Chapter 312: The Beauty of Adulting

At dusk.

As the setting sun slanted westward and the veil of night was about to fall, Luo Zijun finally left Chujian Bookstore with a heart full of anxiety, preparing to return to the Bai Mansion.

Liu Chujian saw him to the door and said deliberately, "It's fine, Brother Zijun. At worst, you can just marry both sisters; the raw rice has already been cooked into porridge anyway."

Jia Yingchun covered her mouth and giggled at the shop entrance.

She had come here today to play with Liu Chujian, and since Luo Zijun hadn't avoided her while venting to Liu Chujian upstairs, she knew about it too.

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun said angrily, "What do you mean the raw rice has been cooked into porridge? I've said it already, I never touched her! The relationship between us is just that of a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law, pure and innocent, with absolutely no illicit affairs!"

Liu Chujian said, "Brother Zijun, a woman's purity doesn't necessarily depend on whether something happened or not. So many people in the Bai Mansion saw Bai Qingtong crawl out from under your bed, and everyone knows she didn't return all night. Even if you two truly did nothing, it's already considered as having done something. Bai Qingtong's reputation is ruined, and she certainly won't be able to marry in the future. Brother Zijun, you also said she did this to help you, so you must take responsibility."

"I can't be bothered to talk to you anymore!"

Luo Zijun was agitated and, knowing he was in the wrong, strode away directly.

Walking along the bustling street bathed in the slanting sunset, the more he thought about it, the more he felt this matter was hard to resolve. If this matter wasn't resolved, then his marriage with Bai Daxiaojie would certainly be impossible to continue.

But under the current circumstances, any explanation or truth was useless.

People only believe what their own eyes see, even if what they see is not the truth.

Moreover, Liu Chujian was right; for a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law to be alone together for an entire night, even if nothing really happened, it was equivalent to having happened.

In this day and age, a woman's reputation is as important as her life, let alone for a Young Lady of a Duke's mansion with status and face.

Once such a scandal broke out, the entire Bai Mansion would suffer along with it.

"Sigh..."

The more he thought, the more he regretted; the more he thought, the more ashamed he felt.

He really shouldn't have left his sister-in-law behind to guard the dharma last night; asking a brother-in-law to do it would have been fine. It was just that he hadn't thought that much at the time, and he certainly hadn't expected that Bai Daxiaojie and her mother would arrive first thing in the morning, bringing so many maids and nannies with them.

Lost in wild thoughts along the way, he quietly entered the Bai Mansion through the back door.

The guards and maids he met on the way still greeted him respectfully, but the way they looked at him was clearly wrong.

"The Matrilocal Son-in-law hooked up with his sister-in-law, and was caught in the room by the eldest miss and the mistress..."

"I heard the Third Miss crawled out from under his bed without any clothes on..."

"Without clothes? How come I heard she was only wearing a bodice..."

"I heard it wasn't just the Third Miss who crawled out from under the bed, but also the Third Miss's two young maids, all of them stark naked..."

"This scholar son-in-law sure knows how to play..."

"Isn't that so? On the bed were those two little sluts Xiaohuan and Ziyuan, and I heard there were also the eldest miss's three maids; under the bed were the sister-in-law and her two young maids..."

"Is that true?"

"Absolutely true!"

"Tsk tsk, with so many, isn't he afraid of dying on the bed?"

Listening to the sneaky discussion of several old nannies around the corner, the corner of Luo Zijun's mouth twitched.

Wasn't this giving him a bit too much credit?

Eight women in one night?

How come he didn't know he was that capable?

Sighing all the way, he returned to Junzi Residence. Just as he was about to enter the room, he suddenly saw a tall, slender figure in a green dress walk out.

"Brother-in-law, you've ruined me!"

Bai Third Miss came out of the room, looking at him with gloomy eyes.

Luo Zijun was startled and quickly said, "Why are you still here? Do the eldest miss and her mother know?"

Bai Qingtong whispered, "Brother-in-law, don't worry, I snuck over here behind their backs."

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Go! Leave quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun almost wanted to physically push her out. Such a thing had happened just this morning, and now his sister-in-law had snuck over to the brother-in-law's place again. If they were discovered again, it would completely confirm the illicit affair between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Bai Qingtong looked resentful: "Brother-in-law, you just finished using me last night, and today you're already turning cold and heartless? Isn't this too fast?"

Luo Zijun broke into a cold sweat. He couldn't help but glance at the small door on the wall, walked over, and whispered, "What do you want with me?"

Bai Qingtong sighed: "It's still about this morning. I tried to explain to Father and Mother, but they wouldn't listen and just waved me away. I went to find Sister to explain, but she wouldn't see me at all. I... I don't know what to do either. And the maids and servants in the mansion, the way they look at me is..."

Luo Zijun certainly understood that feeling, so he could only say shamefully: "It's my fault, this whole thing is my fault..."

Bai Qingtong looked at him and said: "Brother-in-law, I didn't come here to hear your apology, nor to discuss who is right or wrong. I just want Brother-in-law to think of a way to resolve this. Mother was so angry this morning that she fainted; the first thing she said when she woke up was that she wanted to beat me to death... Father even clenched his fists, shaking with rage. If it weren't for Second Uncle and Second Aunt stopping them, I'm afraid I would have been beaten to death by now..."

Immediately, she pouted and said with some grievance: "Why do they want to beat me to death? This isn't entirely my fault, and I am their biological daughter after all. Even if they want to beat someone, they should come here and beat Brother-in-law to death, right?"

Luo Zijun: "..." "Brother-in-law, what should we do? I'm afraid there will be no place for me in this mansion from now on, sigh..."

She looked miserable and kept sighing, like a poor little kitten about to be abandoned, with nowhere to go, and about to be left on the streets.

Luo Zijun knew the fault was his own and said: "How about this, I will go find Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, and the eldest miss to explain right now. Regardless of whether they believe me or not, I must go explain."

Bai Qingtong smiled bitterly: "Brother-in-law, what's the use of explaining at a time like this? Father and Mother are in the heat of anger and won't listen to a word. As for Sister, I can't even see her, let alone you."

Luo Zijun sighed and said: "Then we can only wait a few days, and explain after their anger has subsided."

Bai Qingtong said: "Brother-in-law, then what should I do for these few days? I don't dare go back to my own courtyard. How about I stay here with you?"

Luo Zijun's expression changed, and he quickly said: "No! At a time like this, how can you still dare to?"

Bai Qingtong said with a bitter face: "Then how about I go stay at Daguanyuan?"

"Daguanyuan?"

Luo Zijun frowned upon hearing this and pondered for a moment. Before he could answer, he heard her add: "Everyone says that place is Brother-in-law's harem. If I didn't truly have nowhere else to go, I wouldn't want to go there either."

Luo Zijun said angrily: "Who said that place is my harem?"

Bai Qingtong said: "Sister said it, Mother has said it, everyone else in the mansion has said it in private, and Liu Chujian and your senior sister have also said it. People from other families have said it too. And some friends I know, every time they see me, they ask if they can go to Brother-in-law's harem to see Brother-in-law's wives and concubines."

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Brother-in-law, actually, even the people in the Jia Mansion, and some people in the Daguanyuan, all think this way..."

"... Nonsense! Simply nonsense!"

"Brother-in-law, tell me, can I go and live in the Daguanyuan?"

Bai Qingtong asked again.

Luo Zijun immediately said decisively: "No! You are not allowed to go!"

If he had been somewhat hesitant at the beginning, now that things had been said to this extent, and the Daguanyuan was even being called his harem, what would it mean if he dared to agree?

"Go to your friend's place."

He suggested.

Bai Qingtong said: "Then will my friend dislike me, saying that I am a fugitive fleeing from justice, and not dare to take me in?"

Luo Zijun was speechless for a moment; she had even come out with "fleeing from justice," what on earth was that.

Bai Qingtong suddenly said again: "Right, Brother-in-law, I can go to the Chujian Bookstore, go to Sister Chujian's place!"

Luo Zijun pondered for a moment and rejected it: "No!"

Bai Qingtong sighed and said: "That's true, the people in the manor know, and Mother and Sister also know, that Sister Chujian is the lover Brother-in-law has hidden away in a golden house; if I go to live there, wouldn't I also become Brother-in-law's... sigh."

Luo Zijun dared not listen any further and said: "Just go back to your own small courtyard."

Bai Qingtong's eyes suddenly lit up and she said: "Brother-in-law, I have it! I can go stay temporarily at your senior sister's place! Your relationship with your senior sister is very secret; except for me and Daiyu and a few others, no one else knows, and no one else in the manor knows either. If I go to live there..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of relationship do I have with my senior sister? How is it secret?"

Luo Zijun glared at her.

Bai Qingtong immediately said aggrievedly: "Brother-in-law, you actually glared at me... after just using me last night..."

"Alright, alright, hurry back; if later..."

Just as Luo Zijun was about to shoo her away, a head suddenly poked out from the wall on the left, took a look at the two of them, and said: "Son-in-law, Third Miss, my young lady wants you to come over; she has something to say to you."

As soon as these words were spoken, both of their expressions changed.

Bai Qingtong hurriedly went over to open the small door and turned her head to say: "Brother-in-law, come quickly; since Sister took the initiative to call us over to talk, she will definitely listen to our explanation."

Luo Zijun had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk over.

According to his previous thoughts, he had prepared to propose a divorce to Bai Daxiaojie again tonight, but now with his sister-in-law by his side, how was he supposed to say it?

"Hmph, I said it this morning, you want me to give you a Letter of Divorce so you can marry your sister-in-law, right? Now what else do you have to say?"

Bai Daxiaojie would definitely mock him like that.

Although that might happen, Luo Zijun hesitated in his heart and decided that he still needed to make things clear as soon as possible.

Now that he had broken through to the Fen Shen Realm, he had to test whether he had completely shaken off the White Snake's mission.

"Eldest Miss, then just treat it as me wanting to marry your sister; she and I are in love, and since you dislike me, why not fulfill our happiness and make yourself happy too?"

Luo Zijun felt that if it came to a point of no return, he could say this.

Anyway, things had reached this point, and there was no other choice; he would get the Letter of Divorce first and regain his freedom before anything else.

(End of this chapter)