Night Fire Lingering

"Dad, does this string of jade beads look familiar?"

Wen Yan used her phone to find the auction information for the jade bead necklace from the Kyoto Auction House and showed it to Wen Yonghai.

"This...this isn't Nan Yun's?" Wen Yonghai and Nan Yun had been married for many years, so he naturally recognized Nan Yun's dowry.

"Could there be a thief in the house?" Wan Ying asked preemptively.

All the servants turned pale and began to protest, one after another, that it wasn't them.

Wen Yan looked puzzled: "Only you, Aunt Wan, have the key to the collection room. The servants can't steal it."

"Yan Yan, are you implying that I took your mother's things? I've worked so hard for this family all these years, and even though you're not my biological daughter, I don't think I've ever mistreated you. How can you make such a malicious assumption about me?" Wan Ying burst into tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Wen Yonghai was annoyed by his childhood sweetheart wife's crying, and when he saw Wen Yan, who had stirred up the trouble, he was furious.

"Snapped!"

A slap landed unexpectedly on Wen Yan's face.

"Wen Yan, haven't you had enough of being in the mental hospital? You come back and immediately start causing chaos in the family!" Wen Yonghai roared. "Don't you understand that harmony in the family brings prosperity?"

Her face stung, and Wen Yan laughed self-deprecatingly.

In Wen Yonghai's heart, this daughter of hers was the least important. It would be her sin not to sacrifice herself for the sake of "family harmony and prosperity"!

“Yan Yan, all the imperial green jadeite in the world looks pretty much the same. You’ve probably mistaken someone.” Wen Muzhi pulled Wen Yan’s hand and acted as a peacemaker. “Don’t let your concern cloud your judgment and make baseless accusations.”

Wen Yan felt disgusted, shook off her hand, and, suppressing her own disgust, said to Wen Yonghai, "Dad, if you were to use or give away my mother's belongings, I think that would be perfectly reasonable. But Aunt Wan has been using them without your permission. Now she's touching my mother's belongings; who knows what she might do in the future? Don't you think so?"

Wen Yan's words struck a chord with Wen Yonghai's selfish nature—

Yes, Nan Yun's belongings are quite valuable. What did Wan Ying do with them? Why didn't she tell him? Did she not trust him? Or were they used for something she wanted to hide? Has this family unknowingly slipped out of his control?

Wen Yonghai glanced menacingly at his wife, who was crying to him, and immediately ordered the servants to take inventory of the collection room.

Two hours later, the inventory was completed.

Aside from the jade beaded string, everything else was there. However, Wen Yan discovered that several items were fakes, including a priceless golden threadfin bream maw!

"Snapped!"

Another slap landed squarely, this time on Wan Ying's face.

Having lived most of her life, this was the first time Wan Ying had ever been slapped, especially in front of her children. Her eyes widened in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes as she cried out, "Husband, I...I..."

Wen Yan watched quietly, determined to make Wen Yonghai and Wan Ying fight like dogs!

The whole farce was interrupted by the doorbell.

A maid rushed over: "Sir, the second son-in-law is here!"

Gu Yanci?

Why did he come suddenly?

Wen Yan looked in surprise toward the door—

The man had handsome features and an outstanding demeanor. He was dressed in a very formal suit and shirt, looking as dashing as if he had just come from a meeting.

"Yanci, what brings you here?" Wen Yonghai greeted him with a smile, trying to please his son-in-law.

Gu Yanci didn't answer. His gaze swept over Wen Yan, and he frowned when he saw the five-finger mark on her face.

Wen Yan stubbornly turned her face to the other side, not wanting the man to see her swollen left cheek.

"Ci-Ci-ge, why are you here?" Wen Muzhi cried so hard he could barely breathe, as if he had suffered a great injustice, yet he tried to appear strong.

"It's quite lively," Gu Yanci said ambiguously.

Wen Yonghai smiled somewhat awkwardly: "There was a little conflict at home, I'm sorry to have made you laugh, my dear son-in-law!"

Wen Muzhi pursed his lips, seemingly unwilling to escalate the situation, but still spoke up: "There was a problem with Aunt Nanyun's belongings, and Yan Yan came to demand an explanation. Mingming and Junming coming home should be a happy occasion, but now... sigh!"

Wan Ying also cried out, "Honey, I really didn't know anything about those pieces of jewelry that Yan Yan said were fake! I didn't have any ulterior motives! I can't control the keys anymore, so I might as well give them back to you! Being a stepmother is so hard!"

Wen Yan was about to retort when she heard Gu Yanci say lightly, "Is that so? It doesn't sound like a big deal."

The words stuck in her throat. Wen Yan looked at Gu Yanci in disbelief, her gaze and heart growing colder with each passing moment.

"Yes, yes, it's nothing serious!" Wen Yonghai immediately said with a smile, "Let's drop this matter and no one should mention it again!"

If upsetting Gu Yanci affects the company's business, that would be a real loss!

Wen Yan glanced at Wen Muzhi, who happened to be looking at her as well. The grievance in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by the condescending look of a victor looking down on a loser.

It's as if it's saying: Look at what you've done, what's the result?

"Ha!" Wen Yan's cold laugh seemed particularly abrupt.

So Gu Yanci was the savior Wen Muzhi invited!

"What are you laughing at?" Gu Yanci asked, turning his head to look at her.

Wen Yan looked at him, her smile seemingly cold, yet the five-finger mark on her face was particularly glaring.

"I'm laughing at how timely you appeared. With your arrival, the matter of my mother's belongings can be hastily concluded. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were someone else's husband!"

They laughed at her for her elaborate schemes, but they couldn't outmaneuver Wen Muzhi's twisted truth!