Chapter 3: The Wedding Night

Xu Qiuyue sat cross-legged in the bridal chamber, regulating her breathing. She was thinking that in this life, she must practice martial arts diligently. What she was cultivating was an unnamed mental cultivation method found within her space; at the beginning, because she was illiterate, she could only practice by following the illustrations.

Because she had practiced once in her previous life, cultivating in this life was even more effortless.

The only thing Xu Qiuyue was grateful for was that Xuan Jiuqing had taught her how to read and write; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to understand this mental method. During the time when the two of them were closest, Xuan Jiuqing had even taught her other martial arts moves.

Because this unnamed mental method was truly too difficult to cultivate.

Even if one mastered it, it only yielded a single breath of internal qi. Once a real fight with a master broke out, it was far too difficult to win.

Xu Qiuyue waited in the bridal chamber for a long time before she finally heard a set of frantic, exasperated footsteps.

Xu Qiuyue remembered in her previous life how Xu Chunhua had wept to her, complaining that Lu Yuan was a stingy miser who had taken all of her dowry on their wedding night, and thereafter wouldn't let her spend a single penny.

However, Lu Yuan was extremely generous toward Xuan Jiuqing, giving him basically as much money as he asked for without ever being stingy. He was the same with her, presenting her with many rare and precious items as tokens of filial piety.

Suddenly, a pair of red wedding boots appeared before Xu Qiuyue's eyes.

Blocked by the red bridal veil, Xu Qiuyue could only see a tall, upright silhouette.

The air was filled with a sense of oppression.

Even though Xu Qiuyue was covered by the veil and could not see Lu Yuan's face, she could feel that his expression was as dark as still water.

Separated by the red veil, the two sat facing each other in silence; neither spoke.

Xu Qiuyue did not urge him either.

There were no other sounds of breathing in the room; it seemed the wedding matron and the maidservants had all been sent out.

Under normal circumstances, the wedding matron should have presided over the subsequent rituals of lifting the veil and the nuptial cup.

But Lu Yuan was an absurd man who never cared for any rituals.

"I still have several shop ledgers to look over. I will sleep in the study today."

Lu Yuan did not lift the veil.

Instead, he spoke to Xu Qiuyue in a heavy voice.

If he hadn't taken Xu Qiuyue's dowry, he clearly wouldn't have looked down on such cheap goods.

Xu Qiuyue thought Lu Yuan would fly into a rage.

But he did not; he merely said coldly, "Wait."

Xu Qiuyue called out to Lu Yuan.

At this moment, she could not afford to worry about her interests and lifted the red veil herself.

From within her sleeve, she pulled out a ginseng root wrapped in a handkerchief, still covered in soil.

This was a ginseng she had painstakingly cultivated using spiritual spring water.

It looked to be at least several hundred years old.

Such a ginseng should be worth several thousand taels of silver.

Xu Qiuyue carefully opened the handkerchief, revealing the ginseng inside, and said to Lu Yuan, "Husband, my parents' situation is difficult. I also know that what they did was unreasonable, but after all, they raised me for many years. Since I was a child, I loved playing in the mountains and was fortunate enough to find this ginseng. I have been carefully tending to it until just before the wedding, when I finally dug it up from the mountain. I wish to offer this item to my husband."

Xu Qiuyue knew that tonight was the wedding night; if Lu Yuan did not spend the night with her, her future days would surely be difficult.

Therefore, she offered this ginseng.

No matter what, she had to at least keep Lu Yuan here on their wedding night so that the maids and old women in the manor would not look down on her.

After all, Xu Qiuyue had married into the Lu Manor alone, without even a single maid by her side.

If the servants were harsh, they might withhold basic necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar.

Now that Xu Qiuyue had married into the Lu Manor, she could not leave the premises at will, and naturally, it would not be easy to go into the mountains to forage for goods to support herself.

In the future, at worst, she would be like Xu Chunhua in her previous life, constantly planting vegetables in the backyard to be self-sufficient—which could also be considered a leisurely life.

Lu Yuan's eyes brightened instantly.

His entire demeanor shifted from dark as still water to a sudden spring bloom.

Xu Qiuyue had not expected this.

Lu Yuan was actually this obsessed with wealth.

Lu Yuan moved very quickly; in an instant, he took the ginseng from Xu Qiuyue's hand and deftly tucked it into his sleeve. The entire process was smooth and incredibly natural.

"Lady, you are too polite! Since the betrothal gifts were given to you, they belong to you. You need not mind."

Lu Yuan was a man who looked decent on the outside; when he was flattering someone, his smile looked incredibly brilliant.

In her previous life, this was how Lu Yuan had flattered Xu Qiuyue.

It had caused Xu Qiuyue to doubt for a time whether the things Xu Chunhua said were actually false.

Because Lu Yuan truly was very generous after Xuan Jiuqing became a Prince.

Before Xuan Jiuqing became a Prince, the two families had no dealings with each other.

Naturally, Xu Qiuyue had not seen Lu Yuan then.

Xu Qiuyue raised her eyes, staring fixedly at Lu Yuan, and whispered to him, "Husband, it is late. Why not rest here for the night?"

Xu Qiuyue was certain that Lu Yuan was a profligate man.

When something was offered to him on a silver platter—especially his legitimate wife—he would not refuse.

Xu Qiuyue's features were beautiful; although she looked nothing like Xu Chunhua and did not resemble her father or mother, she was still a beauty.

Xu Qiuyue had once suspected that she might not be a child of the Xu family.

But on second thought, given her father's personality—preferring sons over daughters and being a stingy man—he would absolutely never raise someone else's child, let alone a girl.

Although Xu Family Village was relatively prosperous, there were still many old, bad customs here.

For example, if a family had too many daughters, some would choose to practice infanticide.

Because daughters were seen as "spilt water," belonging to someone else's family.

Hearing Xu Qiuyue's words, Lu Yuan gave her a meaningful look but did not speak.

Seeing that Lu Yuan remained silent, Xu Qiuyue took the initiative to move closer to him and said softly, "Let me help you change your clothes, Husband."

"Your technique is quite practiced, Lady!"

Xu Qiuyue was startled inwardly, though she showed nothing on her face. In her previous life, she had changed Xuan Jiuqing's clothes many times and had long since become proficient.

But currently, she was merely a girl from a rural farming family; she should theoretically not know how to undo such complicated clothing.

Xu Qiuyue pretended to be ignorant and said, "I do not know why Husband would say such a thing?"

Xu Qiuyue had already helped Lu Yuan undress down to his inner garments; if she continued, she would be able to see his fair skin.

Lu Yuan had lived a life of luxury, so his skin was very white; his complexion was not inferior to that of a woman.

Just as Xu Qiuyue continued, Lu Yuan suddenly grasped her hand.

The skin on the back of Xu Qiuyue's hand was unexpectedly fine; it did not feel like the skin of a farm girl at all, but rather like the texture of silk.

"Since my Lady is already so impatient, how can I let my Lady labor so hard..."

Lu Yuan's voice was low. He lowered his head and pulled Xu Qiuyue into an embrace, his breath brushing against her face.

Xu Qiuyue finally could not help herself; she extended a finger and lightly tapped Lu Yuan between his eyebrows.

Lu Yuan immediately fell into a deep sleep and collapsed onto the bed.

"Last night, you engaged in carnal pleasures with your new wife, no different from your usual seeking of amusement. It was merely that desire had arisen, so you could only make do with the act, finding it tasteless, and fell into a deep sleep, intending to go out and enjoy yourself once you woke up."

(End of Chapter)