But the woman turned a deaf ear and walked straight out of the hall.
Once seated in the nanny van, Aunt Zhou looked at Mu Wanqing and said anxiously, “Madam, you shouldn’t have confronted the old lady head-on like that. If she goes and stirs up trouble in front of the third young master again, you two…”
“I deliberately wanted her to go stir up trouble,” Mu Wanqing replied with a calm, indifferent expression.
It would be best if she provoked her son into a rage, leading to an immediate divorce.
She didn’t want to endure such a marriage for even one more day.
Aunt Zhou was taken aback for a moment but quickly understood—it seemed Madam was determined to get a divorce.
As an outsider, she couldn’t interfere in the family’s affairs and could only sigh helplessly.
Not long after the nanny van set off, the driver suddenly noticed something and reported, “Madam, the old lady’s car is following behind.”
Is that so?
Mu Wanqing frowned, her heart filled with surprise.
She had thought Jiang Lijuan would be angry and order her son to teach her a lesson.
She never expected her mother-in-law to take matters into her own hands.
It didn’t matter. Let her follow. The worst outcome would be divorce, and that was exactly what she wanted.
Sure enough, Jiang Lijuan followed Mu Wanqing all the way back to the Yujing Bay Villa.
Along the way, she even called her son to complain.
“Don’t just focus on work all day long, you’re just like your father when he was young!”
Faced with his mother’s sudden outburst, Wen Zhan was puzzled. “What’s wrong? Did Dad upset you again?”
“He wouldn’t dare!” Jiang Lijuan had a fiery temper and had always dominated her husband.
After calming down slightly, she recounted what had just happened at the hospital to her son.
“What gives her the right? With her background, she should consider herself lucky to even get married, let alone marry into our Wen family! Doesn’t she know her place? How dare she challenge me!”
Wen Zhan listened quietly to his mother’s complaints. Considering how their relationship had hit rock bottom over the past few days, he naturally understood the woman’s intention in provoking his mother.
She was most likely doing it on purpose.
“Mom, don’t provoke her. She’s breastfeeding the children, and getting angry isn’t good for her.” Feeling somewhat guilty himself, Wen Zhan tried to reason with his mother first.
Little did he know that these words would only further enrage Jiang Lijuan.
“What, does breastfeeding make her the queen? What woman doesn’t become a mother and breastfeed? Does everyone have to cater to her now? I’m older and have heart problems—getting angry could easily be life-threatening for me! Why doesn’t she know how to respect her elders?” The more Jiang Lijuan spoke, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the more she wanted to teach her unruly daughter-in-law a lesson.
Seeing that her son remained silent, she was too furious to say more. “The old saying is true—once a man takes a wife, he forgets his mother. You’re no different! Just wait and see how I teach her a lesson!”
With that, Jiang Lijuan angrily hung up.
Wen Zhan rubbed his temples with one hand, staring at the pile of work on his desk, his mother’s final words echoing in his ears. Suddenly, he couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up and grabbed his suit jacket.
Just as he pulled open his office door, Secretary Li approached him. “Mr. Wen, where are you going? There’s a meeting at ten-thirty.”
Without looking back, Wen Zhan ordered, “Tell Wen Yan to take over. He’s back from his expedition, isn’t he? It’s time for him to get back to work.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already disappeared into the elevator.
The thought of having two women at home who were like fire and water made his head ache.
He never imagined that his life, too, would be caught in the middle, forced to deal with the age-old problem—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts.
As soon as Mu Wanqing returned home and had just settled the Dragon-Phoenix Twins, she heard the housekeeper greeting Jiang Lijuan.
She didn’t want to engage and went straight upstairs to seek some peace.
But before long, lunch was ready in the kitchen, and a maid came up to call her.
Just as she was about to say she wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat yet, she suddenly heard the sound of a car in the courtyard.
Had her mother-in-law called for “reinforcements”?
She stood up and walked to the window to look into the courtyard—it was Wen Zhan returning home.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her mood instantly grew complicated.
Since that night, they had returned to their cold war.
Wen Zhan left early and returned late; if she deliberately arranged her schedule, she could almost completely avoid seeing him.
But now, in the middle of the day…
The maid was still standing awkwardly at the bedroom door when steady, unhurried footsteps approached from behind.
Wen Zhan came closer and waved his hand at the maid, signaling her to leave first.
When only the two of them remained in the room, the man stepped inside and reminded her softly, “It’s time to eat. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Mu Wanqing was sitting in front of her laptop. She had been designing resumes these past few days, tailoring different versions for various job applications.
Hearing her husband’s voice, she didn’t even turn her head and calmly asked, “Did your mother send you back to lay down the household rules for me?”
The man’s expression remained neutral. Instead of getting angry, he walked over to her side, his gaze falling on her busy computer screen.
He knew she had been looking for a job recently but had never asked about it. Today, however, he couldn’t help himself.
But with his mother at home, if they started arguing and she fanned the flames, their relationship would only worsen.
So this wasn’t the right time to discuss it.
“My mother has a strong personality. Don’t take it to heart. It’s rare for her to visit—let’s have a meal together. Just for the sake of her being the children’s grandmother.”
Mu Wanqing was a bit surprised.
She had deliberately provoked Jiang Lijuan that morning, hoping to anger her into urging her son to divorce.
Why did Wen Zhan seem not the least bit upset?
Her inner confusion showed on her face as she finally turned to look at the man. A flicker of bewilderment crossed her beautiful features. “Aren’t you going to side with your mother and scold me?”
The man’s stern face suddenly broke into a smile, a hint of imperceptible fondness in his eyes. “What, are you hoping to be scolded by me?”
“…” It wasn’t that she had a masochistic streak, just…
“Come on, let’s go eat.” Seeing her at a loss for words, Wen Zhan bent slightly and gently took her hand.
Mu Wanqing let him pull her out of the room but awkwardly broke free from his grasp.
The man glanced back at her, leaned in, and whispered, “We need to put on a bit of a show in front of my mother.”
“Unnecessary.”
“Of course it’s necessary. If she sees we’re getting along well, she’ll be even angrier. Isn’t that helping you get revenge?” The man’s expression was gentle, his tone even carrying a note of goodwill, perfectly playing the part of a good husband.
“…” Mu Wanqing halted in her steps, her entire face freezing as her almond-shaped eyes stared at him in disbelief.
What did he mean?
Not only was he not siding with his own mother, but he was also helping her, “this outsider,” deal with his own mother?
That—how was that possible!
Wen Zhan hadn’t seen much of her these past few days. Seeing her dazed and adorably confused now made his heart inexplicably itch, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheek. “Let’s go.”
Mu Wanqing stood there, stunned.
By the time she realized what the man had done, his hand had already left her face and was holding her slender wrist again.
Wen Zhan pinching her cheek was the kind of gesture seen in idol dramas—the male lead dotingly teasing the female lead.
What kind of illness had he contracted? Was he out of his mind?
Downstairs in the dining room, Jiang Lijuan had long been waiting at the table, and as time passed, her dissatisfaction and anger grew heavier.
She really couldn’t understand it!
What gave a woman like her the right to be so arrogant! Even having a meal required repeated invitations!
Jiang Lijuan’s mind was racing with thoughts of how to teach her a lesson and make her learn some manners!
But then, with a glance back, she caught sight of her son holding the woman’s hand, guiding her down the stairs step by step as if coaxing a revered elder.