Bai Ling

The Qin residence was huge.

They had winding corridors, artificial mountains, and waterfalls.

There were all kinds of pavilions.

Luo Qingzhou held onto the bride who was just done with her ceremonial bows. Surrounded by a group of maidservants, they walked for about ten minutes before arriving at the door to their bridal chamber.

The pretty girl from earlier stepped forward and pushed open the door. However, she opened her arms and blocked the door. She flashed a smile at him and two shallow dimples appeared, one on each side of her mouth, as she said, "Young Master, you can't go in yet. You have to wait until it's dark."

The old maidservant at the back also reminded him, "As the groom, you still need to accompany the guests to drink. Now that you have escorted the bride to the bridal chamber, you may leave."

Another old maidservant smiled and said, "Don't worry. You can consummate the marriage at night. The bride won't escape."

Of course, Luo Qingzhou knew that the bride would not be able to escape.

To be honest, he was not in a hurry to consummate the marriage.

In any case, they were already married and the bride was already his. It did not matter when they consummated the marriage.

However, he wanted to see what his bride looked like as soon as possible.

Was she beautiful or ugly?

Looking at the state of things, it seemed that he could only wait until nighttime to know the answer.

He let go of the bride's hand reluctantly.

Her hand was wonderfully smooth and soft.

It was as if there was some kind of magic.

Just holding it made his heart race wildly.

That same question repeated in his mind.

"Someone who has such beautiful hands can't be ugly, right?"

Even if she was not pretty, she should not be outrageously ugly.

It was fine as long as she did not have distorted features or her face was not covered in scars.

If he could not stand her looks, he could cover her face or refrain from looking at her face when they were intimate.

What mattered was that she could respond audibly to his actions.

Many thoughts raced through Luo Qingzhou's mind as he followed behind the maidservants and left the courtyard.

Xiao Die was waiting outside.

Seeing that he was out, Xiao Die was a little startled. "Young Master, why are you out so fast? Did you see…"

Suddenly, her voice trailed off. She threw a timid glance at the maidservants beside Luo Qingzhou and whispered, "Did you see what the bride looks like? Is she pretty?"

Luo Qingzhou shook his head.

Under the lead of the maidservants, the master-servant duo returned to the reception hall.

Luo Qingzhou followed behind a maidservant and went up to the Second Master of the Qin family, Qin Ruohuai. With Qin Ruohuai leading him, they went to each guest to thank them for coming.

They went up to those highly respected elderlies in Mo City first.

Following that was Luo Qingzhou's father-in-law, Qin Wenzheng.

Because Luo Qingzhou was a matrilocal son-in-law, he had to change the way he addressed Qin Wenzheng.

He had to address Qin Wenzheng as "Father" instead of "Father-in-law."

His "Father" would be the one deciding whether Luo Qingzhou would be changing his last name to Qin.

Qin Wenzheng looked young, seeming to be in his thirties.

He was tall, with a chiseled face and handsome features. He was an attractive middle-aged man.

However, he had a prodigiously fierce and authoritative look. At that moment, he had a dark expression.

Luo Qingzhou completely understood the reason for that.

After all, no man would be happy to see his daughter marry a man of lower status.

Besides, he was only a substitute for the one reneging on the marriage.

Luo Qingzhou stole a few glances at the handsome middle-aged man in front of him. He could not hear Qin Wenzheng's thoughts.

However, he felt a little relieved.

Seeing how handsome Qin Wenzheng was, his daughter must be not far off in terms of looks.

What a pity his mother-in-law did not come.

If she was also beautiful, it would set his mind at rest.

After toasting the Qin family, he had to toast to the Luo family.

Although the Qin family members held him in contempt, they mind their manners and behaved courteously toward Luo Qingzhou. All of them either wore smiles on their faces or nodded in acknowledgment.

The same could not be said for the Luo family.

Apart from Luo Yu, who was as hypocritical as his father, smiling at him, everyone else was staring at Luo Qingzhou coldly. It was as though Luo Qingzhou was a mere stranger.

Indeed.

To them, he was a stranger.

Members of the Luo family seemed embarrassed to attend this banquet and be acquainted with him. They wanted this banquet to quickly end so that they could leave.

Despite that, Luo Qingzhou was reverent toward them.

There were very few guests. In total, there were only five tables.

And they were not fully occupied.

Luo Qingzhou finally finished toasting everyone.

He did not stay to eat but immediately left.

Nobody stopped him.

After leaving the hall and away from those gazes, Luo Qingzhou felt a lot more relaxed.

He looked at the sky. It was already afternoon.

He had a trace of anticipation at the thought of being able to consummate his marriage tonight.

He hoped that anticipation would not turn into fright.

Xiao Die was waiting outside.

When she saw that he was out, she asked curiously, "Young Master, why are you out so fast? Don't you need to accompany the guests to eat?"

Luo Qingzhou laughed mockingly at himself. "They won't have any appetite if I'm there. Of course, the same can be said for me. Come on, let's walk around for a bit and tour our new residence."

Both of them walked past the long corridor and were about to head to the inner courtyard.

A few maidservants hurriedly caught up to them.

One of them, called Qiu'er, immediately reminded, "Sir, you can't loiter about like this. Madam, the other Young Misses, and a few distinguished guests from the capital are staying there. If they see you, I won't be able to answer to them."

Upon hearing that, Luo Qingzhou stopped walking and asked, "Then where can I go?"

He was surprised by the maidservants' friendly attitudes toward him.

Qiu'er was put on the spot. She softly said, "Sir, for the time being, don't go anywhere. Just wander outside the bridal chamber. Tomorrow morning, after you have paid your respects to all the Masters, Madams, and Young Misses in the residence, then you'll be able to wander freely."

Luo Qingzhou paused for a bit. "All right then." He was understanding about it.

A few female members of the Qin family did not turn up for today's wedding ceremony.

Hence, a lot of people in this residence did not recognize him.

It would be bad if he wandered about and startled or offended a distinguished guest.

Besides, with his current status, it was indeed inappropriate for him to wander freely.

"Sir, then I'll lead you to where Young Miss is."

Seeing that he was very easygoing, Qiu'er smiled. She did not look down on him just because of his status as a matrilocal son-in-law.

Luo Qingzhou followed behind her. "Then can I go in and see the Young Miss?"

Qiu'er immediately shook her head. "No way. You must wait till night. For now, you can just walk about outside the bridal chamber. There's a garden there, and the scenery is breathtaking."

Another maidservant covered her mouth and chuckled. "Are you in such a hurry, Sir?"

Luo Qingzhou threw a glance at her and replied, "Of course! We've already performed the ceremonial bows, yet I don't even know what my wife looks like."

Qiu'er immediately burst out laughing. "Be patient, Sir. You'll know at night."

The group of them went to the garden outside the bridal chamber.

Luo Qingzhou wanted to ask them more questions about his wife when a pretty girl suddenly entered the garden through a side door.

She was wearing a short pink robe with a round neck, and there was a layer of fleece around her neck. She had on a long pink skirt on the lower half of her body. This girl was delicately built and had an elegant figure. When she flashed him a charming smile, two adorable dimples appeared. With dark eyes and white teeth, she was a stunner.

This was the girl who had wowed everyone with her looks earlier, and the one who had prevented Luo Qingzhou from going into the bridal chamber.

"Bai Ling."

The moment the maidservants saw this teen girl, they addressed her respectfully and bowed slightly to her.

The teen, Bai Ling, smiled as she approached them. "All of you may take your leave. I'll stay and accompany Sir," she said.

The maidservants lowered their heads and retreated.

Luo Qingzhou looked at the gorgeous girl in front of him. He did not know her identity and was about to cup his hands in greeting and ask when the girl grinned at him. "My name is Bai Ling, and I'm the Young Miss' maidservant. If you don't mind, I can serve you in the future too, Sir."

Following that, she looked at Xiao Die who was standing beside him, and laughed. "But I won't provide sexual services."

After which, she blinked playfully at Luo Qingzhou and added, "Unless Young Miss agrees."

Her voice was as sweet as a nightingale's.