Chapter 400: Chapter 366: Escape and Responsibility
"Lin" Journal.
"Miss Yuyao is here, would you like a cup of milk tea?" Mrs. Qiao greeted Baili Yuyao.
"Yes." Baili Yuyao nodded. She had scheduled for the morning, but didn’t specify the exact time. She could only wait here.
After losing her virginity, her mindset changed, and she felt a sense of relief.
No more entanglement, no more struggle, she seemed to have figured some things out. Since it was already like this, accepting her mother’s arrangement wasn’t so bad.
Sometimes, she even thought about how he really was amazing in that aspect, better than those men in the pavilion who sought pleasure after taking medicine. No wonder Miaoxue didn’t mind...
Such thoughts didn’t know when they started surfacing in her mind, like weeds, growing uncontrollably in her mind.
A cup of hot milk tea was brought over, but the person delivering it was not Mrs. Qiao, but Si Miaoxue.
"Miaoxue, why is it you?"
"You’re waiting for him."
Baili Yuyao thought to herself, you’re asking the obvious.
Mrs. Qiao also brought a cup of hot milk tea to Si Miaoxue. The two women sat facing each other, neither speaking.
"Yuyao, our fates are quite unfortunate, encountering the same man and getting deeply involved." After a while, Si Miaoxue sighed and was the first to speak.
"Miaoxue, what was your first time with him like?"
Baili Yuyao’s question caught Si Miaoxue off guard. These sisters truly grew up in the embroidery workshop, asking such bold questions?
Si Miaoxue took a small sip of her milk tea. "Do I have to answer?"
Baili Yuyao didn’t speak, lowered her head, and also took a small sip of her milk tea, the fragrance of milk and tea blooming in her mouth.
That sweet yet shy feeling.
"It was just like that."
Fortunately, Baili Yuyao didn’t press further, or else Si Miaoxue wouldn’t have known how to answer. After all, this kind of private topic she’d never discussed with anyone before. Only someone like Yue Mei’er, that shameless flirt, would talk without shame, saying things lewd enough to make others blush.
Truth be told, the two of them might really get along well.
"Miaoxue, how much do you really know about him?" Baili Yuyao raised her head and asked. She originally resisted this marriage and didn’t want to know Lin Miao at all. But now, after letting go of her burdens, she started to want to understand it all.
After all, he is the person she will spend the rest of her life with.
"He is a very talented person, with excellent medical skills, knows a lot, and can do anything with ease. I’ve never seen him panic about anything. Most importantly, he’s very loyal and caring. Being with him, whether mentally or physically, is very joyful, making it hard to stop." Si Miaoxue carefully chose her words.
Especially the phrase "hard to stop," which made Baili Yuyao’s cheeks flush. She had indeed experienced his strength; it really felt like that.
"Miaoxue, I want to know more about him. Can you tell me more?"
"Haha, before when I told you, weren’t you unwilling to listen?"
"That was then, this is now."
"Yes, since you’re my sister, I naturally won’t hide anything. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you." Si Miaoxue smiled softly.
...
Lin Miao had already quietly approached. Seeing Si Miaoxue and Baili Yuyao chatting so harmoniously, he didn’t go over to disturb them.
"Sir."
Lin Miao whispered an instruction to Mrs. Qiao, and she nodded.
Moments later, Si Miaoxue led Baili Yuyao to the backyard.
"He’s inside, you go in." Si Miaoxue encouraged, pushing Baili Yuyao into the prepared tea room.
...
Faced with Lin Miao alone like this, Baili Yuyao was a bit nervous. After entering, she slightly lowered her head, not daring to meet Lin Miao’s gaze directly.
Although Baili Yuyao grew up in the embroidery workshop, she was kind and traditional at heart, which had to do with Baili Bingyun’s education of her.
Otherwise, it was truly rare to maintain such character in such a place.
"Yesterday, I had something to do, and couldn’t send you back, sorry." Lin Miao spoke, once again apologizing to Baili Yuyao.
"It’s okay." Baili Yuyao more or less guessed what Lin Miao wearing Shen An’s clothes went to do.
They couldn’t let Shen An’s death implicate her. As long as Shen An went back and disappeared again, it would clear her of any connection.
Green Blade Sect wouldn’t trouble the embroidery workshop.
"You didn’t tell your mother about our situation, did you?"
"No, I didn’t dare tell my mother..."
"Keeping this a secret isn’t a solution. If you’re having trouble speaking up, let me tell her." Lin Miao said, since the deed was done, he should take responsibility as a man.
Baili Yuyao widened her eyes. "You’re going to tell my mother?"
"Yes, although there are reasons, it was I who took your innocence. I should take responsibility for this, and I will be responsible for you."
"Will you marry me?"
"Miss Yuyao, you know that I have been engaged to my senior sister for a long time, so it’s impossible for me to give her up. Therefore, I can only marry you under another identity, and I hope you don’t mind," Lin Miao explained.
"Is it the identity that Sis Miaoxue disguised as?"
"Yes, this identity was originally deliberately reserved as a backup in case of unexpected situations. Actually, I hope you can find someone you like at the recruitment gathering, so I wouldn’t have to fulfill the promise I made with your mother. But fate has its ways, and we ended up getting together in this manner," Lin Miao nodded.
"Is it because you don’t like me that you don’t want to marry me?"
"No, it’s because I already have a fiancée and several close female friends. I’m not someone who falls in love with anyone I see, and besides, being with me might not be proportional to what you gain and what you give. I don’t want you to regret it in the future."
"What about Sis Miaoxue?"
"My situation with her is somewhat complicated. She became my woman first, and then a close female friend," Lin Miao explained.
"Besides your senior sister, how many other close female friends do you have like Sis Miaoxue?" Baili Yuyao asked.
Lin Miao looked at Baili Yuyao and slowly spoke, "Six."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Baili Yuyao was stunned and involuntarily took a step back.
"Doesn’t that make me the seventh?"
"I suppose so."
Crystalline tears welled up in Baili Yuyao’s eyes. If it was just the senior sister and Si Miaoxue, she might have been able to accept it, but now, she had become the seventh, no, it should be the eighth if the senior sister wasn’t counted in.
"Why do you bother with me when you already have so many women?"
"Yuyao, if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. I can also help you talk to your mother, after all, she doesn’t know about us yet," Lin Miao said.
"We’ve already been like this, how can I marry someone else?"
"Then you’ll have to accept this reality."
"I want a wedding that belongs to just one person. I want to marry with grandeur!" Baili Yuyao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes as she spoke.
"What do you mean?"
"I don’t want to recruit a son-in-law; I want a grand wedding!" Baili Yuyao stated.
"You want me to marry you under the identity of Lin Bei, right?" Lin Miao instantly understood Baili Yuyao’s meaning.
"Yes."
"But will your mother agree?"
"I’ve lived for so many years and always followed her wishes; I couldn’t even escape choosing a husband. Can’t I choose once for myself, live once?"
"But you are the third-generation embroiderer, the heir to the embroidery house?" Lin Miao somewhat understood Baili Yuyao. She had always been the obedient girl, but now she wanted to rebel using her marriage to break free from her mother’s control.
"Actually, my qualifications are average. Without the resources of the embroidery house, I fear my achievements would be limited. Over the years, I’ve trained diligently, but I’m far from the likes of Zhuang Cheng and Nie Yang," Baili Yuyao said, her eyes red.
"Yuyao, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty-two."
No wonder Baili Bingyun was eager to find her a husband. In the community among common folks, it’s rare for a twenty-two-year-old girl to not be married.
"I only broke through to the Blood Fusion Realm last year, barely qualifying to be recognized as a third-generation embroiderer," Baili Yuyao continued, "If it weren’t for the lack of outstanding women in my generation, I probably wouldn’t even have had this opportunity."
Lin Miao somewhat understood Baili Bingyun. The first and second generations could hold their ground, at least being able to suppress the internal affairs and becoming one of the three giants of Li Hen City.
But in Baili Yuyao’s generation, there wasn’t a single capable female. Once there was no one to uphold the banner of the embroidery house, its decline would be inevitable.
Any leader of a force would have to consider the future path.
Breaking old rules, introducing new blood, even pinning hopes on the next generation of Baili Yuyao.
Now, with at least two Jiazi of lifespan added, Baili Bingyun could fully nurture a more outstanding fourth-generation embroiderer.
Her hope was that this fourth-generation embroiderer would be Baili Yuyao’s offspring. The aptitude of martial artists can be inherited, and Lin Miao’s aptitude was the one she had her eyes on.
No wonder they say that Baili Yuyao, a third-generation embroiderer, relied on her outstanding beauty rather than martial arts skills. Of course, her intelligence was no less than her mother’s, but in practicing martial arts, she fell short.
Actually, in terms of aptitude, Baili Yuyao surpassed over ninety percent of those studying martial arts, except her identity was different, and she couldn’t be measured by ordinary standards.
She was considered among the bottom in terms of aptitude compared to the heirs of major powers like Nie Yang and Feng Shaoyun (the son of the Skull Association’s leader).
And the embroidery house had Zhuang Cheng, known as the "Young Master of the Embroidery Tower," and she, a third-generation embroiderer, could not compare to this prodigal son.
This was the biggest reason why Zhuang Rong always pressured Baili Bingyun to marry off her daughter to her son. If Zhuang Cheng married Baili Yuyao, with Zhuang Cheng’s assistance after Baili Bingyun’s demise, Baili Yuyao could still manage the embroidery house, keeping it from declining.
However, neither Baili Bingyun nor Baili Yuyao consented. The external recruitment this time was strongly opposed by the faction of Zhuang Rong. If Baili Bingyun hadn’t broken through to the Heavenly Origin Realm, she probably couldn’t have suppressed these people to make this decision.
So, if Baili Yuyao couldn’t find her ideal husband, the only path left would be marrying Zhuang Cheng.
When her mother was suddenly paralyzed for half a year, the pressure nearly crushed her. If not for that, she wouldn’t have been desperate enough to trust Si Miaoxue and seek Lin Miao to cure her mother.
Baili Bingyun probably saw it too, that her daughter was under too much pressure. If not accommodated, it might genuinely crush her.
Who knew Lin Miao really cured her mother and even broke through to the Heavenly Origin? With this, she was entirely relieved.
The thought of escaping had always existed in her mind, so when her mother talked about recruiting a husband externally or even suggested marrying her to Lin Miao, she didn’t vehemently oppose, even faintly looked forward to it.
Because, perhaps this way, she wouldn’t have to bear those so-called responsibilities.
Comments