"Mother, you'll do as we discussed later," Xu Xiao'e said to Xu shi, who was sitting on the kang, lost in thought.
Hearing Xu Xiao'e's words, Xu shi immediately snapped out of her reverie. Looking at the excited Xu Xiao'e, Xu shi was a little worried. "Xiao'e, are we really doing this? What if something goes wrong..."
"There won't be any accidents. Mother, you have to trust me," Xu Xiao'e said earnestly, looking at Xu shi.
She would never let an accident happen.
Watching Xu Xiao'e open the door and quickly walk out, Xu shi sighed. Hopefully, there would be no accident.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan returned to the front courtyard and entered the west room of the main house. Half of the people in the room were gone. Shen Xiaoyan asked Pan shi, who said they had all left. Not only that, but most of the people in the east room had also left. The remaining people, besides her and Liang shi's husbands, were only a few members of the Zhu family and Shen Cheng.
"Some people really have no shame. They built houses with their husbands' money and then arranged for their maternal relatives to move in as soon as they moved," Zhu Baoping said to Shen Xiaoyan, her tone exceptionally harsh.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at her sideways, not replying. She had no interest in arguing with a young girl.
Seeing that Shen Xiaoyan ignored her, Zhu Baoping became even more indignant but didn't know what else to say.
Liu shi's gaze never left Shen Xiaoyan. She kept observing her, and the more she looked, the more she felt that this was not the little girl Xu shi had described.
However, all of that didn't matter. What mattered was getting her under her control.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiao'e, after leaving the west room, walked straight towards the east room.
She carefully pushed open the door to the west room. As she expected, it was unlocked.
She quickly slipped into the room, her eyes immediately falling on the kang by the window. No one was on the kang.
That meant they were in the inner room. Xu Xiao'e took a deep breath, tried to calm her tense mood, and then slowly walked towards the inner chamber.
The reason Xu Xiao'e made this decision was due to what Xu shi had said before.
The last time they went back to Shen Xiaoyan's original courtyard, the time of the family division, Xu shi had told Xu Xiao'e that Shen Xiaoyan was still a virgin.
Xu Xiao'e was very surprised and immediately asked Xu shi how she knew.
Xu shi said that Shen Xiaoyan's eyebrows were not yet dispersed, so she was still a virgin. She didn't know why she was still a virgin after living with Zheng Wei for so long.
At that time, Xu Xiao'e didn't care about this matter because she didn't know yet that Zheng Wei and his group had so much money.
But it wasn't too late to know now. Xu shi had also confirmed it to her just now, saying that Shen Xiaoyan was still the same as before.
In that case, as long as she became Zheng Wei's woman first, then Shen Xiaoyan would have no claim. After all, they hadn't had a wedding ceremony, and she was merely a nominal wife.
As long as this matter succeeded, this courtyard, and everything in it, would belong to her.
The more Xu Xiao'e thought about it, the more excited she became, even forgetting her nervousness.
Zheng Wei was not actually drunk. He was lying on the bed with his eyes half-closed, contemplating. When the door was pushed open earlier, he already knew someone had entered.
Listening to the footsteps and the slightly heavy breathing, Zheng Wei knew it couldn't be Shen Xiaoyan.
However, Zheng Wei didn't get up to check immediately. He wanted to see who it was and why they were here at this time.
Xu Xiao'e stopped at the kang.
In the dim light, she saw someone lying there. His tall, slender figure indicated he was a man.
If only there wasn't that scar on his face, she thought. Looking at his physique, Xu Xiao'e felt that among the men she had seen, none had a better build.
"Although you're a bit ugly, I won't hold it against you because you can make money. You're lucky. Hmph..."
Xu Xiao'e said softly, then raised her hand to lift the quilt off the person in front of her.
"What do you want?" Zheng Wei suddenly opened his eyes.
His dark, bright eyes met Xu Xiao'e's gaze. The ferocity in his eyes startled Xu Xiao'e, and she instantly retracted her hands.
"Nothing, nothing," Xu Xiao'e stammered.
But Xu Xiao'e was confused. Why had he woken up? She clearly asked her father to get him drunk.
While Xu Xiao'e was dazed, Zheng Wei had already gotten off the kang. He stood in front of Xu Xiao'e, looking at her mockingly, and asked again, "What do you want?"
Xu Xiao'e's mind raced.
Finally, she gritted her teeth. It was now or never. If she succeeded, she would get everything; if she failed...
She raised her face, her eyes gentle as water, and said, "Brother Zheng, Xiao'e likes you. I know. You and my sister haven't consummated your marriage, and she's so carefree, not a good wife. I swear, I will be a gentle wife. Brother Zheng!"
The last "Brother Zheng" was filled with genuine affection.
Unfortunately, she met someone who didn't understand romance.
Zheng Wei let out a scoff. "What do you think Shen Xiaoyan will think of you when she hears this?"
Xu Xiao'e didn't detect the anger in Zheng Wei's words. She simply thought he was worried about her relationship with Shen Xiaoyan, and she smiled gently. "My sister is kind and good-hearted. She will definitely bless us."
"Is that so?" Shen Xiaoyan raised an eyebrow. How did she not know she was so generous that she would hand over her own man and even bless the woman who stole him?
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's voice, Xu Xiao'e suddenly turned around. This sight terrified her.
The curtain to the study had been pulled back, and the room was very bright. Shen Xiaoyan stood by the door, and behind her, many shadows could be vaguely seen.
Had everyone come? But why? Weren't they in the front?
"Oh my, shameless people are invincible. If there were a sister like you, I reckon no matter who the sister was, they would feel sad?" Shen Xiaoyan said, shaking her head.
Zheng Wei turned and went back to the kang. He reached out and pulled open the curtain.
Sunlight streamed through the crystal glass windows into the room, illuminating Xu Xiao'e's pale little face.
The first person to enter with Shen Xiaoyan was Zhu Baoping.
She looked at Xu Xiao'e mockingly and said with a laugh, "Now let's see how you pretend."
She hated this fake woman, who acted so meek and gentle every day. Now her true colors were finally revealed, seducing her own brother-in-law. Oh my, this was a rare occurrence, quite uncommon even in the entire Tongling Town.
"Look at your good daughter. Hurry up and take her away. Isn't she embarrassing enough here?" Shen Cheng's face turned purple with anger. He had never been so humiliated.
Although there weren't many people present, he guessed that by evening, the entire village would know about this matter. In the future, this daughter would probably not be able to get married. Thinking of this, Shen Cheng's eyes darkened even more.
Xu shi walked out from behind the crowd, grabbed Xu Xiao'e's sleeve, and turned to leave.
But Xu Xiao'e was unwilling to leave. She shook off Xu shi's hand and said to Zheng Wei, "Brother Zheng, you like me too, don't you? How am I worse than Shen Xiaoyan?"
"Not at all," Zheng Wei glanced at her and said only these four words before turning away.
"Oh, why aren't you calling her 'sister' anymore? Weren't you calling her affectionately just now?" Zhu Baoping taunted.
"I don't have a sister," Shen Xiaoyan said to Zhu Baoping, seriously. "My mother only gave birth to a younger brother for me."
This was the truth, but spoken at this moment, it was even more of a slap in the face.
Zhu Baoping and the other members of the Zhu family all laughed.
Xu Xiao'e's face turned from pale to green, and finally, she was dejectedly pulled away by Xu shi.
Shen Cheng, with the two younger children, also left with Xu shi and her.
Pan shi and Liang shi quickly led their families and bid farewell to Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei. In a short while, only the Zhu family remained.
"Aren't you leaving yet?" Zheng Wei said to the Zhu family.
"Little Wei..." Liu shi's affectionate greeting was interrupted by Zheng Wei.
"My name is Zheng Wei."