The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Witnessing Han Xiaorui’s Might

At that, Han Xiaorui pressed the stop button and opened the main gate. ”Officers, my former mother-in-law insulted me, threatened me, and tried to extort me. She has seriously endangered my personal safety, and this is the evidence.”

Han Xiaorui shook the tape recorder in her hand. Then, in front of Zhang Xiufang, Yang Zhigang, and all the villagers who had gathered to watch the commotion, she pressed play.

The sounds of Zhang Xiufang insulting, threatening, and trying to extort Han Xiaorui poured out of the device, along with the noise of her banging and kicking the door.

The two police officers’ expressions turned grim the moment they heard it, and they immediately restrained Zhang Xiufang.

Ye Feng scanned the crowd and pointed to a few men who had been at the docks earlier. ”Around noon, you were all at the docks. You must have seen the Big Yellow Fish being unloaded from Han Xiaorui’s boat.”

If it weren’t for Ye Feng, those men might not have testified for Han Xiaorui, an outsider. But Ye Feng was in uniform; if they lied, they could be breaking the law and end up arrested and detained.

So, they told the truth without hesitation. ”Yes, we saw it. Han Xiaorui caught the Big Yellow Fish. She got back before Yang Zhigang did.”

The other officer took down their statements. The men signed their names and left their thumbprints, confirming that the Big Yellow Fish belonged to Han Xiaorui.

Zhang Xiufang tried to struggle, but an officer held her by the arms. ”I... Let me go! I was just repeating what I heard! We’re all family. This is just a family dispute.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes narrowed as she said coldly, ”I’ve already divorced your son. We are not family anymore. This isn’t a family dispute. It’s a legal matter.”

Yang Zhigang opened his mouth, wanting to ask Han Xiaorui to let Zhang Xiufang off the hook. But then he remembered how his wife threw tantrums and spewed nonsense. She needed to be taught a lesson so she would finally learn.

Wu Cuicui looked anxious. ”Xiao Rui, I know Second Aunt was in the wrong for yelling at you.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Sister Cuicui, if it were anything else, I’d let it go for your sake. But today, I have to see Zhang Xiufang put away. If the police don’t detain her, I’ll go to the city, hire a lawyer, and sue. There’s always a way to get justice.”

As soon as the officers heard that, they quickly handcuffed Zhang Xiufang and led her to their vehicle.

The situation was clear: a former mother-in-law was harassing her divorced daughter-in-law, trying to extort money from her.

But this daughter-in-law was no pushover; she had recorded everything as evidence.

If they just treated it as a typical neighborhood squabble and tried to smooth things over, this woman, Han Xiaorui, would go to the city, hire a lawyer, and sue. Then they’d be held responsible.

A reprimand would be the least of it; they might even get a demerit on their records!

That being the case, enforcing the law impartially was the only safe bet.

Zhang Xiufang frantically turned to Yang Zhigang. ”Yang Zhigang, you heartless bastard, save me! Are you just waiting for me to be locked up so you can fool around with this little vixen?”

Yang Zhigang, who had been a little worried, turned livid at her words. ”Zhang Xiufang, you’re all mouth! Your nasty tongue is your downfall. I, Yang Zhigang, have always been an upright man. I’ve never done anything to be ashamed of in my entire life, and I’d certainly never do something so filthy.”

”Han Xiaorui will always be the mother of my granddaughters, Pingping and An’an. If I ever did something so despicable, may I be struck by lightning, sink to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish, and die a miserable death.”

With that, Yang Zhigang turned and walked away, leaving Zhang Xiufang to her fate.

Han Xiaorui’s gaze was sharp as she fixed it on Zhang Xiufang. ”I warned you before. I’m divorced from your son, so don’t come looking for trouble. You let my words go in one ear and out the other.”

”Someone whispers a few words in your ear, and you come storming to my door to curse, extort, and threaten me. If I don’t put you in your place this time, how can a divorced woman with two children ever hope to make a life for herself here in Jinshan Bay?”

The locals who had looked down on Han Xiaorui never expected her to be so fierce.

She was actually going to have her former mother-in-law locked up!

Zhang Xiufang was about to let loose another stream of curses, but when she heard Han Xiaorui’s words, she instantly lost her nerve.

”Xiao Rui, I was wrong! It was Song the Second’s wife! She was the one feeding me nonsense, saying that Yang Zhigang sold hundreds of pounds of Big Yellow Fish and gave all the money to you...”

Han Xiaorui let out a cold laugh. ”Do you really think I’d believe your apology is sincere? People like you deserve to be locked up to reflect on what they’ve done.”

”Just you wait. I’m hiring a lawyer tomorrow. Get ready to be sued!”

”Thank you, Mr. Ye. I’m afraid today isn’t a good day to host you. My apologies.” Han Xiaorui then shut the door.

Ye Feng sympathized with Han Xiaorui. She had clearly caught the fish through her own hard work, only to be slandered like this. It really wasn’t easy for her.

He gave the officers a pointed look. Seeing his signal, they quickly started the car and drove Zhang Xiufang away.

They would detain her first and sort out the rest later.

The gawking crowd outside was stunned.

”That wife from out of town is really something!”

”That’s pretty ruthless, getting her own mother-in-law sent away.”

”I always thought that Han Xiaorui was so quiet and unassuming, but she’s a real force to be reckoned with! It’s true what they say: a quiet dog is a biting dog!”

”Of course she’s tough. Who else do you know who can catch over seven hundred pounds of Big Yellow Fish all by themselves?”

”All right, don’t talk about Han Xiaorui like that. Her children are in that state, and she was abandoned by Yang Jianming, yet she still stayed to protect them. She’s a good mother and a good woman.”

”Exactly. You all know what a foul temper Zhang Xiufang has. And Yang Zhigang is one of the most honest men in the village. How could he possibly do something so dirty?”

Wu Cuicui chimed in, ”That’s right! The whole village knows what kind of man my Second Uncle is. Please don’t spread rumors. It was all Song the Second and his wife. They went too far. Just because Xiao Rui didn’t sell her Big Yellow Fish to him, he had his wife go and feed my Second Aunt a bunch of lies.”

After hearing Wu Cuicui’s explanation, the crowd understood the full story and began to disperse.

Once everyone had gone, Wu Cuicui knocked on the door. ”Xiao Rui, it’s me, Sister Cuicui!”

Seeing that no one else was outside, Han Xiaorui let Wu Cuicui in. ”Sister Cuicui, come in. I’m sorry if my tone was harsh earlier. Please forgive me.”

Wu Cuicui was relieved to see Han Xiaorui’s friendly demeanor. ”Honestly, I don’t think you did anything wrong. My Second Aunt has no filter on her mouth; she just spouts nonsense. Even I couldn’t stand to listen to the things she was saying to you.”

”Still, you two are neighbors and will have to see each other all the time. Are you really going to sue my Second Aunt?”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Sister Cuicui, I’ll be honest with you, but you have to keep it a secret. You can tell Uncle Yang, but you can’t tell Zhang Xiufang.”

Wu Cuicui nodded eagerly. ”Xiao Rui, I know how to be discreet. I’m not a blabbermouth. To be honest, sometimes I can’t stand my Second Aunt’s foul mouth either.”

’Unfortunately, her husband’s parents had died young, so he was raised by his Second Uncle and Second Aunt. While Zhang Xiufang wasn’t technically her mother-in-law, she was still an elder.’

’Wu Cuicui couldn’t just stand by and watch her Second Aunt go to jail.’

’Of course, knowing her Second Aunt and the other locals, if she really did go to jail, it might not be a good thing for Han Xiaorui in the long run.’

’After all, a knife held to the throat is the most terrifying thing. Once you’ve actually stabbed someone, you can no longer use the threat to scare them.’