Night Fire Lingering

"Why is Qiao Weiwei here too? And with your mother-in-law?" Wen Yan saw a young woman talking to a middle-aged woman who was adorned with jewels and had an elegant demeanor.

The middle-aged woman was He Tingchuan's mother, Luo Beiqing's mother-in-law, Zhong Xue.

It's shocking and disgusting that Qiao Weiwei offered herself as a bed partner to Luo Beiqing and He Tingchuan at the beginning of their marriage, and then showed up at Luo Beiqing's birthday banquet.

“My mother-in-law invited him.” Luo Beiqing’s nonchalant tone carried a hint of contempt. “You know, when He Tingchuan married me, my mother-in-law didn’t agree. Now she can’t wait for someone to pull me down from the position of Mrs. He.”

"No, just Qiao Weiwei?" Wen Yan looked puzzled, unable to understand. "Your mother-in-law's standards are that low? Surely Young Master He isn't so desperate for a woman?"

Whether someone is picky about food or not, Luo Beiqing couldn't say for sure, after all, she didn't know He Tingchuan that well.

However, men all have their flaws, and who knows what Young Master He is thinking?

"Miss Luo, Miss Wen, long time no see!" Qiao Weiwei saw Wen Yan and Luo Beiqing and walked over from a distance, greeting them in a flamboyant manner.

She wore a red fishtail gown, her beauty was striking, and her chin was slightly raised, like a rooster ready for battle.

Zhong Xue subtly sized up Wen Yan, her warm smile unchanged, and said, "Miss Wen, Miss Qiao would like to play some cards, why don't you join her for a couple of rounds?"

Luo Beiqing's smile faded slightly. "Mom, Miss Wen is my most important guest today. Does Miss Qiao even deserve to be accompanied by her?"

She showed no mercy in her words, and her comment "You don't deserve it" thoroughly mocked both Zhong Xue and Qiao Weiwei.

Qiao Weiwei's smug expression froze. She was about to get angry, but before she could speak, Zhong Xue grabbed her hand and stopped her.

Zhong Xue wasn't angry at all, and chuckled, "Bei Qing, Miss Wen and Gu Yanci are divorced. Whether she's unworthy of him or not is another matter. Besides—"

Zhong Xue paused, then said meaningfully, "Bei Qing, you and Miss Wen are indeed good friends; you're in similar situations."

The subtext is that if Luo Beiqing divorces He Tingchuan, she is not worthy of being on the same level.

Luo Beiqing is an orphan who lost both her parents. What good is a pile of antiques and valuables? Without her family's support, who wouldn't want to trample on her?

"Madam He!" Wen Yan said with a smile, but there was no smile in her eyes. "You make it sound like you really like Miss Qiao. But when Miss Qiao offered herself to you, why didn't you say a good word for her?"

The words "self-recommendation" made Qiao Weiwei's face turn ugly instantly.

"Wen Yan, stop trying to sow discord!" Qiao Weiwei knew she should be currying favor with Zhong Xue right now.

"Mom, if you're not satisfied with me, then tell He Tingchuan to divorce me. What kind of behavior is this, disgusting others? Or are you standing up for Mingzhu?" Luo Beiqing looked at Zhong Xue with a calm expression. "You used to praise Mingzhu's intelligence everywhere. If I were you, I wouldn't dare to go out today, for fear of being laughed at!"

"Luo Beiqing! What kind of daughter-in-law are you! How dare you speak to your mother-in-law like that!" Zhong Xue could no longer hold back and angrily rebuked.

Luo Beiqing crossed her arms: "Didn't you say I'm ill-mannered? If I haven't been a good daughter-in-law, isn't that because you haven't taught me well?"

What does it mean to be filial to one's parents-in-law?

Luo Beiqing's parents never taught her this before they left!

She respects elders who are kind to her, and she responds sarcastically to elders who openly or indirectly mock her. Who's afraid of who?!

"Will He Tingchuan argue with you because you talked back to his mother?" Wen Yan asked Luo Beiqing in a low voice.

"Who cares about him?" Luo Beiqing said indifferently.

She didn't particularly like He Tingchuan; she only stayed together because he was the safe haven her mother had carefully chosen for her before her death, and she didn't want her mother to be uneasy in the afterlife.

Besides, Zhong Xue disagreed with He Tingchuan marrying her back then, but He Tingchuan insisted on marrying her anyway. If He Tingchuan blames her, wouldn't he be contradicting himself?

The birthday girl got into an argument with her mother-in-law, and the surrounding guests quickly noticed and looked over.

Wen Yan didn't want Luo Beiqing to be unhappy on his birthday, so she looked at Qiao Weiwei and said, "Want to play cards? Okay, how much?"

Qiao Weiwei thought Wen Yan had given in, and immediately became smug again: "I'll hit as many times as you want! But Miss Wen, in your current state... do you even have the money to play?"

Wen Yan raised her left hand, the lustrous purple jade bracelet sparkling in the sunlight: "At worst, I have this as a wager. Miss Qiao, what do you have?"

Qiao Weiwei's eyes lit up when she saw the beautiful purple jade bracelet.

This jade bracelet is so beautiful. If I could get it without spending a penny, I would make a fortune!

Qiao Weiwei's fingertips traced the diamond necklace around her neck: "This diamond necklace of mine was designed by a master craftsman. It's no worse than your jade bracelet. I bet this diamond necklace on you!"

Wen Yan nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, let's put it on the table."

Luo Beiqing stared at Qiao Weiwei as if she were an idiot the whole time.

Didn't you realize that Wen Yan deliberately offered the jade bracelet to make her act impulsively?

……

The second floor not far away.

Looking downstairs, He Tingchuan listened to the servant's report and asked with anticipation, "Guess what Mrs. Gu's bet is?"

Gu Yanci glanced at him.

"The purple jade bracelet on her left wrist," He Tingchuan chuckled. "Does it look familiar?"

Gu Yanci: "..."

Doesn't it look familiar? It was a gift from him!

He put it on her himself!

Many people remembered that Gu Yanci had recently bought a purple jade bracelet at an auction in Kyoto two months ago after Wen Yan sat down at the mahjong table. They later heard that the eight-figure purple jade bracelet had been given to Wen Yan.

Wen Yan is now using the gift Gu Yanci gave her as a wager?

Does she really have absolutely no attachment to this marriage anymore?

Aren't you afraid Gu Yanci will get angry?

Gu Yanci was indeed angry. Standing next to him, He Tingchuan felt the air pressure drop several degrees.

He Tingchuan leaned on the railing with one hand, a lit cigar between his fingers, and said, not afraid of stirring up trouble, "Does Young Master Gu usually mistreat Mrs. Gu? She doesn't even have any pocket money and has to use jewelry as a wager."

Gu Yanci: "Young Master He has time to make sarcastic remarks, but no time to mediate conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?"

He Tingchuan: "..."

Gu Yanci knew that Wen Yan wasn't short of money; rather, she simply didn't care about the gifts he gave her!

bet?

Ah!

He wanted to see who dared to take the jade bracelet he had given her off Wen Yan's wrist today—not even Wen Yan herself!

……

The mahjong game was for four people. Besides Wen Yan and Qiao Weiwei, the other two people at the table were invited by Zhong Xue.

Wen Yan clearly sensed that the other two were deliberately giving Qiao Weiwei cards, and the three of them were ganging up on her.

In the first round, Qiao Weiwei had the most points.

Qiao Weiwei's smile couldn't hide her smugness.

Who would have thought that from the second round onwards, Wen Yan would be far ahead – a pure hand of seven pairs, a golden hook with double hooks, a perfect hand!