A reborn mother longs for her daughter's happiness.

Chapter 18 The Conspiracy of the Ex-Husband and Ex-Mother-in-Law

Wang Qiang's mood these past few days has been like the dark clouds before a storm, heavy and gloomy. He was drinking alone in a small tavern on the street, trying to swallow all his troubles, but unexpectedly, his ears seemed to be deliberately causing trouble, allowing him to overhear the people at the next table talking about his ex-wife, Li Yuan.

"Hey, do you know Li Yuan? She's really something lately, a real success story! Her business is booming, I hear a lot of people are vying to partner with her." A portly man said enviously while gnawing on a chicken leg.

“Yeah, I heard about it too. They’re really talented; I never would have guessed before,” another skinny man wearing glasses chimed in.

Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang's anger flared up instantly. He slammed his glass down on the table, muttering, "Hmph, what's so great about her? Just a bit of luck." But though he said that, he felt a nagging unease, as if a cat was scratching at his heart. He couldn't understand how the woman who used to be by his side had suddenly become so formidable.

When Wang Qiang got home, he saw his former mother-in-law watching TV in the living room. It was a drama about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and she was watching it with great interest, occasionally wiping away tears as she watched the plot unfold.

Wang Qiang plopped down on the sofa, his face dark, like a child whose toy had been taken away.

His ex-mother-in-law glanced at him and said irritably, "Oh, what's wrong with you? Where did you get upset again? Look at you."

Wang Qiang snorted and said, "Mom, do you know what? Li Yuan has become a big celebrity now. Everyone is praising her. It makes me angry."

Upon hearing Li Yuan's name, the former mother-in-law's eyes widened immediately: "What? That woman is so successful now? No, we can't let her continue to be so smug."

Wang Qiang seemed to have found an ally and immediately perked up: "Yes, Mom, we have to think of a way to prevent her from living too comfortably."

The former mother-in-law frowned and began pacing around the living room, looking like a general planning a major battle. "Hmph, back in the day, when she was in our family, she had to behave herself. Now look at her, all grown up and she thinks she can fly away."

Wang Qiang added fuel to the fire: "That's right, Mom. You know, maybe she used some underhanded methods to achieve her success."

The former mother-in-law's eyes lit up: "You're right. Maybe she curried favor with some rich and powerful person to get those businesses. We need to investigate this carefully."

Wang Qiang scratched his head: "But Mom, how are we going to investigate? We have nothing to do with her anymore."

His ex-mother-in-law rolled her eyes at him: "You blockhead. We can ask people who used to know her, like her old neighbors or former colleagues. Maybe we can find out something from them."

Wang Qiang slapped his thigh: "That's right, Mom, you're so smart. I'll go find out right now."

With that, Wang Qiang went out. He first found one of Li Yuan's old neighbors, a talkative old lady.

As soon as the older woman saw him, she curled her lip and said, "Oh, it's you. What do you want? You're not trying to find out about my ex-wife Li Yuan again, are you?"

Wang Qiang smiled awkwardly: "Auntie, you know, I'm just a little curious. Have you heard anything unusual about Li Yuan lately?"

The older woman snorted, "Something special? She's a successful person now, very busy every day. I think she's much more accomplished than when she was with you."

Wang Qiang was very unhappy, but he still forced a smile and said, "Auntie, please don't make fun of me. Just tell me, is there anything wrong with this?"

The woman thought for a moment and said, "Something's not right? I don't see anything wrong with it. They earn money through their own abilities, working hard from dawn till dusk every day. Unlike you, who idles around all day."

Wang Qiang's face flushed red and then turned pale after being talked about by the old woman, and he slunk away. He then went to find one of Li Yuan's former colleagues, but the result was the same; everyone praised Li Yuan highly, which made him even more depressed.

Back home, Wang Qiang told his former mother-in-law what had happened. His former mother-in-law frowned and said unwillingly, "This is impossible. She must be hiding something. We can't just give up like this."

Wang Qiang said helplessly, "Mom, what do we do now? We can't find any evidence against her."

The former mother-in-law's eyes lit up: "I have an idea. We can spread some rumors about her online, saying that her success was achieved through improper means, so that everyone will doubt her."

Wang Qiang hesitated, "Mom, isn't this a bad idea? If someone finds out, we'll be in trouble."

His ex-mother-in-law glared at him: "How can you be so cowardly? If we do it discreetly, no one will find out. Besides, even if they do find out, we'll just deny it to the death."

Wang Qiang thought for a moment and then nodded: "Okay, Mom, let's do it your way."

Wang Qiang was still a little worried: "Mom, how exactly do we do it? We can't give ourselves away."

The former mother-in-law pulled Wang Qiang to sit on the sofa and began to explain in detail: "Let's register a few new accounts first, but don't use your own information. Then, we'll start making up some seemingly plausible rumors. For example, we can write that in order to get a big project, she gave the client's manager a lot of expensive gifts and even went out to dinner and drinks with him."

Wang Qiang nodded: "Hmm, that sounds pretty plausible. And then?"

The former mother-in-law continued, "Then, we found out that all her creative ideas were actually plagiarized. She said she had a mysterious team that would find ideas from small companies or individuals online, modify them, and then make them her own."

Wang Qiang frowned: "Mom, isn't this going too far?"

His ex-mother-in-law patted his head: "What do you know? To make people believe it, we have to make it sound serious. But we can't make it too fake either; we need to include some details. For example, we can say that the plagiarized idea was seen on a design forum, and we can even make up the name of the forum."

Wang Qiang thought about it and felt it made sense: "So what do we do after we finish writing it?"

The former mother-in-law smiled smugly: "We find some people who specialize in doing this kind of thing online, give them some money, and have them help us spread these rumors. They have many ways to make these messages look like a lot of people are discussing them spontaneously."

Wang Qiang was still a little worried: "Mom, what if those people are unreliable and betray us?"

The former mother-in-law snorted: "We'll find one with a good reputation, and we won't reveal too much about ourselves to them. We'll contact them anonymously, like using some kind of temporary chat software."

So, the mother and son began fabricating all sorts of false information about Li Yuan online, such as bribing clients and plagiarizing other people's ideas—a whole variety of accusations. They even hired online trolls to help spread these rumors, hoping to make them go further.