No wonder when she had that wild idea of having her brother marry A’ke, he had agreed so quickly – he had already had designs on A’ke! Of course it suited his intentions perfectly… So later when she changed her mind and wanted to marry Third Brother Shi, he became furious.

After all, when she was unwilling to marry Third Brother Shi before, he had said that as long as he married A’ke, her affair with Third Brother Shi definitely couldn’t succeed, otherwise wouldn’t it become an exchange marriage? That wouldn’t sound good either.

Now it was the reverse – she had married Third Brother Shi, so if he wanted to marry A’ke, it wouldn’t be easy either.

This was the crux of the problem.

She finally understood… Mother was right.

So at this moment, He Ketian looked at her sister-in-law hugging the snow crisps with such joy that her eyes disappeared behind her smile, and her feelings were quite complicated.

That evening, Shi Fa Ke indeed personally cooked cured meat stir-fried with dried mushrooms, which received enthusiastic praise from everyone.

Only He Ketian was very conflicted. Thinking that her eldest brother had designs on her sister-in-law made her feel at a loss, not knowing whom she should help.

After the evening meal, He Ketian distributed the gifts brought back from the He family to everyone, and the household was lively and cheerful.

Shi Fa Ke quietly tugged at Big Brother Shi’s sleeve, “Big Brother, I want to ask you something.”

Big Brother Shi always doted on his sister. Hearing this, he led her to the outer courtyard and asked with a smile, “What is it? So mysterious.”

“Big Brother, last time when I went to find you at the yamen, that Brother Zhao who led me in at the entrance – has he married yet?” Shi Fa Ke grinned and asked.

“Why are you asking about this?” Big Brother Shi frowned, quite alert.

“I remember you mentioned last time that he’s over thirty and still unmarried. If there’s still no news, I’d like to arrange a marriage for him.” Shi Fa Ke blinked and smiled ingratiatingly, “Big Brother, could you help me sound him out tomorrow?”

Big Brother Shi’s heart relaxed, and he felt somewhat amused. For a moment, he had almost thought his sister had taken a fancy to Zhao Zhu.

“Why did you suddenly think of arranging a marriage for him?” Big Brother Shi put his heart back at ease and asked curiously, “Who are you thinking of?”

“Jiao Jiao, do you still remember her, Big Brother?”

Big Brother Shi seemed to choke on his saliva and started coughing violently. After coughing for a long time, he finally stopped and asked in a hoarse voice with a complex expression, “Who did you just say?”

“Jiao Jiao, that widowed Mrs. Duan.” Shi Fa Ke thought he didn’t remember and reminded him.

“…Why did you suddenly think of arranging a marriage for her?”

Shi Fa Ke sighed and told him about the scene she had encountered at the entrance of Shengxing Restaurant today, and how Jiao Jiao had entrusted her with matchmaking after she helped resolve the situation. “Now the Duan family can’t tolerate her, and her natal family is unreliable, so she wants to make her own decisions. I’ve already agreed to this, so I thought of Brother Zhao from your yamen. I remember he’s quite a witty person and should get along well with Jiao Jiao.”

“So what if he’s witty? Does being witty mean he’ll get along with her?” Big Brother Shi suddenly interrupted Shi Fa Ke’s words, his tone rather stiff.

Shi Fa Ke looked at her eldest brother with some surprise. Since she still needed his help, she patiently explained, “Jiao Jiao is someone who loves to talk and laugh. She should have things in common with Brother Zhao. When living together, happiness is most important, especially since Jiao Jiao’s first marriage wasn’t very pleasant.”

“Precisely because of that, this time should be even more careful. Do you know what kind of person Zhao Zhu is? How much money can he earn in a month? What’s his family situation like, are his parents easy to get along with, and would he mind that she’s been married before?” Big Brother Shi frowned with an ugly expression, “You know nothing about any of this, yet you so arbitrarily want to match Jiao Jiao with him. Is this proper?”

“Big Brother… what’s wrong with you?” Shi Fa Ke was dumbfounded, “I just had this idea and wanted you to help me sound him out first…”

Why was his reaction so extreme?

“No need to sound him out, I know.” Big Brother Shi’s tone was very stiff. He waved his hand and said quite arbitrarily, “Zhao Zhu isn’t suitable for her.”

“Oh?” Shi Fa Ke suddenly narrowed her eyes and asked with great curiosity, “Why?”

“Zhao Zhu had a childhood sweetheart cousin in his early years, and their relationship was always very good. But Zhao Zhu’s mother was rather domineering and wouldn’t allow him to marry his cousin. Later that cousin married someone else, and Zhao Zhu has remained unmarried ever since. He’s always had that cousin in his heart, so he’s not suitable for marrying someone else.” Big Brother Shi frowned.

A man with a cinnabar mole in his heart was indeed not a good match.

But Big Brother’s reaction was quite intriguing…

“I see, I was wondering why he was still unmarried at such an age.” Shi Fa Ke nodded. Seeing that Big Brother’s expression had relaxed slightly, she suddenly changed the subject and said, “But his cousin has already married someone else. Brother Zhao will have to marry eventually.”

Big Brother Shi’s expression immediately became tense again.

Shi Fa Ke could see what was going on and found it somewhat amusing.

“I heard that recently, that cousin divorced her husband, and Zhao Zhu’s mother passed away last year, so no one controls him now. These past few days he’s been cheerful all the time, probably planning to rekindle his relationship with that cousin. You shouldn’t set your sights on him anymore.” Big Brother Shi scratched his head and said somewhat irritably.

“Then what should I do?” Shi Fa Ke frowned, pretending to be troubled, “Are there any other unmarried young men in your yamen? The kind who wouldn’t mind that Jiao Jiao is remarrying.”

Big Brother Shi suddenly clenched his teeth tightly, his jaw tense.

“Oh my, I just remembered.” Shi Fa Ke suddenly exclaimed dramatically, “Boss Qin from the grocery shop on West Street seemed to have let it be known recently that he wanted to remarry. I’ll go inquire tomorrow. Big Brother, you should rest early.” As Shi Fa Ke spoke, she turned to leave.

“A’ke!” Big Brother Shi called out to stop her.

Shi Fa Ke stopped and slowly turned around to look at him.

Big Brother Shi smiled bitterly, “You’ve already figured it out, so why deliberately provoke me?”

“Big Brother, you like Jiao Jiao? When did this happen?” Shi Fa Ke looked at him and asked with great curiosity.

She remembered that day when she asked Big Brother if he had someone he liked, but he had blushed and avoided answering. At the time, she had wondered if Big Brother had some unspeakable difficulty… So the person Big Brother fancied was actually Jiao Jiao?

But Jiao Jiao and Big Brother… two people with completely opposite personalities, how did they get together?

“A year ago, when I was escorting a criminal to the prefectural city.” Big Brother Shi said somewhat uncomfortably.

Shi Fa Ke unconsciously widened her eyes. It had been a year ago? Last time when she and Lu Chi went on their spring outing, they had even encountered Jiao Jiao, and Big Brother had come later too… She hadn’t noticed any clues at all.

Big Brother was really good at hiding things.

“What happened after that?” Seeing him stop after one sentence, Shi Fa Ke pressed for more.

“On the way back, the criminal’s brother came seeking revenge. I took an arrow in the back and was chased all the way.”

“What?! How come I never heard about this?” Shi Fa Ke’s expression immediately changed, “Such an important matter, and you’ve been hiding it from us all this time?”

“It wasn’t intentionally hiding it… At that time I was injured and nearly exhausted from being chased. I happened to pass by the Duan family and thought to hide there for a while. She discovered me, gave me a place to hide, and saved my life.” Big Brother Shi seemed afraid she would worry, so he briefly explained what had happened.

“Was the person chasing you caught?” Shi Fa Ke asked somewhat nervously.

“Don’t worry, he’s already been executed.”

Shi Fa Ke breathed a sigh of relief, then had the presence of mind to ponder what Big Brother had just said. She felt that… Big Brother had been very vague about the key points, and combined with his extremely unnatural expression, it seemed like more than just a life-saving favor…

“How many days did you stay at her house?” Shi Fa Ke suddenly asked.

Big Brother Shi’s expression became even more uncomfortable. He averted his gaze, “…About ten days or so. Because that person was very patient and kept lurking in the area, I stayed at the Duan family until my wounds healed before leaving.”

Ten days or so.

No wonder Big Brother had never mentioned this incident. There were always rumors around a widow’s door. If others knew that Jiao Jiao had hidden Big Brother in the Duan family for over ten days, Jiao Jiao would probably be drowned in gossip.

“Tomorrow, Jiao Jiao said she’s coming to see me.” Shi Fa Ke suddenly said.

Big Brother Shi was stunned, and his expression immediately became nervous, looking at a loss.

“She said she wants to see if I’ve found any good families for her.”

Big Brother Shi pressed his lips tightly together. After a long while, he said with a grave expression, “I’ll go talk to Father and Mother. I want to marry her.”

After speaking, without waiting for Shi Fa Ke’s reaction, he turned and left.