CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: HE’S MY BROTHER’S ATTENDANT STUDENT

Zhao Xiaohua said that on purpose to upset Meng Ruyu.

However, unexpectedly, Meng Ruyu didn’t get angry.

Instead, she softly said, "Cousin, you’re right. I also feel that my cousin and I aren’t a good match."

Zhao Xiaohua was stunned. This was so unlike Meng Ruyu.

"What are you plotting now?" Zhao Xiaohua asked suspiciously.

It didn’t make sense. After all, her aunt was very enthusiastic about this.

Meng Ruyu blushed with a shy smile, "I’m not plotting anything. I just think that marriage is a big deal, not a child’s play. Getting married is a lifelong thing, and even if this marriage happens despite my cousin’s unwillingness, we wouldn’t be happy. Us girls, getting married is like being reborn again; we have to choose someone who satisfies us."

It was indeed very clear.

"I’m saying, Second Brother has such a sharp tongue and doesn’t know how to treat you tenderly," Zhao Xiaohua agreed, "Since you’ve come to terms with it, then persuade your mother not to fuss anymore. It’s quite tiring for us to stay on guard. Even if the relationship between our two families isn’t great, if we can maintain the status quo, then let’s not make it worse."

"Cousin, you’re right," Meng Ruyu said.

Although Zhao Xiaohua didn’t usually interact much with Meng Ruyu, she still felt that her behavior was quite abnormal.

Her mother had said that when something is unusual, there’s something tricky about it. Could she be harboring some malicious intent?

What if she’s just pretending to be uninterested on purpose?

Auntie also said that Meng Ruyu, like her mother, knew how to scheme.

"Cousin Ruyu, don’t be like this. It leaves me feeling uncertain," Zhao Xiaohua said. "Whatever your purpose is, let’s just lay it out in the open."

Meng Ruyu blushed, "This, this doesn’t seem appropriate."

Her reaction made Zhao Xiaohua even more certain that Meng Ruyu was up to something.

"What’s inappropriate about it? Anyway, as long as you don’t plot against my second brother, we don’t seem to have any enmity. As for the grudges of the previous generation, they have nothing to do with us. Who knows, maybe I can even help you, right?" Zhao Xiaohua said, trying to coax her.

"Cousin, you’re right, so I won’t be polite with you," Meng Ruyu said.

"No need to be polite, we’re like family," Zhao Xiaohua boldly stated.

"Yes, yes, so who was that person?" Meng Ruyu asked.

"That person? Which person?" Zhao Xiaohua was a bit puzzled.

"On the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, when my mother and I visited your house, the one who was there, the really handsome young man, even more handsome than Han Muchi," Meng Ruyu said.

Other than being handsome, Meng Ruyu couldn’t think of any other words to describe him.

Zhao Xiaohua was stunned and then realized Meng Ruyu was talking about Brother Qin Zheng.

She had seen Brother Qin Zheng, and because of his looks, she instantly liked him.

"Xiaohua?" Meng Ruyu called out, seeing Zhao Xiaohua spacing out.

Zhao Xiaohua snapped back, "So, Cousin Ruyu, what do you mean?"

"I’m thinking of finding out who that gentleman is, where he’s from, his name," Meng Ruyu said.

"This, I don’t know either. I have to ask my mom," Zhao Xiaohua lied casually. "Don’t worry, I keep my word. If I say I’ll help you, I’ll help you. You go back first, after I ask, you come find me, and I’ll tell you."

Meng Ruyu thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then I’ll go back and wait for your news."

As soon as Meng Ruyu left, Zhao Xiaohua rushed to Meng Yao, "Mom, mom, mom!"

Her voice was so urgent that Meng Yao thought something big had happened.

"Do you know what Meng Ruyu just said to me?" Zhao Xiaohua was very excited.

"Whatever was said, stay calm. Looking like this, what does it look like?" Meng Yao glared at her.

"It’s really too surprising, I can’t stay calm," Zhao Xiaohua was still excited.

"Then quickly say it," Meng Yao, also getting curious because of Zhao Xiaohua’s demeanor, urged.

"She said she’s not interested in my second brother," Zhao Xiaohua said.

"Could she be retreating to advance and deliberately lulling us into a false sense of security?" Meng Yao was also a bit puzzled. After all, from Lin’s reaction, it didn’t seem so.

"No, no, no, you guessed wrong," Zhao Xiaohua said. "I think she really isn’t interested in my second brother."

Zhao Dahe happened to hear this as he came in.

"Who isn’t interested in me?" he asked curiously.

"Meng Ruyu," Zhao Xiaohua replied. "Second Brother, it’s quite pitiful; even Meng Ruyu isn’t interested in you."

"What do you mean by ’even Meng Ruyu isn’t interested’? The way you say it, it sounds like I’m only fit for someone like Meng Ruyu. Your second brother is dashing and handsome, how am I lacking?" Zhao Dahe said angrily.

"Whether you are or aren’t, it’s not up to me to decide," Zhao Xiaohua stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, you have to accept the reality."

Zhao Dahe was so frustrated he felt like going crazy. If this weren’t his real sister, he would have wanted to give her a beating.

"Stop teasing your second brother and just say it," Meng Yao urged.

"Oh." Zhao Xiaohua brought the topic back, "On the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, she saw Brother Qin Zheng."

They were all smart people; with just one sentence, Meng Yao and Zhao Dahe understood.

Meng Yao was surprised.

Zhao Dahe was surprised too.

"I said I had to ask Mom to know Brother Qin Zheng’s details," Zhao Xiaohua said, "So, Mom, tell us, what to do?"

Zhao Dahe cursed quietly under his breath.

"These days, although Qin Zheng has been staying with us, he’s been keeping to himself. It’s not good to keep it this way. Why not take this opportunity for him to come out openly?" Meng Yao suggested.

As for his identity, it was just as they had previously agreed. Qin Zheng had sold himself to work for Zhao Dahe as an attendant student.

All the paperwork had been previously arranged by Meng Yao with the help of Shopkeeper Liu, who found a broker to make it official. Qin Zheng himself even picked a pretty fitting name, Si Mo.

Zhao Dahe had no objections.

Meng Yao asked Qin Zheng, and he didn’t have any objections either.

"Then just tell Meng Ruyu that he’s the boyservant our family bought for your second brother. Your second brother is going to take the exams in February, and he needs someone with him," Meng Yao said.

"Got it." Zhao Xiaohua happily agreed.

She could already imagine the look on Meng Ruyu’s face when she found out Brother Qin Zheng’s current ’identity’.

She thought he was an ideal groom, but...

On the morning of the second day of the lunar new year, Meng Ruyu came over.

She saw Qin Zheng in a cotton robe in the courtyard.

Qin Zheng was chopping wood.

As the axe came down, a piece of wood was split in half.

Meng Ruyu couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Her mind was completely blank.

She didn’t think at all about why he was at the Zhao family, doing such rough work.

Zhao Xiaohua pulled her inside, and Meng Ruyu kept looking back every few steps.

"Cousin Ruyu, he’s called Si Mo," Zhao Xiaohua said.

"What a nice name, sounds like a scholar," Meng Ruyu said.

Zhao Xiaohua wanted to laugh but held it in.

"Aunt wouldn’t agree to this!" Zhao Xiaohua put on a troubled face.

"Xiaohua, you don’t need to worry about that," Meng Ruyu was quite eager.

"It was only after asking my mom that I found out he’s serving as an attendant student for my brother. You know, my brother is taking exams in February, and it wouldn’t look good for our whole family to follow him, so we specifically found an attendant. On the twenty-sixth of the lunar month, he had just arrived and was still not quite used to things," Zhao Xiaohua said.

Meng Ruyu’s mind was buzzing; all the sounds around her disappeared. She only saw Zhao Xiaohua’s mouth opening and closing.