Chapter 32

A few people followed Xiyue and that little scholar back with strange expressions on their faces, watching how the little scholar made Xiyue blush and her heart race without leaving a trace.

“Tsk tsk, a real expert,” Xin Erniang sighed. “Look at this, the little girl is all stirred up. I bet, if this so-called cousin gives a hint, Xiyue would dare to sneak out for a rendezvous with him tonight.”

The three straight guys looked horrified. In their view, the little scholar didn’t say anything special, so how did the topic suddenly jump to a secret meeting?

Xin Erniang looked at the three of them with disdain. Forget it, these three are the kind of fools who can’t even tell the color of fabric apart. How could they possibly catch the hidden meanings in the little scholar’s words?

“By the way, does anyone know this little scholar’s last name?” Cheng Hui asked.

From the scene before them, it was clear that Xiyue was utterly charmed by this man, which means, since Xiyue is that bride ghost, this man is likely the ‘Xie Lang’ she mentioned.

They all looked at each other and shook their heads. No one knew the last name of this so-called cousin.

“This is interesting…” Ah Qiu chuckled lightly. “Judging by how they’re decorating the manor, today is obviously a very important occasion. To be part of such a grand family feast, this cousin must have a close connection with Xie Huashi’s family. So why has no one in the town ever mentioned his existence?”

Cheng Hui felt a chill. The innkeeper claimed to have ears everywhere, and indeed, Cheng Hui had gotten a lot of information about the manor from him. But none of it mentioned this cousin’s existence.

Ah Qiu glanced at the other three, a playful smile on her lips. “A living person can’t just disappear unless… someone deliberately hides his existence.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Cheng Hui frowned.

“Anyone could,” Ah Qiu said calmly. “Xie Huashi might, his wife might, even the old butler can’t escape suspicion. And in the end, what if the cousin himself is hiding?”

Cheng Hui felt his head swell. It seemed like the manor was full of traps, and they didn’t have a single piece of reliable information.

He shared his and Ah Qiu’s thoughts with the other three. Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan were silent, clearly thinking of something, while Xin Erniang was completely dumbfounded.

“What? That innkeeper actually hid so much from me?” Xin Erniang’s face turned red with anger. If she could leave now, she’d go back to the town and beat the innkeeper up.

“We’re here.” Cheng Hui couldn’t be bothered with him. Seeing Xiyue and the others stop, he stopped as well.

It wasn’t far from the west courtyard to the back courtyard, and the back courtyard was already tidied up, with a large round table filled with various dishes.

Not far away, a tall man walked over, presumably the manor’s owner, Xie Huashi, and the gentle woman following him was naturally his wife.

Xie Huashi’s daughter didn’t appear for some reason. Lady Xie warmly greeted the little scholar, letting everyone know his name—Xie Ying.

Hearing this name, Cheng Hui felt a strange sensation. Xie Ying? Li Ying? Could it be a coincidence?

He observed carefully and found that aside from deliberately flirting with the little girl earlier, Xie Ying didn’t do anything out of line. His speech and manners were polite, and he seemed like a studious scholar.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s eat,” Xie Huashi said calmly.

Xie Ying didn’t see his cousin and asked with concern, “Why isn’t my cousin here?”

“She’s not feeling well today, so I let her rest,” Lady Xie said softly.

Xie Ying sighed, “My cousin’s health is indeed fragile. She needs more care. I’ll send her the Buddhist scriptures I copied this afternoon. She asked me for them last time, and I just finished today.”

Lady Xie’s expression changed slightly. She glanced at Xie Huashi, who showed no reaction, and then smiled, “Alright, you can send them after dinner. I’ll have Xiyue accompany you.”

Xiyue’s face showed a hint of joy. Being with her beloved, even for a short time, was enough to make her happy.

The four of them watched as the three of them calmly finished their dinner. Afterward, Xie Ying indeed returned to his room to fetch a scroll of Buddhist scriptures for his little cousin.

Xiyue accompanied him, gazing at him with infatuation from where he couldn’t see. Xie Ying, seemingly unaware of her expression, wore a smile with a hint of wickedness.

“Hiss… this man is a bit scary,” Xin Erniang shivered, looking at Xiyue with sympathy.

Xie Ying clearly looked like a charming rogue. His demeanor suggested he had seduced many young girls. She didn’t believe someone like him would marry a girl like Xiyue.

The three straight guys also agreed that such a man was indeed frightening. What was even scarier was that after they went to the back courtyard, Xie Ying found an excuse to send Xiyue away.

Cheng Hui: … Damn! What does this scumbag want to do?

They immediately thought of Xie Huashi’s daughter, the girl who never left her boudoir. If Xie Ying used the same tactics on Xie Huashi’s daughter as he did on Xiyue, such an innocent girl would surely fall.

And indeed, as expected, Xie Ying, who looked decent on the outside, was a complete scumbag inside. After sending Xiyue away, he didn’t care about the two little maids beside Miss Xie and started flirting with her.

Cheng Hui looked at Miss Xie lying on the bed and finally understood why Xie Huashi didn’t let his daughter appear. Although Miss Xie wasn’t ugly, she was unusually short. Her face looked about sixteen or seventeen, but her height was like that of a ten-year-old child.

In other words, Miss Xie was a dwarf.

Such a girl, with her own defects and no contact with any men, was easily swayed by Xie Ying’s flirtations.

In her eyes, Xie Ying didn’t mind her unusual height and was even willing to treat her like a beloved. That was already perfect. Even if he sometimes got close to her two maids, making her uncomfortable, what did it matter? Even the young ladies from wealthy families couldn’t stop their husbands from taking concubines, let alone someone like her with a severe disability.

Cheng Hui unconsciously tightened his lips, looking at Xie Ying with intense disgust.

In Xie Ying, he seemed to see the kind of PUA men mentioned online in his previous life. He was trying to destroy Miss Xie’s confidence and personality through constant belittlement.

On the surface, he seemed deeply in love with the flawed Miss Xie, but every word he said was a deep blow to the young girl.

Cheng Hui was sure that if nothing unexpected happened, if Miss Xie eventually married Xie Ying, her fate would be to become a puppet in his hands, and whether she would end up committing suicide would depend on whether Xie Ying needed to free up the position of his main wife.

This thought sent a chill down his spine. He suddenly remembered that Xie Huashi only had one daughter, Miss Xie, which meant all the family property would eventually be inherited by her.

If Xie Ying married Miss Xie, everything would naturally fall into his hands.

Xie Huashi was once a famous painter, having painted portraits for many dignitaries, so he certainly wasn’t short of money. Such a large sum of money was enough to make someone take risks, especially when it only required sweet-talking and deceiving an innocent girl.

Even if… the target of the deception was the daughter of the uncle who took him in and provided for his education.

Such ungrateful creatures were really not uncommon.

Cheng Hui shared his suspicions with the others. Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan didn’t say anything, basically agreeing with Cheng Hui’s guess. Only Xin Erniang looked shocked, as if she had never imagined someone could be so malicious and repay kindness with enmity.

Cheng Hui looked at the cursing Xin Erniang and felt a bit more fondness for this somewhat rebellious girl.

Though she was a bit hot-tempered and silly, she was still a good girl.

Suddenly, the scene before them changed. The entire back courtyard was decorated with lanterns and streamers, as if submerged in a sea of red.

Miss Xie, dressed in red, with a veil over her head, sat quietly on the bed, waiting for her groom to come and lift her veil.

Master Xuan Tan and Ye Qi were both stunned for a moment, then realized that Xie Ying and Miss Xie were getting married.

“How has such a scumbag not been struck by lightning yet? Heaven must be blind!” Xin Erniang grumbled angrily.

They left Miss Xie’s boudoir, walked along the path to the main hall, and somehow, Xie Ying had managed to arrange a wedding in the manor.

Cheng Hui and the others guessed that he must have used some underhanded means, otherwise, Xie Huashi wouldn’t have looked so displeased.

Not seeing Xie Ying in the main hall, they went to the west courtyard, where they found Xie Ying, dressed in a red groom’s outfit, having an affair with Xiyue in the garden’s rockery.

Everyone: …

Okay, you’re something else!

Even Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan were taken aback, clearly having never encountered such a shameless person, having an affair with the head maid on his wedding day.

After the affair, Xiyue, panting, said to Xie Ying, “Xie Lang, Miss has agreed to let me go over after three months. Xie Lang, we can soon be together openly.”

Xie Ying smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes, though his voice remained gentle, “Xiyue, I’m sorry to put you through this.”

“It’s not a bother…” Xiyue softly leaned against Xie Ying’s chest, “For Xie Lang, I’m willing to do anything.”

“Really? You’re really willing to do anything for me?” Xie Ying’s tone suddenly turned strange.

Xiyue didn’t notice, nodding lightly, “Yes, as long as Xie Lang loves me, I’m willing to do anything.”

“That’s great…” Xie Ying revealed a sinister smile, showing a set of sharp, white teeth…