The servant was furious. The proprietress's attitude was intolerable. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to teach this arrogant woman a lesson, but his elegant young master suddenly waved him away. Though reluctant, the servant couldn't disobey his master. So, he glared at the waiter before walking out with his head held high.
After standing and thinking for a while, the waiter still followed the servant out. It was always his mistress who made others suffer, so he didn't need to worry. But the servant, who had just been scolded by his young master, was probably still unhappy; he'd better go out and check on him.
Seeing that only he and Qin Xiaoyou were left, and looking at the person he had missed for many days, Bai Yuxiao stepped forward and said softly with gentle eyes, "Xiaoyou, I'm here."
Qin Xiaoyou kicked Bai Yuxiao in the crotch without any politeness: "You scoundrel, I don't know you."
"Huh, could it be that she has lost her memory again?" Bai Yuxiao was startled when he heard Qin Xiaoyou say this.
"Fuck your amnesia." Qin Xiaoyou couldn't help but curse.
"How did you know my mother was outside?" Bai Yuxiao asked tenderly. "I left in a hurry that day because my old lady had given me an urgent order to go back and get something to keep my daughter-in-law tied down. But when I came back with the thing, you were nowhere to be found."
☆, Chapter 86, The Grand Finale (Part 1)
"Hmph, is that so?" Qin Xiaoyou raised her head, her face full of disbelief.
“Of course it’s true, I can testify.” A beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes lifted the curtain and entered.
Bai Yuxiao turned her head and respectfully called out, "Mother."
But Bai Yuxiao's cry of "Mother" startled Qin Xiaoyou. This...this...this isn't Luan Shanhun's mother! What's going on?
The beautiful woman smiled gently at Qin Xiaoyou, "Miss Qin, do you still remember me?"
Qin Xiaoyou stammered, "Of course I remember. You, you're that..."
"Shh." The beautiful woman raised her index finger and winked at Qin Xiaoyou, clearly not wanting to discuss that matter in front of Bai Yuxiao. Qin Xiaoyou understood; Bai Yuxiao's mother might have another affair outside. Sigh, being beautiful is such a hassle; there are always a ton of suitors she can't shake off.
Seeing that Qin Xiaoyou stopped halfway through her sentence, Bai Yuxiao asked curiously, "Xiaoyou, have you met my mother before?"
"None of your business!" Qin Xiaoyou's attitude towards Bai Yuxiao remained hostile.
"This is a secret between us women, Xiaoyu, why are you asking so many questions? Why don't you tell the servants to quickly prepare a good meal? Xiaoyou and I are going upstairs; we have some intimate things to talk about." The beautiful woman glared at Bai Yuxiao before affectionately pulling Qin Xiaoyou upstairs.
As Qin Xiaoyou walked, her heart was pounding with anxiety. She had unwittingly stumbled upon Bai Yuxiao's mother's secret, and she wondered if she would be silenced. Although Bai Yuxiao's mother looked quite gentle and harmless, as someone once said, beauties are all venomous scorpions, and should not be trifled with.
Once inside the room, the beautiful woman asked Qin Xiaoyou several questions, but Qin Xiaoyou seemed lost in thought. The woman couldn't help but tug at Qin Xiaoyou's sleeve, and only then did Qin Xiaoyou come back to her senses.
The beautiful woman smiled and said, "Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to chat with Xiaoyu later. I'll just take up a little of your time."
Qin Xiaoyou lowered her head guiltily, "Mmm."
"Here, put this on." The beautiful woman said, taking off a strangely shaped bracelet from her hand and putting it on Qin Xiaoyou's wrist.
Qin Xiaoyou panicked. How could she accept a gift from someone the moment they met? She hurriedly tried to take it off and return it to the beautiful woman, but she couldn't get it off no matter what she did, and she was sweating profusely with anxiety.
The beautiful woman smiled and patted her hand, saying, "Don't try to take it off, you can't. This bracelet has chosen you."
"What do you mean?" Qin Xiaoyou asked, puzzled. Could it be that the bracelet had become sentient and could recognize its owner?
"Well, you'll know after you and Xiaoyu get married." The beautiful woman deliberately kept him in suspense. After a while, she asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Qin Xiaoyou scratched her head. Of course, she had something she wanted to ask, but she didn't dare to. As if guessing what Qin Xiaoyou was thinking, the beautiful woman slowly asked, "Do you want to ask me about my relationship with Luan Shanhun?"
Qin Xiaoyou nodded. Anyway, knowing more secrets is never a bad thing. Since Bai Yuxiao's mother brought it up, she might as well listen.
“I am Luan Shanhun’s mother,” the beautiful woman said. Hearing this, Qin Xiaoyou perked up. Sure enough, all the big gossip was coming. Seeing Qin Xiaoyou’s energetic appearance, the beautiful woman chuckled and tapped her forehead: “Don’t overthink it. I’m not Luan Shanhun’s biological mother. Shanhun’s mother died early, and I was her only friend, so I adopted Shanhun.”
"Then why didn't you let Bai Yuxiao know just now?" Qin Xiaoyou asked.
"Sigh, don't let Xiaoyu's gentle appearance fool you. When he gets angry, even his father and I have to give him a wide berth. If he knew we'd been secretly following him, investigating which girls he'd been seeing, and even personally testing you out of the valley, he'd probably throw a huge tantrum. So, this is our little secret, and you absolutely mustn't let Xiaoyu know." The beautiful woman winked playfully at Qin Xiaoyou.
Qin Xiaoyou didn't entirely agree with the beautiful woman's actions, but she could understand them. Parents' hearts are always full of worry, whether in modern or ancient times; they are always heartbroken over their children's marriages.
"Mother, you actually went out of the valley to test Xiaoyou? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?" Bai Yuxiao suddenly spoke up, startling Qin Xiaoyou and the beautiful woman.
Seeing that her son had overheard her words, the beautiful woman heartlessly abandoned Qin Xiaoyou, saying, "I'm going to check how the food is being prepared," and quickly left the room.
Qin Xiaoyou coughed awkwardly twice and was about to leave when Bai Yuxiao stopped her: "Xiaoyou, I've been looking for you for so long, don't you have anything to ask me?"
Bai Yuxiao and that beautiful woman were indeed mother and daughter; they spoke in the same tone. Even though they wanted to say something, they still asked the other person if they had any questions.
As for the questions she wanted to ask, yes, of course she did; Qin Xiaoyou had far too many questions to ask. However, the life-or-death struggle in the desert suddenly made her feel that dwelling on these things was pointless. Regardless of why Bai Yuxiao had suddenly left in the first place, or why she had suddenly reappeared now, none of that mattered. She had already made up her mind to leave. No matter what Bai Yuxiao said, she wouldn't change her mind.
Seeing Qin Xiaoyou's suddenly indifferent face, and her nonchalant attitude towards him as if he were an insignificant person, Bai Yuxiao felt a pang of pain in his heart. However, he still forced a smile and pulled Qin Xiaoyou to sit down on a stool. "Xiaoyou, I know I've hurt you deeply, and I won't offer any empty words begging for your forgiveness. There are just some things I have to say because I don't want there to be any more misunderstandings between us. Please let me finish."
Qin Xiaoyou had originally wanted to defiantly shake off Bai Yuxiao's hand and leave without looking back, but when she met Bai Yuxiao's eyes, she immediately softened and couldn't bring herself to refuse. Qin Xiaoyou sighed softly and said, "Go ahead and say it."
Bai Yuxiao recounted how his initial attraction to Qin Xiaoyou deepened over time. He knew Qin Xiaoyou's unresolved issue stemmed from her relationship with Qin Qin, but honestly, before meeting Qin Xiaoyou, who was disguised as Qin Qin, he had never harbored any romantic feelings for her. He then recounted his shock at hearing Qin Xiaoyou reveal her true origins that night. He was indeed surprised, but his subsequent grim expression was entirely due to the Taoist priest's words from a few days prior: if she didn't marry quickly, Qin Xiaoyou might return to her previous era. No one knew how long that "quick" deadline would be, and he feared she would return before he could even marry her. As for her sudden disappearance after that night, Bai Yuxiao said helplessly, "It was all because I wrote a letter back home, and my mother, upon hearing I planned to get married, became agitated and insisted I return to retrieve the bracelet to 'tie down' my wife. It's my fault; I left in a hurry and didn't have time to explain to you, causing you to overthink things."
So this is the truth? Then all my heartache these past few months has been for nothing? Although Qin Xiaoyou was happy, she thought about how many times she had cried and how many times she had despaired in the past few months. If she forgave Bai Yuxiao just like that, wouldn't that be too easy on him?
Qin Xiaoyou feigned seriousness and beckoned to Bai Yuxiao with her finger. Once Bai Yuxiao was close, she whispered in his ear, "If you want me to forgive you, then you must..." Bai Yuxiao was both amused and exasperated, but ultimately agreed with no other choice. Winning the heart of one's beloved was indeed no easy feat.
Chapter 87, Wedding Night
The ancients once said that there are four great joys in life: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and passing the imperial examination.
As this wedding night was a joyous occasion, Qin Xiaoyou naturally wanted to make it special so that Bai Yuxiao would have a lasting impression. However, no matter how hard Bai Yuxiao racked his brains, he never imagined such a memorable way to celebrate.
The moment the veil was lifted, Bai Yuxiao's first thought was that her eyes were playing tricks on her. But after rubbing her eyes several times, the woman in the bright red wedding dress, sitting on the wedding bed with a wronged expression, was still the tavern waiter. Reaching out to release the pressure points on the waiter's body, Bai Yuxiao asked helplessly, "How did you get here?"
The waiter looked like he was about to cry. "I don't know either. I was sleeping soundly, and then I woke up like this. Young Master Bai, please make sure you understand, I'm not the proprietress. Don't do anything to me just because you've had too much to drink. I have someone I love."
"Get to the point, do you know where Xiaoyou went?" Suppressing the urge to throw the person in front of him out the window, Bai Yuxiao asked, fidgeting with his fingers.
"I don't know." The waiter shrank back fearfully, then added, "But I think I have a letter in my arms."
As soon as the waiter finished speaking, Bai Yuxiao reached out to touch him. After searching for a while without finding anything, the waiter gasped repeatedly, "No, no, not there, ah, ah, stop!" A few feet away, the people eavesdropping exchanged knowing glances. Qin Wu chuckled and remarked, "I never expected Yuxiao to be so thirsty. She just went in, and we haven't even had the wedding wine yet, and we're already in the bridal chamber. Tsk tsk."
"What are you saying?" Honeysuckle asked coolly.
"Really? I didn't say anything." Qin Wu looked up at the sky, feigning innocence. But Ren Dong wasn't buying it and pulled him back into the room, dragging his ear. Eavesdropping is something you should do in moderation. Eavesdropping too much will give you a sty.
Unaware that he had become the focus of everyone's discussion, Bai Yuxiao continued to press the waiter: "If you don't tell me where Xiaoyou went, I'll arrange a marriage between Qingxu and your family."
"No, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Who was Qingxu? Qingxu was the servant who had followed Bai Yuxiao to the KFC tavern that day. The waiter had fallen for him at first sight, but unfortunately, it seemed she didn't reciprocate his feelings. But it didn't matter; the proprietress had said that as long as you were persistent, there was no girl you couldn't win over, and no straight man you couldn't turn gay. Now that he had shamelessly followed him to the Bai residence, and Qingxu had finally agreed to speak to him, he didn't want all his efforts to be wasted because of the proprietress's prank. So, the waiter shamelessly told her everything.
"Achoo!" Qin Xiaoyou, who was happily roasting a pheasant on the hill behind the house, sneezed. She pulled her clothes tighter and leaned closer to the fire. She secretly regretted not changing her clothes; this wedding dress, though beautiful, wasn't warm at all.
"Oh? What are you planning to wear on your wedding night if not your wedding dress?" Qin Xiaoyou blurted out her thoughts without thinking. Seeing someone ask, Qin Xiaoyou blew on the glistening, golden-brown roasted chicken in her hand and said, "Of course, the groom's suit. That'll be warmer."
"Okay, as long as you come back to the bridal chamber with me, I'll let you wear it." With a soft laugh, Qin Xiaoyou was pulled into a warm embrace.
Time seemed to stand still, and after a three-second brain freeze, Qin Xiaoyou belatedly screamed, "Ah!" She dropped the chicken she was holding, turned around, and pointed at Bai Yuxiao with a look of utter disbelief, asking, "You, you, how did you get here?"
"My wife is here, so naturally I am here too," Bai Yuxiao said with a gentle smile. But Qin Xiaoyou felt a chill run down her spine. She had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Bai Yuxiao's next words made Qin Xiaoyou want to run away. Bai Yuxiao picked up a strand of Qin Xiaoyou's hair and played with it, then asked with a smile, "I didn't know that my wife liked to have a wedding night in the open air. It's my fault. But having the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed is indeed special. Since my wife likes it, then let's have our wedding night here."
"No!" Qin Xiaoyou screamed for a moment before being swallowed up by the boundless night.
(End of article)