Chapter 41: We Can't Serve a Daughter‑in‑law Like This

Wang Juhua looks at her daughter lying on the bed, crying heart‑wrenchingly, then looks at the glaring bundle on the floor, feeling a surge of evil fire shoot to her forehead, and darkness flickers before her eyes.

"Divorce... Divorce?!" Her voice changed tone as she rushed forward and grabbed Su Yanhua's shoulder, "Are you crazy! It's only the first day of marriage, do you know what becomes of a divorced woman? Even a drop of spit could drown you!"

Su Yanhua jolts upright, her face a mess of tears and snot, and shrieks, "Then what do you suggest? That old deadbeat of the Liu family bullies me, Liu Wenbin is a total coward! He doesn't even make me a single breakfast, yet wants me to serve their whole clan? Am I the type of person who just takes it?"

She recounted, embellishing the argument she had with Liu Mother, emphasizing how the Liu family mistreated her, how she didn't even get a mouthful of hot rice, never mentioning that she herself had been slamming doors and uttering harsh words.

Wang Juhua listened, her complexion alternating between pale and flushed.

She indeed felt pain for her daughter, but she knew all too well what kind of temperament her daughter had.

But now that it has come to this, could she really let her daughter, just newly married, return home dejectedly? Where would the Su family's reputation go then?

"Then you can't just run back like that!" Wang Juhua stamped her foot anxiously, "How will the neighbors see this? How will the Liu family think?"

"I don't care how they think!" Su Yanhua said, throat tight, "Anyway I'm not going back unless Liu Wenbin and his mother kneel and beg me, and buy me a Real Gold Ring as compensation! Otherwise this marriage is set for Divorce!"

A sliver of hope still lingered in her mind, thinking that Liu Wenbin, being such a coward, surely couldn't bear to lose this beautiful daughter‑in‑law, and might bring gifts this afternoon to make amends.

When that time came, she would have to firmly handle them!

However, reality dealt her a harsh slap.

A day passed, and there was no movement from the Liu side.

Two days passed, still calm and quiet.

Su Yanhua, from her initial certainty, gradually became restless and uneasy.

She hid within the Su household, daring not to go out, fearing she might hear gossip outside.

Wang Juhua went out to buy groceries, and each time she returned her complexion grew uglier.

"Outside... it's spread everywhere!" Wang Juhua shut the door, lowered her voice, both angry and anxious, "Everyone says you're reckless, disrespectful to your In-laws, married the first day and drove the husband out, then ran back to your natal home the next day... It's said so badly!"

Su Yanhua's face turned deathly pale, and she retorted stubbornly, "What do they know! It's the Liu family that wronged me!"

"The Liu family has wronged you, but you can't act like this!" Wang Juhua said with grief, "Do you know? The Liu side has announced that... they can't handle such a formidable daughter‑in‑law, letting you... do whatever you want!"

Those words were like a bucket of ice water, dousing the last of Su Yanhua's hope.

"The Liu family... they don't plan to come fetch her?"

"How dare they?!"

Just then, Su Yaozu, who had been wandering outside all day, came back with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and as soon as he entered, said in a slouchy tone, "Sis, are you still staying at home? I just saw your 'good husband' Liu Wenbin."

Su Yanhua jerked her head up, "Where is he? What did he say?"

Su Yaozu scoffed, exhaled a smoke ring, "What could he possibly say? He went to a meeting with a few teachers, chatting and laughing. It seems he isn't even worried about you, the daughter‑in‑law who ran back to her natal home! In my view, he doesn't even take you seriously!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Su Yanhua shrieked, grabbing a pillow and hurling it.

Su Yaozu deftly dodged and kept adding fuel to the fire, "Me, talking nonsense?"

"It's spreading all over the streets; everyone says Liu Laoshi is benevolent and righteous, and it's you, this daughter‑in‑law, who's being overly dramatic!"

"Sis, I'm not the one blaming you, but your temper should change; you really think you're a princess? Expecting everyone to cater to you every day?"

Those words completely pierced Su Yanhua's façade; she trembled with anger, yet was powerless to retort.

A massive wave of panic and loss engulfed her like a tide.

"Could it be... could Liu Wenbin really not care about her anymore?"

Then what about her "Professor's wife" dream?

Meanwhile, the Liu household's atmosphere was equally heavy.

Liu Mother, pained in her heart by Su Yanhua's anger, lay on the bed groaning.

Liu Wenbin sat in the outer room, his brows tightly knit, a face full of fatigue and despondency.

"Wen Bin, this daughter‑in‑law... we really can't handle her," Liu Mother said weakly, "It's only the first day and she dares to slap and shout at me, making a fuss. What will happen later? She has no respect for elders! Listen to what people are saying about our family outside?"

Liu Wenbin thrust both hands into his hair, bowing his head in pain. How could he not feel ashamed?

On the wedding night, his wife drove him back to live at the school; the next day she ran back to her natal home. Now the whole school, the entire street, are all laughing at him.

He does have feelings for Su Yanhua, likes her pretty liveliness, but her vanity and hot temper truly wear him out.

Especially after the "Fake Ring" incident, he could hardly lift his head in front of her.

"Mom, maybe... maybe wait a bit longer," his voice hoarse, "Perhaps in a couple of days, her anger will subside and..."

"Wait? Wait for what?" Liu Mother sat up abruptly, exclaiming, "Wait for her to come back and keep worshipping the ancestors? Wen Bin, wake up!"

"A woman like this won't live a steady life with you! What she values isn't you at all!"

Liu Father, smoking quietly beside them, after a long pause sighed, "Wen Bin, your mother is right. A forced melon never tastes sweet; it's only the first day and it's already this chaotic. How will we spend the next decades? Divorce then... Though it's embarrassing, a short pain is better than a long one."

"Divorce" hammered on Liu Wenbin's heart like a heavy mallet.

He had never imagined his marriage would end in such a ridiculous and brief manner.

Just as the Liu household was nearly unanimous, ready to cut the tangled knot swiftly, over at the Su side, Wang Juhua could no longer sit still.

She couldn't watch her daughter become a discarded wife right after marriage.

She forced herself, bought two packs of snacks, and under the cover of a quiet evening, sneaked over to the Liu household.

When Liu Mother saw her, her complexion immediately darkened, and she didn't even think to let her through the door.

Wang Juhua forced a smile, saying everything politely, "In‑law mother, calm down, Yanhua is just a bit hot‑tempered, I spoiled her... She knows she was wrong, so let me make amends with you... Look, the young couple just got married, what's there to say nicely..."

Liu Mother snorted coldly, "Speak nicely? Did she ever give us a chance to speak nicely? Without a word she threw things and ran back to her natal home, tarnishing the Liu family's face completely!"

"A daughter‑in‑law like this, we can't serve!"

Wang Juhua cursed inwardly, but forced a smile, "Yes, yes, yes, she's at fault... I'd rather tear down ten temples than ruin a single marriage!"

"Wen Bin and Yanhua have already received their certificates; if this really ends in Divorce, it won't be good for Wen Bin, right? How about... let Wen Bin go fetch her back, and I'll speak to her properly..."

"No need!" Liu Mother said firmly, "Our Wen Bin can't reach up to your family's daughter! This marriage must end in Divorce!"

Wang Juhua took a blow, slunk home dejectedly, and after hearing Liu's stance, Su Yanhua was completely stunned.

She hadn't expected the Liu family to be so resolute, truly wanting a Divorce!

Panic, regret, unwillingness… all these emotions tangled together, finally making her scared.

Divorce?

In this era, what good fate can a woman who has had a Divorce still have?

Her "Professor's wife" dream, about to shatter before it even began?

"No! I can't get a Divorce!" Su Yanhua seemed to clutch the last straw, grabbing Wang Juhua's arm, "Mom, you go plead with them, I can't get a Divorce!"

Seeing her like that, Wang Juhua felt both heartache and irritation: "Now you know you're scared? Where were you earlier!"