Newlyweds

With the wedding date of February 16th drawing ever closer, Shen Jingchuan felt increasingly guilty. Whenever he had a moment of peace, the first person he thought of was Meng Ke.

He knew that if this matter were brought up, others would inevitably accuse him of being a womanizer and heartless. But only he knew that he hadn't taken the initiative in either of those relationships.

First, there was Bai Ruoli. He blacked out at the party that night and crossed the line without realizing it. As a grown man, he couldn't just pretend to be deaf and dumb and forget about it. He couldn't shirk the responsibility he had to take.

As for Lin Qingyao, she was an innocent victim. In his haste to treat her injuries that day, he tore open the back of her clothes, exposing her entire back.

To put it bluntly, they only saw her back, which wouldn't be a big deal in modern times. But in this other world, the rules are strict, and a woman's reputation is more important than her life.

Although the Lin Household didn't say anything, it was obvious they were unhappy. Lin Qingyao herself was stubborn and insisted on repaying him with her body, without mentioning that she would be his slave in the next life.

He couldn't just stand by and watch the girl's life be ruined because of this, so after thinking it over, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

He felt wronged; he hadn't seen the whole thing. Back in modern times, there were plenty of people dressed even more scantily at pools and beaches, and no one had ever demanded he take responsibility. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do; the rules of this other world were there, and he had no choice but to accept them, resigning himself to his fate.

That's why he felt even more indebted to Meng Ke. She was his first love, and the two of them were seriously dating. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she suddenly had two sisters out of nowhere.

So every time he travels back to the modern world, he tries to spend as much time as possible with Meng Ke.

On their wedding night, only Shen Jingchuan and Lin Qingyao were left in the room; even Ju'er and Yue'er tactfully withdrew.

Lin Qingyao sat on the edge of the bed, still in her wedding dress. When she saw him looking at her, instead of lowering her head shyly, she glared at him, her ears bright red, and stubbornly said:

"What are you looking at?" Being newly married, her tone lacked its usual sharpness, carrying a hint of fierceness instead.

Shen Jingchuan walked over and sat down next to her. Looking at the stunningly beautiful woman beside him, he felt genuinely warm inside.

This girl is bold and straightforward, she dares to love and hate, and her heart is completely devoted to him; he likes her from the bottom of his heart.

But Meng Ke's face flashed uncontrollably through his mind, and that joy was instantly overshadowed by a heavy sense of guilt. He cursed himself inwardly for being such a bastard, wanting more than he had.

He reached out to take her hand, and Lin Qingyao struggled slightly but couldn't break free, so she let him hold it. Shen Jingchuan leaned closer, and she subconsciously pulled back, but didn't actually push him away, her breathing becoming a little erratic.

The room was quiet, with only the occasional sound of wind outside the window. The initial awkwardness and unfamiliarity slowly dissipated with each touch; Lin Qingyao's strength softened, and she let him hold her, piece by piece...

The night grew deeper and deeper...

The next morning, Shen Jingchuan woke up with his arm still around Lin Qingyao. She had practiced martial arts for many years, resulting in a toned and athletic physique with clean, beautiful lines, a full figure, a shapely bottom, and long legs. He stared at her for a long time, finally unable to resist, especially so early in the morning...

After the two got up and washed, they went to the main hall, where Bai Ruoli was already waiting. She was someone Shen Jingchuan had brought back to the manor earlier, but they had neither held a wedding nor had a formal title. In addition, she came from a brothel, so according to the rules of this other world, she was considered a concubine.

Shen Jingchuan came from the modern world and didn't understand these formalities at all. He only knew that this was his woman and he should bring her back. He had been confused and dragged it out until now, without even giving her a proper identity.

Upon seeing them enter, Bai Ruoli stepped forward and respectfully bowed, offering tea to Lin Qingyao —according to custom, once the principal wife enters the household, the concubine must come to offer tea and acknowledge her as the mistress the next morning.

After serving the tea, she took out the household account books and keys, saying that from now on, the mistress should manage the household and that all of these should be handed over to Lin Qingyao.

Lin Qingyao hated these trivial matters like bookkeeping and housework, so she immediately pushed them away, saying nonchalantly:

"I can't handle these trivial matters. Just manage them the way they were before. You should manage them, little sister."

Shen Jingchuan watched Bai Ruoli's submissive demeanor from the side, and felt a pang of unease.

He was used to modern thinking and couldn't bear to see his woman suffer, but he didn't understand how to handle the rules regarding wives and concubines here, so he could only scratch his head and say to Lin Qingyao:

"Qingyao, actually she entered the family before you. It was because I didn't understand the local customs and didn't give her a proper explanation; I feel really bad about that. Back in my hometown, we don't have so many hierarchical distinctions..."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruoli quickly curtsied and spoke gently:

"Please don't say that, young master. It is my great fortune to be able to stay by your side. I truly admire you, and I don't care about titles or anything like that. I am content as long as I can serve you."

Lin Qingyao raised an eyebrow. She was by nature straightforward and chivalrous, and seeing that Bai Ruoli was sensible and spoke appropriately, she didn't put on airs as the mistress of the house, simply saying:

"From now on, you can stay in the manor without worry. As long as you follow the rules, no one will make things difficult for you."

After several days of completing all the traditional wedding rituals, Shen Jingchuan thoroughly enjoyed a few days of tender and beautiful women, surrounded by them on both sides, feeling incredibly comfortable.

Before he knew it, it was the sixth day of the first lunar month. When he got up in the morning, he told his two wives that he needed to find time to cultivate and couldn't fall too far behind. Bai Ruoli was already used to it and gently agreed to reassure him; Lin Qingyao was also straightforward and waved her hand, saying that they would keep an eye on things at home and that he could go without worry.

Shen Jingchuan passed through the side gate of the garden, walked to the newly purchased three-courtyard house on the west side, and closed the gate.

Butler Liu Zhong had already tidied up as instructed. The weeds in the yard were cleared away, the floor tiles were repaved and smoothed, and the walls inside the house were repainted, making everything neat and tidy.

Shen Jingchuan glanced at it but didn't say much. He had only casually mentioned that he would just tidy it up, and since the other party had done a reliable job, he naturally had no objections.

This courtyard is now his supply depot; things he brought from the modern world that he doesn't need right now are all piled up in the various rooms.

He didn't want to leave these mundane items in the Ring space indefinitely—firstly, constantly going back and forth to retrieve and store them took up too much space, and secondly, these ordinary items would always silently consume some Spiritual Qi while staying in the space.

He didn't have much Spiritual Qi in his space to begin with, and he couldn't bear to waste even a single bit on these things.