She didn't know how to explain to Zhan Mohan. If she told him the truth, he might not believe her and would instead blame all the fault on her.
After much deliberation, she still didn't mention the stranger.
Her silence made Zhan Mohan's expression grow even darker. He suddenly snapped the pen in his hand.
"Wei Yumeng, how dare you date other men behind my back? Do you think I'm already dead!"
"I didn't."
"Then where did the mark on your neck come from? Don't tell me you did it yourself."
Wei Yumeng opened her mouth to explain, but found herself at a loss for words. She had never understood what it meant to suffer in silence with no way to express it, until now.
Zhan Yichen, standing nearby, spoke up for Zhan Mohan, "Not only did you harm Zhan Lin and my brother, but you're also causing trouble right under our noses. What do you take our Zhan family for?"
The commotion in the room had alerted Grandpa Zhan.
"What's all the noise about?"
Upon seeing Grandpa Zhan, Zhan Yichen walked over. "Grandpa, this woman is seeing another man behind my brother's back. She even has marks on her neck left by that man!"
Grandpa Zhan's cloudy yet sharp eyes fixed on Wei Yumeng's neck.
"What is going on?"
She couldn't explain. Lowering her head, she knew that no one in the entire Zhan family would believe her. Until she found out who that man was, she couldn't alert him. Otherwise, she would only harm herself.
Zhan Mohan didn't even want to look at Wei Yumeng at this moment. He lowered his gaze, his eyes deep and turbulent with emotion.
"Grandpa, we can't keep such a woman. She'll eventually ruin the Zhan family's reputation."
Hearing this, it seemed... he was preparing to go back on his word.
Grandpa Zhan did not give a clear answer.
Zhan Yichen's dislike for Wei Yumeng grew. Ever since she entered the family, she had caused so much trouble, and who knew what would happen in the future.
"Grandpa, marriage can be annulled. This kind of woman is not worthy of my brother. She's already cuckolding my brother before anything significant has even happened."
"Enough. I have my own plans. The fortune teller said that a daughter of the Wei family would help your brother stand up again. Anyway, she's just a pawn."
The Zhan family didn't care, but this matter couldn't just be dropped. They had to teach her a lesson and make her remember.
Even though Wei Yumeng knew she was being used, marrying into the family to atone for others, hearing them say it still made her feel instinctively uncomfortable. Who wanted to be treated as a pawn?
She suddenly looked up at Zhan Yichen. Her eyes were exceptionally bright, almost making Zhan Yichen afraid to meet her gaze.
"Since Young Master Er claims I've been intimate with another man, then produce the evidence. If you can find that man within the Zhan family, I will accept any punishment."
Zhan Yichen was surprised that Wei Yumeng dared to be so arrogant. He was about to retort but found himself at a loss for words. They hadn't failed to send people to search, but they hadn't found any clues.
Zhan Mohan ignored their argument and looked at Grandpa Zhan with his deep, piercing eyes. "What are your plans, Grandpa?"
"Confine her to the attic first. No one is allowed to let her out without my order."
The man remained silent, so Zhan Yichen had nothing more to say. For such a ruthless woman, being locked up for a few days was too lenient.
Grandpa Zhan instructed the servants. "Take her away."
Soon, two servants stepped forward and took Wei Yumeng by the arms, one on each side.
Wei Yumeng struggled. "You have no evidence, why are you imprisoning me without reason?"
"Then can you explain how the mark on your neck got there?"
Grandpa Zhan, from her subtle expression, knew what she was thinking. He beckoned to the servants.
"Since you can't explain, it proves you've indeed done something unfaithful to Ahan."
Wei Yumeng's heart turned to ashes. She was led into the small dark room in the attic by the servants. The door slammed shut with a bang. Hearing the lock click, despair washed over her.
She slumped onto the floor. After despair came anger. It was all that damned man's fault. If not for him, why would she be wrongly accused like this!
Her life in the Zhan family was already precarious, and now the appearance of that strange man had made her situation even worse.
She didn't know how long she had been inside. There was no water, no food. By the second night, she felt like she was dying.
The craving for food was magnified by hunger. Her vision blurred, and the stomachache worsened. She collapsed on the floor, feeling utterly drained of strength.
After an unknown amount of time, so long that she felt she might die there, she suddenly heard a sound one night and saw an unfamiliar figure. The scent, however, was all too familiar.
Her heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, the man picked her up from the floor and placed her on his lap. He twisted open a bottle and brought it to her lips. Wei Yumeng resisted, refusing to open her mouth.
He became annoyed, his voice tinged with gritted teeth.
"If you don't drink, prepare to die of thirst here."
She used all her strength but stubbornly refused to yield.
"Even if I die of thirst, I won't drink your water."
If it weren't for him, why would she be suffering like this? And now he came with feigned concern.
"Still quite stubborn. If they asked you, you should have just admitted it generously."
The man curved his lips in a devilish smile, his eyes full of amusement.
"I admit it, and if I admit it, I won't just be locked up here. The Zhan family has many ways to deal with me. You all want to see me dead, but I won't let you have your way."
Wei Yumeng struggled, trying to get up from him.
"Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Before you die, you might want to think about your mother in the hospital."
The man had lost all patience.
His words struck her like a bolt of lightning, shattering her head. The purpose of her marrying into the Zhan family was to protect her mother. If she died here, how much hardship would her mother face in the future?
Thinking of this, she decided to endure for now. One day, she would make this man pay.
Seeing her finally open her mouth, the man's gaze softened considerably.
"Many things are beyond your control. No matter how bad things get, you must first protect your own life. Even if you want to know my identity, you have to be alive to find out."
Wei Yumeng didn't want to engage with him. In the Zhan family, weren't they all hypocrites, putting on a show in front of others while acting differently behind their backs?
The water trickled down her throat, feeling as refreshing as spring rain on parched land. Only then did she feel slightly better.
As her strength gradually returned, she asked the man.
"Why do you have the key to the attic?"
"That's not a question you should concern yourself with. I told you long ago that you can't stay in the Zhan family. There's only one path before you: yield to me."
Wei Yumeng let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I have a child in my belly whose father is unknown. Don't you mind?"