Li Duanchen watched them speak in unison and felt that there was something more to their conversation, but he didn't think much of it. Right now, all he could think about was how to get Qin Muxue.
"Now that everyone has agreed to cooperate, the show is about to begin! Qin Muxue, I want to see how long you can remain smug!" Qin Yu said with a loud laugh.
The next morning, Gu Baizhi was woken up by a servant and reluctantly got out of bed. Partly, she genuinely didn't want to get up, and partly, she didn't want to see Qin Muxue's mother. Because if she went to see Qin Muxue's mother, it would be tantamount to admitting that she was Qin Muxue's wife. Gu Baizhi was extremely unwilling, firstly because she had been forced into this situation, and secondly because she had previously been a man, and now she was someone else's concubine.
"Alright, Mrs. Gu, it's getting late. Hurry up and get dressed, or the Qin family master will get angry," the maid said, covering her mouth and laughing.
As soon as the maid finished speaking, Gu Baizhi's cheeks turned red at a visible speed.
"What Mrs. Gu? Don't call me that next time, it's embarrassing," Gu Baizhi said, blushing.
"Mrs. Gu is not only stunningly beautiful and has a fantastic figure, but she also has such a lovely personality. Master Qin has truly struck gold," another maid chimed in with a laugh.
"You're so talkative... hurry up and change your clothes..."
"Yes, Mrs. Gu."
After saying this, the maids led Gu Baizhi to the dressing room to change. They dressed her in an extremely gorgeous gown—a dreamlike blue tulle dress, the sheer fabric cascading down from the straps at the shoulders. Silver-white floral embellishments on the dress resembled jade branches formed from moonlight, each petal adorned with tiny sparkling diamonds. The hem transitioned from light blue to deep indigo, giving the dress an almost ethereal quality. Her shoes were even more ornate, seemingly adorned with randomly placed gemstones, yet each piece appeared distinctly layered. Her hair was styled with only a simple silver hairpin, which only enhanced Gu Baizhi's ethereal beauty.
Then, the servants draped a thin veil trimmed with gold over Gu Baizhi. They had originally intended to apply light makeup to her, but Gu Baizhi's natural beauty was simply too stunning. Makeup might enhance someone else's appearance, but on Gu Baizhi, it was like tarnishing a pearl. Therefore, they decided not to apply makeup to her.
"Alright, Mrs. Gu, please wait a moment, Patriarch Qin will be ready soon."
"Hmm..." Gu Baizhi responded.
After the servants had left, she slowly walked to the mirror and looked at her excessively beautiful self. She could still accept wearing pretty clothes. But she stood in front of the mirror for a long time, lost in thought.
Just as Gu Baizhi was staring blankly at herself in the mirror, Qin Muxue hugged her from behind.
"What... It's so early in the morning, aren't you going to see your mother? Hurry up and let go of me..." Gu Baizhi said shyly.
"Mrs. Gu, you know you're in a hurry, huh? Then why were you spacing out just now?" Qin Muxue said with amusement.
"I just... wait! No~" Before Gu Baizhi could finish speaking, Qin Muxue's arm went under her legs and picked her up in a princess carry.
"I can walk by myself..." Gu Baizhi said weakly.
"I know~"
"Then why are you still holding me like this? Put me down..." Gu Baizhi's face was completely red at this point. Looking at his adorable wife Gu Baizhi, Qin Muxue didn't miss the chance to tease her. Although there probably wasn't time to pin her down now, she still did something that made Gu Baizhi blush.
She slowly leaned close to Gu Baizhi's ear and then bit her earlobe.
"Hmm~" Gu Baizhi groaned.
"Alright, Madam Gu, it's getting late. We should get going." With that, she picked up Gu Baizhi and walked out.
A real dragon had been waiting outside the door for a long time.
Gu Baizhi wanted to get down, but Qin Muxue showed no intention of putting her down. She could only remain held in Qin Muxue's arms. Soon, Gu Baizhi saw the magnificent palace she had seen earlier.
"Can you put me down now..." Gu Baizhi said sweetly.
Qin Muxue looked at her little wife in her arms, showing no intention of letting go. If it weren't for the need for etiquette in the palace, she could have held Gu Baizhi like this until she saw her mother.
A moment later, the dragon landed outside the palace. After Qin Muxue stepped onto the land, she gently put Gu Baizhi down.
Although they were outside the palace, Gu Baizhi and Qin Muxue's extremely intimate actions were still seen by many people inside the palace.
This included Qin Yu and Qin Wan, who had been observing them from a distance.
They stared at Gu Baizhi, completely captivated by her stunning beauty. They finally understood why Qin Muxue wanted to marry her, and why the Southern Barbarian King was so obsessed with her. They found it hard to believe that such an breathtakingly beautiful woman as Gu Baizhi could exist in this world.
"What good is being beautiful if you still have to serve that Southern Barbarian King in the end?" Qin Wan said sarcastically.
"It's really a bit of a shame to give this stunning beauty to the Southern Barbarian King and let him defile her," Qin Yu sighed. He had never seen Gu Baizhi's face before, but now that he had, if he had known earlier that Gu Baizhi was such a beautiful woman, he would never have given her to the Southern Barbarian King.
"Alright, now that we've met everyone, it's time to carry out the rest of the plan," Qin Wan said. With that, they left the palace.
At this moment, Qin Muxue and Gu Baizhi also entered the palace. Gu Baizhi also met Qin Muxue's mother, who was an old but beautiful and charming woman.
Compared to Gu Baizhi's calm demeanor upon seeing her, the Empress Dowager was completely stunned by Gu Baizhi's stunning beauty and figure. She could understand why her daughter was determined to marry her, and even she herself was captivated by her beauty.
"Xiaoxue, is this your wife?"
"Yes, Mother, her name is Gu Baizhi. From now on, you can just call her Xiaozhi..."
"The wife my daughter chose is indeed stunningly beautiful. I doubt anyone in the entire land of Kyushu can match her beauty and figure."
At this moment, Gu Baizhi didn't say a word, but blushed and lowered her head, because there were still many people in the court staring at her intently.
Moreover, Gu Baizhi was also stunned by Qin Muxue's mother's reaction. Just as Qin Muxue said, as long as she could give birth to an heir, she didn't care who her daughter married.
Do any of you still have any issues with my daughter's daughter-in-law?
Everyone was captivated by Gu Baizhi's beauty, and it was only the Empress's words that pulled them out of their reverie.
"Of course not, but we also hope that Lady Gu will give birth to a son soon, so that our Western Qin Kingdom can have an heir as soon as possible," everyone said in unison.