A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

A table full of dishes, along with heated Shaoxing wine, exuded an enticing aroma of food and wine, but the atmosphere was strangely eerie.

After the three of them sat down, no one spoke.

After a moment, Lan Changming cleared his throat: "Young Madam, my wife wants to thank you. Thank you for escorting her back to the manor that day."

Qin Yan remained expressionless.

Her face was so pale, like a thin layer of frost under the moonlight, cold and aloof, keeping everyone at arm's length.

Her words were equally cold: "I've already said that I only helped your adjutant because he was using the governor's name. Both our families serve the governor, and we're only doing this out of respect for him."

The words were very unpleasant.

He's not a likable person, and he's not friendly.

But when Madam Lan looked at her, a certain part of her heart inexplicably softened.

Even though she's cold and aloof, she's not off-putting.

During their several meetings, only when Lan Changming had just been beaten by Cheng Tianxun and Madam Lan was furious, Qin Yan would avoid Madam Lan whenever she saw her from afar, which made Madam Lan a little annoyed.

"Even so, I am still grateful for your kindness, and I must thank you, Madam Lan," said Madam Du Jia.

Qin Yan: "No need to be so polite."

"Your scarf is still at my house, but I accidentally spilled a cup of coffee on it, and it's so dirty I can't wash it off, so I can't return it to you," Du Jia said.

She really didn't want to pay it back.

She really liked that scarf.

From childhood to adulthood, she lived a life of luxury. Her parents only had her as their child, and they spoiled and indulged her to the extreme. Du Jia lacked nothing.

She didn't particularly like anything.

She was particularly fond of that scarf. She had looked for it at the foreign trading company, but they couldn't find the same one.

"No need to return it. What I'm missing isn't a scarf," Qin Yan said.

Before Du Jia could say anything more, he noticed that Lan Changming beside him had a sorrowful expression on his face and was almost in tears.

His eyes welled up with tears.

Seeing Du Jia looking over, he quickly turned his head to cover himself and coughed lightly: "It's just a small matter. It's not appropriate to bother the young mistress repeatedly."

Du Jia nodded.

She and Qin Yan exchanged several more words.

Qin Yan remained indifferent throughout. Apart from the statement, "What I lack is not a scarf," she never said anything ambiguous.

"You and the young mistress can discuss serious matters. I'll head back now," Du Jia said.

He was about to stand up when he said that.

Lan Changming instead pressed down on her shoulder: "Actually, it's a family matter."

He paused for a moment before saying, "Commander Tao Heng was arrested for smuggling with a former politician in Tianjin."

Mu He, however, went to the Cheng family's old residence to sow discord, instructing the eldest young mistress, Tao, to cause trouble and blame the second young marshal and his wife.

Du Jia's expression changed repeatedly.

She suppressed her anger and said to Qin Yan, "I didn't know about this. I didn't raise my child well."

She apologized to Qin Yan.

"I will discipline her," Du Jia assured her.

Qin Yan: "I have no connection with her or the Lan family. I've told Chief of Staff Lan about this more than once. Your family should discuss this amongst yourselves, instead of everyone having their own ideas."

Du Jia didn't understand what he meant.

But she was embarrassed.

She couldn't sit still any longer, so she got up and went back to the next private room.

She didn't even eat; instead, she called Lan Xiu and Su Yuzhao, the couple, and went home together.

Lanxiu tried to speak to her several times, but she remained silent.

Du Jia remained silent for a long time.

Half an hour later, she called her trusted head steward: "Zhong Rong, go and investigate Cheng Tianxun's young mistress for me. Send people to inquire in the army about her relationship with Lan Changming."

Zhong Rong remained silent on the phone.

"What's wrong?"

"Madam, have you heard something?" Zhong Rong asked her.

Mrs. Lan's heart skipped a beat: "You knew?"

"There are some rumors circulating outside, but we dare not tell you, for fear of upsetting you. Cheng Tianxun's young mistress is the master's illegitimate daughter," Zhong Rong said.

Mrs. Lan remained silent for a long time before hanging up the phone.

She pieced together what Qin Yan had just said and understood the reason for his attitude.

She went upstairs, took out the scarf, and gently hugged it to her chest.

"Is Muhe going against her to get revenge for me?"

She doesn't need it.

She was even annoyed, feeling that Lan Muhe was meddling in her affairs.

Her affection for her husband's illegitimate daughter was unreasonable and domineering, even surpassing that for her own daughter.

The moment she heard the news, her first thought was, "She really is connected to me."

Even though the relationship is so heartbreaking.

The scarf in Mrs. Lan's arms seemed to burn her, and she frantically placed it on the bed, taking a few steps back and covering her face.

After tidying up for a while, she went downstairs.

Lan Xiu and Su Yuzhao have arrived.

"I need to see a doctor," Mrs. Lan said. "Maybe I need to have an exorcism performed."

She must be possessed by an evil spirit, she must have gone mad.

Behind the illegitimate daughter is a mother; she is evidence of Lan Changming's infidelity towards Du Jia. She should feel anger, sadness, and questioning of their past relationship.

but no.

She simply hated Lan Muhe for her underhanded methods.

Du Jia felt that he was far too ill, which was incomprehensible.

"Mom..." Lanxiu said worriedly.

"It's alright, you can go back now. Tell Muhe to come to me," Madam Lan said.

Lan Muhe rushed over, and Madam Lan questioned her about why she went to the Cheng family's old residence to sow discord.

"You're getting bolder and bolder, actually daring to meddle in the warlord's family affairs," Madam Lan said.

Lan Muhe: "Mom, what evidence do you have for this? You believe others who slander me. You only care about your sons, you don't care about me at all."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

"I was raised by my grandmother since I was a child, you have no right to yell at me," Lan Muhe said. "You only love your son and your thinking is outdated and conservative, that's your business, I don't ask anything of you."

"You've always been like this!" Madam Lan said coldly. "When others say one thing, you change the subject. You never face your own problems, but instead you accuse me of something big."

"You all think there's something wrong with me, how am I supposed to face this? Do you want me to admit to the slander others have made against me?" Lan Muhe asked.

Then he asked, "Where's the evidence?"

"You want evidence? Once I get the evidence, this matter will blow up and reach the warlord. Do you want the Lan family to be buried with you?" Madam Lan asked.

Lan Muhe: "You're just trying to scare me. If you hate me so much, why did you give birth to me in the first place?"

"Why did I give birth to you?" Madam Lan's anger and disgust had almost reached their peak, on the verge of exploding.

"Ask yourself that question. You owe me a debt you can never repay in this lifetime. Tell me honestly, do you truly love me?" Lan Muhe asked.

Du Jia's anger immediately dissipated by more than half.

Lan Muhe is right, she doesn't love this daughter, and she can't find a reason.

She remained silent.

"You need to apologize to Mrs. Cheng," she said after a long pause.

Lan Muhe: "I won't admit to things I didn't do. Mom, if you think I'm easy to bully, go ahead and try. I'm not afraid of you."

"Am I your enemy?" Madam Lan asked.

The mother and daughter started arguing.

They often argued.

After each argument, Madam Lan would use precious jewels to appease Lan Muhe: complete sets of gemstone jewelry, jade, kingfisher feathers, and so on.

There are even priceless pigeon blood rubies.

Madam Lan has no shortage of good things; some of these treasures are things even the warlord's wife may not have seen before.

Lan Muhe is not afraid of noise.

After arguing, she stormed out of the house.

Mrs. Lan suspected that her dislike for her stemmed from the hurtful things she said during their repeated arguments.

Du Jia didn't try to coax her this time.

She simply told Lan Changming about her argument with Lan Muhe.

"You must go and warn her to apologize!" Du Jia said coldly.

She finally became angry.

To Lan Changming, to Lan Muhe.