The moment Jiang Lan opened her eyes, she was met with a wailing cry. The voice was particularly shrill, reminiscent of the professional mourners she had once witnessed in the countryside.
“My poor Lan’er, your fate is truly bitter! Not only did you marry a noble husband who brings you no honor, but this has worn you down to sickness,” the man cried out with feigned desperation, though not a single tear fell from his eyes.
Lying in bed, Jiang Lan groggily opened her eyes and was startled to see a youngish man around thirty-five years old sitting by her bedside, his face painted in such a grotesque manner that he resembled neither human nor ghost.
“009, what’s going on? Who is this man painted up like a ghost?” Jiang Lan silently called out to the Matriarchal System 009.
【Host, this is your father, Madam Jiang from the Hong family. I will now transmit this world’s plot to you,】 System 009 replied.
As soon as 009 finished speaking, Jiang Lan felt a surge of image-based memories flood her mind, worsening the discomfort in her already aching head.
“Father, stop crying. Where is Qin Yuehan?” Jiang Lan sat up, waving away Madam Jiang’s attempt to support her.
“Oh, you ungrateful child! The moment you open your eyes, you’re looking for that seductive fox. You don’t have a single thought for your own father!” Madam Jiang drawled, putting on a full display of a spiteful man’s demeanor.
Witnessing this, Jiang Lan felt an immediate sense of suffocation. Even though System 009 had prepared her mentally, facing a living, breathing father from this matriarchal world—complete with dramatic acting—was truly overwhelming.
“Father, where is Qin Yuehan? Surely you haven’t forgotten that I still need my mother-in-law’s support?” Jiang Lan pressed her temples and lifted her gaze, her expression pained.
The original villain Jiang Lan, whose body she now inhabited, shared the same name—a woman known for her reserved yet vicious nature, concealed behind a beautiful facade and a talent for pretense.
The Qin Yuehan she referred to was the only son of the Left Chancellor Qin Jianfu, and also her principal husband.
Madam Jiang, reminded by Jiang Lan, seemed momentarily choked. He retracted the resentment in his eyes, but his words remained venomous. “Do you take me for a fool? Qin Yuehan arrived early this morning. I told him to rest in the side room, but he refused, insisting on kneeling in the courtyard to beg for forgiveness. Such a pretentious act—what a vile creature!”
Jiang Lan was taken aback. She looked at Madam Jiang and realized he showed no intention of holding back, understanding then the usual dynamic between this father and daughter.
【Host, your mission in this world is to alter the tragic fate of the villain Jiang Lan and prevent the downfall of the Qin family,】 System 009 informed her.
Jiang Lan immediately recalled the original host’s miserable end, feeling a surge of frustration at the sheer absurdity of it all.
After all, the original Jiang Lan was a scheming Phoenix Woman who had married Qin Yuehan, a son from an influential family. Instead of cherishing and appeasing him, she had sought to humiliate him, eventually favoring a courtesan over him and leading the Qin family to ruin.
Upon discovering the truth and learning of Qin Jianfu’s suicide in prison, Qin Yuehan had chosen to perish together with Jiang Lan.
“Father, how could you let Qin Yuehan kneel outside?” Jiang Lan exclaimed, throwing off her blankets and hurrying toward the courtyard.
In the antique courtyard, upon the cold bluestone pavement, a man clad in a moon-white robe knelt rigidly at the very center.
Jiang Lan’s footsteps were somewhat hurried, but Qin Yuehan, kneeling in the yard, had long been disheartened.
He remained kneeling on the ground, maintaining an aloof demeanor even upon hearing Jiang Lan’s footsteps, his dark eyes utterly unruffled.
Jiang Lan came to a halt before him, a flicker of admiration flashing in her eyes before she quickly reined it in.
“The fault does not lie with you. Why must you kneel here?” Jiang Lan lowered her gaze to Qin Yuehan, her voice clear and bright.
Qin Yuehan, still kneeling, stiffened at her words, the pain in his eyes growing more pronounced.
He slowly raised his head, yet mindful of propriety, refrained from looking directly at Jiang Lan.
“Please punish this husband, wife-master,” Qin Yuehan spoke, his voice as clear and melodious as a mountain stream.
Jiang Lan couldn’t help but smile wryly. Seeing the desolation in Qin Yuehan’s eyes, she felt at a loss for how to handle the situation.
“Punish you for what? Your marriage to me was born of necessity. Now that I’ve carelessly caught a chill, how is that your fault?” Jiang Lan said, her tone gentle.
Yet Qin Yuehan, long wary of Jiang Lan, remained unmoved, his posture still rigidly upright.
“Please punish this husband, wife-master,” Qin Yuehan repeated.
Perhaps due to the overwhelming impact of Madam Jiang from the Hong family and the servants she had encountered along the way, Qin Yuehan’s noble and aloof demeanor inexplicably stirred Jiang Lan’s admiration and evoked a sense of pity.
[Right? I don’t get how the original host thought Qin Yuehan looked down on her.System 009 suddenly chimed in with a complaint.
Jiang Lan started at this, then recalled the original host’s temperament—such coldness from Qin Yuehan would indeed have wounded her pride.
“Rise. Kneeling like that will only hurt your knees,” Jiang Lan said, reaching out to grasp Qin Yuehan’s arm.
Qin Yuehan was taken aback by her action, his dark peach-blossom eyes revealing a trace of bewilderment, like a lost fawn in the forest.
This was the closest they had been since meeting. Qin Yuehan lifted his gaze to Jiang Lan, and seeing no impatience in her brow, she truly seemed like the wife-master he had once hoped for.
In her original world, Jiang Lan had been a strong, capable woman—assertive, intelligent, and resilient—but she had never met a man she truly fancied.
Now, seeing Qin Yuehan in such a state, she felt a faint stirring of affection.
Yet, the thought of all the original host had done left her utterly dismayed and speechless.
The reason she had caught the chill this time was to exploit Qin Yuehan’s guilt and bring the courtesan named Su Qinghe from the brothel into the household.
After all, she had been “forced by circumstances” to marry Qin Yuehan as her principal husband.
Since their marriage, she hadn’t set foot in his room even once. Though Qin Jianfu felt for Qin Yuehan, she knew nothing of such domestic matters.
Now, with Jiang Lan falling ill, asking Qin Yuehan to take in a concubine would naturally not be refused.
Qin Yuehan rose with Jiang Lan’s assistance, his knees trembling slightly from having knelt too long.
Qin Zhong, the servant at his side, watched with heartache, his gaze toward Jiang Lan tinged with discontent.
Jiang Lan looked at Qin Zhong’s gaze and couldn’t help but feel somewhat ashamed, thinking about how he had been sold to the quarry under the original host’s resentment.
What kind of woman could, because of some inexplicable jealousy in her heart, regard her own husband’s entire family as a thorn in her flesh?