"What? Mom wants a divorce?" Du Dawei and Du Xiaowei exclaimed in unison.
"That bitch, how dare she ask for a divorce?" Du Daqiang's fists clenched, itching for action.
The officer repeated the statement to ensure they understood before leaving.
Du Daqiang refused to believe it, his eyes bulging as he glared at his sons. "Your mother is a second-hand woman, and I never even brought up divorce! How dare she?! She must be itching for a beating! Just wait till I get out—I'll beat her to death before I agree to a divorce!"
Despite his words, Du Daqiang wouldn't actually kill his wife—at most, he'd beat her half to death, just enough to force her into submission, flattery, and servitude.
Even he wasn't foolish enough to ignore the facts: though she wasn't a virgin and had been married before, his wife was still fairly attractive and had borne him two sons. If they stayed married, he could berate and hit her as he pleased and vent his animalistic urges. But if they divorced, finding another pretty wife would be tough—he was old and poor, and women these days weren't as easily fooled as they used to be.
"Tell me, isn't your mother a bitch? Doesn't she deserve a beating?" Du Daqiang didn't actually expect an answer from his sons; he was just venting his rage. Anyone who spoke up now would become the target of his fury.
Du Xiaowei knew his father's temper. Seeing him truly enraged, he stayed silent, afraid of being hit, and tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible.
Du Dawei didn't respond either. After the initial shock, his mind began to race, and he soon understood his mother Zheng Xiangmei's reasoning.
She had always hoped he would marry early and move into a new home, using the excuse of helping with grandchildren to escape his father. Now that his marriage plans had fallen through, it might take a long time to find another partner, let alone have children. His mother must be deeply disappointed.
On top of that, Mu Yuting had exposed her past at the dinner table, leading to a brutal beating from his hot-tempered father. Having concealed such a significant secret as her previous marriage, she was terrified of being accidentally killed or maimed by him and was desperate to escape both his violence and their impoverished home.
Moreover, she wanted to extricate herself smoothly from the "extortion case." After all, claiming she was "coerced under duress" into assisting the main perpetrator would be a perfect defense, wouldn't it?
So, his mother's decision to seek a divorce made complete sense. Du Dawei understood perfectly.
As the saying goes, a mother and son share a heart—Zheng Xiangmei was indeed thinking along these lines.
Before giving her statement at the police station, Zheng Xiangmei had already weighed the pros and cons. If things escalated, it would be "every man for himself when disaster strikes"—she wasn't about to go to prison alongside a violent, worthless man.
She quietly asked the female officer, "What exactly counts as extortion? How many years in prison would that mean?"
The officer explained the legal provisions for extortion in simple terms. Zheng Xiangmei was inwardly startled—the law seemed to align closely with what Mu Yuting had said.
Learning that a formal indictment could mean at least several years behind bars, Zheng Xiangmei finally lost her composure. "Is reconciliation possible?" she asked. "What does Mu Yuting say?"
The officer told her, "Reconciliation is unlikely. Mu Yuting is adamant about pressing charges and launching an investigation."
Zheng Xiangmei never expected Mu Yuting to be so ruthless, actually intending to send their entire family to prison! She was grateful she had kept quiet after the police arrived, avoiding any reckless remarks and protecting herself.
Now, she had made up her mind: since this sinking ship was going down, she had to jump ashore before it was too late.
Therefore, when the female police officer asked about the reason for the fight and the injuries on her body, she began to exaggerate her misery dramatically.
She claimed that she had been tricked into marriage by Du Daqiang and had suffered long-term domestic violence. She insisted that she had not engaged in "extortion and blackmail" and that all her statements had been forced out of her by Du Daqiang under the threat of violence.
Hearing this and seeing Zheng Xiangmei’s disheveled hair, the shocking slap marks on her face, and her missing front tooth, the police officer was so furious that her fists clenched. She proactively asked Zheng if she wanted a medical examination or to file for divorce to completely break free from her abusive husband.
Zheng Xiangmei thought for a few seconds and agreed.
Previously, she had always planned to wait until her sons got married and moved out, then go live with them to help care for her grandchildren, counting on them to take turns supporting her in her old age. But now, that prospect seemed distant and uncertain.
In her current predicament, she had to find a way to extricate herself first...
Du Daqiang cursed out his wife and two sons, then made a "soul-reaping barrage call" to Du Dazhi using the detention center’s phone. Unfortunately, Du Dazhi was on a cross-province business trip with his superiors and couldn’t return for several days.
Du Dazhi stepped away from his superiors and furiously unleashed a torrent of abuse over the phone, leaving Du Daqiang utterly bewildered.
Du Daqiang was equally defiant: "I’m your elder, your uncle! If you don’t help me, I’ll go make a scene at your workplace!" He showed no awareness of being in detention.
Du Dazhi was nearly driven to the point of vomiting blood. Exhausted from constantly cleaning up after this family, he could only say wearily, "Just wait there and cool off in detention for a few days. We’ll talk about everything after I return."
The entire Du family had no choice but to spend several more unforgettable nights in detention. They grumbled, blamed each other, and yet had to huddle together for warmth.
On Monday, Mu Yuting went to work as usual.
After finishing work in the afternoon, she didn’t go home but went straight to Yueyin Music School.
This was what she had agreed to—starting this week, she would begin teaching. It was also the first class of her teaching career.
Teacher Wang had changed into an elegant and dignified ancient costume dress and picked out another set from the music school’s wardrobe for Mu Yuting to change into.
It was called an "ancient costume" only because Mu Yuting couldn’t identify which dynasty it was from, so she referred to it generally as such. Aside from Hanfu, she didn’t recognize any other traditional attire.
"Teacher Wang, you even change into ancient costumes for guzheng lessons—your music school is so particular!" Mu Yuting gave a thumbs-up.
"It’s not about being particular; it’s about respect. The ancients would burn incense, bathe, and change clothes before playing the guzheng—they were very meticulous. Nowadays, we may not be able to manage the first two, but we can at least do the last one properly."
Mu Yuting nodded in agreement, promising that she would make sure to change into an ancient costume whenever she came to work here in the future.
The outfit Teacher Wang gave her wasn’t complicated, but it had quite a few ties.
"You tied it wrong," Teacher Wang said.
"Ah, where?" Mu Yuting sighed, untied the ribbons, and took a closer look—it did seem crooked. Although she loved flowing ancient costumes, she rarely wore them herself and wasn’t very skilled at putting them on.
"Let me show you once. From now on, learn to dress yourself, and if you have any questions, you can ask me." Teacher Wang reached over, helped her into the outfit, and tied all the ribbons. She also styled Mu Yuting’s hair into a youthful updo.
"Alright, take a look." Teacher Wang pointed to the half-length mirror in the room.
Mu Yuting walked over slowly. "Wow, is that really me?"
In the mirror was a young woman with her hair done in a maiden’s bun, wearing a soft yellow ancient costume, looking playful and adorable.
Mu Yuting realized for the first time that she actually looked quite beautiful in an ancient costume.
"Lesson one: learn to face your beauty."
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