Chapter 72 A Slip of the Tongue

After all, everyone knew that Sheng Lanci doted on his daughter, so Sheng Weiqiao may be the one who had the wealthiest dowries in Nanfeng County in recent years. Although the eldest branch of Sheng Family had a son, Sheng Shuihe had no right to encroach on Madam Feng’s dowries!

As the youngest daughter of Feng Family, Madam Feng was also doted on by her family when she was a little girl. When she married Sheng Lanci, her dowries were extremely rich. Thanks to her husband, who was good at management, after years of running, the value of these dowries couldn’t be imagined now!

Sheng Weiqiao was the only daughter of Madam Feng, so she could monopolize the property left by her mother!

Rumors had already spread over Nanfeng County. People said that marrying a rich girl could make a man live in clover for several decades, but marrying Second Miss Sheng could make him live in clover for generations. As long as he didn’t have a child who was an infamous spendthrift, he would live in luxury for life!

Besides, Sheng Weiqiao was beautiful, meek, and mild. She would be a perfect wife. Who would not be attracted by her?

If it were not for Sheng Lanci’s love and affection and the lessons of those who were eager to court her, for example, Xuanyu Che, these men would have already swarmed to woo her!

After waiting for such a long time, they eventually had a great opportunity to court Sheng Weiqiao. How could they miss it!

So, when Sheng Family arrived at Xuanyu Family together with Xu Baomo, soon after Sheng Weiqiao was packed with lots of men!

Mrs. Le repeatedly enjoined her son Feng Zhiyi to make a good impression on his cousin at the banquet. But he thought that he didn’t need to be as eagerly attentive as those cousins because he and Sheng Weiqiao were close because they were first cousins, and they often met at festivals since childhood. However, when he thought, he was squeezed out of the inner circle and failed to squeeze in!

Not to mention him, Xu Baomo, the Young Lord, failed to rescue his “Big Weiqiao” from those admirers. He couldn’t publicly avow their relationship, and therefore he lost out to the crowd!

Of course, other ladies at the banquet extremely envied Sheng Weiqiao, but in fact, she was very annoyed!

She came here for two reasons: firstly, she wanted to visit her aunt, who she hadn’t seen for several days; secondly, she intended to pick a wife for Sheng Shuihe. But now she was surrounded by the crowd. What should she do?!

Besides, they were all relatives and were trying to woo her, so she couldn’t lose her temper and drive them away!

With a disinclined smile on her face, Sheng Weiqiao listened to the flattery of two cousins from Feng Family who were the nearest. At the same time, she had to nod to three cousins from Xuanyu Family who were not far away. Finally, she managed to find a chance and offered to go for a walk.

She intended to get rid of these people, which was obviously impossible. Everyone scrambled to show their interest in visiting the courtyard at Xuanyu Family. So, in the end, all of them rambled in the garden!

When walking, Sheng Weiqiao planned to take advantage of her familiarity with the place to get rid of them, but it proved to be useless because too many people followed her!

After all, they were from either Feng Family or Xuanyu Family, and all of them were the children from the sub-clan that was closely related to the main clan. So, it was evident that they were all Childes who lived in luxury. Even if they couldn’t act ostentatiously at the banquet, everyone brought two or three attendants.

Therefore, Sheng Weiqiao was surrounded by such a vast crowd. Even if she was familiar with Xuanyu Family like her own house, it was impossible to get rid of them in broad daylight.

“Why doesn’t my brother come to help me?” After several unsuccessful attempts, Sheng Weiqiao’s smile was increasingly disinclined, and she inwardly complained about Sheng Shuihe, “Eldest Brother seldom comes here, and he is not familiar with these cousins, so he may feel awkward to help me. Besides, Brother Xu is also a guest, and it’s not appropriate for him to help. But how could my brother leave me here? Although he isn’t my mother’s own son, he never treats himself as an outsider!”

Fortunately, Sheng Weiqiao was at Xuanyu Family, and her aunt Mrs. Feng also doted on her. After a while, Mrs. Feng received the message and sent a servant to save her from embarrassment. The servant said Mrs. Feng had something to ask Sheng Weiqiao. Although the crowd was certainly not willing to let her go, they did not dare to disobey Old Madam, and they reluctantly watched Sheng Weiqiao go.

Sheng Weiqiao felt terribly horrified as they stared at her. She walked to Yuedong Gate in one breath and then turned her head back a little bit to give her regards. Now, she knew why Sheng Shuihe didn’t come to help her. He was as helpless as her!

Like Sheng Weiqiao, as the only son of the eldest branch of Sheng Family, even if he was the child of a mistress, he was still “the heir to the property of Sheng Family in the future”. Besides, due to his “striking good looks” and “refined speech”, most girls were attracted by him today!

The children from the top Families of Nanfeng County were all intelligent. Xu Baomo was as handsome as Sheng Shuihe, and his future was way brighter. Still, Feng Family and Xuanyu Family were pure merchant families who were not a patch on Ningwei Marquis Family.

Typically, a girl from Feng Family or Xuanyu Family could never become the wife of Xu Baomo!

So, only a few girls, who were the children of concubines and didn’t care about being a concubine, tried to talk to Xu Baomo, instead of approaching Sheng Shuihe. But most of the girls couldn’t take their eyes off Sheng Shuihe now!

Due to the difference in height between men and women, unlike Sheng Weiqiao, who was drowned in the crowd just now, Sheng Shuihe, surrounded by a large group, seemed like a single red flower amid thick foliage. Sheng Weiqiao could see the reluctance in his face clearly across the people.

“Haha!” Seeing this, Sheng Weiqiao immediately forgot her embarrassment just now. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud and gloat over his misfortune!

But after getting through Yuedong Gate, she thought of the main purpose of the Lotus Feast today, and she became worried again, “This banquet is mainly for my aunt to pick a daughter-in-law, but now my brother is surrounded by the girls. If my aunt knows, she will be unhappy for sure!”

Based on her knowledge about Mrs. Feng, she would not only be unhappy but also probably vent on Sheng Shuihe!

When thinking, Sheng Weiqiao couldn’t help biting her lips, and inwardly prayed that Mrs. Feng could forgive her nominal nephew since he was entirely unintentional.

Sheng Weiqiao was brought to Mrs. Feng, who raised her chin and motioned Sheng Weiqiao to sit down. Before the maid offered her niece a cup of tea, Mrs. Feng said, “The servants reported that guests cluster either around you or around that son of a mistress. At first, I didn’t believe it. Here is Xuanyu Family, isn’t it? But it’s true!”

“I didn’t realize that the Lotus Feast was held for you to pick a wife for my cousin until yesterday!” Sheng Weiqiao felt the dissatisfaction of her aunt and knew that her aunt was dissatisfied with Sheng Shuihe and those who courted him, not her. So, with a smile on her face, she hurriedly approached her aunt and put her arms around Mrs. Feng’s arm. Then she said adorably, “Is there anyone who you think is suitable? If there is, please tell me secretly so that I can have a glance at her later!”

Mrs. Feng had a close relationship with her sister, and therefore, she also doted on Sheng Weiqiao. Besides, she didn’t have her own daughter, so she treated Sheng Weiqiao as her own child. Now, although she knew that Sheng Weiqiao was deliberately digressing, she still calmed down and patted her niece’s hand with a smile, pretending to be angry, “Those people rush to marry your brother. Which girl will be attracted by your cousin, who is such a disappointment?”

“But I saw clearly just now. Not everyone was around my brother!” Sheng Weiqiao said in a hurry, “There were also a few people who just sat there and talked to each other, looking dignified and reserved!”

“Yeah, only a few!” Mrs. Feng curled her lip and guessed that they probably listened to the disclosure from their family and wanted to become the first madam of Xuanyu Family in the future. But she didn’t speak out. Instead, she bantered with her niece, “Aside from those, how about you? Is there anyone who attracts you? If there is, tell me, and I’ll see if he is suitable for you!”

Sheng Weiqiao blushed slightly and pretended to be angry, “Auntie! We have agreed that today’s banquet is for my cousin. Why do you talk about me?”

“Why are you embarrassed in front of your auntie?” Mrs. Feng touched Sheng Weiqiao’s forehead with her finger, and became anxious for her niece, “Marriage is a major affair in your life! At that time, I was so young and ignorant that I was deceived by your heartless uncle! After marrying him, it was too late to be regretful, so I had to struggle to live my life in this house. You must remember this lesson, and carefully choose a reliable man!”

Mrs. Feng even took her own experience as an example, so Sheng Weiqiao also became serious and nodded, “Auntie, don’t worry. I will be careful about such an important matter!”

Then she said mildly, “But I was surrounded by such a vast crowd just now. They were all talking at once, so I didn’t pay any attention. Besides, I’m still young, and I’m not in a hurry! The banquet is held for my cousin, so I can’t upstage him.”

Mrs. Feng said with a smile, “Your cousin will choose a wife, while you will choose a husband. It is impossible that you two choose the same person. What are you worried about?”

However, she was delighted that her niece cared about her son. Knowing that Sheng Weiqiao was not in a hurry to go back, she suddenly recalled that Sheng Weiqiao detested Sheng Shuihe before, but it seemed that she called him “my brother” just now.

Mrs. Feng was surprised that the son of a mistress managed to get round Sheng Weiqiao in such a short period. But she didn’t know whether her niece was persuaded by her before, or what happened during this period. She muttered to herself and smiled, “Oh, by the way, do you get along with your brother recently?”

When Sheng Weiqiao brought Sheng Shuihe to Xuanyu Family for the first time, she refused to admit that he was her brother in front of others, not to mention calling him “my brother”.

However, she had no objection now and nodded, “Auntie, don’t worry. I get along well with my brother now!”

“Oh! You cried and complained that I didn’t help you last time. How do you change your attitude in such a short time?” Mrs. Feng thought that her guess was proved to be correct. She arched her eyebrows and smiled, “After you left, I have been worried about you for a long time. I also thought up many ways to deal with him and prepared to tell you when you come again! But now all my efforts are in vain!”

Sheng Weiqiao didn’t know that Mrs. Feng was fishing for information, and she explained in a hurry, “I thought he was the son of a mistress before, so of course I didn’t like him! But I knew it was not true the other day, and he was really pitiful….”

Speaking of this, she suddenly recalled that her father repeatedly enjoined her that she must not tell others Sheng Shuihe’s history!

Even in the eyes of Sheng Weiqiao, Mrs. Feng was not an outsider, but she subconsciously stopped at the moment.

However, Mrs. Feng immediately asked with surprise, “You mean he isn’t the son of a mistress? What is his relationship with your father then?!”