The Feng sisters, Feng Xing and Feng Tao, clicked their tongues.

With a swift step forward, Feng Xing grabbed Liu Pozu’s arm and twisted it behind her back. Liu Pozu screamed in fear.

“Mom, what are these two shrews doing?!” Liu Sheng looked at the two girls, who were even sturdier than him, and was so frightened that his voice became much higher-pitched.

Feng Xing rolled up her sleeves and extended her rough, strong palm. “Let your mother learn how to speak properly.”

Liu Pozu, looking at the raised hand, was terrified. “You dare! Do you know that the shopkeeper of the town, Sun, is my—my fifth son-in-law! If you hit me, you’ll regret it!”

Feng Xing laughed coldly. “Oh? Let’s see how you won’t regret it.”

“Wait!” Zhao Mingyue suddenly called out.

Liu Pozu thought Zhao Mingyue was scared.

She quickly ordered the Feng sisters, who were holding her tightly, “People shouldn’t fight against the authorities. He’s the captain of the guards! If you’re scared, let me go. If you compensate for the damage you caused earlier, I’ll speak on your behalf…”

Zhao Mingyue stepped forward, rolled up her sleeves, and raised her hand high, slapping Liu Pozu hard. “They are younger and still children, they shouldn’t be doing this. But I’m an elder, older than you. If it’s okay for you to hit my niece, it’s just as fine for me to hit you!”

Liu Pozu, feeling a sharp sting in her cheek, could barely keep her balance.

She was dazed, and before she could react to the second slap, she screamed out, “Did you hear that? My son-in-law is Sun, the captain of the guards! He’s an official!”

Zhao Mingyue slapped her again, asking, “How did you hit Jiang Yu? How does it feel to be hit? Was I too gentle?”

Liupozu, still dazed and weak, had been screaming, but now she just wailed. Liujia’s father and son, who were far away, urged her not to fight back.

When Liupozu mentioned her son-in-law was Sun, the captain of the guards, Shen Qing immediately sought out Zhao Yan’s family to inquire about the situation.

She learned that they were just living together, not even as concubines, which gave her a way to handle it.

She observed Zhao Mingyue slapping Liupozu without stopping, waiting for the other party to relent and release the person.

Jiang Yu, however, couldn’t wait.

She squeezed in front of Shen Qing, worried, and said, “Sister-in-law, the captain of the guards is not someone to mess with.”

Shen Qing saw Jiang Yu trembling with fear and gently patted her hand. “Don’t worry. If the authorities come, we’ll pay them off. We have money now, and anything that can be solved with money is nothing to worry about, right?”

The authorities wouldn’t come. If the captain of the guards wanted to use his position for personal gain, it would work out perfectly.

She had been worried about her family’s land during the flood, which couldn’t be carried away or turned into cash.

She wouldn’t harm innocent people, but if greedy individuals wanted to jump in, that was their problem.

Upon hearing about using money to solve the issue, Jiang Yu felt heartache over the silver.

Yet, with her sister-in-law’s carefree attitude, Jiang Yu suddenly felt precious, as though her life was more important than money.

“Little Shui and Ah Bing are waiting for you to come home. Don’t think about anything else and don’t be afraid.”

A surge of courage filled Jiang Yu’s heart.

Even if the captain of the guards came with his men, she could handle it!

She wanted to go home, to her own home, even if it meant eating rough food.

Shen Qing noticed Liu Pozu was still holding firm despite being slapped, realizing that they had to be more forceful.

She looked at her sons, and Jiang Xiangnan immediately understood the signal—it was time for the men to step up.

“Let’s go! If the three aunts are stepping up, the men can’t just stand by and watch!”

Liu Laotai’s had already been escorted to the yard wall by Qin Pozi, while Jiang Xiangdong and Jiang Dalang were preparing to take action.

Seeing Jiang family men grab hoes to enter the house, Liu Laotai’s old man panicked.

He didn’t want to face Shen Qing alone and turned to Jiang Erye. “Let’s talk! Let’s talk! We are in-laws, no need to make things worse.”

Jiang Erye stopped the men, his voice stern. “What’s the issue with the Liujia family?”

When Jiang Yu married over, he had personally arranged for bedding, clothes, and other wedding items worth almost one or two taels of silver.

If Liujia was willing to let the person go, he would forgo all of that.

Old man Liu, his murky eyes gleaming with greed, looked at Jiang Yu. “Our Liujia family guarantees that once that child is born, we’ll give it to Jiang Yu to raise. It’ll be her child. After all, she can’t have children. Not having to bear one is her blessing, and if she doesn’t make a big mistake, we’ll try not to hit her. What do you think? Is Liujia sincere enough?”

Liu Sheng, hearing that the child would be given to Jiang Yu, yelled at his father, but was silenced with a look.

He quickly added, “Let’s stop fighting. Jiang Yu is my wife. I’ll treat her well from now on. You can rest assured, right?”

Jiang Erye took a deep breath, regretting having stopped earlier.

He let go of his restraint, and the men, already angry, were even more furious.

They grabbed hoes and smashed everything in sight—this time it was much worse than before.

The wooden doors, tables, chairs, cabinets, even the stove, were torn apart.

Liu Laotai and Liu Sheng cried in pain, their voices more heart-wrenching than when Liu Pozu was being beaten.

Tears and snot poured from them, with each strike of the hoe hurting worse than if it had landed on them.

“Talk, talk, we’ll release her!”

“Release, release!”

Jiang Er Ye muttered to himself, “They really don’t cry until they see the coffin!”

Liu Sheng, his eyes darting around, lowered his head. “We’re illiterate in the village. I’ll go to town to find someone to write the divorce letter, then Jiang Yu can take it home.”

Jiang Yu nervously grabbed Shen Qing’s sleeve.

She didn’t want to stay in Liujia.

Shen Qing said, “Wait a little longer.”

Liu Sheng raised his eyes, asking nervously, “Wait for what?”

Not long after, Xie Qingshan, Jiang Ying’s husband, arrived, out of breath, with Jiang Xiangzhong following closely behind.

Jiang Xiangzhong held paper, ink, and a brush, while Jiang Xiangnan grabbed a broken bowl and filled it with water to grind ink.

Jiang Xiangbei and Jiang Dalang moved a table with a missing leg into the room.

Jiang Xiangzhong laid out the rice paper and Jiang Xiangdong held down the corners.

He looked up at Shen Qing. “Mother, is it a divorce letter or a separation letter?”

Liu Sheng panicked. “Of course, it’s a divorce letter!”

Jiang Xiangzhong understood and picked up the brush, writing: Divorce Letter.

He started with their names and the reason: their marriage was not working out… they both had other intentions, notifying family and friends…

Shen Qing read it quietly but didn’t speak.

Two copies were made, signed, and stamped in front of everyone, with each party keeping one.

Jiang Yu, holding the soft white paper, couldn’t stop trembling.

Old Woman Liu had regained her freedom.

She looked at Feng Xing, Feng Tao, and Zhao Mingyue, and her words became much more restrained: “You, who can’t bear children, which man would want you? If you leave my son, you’ll never find another family as wealthy as ours!”

“You’re destined to live in a shabby hut, eating rough food! If you can’t get used to hard times, don’t even think about coming back.”

“Mom, why talk to a woman who’s been abandoned? Your family’s been abandoned, just wait to be mocked!”

Shen Qing smiled sincerely. “You’d better hurry up and get ready to buy some cheap and good household goods.”

Liu Sheng stiffened his neck. “Right! We’re buying all new things for the new wife!”

Shen Qing: “Good, good. If you don’t buy new things, how can you spend the savings? It’s best to buy as much as possible, and the more expensive, the better.”

With summer approaching, she couldn’t wait to see how Liujia would survive the flood.