RWWAI 4

Chapter 4: The Customs of Taking in a Side-Chic

Half a month later, Qi Lu made a grand spectacle of taking Qin Miaomiao into the family as a concubine.

According to the prior context from the bullet comments, the previous life's Qin Miaomiao had also entered the household this exact same way. Naturally, compared to the ritual customs reserved for a legitimate wife, it still fell a notch short, but Qi Lu indeed granted her the highest treatment a concubine could possibly enjoy.

And in the past life, Liang Jingjing had handled every single bit of this preparation.

From the green-toned sedan chair entering through the side door down to the tea leaves used for the welcoming ceremony, she had personally chosen them all. In this current life, of course I was still the one managing these chores; however, the emotional weight inside was literally a world of difference.

The customs for welcoming a concubine into the estate are generally not something ordinary people understand very well. Basically, there are no bright red wedding garments, no intertwined drinking cups, and not even any red wedding candles. Qin Miaomiao simply rode in an ordinary small sedan chair, entering the estate through the side door at dusk.

Qi Lu himself wasn't even allowed to greet her inside the threshold; he had to wait alongside me in the main hall.

Once Qin Miaomiao was first escorted to settle down in the Jiaoyue Pavilion, servants would then be sent to summon her to the front hall to serve tea. Only after the concubine knelt to serve tea to the legal wife would it be Qi Lu's turn to take her back to his bedchamber to fulfill her "duties".

Although the general rules could not be messed with, Qi Lu still managed to reveal his deep attachment to Qin Miaomiao in minor details. For instance, he specifically instructed the maid Huangying to keep watch at the side door, and the moment the green sedan chair arrived, to respectfully lead Qin Miaomiao over to the Jiaoyue Pavilion.

Inside the Jiaoyue Pavilion, exquisite little pastries—all of which Qin Miaomiao loved—had already been prepared in advance.

In the past life, every single one of these petty actions had filled Liang Jingjing with a profound sense of humiliation. I won't bother repeating them; it was simply that kind of situation.

At long last, with the entry process finished, it was time for Qin Miaomiao to come pay her respects with tea.

So there I sat in the main hall alongside Qi Lu, waiting for Qin Miaomiao's arrival. But as I swept my peripheral vision across Qi Lu's face, my heart suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

How should I put this? I somehow felt as though a look of complete disorientation was plastered across his face.

I figured it was probably because of the way I chewed him out in the study the other day, which must have completely shattered this guy's mental state, leaving him too terrified to put on airs in front of me.

Sure, it felt satisfying, but I also vaguely felt like this could spell trouble. If he started showering me with proactive attention just to "curry favor" with me, wouldn't that be equally disgusting?

After all, no matter how good-looking he was, I had zero interest in someone else's secondhand man.

So, I coldly remarked, "There is no need to look so nervous. Today is Qin Niangzi's entry day after all; I have no intention of deliberately making things difficult for you."

I thought I had made myself crystal clear, but to my surprise, Qi Lu stammered out, "Are you... holding up alright?"

The moment those words left his mouth, a look of utter bewilderment actually surfaced on Qi Lu's face, as if he had no idea why he would say such a thing.

I could only respond with even greater bewilderment, "Everything is fine. Why did husband suddenly ask such a thing?"

Qi Lu shook his head, muttering almost to himself, "It's nothing."

While I was left completely in the dark, Qin Miaomiao walked into the front hall.

She respectfully knelt before me, speaking in a gentle tone, "Madam, please partake of the tea. From this day onward, Miaomiao shall strictly keep to her station and serve Madam with all due respect."

This threw me for yet another loop.

Because the bullet comments had explicitly stated that in the previous life, Qi Lu hadn't actually let her kneel at all! Back then, using the excuse of Qin Miaomiao's pregnancy, he had stubbornly forced her to stand while serving tea.

For a moment, I looked in startled confusion at Qi Lu, who looked visibly high-strung.

Don't tell me that because of my tongue-lashing, he didn't even dare stop her from kneeling? Is this guy really that easy to manipulate?

What on earth was the original Liang Jingjing crying and whining about all those years?!

How could a pathetic pushover like this oppress her for over a decade?!

Perhaps noticing that I had taken too long to accept the tea, Qi Lu finally turned his head to look at me. Under his anxious gaze, I hurriedly took the cup from Qin Miaomiao's hands and downed it in one gulp.

"I have accepted this tea. Now that you have entered the Qi family, keep to your proper place from here on out and live in harmony with everyone in the estate," I said.

Once the tea was finished, Qin Miaomiao stood up with Huangying's assistance, and dead silence descended upon the room once more.

I shot another thoroughly bewildered look at Qi Lu. Logically speaking, the ceremony was over; shouldn't he be whisking Qin Miaomiao back to the Jiaoyue Pavilion to enjoy his blissful spring evening instead of waiting for my royal permission?

Even as a modern person, I felt that lingering around like this was crossing a line. So I simply stared at him in awkward silence, refusing to utter a single word of urging—otherwise, after tomorrow, the whole city would be gossiping about what a tyrannical, shrewish wife I was.

A moment later, Qi Lu said with extreme difficulty, "Then... I shall escort her away first."

I nodded in sheer relief.

Qi Lu actually stood up with a timid, submissive air, then sidestepped around Qin Miaomiao and slowly began walking toward the front doors.

Seeing this, Qin Miaomiao hurriedly trailed behind him. The moment she tentatively reached out to tug on Qi Lu's sleeve, I watched his entire body flinch.

I grew even more perplexed. No matter how viciously I had scolded him the other day, it shouldn't have turned him into a timid little bride!

Why did Qi Lu look like a completely different person? Even his posture lacked its previous upright stiffness!

Sure, I did say, "Don't stand quite so tall from now on," but that was just a figure of speech! I didn't actually mean for him to spend the rest of his life unable to straighten his back!

Little did I know, the next day would leave me even more shell-shocked.

Early the next morning, my personal maid Caiju scampered over with a face full of juicy gossip: "Madam! There was the most bizarre thing that happened last night! My Lord escorted Qin Niangzi back to the Jiaoyue Pavilion, but didn't stay even for a split second before turning right around and leaving. Later, after I did some digging, guess what? My Lord actually spent the entire night sleeping in the study!"

I was dumbfounded: "Huh?"

"You're telling me! In this maid's humble opinion, My Lord still holds Madam deep in his heart after all. As for that Qin Niangzi... I suppose she was just a temporary mistake My Lord made out of sheer loneliness after three long years away at war." Caiju analyzed the situation with absolute confidence.

I was completely and utterly flabbergasted.

Didn't Qi Lu deeply love Qin Miaomiao? Could the plotline actually have derailed because I yelled at him?

Don't tell me the one who acts all dominant on the outside but is secretly a submissive masochist... is actually Qi Lu himself?!

Right at that moment, five glowing characters materialized before my eyes: [Qi Lu is not a M.]

Damn it! Being roasted by bullet-commentary subtitles is genuinely annoying. And I couldn't even yell back at them.

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