having done right by you and the child in your belly. If it weren't for you, Yangyang wouldn't have suffered so much either. You don't need to feel aggrieved. We've done right by you."

Aside from saying she wanted a divorce at the beginning, Lü Yao had not shown any other reaction.

Zhang Shijing did not want his mother to continue provoking Lü Yao, so he could only coax her away gently.

Old Mrs. Zhang was dissatisfied, but she was still accustomed to listening to her son. Before leaving, she repeatedly warned him not to go softhearted.

At last, only the married couple remained in the living room. Zhang Shijing said quietly to Lü Yao, "Yaoyao, I know... you've suffered a lot of grievances. My family has wronged you."

Lü Yao glanced at him, then lowered her eyes again. "What are you trying to say?"

After all, she had been with Zhang Shijing for so long that she understood him very well. His apologies were usually just a means of achieving his goals.

Zhang Shijing tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I know you resent me for taking Yangyang's side and not telling the police the truth. I admit it. He was my first child, after all. I couldn't bear to watch him end up like this."

"You want me to let him off? Why should I?" Lü Yao hit the nail on the head, her attitude unexpectedly firm.

Zhang Shijing was somewhat shocked. The Lü Yao he knew had always been gentle and mild. They had been university classmates, and back then, she had always been meek, timid, and easy to bully. Even after marrying him, she had never once raised her voice. How had she suddenly become like a different person?

Or had she always been like this, merely pretending all these years?

Impossible, Zhang Shijing denied inwardly. There had been no need for such an elaborate disguise.

His wandering thoughts were quickly dragged back. Zhang Shijing tugged at the corner of his mouth and said to her, "What my mother said may have been a little excessive, but you should understand that it was all true. After divorcing me, you won't get anything except child support."

Lü Yao remained silent.

"I can give you five million in exchange for letting Yangyang off."

Lü Yao seemed somewhat swayed. "Even if I let him off, the police will continue investigating."

Zhang Shijing smiled. "I'll handle what comes next."

If Lü Yao, the victim, was willing to spare him, it would be much easier to get Zhang Yang out of the police station afterward.

"...Ten million."

"Deal." After a pause, Zhang Shijing added, "Don't tell my mother."

If Old Mrs. Zhang found out about their deal, she might cause trouble for Lü Yao every day.

In her eyes, a woman like Lü Yao was nothing but a leech fixated on draining the Zhang family. She should not be given a single cent, let alone an additional ten million.

The money might not have been much to Zhang Shijing, but it was certainly not a small amount either.

"I know." Lü Yao lowered her eyes.

The Zhang couple next door, who had always seemed deeply in love, were getting divorced. After hearing the news from Zhang Shijing's younger sister, Jiang Li could not help sighing. "I thought Lü Yao would keep putting up with it. Zhang Shijing treated her well, after all. Once Old Mrs. Zhang died, wouldn't the Zhang family be hers to command?"

There was a hint of sympathy for Lü Yao in her words.

Although everyone had no real relationship with them, news of the Zhang family's affair had spread by now. No one believed that Zhang Yang had exchanged his stepmother Lü Yao's medicine for fertility pills. What could a child possibly understand? That vicious idea had most likely come from Old Mrs. Zhang.

Lü Yao could not deal with Old Mrs. Zhang and could not swallow her anger, so she had no choice but to target the young Zhang Yang.

At this point, Jiang Li could not help shaking her head. "She just thinks a woman is easy to bully. Zhang Shijing isn't a good person either."

After saying that, she shot Old Dong a glance.

Old Dong raised his head with particular sensitivity and said unhappily, "Why are you looking at me? I have far more of a conscience than that man from the Zhang family."

Jiang Li gave a quiet snort. Old Mrs. Zhang was outrageous, but Dong Zhenghao's mother was no better. One had drugged someone, while the other had directly sold her granddaughter. Luckily, it had not been her daughter. Otherwise, she would have torn that old woman apart with her bare hands. Both of them were utterly heartless, so neither had any right to criticize the other.

While the two were talking, Liu Mumu came downstairs with her phone. She had just received a call from Yan Xiu, who had already returned to work, so she was preparing to go out and collect her belated red envelope.

The moment they saw Liu Mumu, the two immediately stopped discussing the Zhang family. They were probably worried she would think of Wang Guixiang, who was already gone, but she had heard them just now.

She walked over and sat on the sofa, asking casually, "Are they really getting divorced?"

Jiang Li replied, "Apparently. I heard Zhang Shijing gave her a sum of money, and Old Mrs. Zhang doesn't know about it yet. Otherwise, who knows what kind of scene she'd make?"

That was rather interesting. Liu Mumu thought about what Lü Yao had said to her that day. Old Mrs. Zhang was not exactly clean herself. Lü Yao had not dealt with her, but had instead targeted Zhang Yang. Was she really planning to let the other woman off, or was she waiting until after the divorce and receiving the money before dealing with Old Mrs. Zhang?

"Let her make a scene. Even a rabbit bites when it's cornered." Liu Mumu spoke with an ulterior meaning. Besides, it was still hard to say whether Lü Yao was really a rabbit.

Jiang Li's ears immediately perked up, thinking Liu Mumu might say something more. Unfortunately, she was disappointed. Liu Mumu stood up and waved at them. "I'm going out to have fun. Bye-bye."

Only after she had left did Dong Zhenghao click his tongue, somewhat dissatisfied. "That child really is something. How can she stop halfway through a sentence?"

Jiang Li withdrew her gaze and said to Dong Zhenghao, "Does our family have any business dealings with the Zhang family? If so, we should cut ties early. From what Mumu meant, do you think there's something else going on?"

"As if you need to tell me." Dong Zhenghao waved as well. "I'm going to the company."

On her third day of officially going to work, Liu Mumu visited the Special Case Investigation Section carrying a cup of milk tea.

The moment Fang Chuan saw her, he declared righteously, "We absolutely do not take a single needle or thread from the people."

Both their gazes landed on the milk tea bag Liu Mumu was carrying.

Then Liu Mumu leisurely took out a straw, pierced the lid, and smiled at Fang Chuan. "This is for me."

Fang Chuan: I was making a fool of myself. And now I'm a little hurt. That was my favorite mango milk tea, too.

Captain Fang was still standing at the entrance, questioning his life choices, while Liu Mumu had already slipped inside to find Yan Xiu. As she passed Fang Chuan's desk, she casually set the milk tea down.

Someone with a sharp tongue did not deserve milk tea. But what could she do when she was softhearted?

When she entered, Yan Xiu was looking at his computer. She pounced onto the desk. "Happy New Year! May you get rich!"

Then she asked expectantly, "Where's my red envelope?"

Yan Xiu looked up at Liu Mumu. She was dressed very festively today, wearing a chubby red down jacket that made her face look snow-white, like a walking red lantern.

Looking at the little girl's sparkling eyes, he could not help wondering whether Liu Mumu had come for him or for the red envelope.

He pushed over the red envelope he had already prepared beside him. Liu Mumu opened it happily, only to find that it did not contain the five-million check of her dreams. Instead, there were five ancient coins.

"Wow, this copper coin has actually turned green." Liu Mumu examined the ancient coins carefully. She could recognize the characters on three of them. They were all some kind of Tongbao.

The scripts on the remaining two were strange. One even had an hourglass drawn on it, and she could not recognize the characters at all. The other had an especially peculiar script. "What character is this? Liang... ban?"

"Banliang."

"Wait." Liu Mumu was startled, her voice rising an entire pitch. "Is this the Qin Banliang?"

"Yes."

"Are these the legendary Emperor Coins?" Although Master Liu shook coins every day, she had never seen the ancestor of all coins, the Emperor Coins.

They were one of the divination instruments every fortune-teller dreamed of.

"Yes."

"You're really giving them to me?" Liu Mumu's eyes practically glittered. Although her predictions were not very accurate, that did not stop her from loving the divination instruments unique to fortune-tellers with all her heart, just like every other fortune-teller.

"Don't you want them?"

"I do." Liu Mumu edged closer to him bashfully. "But they're too valuable."

Yan Xiu said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"Then I'll repay you with myself!" The red lantern then lunged at him.

He pressed an index finger against her forehead. It was neither light nor heavy, but it kept her from moving even half a step closer.

Liu Mumu waved her arm around. Oh no, no cuddling. What a disappointment.

"No need, thanks. Sit back down."

"Oh." Liu Mumu sat back down in disappointment. She did not forget to put away her new year's red envelope, then continued craning her neck. "What are you looking at?"

Yan Xiu turned the computer around. There was only a half-body photograph of her neighbor on the screen.

"Lü Yao?" Liu Mumu was a little surprised. "Why are you investigating her?"

"Didn't you think something was wrong with her?" Yan Xiu turned the computer back and answered casually.

"I clearly only thought she was a little strange, all right?" she muttered.

Despite saying that, when Liu Mumu tried to lean over and look at more of the woman's information, Yan Xiu closed the computer.

"Internal records. Confidential."

"Stingy." Liu Mumu muttered under her breath, "So what did you find?"

"Nothing. She's an ordinary person, and everything is normal."

According to the records, Lü Yao's life was almost excessively simple. She had studied when she was supposed to, then found a mediocre job after graduating. The only thing that could be called a twist was that her boyfriend of three years had broken up with her and married someone else.

Later, she met Zhang Shijing, a former university classmate, and married him. She had never worked outside the home after their marriage.

One noteworthy detail was that Lü Yao had no religious beliefs and had never visited temples or similar places, much less done things like divination or fortune-telling.

"Maybe she was just softhearted that day when she came to find me?" Liu Mumu wondered. "She didn't want to call the police and wanted someone to talk to?" She was not entirely certain. She still felt that something was strange.

"Speaking of which, I just heard that she's getting divorced. On New Year's Day, she went to the hospital, and after leaving, she went to the police and claimed that her stepson had replaced the medicine she took with fertility pills to harm her." Liu Mumu sighed. Lü Yao might really have been driven to extremes.

Yan Xiu raised his brows. "Your living environment is concerning."

"Don't be so ignorant. I saw countless families like this with Grandpa before. There are plenty that are even more outrageous."

Yan Xiu said nothing. From her parents and younger siblings constantly getting into trouble to her neighbors' family affairs, she genuinely seemed to consider this kind of life perfectly normal.