PWE – Chapter 39 Xu Meifeng’s Family Collapses

Zhan Songbai’s eyes instantly darkened with menace.

He turned toward Qiu Xianghui and shouted, “You dare slander your mother-in-law like that? What kind of daughter-in-law are you?!”

Those words — slander — clearly implied that he thought Qiu Xianghui was lying.

Under her father-in-law’s chilling glare, Qiu Xianghui’s scalp tingled with fear.

But when her gaze swept past him and landed on the Judge of the Underworld standing beside Wen Feilan, a greater terror seized her.

So she pressed her lips together and shouted back at her father-in-law, “Who’s slandering her? She really did kill someone! Dad, we can’t just ignore our conscience. Second Aunt was so good to us before, and Mom killed her. It’s bad enough she did that — but now you still want to cover for her? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Qiu Xianghui was terrified the Underworld Judge might come for her too, drag her down to hell — so being obedient was the safest course. She wasn’t stupid enough to oppose a judge from the underworld.

“You damned woman, are you looking for death?!” Zhan Hongda roared, raising his palm to strike her.

Qiu Xianghui leapt up to dodge and glared at him fiercely. “If I don’t tell the truth, that’s looking for death! Zhan Hongda, I’ve had enough of the bullying from your family! Didn’t your mom just tell you to divorce me? Fine! Let’s divorce then! I’ve long since had enough of living with a useless man like you!”

Zhan Hongda froze mid-swing, staring at her blankly. “What did you just say? You want to… you want to divorce me?”

Qiu Xianghui snorted. “That’s right, I’m divorcing you! What’s the point of staying with a coward like you? Once I’m divorced, I’ll find myself a better man!”

At that moment, she truly meant it. She’d had enough — this whole family was good-for-nothing, yet so full of temper.

“You… you…” Zhan Hongda was furious and panicked. He turned toward the gate, where villagers were gathered to watch the scene unfold like a play. His face flushed red with humiliation.

He lunged again, raising his hand. “You damned woman, you’re getting too bold! I’ll just beat you to death today!”

Qiu Xianghui didn’t flinch. “Go ahead and try! The police will be here any minute now. When they arrive, I’ll make sure they arrest you too!”

Zhan Hongda froze, his hand stopping in midair.

“I’m divorcing you no matter what,” Qiu Xianghui shouted. “You dare to hit me in front of everyone — if this is how you act publicly, who knows how you’d beat me in private! When the police come, we’ll go straight to town and divorce today!”

Seeing Zhan Hongda rooted to the spot, not daring to move, her confidence swelled even more.

Xiao Wange watched the scene unfold in the courtyard and smiled faintly.

If Zhan Hongda really did get divorced, he’d probably remain single for life — after all, what woman would ever want to marry a lazy, gluttonous man like him?

——

It took a while to get from the village to town, so by the time the police arrived, it was already afternoon.

No one had left; everyone wanted to see the spectacle through to the end.

Once the police came, the village chief and party secretary explained the whole situation. Then, the police captain led his men to arrest Xu Meifeng.

At that moment, Xu Meifeng suddenly found she could move again.

Seeing the stern-faced officers, she panicked and wanted to take back her confession — to say she hadn’t killed Wen Feilan, that everything she’d said before was nonsense, the ranting of a madwoman.

But…

The Judge of the Underworld still stood nearby, watching her with a cold, distant gaze. Under that stare, she found herself unable to say a single word of denial.

And so, in the end, she could only let the police handcuff her and take her away.

As the witness who had exposed Xu Meifeng’s crime, Qiu Xianghui was also taken in for questioning.

Zhan Songbai and Zhan Hongda were likewise brought to the station.

Zhan Zeyan, as Wen Feilan’s son, was directly involved and had to accompany them as well.

The village chief, party secretary, and several villagers followed to testify, worried that Xu Meifeng might try to deny everything once inside the police station.

And just like that — the entire “farce” finally came to an end.

——

Around six in the evening, the group that had gone to town finally returned.

Zhan Zeyan entered his courtyard and saw Xiao Wange sitting in the middle of it. His lips curved into a faint, gentle smile. “Wange…”

He called her simply by name now — no longer the formal “Xiao Wange.”

Xiao Wange was sitting in a chair with little Zhaozhao, waiting for him.

Seeing him return, she smiled softly. “You’re back?”

Zhan Zeyan nodded and stepped closer, lowering his gaze toward her. “Aunt Xu confessed at the police station. Qiu Xianghui also testified truthfully.”

A glimmer of satisfaction flashed through Xiao Wange’s eyes.

With the Underworld Judge around, neither of those women could possibly lie.

She stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “Then I’ll go make dinner. You must be tired from walking back. Take a rest.”

Zhan Zeyan smiled. “I’m not tired.” He was about to follow her when Wen Feilan’s voice drifted over gently:

“Zeyan…”

He paused mid-step and turned toward the sound. There, under the eaves of the main hall, stood his mother — smiling kindly at him.

“Come here, I have something to tell you,” Wen Feilan said warmly.

At the sight of her, joy lit up Zhan Zeyan’s face.

Without hesitation, he walked toward her. “Mom…”

To see her again felt like a gift from heaven — and he knew this miracle was entirely thanks to Xiao Wange.

Xiao Wange…

He suddenly felt incredibly fortunate that he had married her.

Inside the main hall, he asked, “Mom, what did you want to tell me?”

Wen Feilan said softly, “Today, everything turned out well because of Wange. If it weren’t for her, I’d still be trapped in that grave, unable to get justice. Zeyan, Wange isn’t just my daughter-in-law — she’s my savior. I can’t repay her anymore, so I’m leaving that duty to you.”

Zhan Zeyan smiled. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll treat her well for you.”

Wen Feilan frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied. “Not just well! You must treat her twice as well! A woman like her — a celestial being, really — you could worship her like a living goddess and still not be doing enough.”

Zhan Zeyan didn’t dare argue; he nodded obediently. “Alright, I’ll do exactly as you say.”

Thinking back to how Xiao Wange had summoned the Judge of the Underworld earlier, Wen Feilan clicked her tongue in awe. “Never thought I’d get such an incredible daughter-in-law. Even the Underworld’s judge listens to her! When I return to the afterlife, I won’t have to worry about any ghost officers bullying me — they might even treat me like an honored guest.”

Zhan Zeyan: “…”

His mother sounded so proud — as if the whole world’s greatest person was her daughter-in-law.

“But…” Wen Feilan suddenly frowned, her gaze full of worry. “Zeyan, I used to think you were outstanding — the most capable young man in the whole village. I thought no girl was out of your league. But now… you seem rather unimpressive. Just look at Wange — she’s extraordinary! What if one day she realizes you don’t deserve her and decides to divorce you? Then I’d lose my amazing daughter-in-law, and Zhaozhao would lose his incredible mother!”

Zhan Zeyan: “…”

It was the first time he’d ever been criticized like that by his mother. She’d always praised him to the skies — but now that she’d met an even more remarkable woman, her eyes saw no one else.

Heh. Truly, women were fickle creatures — even his mother was no exception.

“In the days ahead, you’d better work hard to improve yourself,” Wen Feilan sighed. “If you don’t, don’t blame me if Wange really does decide you’re beneath her.”

Zhan Zeyan had no idea how to respond.

Fine — best to just keep his mouth shut.

At this point, no matter what he said, he couldn’t possibly measure up to Xiao Wange. In her light, he was nothing but a speck.

——

Meanwhile, in the neighboring courtyard—

Zhan Songbai and Zhan Hongda trudged wearily through the gate.

Qiu Xianghui and little Zhan Xiaoxiao hadn’t come back with them. Qiu Xianghui had made up her mind to get a divorce — she’d already caused quite a scene in town earlier.

Now she’d taken her child back to her mother’s home, vowing never to return to the Zhan household.

Zhan Hongda felt as if his entire world had collapsed. His mother was in jail for murder; his wife and child had left him. Everything that had been normal that morning was now in ruins by dusk.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Zhan Hongxin ran out to greet them.

She’d been at her grandmother’s house that day, so she’d missed the chaos at noon. She’d only come home half an hour ago — and immediately heard the shocking news.

She had wanted to rush to town but was too afraid to travel in the dark, so she stayed home waiting.

Now, seeing only her father and brother return, she froze and asked, “Where’s Mom? Why didn’t she come back? Don’t tell me… she really did commit a crime? Did the police really keep her at the station?”

Zhan Hongda looked at her tiredly. “Mom already confessed to the police — she admitted she killed someone. She’s definitely going to prison.”

“What?!” Zhan Hongxin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s impossible! Mom would never admit it! She couldn’t have!”

“But she did,” Zhan Hongda said bitterly. “And that damned Qiu Xianghui testified against her too!”

“What? Sister-in-law actually testified that Mom killed someone? How could she! That’s awful!” Zhan Hongxin fumed, grinding her teeth.

At that moment, Zhan Hongjun — who had been slumped unconscious in a chair — suddenly stirred awake.

He shivered violently, then stumbled to his feet and ran out in a panic. “Ghosts! There are ghosts, Dad! A ghost possessed me! It was Xiao Wange — she let it out! Xiao Wange has ghosts!”

Seeing his father in the courtyard, he rushed up and babbled out everything that had happened earlier that day.

Zhan Songbai’s face grew darker and darker.

When Zhan Hongjun finished, he frowned deeply. “You’re saying it was Xiao Wange’s doing? She has that kind of power?”

“Yes! She shook a little bell — just once — and a ghost came out of it! Then that ghost possessed me! Dad, she’s terrifying — she can control ghosts!” Zhan Hongjun stammered, trembling as the memory sent fresh waves of fear through him.

Zhan Songbai’s expression turned pitch-black.

He clenched his fists, stood silently for a few seconds, then turned and strode toward the courtyard gate.

Zhan Hongda hurried after him. “Dad, where are you going?”

Zhan Songbai’s voice was icy cold. “To settle the score with Xiao Wange!