"This..." Fang Xun found himself speechless for a moment, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his face pale.
"Tomorrow morning, gather the relevant personnel for a meeting." Zhan Mohan threw the document directly at Fang Xun.
Fang Xun immediately picked it up from the ground, "Yes, I'll go at once."
In Wen Yulan's room, it was also in disarray.
She raised her hand, almost striking Zhan Yichen's face, her delicate features contorted with rage.
"Zhan Yichen, are you crazy? Are you addicted to betraying your mother? What was that situation just now, you actually exposed my investigation of Han behind his back."
Zhan Yichen stood before Wen Yulan with neither subservience nor arrogance.
"Mom, investigating doesn't mean having ulterior motives. It can also stem from concern for big brother. Why are you so guilty, unless you truly have other intentions?"
"Shut up! Don't talk nonsense. I'm doing all this for you. You're still just a director in the company, on equal footing with that outsider Feng Shiyi. Are you content with that?"
Wen Yulan was almost driven mad by her foolish son. For so many years, she didn't know what spell Zhan Mohan had cast on him; no matter what, he always sided with Zhan Mohan.
Didn't he know that in these wealthy households, there was no such thing as brotherly affection? Zhan Mohan's kindness to him was merely to prevent Yichen from competing for the CEO position later.
And this foolish boy actually believed in brotherhood, truly foolish!
If it weren't for Zhan Lin being too young now, she wouldn't have pinned all her hopes on him.
Zhan Yichen still appeared indifferent, "Mom, Big Brother is capable, and he's a newcomer favored by industry seniors. If he takes this position, it will make the Zhan family better and better. Why can't he? You can just live your life as a wealthy wife, going out shopping and having tea with your girlfriends, can't you?"
He just couldn't understand; why couldn't they coexist peacefully? Must they create such chaos every day to be satisfied.
Wen Yulan truly felt a sense of disappointment in him, "Are you an idiot? Forget it, I can't be bothered to talk to you."
"If you don't want to talk, then don't. Also, since Wei Yumeng's first child is Big Brother's, you should target her less in the future."
Wen Yulan picked up a pillow and threw it at Zhan Yichen.
"Do you think I run a charity? If that Wei Yumeng becomes of one mind with your big brother in the future, you'll just be kicked out."
Zhan Yichen didn't want to deal with Wen Yulan anymore. He opened the door and left.
Wen Yulan stomped her feet in anger and slumped onto the bed.
"How could I have given birth to such an unpromising son? Look at Han, you're not even one-tenth of him."
Sister Li brought Wen Yulan a cup of water.
"Madam, please calm down. Young Master Er is inexperienced in the struggles of wealthy families, so he naturally doesn't understand how treacherous the inner court is. He will understand your intentions later."
"But now, Zhan Mohan is already wary of us, and it will be difficult for us to make another move. We finally had a stroke of bad luck that didn't require our intervention, who knew he was so lucky and survived."
Wen Yulan took the cup and gulped down the water, her face ashen.
Sister Li comforted her, "Madam, don't worry. Although we can't do anything to the Eldest Young Master, we can still do something about Wei Yumeng."
"What's the point of dealing with Wei Yumeng? Didn't you see Han's cold attitude towards her? I don't know what's wrong with Wei Yumeng. Is it that Han isn't good-looking enough, or doesn't meet her expectations, that she still hasn't fallen for Han?"
She had planned everything meticulously. Either they would be at loggerheads, and she would have one less enemy, or they would fall deeply in love, and Wei Yumeng would become his weakness.
But now, their relationship was neither good nor bad, and she didn't even have an opportunity to act.
Sister Li found it strange when she heard this, as if she were blaming her daughter-in-law for disliking her own son.
"Madam, you can't say that. There's still plenty of time, and we don't need to rush. However, I do have an idea. Since we want Wei Yumeng to become the Eldest Young Master's weakness, we need to first test Wei Yumeng's status in the Eldest Young Master's heart. What if she's hiding it well and we haven't noticed?"
Sister Li's words finally brought clarity.
Wen Yulan's eyes lit up, "You're right, Han is a person who hides things well, and it's not easy to see his emotions, let alone his feelings. Let's find an opportunity and test it."
"Then I'll go down and make arrangements."
"Go ahead."
After dinner, Wei Yumeng took a bath and lay in bed. Zhan Mohan had gone to the study in the afternoon and still hadn't returned. He was probably busy. After all, he didn't have to pretend to be paralyzed anymore, so it was much more convenient to do things.
She hoped he wouldn't come back to the room, to avoid awkwardness if they met.
At this moment, Xin Ran's mother called.
She felt flustered whenever she saw Xin Ran's parents, and more so, she felt guilty. Her son was still imprisoned; how could they not be anxious?
Hesitating, she still chose to answer, her tone polite as always.
"Auntie."
"Have you spoken to Mr. Zhan? Has he agreed on when he'll let Xin Ran out?"
"This... Auntie, please don't worry yet. I still need to speak with Mr. Zhan again."
"It's not going smoothly, is it? If you really don't want to, I can go to the Zhan family myself to beg him. As long as he can release my son, I'll do anything."
Xin Ran's mother began to sob on the other end, her voice making Wei Yumeng feel very distressed as well.
"Auntie, please don't worry. I will speak to Mr. Zhan again."
She was afraid that if Xin Ran's mother came directly, the servants and the Zhan family members would know that she had once wanted to leave.
Then she would truly be facing family punishment.
"You must hurry. Xin Ran has never suffered inside. He's been in there for so long, I don't know if he can endure it."
"I know." Wei Yumeng's emotions were also affected.
After hanging up the phone, she irritably ran a hand through her hair, wondering how she could make Zhan Mohan agree to release Xin Ran.
After much thought, she went to the study. After hesitating repeatedly, she pushed the door open and entered. Fang Xun saw her.
"Does Madam need something from Mr. Zhan? I'll go out first."
"No need. I do have something to discuss with him. He probably can guess."
He was holding documents. Upon hearing this, he raised his eyes, exuding a cold and noble aura, like a shadow hidden in the night.
"You want to plead for Xin Ran?"
"You promised me before. Now is the time for you to fulfill your promise."
Zhan Mohan chuckled, his eyes flashing with sharpness in his peripheral vision.
"You seem to be mistaken. I did say I would let Xin Ran out, but that was on the premise that you would offer yourself. Clearly, you didn't fulfill your promise that night."
"But if I didn't know your true identity, or if you weren't him, as a husband, would you want me, your wife, to give you a cuckold?"
Zhan Mohan's gaze deepened, his focus fixed on her. The study light reflected down, falling on her face, her skin smooth and fair, her nose aquiline, her lips red and alluring.
He had underestimated her. This small mouth was becoming more and more eloquent, especially when it came to Xin Ran's matter.
"That's not an excuse."
A single sentence shattered all her hopes. She quickly scanned the text.
Wei Yumeng's long lashes fluttered slightly, her narrow eyes cast down, her hands clenched tightly, her voice trembling.
"Then what exactly do you want!"
He lowered his head, glancing at a college photo of Xin Ran and Wei Yumeng on the desk. His face was as if covered in ice, and his eyes held a cold, emotionless glint.
"It's not what I want, but what can you give me?"
Wei Yumeng took a deep breath, "I can stay. I'll never think of divorce again. And about the child my grandfather Zhan mentioned, I... I can agree to it."
Zhan Mohan was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing across his deep, dark eyebrows.
For that man, she was willing to give up her freedom and her pride, and stay willingly in the Zhan family.
For him, was this a good thing, or simply a humiliation?
Fang Xun stood motionlessly nearby. The atmosphere in the study was as cold as ice, and the two of them were like drawn swords.
He noticed that even though Wei Yumeng had compromised, Mr. Zhan's expression remained unpleasant, even unreadable.
It was because she wasn't doing it willingly but was forced to agree because of Xin Ran. Mr. Zhan hated that the most.
This was going to be bad...