During my first trimester, my husband's grandmother showed up at our door to lay down the law. She intentionally killed the dog I had raised for three years and made a stew out of it just to sicken me. At the dinner table, she smugly bragged: "Meat from a mutt raised on expensive kibble sure is tender~" After dinner, she tried to force me to kneel and kowtow to a turtle she had kept for forty years, demanding I acknowledge it as my "God-Grandmother." I obediently played along. What she didn't know was that while acknowledging a "God-Grandmother" is easy, sending her off is a whole different ballgame! 01 My grandma was a professional contrarian, and my mom was a spitfire. The two of them battled it out their entire lives, ready to throw hands the moment they saw each other. Growing up immersed in their constant warfare, I mastered the art of managing in-law dynamics at a very young age. When people saw me, they stayed out of my way; when dogs saw me, they ran. But unfortunately for my skills, I married into a family of absolute softies. I had a whole arsenal of tactics with nowhere to use them. Life was smooth sailing, and I even gained six pounds. When I went to the clinic to ask about safe ways to lose a little weight, they checked my vitals and told me I was pregnant. The doctor said the first trimester is the most critical time. My in-laws treated me like fragile glass, terrified I might bump into something and hurt the baby. But just as I hit my third month, an old lady showed up at our house. The moment we locked eyes, I knew exactly what I was dealing with. The universally despised family troublemaker had arrived! The way she looked at me was exactly the same way my grandma used to look at my mom—desperate to find a bone in an egg, just looking for an excuse to pick a fight. My usually cheerful mother-in-law, Martha, was pale, currently on her hands and knees, scrubbing the hardwood floor inch by inch with a paper towel. My usually reasonable father-in-law, David, was trembling like a frightened quail, not daring to breathe too loudly as he brewed tea and poured water for her. My husband, Liam, stood there dumbfounded and blurted out: "Grandma!" Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward our bedroom. "Honey, pack a bag. We're going to stay at a hotel for a few days. You're pregnant, you can't handle this kind of stress!" My phone chimed with a notification. Three thousand dollars had just been transferred to my account from my in-laws. Their goal was very clear: they wanted us to stay somewhere else for a while. Whenever his grandma decided to head back to her hometown, we could come back. "Is she really that terrifying?" I asked. "Terrifying doesn't even cover it! She's an absolute nightmare!" Liam gave me a quick rundown of the old lady's dark history. When he was six, his grandma cooked the pet rabbit he had been raising for two years and tricked him into eating the meat. After he finished eating, she took him to see the bloody pile of rabbit fur. Liam was terrified and bawled his eyes out. The old lady sat there eating sunflower seeds, spitting the shells right at his face: "It's just an animal. It died, so what? Are you really crying over it? "You don't have an ounce of masculinity! Don't you dare go outside and tell people you're Agatha's grandson! "You little brat, remember this: an animal is just an animal. I don't care if you raised it for two years or twenty, it's still just an animal. It will never be more important than your family!" When Martha came over to comfort Liam, the old lady kicked her hard in the stomach. "You jinx! Walking around with a long face every day, teaching my grandson useless nonsense. So a rabbit died, big deal! Are you trying to kill me, you old woman?" That single kick caused Martha to miscarry. It was a three-month-old female fetus. Martha wept uncontrollably in the hospital. The old lady sat at home, smoking her pipe, feeling completely justified: "It was just a money-losing girl. She's gone, so she's gone. What's there to cry about?" David was furious and went to confront her: "That was your own granddaughter!" The old lady scoffed: "What 'own granddaughter'? She wasn't even fully formed, hadn't even been born, and you dare call her my granddaughter? "And so what if she was a granddaughter? Girls just cost money! With that one kick, do you know how much money I saved you? Instead of being grateful, you're here demanding an explanation? I see you really are an ungrateful wolf, forgetting your own mother the second you get a wife!" David was so angry he wanted to take Martha and Liam and cut ties with the old lady completely. The situation escalated and eventually reached the neighborhood association. The older generation places the utmost importance on filial piety. David wasn't good with words. The old lady, however, had a silver tongue and twisted the facts completely. By throwing a massive tantrum, she somehow made David's family look like heartless, unfilial children. The old lady blatantly favored David's older brother, Robert. She took David and Martha's hard-earned money to subsidize Robert, paying for his college and buying him a house in the city. Later, Robert married the daughter of a local official. The old lady moved in with them to enjoy the good life, which was the only reason she finally let David's family off the hook. Outside the bedroom door, the old lady was currently berating David: "You ungrateful little brat! Now that you've made it big, living in a big house, driving luxury cars, you just sit back and watch your older brother and his family scrape by? You think you're pretty great now, don't you? Feeling real smug, aren't you?" "Mom, we never thought anything like that." "Shut your mouth! It's all because of that seductress you married! If it weren't for her whispering in your ear, would my son ignore his own mother? "Don't think that just because you secretly moved out of state, I couldn't find you! Let me tell you, you can run, but you can't hide! I've been keeping a ledger of all the money you owe your brother all these years!" The old lady threw down a yellowed, tattered little notebook. David picked up the ledger and flipped through a couple of pages: "Mom, since when do we owe Robert over forty thousand dollars?" "What do you mean 'over forty thousand'? It's exactly forty-seven thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five dollars and thirty-seven cents! If your brother hadn't jumped into that freezing river to save you, ruining his health, he would have been a high-ranking military officer by now! And I only gave you a discount because you're my biological son and Robert's blood brother! "You ungrateful little brat! Not only did you not try to make up for the damage you caused your brother, you even teamed up with this jinx to hide from me?! "Don't call me Mom! I don't have a shameless son like you!" "It wasn't Robert who saved me; a bystander saved Robert!" Martha couldn't stand it anymore and tried to explain things for David, only to receive a resounding slap across the face. "You home-wrecker! When I'm talking to my son, it's not your place to interrupt! I said Robert saved him, so Robert saved him! "Cut the crap. I'm here on serious business. My oldest grandson is getting married in a few days. Clean out this house and empty it in the next two days so Tommy can use it as his marital home!" "Absolutely not! This is the house we prepared for Chloe and Liam!" Martha clutched her red, swollen cheek, refusing flat out. "You jinx, when is it your turn to speak?" While she was talking, I walked over to the dog crate and let Buster out. Buster is a Belgian Malinois. He's incredibly protective of his owners and fiercely obedient. He's just very energetic and always wants to be near me. After I got pregnant, my in-laws kept Buster in his crate to prevent him from accidentally knocking into me. "Buster, go!" Hearing the command, Buster shot forward like a bolt of lightning, stopping right in front of my in-laws. Under the threat of the Malinois, the old lady was forced to jump on top of the sofa, her spindly little legs shaking uncontrollably. "Y-you... stay away from me! I'm not afraid of you! "Don't, don't bite me! "Are you all dead? Hurry up and stop him! "H-help!" My in-laws stood frozen in place. I walked over, my heart aching as I helped Martha up: "Mom, your face is swollen. Liam, go down to the pharmacy and buy some anti-inflammatory ointment for Mom." Hearing my voice, Buster happily trotted over to my side, rubbing his head against me affectionately. "Good boy!" I rewarded Buster with a nice scratch behind the ears. Seeing this, the old lady quickly realized what was going on. She pointed at my nose and screamed furiously: "Alright, you little tramp! You're directing this wolf-dog to abuse an elder, aren't you? You better slaughter this dog right now! Get on your knees and kowtow to me to apologize, or I'll make my grandson divorce you! Let's see what a used-up piece of trash like you will do then!" "Mom, Chloe and Liam have a very strong relationship; there's no way they're getting a divorce." Martha spoke up for me, only to earn another glare from the old lady. I gave Buster a light smack on the rear. "Bark, bark, bark!" This time, Buster didn't just bark at the old lady; he started lunging at her. And I showed absolutely no sign of calling him off. After a few lunges, the old lady's eyes rolled back into her head, and she fainted dead away. After she fainted, Martha transferred another few thousand dollars to me. "Chloe, hurry up and go stay somewhere else with Liam for a bit. We'll never forget how you and Buster helped us today, but the old lady isn't someone you want to mess with. When she wakes up, she'll probably come up with some scheme to make things difficult for you!" "Yeah, Chloe, you're still pregnant. The doctor said you shouldn't experience extreme emotional swings. If the sky falls, Mom and Dad are here to hold it up. Just treat this as a second honeymoon with Liam!" "Mom, Dad, what are you talking about? The old lady might be hard to deal with, but I'm no pushover either! As for the baby, don't worry about it. If it can't handle a little turbulence like this, it doesn't have the right to be my child!" I cooked dinner that evening, and the old lady finally came to. At the dinner table, she intentionally started picking fights. "The meat is so tough, are you trying to break my teeth?" "Didn't you know I don't eat seafood? And you purposely made smoked fish!" "Living the high life now, huh? Starting to waste food! Four people and you made eight dishes!" As she spoke, she tried to take the beef and smoked fish in front of me and put them in the fridge. "Put it down. "I said put it down, didn't you hear me?" "You just won't listen to reason, will you? Buster, up!" Amidst the furious barking, the old lady resentfully put down her bowl and chopsticks. I tilted my head and looked at her: "If you think the meat is too tough and hurts your teeth, then eat the porridge. Do you know why long-lived people live so long?" My husband weakly chimed in: "Because they love eating porridge! Porridge is good for you!" "No, it's because they're smart. They know who not to mess with!" I looked right at the old lady: "Grandma, you're a smart person, aren't you?" The old lady didn't speak; she just glared at me. "Buster~" "Yes, yes, yes!" "Bark, bark, bark!" "Are you crazy? I said yes, and you're still letting your dog bite me!" "Relax your foot, you're stepping on his toy!" With Buster around, the old lady didn't dare pull any stunts for the rest of the night. When we went to bed, Liam wrapped his arms around my waist. Tears soaked my shoulder as he cried like a little boy: "Chloe, where have you been all my life! "Sob, if only I had met you sooner! "Sniffle, I love you so much, honey." A night of sweet dreams. The next morning, Liam got up to feed Buster. He searched the whole house but couldn't find Buster anywhere. He looked at me, his eyes red: "What do we do, honey? Buster is gone!" As he spoke, he suddenly realized something. He ran to the kitchen and found a puddle of blood on the floor. The trash can also had a few tufts of black fur in it, exactly like Buster's. Liam stormed over to the old lady, confronting her: "Tell me, did you kill Buster?!" "You little animal, is that how you speak to your grandmother?! Do you have any respect for God?! I got up bright and early to make breakfast for you all, and now I'm the bad guy?" "It was you! You cooked my rabbit back then!" "David! Control your son! He's a grown man in his twenties and has absolutely no manners! Yelling at his elders like this!" David was called out of his room, Martha following closely behind. The old lady grabbed Martha: "You tell them! You were up earlier than me. Did you see me kill a dog?" "N-no, I didn't." Martha's eyes welled with tears. "Forget it. It's not a big deal. We'll just look for him after we eat. He won't stay lost forever anyway." "Exactly, exactly. At least my grandson's wife has some sense." At the dining table, the old lady served me a bowl of meat broth. "Granddaughter-in-law, at least you're reasonable. Unlike these others, who don't know anything about human relationships. An animal is an animal. I don't care if you've raised it for two or three years, or even decades, it's never going to be more important than a person." "You're absolutely right." "Everything has a destiny. Don't blame me for speaking harshly, but if Buster really was killed and eaten, that was his karma. Don't blame anyone else; blame it on the fact that he committed too many sins in his past life, or perhaps the owner who raised him committed too many sins. Granddaughter-in-law, do you think I'm making sense?" I nodded: "What Grandma says makes perfect sense." She nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't until she saw me finish the entire bowl of broth that her expression changed, and she asked me with a wicked grin: "How did the broth taste?" "Very tender." "Of course it is! Meat from a mutt raised on expensive kibble sure is tender~" Liam was so furious he slammed his bowl onto the floor: "I knew it! You did it!" "You little bastard, shut your mouth! Who gave you the right to speak! Is your skin itching for a beating?" After scolding Liam, she turned her attention to me. "And you, you dog-relying thing! I gave you an inch and you thought I was actually afraid of you! Without that Malinois, you're nothing! Take a look in the mirror, you've got the face of a widow. Only a blind fool would want you!" She got more and more smug as she spoke, laying down several "rules" for me. Riding the high of her own speech, she even demanded I acknowledge the turtle she had kept for forty years as my "God-Grandmother." "I've raised this turtle for forty years. It's old enough to be your grandmother! Letting you acknowledge it as a God-Grandmother is an honor. Don't be ungrateful." I nodded in agreement. However, she searched for a long time but couldn't find her forty-year-old turtle anywhere. I unhurriedly stood up, fished a turtle shell out of the broth pot, washed it, dried it, and handed it to her: "Oh my, Grandma, the 'God-Grandmother' you were talking about... it wouldn't happen to be this one, would it?"

I looked at that pot of turtle soup, sighing genuinely: "Worthy of an old beast raised for forty years. The broth made from it is much more nourishing than a three- or five-year-old one. Grandma, you really have great taste!" The old lady had purposely tried to disgust me. During the meal just now, she ate the most. She ate until her mouth was slick with grease. Seeing that I wasn't eating, she even insulted me, calling me "tasteless" and "ungrateful." Now, realizing that the meat broth was made from the old turtle she had raised for forty years, she clutched the turtle shell and wailed, crying harder than if her husband had died. "My poor Shelly! Which godforsaken troublemaker killed you?! I'll make her pay with her life!" I sniffled nearby: "God-Grandmother, when you go down to the eighteen levels of hell, don't forget to find the person who ate you to get your revenge! You poor thing, living to forty, you could be considered a centenarian in the turtle world. You died so unjustly! I hope you have a peaceful journey and reincarnate into a better life!" Reminded by my words, the old lady began dry heaving uncontrollably. After throwing up, she glared at me viciously: "You little monster, you'll get what's coming to you!" "Grandma, what are you talking about? Didn't you just tell Liam that if an owner lacks moral character, they can't protect their pets? Look at you, all talk when it comes to educating your descendants, but when it happens to you, you refuse to accept it. That's not right!" "You! You sharp-tongued little shrew!" "I'm no shrew. A shrew screams, bites, scratches, and kicks. Who dares offend a shrew? They'll strip a layer of skin off you at the very least. I'm so gentle!" "Hmph!" The old lady hugged her turtle shell and ran off in a huff. Liam looked at me with pure adoration. David jumped up excitedly. Martha was full of respect: "Chloe, you're really something." David chimed in: "Yeah, leave things here to her. Liam, hurry up and take your wife out to buy a gold bracelet. Be happy!" I smiled and nodded. Looking at the pile of vomit Martha was cleaning up, I said: "Mom, don't throw that away just yet. I have a use for it. Come here, let me tell you..." To gross me out, the old lady hadn't gone to the bathroom; she purposely threw up all over the living room floor. Thinking she could hurt me with a petty stunt like that? It was child's play! Hadn't she ever heard the saying, "For every foot of virtue, there is a yard of vice"? At the jewelry store, Liam was thrilled, having me try on bracelet after bracelet. I was fine with it. Compared to buying a gold bracelet, I preferred battling the wicked old lady and seeing the look of defeat on her face. After leaving the jewelry store, I went to my best friend's house. I brought Buster's toy ball over and bought him some dog food and treats. Seeing Buster, Liam was so excited he couldn't speak: "Buster, you're really not dead! Daddy's heart broke for you, sob!" Buster looked so annoyed he didn't even want to acknowledge him. My best friend shot me a look and made a gesture towards her head. [Is Liam okay in the head?] [Just PTSD from the toxic old hag. Don't worry, I specialize in fixing toxic old hags!] [Queen, I bow down to you!] As we were leaving, Liam spotted a familiar figure in a fish tank. "Honey, why is it here?" "Where else would it be? You think I'd just kill a forty-year-old turtle? Am I a butcher or a female demon?" "Then what was that 'God-Grandmother' shell you fished out?" "Bought it at the Asian market." "Sob, honey. You truly are a beautiful, kind-hearted little angel." Liam was moved to tears. On the way home, he kept pestering me, asking how I pulled it off. "It's nothing, just giving her a taste of her own medicine!" I saw right through that wicked old lady. The moment she stuck her nose in the air, I knew exactly what kind of crap she was about to pull. After being intimidated by Buster earlier, she had developed a deep hatred for him. Killing Buster and making a stew for me to drink—it killed two birds with one stone. Her mind was incredibly malicious. She didn't dare approach Buster, so she purposely put sleeping pills in his dog food. She planned to kill him while he was knocked out. But what she didn't know was that I had trained Buster; he wouldn't touch tampered food. And when she wasn't looking, I slipped something into her "calming tea." It made her groggy and sleep straight through till morning. I also smeared blood on her hands and threw dog hair in the trash can. Old people have bad memories and generally poor mental clarity. While she was sleeping, I whispered in her ear, pretending to be Buster seeking revenge. When she woke up, groggy and disoriented from my little "performance," she genuinely believed she had killed Buster and was incredibly smug about it.

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