All sorts of chaotic thoughts suddenly flooded Qin Mingzhi’s mind, startling even her. She quickly shook her head, trying to push those thoughts aside.
A woman shouldn’t have too strong a sense of morality.
She had been a good woman for so many years in her previous life, only to end up with a ruined reputation and the label of being infertile. Thinking about it now was almost laughable.
She had already died once. What was there left for Qin Mingzhi to worry about?
Last night, they had both been willing. She had remained pure in both her lifetimes, so she certainly didn’t feel like she had been the one who lost out.
But—
Usually, this handsome man had an icy, indifferent look in his eyes that made people afraid to approach him.
Yet now, there was emotion in his eyes, and for some inexplicable reason, it made her heart race.
Qin Mingzhi shrank her neck slightly.
This scumbag of an uncle really does have the temperament of a seductive fox.
That posture, that look in his eyes—if that wasn’t seduction, then what was?
What a pity. He was putting on a show for a blind man.
Qin Mingzhi straightened her clothes, raised her hand to arrange her hair, and checked herself carefully in the mirror. She looked so immaculate that even she couldn’t find a single fault.
Only then did she rub her aching lower back and walk out of the room.
The moment she closed the door, the gaze behind her was finally cut off, and that inexplicable pressure disappeared as well.
Qin Mingzhi had only taken two steps before her entire body felt exhausted. She leaned against the wall and stood there, practically on the verge of breaking down.
Although she had been the one to take the initiative last night, why did she feel as though she had been the one who suffered more?
The passionate scenes from the previous night involuntarily flashed through her mind, and her cheeks immediately grew hot.
When she had passed out last night, she hadn’t even had the strength to lift a hand. At first, the man had even coaxed her gently, telling her not to cry.
But afterward, he had completely ignored her. She had cried herself hoarse, and he hadn’t paid her any attention!
Qin Mingzhi had no idea what other men were like. In her previous life, although she had married Xiao Xingjie, the two of them had never even slept in the same bed.
But after experiencing Xiao Wangnian, she was genuinely frightened.
The intensity was more terrifying than running a marathon.
No, thank you. I have no intention of putting myself through that again.
Whatever other rumors surrounded Xiao Wangnian might have been false, but his reputation as the youngest ace soldier in the military region was absolutely well deserved.
Suddenly, Qin Mingzhi remembered something Xiao Xingjie had once said regretfully.
“It’s such a pity. My uncle didn’t make it back this time.”
“His talent and combat abilities in our military region were practically unheard of in a century. Everyone looked up to him and used him as their goal. How could someone like him have died just like that? It’s absurd. It doesn’t even feel real…”
Qin Mingzhi pushed all those chaotic emotions out of her mind and didn’t look back.
She opened the door and headed straight for Xiao Xingjie’s bridal chamber.
As she hurried along, she let out a cold laugh inwardly.
Since Qin Mengxue had gone to such lengths to marry a man whose heart already belonged to someone else—
Then, as her older sister, she would personally make sure the two of them were locked together for good.
Since this was the man Qin Mengxue wanted so desperately, she had better not regret it later!
“What time is it already? Why haven’t they made any noise yet? Looks like the daughter-in-law I married into this family is going to have us treating her like an ancestor!”
Jiang Yuying pushed open the door and looked around. When she couldn’t find any sign of Qin Mingzhi, she immediately snorted and made a few sarcastic remarks.
Then, hands on her hips, she was about to head toward the bridal chamber.
She had never liked Qin Mingzhi in the first place.
In her eyes, this plain-looking woman who had nothing but a pretty face was nothing more than a seductive little vixen. How could someone like her possibly be worthy of such an outstanding son?
It was already so late, yet she still hadn’t gotten up to make breakfast.
What kind of daughter-in-law was this lazy?
With a dark expression, Jiang Yuying had already come up with a hundred ways to make things difficult for Qin Mingzhi.
The moment her husband, Xiao Hengshan, came out, she immediately began complaining.
“Look at this! This is the wonderful daughter-in-law the old man forced on our family! It’s this late, and she’s still sleeping! On the very first day of her marriage, she’s already expecting us elders to serve her tea and wait on her?”
Xiao Hengshan said nothing.
He knew that whenever his wife lost her temper, there was no point in saying anything. Whatever he said would only earn him an earful.
Jiang Yuying was just about to storm over and kick down the bridal chamber door when the corner of her eye suddenly caught sight of a figure dressed in red approaching from the other end of the corridor.
For a moment, Jiang Yuying thought she was seeing things.
Her eyelids twitched twice, and she hurriedly rubbed her eyes.
Qin Mingzhi?
Shouldn’t she be inside the bridal chamber at this time?
Why was she coming from the other direction?!
A bad feeling instantly rose in Jiang Yuying’s heart.
Before she could ask anything, several relatives emerged from the side rooms, all looking over curiously.
Since Xiao Xingjie was getting married, many of the Xiao family’s relatives had come for the wedding. Those who lived too far away to return that night had stayed overnight at the Xiao residence.
Now, having heard the commotion, they had all gotten up.
The house where the Qin family lived was technically called a siheyuan, but in reality, it was merely a small courtyard with two sections. Xiao Hengshan and his wife had renovated it so extensively that the layout had become a complete mess.
The relatives had clearly heard the noise coming from the eastern wing, yet they couldn’t figure out how to get there.
“It’s such a tiny place, yet they’ve divided it up with walls all over the place. It looks like a pigeon coop. And there are twists and turns everywhere. I don’t even know which way to go…”
The Xiao family’s elderly aunt grumbled unhappily.
Xiao Xingjie’s second aunt, Jiang Yulan, looked around. Her sharp eyes quickly spotted the figure in red walking along the covered corridor.
“Hey! That should be the bride, shouldn’t it? Come on, let’s follow her and see what’s going on!”
With that, the relatives all followed in a great bustling crowd.
Earlier, when Jiang Yuying had vaguely seen the red figure through the gaps in the decorative windows on the wall, she had thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
But now, with Qin Mingzhi standing right there, the corners of her lips curved into a leisurely smile.
Only then did Jiang Yuying snap back to reality.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked from the side-room door to Qin Mingzhi.
“You… this… That’s impossible!”
The courtyard enclosed by the walls around the eastern wing had only one entrance. Beyond that door was the covered corridor, and to leave, one had to pass through the corridor and go past the main house.
The main house was where Jiang Yuying and her husband lived.
Jiang Yuying had gotten up early that morning. She hadn’t seen Qin Mingzhi leave at all!
Before she could ask anything, another burst of rapid footsteps came from farther down the corridor.
A huge crowd appeared behind Qin Mingzhi, filling the entire covered walkway as they drew closer.
Jiang Yuying’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Why had so many people come over?!
She had an ominous feeling and hurriedly waved at Xiao Hengshan.
“Go check on our son! Find out what happened!”
Xiao Hengshan had barely taken one step when Xiao Xingjie’s second aunt, Jiang Yulan, poked her head out from behind Qin Mingzhi.
“Sister, brother-in-law, what’s going on? Why are you two making such a fuss in the newlyweds’ courtyard so early in the morning?”
Jiang Yulan was famous for loving gossip. Her eyes rolled, and a whole series of scandalous possibilities had already begun playing out in her mind.
Jiang Yuying shot her a glare and forced herself to calm down.
Then she came up with a way to divert everyone’s attention.
She simply put on the airs of an elder and looked at Qin Mingzhi with a distinctly reproachful tone.
“Mingzhi, it’s not that I want to lecture you, but you two made such a huge commotion in the bridal chamber last night that even we could hear it. Xingjie must be exhausted by now.”
“You’re already a married woman. How could you not know how to take good care of Xingjie? Fine, you didn’t make breakfast first thing in the morning, but how could you leave the house without even buying some breakfast on your way back?”