Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They exited through the archway.

After passing through the long winding corridor and a few garden courtyards, they arrived at the pavilion that was used for receiving guests.

There were already maidservants waiting outside.

When they saw them, those maidservants immediately came over and said anxiously, “Hurry up and get changed. Old Master and Madam are already waiting for you.”

Luo Qingzhou followed behind two maidservants and entered a room in the side courtyard.

A maidservant had already prepared a new set of clothes for him.

The clothes were soft and smooth. It had a soft luster and was very comfortable to touch. Clearly, it was made from expensive fabric.

“These are Second Young Master’s clothes. You can wear them, but don’t dirty them. After that, you have to return them,” a maidservant said.

This maidservant was called Mei Hua. As she assisted Luo Qingzhou in changing his clothes, she gave him a stern reminder. She did not treat him as a young master, nor did she care about his feelings.

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and did not speak.

After changing his clothes, Mei Hua helped to tidy up his hair.

After that, she brought over a basin of water for him to wash his face.

Following that, she led Luo Qingzhou out of the courtyard and into the living room.

The atmosphere in the living room seemed a little off.

A man was sitting in the main seat. He was the head of the Chengguo Residence and Luo Qingzhou’s father, Luo Yannian.

First Madam was sitting beside him.

Around them were Luo Yannian’s two brothers and the other elders of the Luo family.

Standing behind them were the younger members of the Luo family.

A few middle-aged men were sitting on the guest seats on the left. All of them had an extraordinary bearing.

However, at this moment, the middle-aged men all had resentful expressions.

When Luo Qingzhou entered the living room, everyone turned to look at him.

The Second Madam—Madam Yang—walked out from behind First Madam and said with a smile, “Second Master Qin, this is Qingzhou. He is a handsome man and a man of talent. Moreover, he’s a scholar.”

Although Madam Yang was the Second Madam, she was only a concubine, so she did not have a seat.

However, it was awkward for Luo Yannian and First Madam to bring up today’s topic, so they told Second Madam to speak instead.

“Qingzhou, come over quickly and let the masters of the Qin family take a look at you.”

Madam Yang approached Luo Qingzhou and grabbed his hand warmly. She led him to the guests and beamed at them. “Qingzhou has a good character ever since he was a child. He’s very hardworking. While the other kids were playing, he was in his room studying diligently,” she praised.

She started babbling in praise.

The middle-aged man on the left sneered and looked at Luo Yannian, who was sitting on the main seat. “Yannian, you’re intending to go back on your word?”

Luo Yannian smiled faintly. “Ruohuai, I don’t intend to renege on my promise. This was decided by my father, so how would I have the guts to renege on it?”

Another burly middle-aged man sitting on the left suddenly stood up. “So what do you mean by this? Back then, your father and my father agreed that it’d be my older brother’s daughter, Jianjia, and your second son, Luo Yu, who would get married. We didn’t agree that the groom would be this illegitimate son of yours who appeared out of nowhere.”

Luo Yannian frowned but did not answer.

Madam Yang immediately smiled apologetically and said, “Third Master Qin, please calm down. Actually, I’ve also heard about this matter. I know that this agreement was written down in black and white, and King Jing was a witness. However, what I heard was that you wanted Jianjia to marry Master’s son, but you didn’t specify which son it was. Old Master’s eldest son, Changtian, has gone to the capital while his second son, Yu’er, is currently preparing for an exam. Moreover, we’ve asked the two of them, but neither of them has any intention of getting married, so…”

“So you guys want to make short shrift of us and shove this man of unknown origin to us? How perfunctory of you!”

Second Master Qin, who was sitting on the main guest seat, had a dark expression.

Fourth Master Qin, who had been silent all this while, suddenly sneered. “But I remember back then, we agreed that Jianjia would be engaged to the Luo family’s youngest son. Back then, your youngest son was Luo Yu, and the engagement token had already been exchanged. I didn’t receive any news saying that the Luo family has another son. Could it be that you want to break off the engagement because our Qin family is in dire straits now? That’s why you randomly found a young lad and want us to make do with him.”

Madam Yang was about to argue when Luo Yannian waved his hand dismissively to stop her from speaking. Then, he stood up from his chair and cupped his hands as a show of respect. “Buddies, I will personally go to your residence tomorrow to explain this matter to Wenzheng. I am an upright person and will never shirk my responsibility, let alone break my father’s previous promise. I will definitely give Wenzheng a satisfactory explanation.”

“Hmph. I’d hope so.”

Members of the Qin family did not want to stay any longer. They stood up, cupped their hands, and left with gloomy faces. They did not spare another glance at Luo Qingzhou.

Butler Wang, who was standing outside the door, immediately bowed and followed behind to send the guests off.

“Old Master, the members of the Qin family are delusional! That girl was kidnapped at the age of ten, and she was only found when she was 16. Who knows what she went through outside? Do they really think that we are fools? Yu’er is dignified, talented, and has a bright future ahead of him! At present, he’s about to enter the Dragon Academy, so why would he marry a woman who may have already lost her innocence?”

After the Qin family members left, Madam Yang immediately scoffed. She had no qualms about speaking like that in front of Luo Qingzhou, who was still in the living room.

“I see,”

Luo Qingzhou thought.

At this moment, he seemed to understand something.

They wanted to make use of him to break off the engagement!

The First Madam, who had been silent all this while, also said calmly, “Not only that, but according to the information I found, the eldest daughter of the Qin family is a little strange. There seems to be a problem with her head. She doesn’t speak to anyone and doesn’t step out of the house. In fact, nobody has even seen her smile before.”

Madam Yang said in surprise, “She’s a fool?”

Then, she sneered even more. “I see. No wonder the Qin family is suddenly in a hurry to remind us of this marriage. Do they really think we’re pushovers?”

Luo Yannian’s eyes flickered as he looked at the youth standing at the end of the hall. He said in a deep voice, “Qingzhou, do you know why we asked you to come?”

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head respectfully. “No.”

Obviously, he was just a tool to them.

Did they really think that he was a fool?

Second Madam immediately walked up to him with a smile and said, “Qingzhou, I have good news! Good news! Tomorrow, Old Master will go to the Qin family to propose marriage for you. Probably in a few days, you will be able to marry the eldest daughter of the Qin family. The Qin family is the same as our family, and they also have hereditary titles. When you marry into the Qin family, you will become the son-in-law of the Qin family. You can have whatever you want.”

“I’ll be a matrilocal son-in-law?”

Luo Qingzhou thought.

Although Luo Qingzhou was already mentally prepared, he could not help but frown.

It was one thing for him to be made use of by them and have to marry a moron. However, he did not expect that he would even have to become their matrilocal son-in-law.

In this era, marrying into a woman’s family was considered a disgrace to any man.

“I knew it! It’s impossible for these people to share their properties with me,”

Luo Qingzhou thought.

By marrying him into the Qin family, they could kill two birds with one stone.

That way, he would not get the family assets, and the Second Young Master—Luo Yu—would not need to adhere to the marriage agreement set by the previous generation.

How brilliant!

Was this method thought of by his hypocritical and cold-blooded father, or was it thought of by the shrewd First Madam who wanted him to vanish from her sight?

Or perhaps…

He looked at Second Madam in front of him. She was a good-looking woman.

At this moment, he suddenly heard the Second Madam say inwardly,

“This b*tch is indeed ruthless and despicable. It’s no wonder that back then, she and her second son could poison this kid’s mother without batting an eyelid. Xiaolou and I have to be more careful in the future… This lad is also quite pitiful. His mother is dead and he was almost killed. Now, he is about to be chased out of the house and forced to marry a moron. His life is over…”

Luo Qingzhou widened his eyes in shock.

He could actually hear what Second Madam was thinking!