Chapter 579: 579 - What Kind of Woman Would the Second Brother Like?_1

The journey from Capital City to Jiliao was arduous, especially when Wei Ruo and the others carried a good deal of baggage. Consequently, they traveled slower than the early groups from the Xu family and those dispatched by Wei Jinyi.

Passing by areas where disaster victims huddled together, Wei Ruo would distribute some food to them.

She could not give too much, as they were still on the road and could not part with an excess of rations.

Wei Ruo had more in her possession, but they could not be taken out casually without raising suspicion.

Ten days later, while passing by the outskirts of Xinghuai Town, Wei Ruo halted the team to distribute food to a group of women and children huddled under a large tree by the roadside.

Each one of them bowed in gratitude to Wei Ruo as they received their ration.

As Wei Ruo was about to return to the carriage, one of the women fell to her knees in front of her.

Wei Ruo observed that the woman, though clad in the garb of a disaster victim and besmirched with dirt and disheveled hair, had a beautiful face. If properly cleaned and groomed, she would be quite a beauty.

“Thank you, Madam, for saving our lives! I am willing to serve you tirelessly in return for this life-saving grace!” the woman cried.

“I have no need for more maids.” Wei Ruo was not one to let strange people come close to her. All this time, only Xiumei had been with her, followed later by Lin Fang, and no one else at the moment.

“Madam, I can do anything! Please give me a chance to express my gratitude!” the woman begged.

“No need.” Wei Ruo declined and returned to the carriage.

The team moved on, with the woman trailing behind from noon to nightfall, until her strength gave out and she collapsed by the roadside.

Wei Ruo remained unmoved. It was at this time that she observed Wei Jinyi call Xiaobei over to the carriage, have a few words with him, and watch him depart.

Suspicious, she could not help asking, “Brother, could you be feeling a touch of compassion for a damsel in distress?”

“I told Xiaobei to deal with her,” Wei Jinyi answered.

“Hurt her? That woman?” Wei Ruo asked, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Why? Isn’t her insistent followingspite my refusala sign of deep gratitude?” Wei Ruo asked.

“Her motives are not rooted in gratitude; she has other intentions. If she were truly grateful, she would have taken your feelings into consideration when you refused her. She would have understood the need to retreat. The first priority of expressing gratitude should be to consider the preferences of the benefactor. Her obstinacy has nothing to do with trying to please you. She merely saw the splendor of our caravan and our generous actions, hoping to secure a better future for herself.” Wei Jinyi explained.

Wei Ruo felt an unexpected surge of joy. She had had the same feeling, which was why she had remained indifferent when the woman had insisted on following.

However, she hid her reaction and feigned ignorance, “Even so, was there a need to hit her? Even ants know the art of survival. Isn’t it understandable that she’d go to such lengths to find a way out for herself?”

“Upon our first meeting, her face was layered with dirt, masking her true face. But later when she came to kneel down in front of you, she had wiped off the dirt, revealing her true visage. During the time you were distributing steamed bread, she had many opportunities to approach you but did not; she instead waited till you reached the carriage before doing so. It’s hard not to suspect that she was actually targeting me, not you.” Wei Jinyi analyzed.

When the woman had knelt before Wei Ruo, Wei Jinyi had seen through the gap in the carriage door that when she looked up, her gaze had momentarily landed on the inside of the carriage.

Wei Ruo couldn’t help but laugh.

“What an act, brother!” she exclaimed.

“Hmm?”

“I thought men weren’t capable of discerning women’s ploys. I didn’t expect you to be the exception!”

“…”

“Your wife will be truly blessed one day, brother. With those discerning eyes of yours, none of the cunning women in your household would ever be able to deceive you. You won’t even need a main wife to maintain order,” Wei Ruo mockingly said.

“I already have…” A wife.

“What are you saying, brother? I couldn’t hear you. You’re too soft,” Wei Ruo asked.

“It’s nothing,” Wei Jinyi replied.

Looking at Wei Jinyi’s rather stern face, Wei Ruo found herself drawn into contemplation.

Wei Ruo knew that leaving Capital City, free from distractions, would present a new issue – the false spousal relationship between them.

Both she and her brother were of age. Although she had no plans of marrying, it didn’t mean her brother shared her sentiments.

If her brother wished to find a woman and lead a normal marital life, she could not possibly interfere.

Therefore, Wei Ruo tentatively asked, “Brother, what kind of woman do you like? An erudite and deeply poetic woman? Or one full of bravado, equal to men?”

“Neither,” Wei Jinyi stated.

“You don’t want a woman akin to you, both scholarly and skillful in martial arts, do you?”

That would be quite a challenge.

Instead of answering Wei Ruo’s question directly, Wei Jinyi asked, “Why do you ask, Ruoruo?”

“Well… just a sister’s concern for her brother,” Wei Ruo replied.

“Ruoruo, there’s no need for concern. I have no interest in love or marriage,” Wei Jinyi declared.

No interest in love or marriage?

Wei Ruo narrowed her eyes and then reached out to Wei Jinyi’s hand.

Wei Jinyi hastily withdrew his hand.

“Ruoruo, what are you doing?”

“Brother, I’m taking your pulse,” Wei Ruo explained.

Given his prime age, Wei Ruo worried that his physical health might have issues if he had no interest in the opposite sex.

Wei Jinyi’s brows furrowed, and after a moment’s pause, he extended his hand.

If he were to resist her attempt to read his pulse, it would only serve to heighten her concerns.

Wei Ruo gladly took Wei Jinyi’s wrist. His pulse was strong and steady – if anything, he was exceptionally healthy.

Wei Ruo was relieved. If his lack of interest was merely a personal choice, then she had no place to interfere.

After all, matters of the heart were personal preferences.

Wei Jinyi looked at Wei Ruo and returned the question, “What about you, Ruoruo? What kind of man do you want to marry?”

“I don’t really entertain thoughts of marriage either. As you know, brother, I used to think about marrying a dying man just to avoid the hassles of serving a husband and his family,” Wei Ruo replied.

“So what kind of man does Ruoruo like?” Wei Jinyi pursued.

Held in his deep gaze was an unsettling restlessness beneath his seemingly composed face.

“Before, I thought I wouldn’t fall for any man. But recently, I’ve discovered that if there existed such a man, I would be no different from other women – a victim of fleshly desires,” Wei Ruo admitted.

“What kind of man?”

“Hmm, it’s hard to describe.”

She couldn’t elaborate, for the man she was thinking about was none other than the man in front of her – her second brother.

If she confessed, considering his wisdom, he would definitely find out.

Discovering that the sister he had always loved and cherished harboured such feelings towards him might give him a shock.

If this revelation were to distance him from her, she would be devastated.