Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Her Place in His Heart
In front of Zhan Hanjue, Ningwan naturally didn’t hide anything from him.
After sitting down, she said in a low voice, "After the banquet, I need to stay and talk to Lady Leng."
"Because of Wu Taotao?"
Ningwan shook her head, "Not entirely, there are some other reasons."
The man furrowed his brow.
However, he said nothing and continued to serve her food.
The others at the table were stunned!
Rumor has it that Zhan Hanjue is especially cold and ruthless towards women, yet here he was with such a gentle side, serving food to a woman?
This meal was eaten in trembling fear.
As soon as it ended, everyone hurriedly left.
Who knows if discovering Zhan Hanjue’s secret would result in being silenced?
"You’re not leaving?"
After everyone left, Ningwan saw the man still sitting at the table and raised an eyebrow, asking.
The man said, "You’re still here, how could I leave?"
"What, are you afraid she’ll bully me?" Ningwan asked with a smile.
The man remained silent.
Ningwan smirked, "Don’t worry, I’m not so easily bullied."
At this moment, Yazi walked over to Ningwan and said, "Miss Ye, our Lady requests your presence."
Ningwan stood up.
Zhan Hanjue also wanted to follow along.
Yazi said, "Mr. Zhan, please stay here. Lady Leng said only Miss Ye is invited over."
The man furrowed his brow.
Ningwan quickly reassured him, "I’ll be back soon."
The man could only nod, "I’ll wait for you here."
Yazi smiled again and said, "Mr. Zhan, rest assured. Lady Leng won’t do anything to Miss Ye."
With that, she led Ningwan away.
Zhang Meimei had already been sent away, and only Lady Leng was left in the side hall.
Seeing her enter, Lady Leng’s gaze swept over her.
Ningwan walked over and sat down in front of Lady Leng.
"Hanjue left?" Lady Leng asked.
Ningwan said, "He didn’t leave, he’s waiting for me outside."
"Hmph, he doesn’t care at all about his grandmother’s feelings." Lady Leng sneered.
"Will you go complain?" Ningwan asked.
Lady Leng said, "Of course not. The relationship between me and Old Mrs. Zhan, I presume you know it. She’s not my biological mother, you two had better keep entangling, so one day when she finds out, it’ll be great if she dies out of anger."
"Since that’s the case, why did you team up with the Ye Family back then to expose my affair?" Ningwan asked.
Lady Leng said, "Naturally to anger Old Mrs. Zhan, only pity it didn’t infuriate her to death."
Ningwan shook her head, "If it were merely to anger Old Mrs. Zhan, you could have exposed it a little later. For example, after I’ve had a child with the Zhan Family. At that time, Old Mrs. Zhan couldn’t drive me away, she’d have to see me daily and suffer internally, that would be her most brutal torment. But you chose such timing to expose it, aside from the Ye Family’s reasons, I bet you have your own plans too."
Lady Leng coldly asked, "What do you think I have planned?"
"To investigate Zhan Changwen’s cause of death."
Lady Leng froze, then scoffed, "I don’t understand what you’re saying."
"Really? You don’t understand? The people I sent to investigate just happened to find that people from the Leng Family are also looking into it. And it’s not a year or two, it’s been decades. Yet nothing has been discovered, right? You need a new chance or rather, need someone to help you investigate. That person is me because you know, Zhan Hanjue cares about me, and if I investigate this matter, he might not be able to prevent me."
Lady Leng closed her eyes, after a good while she sneered, "You are indeed a clever woman, I’ve always been thinking about when you’d come to find me. Though, you’ve made me wait a bit too long. I thought right after things surfaced, you’d come looking for me."
Her plan was to have Old Mrs. Zhan despise Ningwan.
Ningwan wanting to be with Zhan Hanjue would want to find out the truth back then to give Old Mrs. Zhan an explanation.
That way, Old Mrs. Zhan might accept her again.
Unexpectedly, Ningwan disappeared.
Even Zhan Hanjue couldn’t find her.
So when Zhan Hanjue purposely stirred scandal with a female celebrity, she guessed his plan.
Then she proactively proposed to the Zhan Family, having Leng Linglong and Zhan Hanjue get engaged.
Sure enough, Old Mrs. Zhan didn’t refuse, and Zhan Hanjue didn’t refuse either.
Two birds with one stone.
It could unite the Leng Family and the Zhan Family, perhaps even force Ningwan out.
Finally, Ningwan was forced out.
Upon learning that Ningwan’s people indeed went investigating, she revealed a little to let Ningwan know she was also investigating.
Sure enough, Ningwan came looking for her.
Ningwan said, "Since you deliberately led me to find you, kindly share your plan in detail."
Lady Leng with a poker face said, "I suspect my brother’s death is related to He Qingping."
"He Qingping?"
"Zhan Hanjue’s birth mother."
"You haven’t found anything, do you suspect it’s because Zhan Hanjue deliberately concealed the information? That’s why you want me to investigate with you, if it’s me investigating, Zhan Hanjue might release the information?"
"It’s not for you to investigate." Lady Leng said, "It’s for you to question Zhan Hanjue, whether it’s related to He Qingping. If he’s willing to reveal it, you can absolve your guilt, allowing Old Mrs. Zhan to shift her hatred onto He Qingping, thereby accepting you. If he doesn’t love you that much, then there’s nothing to be done; you’d still be disliked by Old Mrs. Zhan. Between his mother and his lover, he’ll make the difficult choice men have faced for centuries: choosing his mother."
"Ha."
Ningwan chuckled.
Now she understands, she is merely a pawn on Lady Leng’s chessboard.
Lady Leng uses her and Zhan Hanjue’s relationship to force Zhan Hanjue to comply, to expose He Qingping.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Between mom and wife, she wants to force Zhan Hanjue to choose one.
"Alright, I’ve said all that needs saying. How Zhan Hanjue chooses depends on your weight in his heart." Lady Leng said.
Ningwan said, "Thank you for the tip. Since Lady Leng has told me all this, I won’t keep secrets either. About Wu Taotao, I can tell Lady Leng as well."
"What’s that girl’s background?" Lady Leng asked coldly.
Ningwan smiled slightly, "Her background is quite ordinary, a typical village girl. But Lady Leng, shouldn’t the focus be on how deep Leng Ziqing’s feelings for her are rather than her background? If Leng Ziqing were an opportunistic sycophant, he wouldn’t have decisively left with her today. What I mean is, Lady Leng, best not send someone to harm Wu Taotao, you’ve experienced it yourself, you should know it well. The infatuated men and women in this world, like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, like Romeo and Juliet. Most of them have families strongly opposing them, creating a legendary tale. If they really lived together, amidst mundane daily life, it wouldn’t be long before they grow tired of each other. My point, does Lady Leng understand?"
Lady Leng’s gaze deepened.
"You’re protecting that girl, aren’t you!"
Ningwan smirked, "My intentions aren’t important, what matters is the rationale behind my words."