Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 86 - 84, fall in love with everyone you meet?

"Xiao’er, what flowers are these?" Shen Zixuan pointed at several tulips of different colors and asked.

"These are tulips, Manager Chen asked me to grow them. It seems that the seeds were purchased overseas." After Xiao’er helped Manager Chen grow those seeds last time and had Shen Chengyao return them to Manager Yao, Chen came again with more seeds. Now there were many flowers in the greenhouse that belonged to Manager Chen. Since he was here today, it would be best to have him take them as well.

"This greenhouse is elegantly and warmly decorated!" Ming Liya was also a flower enthusiast, and she grew many flowers in the greenhouse at home. While her flowers were rarer than the ones here, she had to admit that her greenhouse was not as beautifully arranged.

"Do you like the flowers here? If you do, feel free to pick any one other than the ones Manager Chen entrusted me to grow. That will be my gift to you!" Xiao’er offered, seeing that they seemed to be holding back their love for the flowers.

"Really?" Ming Liya was delighted when she heard this. She really wanted to take a pot home to grow.

"Would that be polite?" Ming Zhijie believed that a gentleman should not take things that others like.

"I want this moth orchid! I’ll give you one of my flowers in return." Lai Ruojing pointed at a brilliantly blooming moth orchid. She liked orchids the most.

"Cousin, what flower do you like?"

"I like this one. What flower is this?" Liu Jingshu pointed at a pot of blue gentians and asked.

"This is a prairie gentian. Its symbolic meaning is ’eternal and unchanging love.’"

Hearing this, Lai Zhewei’s eyebrows raised. The more he looked at the gentian, the more appealing he found it! It was an excellent choice. He would have to take a pot home and care for it!

"Does a flower also have a symbolic meaning? Then, what does the moth orchid symbolize?" Lai Ruoqing heard for the first time that flowers had symbolic meanings.

"Different colors of moth orchids have different symbolic meanings. Yours is a mini moth orchid. Its symbolic meaning is ’joyful angel, in full bloom.’"

The women discussed the symbolic meanings of flowers in the greenhouse and were having a great time.

After Lai Zhewei left, Shen Chengguang quickly found Mrs. Lan and informed her that Lai Zhewei had arrived. Mrs. Lan immediately returned to the old house and called Shen Bao’er to hurry up and get dressed.

Shen Bao’er ran all the way from the old house, searching everywhere until she was sweating. Finally she saw a group of people in a transparent room. After catching her breath, she adjusted her hairstyle and dress before slowly walking up and softly said, "Xiao’er, so you are here, I’ve been looking for you for a long time!"

"Do you need anything?" Xiao’er asked indifferently. Shen Bao’er had come to join in again!

"Can’t I find you if I don’t need anything? It’s been a long time since we sisters gathered!"

"Big sister, you never visited me before. If you suddenly came looking for me, of course I would think that something is up." When had they ever gathered? She was just looking for a rich husband! But didn’t she set her sights on Shangguan Xuanyi? Who was her next target?

Xiao’er glanced at Shen Bao’er and noticed that she was secretly looking at Lai Zhewei. This Shen Bao’er really didn’t want to miss out on any opportunity to marry into a wealthy family. Whenever she saw a prospect, she was in love!

"Did you plant these flowers? They’re really beautiful." Shen Bao’er deliberately ignored Xiao’er’s unwelcome tone, walked in, and looked at the flowers. She was both amazed and jealous!

A greenhouse! And a greenhouse made of colored glaze at that. She heard that only a few families in the county owned a greenhouse! It satisfied the dreams of so many girls!

Even she had only admired them, but wouldn’t dare fantasize about owning a greenhouse herself!

It was easy to build a greenhouse, but to fill it with flowers, especially during the cold winter, was challenging. The amount of manpower and resources it required was substantial. Moreover, rare flowers were hard to find, difficult to look after, and staggeringly expensive. She could see peonies, Yao Huang, Doulu, purple peony, Er Qiao, Tipsy Consort Yang, camellia japonica, hexagonal red camellia, red camellia, osmanthus... moth orchid, spring orchid... and even many flowers she didn’t know the names of.

How had her third uncle’s family become suddenly wealthy? Furthermore, how did they get to know Young Master Lai? If she knew earlier... But there was no way they could have known earlier. Her third uncle’s family had kept their associations hidden so well. First with Young Master Shangguan, then Young Master Di, and now Young Master Lai. Each one of them were like dragons among men, exceptional individuals. But none of them had appeared before the family split its assets. If anyone said they made these connections only after they seceded from the family, who would believe them? Her third uncle’s family were so selfish that even if she had known earlier, they would not have helped her in any way. She could only rely on herself.

How could she attract Young Master Lai’s attention?

Shen Bao’er had arrived. Xiao’er no longer wanted to stay in the greenhouse, "Let’s go outside, staying in the greenhouse for too long isn’t good. The banquet should be about to start anyway."

Ming Zhijie had wanted to leave earlier. Seeing Shen Bao’er’s conduct today, he felt exceedingly relieved for having escaped her scheming on that day. Truly, blessings can arise from misfortune! After Shen Nirui left the greenhouse, he quietly followed her out.

Once Lai Zhewei saw Liu Jingshu leaving, he immediately followed suit.

What! They just left as soon as she arrived, and she hadn’t even thought of a plan yet! Shen Bao’er held back her impulse to stamp her feet and chased after them.

Xiao’er was the last to leave, and she dutifully closed the door behind her.

As soon as Shen Bao’er exited the greenhouse and was met by the cold wind, she came up with a plan.

"Nirui, wait for me." She quickly caught up with Shen Nirui, placing herself in front of Lai Zhewei.

"Nirui, I recently came up with a new embroidery pattern. When we’re back, I’ll show it to you. If you like it, I can draw one for you too."

"Okay, thank you!" Although Shen Nirui still held some grudges against Shen Bao’er for her past schemes, she was always kind to others. Therefore, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore Bao’er.

A gust of northerly wind blew past them, and Shen Bao’er lifted up her hand. Her handkerchief was then accidentally blown away by the wind.

In her imagination, the wind would blow her handkerchief onto Lai Zhewei, preferably onto his face so that he could smell her scent. Then, he would catch her handkerchief and return it to her, and she would have an opportunity to speak with him, and then....

Shen Bao’er turned her head around and was just about to say thank you to him when she noticed that Lai Zhewei had dodged out of the way, allowing the handkerchief to fall to the ground.

Ming Liya stepped on it with a foot. After lifting her foot, she looked at the handkerchief on the ground. "Miss Shen, this is your handkerchief, isn’t it? Remember to hold onto it tightly next time and don’t let it fly under my feet. What if I trip over it?"

After hearing this, Xiao’er gained a new understanding of Ming Liya.

"You,..." Shen Bao’er wanted to retort, but recalling Ming Liya’s status, she could only adopt a pitiful demeanor, making people think she was grievously wronged but didn’t dare to voice out.

"Xiao Ju, why haven’t you picked up the handkerchief and returned it to her?"

"Yes, Miss." Ming Liya’s maid picked up the handkerchief and handed it to Shen Bao’er. "Miss Shen, here’s your handkerchief."

Looking at the clear footprint on it, Shen Bao’er didn’t know whether to take it or not. She’d paid one tael for this handkerchief and had only used it for a day!

"Well, aren’t you taking it? This handkerchief must be worth one tael, right. If you want to climb the social ladder this badly, how can you go out without a handkerchief?" Ming Liya despised Shen Bao’er, especially when she tried to scheme her brother!

Shen Bao’er couldn’t stop her tears from flowing. Stealing a glance at Lai Zhewei, she noticed that he hadn’t even spared a single glance in her direction. This made her cry even harder. "I didn’t...."

"Miss Shen, wipe your tears." The maid stuffed the handkerchief into her hand and quickly caught up with her mistress.

Shen Bao’er went along and wiped her tears, only to remember that the handkerchief had been stepped on by someone. Looking at the retreating backs of the group, she fumed at the intolerable humiliation they’d dealt her.