Chapter 38

The morning sun was shining brightly.

When Luo Qingzhou woke up, Xiao Die was drying clothes in the courtyard while humming a song.

She seemed to be in a good mood.

Luo Qingzhou could not help but smile when he thought of the lovey-dovey words the two of them had exchanged last night.

When he recalled what Bai Ling said to him last night, he felt composed and was completely unbothered by it.

He got up, dressed, and placed the liquid produced by the Lunisolar Mirror into the porcelain bottle.

From outside the window, Xiao Die heard the sounds Luo Qingzhou was making as he moved around the room. She knew that he was awake and quickly came in to serve him.

After washing up.

Luo Qingzhou went out alone.

Just as he left the small courtyard, Bai Ling happened to walk out of the garden in front of him. She held a fresh flower in her hand and looked at him with a smile.

She was in a pink dress that accentuated her slim figure. She held onto a fresh flower glittering with dew drops. The beams of the early morning sun shone full on her beautiful face and figure. Her long black hair and the hem of her dress fluttered in the light breeze. She looked like someone who had walked out of a painting.

“Sir, you woke up so late. Had you been crying the entire night?”

The moment she saw him, Bai Ling smiled and teased him.

Luo Qingzhou looked at her without saying anything.

“Sir?”

Bai Ling blinked, and stared at him for an extra beat, before she asked curiously, “Sir, after hearing what I said last night, you weren’t the slightest bit sad?”

Luo Qingzhou frowned and asked, “There’s no use in being sad, right?”

Bai Ling thought for a moment and shrugged. “You’re right.”

Luo Qingzhou stopped talking and walked forward.

Bai Ling followed behind and caught up to him. She handed him the flower she had just picked and said, “Sir, give this to Young Miss later.”

Luo Qingzhou glanced at her. “She’ll want it?”

Bai Ling said, “Although Young Miss won’t want it, it is a token of your regard. Young Miss will appreciate it.”

“There’s no need to do this,” Luo Qingzhou said.

He did not take the flower.

Since they had already made it clear last night, there was no need for him to do such hypocritical things.

So what if she appreciated it?

There was no point in that.

“Sir, you can give it to me later.”

Bai Ling shoved the flower into his hand, smiling. “If you give it to me in front of Young Miss and Chanchan, it’ll make me look good. Of course, that’s if Young Miss doesn’t want it.”

Luo Qingzhou looked at her deeply. He held the flower without saying anything else.

He realized that the more he interacted with her, the less he understood her.

Bai Ling reminded him in a low voice, “Sir, go with Young Miss to serve tea to Madam later. No matter what Madam’s attitude is, you must bear with it, understand?”

Luo Qingzhou said calmly, “I know.”

Bai Ling looked at his calm expression and smiled. She did not say anything else.

The two of them were thinking about something and did not say anything else.

After passing through the corridor and arriving at the entrance of the courtyard, he saw Xia Chan holding her sword and standing outside with a cold expression.

When Luo Qingzhou appeared, she looked over coldly.

She glanced first at the flower in his hand, then at him.

She was like an unsheathed sword, ready to strike at any moment.

Even if she stood there without moving, she was still cold and chilling, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.

Luo Qingzhou looked at her, and an idea came to him. He walked over and handed the flower in his hand to her. “Miss Xia Chan, this is for you.”

There was a sudden silence.

The air seemed to have frozen. There was not even the sound of breathing.

Swoosh!

A few seconds later, a chilling sword beam flashed.

The flower in Luo Qingzhou’s hand instantly split into two and fell to the ground.

As for the cold girl in front of him, the sword in her hand was still in the sheath, as if it had never been unsheathed.

However, she hugged it in front of her chest earlier, but now, the sword was at her side.

Her face, which was even more beautiful than Bai Ling’s, became even colder.

Luo Qingzhou could not hear her thoughts.

Feeling an itch on his neck, he threw away the remaining flower branches in his hand and retreated. He stood five meters away and did not look at her again.

It was very strange.

Most of the time, he could not hear what the two girls were thinking.

That was especially so for the First Young Miss Qin.

Was it because they did not have any thoughts, or was there another reason?

Just as he was thinking about that, First Young Miss Qin walked out of the house in a snow-white dress. Her expression was still indifferent, and there were no other emotions on her face.

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and cupped his hands. “First Young Miss,” he greeted.

Qin Jianjia merely glanced at him. As usual, she did not say anything and walked forward.

Bai Ling and Xia Chan followed behind her.

Luo Qingzhou also followed, looking straight ahead.

Bai Ling purposely lagged behind. She looked at him and said in a low voice, “Sir, have you fallen in love with someone else? It is a flower for me, how can you give it to Chanchan? She only knows how to kill people, she does not know how to admire flowers.”

Luo Qingzhou said expressionlessly, “You only know how to lie.”

Bai Ling was stunned for a moment before she burst into laughter. “Sir, you shouldn’t speak against your conscience. When did I ever lie to you?”

Luo Qingzhou ignored her.

Bai Ling intentionally raised her voice, “Sir, you secretly handed the flower to Chanchan earlier. Aren’t you afraid that Young Miss will be angry? Or could it be that you also want Chanchan to be your concubine-maidservant?”

Luo Qingzhou still ignored her.

However, he clearly felt a chill in front of him.

Bai Ling continued to speak.

However, Luo Qingzhou still kept his mouth shut, refusing to say a word.

“You’re so boring.”

Bai Ling muttered and stopped teasing him.

They walked through the garden, the corridor, the pond, and the artificial mountains, and finally came to the backyard where the Madam of the Qin residence, Song Ruyue, lived.

The road was quiet. The maidservants and servants were nowhere to be found.

The courtyard door was open, but no one came to welcome them.

Qin Jianjia led the three of them straight in and arrived at the hall.

In the hall, a beautiful woman in a purple dress was sitting upright with a solemn expression.

Two maidservants stood at the side with their hands lowered and their heads lowered. They held their breaths in concentration.

Qin Jianjia walked over, but she stood there quietly and did not speak.

Luo Qingzhou hurriedly walked up and took tea from the plate brought by the maidservant. He knelt in front of the beautiful woman and lowered his head respectfully. “Mother, please have some tea.”

The beautiful woman immediately snorted and said with a sideways glance, “Who’s your mother? Am I that old?”

Luo Qingzhou was dumbfounded and looked up at her.

This woman had quite a similar appearance to Qin Weimo. She had a voluptuous figure, with snow-white skin. A pair of almond-shaped eyes stared at him. This woman was a knockout and had a dignified aura surrounding her. She looked to be only about 30 years old.

“She isn’t First Young Miss Qin’s mother?”

Luo Qingzhou thought.

Just as he was in a daze, the maidservant standing at the side immediately shouted coldly, “How dare you stare at her like this! Call her ‘Madam’!”

Luo Qingzhou came back to his senses and lowered his head respectfully. “Madam, please have some tea.”

The beautiful woman sized him up coldly. After a moment, she suddenly raised her eyebrows and glared at him. “Weimo praised you for being talented. Hmph! In my opinion, you look good on the outside, but you’re rotten inside! You can deceive Weimo, but you can’t deceive me! Since you’re already married to Jianjia, why are you trying to seduce Weimo? Weimo is an innocent and kind girl. You got her all mesmerized because of your pitiful background and sweet words. Do you want to enjoy both sisters? How dare you!”

Luo Qingzhou was at a loss for words.

When he came, he had already expected that Song Ruyue would make things difficult for him, but he did not expect her to be angry because of Qin Weimo.

However, there was nothing between him and Second Young Miss Qin. He had a clear conscience and was not afraid of whatever Song Ruyue wanted to say.

Upon hearing that, he was neither haughty nor humble. Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and replied respectfully, “I’ve only met Second Young Miss twice. Both times, there were maidservants present, and there were also others present. The first time, Second Brother was present, and the second time, Miss Meng and Miss Song were present. Madam, you can ask them about what I said and my behavior.”

“How impudent of you!”

Song Ruyue slammed the coffee table beside her and said angrily, “Who gave you the guts to argue with me like this?”

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and said respectfully, “I’m merely trying to explain to you.”

Bai Ling hurriedly walked over and whispered, “Sir, quickly apologize to Madam.”

Luo Qingzhou narrowed his eyes and looked up at the domineering beauty in front of him.

He suddenly heard her inner thoughts.

“This kid is indeed as Weimo said. He’s not like those ordinary scholars. If it were anyone else, they would have been so frightened that they would have trembled and knelt down. This fellow is only an illegitimate son who married into the family, yet he can behave so calmly in front of me. He’s neither servile nor overbearing. It seems that he does have some ability. However, this kid is staring at me so directly. He’s really disrespectful. How annoying… Although the more I look at him, the more handsome he seems to be…”

Luo Qingzhou retracted his gaze and lowered his head. “I’m sorry for behaving so rudely earlier.”

Of course, he was not apologizing for being stubborn.

Song Ruyue snorted and said with a dark face, “Weimo praised you for being well-read and good at poetry. Although she might have exaggerated a little to comfort me, it’s true that you’re an Elementary Scholar and you’ve been hiding in your room studying hard all day. Surely, you must have some skills. I’m here to test you today. If you answer well, I’ll let bygones be bygones for your disobedience just now. If you can’t answer, from today onward, you’ll be a servant. You will have to plant flowers in my backyard! The Qin family will not waste their money on useless people!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

At the same time, in a side hall covered by a bead curtain, a maidservant was supporting a delicate figure as they quietly hid behind the door to eavesdrop.

Through the bead curtain, the delicate figure could vaguely see the figure in the hall.