CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 168: MOM ON THE OFFENSIVE

After arriving in C city, Ye Qiu did not go home but found a private detective agency through a classmate.

"Madam, this is the fee schedule of our detective agency, If you only need evidence of your husband’s infidelity, thirty thousand will be sufficient, but if you also need evidence of your husband’s asset transfer, you need to add at least another fifty thousand."

Ye Qiu nodded in understanding and directly transferred fifty thousand to the person-in-charge, saying to him: "The price is fine, but if you can get the evidence within a month, I can add another twenty thousand."

The person-in-charge’s eyes lit up, as this was a big order. He assured Ye Qiu: "No problem, please wait for our good news."

After leaving the detective agency, Ye Qiu went to the largest law firm in C city, intending to file for divorce against Kong Lizhi. Once Kong Lizhi received the divorce papers, he would definitely transfer his assets, which was exactly why Ye Qiu sought out detectives.

The laws of Hua Country do not impose substantial constraints on infidelity; even if the couple divorces, it does not greatly affect the division of assets.

However, Hua Country is very strict about asset transfer. Once Ye Qiu gets evidence of Kong Lizhi transferring assets, in the divorce lawsuit, he could at most retain only a small portion of the marital property. Furthermore, given that he kept a mistress and had an illegitimate child, a good lawyer could even strip him of everything he owns.

Ye Qiu agreed to pay the law firm one-tenth of her final share of the assets. After marrying Ye Qiu, Kong Lizhi started a warehousing and logistics company, which has now grown tremendously, with an estimated market value of around twenty million. In C city, they also have an apartment worth about five million and a school-district house worth eight million, not to mention the company’s profits over the years. If Kong Lizhi is forced to leave with nothing, then the law firm would earn a fee of at least three to four million.

Even in the tier-one city of C city, the remuneration Ye Qiu offered was not low. The law firm immediately dispatched their most experienced Lawyer Zhao, who expressed great confidence in the case after learning that the initial capital for the company was provided by Ye Fu and that Ye Qiu had also hired a detective agency.

After Ye Qiu had arranged everything, it was evening. Only then did she finally get through to Kong Lizhi’s phone.

"Where the hell have you been? Why haven’t you answered my calls for so long? Ye Qiu, you’re quite capable, aren’t you? Disappearing with our daughter and leaving my mom all alone at home." As soon as the call connected, there was no concern or inquiry about their whereabouts, just relentless reprimands.

They say you should never marry a Phoenix Man; a man turns bad once he gets rich. Ye Qiu once ignored her parents’ advice, and now she finally regrets it. Maybe not everyone is ungrateful, but Kong Lizhi definitely is. In her past life, she never got the chance to divorce before being killed by Madam Kong; this time, Ye Qiu was determined to make them pay.

"Are you done yelling?" Ye Qiu asked flatly after Kong Lizhi had finished, her tone devoid of any emotion.

Kong Lizhi was taken aback by her attitude. It had been a long time since they had talked calmly; usually, they would start arguing after a few words. Madam Kong and Kong Zhenzhen would also join in to berate Ye Qiu, cursing her for being unproductive, failing to bear a son, and only knowing how to spend money, among other ugly words.

Ye Qiu used to argue with him, but after Kong Wen Yin had been frightened twice, Ye Qiu gradually stopped arguing and just tolerated everything. Kong Lizhi got used to Ye Qiu’s silence – when had he ever been coldly questioned like this?

In her previous life, Ye Qiu had also considered divorcing Kong Lizhi, but she always worried about the difficulties her daughter would face growing up in a single-parent family. Moreover, at that time, she hadn’t discovered Kong Lizhi’s affair and had never thought that Granny Kong would harm her, so she kept dragging it out.

But after she died and saw her daughter’s life getting worse day by day, she regretted it. If she could start over, as long as her daughter received her love and care, even in a single-parent family, she could still live well. On the contrary, if she hadn’t divorced, the domestic cold violence from the family would have made her daughter’s life even more miserable.

"Come back here immediately," Kong Lizhi said to Ye Qiu, his tone commanding.

"Kong Lizhi, your mom pushed me over and I hit the back of my head on the corner of a table. While I was passed out, she left Yinyin alone in the old family home. You’re not even asking about the safety of me and your daughter. Instead, you’re just blaming me. Do you even have a conscience?" Ye Qiu retorted coldly. In this new life, she no longer felt the exhausting and heartbreaking emotions of her past life; all she had was endless regret.

Kong Lizhi fell silent for an instant, but it was really just for an instant—his impatience returned immediately: "You aren’t hurt, right? Where’s Yinyin? Hurry up and bring her back to the old family home, Mom is still waiting there! She’s old and hasn’t had dinner yet!"

Ye Qiu was almost amused enough to laugh, but instead, she calmed her resentful heart: "Kong Lizhi, that’s your mom, not mine. The law clearly states that a daughter-in-law has no obligation to be filial and provide for her mother-in-law. If you really care about your mom, go back and cook for her yourself. Or at the very least, there’s your dear sister!"

Ye Qiu spoke calmly, but Kong Lizhi was infuriated, shouting into the phone: "Ye Qiu, what do you mean? I’m working hard to make money outside, and you can’t even do a little housework? If you can’t handle it, let’s divorce—there are plenty of women out there who’d want to enter our home and take care of my mom."

"Let’s divorce then." Ye Qiu said and hung up the phone. Since she had her documents with her, she was not willing to go back to that home, nor did she want anything from her past there. She could get everything new after the divorce. That same night, Ye Qiu took her daughter to stay in a hotel, and the next day, she rented an apartment through an agent and moved in.

"Lizhi, where’s your wife? Tell her to come back immediately," Madam Kong called soon after Kong Lizhi hung up, "Which daughter-in-law behaves like her, not returning home for a whole night? Does she intend to turn the world upside down?"

"Mom, was Ye Qiu’s fall serious? Is she in the hospital?" Kong Lizhi asked, frowning.

"If it were serious, she should be lying in bed. It was just a little blood. Look, she still had the energy to run off," Madam Kong said with an annoyed tone, "Lizhi, your wife is good for nothing; staying home all day but never going out to work and make money. When asked to do some chores, she always makes excuses and doesn’t do them well, spending all day fussing over that little money-loser. Tch, so much for being a city person!"

Hearing Madam Kong’s words made Kong Lizhi slightly uncomfortable, after all, the "little money-loser" his mom was talking about was his daughter. Yet, he always respected his mom and didn’t argue back, besides, he too believed a son would indeed be more valuable than a daughter.

"Mom, Ye Qiu is talking about divorce," he revealed.

"What? She dares to bring up divorce?" Madam Kong exclaimed incredulously, "She’s neither capable nor earning money, what gives her the right to mention divorce?"

After saying that, Madam Kong’s thoughts turned to her obedient grandson, her calculating eyes scanning around before she whispered into the phone, "Lizhi, if she wants a divorce, let her have it. It’s a good opportunity to take our grandson back home."

"But divorce means splitting assets," Kong Lizhi hesitated.

"Can’t you transfer the money out beforehand?" Madam Kong suggested quietly, as if afraid of being overheard, "Isn’t that what they do on TV?"