Woosh.
The carriage door swung open.
A servant in uniform quickly set down a small stool. A moment later, a foot in a silk slipper appeared, soon followed by a young girl stepping gracefully out of the carriage.
The girl couldn't have been older than fourteen. She wore pale blue silks, her long black hair pinned up with jade hairpins. Though she still looked young, it was clear she would one day be beautiful.
She looked up with wide, curious eyes, her gaze falling upon the strange man who had mysteriously appeared beside her carriage.
However, Lei Feng was just looking at her with a frown on his face.
"Brat. Get away from the young miss right now. Do not blame us if you do not disappear right now." The guards finally caught up to Lei Feng and spoke angrily.
They were the ones responsible for the gates. If someone enters the gates and makes trouble right under their noses, wouldn't their jobs come under fire?
After all, the Shui Family was very generous in treating its employees. They would not find such a high salary anywhere else, no matter where they went.
The other servants noticed the rising tension. They quickly gathered around their young miss, forming a loose circle around them. Their faces showed concern, but none dared to speak up just yet.
Lei Feng didn't even glance at them. He ignored the guards' shouts and the servants' angry looks, focusing only on the young girl who had just stepped out of the carriage.
He watched her closely, studying her with the careful eye of someone searching for imperfections in a piece of jade.
Shui Mei'er had at first looked at him with innocent curiosity, expecting the usual admiration she received from strangers.
Instead, an uneasy feeling began to spread in her chest. His stare wasn't the type she was accustomed to.
It wasn't filled with praise or awe, but rather a cold, critical assessment, as if he was judging her against some invisible standard.
After a lengthy, uncomfortable silence, Lei Feng finally let out a sigh and shook his head, his expression disappointed.
"What a pity," he said, making no effort to hide his genuine disapproval.
"A pity?" Shui Mei'er asked, confused.
"Yes. A complete flatboard," Lei Feng said bluntly. "And the worst part is, I see no room for future improvement. Even if you do develop, it will still be lacking."
He shook his head again. "It looks like a completely lost cause."
The courtyard fell silent. For a moment, no one even dared to breathe. Everyone just stared, shocked by what they had heard.
The guards and servants exchanged bewildered looks. It was as if their minds refused to accept what they had just heard.
Shui Mei'er's eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open as she struggled to find words. She was stunned into silence, unprepared for such a blunt insult.
In her entire life, no one had ever dared to speak to her, Second Young Miss of the Shui family, like this—especially not in her own home, surrounded by servants and guards.
It was unthinkable.
But here was Lei Feng, shaking his head as if it was the pity of a lifetime.
As the truth of the moment sank in, color drained from Shui Mei'er's face, and a hot blush of anger rushed in. Her cheeks turned bright red as her emotions shifted rapidly from disbelief to fury.
"You... you hooligan!" she finally exploded, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and humiliation. "How dare you! Who do you think you are to say such vulgar, shameless things!"
Lei Feng waved a dismissive hand, completely unbothered by her outburst. "Your opinion is irrelevant. Now, stop wasting my time and take me to your sister, Shui Lin. I need to see her quickly and decide if she is still a worthy candidate or not."
"A candidate for what?!" one of the servants blurted out, not so much out of true curiosity, but to keep the drama going. The others leaned in, eager to hear how far this stranger would take his act.
"For my wife, of course," Lei Feng replied casually. "I have a marriage contract with her."
If his first statement was a firecracker, this was a full-blown explosion. For a moment, everyone could only stare with their mouths wide open.
Then, all at once, the servants burst out laughing, as if someone had told the world's funniest joke. The guards, who had already experienced this earlier, just shook their heads.
"You look like a street performer. Yet you claim to have a marriage contract with our Miss Lin? That's the best act I've seen all day." The butler, trying to keep a straight face, finally spoke up, but laughter kept breaking through his words.
"Someone, give this performer ten copper coins for his show, then escort him out," he gestured at another servant.
"I am not lying. There was indeed a contract from 10 years ago. You can ask her if you do not believe me."
"What? 10 years ago? Wasn't that when..." Shui Mei looked at Lei Feng with shock. Though she was very young at that time, she had heard some whisperings and murmurs in the mansion.
"Young Miss, is something wrong?" the butler asked, his tone shifting from playful to worried as he noticed the sudden change in Shui Mei'er's expression.
The servants' laughter faded as well. Now, all eyes were on Shui Mei'er and Lei Feng, confusion spreading through the group. No one could figure out what had just changed that brought out such a reaction from their young miss.
"A marriage contract? With my sister?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "That's... that's impossible. I've never heard of such a thing. If it were really true, she would have definitely told me"
"After all, who doesn't know that she dotes on me the most. Do you think she would hide something like this from me?"
Her denial was all the others needed to hear. The laughter came back, louder and tinged with mockery, echoing around the courtyard.
To them, this proved it—Lei Feng was just a toad lusting for a swan.
But no one noticed the subtle shift in Shui Mei'er's expression. Her eyes now had a guarded, almost suspicious look.
Something about Lei Feng's words unsettled her.