The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 704 - 608: The Leng Shaoqing Story

The housekeeper can see Ye Rui in the glass flower house on the right side of Leng Mansion every morning. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Having heard she enjoyed gardening, the master built this flower house for her, where she spent most of her time. Her meticulous care left the flowers brimming with life day after day. When they bloomed, opening the window would bring in the delicate fragrance of the flowers.

The butler knocked on the door of the flower house: "Madam, breakfast is ready."

Ye Rui lifted her head from among the fiery-red peonies, her pale skin, gently arched eyebrows, and petite cherry lips forming a smile. When she smiled, two faint dimples appeared on her cheeks, which didn’t pale beside the lavish beauty of the peonies. On the contrary, they added a touch of liveliness and charm.

"Housekeeper, please take these to the kitchen," said Ye Rui, picking up a small bamboo basket. The freshly picked rose petals still gleamed with a moist luster, "I’ll use them to make flower cake later."

"Of course, Madam," the housekeeper took the bamboo basket and glanced at the wound on her hand, "Madam, I’ll get a bandage for you."

"No need, it’s just a small injury, nothing serious. When gardening every day, how can one not suffer from minor cuts and bruises?" Ye Rui returned the neatly pruned rose bush to its place.

The housekeeper said, "Madam, you should still bandage it. If the master sees it, he’s going to get angry again."

Not wanting to put the housekeeper in a difficult position, Ye Rui nodded obediently: "Alright then."

After breakfast, Luo Huafang came over.

Seeing her, Ye Rui felt a headache but still greeted, "Mom."

Luo Huafang took her hand and sat down on the sofa, immediately beginning to complain, "Rui, our Ye Family’s deals this month were snatched away by the Qin Family again. These people simply do not regard you as the wife of a Leng. Talk to Shaoqing, tell him to teach the Qin Family a lesson and let them know, our Ye Family is not to be trifled with."

Ye Rui sighed, "Mom, I don’t understand business matters, but if our deals can be taken by others, it means we are not doing well enough. Otherwise, why would our clients be snatched away? Moreover, Shaoqing is very busy. He really doesn’t have the time to deal with such trivial matters."

"Trivial matters?" Luo Huafang’s face changed, "Rui, how can you say these are trivial matters? Your father and I have worked hard for so many years to grow this floriculture company. We can’t let the Qin Family take advantage of us undeservedly. Now that you are the young madam of the Leng Family, a single word from you could make the Qin Family not dare to breathe freely, they would obediently return the deals they snatched."

"Does Dad know you’ve come to see me?"

"What, I can’t come to see you without your father’s permission?" Luo Huafang’s eyes filled with tears as she spoke: "Rui, although you’re not my own child, I married your father when you were six, and over the years, I have treated you well too, right? Why do you still treat me as an outsider so formally?"

As Luo Huafang cried, Ye Rui surrendered. Servants were all around, all of them looking at her with strange eyes, as if she were bullying her stepmother.

After giving birth to Ye Rui, her mother left without saying goodbye. In her sixth year, Ye Xiangzhong married Luo Huafang, who had a son three years younger than Ye Rui. After marrying Ye Xiangzhong, her son also took the Ye surname and was named Ye Lin.

Regarding Luo Huafang’s attitude towards her, it could be said to be neither good nor bad. After all, Ye Xiangzhong cherished his daughter greatly, and Luo Huafang dare not cause trouble; even if she was reluctant, she had to appear impartial on the surface, and sometimes when Ye Rui and Ye Lin fought, she would even side with Ye Rui. However, as clever as Ye Rui was, she knew it was to please Ye Xiangzhong. Once, she overheard Luo Huafang telling Ye Lin: "Next time she hits you, hit her back hard. Don’t hold back just because she’s a girl. Make her cry, and I will back you up."

After all, she was a stepmother, merely maintaining a façade of peace.

Now that Ye Rui had married into the Leng Family as Leng Shaoqing’s wife, Luo Huafang was even nicer to her, but these frequent visits to complain were a bit too much for Ye Rui to handle.

Eventually, Ye Rui agreed that she would talk to Leng Shaoqing about the recent situation of the Ye Family, and only then did Luo Huafang finally back down.

After Luo Huafang left, Ye Rui glanced at her watch. The commotion had caused quite a delay, and to make the perfect flower cake, the rose petals had to be the freshest when stuffed into the cake. If too much time passed and the petals were no longer fresh, the resulting flower cake would not have the same great taste.

Ye Rui hurriedly washed her hands and entered the kitchen, pouring out the rose petals from the basket to clean them.

The process of making flower cake is complex, and any small mistake could result in a cake that’s either too crumbly or too dry and hard. Moreover, Leng Shaoqing didn’t like sweets too much, so she had to strictly control the amounts of sugar and honey used.

In the afternoon, the alluring scent of cakes wafted from the kitchen, creating excitement among the servants who gathered in small groups to see the flower cakes coming out of the oven.

Although Ye Rui was a young lady from a wealthy family, she was gentle and friendly, resulting in a harmonious relationship with the servants.

"Housekeeper, give these to everyone to eat," Ye Rui said as she packed some flower cakes and handed them to the housekeeper.

The housekeeper quickly said: "Thank you, Madam. We all have been eagerly looking forward to tasting your craftsmanship."

After dividing the flower cakes among the curious crowd, everyone who tasted them gave a thumbs up, exclaiming how delicious they were.

Ye Rui said with a smile, "If they’re good, I’ll make more tomorrow. These are highland roses, also known as large sweet petals, an edible variety of roses. These last few days they have just bloomed, which is the best time to make flower cakes."

The housekeeper nodded, "I’ve learned a lot about flowers from Madam and even got to eat such delicious flower cakes."

"Madam has such a good temperament, Leng has great taste," someone said while enjoying the cake.

Ye Rui gave a smile, yet a trace of melancholy flickered in her eyes.

At 9 p.m., the butler glanced out the window and advised, "Madam, you might as well have dinner first. Mister may not be coming back to eat."

Ye Rui responded with an "Oh": "Let’s wait a little longer."

The butler sighed and said no more.

Soon, the phone in the living room rang; the butler hurried to answer it. After he hung up, he seemed to have difficulty breaking the news. Ye Rui had already been waiting for Leng Shaoqing for two hours, yet on the phone, he just said he would not be coming home for dinner today. Such messages were being relayed every day, but facing the gentle lady, it was repeatedly hard for him to speak up.

"He’s not coming back for dinner?" Ye Rui’s resigned smile surfaced: "Butler, let us eat."

Seeing her pick up her chopsticks, yet noticeably distracted, he quickly reassured her, "Mister has been very busy lately. Once he’s less occupied, he’ll come home and have dinner with you."

Ye Rui curved her lips slightly: "Mhm."

After dinner, Ye Rui returned to her room and turned on the TV with the remote control.

The room was bright and spacious. Although the Ye Family was wealthy, their rooms were not as wide and luxurious as here. Leng Shaoqing knew how to enjoy life, and his living details were also very exquisite and perfect.

But the larger the room, the larger the void in the heart seemed, like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

The TV was playing a popular drama called "Unrequited Bloom", in which the male lead was handsome and passionately devoted. She was particularly fond of his line: "Let’s swear by the moon, to never betray each other."

Ye Rui sat on the bed, hugging her knees, watching the emotional entanglement on the TV drama.

Unconsciously, her thoughts began to drift.

She met Leng Shaoqing at a high society banquet where a rich second-generation relentlessly pursued her. Despite her verbal refusals, the rich brat kept on pestering her until Leng Shaoqing appeared like a celestial being, draping an arm around her shoulder and said to the rich second-generation, "Interested in a woman of Leng Shaoqing?"

Upon hearing she was his woman, the rich second-generation dared not overstep and hastily apologized.

She looked up at him, seeing the sharp line of his jaw and a face so perfect it seemed unreal. It was her first time seeing Leng Shaoqing, a man bewitchingly handsome, so much that it captured all her attention without her realizing.

When she noticed that she had been ogling him like a lovesick puppy for a long time, she

felt her face so red she thought blood might drip from it, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"My name is Leng Shaoqing, what about you?"

In front of such a man, she also felt a reverence and lack of confidence, her voice sounding almost timid: "Ye Rui."

"You like flowers?"

She nodded: "Yes."

"Interesting, even your name is related to flowers." He raised his eyebrows at her: "Dance with me."

Under the envious gaze of everyone, she danced with him and then he took her phone number.

At the time, she was an intern in her senior year when she unexpectedly received a bouquet of balloon flowers, the blue petals interspersed with white baby’s breath, fresh and natural.

Not many knew of her fondness for balloon flowers, and on the card attached to the bouquet she saw the words: Eternal Love.

This is the language of balloon flowers.

As she pondered over the identity of this mysterious flower sender, she received a text from Leng Shaoqing: "Do you like them?"

It was him!

Joy surged in the girl’s heart. Since their parting at the dance, they had lost contact, and she would occasionally think of the handsome man who saved her like a god that day. But she knew, a man like him probably only belonged to heaven.

Thus, receiving the flowers and the text, she felt as if in a dream, pinching her face hard.

From then on, Leng Shaoqing began a vigorous pursuit of her. His ways of pursuing girls were varied. It seemed like she hadn’t held out for even three days before agreeing to be his girlfriend.

Following that, they were like the most ordinary couple, inseparable and full of enjoyment on their outings.

In the summer after her graduation, he proposed to her.