What a surprise!

Xu Baomo was frozen!

After a while, Sheng Weiqiao's bitter face turned awkward and embarra.s.sed. Xu Baomo then came to himself and pinched his palm to restrain his impulse for laughing, “Absolutely! Absolutely okay!”

He knew that his Big Weiqiao loved him!

She was just too shy!

She was so shy that she even beat around the bush by using “pretending to fall in love” as the excuse to show him her heart!

If he were not an experienced womanizer, he could never see what she really wanted to say!

“Since Big Weiqiao gave me such an obvious implication, I cannot stand aside.” Xu Baomo thought excitedly. “Today is a good day. There are only a few people in the garden. Why not invite Big Weiqiao to take a lake trip with me on a small boat that can only hold the weight of two people? The reason can be that we need a plan on how we could show that we're in love in front of that Little… oh no, Miss Gongsun, to make her back out.”

Xu Baomo didn't want to call Gongsun Yingjiang “Little Witch” any longer. If it were not for her, his Big Weiqiao would be too shy to ever say something like “pretending to fall in love”.

“I thought Miss Gongsun was about to make trouble for me, while it turned out that she was out of good intention!” Xu Baomo thought happily, “She might realize that she shouldn't have treated me like that on the island. She was just too shy to admit her mistake, so she compensated me the other way around!”

Looking at Sheng Weiqiao, who was smiling beautifully to him, Xu Baomo was about to do the most handsome pose that he had practiced in front of the bronze mirror and invite her to have a lake trip. However, Sheng Weiqiao said, “Brother, that's so nice of you! That's a deal then. Don't forget it when you talk to Yingjiang! Today is a hot day. Please go back and have a rest. I will go to visit my brother. These days, I only focused on Yingjiang and have not visited Xiezhu Pavilion, and I'm worried about his injuries.”

Then she waved to him and left trippingly!

She left trippingly…

She left…

Left…

Xu Baomo, “…!!!!”

Sheng Weiqiao, the “heartbreaker”, had no idea that Xu Baomo, who she left behind, felt abandoned. She walked in Xiezhu Pavilion light-footedly because she found a way to deal with Gongsun Yingjiang.

“Sweetheart, why do you come to your brother today?” It was not dog day yet, while Nanfeng County was located southward without snowy weather, so it was kind of hot already.

As a spoiled girl, Sheng Weiqiao has already placed utensils with ice in her house when taking a nap at noon.

However, in Sheng Shuihe's house, there was not a single ice bowl.

Through the north windows, the breeze traveled through the hall from the south door, lifting his coat from time to time. He was still in a wide-sleeved black crane cloak with simple patterns that opened in the front, and crossed-collars pale blue clothes inside with faint lotus pattern. He also had some magenta brocade as the belt on his lean waist.

On the brocade, there were a pair of cranes. One was flying, the other was resting on the tree, with pine branches and stones around.

Probably because he has been taken good care of since he had returned to Sheng Family, his face, though still lack redness, was not so translucent to show the blood vessels under the skin. It looked like polished ivory, s.h.i.+ning lightly as glaze color under the sunlight from outside.

His bright eyes looked at Sheng Weiqiao with a half-smile, “Or you want to ask your brother something?”

“How is your injury, brother?” Sheng Weiqiao was not a big fan of his kid-amusing tone and pouted her mouth before sitting down. She asked, “It looks like you haven't totally recovered. Have you asked the servant to decoct you some tonic? My mother said that things like red dates and donkey-hide gelatin are great for people who just suffered from blood loss.”

Sheng Shuihe said with a smile, “Sweetheart has been such a good girl. It seems like you have heard the news?”

Sheng Weiqiao asked at a loss, “What are you talking about?”

“Step down, you guys.” Sheng Shuihe cleared the s.p.a.ce, and then teased her, “What news could make you come to ask me in a hurry? For sure, it is our father and mother's plan for your marriage.”

“My marriage?!” Sheng Weiqiao was in shock, leaned to him unconsciously, and said quickly, “How come they planned my marriage all of a sudden?”

She said in a low voice, “Sister Rao just returned home, and they started to plan my marriage at this point. What will she think about it?!”

Although Sheng Lanci firmly believed that Sheng Weirao and Shen Jiuniang's tragedy had nothing to do with his daughter and it was predestined, Sheng Weiqiao could not agree with him with a clear conscience.

What's more, the victims, Sheng Weirao and Shen Jiuniang, were unlikely to accept it without grudge.

It was still too soon to say Sheng Weirao had been healed after she had returned to the family.

Imagine that, as a twelve-year-old girl from a rich family, it was brave enough of her to return to her family after being tortured for over a month. However, what would Sheng Weirao think when she knew that her family was busy in planning the marriage of her cousin?

Although Sheng Weiqiao could not visit her cousin because of Madam Bai, she didn't want to irritate Sheng Weirao by any means.

“You are their only daughter, so they don't want you to marry someone far away.” Sheng Shuihe patted her head right before him, smiled at her look with anger, and said, “So the candidates of your husband can only come from Nanfeng County. Our Sheng Family has already been the major family in the county, so only Feng Family and Xuanyu Family can pair up with us.”

“As they say, a man should marry someone from the lower cla.s.s while a girl should marry someone from a higher rank. Cousins of Feng Family and Xuanyu Family have lots of choices in marriage, while you don't have many to choose from. If our parents can't make a decision soon, you can only pick from the leftovers.”

Sheng Weiqiao was speechless for a while, and said, “Even so, it is not urgent enough that we need to make a decision right now. After all, Sister Rao has just returned to the family, and I'm just thirteen years old!”

Sheng Shuihe smiled and said, “Sweetheart, it is unwise of you to say that. At this point, our aunt is about to pick a daughter-in-law in the Lotus Feast. Father and mother also want you to take this opportunity, get along with our cousins, and see if you will have feelings for anyone. Sweetheart, you should remember that Cousin Xuanyu is the leading role in the banquet tomorrow. Don't steal his thunder, or you will upset our aunt!”

“So, the Lotus Feast is where our aunt wants to pick a daughter-in-law?” Sheng Weiqiao realized now, but she still frowned, “Why didn't father and mother tell me about this? I even thought that our aunt wanted some lively company!”

Lotus Feast was held by Xuanyu Family. Although the Old Madam of Xuanyu Family was the first aunt of Sheng Weiqiao, she could not stop her aunt from picking a daughter-in-law just because of the mood of her cousin.

At that moment, she looked up and saw Sheng Shuihe smiling at her with a playful look. She came up with an idea and got close to him, “Then what about you, brother?”

“What?” Sheng Shuihe, though smiling, was distracted a little bit. Was it someone's idea or Sheng Weiqiao's preference that she always wore her hair in double buns? After he saw her buns under the wisteria and a.s.sociated them with cat ears the other day, now when he saw Sheng Weiqiao with buns, he wanted to rub the top of her head between those buns!

Actually, this habit might be formed when he was with Little Five.

To be specific, it was at the beginning when they got together.

In these years, he got a better status on Daimao Island, and Little Five was also benefited from it. It didn't have to worry about its food and even enjoyed pet care from time to time.

As the old saying goes, it is easy for the frugal to become extravagant, but very difficult to reverse the process. Little Five was not a leopard that could be easily satisfied by rubbing on the head anymore. Sheng Shuihe had to smooth its fur for a long time to satisfy it every time they met.

After serving the “Boss Five” for many times, Sheng Shuihe felt the impulse at this moment looking at Sheng Weiqiao, who looked like a kitten.

He answered her randomly, while his mind was still absent. Sheng Weiqiao said seriously, “I mean your marriage, brother! You are four years older than me! Since they are worried about my marriage, then what about yours? Did they tell you to pay attention to certain girls tomorrow?”

“Pay attention?” Sheng Shuihe came back to himself and felt ironic at that moment. He rubbed his chin and replied with a smile, “I don't know any lady of Feng Family and Xuanyu Family. It will be inappropriate for me to greet them at the first meeting, won't it?”

“Then, I will keep an eye on the girls for you!” Sheng Weiqiao said immediately. “What kind of girl do you like, brother? Tell me and I will pay attention to that kind!”

Sheng Shuihe looked at her with a smile, “I haven't thought about it, but your agreement is a must. After all, you are my only sister, and I will never upset you.”

“Take it easy, brother!” Sheng Weiqiao was so happy to hear the words that she promised, “I will get along well with my sister-in-law! What's more, cousins in Feng Family and Xuanyu Family always have great reputations, and they must be virtuous and kind!”

“You throw a peach to me; I give you a white jade for friends.h.i.+p.” Sheng Shuihe smiled warmly, “I will keep an eye on the guys for you tomorrow!”

Speaking of it, the reason why he knew about the Lotus Feast was that Sheng Lanci knew his daughter had always been innocent and couldn't read people clearly, while the Lotus Feast only invited children of the Families. Even Mrs. Feng, the host of the banquet, would not stay for long. Of course, Sheng Lanci couldn't follow her to the banquet.

Hence, it occurred to him that he could count on Sheng Shuihe. And he told his son repeatedly to keep an eye on the guys for Sheng Weiqiao.

However, Sheng Shuihe did not foresee that his sister worried about his marriage before he worried about hers. Then his smile got a bit sarcastic.

“You just came back, so you are not familiar with many relatives!” Sheng Weiqiao had planned to tell him her deal with Xu Baomo about “pretending to fall in love”, so he would not have to be in a hurry to find her a husband tomorrow, which can be delayed until she managed to cope with Gongsun Yingjiang.

However, she thought that Sheng Shuihe was still injured, and it was not something graceful to be loved by one's niece. Unfortunately, Gongsun Family helped him greatly before, so it was difficult for him to refuse Gongsun Yingjiang. It was also the reason why she would rather discuss with Xu Baomo about how to deal with Gongsun Yingjiang but Sheng Shuihe because she thought she could cope with it without bothering him!

So, she swallowed her tongue back and said subtly, “Tomorrow, you should follow Eldest Brother to social with people. As for my marriage, it is not in a hurry. What's more, we are relatives living in the same county, so we will meet again. So, we don't have to decide it on the Lotus Feast!”

Even though Sheng Weiqiao thought it was not in a hurry, other Childes, who came to the banquet the next day, were not as calm as she was.