Xu Baomo had many clams at Zhuying Mini Villa rather gloomily. What made him even more downcast was that when he was about to leave, Sheng Weiqiao patted her chest as a way to promise that he could have clams every time upon his visit!

Hearing this, Xu Baomo nearly made up his mind to ignore her forever

After returning to the guest house where he stayed, young manservant Xu Cong helped him sh.o.r.e up his determination, “We have lived in Sheng Family for quite a while. You and Second Miss Sheng are still very courteous to each other. Your relationship with her hasn"t deepened an inch, let alone your plan to marry her! If this status quo were to remain, your legs…. I am apprehensive about you!”

“Just shut up!” Xu Baomo kicked him angrily and shouted, “I told you long ago that she was merely a Second Miss. It would be a piece to cake for me to win her over! Three days! I just need three days, and then I"ll write a letter to tell my grandfather the good news!”

It was not like he had a choice. The life of his father, Ningwei Marquis Xu Zijing, was a tragic lesson for him!

As the son of a middle-level military officer, Xu Zijing married the daughter of an ordinary teacher before his career took off. He won the t.i.tle of Marquis by virtue of his strength and capability later in life.

Usually, when people got affluent and prestigious, they would find some lovers and neglect their friends. Even though Xu Zijing did not abandon his first wife, shouldn"t he be allowed to marry beautiful concubines as a reward for his efforts?

He indeed harbored such an idea, except that his first wife, Xu Baomo"s birth mother Madam Nan, was a typical jealous woman!

Over the years, Xu Zijing had never had a chance to visit a brothel, let alone take on concubines!

Even an unintentional glance at a maid at home would come to a disgraceful end: he had to kneel down!

When he did that intentionally… ho, ho, ho. It was said that chroniclers had recorded Ningwei Marquis"s love for cats in the chronicle. After all, over the years, Ningwei Marquis had used the same excuse to take leaves from imperial court meetings. The reason was that “his face was accidentally scratched by his cats and he did not want to attend the meeting looking like this for fear of harming court decorum.”

It could be seen how much this Marquis loved furry meowing creatures, which was not the case!

He was scratched by Madam Nan and embarra.s.sed to go out. Thus, he raised some civet cats in the family, which served as his excuse!

Thinking of his father"s tragic life, Xu Baomo shivered and reached a profound realization. If he were to marry someone as ferocious as her mother instead of Big Weiqiao who was graceful, virtuous, and tolerant, he would repeat his father"s life!

For someone determined to have as many mothers-in-law as possible, that kind of life was a nightmare!!!

He decided to win over Sheng Weiqiao in the next three days. In the meantime, Huafei Mansion, located at the second branch where Sheng Weirao lived, cast a dim light.

Even the faint light failed to conceal the pale and haggard expression of Madam Bai.

Her arrogant and poignant demeanor displayed earlier in front of Sheng Weiqiao was perished. Instead, she was weary and anxious. She said in a husky voice, “To no surprise, Weiqiao came to visit you today. I sent them away as you requested.”

Getting no response from the tulle tent, Madam Bai paused and proceeded hesitantly, “It"s not that I don"t believe you. It"s just… it"s just you are only 12 years old this year, and your brother is 2 years younger than you. Although I"m not valued in this family, I"ve been Second Madam of Sheng family for over a decade. At least I can still look after you two! If I were to leave and that mistress were to take my place, and you are so young….”

“How many times have I told you?” A cold voice from the tulle tent interrupted her, “As long as you do what I said, that mistress can forget about marrying into this family!”

With her mouth half-opened, Madam Bai felt panicked for a bit, and then she whispered, “Your father is a man in his prime. Even if we were to prevent the one that he is fond of from marrying into the family, he would move on to the next one eventually. What"s worse, what if the next one is handpicked by your grandmother? You know how partial your grandmother can be when it comes to her own children. She will never let your father become a widower in his thirties!”

Sheng Weirao gave a calm response to her worry, “Even if you stayed, could you stop father from looking for the next mistress? Could you change grandmother so that she would show no favoritism in the future?”

Leaving Madam Bai speechless, she said bitterly, “The reason why I suggest you leave Sheng Family is that I know father and grandmother are not reliable. Besides, grandfather gave all his attention to the eldest branch. When you take the opportunity and leave now, you can keep our options open! The second branch is no match for the eldest branch. Besides, father has led a life of dissipation over the years, spending money like water! When it comes to the division of family a.s.sets, no matter how benevolent Eldest Uncle and Aunt are, how much do you think will be given to our branch considering our place in the pecking order and our contributions made for the family?”

“Besides, you"re not my father"s first wife. Our Eldest Brother, the son of father"s first wife, is above my brother and me in terms of seniority. Below us, we got a younger brother, the son of father"s concubine. Not to mention the fact my father just married a mistress, just judging from father"s dissipated way of life, how many newborns will we have in the second branch in the coming years? Even if you stayed, what can you strive for us in the future?”

Perhaps Sheng Weirao was getting a bit emotional. The tulle tent swayed slightly, and she noticed it. She took a deep breath and said slowly, “At the moment, people in Sheng Family take pity on us. If you were to leave our father now, it would seem disgraceful to outsiders. However, grandfather, Eldest Uncle and Aunt are decent people, and they would sympathize with us! At the time, even if grandfather did not give you enough money to spend for the next 10 years like he did with our Eldest Brother"s mother, he would definitely treat you fairly!”

She let out a silent sign, “You can use the money to open a shop or something like that. Even if you don"t know a thing about business, you don"t have to worry about it as long as Eldest Uncle is willing to help you. In that case, you probably wouldn"t be able to enjoy the luxurious lifestyle you did in Sheng Family, but it is not hard for you to lead a decent life. The best part of it is that you don"t have to worry about being abandoned by father one day and ending up homeless! In the coming years, my younger brother and I could always turn to you when father proves to be unreliable! Why don"t you tell me which part of the scheme is worse than staying in Sheng Family despite father"s loathing for you?”

Madam Bai choked with sobs, “When Senior Master heard your sufferings on the sea, even someone as tough as him was so full of sorrow that his eyes turned red. Your father… your father didn"t show the slightest concern, and he even took it as an opportunity to get rid of me and make way for his mistress to be Second Madam of Sheng Family. I"m not sticking around for the wealth of Sheng Family, and especially this event undercuts my attachment to this family. Why would I want to stay? It is just that I am concerned about leaving behind you two at such a young age alone in this family!”

“When you first came here, Eldest Brother was still in his infancy.” Sheng Weirao was silent for a bit and then continued, “He grew up alone anyway, why can"t my brother and I be the same?”

“Sheng Weide is the eldest son of the second branch, and his birth mother is the daughter of your grandfather"s old subordinate. Your grandparents love your Eldest Brother dearly, and he spent nearly all of his time at Jinxue House. Who would dare to harm him? Even your father didn"t dare to punish him easily! As for me, your grandparents never took a liking for me. How is it possible for you to be treated the same?!”

Thinking of all this, Madam Bai felt repentant and discomposed, “Especially when I first came to Sheng Family, I was young and unthoughtful. I thought your father"s love for me was all that mattered, and it was pointless to care about the opinions of other members in Sheng Family. Thus, I was never on good terms with your eldest aunt and third aunt. If I had close relationships with them, they would have been a great help when your father"s future wife were to mistreat you. I am worried that you and your brother would have no one to turn to in this big house if you were to be bullied!”

Sheng Weirao listened to her tearful grievance. After a while, she said, “If you were to stay and my brother and I were to be wronged, we three would only feel aggrieved together, and no one would help us! If you made your own way, we could at least count on you. It is better than having three fates tied in father"s hands!”

Her expression was blocked by the tent, but a forced restraint could be detected in her voice, “At first… those guys didn"t even dare to touch my hair, only because they mistook me for Second Sister, the daughter of Eldest Uncle! Except that my maid was stupid, she thought telling them my real ident.i.ty would get us released from them!”

Staring nervously at the tent, Madam Bai comforted her, “Weirao, let bygones be bygones. You… you don"t have to think back to the past anymore!”

“I dreamed of it every night. How is it possible to shun the memories?” Sheng Weirao smiled wanly, “I"ve been thinking my sufferings over and over again, trying to figure out who should take the blame. When it comes down to it, isn"t father the one to blame?!”

She raised her voice slightly and whimpered, “If he were competent and capable and if he valued me, those guys… how would those guys… how would they…. Mother, do you know what they said after learning I was not Second Sister but a girl from the second branch?!”

“The guy in charge gave his servant a whip on the spot, reprimanding him for "kidnapping trash"!”

“Dear daughter, please say no more!” Madam Bai was torn with grief. With tears trickling down like rain, she finally entered inside the tent and held her quivering daughter in arms, “It was my bad. I shouldn"t have encouraged you to play up to Young Lord Xu! Otherwise…. I am so sorry!!!”

Sheng Weirao let her mother hug her, but she just stared blankly and said in a dreamlike tone, “I was terrified at the time. I told them repeatedly that although my father was not competent, my grandparents and Eldest Uncle adored me very much. I pled with them for mercy. Then, they left this scar on my face with their knife!”

“They said…”

“They said Xuanyu E told them already that children from the second branch of Sheng Family were of no use except Eldest Brother!”

“Father is not only the most useless person in Sheng Family but also the most careless one when it comes to his love for his children. Eldest Brother was singled out due to his background. He has a special status in the eyes of grandparents and Eldest Uncle. That"s why he could be of use to them!”

“Comparing with him, what value do I possess to let them show mercy for me?!”

Tears already showered down her cheeks. Sheng Weirao continued, “I knew they were probably saying such words on purpose to fan my hatred towards the family, but now speaking from my heart, I can never be able to trust father, let alone regard him as the person I could count on!!!”

She turned her head and stared straight at Madam Bai. Tears fell down, and her voice was imperceptible, “Grandparents are at an old age, and they are not particularly fond of Fifth Brother and me! Eldest Uncle and Aunt, as well as Third Uncle and Aunt, all have their children to take care of. They can only care for us when they are free, which is not enough to safeguard us!”

“So, I suggest you use this great opportunity to divorce father. After all, if your fate were to be controlled by father, how could you put Fifth Brother and me under your protection?!”

Madam Bai hugged her daughter with her trembling hands. Her tears rolled down on her clothes along the corner of her eyes.

After a while, she heard herself saying, “Okay!”

What they didn"t know was that at a small lateral yard located remotely in the second branch, Sheng Lianlian raised her hand to cover her mouth with her eyes rounded with surprise, “That b*tch wants to divorce father?! Really?!”

The maid in black clothes stood in front of her and sensed her joy. She couldn"t help but let out an ironic smile, “Eighth Miss, you wouldn"t think this is a good thing, would you?”

“It"s not?” Sheng Lianlian was only five years old. She was way too cynical and vicious for her age, but her reaction gave away her inner thoughts. She was so pleased to hear the news that she laughed out loud, “When that b*tch leaves the house, I"m interested in knowing whether the b*tch she gave birth to can display her domineering personality again! I will torture her relentlessly and sell her to a brothel….”

Having said that, she noticed that the maid in the black clothes gave her an even more satirical look. She did not know what went wrong, but she instinctively stopped herself from uttering more. She played up to her, “Bai b*tch was defeated without a fight. I guess she was afraid of Aunt Wu. I know Aunt Wu is the best!”

“Miss Wu is also fond of you. The person who delivered the message specifically mentioned that Miss Wu would like to thank you in person because you told her in time that Second Madam berated Second Miss. That"s why Miss Wu could detect Second Madam"s scheme!” the maid in black clothes said so to coax her with a pretended smile. Then, she said slowly, “But Miss Wu thought that it would bring no good for you or her if Second Madam divorced Second Master.”

She sighed, “Second Madam even intends to kill two birds with one stone, getting rid of you and Miss Wu at the same time….”

The maid in black clothes was satisfied to see that the fear intertwining with hatred stiffened Sheng Lianlian"s smile. She bent over to her ear, “So, Miss Wu came up with a plan!”