Nan Yu quickened her steps, forcing herself not to look back at Tan Linyuan.
Deliberately bringing up Qu Jiaran was not only a warning to Tan Linyuan but also to herself.
Even if she was cornered, she shouldn't seek his help.
He was not her safe haven.
The ancestral mansion of the Shen family was very large, with several stories. Apart from a few rooms for the masters, the rest were guest rooms.
As a matter of fact, the Shen family was a well - established and influential clan with intricate family ties, so it should have been a prosperous one.
Since Shen Yanche had to keep vigil for the deceased tonight and attend the funeral of Uncle Shen tomorrow, he would stay here tonight.
During lunch, Shen Yanche had specifically taken her to see her room, which was on the third floor.
Nan Yu took off running. She didn't even stop when climbing the stairs and headed straight for her room.
When she reached the door of the room and was about to open it, she suddenly heard rustling sounds and the murmur of voices inside.
Nan Yu's shoulders trembled, and she quickly withdrew her fingers from the doorknob.
Taking a closer look, she found that the door was not even fully closed but just ajar.
Then she heard familiar voices, those of Shen Suhai and Shen Yanche.
Nan Yu was first shocked that the two of them were not in the mourning hall. But then, she was even more astounded by their conversation.
Shen Suhai's tone was cold and harsh. His hoarse voice was tinged with impatience. "Anyway, you have to sleep with Nan Yu tonight!"
Shen Yanche looked distressed. "Dad... I can't decide this on my own. Yu Yu won't even let me touch her."
Not only did she not allow him to touch her, but they had even held hands very rarely.
Judging from this trend, even if he wanted to do something tonight, Nan Yu would surely reject him firmly.
Shen Yanche didn't want to make a fool of himself.
Shen Suhai gave his son a look of disappointment and tapped his walking stick hard on the ground. "You're such a good - for - nothing!"
"And besides, these two days are Uncle's funeral. All the relatives are here. If something embarrassing happens tonight, how can I hold my head up in the family?"
"Useless! Always ruining things." Shen Suhai scolded. "Do you think I want you to do this today for no reason? It's precisely because your aunts and uncles are all here!"
This time, Shen Yanche was confused. "Do you mean you want everyone to know?"
Shen Suhai said, "Of course. Otherwise, how can we get them to hand over all of the Nan family's assets to us willingly?"
The Shen family was a large clan, and the wealth they earned would naturally be divided among the various branches.
Back then, in order to legally annex the Nan family's property, Shen Suhai had gone through several middlemen and found several developers. Many of them had used the influence of other relatives.
According to the rules, since they had used the influence, they naturally had to share the profits.
But Shen Suhai was a miser.
Nan Yu would marry Shen Yanche sooner or later, and the property she brought in would naturally be the Nan family's property.
After all, it was a marriage between Shen Yanche and Nan Yu. When the young couple started their life together, there was no reason to share the property with the other siblings.
So the bigger the commotion tonight, the better. It would be best for everyone to know how dependent Nan Yu was on Shen Yanche. Only in this way could they dispel the others' ideas.
Shen Yanche understood, but he still didn't know what to do. His face was full of worry. "I understand what you mean, but if I force myself on her tonight, Nan Yu will definitely resist. Then I'll be humiliated too."
"... How could I have raised such a stupid son?" Shen Suhai rolled his eyes. "Can't you think of a way to make her obedient?"
Shen Yanche thought to himself that if he had such a skill, he would have married Nan Yu long ago. How could it have dragged on until now?
There was even Wen Ying and the child in her belly.
"I really don't know what to do. Otherwise, could you give me some advice?"
Shen Suhai heaved a heavy sigh and impatiently took out a box of pills from his pocket and threw it in front of him.
Shen Suhai said unhappily, "Make her take these tonight. Do I need to teach you the rest?"
...
Outside the door, Nan Yu was breathing rapidly. Cold sweat broke out on her palms for no reason, and anger made her tremble all over.
The Shen father and son actually wanted to drug her!
Beasts! Scoundrels! Despicable!
She gritted her teeth. Filled with anger from head to toe, she stepped forward to open the door and expose their conspiracy.
Suddenly, someone reached out from behind and hugged her around the waist. Another hand covered her mouth.
The movement was quick and decisive, leaving her almost no time to make a sound.
Nan Yu opened her eyes in horror and instinctively tried to struggle.
But in just a second, smelling the bitter scent of incense on his fingers, she almost instantly calmed down.
It was Tan Linyuan.
Then, she was picked up into the air. The man twisted the doorknob of another room and pushed her in directly.
This was another guest room. The bed was neatly made, and there was no one inside.
Nan Yu struggled, forcefully pulling Tan Linyuan's hand away from her lips and pushing him away.
Nan Yu's face looked very ugly. "What do you mean, Uncle Tan?"
She was so close, so close to exposing the ugly faces of that father - son pair!
"Why did you stop me?" Nan Yu's voice trembled, and her fingers clenched tightly. "Are you in cahoots with them?"
Actually, she knew in her heart that Tan Linyuan and Shen Suhai were never on the same side.
"If I were in cahoots with them, I would have let you go in just now." Tan Linyuan said, then glanced at her lightly. "Whether you live or die after that, I wouldn't even bother to care."
"Whether I live or die has nothing to do with you anyway, Uncle Tan."
Tan Linyuan stood in front of her, cold and aloof, with a calm expression. "If you want to die, do it somewhere else. Don't do it in front of me."
When saying this, Tan Linyuan's face was extremely cold, showing no mercy at all.
Nan Yu was stunned for a moment. Staring at his cold face, she inexplicably felt a surge of anger. She retorted, "Since you want to kill me, Uncle Tan, why don't you just give me a quick death? Why torture me bit by bit?"
He made her heal again and again, only to wound her heart again and again.
Tan Linyuan said nothing, just stared at her with his cold eyes, his expression calm.
After a moment, his voice came faintly. "Who is torturing you bit by bit?"
Under his gaze, Nan Yu gradually calmed down.
Yes, how had he tortured her?
It was all her own fault for being self - indulgent.
The more she said, the more mistakes she would make. So Nan Yu simply stopped talking and just lowered her head to tidy up her clothes.
It seemed that this could relieve some of her uneasiness and embarrassment.
Tan Linyuan didn't continue to question her. He just said coldly, "Do you think you could have changed the result if you had rushed in just now?"
"You really wanted to rush in and make a scene?" Tan Linyuan's tone was slow and emotionless. "And then what? Tell them that you heard they were going to drug you?"
His words were extremely cold. His cold eyes turned to her face. "This is the Shen family. If you fall out with them, who do you think will help you here?"
Nan Yu fell silent.
"If you rush in recklessly, you'll only speed up their original plan."
Tan Linyuan looked at her as if she were a fool. "Or do you want to be... while you're still conscious?"
"I'm sorry." Nan Yu suddenly interrupted Tan Linyuan. "I was too impulsive and didn't understand your good intentions, Uncle Tan."
Tan Linyuan squinted at her.
Now that Nan Yu had calmed down, she just wanted to solve the current dilemma. So she stopped being stubborn and sincerely asked, "Then what do you think I should do next, Uncle Tan?"