Sheng Weiqiao was wondering about two things: why did Madam Bai do this, and why did Sheng Shuihe know the secrets?

“Just think about it. It was because Second Aunt has seen through Second Uncle, and she was disillusioned!” With a faint smile on his face, Sheng Shuihe took a wisteria flower in half bloom from her hair and threw it into the pool in front of him. Two red koi fish jumped out of the water to eat it. Their gauze-like tails curved through the air and shook water droplets on the siblings. Sheng Weiqiao forgot to wipe her cheeks, and asked anxiously, “But Second Aunt seemed not to be discouraged just now!”

Madam Bai was discouraged? That was ridiculous! She was so normal just now!

She was so normal that Sheng Weiqiao forgot that she was in danger of getting divorced!

“She was discouraged by Second Uncle, not by the world. She didn't give up all hope.” Sheng Shuihe looked at his sister, who was looking up at him. He found that she inherited Sheng Lanci's oval face, but because of living in clover and being young, she had a little baby fat.

Under the long eyelashes thick as a feather fan, her almond eyes stared at him with surprise and perplexity. At first glance, she looked like a frightened cat, and her buns seemed like the ears of a cat. Sheng Shuihe couldn't help smiling and wanted to pat her on the head again. But he calmed down and said lazily, “Second Aunt is the second wife of Second Uncle. From Third Sister's age, I estimate that Second Aunt is about 30 years old now. She is still young and beautiful. Even if she leaves Sheng Family, she can remarry. So why should she despair?”

“Second Aunt is going to remarry?!” He said gently, but Sheng Weiqiao raised her sleeves to cover her mouth and whispered unbelievably, “How could that be? Had it not been for the fact that she wanted to marry Second Uncle, Eldest Brother's mother would not have been taken back by Ao Family, and Second Uncle would not have been beaten black and blue by grandfather and lied in bed for many days to recuperate!”

Since Madam Bai married Second Uncle, people regarded her as “a tease who forced the first wife to leave,” and she was alienated from her parents-in-law and sisters-in-law. She suffered so many years, and what did she want? Wasn't the position of Second Madam of Sheng Family?

It was quite an interesting turn of events. Now, Second Uncle didn't love her anymore, but by Madam Bai's usual behavior, Sheng Weiqiao thought it seemed ridiculous that Madam Bai would hand the position of Second Madam of Sheng Family over to a woman whom she never knew before!

“Even if Second Aunt couldn't put up with Second Uncle's dissolute behaviors and didn't want to live with him anymore, what about Sister Rao and Fifth Brother? Second Uncle dallies with women all day long. Every time he returns home, he only takes taels or enters his concubine's room, while he never cares about his own children. Although Second Aunt doesn't care about the other children of Second Uncle, Sister Rao and Fifth Brother are her own children! If she left, how would they survive in Sheng Family?!” Sheng Weiqiao said.

With a faint smile on his face, Sheng Shuihe said, “There are grandfather, grandmother, the eldest branch and the third branch.”

“But it's different!” Sheng Weiqiao snarled, “Grandfather and grandmother are already old. Our father and mother, as well as Third Uncle and Third Aunt, have their own affairs. Even if they could look after Sister Rao and Fifth Brother, they don't have enough time to care about all things of them. By Second Uncle's usual behavior, once Second Aunt leaves, he will immediately marry his new lover. If Sister Rao and Fifth Brother fell into the hands of the stepmother, who knows how they would be treated!”

Although the backyard of Zhuying Mini Villa was not big and there was no place for people to hide, Sheng Weiqiao still glanced across the surroundings subconsciously. Then she got close to Sheng Shuihe and whispered, “Sister Rao just had such a terrible experience, and she needs care from her family. If Second Aunt left, how would she feel?! After that, if she fell into the hands of the new lover of Second Uncle, how would she live her life?!”

She was indignant. Looking at her, Sheng Shuihe smiled and said calmly, “But I think Second Aunt is a sensible person.”

Sheng Weiqiao immediately frowned, and with her lips slightly open, she seemed to retort. He smiled and asked, “Do you know why Ao Family would rather disrespect our grandfather than let his daughter stay at Sheng Family?”

“It was because Second Uncle has always been fickle in relations.h.i.+ps, so Ao Family couldn't entrust their daughter to him!” Sheng Weiqiao blurted out and couldn't help thinking.

“Ao Family is the old force of our grandfather. Their daughter was the wife of Second Uncle, and she gave birth to the eldest son of the second branch….” Sheng Shuihe said mockingly, “However, even so, they didn't believe that Second Uncle would reform and be kind to his wife. Now Second Aunt may have the same feeling as Ao Family, but Sheng Family has a closer relations.h.i.+p with Ao Family than with Bai Family. Besides, Ao Family also pays more attention to their daughter than Bai Family does. Even in the eyes of our grandparents, Ao Family is more important than Bai Family….”

Then he said coolly, “If Second Aunt did not take this chance to leave before her best years were behind her, she might be unable to leave and remarry. Then, she would regret for the rest of her life.”

“But… but what about Sister Rao and Fifth Brother?” Sheng Weiqiao was astounded for a long while and sputtered, “Especially, Sister Rao just came back. If she knew that her mother wanted to leave Sheng Family, how… how could she accept that?!”

Sheng Weiqiao thought, to put herself in Sister Rao's shoes, she would probably commit suicide.

Thinking of this, she turned pale with fear!

“That's why Second Aunt is smart.” Sheng Shuihe chuckled and said, “You see, even you, the peer of those two children, hearing that Second Aunt wants to leave Sheng Family, you're so worried about her children! Therefore, the elders, including grandparents, father, mother, Third Uncle and Aunt, will definitely pay more attention to her children!”

He said meaningfully, “In this case, even if Second Uncle brings his new lover who will displace Second Aunt, how do you think the elders will treat her? There will be no chance for her to maltreat Third Sister and Fifth Brother!”

Senior Master Sheng and Old Madam Ming didn't have much control over Sheng Lansi, but they cared about their own flesh and blood. When Madam Bai became the stepmother of Sheng Weide, he was still an infant and was unable to resist. But Madam Bai was not a kind person. The reason why she had never maltreated Sheng Weide was not that she was softhearted or she felt guilty. It was because the elders kept a close eye on her, so she did not dare!

Since Senior Master Sheng and Old Madam Ming had protected their eldest grandson before, they would undoubtedly protect their grandchildren Sister Rao and Fifth Brother too.

Especially Sheng Weirao, who suffered great pain a while ago!

“But it's still different from mother after all.” Sheng Weiqiao opened her mouth but failed to say anything. After a while, she murmured, “Even if other elders treat these two children well, but they cannot be mentioned in the same breath with their mother. Although Second Aunt is not a virtuous woman, she has always been kind to her own children. I don't believe she will leave without Sister Rao and Fifth Brother!”

In fact, her heart sank when she said that because she recalled why her mother Madam Feng became hostile to Madam Bai.

When Madam Bai married Second Uncle, Madam Feng despised Madam Bai for what she did, and she was not close to Madam Bai. But since Madam Bai became the sister-in-law, she never made things difficult for her.

This time, Second Uncle kicked Madam Bai while she was down, but she dared not seek help from Madam Feng. Instead, she asked Old Madam Ming to send Nanny Zhang to request Sheng Lanci in the name of Sheng Weiqiao. It was because that Madam Bai had offended Madam Feng long before. To get to the root of the matter, it was because Madam Bai fell into disfavor shortly after she gave birth to Sheng Weixing.

The person who made her fall into disfavor was Ruoliu, the maid of the second branch at the time and the current concubine.

At that time, Madam Bai didn't know that Sheng Lansi was fickle in relations.h.i.+ps. She thought that she was the “true love” because Sheng Lansi was willing to turn his first wife out of Sheng Family and then marry her, and in the eyes of her husband, she was more important than Mrs. Ao. So, after knowing that, she intended to beat Ruoliu, “the little b*tch who seduced her husband while she was devoted to looking after her child,” to death without hesitation.

She reprimanded concubines and tried to establish her prestige, which made Sheng Lansi flare up unexpectedly!

Sheng Lansi even slapped her hard in the presence of Ruoliu, which made her lose face!

Madam Bai was disappointed, and she realized that even if she tried her best to take the place of Mrs. Ao, she came to an end just like Mrs. Ao!

Although Madam Bai became restrained and tried to fix her broken marriage, Ruoliu still gave birth to Sheng Nianxian, the Sixth Childe, and she was still the concubine in the second branch. Therefore, Madam Bai hated her so much and also had deep concerns about the future of herself and her children.

Sheng Family was originally developed by Sheng Lanci, the eldest son of the first wife, so it was reasonable for him to get a big share of the family property.

As the second son, the second branch had spent a lot of money on playing around. So, it was hard to say how much they could get in the future.

Also, Sheng Weide, left by Mrs. Ao, was in the second branch, and he was definitely the main heir to the property of the second branch.

If Madam Bai did not fall into disfavor, she would root out the stepson confidently and let her own child monopolize the family property.

But when Sheng Weixing was still an infant, Madam Bai had fallen out of favor. How could she help in the future?

Out of concern, Madam Bai had no appet.i.te for a few days, and finally came up with a brilliant idea—to persuade Madam Feng, who didn't have a son, to adopt Sheng Weixing to the eldest branch!

Then her own son would get a big share of the family property, not to mention the second branch!

No matter how good the idea was, Madam Feng flatly refused.

In fact, it was not surprising that Madam Feng would refuse, because Sheng Weiqiao was only four or five years old at that time. Both Madam Feng and Sheng Lanci didn't think they would only have one child, so she would not hastily adopt any heir. What if that boy got in the way of her own child?

Madam Feng thought that adopting Sheng Weixing was not in a hurry, but Madam Bai was very anxious. After all, heirs were usually young children who didn't remember their biological parents. But since she fell out of favor, Sheng Lansi seldom came to her room, so it was difficult for her to have the third child. If the adoption dragged on for three or five years, Sheng Weixing could remember things at that time. Even if the eldest branch still had no son, Sheng Weixing would probably not be considered when selecting heirs.

Could not let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d of Ruoliu benefit!

Madam Bai was so anxious that she couldn't help but badger Madam Feng. But Madam Feng would undoubtedly think, “I am in the prime of life, and I already have a daughter. But you urged me to adopt your son again and again. Do you think that I can't have my own son?!”

Although Madam Feng did not have a son until now, she certainly would not think that Madam Bai was fa.r.s.eeing. Instead, she would think that Madam Bai brought her bad luck!

They didn't have a friendly relations.h.i.+p all the time, and now it became worse.

After recalling this, Sheng Weiqiao became upset, and she thought, “Second Aunt even tried to persuade our parents into adopting Fifth Brother who was still an infant to become rich and powerful. Although Second Aunt is kind to Sister Rao and Fifth Brother, she prefers wealth and high honor….”

She bit her lips and looked up at Sheng Shuihe, “You… you know so much about Second Aunt, so do you have any idea to help Sister Rao and Fifth Brother?”