The ancient war between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in a wealthy family

"Open the door." The voice carried unquestionable majesty. The guards did not dare to delay and quickly opened the heavy wooden door.

The dazzling sunlight poured in instantly, and I subconsciously squinted my eyes. After I adjusted to the light, I could see the person clearly - it was Mo Qinxin. She was still wearing a dark cheongsam, with a cold smile on her face, but she was holding an exquisite feather duster in one hand, tapping it gently on the palm of her other hand. Each tap seemed to hit my heart, bringing waves of uneasiness.

"Hey, young madam, are you used to living here?" She didn't come in, but just stood at the door, her tone full of sarcasm.

I gave her a cold look without saying a word, and walked straight to a worn wooden chair in the corner of the room and sat down. Lawyer Fang stood quietly behind me, his eyes sweeping over Mo Qinxin, and finally stopped at the feather duster, his brows slightly frowned.

"Why, Mo Qinxin, are you here to visit me?" I said calmly, as if I was not involved.

"Visiting?" Mo Qinxin sneered as if he had heard something funny. "Young Madam, you're joking. I'm just following orders and came to see if Young Madam is behaving herself."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and signaled the two maids behind her to put the food boxes on the ground. The two maids put the food boxes on the ground with a rude "bang", then retreated behind Mo Qinxin with lowered heads, as if I were some kind of monster.

I glanced at the food box and saw only two cold, hard steamed buns and a plate of pickles in it. It was not even as good as what the servants ate on ordinary days, not to mention in this cold winter.

"Mo Qingxin is truly well-intentioned. He's worried that I'm getting too comfortable in this ancestral hall, so he specially sent me some simple meals to remind me of the good old days." I picked up a steamed bun, chuckled, broke it in half, and handed it to Lawyer Fang. "Lawyer Fang, do you want to join us?"

Lawyer Fang quickly waved his hands and said in a low voice, "Young Madam, you should eat by yourself. I'm not hungry."

I smiled, not forcing myself, and continued to chew my steamed bun, while in my heart I was thinking about how to break the deadlock.

Seeing my silence, Lawyer Fang assumed I was worried and frightened, so he whispered, "Don't worry, Madam. Mr. Zhan is a lucky man, and he'll be fine."

I nodded to show that I understood, but the excitement on Old Qin's face when he saw the sachet and his meaningful words emerged in my mind: "This sachet...where did you get it from?"

"Lawyer Fang," I asked in a low voice, "Why do you think Mr. Qin cares so much about this sachet? Could it be that he knows something?"

Lawyer Fang pondered for a moment and said slowly, "I've heard that the ancestors of the Zhan family were imperial merchants in the previous dynasty. They accumulated a lot of wealth and are said to have left behind many treasures. However, due to the constant wars, these things disappeared. And Old Qin is from a branch of the Zhan family and is quite knowledgeable about the family history. Perhaps..."

He paused, his eyes falling on my hand, "Perhaps, this sachet is the key to unlocking some important place..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden commotion outside the door, followed by the guards' whispered scolding, as if someone was trying to force their way in...

"What's going on?" My heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding washed over me. Lawyer Fang also stood up, walked to the door, and peered out through the crack.

"It seems to be Mr. Zhan..." Lawyer Fang said in a low voice, with a hint of surprise and worry in his tone.

I was delighted and quickly walked to the door. I pushed it hard, but found that it was locked from the outside. I became even more anxious and shouted to the outside: "Zhanyu, is that you? How are you?"

"It's me." Zhan Yu's voice came from outside the door, a little anxious and tired. "I'm fine. How are you? Did they give you any trouble?"

"I'm fine," I replied quickly, unable to conceal my excitement and joy. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Lawyer Fang is here too."

"That's good, that's good..." Zhan Yu's voice was full of relief, "Wait for me, I will definitely rescue you."

Then, I heard a rustling sound, as if Zhan Yu was negotiating with the guards. I held my breath, trying to hear what they were saying, but I could only hear a few intermittent words like "let her go," "impossible," "Mr. Qin," and "punishment."

My heart sank. It seemed that Zhan Yu wanted to bribe the guard to let me out, but the guard refused because he was afraid of Mr. Qin's punishment.

"It's useless," Lawyer Fang whispered behind me. "Old Qin has a high reputation in the Zhan family. Those guards dare not disobey his orders."

My heart sank to the bottom again. Am I really going to be trapped here, watching Zhan Yu being framed by them and watching the Zhan family fall into their hands?

At this moment, Mo Qinxin's sharp voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Hey, isn't this Young Master Zhan? What's going on? Are you here to visit your good wife? It's a pity that she can't take care of herself now. I'm afraid she has no time to pay attention to you."

My heart sank. Why would Mo Qinxin come? Could it be...

"Mo Qinxin, what on earth do you want to do?" Zhan Yu's voice was filled with anger. "I warn you, you'd better not hurt her, otherwise I won't let you go!"

"Haha, I'd like to see why you won't let me go." Mo Qinxin's voice was filled with sarcasm. "I advise you to save your energy. Now the entire Zhan family is under our control. You have no chance of turning things around."

"You..." Zhan Yu seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by Mo Qinxin.

"Don't waste your energy," Mo Qinxin said with a sneer, "I came here today just to make you give up. By the way, let me show you this..."

There was a sound of shuffling papers, followed by Mo Qinxin's smug voice: "Look, this is your father's will. It clearly states that all his property will be left to me. You and your wonderful wife won't get a single cent!"

"Impossible!" Zhan Yu's voice was filled with disbelief, "My father would never do that!"

"Haha, can't you tell for yourself whether it's true or not?" Mo's confidant's voice was filled with provocation. "Or do you simply not dare to believe that you would be betrayed by the person you trust the most?"

I couldn't bear it any longer, I flung open the door, glared at Mo Qinxin who was standing at the door, and said with gritted teeth: "You..." I flung open the door, glared at Mo Qinxin who was standing at the door, and roared with gritted teeth: "Shut up! Do you have the right to say anything about my husband's father?"

I pretended to be irritated and rushed towards Mo Qinxin desperately, wanting to tear her hateful face apart.

"What are you doing!" Mo Qinxin was startled by my sudden action and stepped back repeatedly. The "will" in his hand was blown by the wind and made a rustling sound.

Of course, I wouldn't really hurt her. My target was the antique key ring she wore around her waist, which looked quite valuable. I pretended to be losing my mind, scratching and clawing at her while quietly approaching her.

"You're rebelling!" Mo Qinxin screamed in frustration, dodging my attacks and reaching out to push me away.

At that moment, my hand touched the key, and my fingertips felt a cool metal touch. I was delighted, and taking advantage of Mo Qinxin's unpreparedness, I ripped off one of the keys with lightning speed, then quickly stepped back, avoiding Mo Qinxin's counterattack.

"You, you crazy woman!" Mo Qinxin was so angry that her face turned blue and she pointed at me and cursed.

I proudly raised the key in my hand and sneered, "Crazy woman? At least it's better than a vicious woman like you!"

I could see that this key seemed very important to Mo Qinxin. When she looked at the key in my hand, a trace of panic and guilt flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

"Hmph, a broken key is worth your happiness?" Mo Qinxin said calmly, "I advise you to save your energy. Even if you get the key, you can't open this door!"

I ignored her provocation and instead carefully examined the key in my hand. It looked ancient, with carvings on it that I couldn't understand. It felt cold to the touch and seemed to have a strange aura.

"This key looks very unusual." Lawyer Fang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, his eyes flashing with excitement.

I quickly handed him the key and asked, "Lawyer Fang, do you recognize this key?"

Lawyer Fang took the key, looked at it carefully, then walked to the wall of the room and felt around carefully.

"Look!" Lawyer Fang suddenly pointed at a small hole in the wall and said, "This hole is shaped just like this key!"

I quickly leaned over to take a look, and sure enough, there was a small, inconspicuous hole in the wall that would be easily overlooked if you didn't look closely. The key in my hand indeed matched the shape of the hole perfectly.

Could it be that this key is the key to opening this place?

Just as we were about to try to open the small hole with the key, we suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by a guard's voice: "Madam Zhan, Butler Mo asks you to go to the hall immediately. The family inheritance distribution meeting will be held in advance!"

My heart sank suddenly, and a bad premonition came over me. It seemed that we were about to fall into an even greater crisis...

"The family inheritance distribution meeting is going to be held in advance?" My heart sank suddenly, as if it was tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I could hardly breathe.

Before we could react, the guard urged, "Madam Zhan, please come in! Steward Mo said, if you don't cooperate, don't blame us for being rude!"

I gripped the cold key tightly, my knuckles turning white, trying to control the emotions surging within me. It seemed like Mo's trusted advisors were already eager to outwit us and completely crush us.

"What should we do?" Lawyer Fang frowned and asked in a low voice, "It looks like we're running out of time."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. At this point, panicking would only make the situation worse.

"Lawyer Fang, check this room first to see if there are any other exits." I whispered, "I'll go and buy time, as long as I can!"

Lawyer Fang nodded and immediately began to carefully check every corner of the room, hoping to find a glimmer of hope for escape.

I clutched the key tightly in my hand, turned around, and followed the guard out of the room.

The atmosphere in the hall was suffocating.

Mo Qinxin was dressed in black and sat in the main seat with a stern expression. He held the so-called "will" in his hand, with a sinister smile on his lips.

My father-in-law, Zhan Yu's father, had long been stripped of his power by her using various means. At this moment, he was sitting there like a puppet, with empty eyes and no life.

My mother-in-law, the once elegant and noble woman, now looked like a defeated hen, slumped on the sofa, her eyes dull, and she kept muttering to herself, but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

My heart felt like it was being cut by a knife and the pain was unbearable.

"Hey, isn't this our Zhan family's eldest young lady?" Mo Qinxin saw me and said sarcastically, "Why, you are willing to come out today?"

I looked at her coldly without saying a word, walked straight to my father-in-law and helped him sit down.

"Dad, are you okay?" I asked in a low voice.

A glimmer of light flashed in my father-in-law's cloudy eyes, and his lips moved slightly, but he said nothing.

"Hmph, don't waste your energy!" Mo Qinxin sneered, "He's already a useless man, he can't do anything!"

I raised my head abruptly, glared at Mo Qinxin, and said word by word: "Mo Qinxin, what on earth do you want to do?!"

"What do I want to do?" Mo Qinxin suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter was sharp and piercing, "Of course I want to get what I deserve!"

As she spoke, she raised the "will" in her hand and announced loudly: "According to the master's will, from today on, all the property of the Zhan family will be inherited by me!"

"What?!" I looked at her in disbelief. "This is impossible! This will must be fake!"

Mo Xinxin sneered complacently: "Fake? What evidence do you have to prove it's fake?"

"I..." I was speechless for a moment. Indeed, I had no evidence.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense!" Mo Qinxin waved his hand impatiently, "Come here, kick them out!"

As soon as the words fell, several bodyguards in black came towards us aggressively...