Deceive me, Marry me

Lilac colored hangings in raised gold thread were held up by a pair of jaded pegs and under the hangings, a mirror enclosed by carved twined dahlia pinnata and marine animals reflected a white face with well-formed brows, red seductive lips and a pair of dark shiny eyes which turned brightly. Sheng Weiqiao who was sitting in front of the dresser got up, "Good. Let's go!"

"Today young master will come back. Would you like one more hairpin in your hair?" The maid Lvqi who was taking care of her dressing said without thought, and for her recklessness, she was already nipped secretly by her partner Lvjin.

As supposed, Sheng Weiqiao mocked coldly at the moment, "Just a son of a mistress! Even if he's brought back now, is he worthy of my hard dressing up?! Does he deserve it!"

Both Lvqi and Lvjin stayed compliant and didn't dare to utter a word.

Everyone knew that Sheng Weiqiao's father Sheng Lanci made a faithful vow in order to marry Madam Feng, saying that whatever happened in this life, he would only stick with Madame Feng and would never have others in his heart!

The marriage that had once moved the whole county now just stepped into its seventeenth year and Sheng Weiqiao hadn't passed her thirteenth birthday, but suddenly Sheng Lanci would bring back a son of his!

Actually Madam Feng didn't have a son herself but Sheng Lanci truly desired a descendant for his family blood. Family Feng was also reasonable. The problem was that the son who was to be back today was in his seventeen also. Counting his age, you'd find that he was born when Sheng Lanci just started his romance with Madam Feng!

You could imagine the mood of this pair of mother and daughter!

Several days ago when Madam Feng received the news, she was intended to pack the baggage and bring her daughter back to her original family. Sheng Weiqiao refused. She thought that since her father had changed, if both she and her mother left, weren't they doing the outsider favor, so that he could take the place to be the new master?!

If someone had to go, it should be the outsider!

So in no case would she accept going back to Madam Feng's parents, and she'd tried all she could to stay. All for the meeting today!

She would love to see what a seductive fairy had her father hidden from them for years!

After scolding the maid, Sheng Weiqiao tidied her the border of her dress, made sure of her appearance and stepped out to the main reception hall.

When she arrived at the hall, every one of family Sheng, except for the eldest branch, was already there. They'd asked the fragrant tea and were chatting in excitement-with mockery towards Madam Feng and Weiqiao in their words.

Seeing Sheng Weiqiao come in, they all shut up awkwardly, including Old Madam Ming.

Only Sheng Weiqiao's second aunt Mrs. Bai, who'd been jealous of Madam Feng for long, caught the chance and failed to hold back her laugh, saying that, "Weiqiao's here? I have to say congratulations to you. Finally, you've got a brother! After you get married, at least you'll have someone to rely on!"

"My parents are both in good health. My mother's family has got plenty of children. I do have many people to rely on!" Sheng Weiqiao wouldn't even bother to turn and look at her straight and she snorted, "How can I rely on a petty outsider? Just because you're from a small family and accustomed to having no reliance, you think everyone is like you, and he can't wait to court anyone they meet?"

"It's the stuff of big brother, just obey his willing. What's the bother to babble here?!" Her second uncle, seeing that the situation went wrong, hastened to stop his wife, "We are just invited by big brother for a cup of tea."

Saying that he opened the cup lid and sipped, and gave his niece a comforting smile.

At the time, Old Madam Ming who sat at the prime position also greeted her with a full smile face, "Weiqiao, come to me and take a seat!"

Family Sheng had been a common rich one before. They became one of the three most powerful families in Nanfeng County, all thanks to the effort of Sheng Lanci. While Sheng Lanci cared the most about his wife and daughter all the time. Even if now Sheng Lanci brought back a love child, his wife left out of anger, and his daughter was indignant also. But before ensuring that Madam Feng and Weiqiao had totally lost Sheng Lanci's affection, even the seniors in family didn't dare to offend Sheng Weiqiao.

Or once Sheng Lanci changed his attitude, their affluent life with good clothes and delicious food might not exist anymore.

Following the instructions and seating herself beside Old Madam Ming, Sheng Weiqiao glanced at the seniors and peers and found that apart from Mrs. Bai, they all put on a courting smiley face when caught her eyesight.

Even if Mrs. Bai who was just teased by her didn't dare to look into her eyes now. She felt sour and bitter in heart, "These people fear me so much just for knowing that my father indulges me. It's pitiful that such a good father changes all of a sudden."

She felt depressed for a while and gathered her strength thinking about the current situation. She talked with the others pretending there was nothing. The coquette and her son would be here, so no matter how gloomy Sheng Weiqiao was, she wouldn't manifest that in front of the mother and son!

After they had a cup of tea, and from outside entered a deferential maid. She said, "The master and the young master are back already."

The room where everyone was chatting easily suddenly fell silent. Everyone including Old Madam Ming stopped talking, held back their laughter, kept their eyes forward and waited attentively.

Just a moment, Sheng Lanci's figure appeared at the door.

He was no more than forty and tall, with white cheek, good features, short beard at the chin shaved neatly. He was in an indigo frock of which the collar was a round one, with belt well-fastened and a beige soft hat, stepping in steadily. He set his eyes first to the prime side, not on his step-mother Old Madam Ming, but his daughter Sheng Weiqiao. He gave a loving smile.

Usually, Sheng Weiqiao would have burst into laughter, but for now, she just glimpsed at him with no expression on her face and set her eyesight behind him.

It wasn't the seductive mistress as she supposed.

But a boy in black.

Telling from his appearance, he was around sixteen or seventeen, but already of almost the same height as Sheng Lanci. He was more slender, however.

The complexion of him was so white that almost pale, as if never exposed to the sun all year round. But with blade-like brow extending to his temples, cold eyes bright like stars, thin lips in a fresh color, pretty look accompanied by masculinity and vigor across his body, he was smiling just lightly, but it made others felt like caressed by spring wind. If he hadn't been the son of her father's mistress, just for his face, Sheng Weiqiao would have held some good feelings for him.

But now she rubbed the teacup in the hand, just leaving him a cold glimpse!

While the boy was amazingly sensitive. When Sheng Weiqiao's eyesight just touched him, he'd already turned and peered at her!

"You must be my little sister, right?" The moment when the brother and sister caught each other's eyes, before Sheng Weiqiao was about to put on a hateful face, the boy already smiled at her friendly, and he said with content, "You're as pretty and gentle as I expected!"

Sheng Weiqiao wasn't pleased at all: Do you think by pretending a good brother you could make me a good sister? Yuck!

With a dark face, she thrust the teacup to the table and sneered coldly, "You're calling whom a sister? All people in Nanfeng County know that my mother has only one daughter, and it's me. Who knows where you're from, and how can you count as my brother? Shameless as you are!"

She set her sharp and arrogant eyesight up and down on the boy and squinted at Sheng Lanci, and she snorted, "Virtue, complexion, credit and comportment. The virtue takes the first place. We meet for the first time but you judged directly my face, so it's not difficult to see that you're like your mother who puts grace at the first. It's understandable since that was how you were given birth, right?"

"She's not my sister?" Evidently the boy had got her meanings that suggested that his mother lured Sheng Lanci with her charm, so that he was born. He winked and looked all the ladies in Family Sheng one by one and after an evaluation he thought he didn't make it wrong, so he turned at Sheng Lanci in doubt, "Didn't you tell me that my sister is gentle and virtuous, speaking softly all the time? Why's she so fierce?"

Before he ended his words, everyone in the room had fallen silent!

"Weiqiao is always the sweetheart of the eldest branch, and Sheng Lanci's indulged her too much!" Old Madam Ming and others drank tea with elegant manner, while they felt exited in heart, "While the son who's brought back today isn't easy-going, either. The son of a mistress and the daughter of the wife had a war when they first met. There is going to be a big scene today!"

Not disappointing everyone, Sheng Weiqiao smashed the tea bowl, "Junk! Try again!"

Looking at the tea bowl flying towards his head, the young man quickly pulled Sheng Lanci who was unguarded in front of him without any thought.

"Clang!"

With the tea splash, the tea bowl fell to the ground and fell apart!

Sheng Lanci, who was splashed with tea water and leaves, "..."

Old Madam Ming and others, "...!"

Sheng Weiqiao, "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Eldest Master, are you okay?" When everyone turned to look at the culprit, however, the young man took out the handkerchief generously to give Sheng Lanci a wipe, and he said with concern as he rubbed, "Poor father, when you saw the tea bowl come over, why didn't you take cover? Fortunately, the tea was not hot. Otherwise, you would have been injured."

Sheng Lanci swallowed a mouthful of blood silently: I don't need to take cover at all!!

He endured, but Sheng Weiqiao was about to be furious. After a moment stunned by the young man's rudeness, she stood up and ran down and then asked Sheng Lanci, "Father, does it matter?"

After Sheng Lanci indicated no injuries with full of relief, she kicked the young man without saying a word, "You..."

Used to being a gentlewoman, Sheng Weiqiao was so angry but she couldn't think of any curse, so she just gritted her teeth and said, "How dare you!!!"

This time the young man didn't pull Sheng Lanci forward to stop the disaster for him. Instead, he stood there and suffered a kick from her, still smiling, "Father is old, and he can't react in time. As you are thoughtful, filial, gentle, considerate, smart, beautiful, tolerant... you should think for him! "

Before he finished talking, Sheng Weiqiao had quickly kicked him so many times that a pair of white silk trousers under his black coat was covered with marks. But even then, she still did not vent her hate, so she panted and looked around, trying to find something to beat him. Everyone in this hall was a little overwhelmed, but when her seven-year-old cousin Sheng Weiwu who was always respecting her sister saw this, she actually helped her by holding a one-foot-tall garlic-shaped bottle with patterns of cranes and lucid ganoderma to her sister!

"Weiwu!" Sheng Weiwu's father and mother, the Sheng Family's third master and his wife, almost vomited blood because of this scene, and wanted to stand up and stop this. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Sheng Lanci quickly grabbed the garlic-shaped bottle and stared at his troubled niece. Then he hid the bottle behind him and smiled at her daughter, "Sweetheart, guess what did your father bring back for you this time?"

He wanted to use this topic to divert his daughter's attention, at least to ease the atmosphere. However, Sheng Weiqiao didn't look at him with a sneer, pointing at the young man and said, "This is still a question? Isn't the thing you brought back here?"

"..." Sheng Lanci swallowed a mouthful of blood again, and continued to smile flatteringly, "Daddy didn't talk about Shuihe, but a dagger. Didn't you want the short knife of the royal gift in your grandfather's study last time? It's just that the knife is too heavy for a girl, and it's not convenient to carry, so I wanted to get you a better dagger..."

When he spoke about this, the young man Sheng Shuihe suddenly showed a look of shock. While letting Sheng Weiqiao kick him, he seemed to smile and said, "It turned out that my father took my dagger left from my mother for my sister? If you had said that earlier, wouldn't I have hesitated so long to give you that? "

"You actually gave me a mistress's thing?!" Sheng Weiqiao heard it, furious, and said madly, "You don't feel dirty, but I feel sick all the time-and you! Keep your mother's thing to you away. Don't come to stain my place, as it will stain my eyes!!! "

Sheng Weiqiao said more sadly. Although she was dissatisfied that Sheng Lanci took Sheng Shuihe back, she was still worried. After smashing the tea bowl, she had seen that Sheng Lanci was pulled forward to be a shield by his son.

However, although this dad was treated like this under everyone's eyes by his son who was just taken into the door, he didn't say a word of blame. Instead, he had stopped her from helping him teach such a rude son.

Not only that, he even wanted to please her with his mistress's thing now. In the past, every time when Sheng Lanci went out, didn't he bring his daughter a gift that he had picked for a long time and tried his best? In contrast, today... now...

She glared at Sheng Lanci with tears in her eyes, and kicked Sheng Shuihe hard again, gritting her teeth and said, "Your father and son have a great rapport! I will not hinder you!"

As she spoke, she ignored Sheng Lanci's stop with panic. She raised her sleeves to cover her face and ran away, crying.

"This is Shuihe. His teacher has given him the courtesy name, Hengshu. He's sick, so I took him back to take care of him." Sheng Lanci was heart-broken when he saw his daughter was so angry that she ran away, so he introduced the son in a hurry and he said, "Thank you for being worried about your grandson, madam. Now that everyone has seen him, you don't have to be so tired!"

However, the meaning of the sentence was to cancel all the following activities such as greetings and tea serving, suggesting that Old Madam Ming and others could go.

Although very unruly, Old Madam Ming and others had to leave-The Senior Master of Sheng family was violent and partial to Sheng Lanci who was the first son of the wife. A few days ago, before he went out to visit friends, he had asked everyone to obey the arrangement of Sheng Lanci when he was not at home, including his remarried wife Old Madam Ming!

If anyone dared to disobey, when Senior Master returned, he would teach him to be a man himself!

"Although we can't see how Eldest Master ends, Weiqiao has left." Old Madam Ming and others comforted themselves, "We have seen the scene from beginning to end, and it was worth drinking tea for this half a day!"

Watching them leave, before Sheng Lanci was going to run after his daughter, he suddenly remembered what happened just now, and he could not help but question Sheng Shuihe, "You know that dagger is an ancient object that I spent a thousand tael of silver specially. Why did you tell my sweetheart that it was from your mother?!"

If Sheng Shuihe had not made the trouble like this deliberately, Sheng Weiqiao wouldn't have been so angry and walked away!

Unexpectedly, Sheng Shuihe looked at him with a smile and said slowly, "Smart, sensible, filial, gentle, considerate, clever, beautiful, tolerant?"

Seeing Sheng Lanci's old face blush when he heard these words, the smile on Sheng Shuihe's face became more playful, "You vowed that all the above virtues could not describe one-tenth of the merits of your daughter. She is a unique lady in the world. So when I come here, I can't bully her? Uh? "

Everyone in the hall just thought that he, Sheng Shuihe, was shameless?

The really shameless one was definitely Sheng Lanci! Ok?

He described such a fierce and rude girl that all the virtuous women couldn't compare with her. He also told him not to bully the girl. It made him believe that he really has a gentle, shy and timid sister!

What was the result?

If Sheng Lanci had not snatched the bottle just now, looking at Sheng Weiqiao's aggressive posture, she could have killed him on the spot!

Such a tigress! Sheng Lanci even described her as a little white rabbit!

-Sheng Shuihe had never seen such a shameless person!

Sheng Weiqiao cried all the way back to her backyard and had no idea what happened after she left.

But even she knew something, it still wouldn't make a difference. Sheng Weiqiao quickly ran to her room, threw herself on the bed, and wept so hard.

After catching up with her, Lvqi and Lvjin couldn't comfort her at all. They thought about Miss Sheng, who was served by them, and since she was born, she had always been the apple of her parents' eyes. Usually, if she scowled because petals fall from the tree in the courtyard, everyone would be so nervous and worried about something hurt her heart and asked her if she was OK. Well, since when had she been so aggrieved?

When two maids heard her cry, it made them feel sad too. Finally, they couldn't help crying along.

After a while, Sheng Lanci finally ran to Zhuying Mini Villa. But he heard the sound of howling as soon as he entered the front door. He thought her daughter would do something stupid after she left with anger. He was scared out of his wits and ran straight to her daughter's room. But all he could see was she lay on a plain color pillow with some dark cloud and lines on it. Well, although she was tearing, she was totally fine.

Sheng Lanci finally could be relieved. But when he saw the two maids still crying loudly on their knees, he was so pissed!

He lifted his foot and kicked them, "What's the matter with you girls in the freaking morning!"

"If you really hate me, you can yell at me. Why do you blame them?!" Surprisingly, the kick shut the mouths of the two maids, but his daughter jumped like a cat whose tail was stepped. She said angrily with a high pitch, "You don't have to accuse me obliquely. You just need to tell us that there is no place for me and my mother in this family and let us get out of here!!"

Sheng Lanci also almost cried, "My sweetheart, as your father, I always treat you and your mother as pearls. How could there be no place for you in this family? I can't even let you go! I can get myself out of this family, but I'll never, never let you and your mother go!"

"We didn't ask you to leave, but you still brought a mistress' son to home, didn't you?!" Sheng Weiqiao was not buying his father's sweet talks. Also, these sweet talks she heard a lot since she was little. Before, she had always thought she had a good father to be proud of. But now, she finally understood and honestly believed the meaning of what her aunt had said was right, "If you believe what men say, you lose."

"Shuihe had a severe injury before, and no one could take care of him. Dad was worried about him, so..." Under the daughter's angry gaze, Sheng Lanci's voice grew weaker and weaker, and finally, he whispered, "Anyway, when it comes time to divide the property, I will let you pick first, then he gets the rest to pick!"

He thought that if he said that, perhaps his daughter would be calmer.

But, unexpectedly, Sheng Weiqiao threw the pillow directly to his head and went off the deep end, "So, you're saying that my mom and I only care about money?!"

Her biological mother, Feng Yinlu, was the daughter of the Wife of the prestigious Feng Family. Speaking of Feng Family, it was a very ancient noble family in Nanfeng County, and Sheng Family was just a rising star at best.

When Sheng Lanci came to Feng Family to propose that year, the status of Sheng Family could not compare with Feng Family at all. If the Feng Family hadn't seen his sincerity, they wouldn't have given him their daughter!

Now, her father Sheng Lanci thought that his wife and daughter disapproved of his son's presence because he would divide their property?!

Sheng Weiqiao already had been so speechless because of the anger, and she spoke with the shaking voice, "Even the Sheng Family doesn't give us one penny, we could live with my mother's dowry for a million years!!! Do we have to care about your small property?!"

Sheng Lanci finally came to himself and realized that he said something wrong. When he tried to explain, Sheng Weiqiao had already lost her patience. She turned her head and asked the two maids to help her pack. "My mom was right! What's the point of staying here and fighting?! We should move back to grandparents as soon as possible and have them clean out a new house, so mom and I can live in peace instead of being like poor doormats here!"

"My sweetheart, just listen to me! Listen to me, please!" Sheng Lanci almost wanted to spit the blood. He held on his daughter and comforted her. But Sheng Weiqiao didn't even want to talk to him. She was only occupied in commanding the maids to pack luggage.

Father and daughter commanded different orders. Poor Lvqi and Lvjin did not know who to listen to, only to do this at a moment, and to do that at another moment. The scene was a total mess!

Because of the crazy situation in the boudoir, the girl who came to deliver the message had to raise her voice again and again. "Eldest Master and Second Miss, Mrs. Xuanyu sent someone to bring the message that there was a new batch of clothes materials came, and she wants Second Miss to come to pick some!"

In Nanfeng County, there were now three top families, compared with two previously ‒ Xuanyu Family and Feng Family.

The person who invited Sheng Weiqiao was the so-called Mrs. Xuanyu. Actually, she was also her aunt who was seven years older than Feng Yinlu, and her husband was the ex-master of Xuanyu Family, Xuanyu Le. In a word, two of them suited each other by their family status.

However, no matter how talented Xuanyu Le was, he was totally a playboy. Although Mrs. Xuanyu had the backup of her Feng Family and her clever mind, still, she suffered a lot in this marriage.

That was why when Feng Yinlu got married, the Feng Family preferred to choose a son-in-law who could treat their daughter with a full heart rather than one from a family of high status.

But, fortunately, just two years ago, Mr. Xuanyu passed away, so Mrs. Xuanyu put her son in charge of Xuanyu Family, and now she became an old madam, and her life was finally much better!

Meanwhile, she sent people to pick her niece by using new clothes as an excuse – Well, even a plonker knew that she must come here for a reason, and that must be related to Sheng Shuihe. However, Mrs. Sheng had returned to her mother, and as her elder sister, this was not a good time for her to come in person. So, she made an excuse to take her niece and then inquired about the situation.

"My sweetheart, no matter what kind of clothes you want, you can just tell me. There is no need to bother your aunt, right?" Sheng Lanci knew well that the so-called aunt had a great deal of experience in the family life. Compared with his wife and daughter, well she was deep in scheming. Even if his wife and daughter worked together, they would be no match for her. Now, wife backed to her mother's place, and daughter was still angry, if they two meet, gosh, who knew what she would teach her innocent daughter.

He quickly stopped her daughter and said, "How about I take you to the shop now?"

Although Sheng Weiqiao was talking about leaving, in her depth of heart, she was still struggling to leave the family, or in the resistance not to give the biggest bedroom to Sheng Shuihe. Now, when she heard that her aunt was going to invite her to be her guest, well, what a good timing! All of this suggested that she should take the opportunity to ask her aunt for a good idea. Then she quickly replied, "Auntie is going to give me something, not you. So, you're not qualified to help me say no!"

After that, she no longer cared about any of befriending from Sheng Lanci and let Lvqi to manage the closed carriage. As for herself, she went back to her folding screen to change her clothes. Then, she took Lvjin with her and ran to the carriage. But, when she got there, she saw Lvqi stood near the carriage stiffly. "Miss!" Lvqi felt like she saw the lifesaver.

Sheng Weiqiao was in a terrible mood. When she got on the carriage, she asked, "What?" However, when she opened the curtain, what she saw shocked her.

Then came the full fury.

Inside, Sheng Shuihe wore a green round-neck robe with radix curcumae embroidery on it, a belt, and a white jade short hairpin was on his healthy black and well-groomed hair. The whole costume showed off his beautiful face and elegant character into perfection.

He confidently sat on the Sheng Weiqiao's spot and showed a friendly smile when he saw she came in, "Hello, my little sister! I heard that you are going to your auntie's place, I mean, I haven't visited auntie before, so why don't you take me with you?"

He said softly, "I heard that the Xuanyu Family is the richest in Nanfeng County. Auntie was also born in the Feng Family, which also is the top family in this country. I am sure she will be too lavish in greeting gifts to disappoint me!"