The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 461 - 463. Turbulence, the person behind the scenes

Chapter 461: 463. Turbulence, the person behind the scenes

"Evidence, I have it!" the woman declared, pulling a scroll out from her bag which looked like a painting. Daniel reached out to take it, but the woman dodged, "I can’t give this to you, you’re in cahoots with Shen Qinglan, for all I know you might destroy my painting."

Daniel’s face turned livid, he had never been doubted like this before.

"If Daniel can’t, may I?" Old Sir Jiang asked in a deep voice, his expression stern.

The woman glanced around, noting that most of the authoritative figures present were foreigners. Unsure if they understood Chinese and fearing misinterpretations if they relied on translations, she became suddenly inclined toward Old Sir Jiang.

Turning her gaze, the woman addressed Old Sir Jiang, "This is the original work and the evidence of Shen Qinglan’s plagiarism. I entrust it to you as a sign of my trust, but if you dare to collude with them, I will sue you as well."

Old Sir Jiang’s face darkened—no one had ever spoken to him like this, but still he managed to respond patiently, "Of course, your fairness in conduct and dealings is widely recognized."

Upon hearing this, the woman got up from the ground, "With so many people here, including reporters, I’m not afraid you would go back on your word."

Old Sir Jiang took the painting from the woman’s hands and slowly unrolled it. It depicted a sunrise, identical in scenery and layout to one displayed by Shen Qinglan on the wall, although the one on the wall had finer brushwork and coloration. The one in the woman’s hands was clearly of a lower standard.

Those who saw the painting gave the woman weird looks—could someone with such mediocre skills dare claim that Shen Qinglan had plagiarized them? Was this woman delusional?

The woman, sensing the thoughts of the bystanders, glared and retorted, "I said Shen Qinglan plagiarized the idea of this painting. She couldn’t create anything herself and stole someone else’s idea when she ran out of creativity. Shameless!"

"Don’t spout nonsense," Xu Xiangqian, who had been silent in the crowd, suddenly spoke up. "Miss Shen lost a painting two days ago, this ’Sunrise’ painting. The version now on display was just painted by Miss Shen. I have reason to suspect that you stole Miss Shen’s painting and created this piece to frame her."

The woman wasn’t flustered at all; after hearing this, she sneered, "Who’s talking nonsense? Look at this painting’s paper. I painted this a long time ago; the paper is old, while Shen Qinglan’s is so new. Who plagiarized whom, do we even need to say?"

Everyone looked down at the painting in Old Sir Jiang’s hands; indeed, the paper was old, bearing marks that didn’t seem to be from a new painting.

For a moment, doubts arose among the crowd. Plagiarizing ideas doesn’t discriminate based on skill level—if Shen Qinglan indeed stole the idea, then it was no different from plagiarism, and disgrace would still await her.

Fu Hengyi’s eyes darkened, "It’s just aged paper, something many of you here would understand, right? My wife indeed lost a painting two days ago, identical to this one, and we even reported it to the police. You can check with the police station if you don’t believe me."

Fu Hengyi knew about this because he had personally called the police chief to inquire about the case.

A flicker of panic passed through the woman’s eyes. Seeing Xu Xiangqian move to call the police, she slapped his phone away, "What police? Everyone knows that the Shen and Fu families control the area like tyrants. Even the police chief has to listen to you. You could call in a false report that something was lost and they would support your story."

"We also have surveillance video as evidence," Xu Xiangqian retorted, his face ashen.

"Videos can be faked too, you think I don’t know that? Where is Shen Qinglan? Come out, don’t think you can hide after doing something so disgraceful—there’s no such easy way out in this world," the woman ranted.

"What disgraceful thing have I done? Explain it to me," a cold voice emerged from behind the crowd, prompting them to involuntarily part and reveal Shen Qinglan’s figure.

She stood there, her expression cool and composed, her back straight.

Shen Qinglan spoke indifferently, "Absolutely genuine."

"You came just in time, you plagiarized my painting, how do you plan to handle this?"

Fu Hengyi glanced at Shen Qinglan and was about to step forward, but Shen Qinglan stopped him with a look, and he took a slight step back.

Shen Qinglan stepped forward, quietly looking at the woman, "All this because of a weathered painting, you accuse me of plagiarism?"

"What weathered painting, don’t slander me!" The woman was furious, seemingly unable to accept being insulted by Shen Qinglan.

"Whether it’s a weathered painting or not, you know in your heart. We can also get an expert to verify it, then the truth will come to light," Shen Qinglan said calmly and slowly.

From the beginning, Shen Qinglan had shown such calm and composure; just this demeanor made it hard for anyone to believe she would plagiarize someone else’s work.

"Don’t think I’ll be scared just because you say that. It’s just an appraisal, let’s do the appraisal then. But I don’t trust the people you find, I’ll find my own," the woman agreed instantly.

"That’s fine, but I don’t trust your people either. How about this, we each find one person and then let the most authoritative institution do another appraisal. The three appraisals should make it clear who is right and who is wrong," Shen Qinglan’s eyes remained faint.

The woman hesitated, glanced at the crowd, and gritted her teeth, "Fine, let’s do it that way," she said and then turned to leave.

"Wait," Shen Qinglan called out to the woman, "Before we do the appraisal, let’s resolve one thing first," she pointed to three paintings that had been ruined by the woman throwing paint on them, "What are you planning to do about these?"

Xu Xiangqian stepped forward at the right time and spoke, "Miss Shen’s paintings currently have a market value ranging from eight hundred thousand to five million. The three pieces you destroyed are worth at least three million."

The woman’s heart quivered, glaring at Shen Qinglan, "You are extorting me, I can sue you."

Shen Qinglan gestured politely, "Be my guest. As for the prices of my paintings, you can ask the people here, most of them are well-known individuals, surely they can’t all be lying to you."

"That’s hard to say, they were invited by you, naturally they would side with you," the woman muttered under her breath.

Those who understood the woman’s language in the audience immediately frowned upon hearing this; it was a challenge to their integrity.

The woman didn’t realize that her words had stirred up a hornet’s nest and continued, "Besides, if the appraisal shows you plagiarized, your paintings are worthless, not to mention three million, I wouldn’t take them even if you gave them to me for thirty bucks."

Fu Hengyi’s eyes turned cold, about to step forward, but Shen Qinglan held onto his hand. Shen Qinglan didn’t say anything, but Daniel started to laugh first.

"Ha ha, this woman really is something, claiming our Qinglan plagiarized your painting, yet when asked to provide proof you have none, just blathering here. You are suspicious even about doing an appraisal; it seems to me you’re just here to cause trouble."

Then, turning his head to Shen Qinglan, "You are too patient. With people like her, why argue? Just call the police."

Daniel took out his phone to dial, but when the woman tried to smack his phone away, as she had attempted earlier, Daniel had already anticipated this move and raised his hand high, out of her reach.

The woman’s eyes were fierce, "Call the police for what? You think you can bully me with numbers? Let me tell you, I’m not scared of you, I have the evidence in my hand. If I give the evidence to the media, I refuse to believe that you, Shen Qinglan, can still manipulate everything."

Daniel wore a polite smile on his face, but his eyes shone coldly as he spoke, "Madam, from the beginning until now, none of us has laid a finger on you. We just want the police to bring fairness, yet you are obstructing us at every turn. Could it be that you feel guilty?"

"I feel guilty about what? I’m not guilty at all. Just call the police then. I actually want to see how you will explain yourselves."

"It’s this woman here causing trouble. Get her out of here." Shen Junyu pushed through the crowd, pointing at the woman, followed by several security guards in uniform.

Hearing this, the security guards moved forward to escort the woman away, but as soon as one of them touched her arm, she slapped his hand away and sat down abruptly on the ground, slapping her thigh, "Assault! The Shen family is assaulting people."

Shen Qinglan looked speechlessly at the woman on the ground, who was energetically performing, and swept a glance over the faces of the surrounding people, most of whom wore similar expressions.

Fu Hengyi’s gaze swept through the crowd, searching for any suspicious individuals in the direction Shen Qinglan had indicated for an appraisal, the direction the woman had looked towards.

No suspicious individuals were found in the crowd, and the woman continued to shout accusations about the Shen family assaulting her and behaving guiltily. Shen Junyu’s face darkened with anger. Shen Qinglan’s art exhibition, which had been prepared for months, had just begun when three paintings were destroyed, and they were slandered. If not for the crowd, he would have tied the woman on the ground and thrown her into a ditch.

Shen Qinglan gave her brother a look that said, "keep calm, don’t be agitated," and coldly watched the woman on the ground. She was curious to see what other antics the woman could pull besides making a scene.

The woman howled for a while, but seeing that no one in the venue responded as she had expected, her voice gradually quieted down. Her eyes darted around and then settled on Old Sir Jiang, "Aren’t you the president of some association? Now that Shen Qinglan shamelessly plagiarizes someone else’s work, why aren’t you saying anything? Or perhaps you also want to help Shen Qinglan invert right and wrong."

Old Sir Jiang’s face had been sour ever since the woman started making a scene. Being a cultured man, he preferred to handle issues through reasoning, but the woman began with creating a spectacle. It wouldn’t have been bad if her acting skills were good, but her poor performance and self-satisfaction made him cringe.

"I am here to ensure justice is served, there is no need for any appraiser. I have just thoroughly examined this piece, and indeed, it is a recently finished work made to look old," said Old Sir Jiang emphatically, his authority as a connoisseur of painting and calligraphy clear.

"You’re talking nonsense! I knew it, you are all the same, ganging up to bully an honest person like me. I want to call the police; I want to sue you all!" The woman became even more agitated.

"There is no need to call the police; they are already here." Fu Hengyi spoke flatly and, sure enough, several policemen in uniform appeared. He had already called the police station while the woman was making a scene.

Fu Hengyi pointed to the woman on the ground and said to the officer, "Officer, this person has destroyed my wife’s paintings and slandered her for plagiarism, maliciously disrupting the order."

The policeman nodded and looked toward the woman on the ground.

Seeing that the police had actually arrived, the woman became even more agitated, "Well, the thief is calling ’Catch the thief!’"

One of the policemen was about to help the woman up from the ground when she suddenly grabbed Old Sir Jiang’s legs, "I don’t want to go with you; you are all in league with Shen Qinglan. Who knows if I can come out safely after I go with you?"

Old Sir Jiang staggered due to the woman’s actions, and if Daniel hadn’t supported him in time, he might have fallen. Old Sir Jiang was over ninety years old, and a fall could have led to severe consequences.

Daniel’s face turned completely dark. He stepped forward, yanked the woman away, and cursed loudly, "Are you sick? You’ve been the one calling for the police, and now when they’ve come, you accuse others falsely. From beginning to end, you’ve been making trouble here. Now I strongly suspect that someone hired you to deliberately smear Qinglan."

"You’re the one spouting nonsense. Shen Qinglan plagiarized someone else’s work, and yet you accuse me of causing disturbances. I see it now; you are deliberately covering for her, you bunch of bastards." The woman was extremely emotional, like an enraged tigress.

Everyone she had lambasted collectively scowled, yet no one spoke. If at first, the woman’s appearance had caused them a bit of doubt about Shen Qinglan, all such doubts had now completely vanished. This woman was simply a lunatic. Can you trust the words of a lunatic?

"Officer, we can all testify that Miss Shen Qinglan did not do anything to this lady. Instead, this lady has been creating a scene and even destroyed three valuable paintings of Miss Shen," a man stepped forward and said.

Shen Qinglan looked at the man and felt that he seemed familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered that this was the man who had tried to strike up a conversation with her on the airplane; his name was... Yan Feng? An enthusiast of painting and calligraphy?

The police officers were also glowering due to the woman’s earlier remarks. They were there to enforce the law, not to act as personal bodyguards. Her words, if spread, would truly blur the boundaries between the relationships involving the Shen Family, the Fu Family, and the police force.

Just as the police moved forward to apprehend the woman and take her to the station, she threw a tantrum and rolled on the ground, presenting an extremely unsightly spectacle. Meanwhile, unnoticed by everyone, a man in black frowned as he watched the woman on the ground, his expression full of displeasure.

After watching the police take the woman away, he also pretended to leave the exhibition hall unintentionally. Fu Hengyi squeezed Shen Qinglan’s hand and followed him out, while Shen Qinglan went to the police station with the officers.

Daniel stepped forward to address everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, I’m truly sorry for this unexpected issue. If today’s art exhibition has left an unfavorable impression, I apologize here. However, I can swear on my honor that Shen Qinglan would never engage in plagiarism—the accusation is completely unfounded."

Hearing this, Bernard stepped out and said, "Daniel, there’s no need to explain. I’ve also examined the original work in question, and it indeed appears aged, but the painting couldn’t be older than three days. While the aging technique was clever, it wasn’t flawless."

His influence in the art world was far greater than Old Sir Jiang’s. With Bernard vouching for Shen Qinglan, others naturally believed him, especially considering the woman’s excessive behavior, which lacked any persuasive power.

"Exactly, Leng Qingqiu’s paintings always have a distinct style, and the style of this painting matches her other works. If you claim plagiarism, do you mean to say all her other works are plagiarized as well? Don’t be ridiculous," someone chimed in.

"I agree, the creativity of this painting isn’t even the best among these works. What would be the point of plagiarizing it?" With one person echoing this sentiment, others naturally followed suit.

Seeing that everyone understood, Daniel felt relieved. After all, the attendees were all distinguished guests, and spreading any rumors maligning Shen Qinglan would be difficult to rectify later.

Fu Hengyi followed the man in black out of the exhibition hall and saw him sneak a glance around before getting into a car. Seeing this, Fu Hengyi started his car and followed.

It was clear that today’s incident was orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. As for who that was and what their purpose might be, he would soon find out.

Fu Hengyi followed the man all the way to a five-star hotel in the city center. He saw the man make a call and then enter an elevator. Fu Hengyi noted the elevator stopping on the eighteenth floor.

He approached the service desk and presented his military ID. The staff inspected it carefully before respectfully returning it to Fu Hengyi.

"May I help you with anything?"

"Resident information for the eighteenth floor," Fu Hengyi said succinctly.

The staff member hesitated. "That’s private information about our customers, which we can’t disclose."

"I’m tracking a suspicious individual who is suspected of spying. He just went to your eighteenth floor. If national secrets were to leak, your hotel wouldn’t be exempt," Fu Hengyi bluffed with utter seriousness.

His stern expression was surprisingly credible. The staff member’s gaze shifted slightly, but he still didn’t hand over the guest information. Instead, he said, "I’ll contact our manager for you. If the manager agrees, we can show it to you."

Fu Hengyi didn’t trouble them further. He nodded, and soon a smartly dressed man came down from the upper floor, approaching Fu Hengyi with a big smile, "Mr. Fu, what brings you here?"

Fu Hengyi repeated what he had told the front desk staff, and the manager nodded in agreement. "Of course, of course, we must cooperate in this matter. Please wait a moment, Mr. Fu, I’ll have the list brought to you right away."

Shortly after, Fu Hengyi held a tablet in his hands; he scrutinized the names registered on it. "Are these people all recent guests?"

"No, these listed here are regular customers who have been staying for over a week already. These others just checked in these last few days," the manager explained, pointing to the list on the tablet.

Fu Hengyi handed the tablet to the manager and then said, "Give me the room card for Room 1810."

The manager hesitated for a moment, "Mr. Fu, do we need to go up together?"

"No need, just call a housekeeping staff for me, I need your cooperation."

The manager nodded. The housekeeper knew nothing. The manager just asked her to clean Room 1810 and incidentally observe who was inside. Soon, the housekeeper came out, "Manager, there was just one gentleman and one lady inside."

The man who had opened the door was the one Fu Hengyi was tracking; he had already made that clear. As for that lady... Fu Hengyi pulled up a photo on his phone, "Is that lady this person?"

The housekeeper looked closely and nodded, "Yes, it’s her. When I went in just now, this lady seemed to be throwing a tantrum, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying."

"Okay, you can go." The manager waved his hand to dismiss the housekeeper and then looked at Fu Hengyi, "Mr. Fu, is there a problem with this woman?"

Fu Hengyi’s eyes grew deep, "Let this matter rest here, and tell no one. I need to play the long game here. If your opponent becomes aware, the consequences..."

"I understand, I promise to act ignorant," the manager was very cooperative.

"I am satisfied," said Fu Hengyi. "If that woman leaves the building, remember to give me a call."

"Of course, Mr. Fu you can rely on us."

Fu Hengyi left the hotel and headed to the police station. Shen Qinglan had already recorded her statement and was waiting for Fu Hengyi to arrive.

Fu Hengyi picked up Shen Qinglan, and the couple then went home.

On the way, Shen Qinglan looked at Fu Hengyi, "Do you know who it was?"

Fu Hengyi nodded, "An old acquaintance."

Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow, "Catherine?"

"You know?"

"Hah, only Catherine would do such a thing." Shen Qinglan sneered. Such clumsy tricks, Catherine had used them over and over again, seemingly never tiring of them.

"Have you found her whereabouts?"

"Yes, she’s at the Mideng Hotel."

"Her plan failed, and she’s furious?" Shen Qinglan smiled lightly.

Fu Hengyi glanced at her and smiled, "You do understand her well."

Catherine was a ruthless but brainless woman. If it weren’t for her mother cleaning up her messes, she would have been in jail since the last gallery arson incident.

"Is she the only person behind this?" Shen Qinglan asked quietly.

"It’s unclear for now, but it seems likely." If her mother had been directing her, the assailant wouldn’t have been such a crazed woman as appeared today.

Daniel was waiting for news from Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi; learning that Catherine was behind it all left him exasperated, "Is this woman really an idiot? I wonder if she was really adopted, considering how shrewd her mother is, how could she have raised such a fool?"

Even though Daisy was a highly capable woman, her daughter turned out brain-dead. If she had many children, one might argue that Daisy simply couldn’t focus on each child, and Catherine wouldn’t have been a priority. But Catherine was her only daughter; was it really okay to have raised her only daughter to be such a mess?

"Catherine and her mother are quite alike," Shen Qinglan said calmly, both equally ruthless.

"Qinglan, what do you think we should do?" Daniel asked.

Shen Qinglan frowned, pondering. "Send the three ruined paintings to her mother."

"Hm?" Daniel was puzzled.

"If I’m not mistaken, her family back home is unaware of her visit to Beijing. If her mother learns of her deeds, I suspect she will be quite... entertained." Beforehand, they had information that Catherine was about to marry a man in what appeared to be a family alliance. If her mother wanted her to enter an arranged marriage, how could she allow her to behave so recklessly? Some things, lacking direct evidence, could allow others to act on their behalf.

Fu Hengyi very much agreed with Shen Qinglan’s approach, and thus, not many days after, Daisy in Xueli City received the damaged paintings and records of Catherine staying in the hotel.

What Daisy thought of this is not immediately clear, but when Catherine heard the doorbell and saw Shen Qinglan as she opened the door, her expression soured immensely.

"What are you doing here?" Catherine asked coldly.

Shen Qinglan smiled lightly, "Naturally, I came to see you. You’ve come from afar, and as your host, I must extend my hospitality."

"Heh, you can’t even wash off your own stains, yet you have the leisure to meddle in others’ affairs. You certainly are bold," Catherine scoffed.

"Oh? I wasn’t aware I was covered in filth," Shen Qinglan calmly countered.

"Have you cleared up the matter of your plagiarism?"

Shen Qinglan’s eyes sparkled with amusement, "I’m surprised Miss Catherine cares so much about me."

"Who cares about you? Your affairs are already all over the news; I couldn’t ignore them if I wanted to," Catherine finished with a disdainful look at Shen Qinglan, "To think you were such a person, hiding dirty deeds behind a good reputation."

Shen Qinglan laughed, "Catherine, have you always been this brainless in your actions? Spread all over the internet? You mean the cyber army you hired? I’m sorry, but the same trick, effective the first time, should not work a second time if I allow it to, that would be stupid of me."

"What do you mean?" Catherine squinted her eyes.

Just last night, the man Catherine had met had hired a cyber army to release the events that happened today in the exhibition hall onto the internet, confirming the allegations of plagiarism against Shen Qinglan. Once the internet users are convinced that Shen Qinglan has plagiarized, does the truth even matter anymore?

But now, listening to what Shen Qinglan was saying, could it be that he failed to manage the situation as expected?

With this thought, Catherine’s expression darkened, only to hear Shen Qinglan say, "Unfortunately for you, the cyber army you arranged is now giving statements at the police station. Although they don’t know you are the mastermind, I wonder how comfortable your days would be if your mother found out about your actions?"

"Shen Qinglan, you vicious woman." Catherine’s face completely changed when Shen Qinglan mentioned her mother.

Shen Qinglan’s expression turned slightly cold as she looked chillingly at Catherine, "Am I vicious? Catherine, you were once a painter yourself. Don’t you know how damaging the reputation of plagiarism is to a painter? By accusing me of plagiarism outright, aren’t you just trying to crush me to satisfy your jealousy?"

"So what?" Catherine retorted, not even considering a denial. She wasn’t a Chinese national; whatever Shen Qinglan wanted to do to her, she should first consider the powerful family backing her. Others might fear Shen Qinglan, but she did not.

Shen Qinglan squinted her eyes, "You used to be worried about other painters surpassing you, so you suppressed them; because of this, you have been despised by those within the circle. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet, Catherine? Do you really think that because you are considered nobility from Xueli City, I can’t touch you?"

"What can you do to me? You care about your reputation, I don’t have that concern anymore. When it comes to bravery, who fears whom?" Catherine’s attitude was defiant.

A trace of anger flashed in Shen Qinglan’s eyes; she rarely got angry, but she despised this behavior from Catherine. Some people in the world just ignore others’ hard work, casually throwing out accusations of plagiarism without considering the implications, which could ruin someone’s entire life.

Her career had been smooth sailing; even faced with this situation, she had the means to fight back, which was her fortune. But what about others?

She had heard from Yu Xiaoxuan about the chaos in the literary circle, which was much messier than the painting circle; plagiarism was a common accusation. Some authors who had indeed plagiarized deserved the public scorn and got what they deserved. However, there were also authors who had genuinely worked hard on their books, only to be accused of plagiarism with no evidence presented, causing exaggerated turmoil.

Just a few days ago, one of Yu Xiaoxuan’s favorite authors was attacked by the public over such an accusation and, unable to defend himself, he became disillusioned with the literary scene and announced his departure from the circle, much to Xiaoxuan’s regret for his literary talent.

Shen Qinglan admitted she was angry at this moment. She respected everyone’s hard work and disliked those who didn’t. Catherine had seriously crossed the line.

Shen Qinglan moved closer to Catherine, causing her to instinctively step back defensively, "What do you want to do? Shen Qinglan, I’m telling you, I’m a citizen of Xueli City. If you dare lay a finger on me, I’ll report you to the consulate, and you’ll instigate an international dispute."

Shen Qinglan smiled faintly, her hand lightly touching Catherine’s neck before suddenly tightening. Caught off guard by Shen Qinglan’s abrupt action, Catherine struggled only to find herself pressed against the door, "Catherine, do you think I dare not touch you because you are the daughter of the Boyle Family? Coveting my husband and repeatedly scheming against me, do you really think I’m so malleable and temperless? Believe me, even if I send you to meet God, nobody would suspect it was me, not even your mother who has the mafia for support."

Catherine, hearing Shen Qinglan mention her mother’s background, widened her eyes in shock. The fact that Daisy was the sister of a mafia leader was something very few people knew about. How did Shen Qinglan find out?

"Shen Qinglan, you wouldn’t dare."

Shen Qinglan’s hand tightened slowly, her expression cold, looking at Catherine not as if seeing a living person but as if looking at a dead one.

Catherine felt the suffocation, air escaping her, her soul slowly drifting away. Her hands desperately clutched at Shen Qinglan’s, but Shen Qinglan’s grip was like steel on her neck, immobilizing her.

Only when Catherine started to roll her eyes did Shen Qinglan let go. Catherine collapsed onto the ground, propping herself up, gasping for air; yet her throat hurt violently, causing her to cough intensely.

Shen Qinglan squatted down, lifted her chin, and forced her to look into her eyes, "If you ever think about my husband again or pull any tricks behind my back, I’ll make sure you understand how much God misses you."

"Shen Qinglan, you devil," Catherine gritted her teeth, but deep in her eyes, fear was spreading; this was the first time she truly felt death was so close.

"Since you know I’m a devil, you better stay away from me, or I’ll show you that there’s an even more terrifying side to me." The corner of Shen Qinglan’s lips lifted slightly in a sinister curve.

Catherine shuddered, then quickly regained her composure, embarrassed by her reaction. She straightened her chest, trying to appear confident, "If my mother finds out what you did to me, she won’t let you get away with it."

Shen Qinglan smiled faintly, "Then I’m also very curious if those people in the underworld, especially the sworn enemies of the mafia, would be more interested in you, Daisy, the sole daughter, if they knew about your mother’s close ties to the mafia?"

Catherine’s face paled slightly. Having grown up in that environment, she wasn’t completely ignorant of the underworld; some of their methods were, indeed, terrifying.

If the relationship between her mother and her uncle were exposed, and her uncle’s enemies couldn’t target him, targeting them would be much easier, and her and her mother would be the ones in trouble.

Thinking this, fear and scrutiny filled Catherine’s eyes as she looked at Shen Qinglan. "How did you find out about all this?" She pondered, concealed and well-hidden for so many years; why did Shen Qinglan know about it, and how long had she known? The shadow of death that enveloped Catherine finally brought back a sliver of her rationality.

Shen Qinglan smirked, "In China, there’s a saying, ’If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it.’ It’s not only you who can investigate me; I can investigate you too. If you don’t want people to know your relationship, then you should hide it well, instead of using it to commit heinous acts and still think that no one in the world knows."

Catherine’s mother, Daisy, was a tough character. If it wasn’t for Jin Enxi putting a lot of effort into investigating this woman, they wouldn’t have known.

Catherine’s expression fluctuated, as she stared fixedly at Shen Qinglan, who had already risen, looking down at her. "When you go back, pass a message to your mother. If she can’t control the mad dogs at home, I won’t mind helping her slaughter them."

"Shen Qinglan, you..." Catherine’s eyes were filled with malice and humiliation.

Shen Qinglan merely glanced at her lightly and then turned to leave.

After Shen Qinglan had left, Catherine immediately checked out of the hotel and gloomily returned to Xueli City. Just as she stepped through her front door, she was greeted by a vase flying toward her; had she not dodged quickly, her face might have been ruined. Before she could erupt in anger, she met her mother’s icy gaze.

"Mommy," Catherine instantly cowered before her mother, never able to stand her ground.

Daisy looked at her coldly, "You still have the face to come back!"

Catherine’s heart skipped a beat, knowing her mother probably knew about her deeds, yet she still tried to struggle, "Mommy, what’s wrong? Why are you so angry at me? What did I do wrong?"

Her face full of grievance, Daisy stepped forward and slapped her. The loud smack echoed beside Catherine’s ear, evidencing Daisy’s fierce hand, "Catherine, have I not told you not to play smart with me? I don’t fall for those tricks."

Catherine, clutching her burning face, lowered her head in silence, her eyes filled with resentment towards her own mother.

"I’ve warned you not to harbor inappropriate fantasies about that man from China. Your father and I have already planned your future path. Do you take my words as air? Being foolish is one thing, but not recognizing your own foolishness is another. How could I have given birth to such a daughter?"

Her tone fierce, clearly furious, this time, along with the three destroyed paintings Shen Qinglan had sent, there was also a record of Catherine’s hotel check-in, proof of her relationship with her brother, and some deeds she had done using her brother’s influence.

The potential fallout from these revelations terrified Daisy; she did not even dare think about what awaited their family. And all because of Catherine, intensifying the rage in Daisy’s heart; had Catherine not been her own, she might now be facing something far worse than a vase.