"mother, are you sure you don't recognize me as your son?"
Zhan Zeye pushed open the courtyard gate and looked at his mother with clear displeasure.
Mother Zhan did not react immediately. If Tang Qiyue had not gasped in surprise, she probably would not have realized what was happening.
"Oh my goodness! My son—why are you back already?"
Mother Zhan hurried forward and carefully examined Zhan Zeye from head to toe.
Apart from a bandage wrapped around his abdomen, he did not look as severely injured as she had imagined.
Mother Zhan was shocked.
Tang Qiyue was equally surprised.
In the memories from her previous life, Zhan Zeye had indeed been seriously injured. .That was the very reason her elder sister had run away from the arranged marriage.
"Didn't Tang Chunlan say you wouldn't be coming back?" Mother Zhan asked anxiously. "She said your injury was extremely serious."
Mother Zhan still remembered how worried she had been when she first received the news.
She had wanted to visit her son immediately, but the young soldier who delivered Tang Chunlan's message had stopped her.
He said Zhan Zeye had been transferred to a higher-level hospital and could not receive visitors for the time being.
Zhan Zeye glanced briefly at Tang Qiyue.
"She was talking nonsense," he said coldly.
With just that single sentence, countless events suddenly seemed absurd.
Tang Qiyue felt a strange sense of irony.
"Who is she?" Zhan Zeye asked, pointing directly at Tang Qiyue.
Mother Zhan slapped her forehead.
Only then did she remember that she had not yet told her son about the change of bride from the Tang family.
Before she could explain, Zhan Chunying heard the commotion and rushed out of the house.
The moment she saw her younger brother, she ran toward him excitedly.
Fortunately, Mother Zhan quickly pulled her back; otherwise, she might have collided with him and reopened his wound.
"Younger brother! Why did you come back today?" Zhan Chunying exclaimed..
"If you had arrived one day earlier, you could have watched a real spectacle!"
Although her opinion of Tang Qiyue had improved somewhat after yesterday, she still held deep resentment toward the Tang family.
Soon afterward, Zhan Zeye's elder brother and his family also came out to see what was happening.
Seeing the growing crowd, Mother Zhan quickly gave orders.
"Chunying, take your brother's luggage into the room!"
She pointed toward the room where Tang Qiyue had slept the night before.
Then she turned to Tang Qiyue.
"You go inside with her as well.
After chasing away her eldest son's family who were trying to watch the drama, Mother Zhan finally pulled Zhan Zeye into her room.
Once the door closed and they were alone, she explained everything about Tang Qiyue.
Zhan Zeye's brows knitted together tightly.
"Mother," he said, "I wasn't even home. How could I possibly have agreed to let someone marry into the family?"
In fact, he had originally returned to cancel the engagement.
This marriage had been arranged by his former superior. At the time, Zhan Zeye had no interest in getting married.
He had met Tang Chunlan only twice and felt nothing for her. He did not want to delay her future..
However, when he was injured during a mission, Tang Chunlan visited him at the hospital, claiming to be his fiancée.
His former superior misunderstood the situation and assumed Zhan Zeye had agreed to the marriage. Without confirming anything, he directly arranged the wedding date with Tang Chunlan's father.
When Zhan Zeye later woke from his coma, he discovered that he had somehow gained a wife.
Ignoring his still-healing wounds, he hurried home to clarify the misunderstanding.
But by the time he arrived, everything had already happened.
His injury was extremely sensitive.
The doctor had only said that he might have difficulty conceiving children in the future.
But Tang Chunlan misunderstood and believed he was completely infertile.
That was why she ran away from the marriage.
To maintain their reputation and preserve their connection with Zhan Zeye's superior, the Tang family arranged a substitute bride.
When Mother Zhan saw her son's dark expression, she felt slightly embarrassed.
"Well… your father-in-law insisted that this marriage would bring you good fortune," she explained awkwardly.
"Besides, since you're injured, you need someone to take care of you over there. If you have a wife, at least someone can cook and wash your clothes."
Her explanation only made Zhan Zeye's expression darker.
"I have hands and feet," he said coldly. "I can wash my own clothes."
"There's a canteen for meals."
"And if I need care, the hospital has nurses."
"I don't need anyone looking after me."
Mother Zhan understood perfectly what he meant.
But she had already brought a daughter-in-law into the family. Sending her away now would be humiliating.
Her stubborn temper flared up.
"So what?" she snapped.
"Are you planning to stay single for the rest of your life?"
"You're already married! Whether you like it or not, you must accept it!"
Zhan Zeye fell silent.
He rubbed his temples helplessly.
He could command soldiers without hesitation, but he could not treat his own mother the same way.
"Mother," he said patiently, "I didn't even participate in a wedding ceremony with her. How can she be my wife?"
Just then, his eldest nephew ran into the room holding a rooster.
"Uncle!" the boy shouted excitedly.
"You did have a wedding ceremony yesterday! Auntie bowed to Grandma while holding you!"
The child was young and spoke without restraint.
Outside the door, Zhan Chunying and her elder brother—who had been secretly listening—also walked in.
Zhan Chunying studied her younger brother's expression.
She had never seen him look so conflicted before.
"What are you holding?" Zhan Zeye asked his nephew, staring at the rooster.
Mother Zhan instinctively tried to escape the room, but her daughter cheerfully answered first.
"Oh, that rooster? It has your birth date written on it. It represents you!".
This was part of the "lucky marriage" ritual.
A rooster filled with strong yang energy symbolized the groom and was believed to transfer good fortune to him.
Zhan Zeye stared at the rooster struggling in his nephew's arms and suddenly felt a chill.
This was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
His nephew, intimidated by Zhan Zeye's imposing aura, burst into tears.
The rooster seized the opportunity to escape and flapped wildly toward Zhan Zeye.
Out of pure reflex, Zhan Zeye grabbed it.
With a quick twist of his wrist—
The rooster's neck snapped..
It died instantly.
Zhan Zeye tossed the lifeless rooster toward the doorway with obvious disgust.
Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Tang Qiyue walked in.
The dead rooster landed directly in her lap.
Startled, she instinctively caught it.
She had been waiting inside earlier with Zhan Chunying.
But Chunying quickly ran outside to see the commotion, followed by her nephew who grabbed the rooster tied near the bed.
Tang Qiyue's intuition told her something strange was happening.
When she came out to check, she walked straight into this scene.
The room fell silent.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhan Zeye's elder brother quickly grabbed his son by the ear and dragged him away.
"Come clean up the mess!"
Zhan Chunying also quietly slipped away.
Mother Zhan was the only one left.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she reminded her son,
"Anyway, your wife has already been brought home. No matter what happened, you must accept it."
Then she quickly pushed him toward the door.
"Since you're back, spend some time with your wife."
"I'll go prepare dinner."
She escaped immediately afterward.
Before leaving, she also took the dead rooster from Tang Qiyue.
"Since it's already dead," she said, "we might as well stew it for dinner."
Soon the courtyard was quiet.
Zhan Zeye stared at Tang Qiyue for several seconds..
Then he turned and walked toward his room.
After taking a few steps, he noticed she had not followed.
He stopped, raised an eyebrow, and said calmly,
"Aren't you coming?"
Only then did Tang Qiyue realize what he meant.
She followed him into the room.
But the moment she stepped inside—
Zhan Zeye suddenly blocked the doorway.
Before she could react, he grabbed her arm and pulled her straight into his arms.
Tang Qiyue froze in shock.