“Sister-in-law, we’re sisters-in-law. She divorced her husband back home and ran away. I just saw her… wanted to see what she was up to.”

Zhang Cui kept her head down, appearing submissive.

Though Zhang Cui had left the village before Liu Fen, spending her days dealing with pots and pans hadn’t changed her appearance much. Even Xia Ziyu had maintained a simple image until her recent changes. Liu Fen was different – running a clothing store, she had to learn about matching outfits for customers. To gain customers’ trust, she had to first improve her appearance. Back in Shangdu, she had Li Fengmei’s support, but in Beijing, Liu Fen had to rely on herself, forcing her rapid growth.

By appearance alone, Liu Fen was a city woman and a fashionable one at that.

Running a snack business, Zhang Cui’s cooking smells and seasoning odors couldn’t be washed away by bathing. Among the three sisters-in-law of the Xia family, Zhang Cui, who didn’t have to farm at home, had lived the best life these past few years. Now Liu Fen, that stupid woman who couldn’t bear a son, had become a sophisticated city woman, making Zhang Cui seethe with resentment.

She hunched her shoulders, not daring to look at Station Chief Ma, muttering:

“It’s true! My poor brother-in-law was so honest. She complained about the family’s poverty, had her family beat up my brother-in-law, and forced him to sign a divorce agreement while pinned to the ground. After the divorce, she ran away. Nobody could find her. I was afraid if I called out to her, she’d disappear again.”

Station Chief Ma remained silent.

Zhang Cui grew bolder, “Comrade, she dresses so provocatively – has she been doing something wrong out here?”

Zhang Cui was practically insinuating to Station Chief Ma that while he was helping Liu Fen now, Liu Fen might have multiple lovers. It hadn’t even been two years since Liu Fen’s divorce from Xia Dajun, yet she’d gone from village to Beijing, from rural woman to city sophisticate. Zhang Cui had never seen such rapid success. How could Liu Fen, who couldn’t accomplish anything worthwhile before, turn her life around?

Xia Xiaolan relied on the Zhou family.

She wasn’t even married into the Zhou family yet, but was already dragging her mother to leech off her future in-laws?

Zhang Cui believed Liu Fen must be relying on men. Only an indecent woman could raise a loose daughter like Xia Xiaolan. She had pretended to be honest before, but now her true nature was exposed!

After saying so much, why wasn’t the police officer responding? Zhang Cui secretly looked up and found Station Chief Ma staring at her – his expression made her shudder!

“Are you finished?”

Station Chief Ma smiled, though his smile wasn’t kind – it made him look even fiercer.

“Y-yes… Officer, everything I said is true.”

Station Chief Ma suddenly darkened his expression:

“Some of what you said must be true, but most is false! You look honest, but you’re quite crafty. People who skulk around following others always have ulterior motives. First, state your situation clearly – your name, where you live, what work you do!”

Ah?

Had she misread the situation – was this police officer not involved with Liu Fen?

Or had he drunk Liu Fen’s love potion and remained unmoved by these revelations? How could a man not care about being cuckolded? Zhang Cui couldn’t understand. Since her tactics weren’t working on Station Chief Ma, she dared not act up further and honestly stated her situation.

Common folk always feared the police.

Zhang Cui gave her rental address, mentioned her university student daughter, and explained that she wanted to open a snack shop in Xidan when she encountered Liu Fen. She also mentioned her future in-laws were state officials, and when speaking of the Wang family, Zhang Cui straightened her back somewhat:

“A state official, some kind of bureau director!”

She was using Wang Guangping’s name to intimidate her.

Station Chief Ma naturally thought she was bragging, but Zhang Cui swore oaths, clearly stating names and work units, making Station Chief Ma hesitate slightly.

As just the chief of Xidan’s local police station, he was far below high-ranking officials like “bureau directors”!

However, thinking again, bringing Zhang Cui to the station followed proper procedure – secretly following people wasn’t acceptable even for officials’ relatives, right? Station Chief Ma reinforced his stance:

“We’ll verify everything you’ve said. Until then, you’ll stay at the station!”

Zhang Cui was startled: “Officer, who will you verify with?”

Station Chief Ma checked the names in his notebook, “Your landlord, your daughter, and your future in-law, Comrade Wang Guangping, right? If you know their phone numbers, we can verify immediately.”

Zhang Cui didn’t know Wang Guangping’s phone number.

She had been using his name as leverage, but Wang Guangping wasn’t even an education bureau director anymore, having transferred elsewhere. If the police inquired, wouldn’t that expose her lie?

“No need to contact my in-law, just my daughter and son-in-law. They attend the same university.”

Station Chief Ma immediately understood – this woman barely spoke the truth. The official in-law story was probably just her daughter dating an official’s son at university. Given the power imbalance, Zhang Cui wouldn’t dare trouble the boy’s family.

Wringing the water from Zhang Cui’s jumbled words, Station Chief Ma gathered useful information.

First, Liu Fen wasn’t widowed but divorced.

Second, as he suspected, Liu Fen and her daughter were out-of-towners doing business in Beijing without support. Now troublesome relatives from her ex-husband’s side had shown up!

Though she claimed to be afraid to approach Liu Fen, seeing Zhang Cui’s manner, Station Chief Ma thought she was likely after money.

She had mapped out Liu Fen’s activities in Xidan, following her from stores to banks. Even if they were truly former sisters-in-law, Station Chief Ma wouldn’t fully trust Zhang Cui. Many cases involved familiar perpetrators – people would die for money, even blood sisters might scheme for wealth, let alone a “former sister-in-law”!

Station Chief Ma detained Zhang Cui at the station, while Zhang Cui secretly lamented.

Xia Ziyu had told her to secretly follow Liu Fen, but she was caught by police who knew Liu Fen. Now Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan would surely find out.

Their family was no match for Xia Xiaolan now.

That loose woman was ruthless – who knew how she’d deal with them this time?

…

Station Chief Ma sent someone to notify Xia Ziyu at Beijing Normal University.

“Is Zhang Cui your mother?”

Xia Ziyu nodded, and the officer remained polite, “Then please come with us. Zhang Cui is at Xidan Police Station. We need to understand some things from you.”

Police station?

Xia Ziyu couldn’t get someone out of there. She knew what Zhang Cui had been doing these past days.

The police came in uniform, so Xia Ziyu didn’t care if the university people misunderstood. She asked someone to notify Wang Jianhua.

“Please make sure he comes to Xidan Police Station. Thank you.”

After Xia Ziyu left with the police, her roommates exchanged uncertain glances.

The police had been considerate, not involving the school, just requesting Xia Ziyu from outside the dormitory. Her roommates were suspicious – what crime had she committed? Normal students didn’t attract police attention.

Thinking carefully, Xia Ziyu had suddenly transformed recently, throwing away her simple old clothes, and becoming fashionable from head to toe.

Could she have done something illegal?