Chapter Eleven: The Bridal Chamber (Part One)

  Although he had been mentally prepared, Li Ruofeng still did not expect that before he could sit down with his uncles and aunts to hold the first "Panlongling Lijia Fort Board of Directors Standing Committee Meeting", he was forced into the pre-prepared wedding hall at home by his parents.

  It was already a week after Li Ruofeng left Beiping.

  To Li Ruotong, his impression of the woman who was about to become his wife only went as far back as a photo that his fourth uncle had brought from Tokyo four years ago.

  According to Fourth Uncle's words, this girl named Lin Xiuer is the daughter of Lin Shouren, who is the sworn brother of Li Ruo Fu's father Li Chengyi. The elders of both families had arranged their engagement when they were still young.

  As for Li Chengyi's brother Lin Shouren, Li Ruofeng still has some reputation.

  The Kanto region has never lacked heroes and heroes for hundreds of years, now in the entire Northeast, when it comes to Tie Qi Zhai, every famous thief can't help but give a thumbs up and praise "true grandfathers". Lin Shouren is the head of Tie Qi Zhai.

  In fact, they were just a group of ruthless and ferocious bandits. They became so famous because Lin Shouren had once surrendered and recruited a group of nearly three hundred former White Russian Cossack cavalry bandits.

  This group of Cossack bandits were remnants of the White Russians who fled from the Soviet Union after the Red Army won the revolution and were pursued by the Soviet authorities. They had all been regular cavalrymen before, but after entering China, they roamed around, fighting to survive, without distinguishing between friend or foe, like a swarm of locusts. It wasn't until they joined Lin Sheng's Iron Cavalry Brigade that their bandit days ended and they settled down to live a comfortable life under Lin Sheng's leadership.

  Li's village has been a den of old bandits for generations, while Tieji Village is a new generation of fierce bandits. The marriage between the Lin and Li families was not just because Li Chengyi and Lin Shouren wanted to become relatives, but also a strategic alliance formed by the two families based on long-term interests.

  For Li Ruofeng and Lin Xiuer, in this era of parental orders and matchmaker's words being the absolute authority, no matter what the two individuals thought, they had no say in the matter of getting married. Especially since the Li and Lin families were not ordinary households, both were powerful bandit families with a good reputation, and Li Chengyi and Lin Shouren were both patriarchs who held absolute power within their respective families, so it was impossible for them to let their younger generation take charge.

  What's even more inconceivable to Li Ruofeng is that Lin Shouren is a person who attaches great importance to face, so how did the Li family persuade Lin Shouren to send the bride to her husband's home before the groom had returned? It's worth noting that in this era, such a situation would be very humiliating for the bride's side.

  "Alas! Life is like rape, since you can't resist, might as well close your eyes and enjoy it." Li Ruofeng thought of this classic phrase from later generations, and could only fully play out the Ah Q spirit. "Damn it, I'm a big shot anyway, so I won't lose out no matter what. If Lin Xiuer doesn't suit my taste, I'll just take another concubine. If I want to have multiple wives, I reckon it will only make my parents and uncles happy to the point of being unable to find their way north."

  Li Ruofeng, who had just finished the ceremony and was sent into the bridal chamber, sat in front of the nuptial candles, gazing at the figure with a red veil over her head, half-sitting on the edge of the bed in a bright red satin jacket, with a slender and elegant figure, secretly seething with resentment.

  He didn't follow the usual practice of newlyweds, who after paying respects to their ancestors would retreat to their chambers. Instead, he stayed outside and drank merrily with his relatives and friends. It wasn't that he had nothing to talk about, but rather there were many things that weren't suitable for discussion in this setting with his elders. His group of brothers, who had grown up together since childhood, strictly speaking, they were all dependents of the Li family, with a lower social status, and it wasn't their place to be making merry with Li Ruofeng, the young master of the Li family.

  As for drowning sorrows in drink, that's not Li Ruofeng's style.

  The new house was located in the depths of Li's family home, far away from the noisy hall outside. Under Li Ruofeng's insistence, all the old ladies who were supposed to be present at the wedding were chased away by him, so the whole bridal chamber seemed particularly quiet.

  Li Ruofeng half-reclined in front of the four plates of dim sum, two jade small wine cups, plus a silver decanter of daughter red on the happy table, his left hand lightly stroking his chin, his index finger caressing the shallow scar on his face, and his right hand holding the happy stick used to lift the wedding veil gently tapping the red wooden table. He stared at the beautiful shadow by the bed for a long time, suddenly had an idea, wanted to ease the atmosphere of the bridal chamber, and smiled jokingly:

  "I said, wife, our two families aren't some kind of aristocratic family, so let's not bother with all that etiquette and politeness. I think you're not some naive little woman who hasn't seen the world either. Come on over and have a couple of drinks, we can have a good chat?"

  The beautiful shadow beside the bed heard the sound, her slender body trembled slightly, but she didn't move or make a sound again.

  "Daughter-in-law, it's still early now, you won't be in a hurry to do that wedding night thing, will you?" Li Ruofeng continued to tease.

  Something's going on down there.

  The bride suddenly lifted her hand and threw off the headscarf, got up from the bedside, and slammed the wedding veil to the ground, cursing loudly: "You big-headed ghost! Drink if you want to drink, does the lady fear you?"

  As she spoke, the bride swayed her slender waist and strode towards Li Ruofeng with large steps, muttering to herself as she walked: "Want to get into Aunt's bed? You'd better have what it takes, kid."

  Her actions made Li Ruofeng almost drop his jaw.

  "Mr. Li, I heard from my father that you are a knowledgeable person, but the words you just spoke don't seem like it at all!" The bride sat down in front of Li Ruofeng with a big smile, poured herself a cup of wine and drank it in one gulp, then proceeded to drink two more cups.

  Li Ruofeng's eyes widened like lanterns, staring at the beautiful woman in front of him with a dumbfounded expression.

  The young girl was indeed youthful and beautiful, in today's words, she was "stunningly beautiful, with a slender figure". With the red glow of the four festive candles in the room, set off by her tight-fitting bright red dress, she looked like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, radiant with a dazzling beauty. Especially those sparkling big eyes, they seemed lively and charming, yet hid a hint of cunning and wildness.

  "Are you Lin Xiuer?" Li Ruofeng seemed to be stunned for a moment, his brain not turning around. He remembered that the girl in the photo looked gentle and elegant, with a pretty face, but this behavior was far from what he had imagined.

  "Auntie has put such a big living in front of you, it's hard to pretend to be deaf." Lin Xiuer glared at Li Ruofeng and said, pushing the silver wine pot in front of her towards Li Ruofeng, "You said you wanted to drink two cups, I've had mine, now it's your turn."

  Li Ruofeng shook his head, trying to clear his mind, took a deep breath in and out, then slowly poured himself a cup of wine from the jug, smiling slightly as he said: "Miss Lin, you're quite interesting." After finishing speaking, he raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp, continuing to pour himself another cup.

  "What's interesting? What do you mean?" Lin Xiuer pinched a piece of mille-feuille and put it in her mouth.

  Li Ruofeng held up the small wine cup in his hand, gently swaying it back and forth, and smiled: "Just like this Niangzi Hong. It smells fragrant and strong, and burns the heart when swallowed."

  Lin Xiuer narrowed her eyes, which were shaped like crescent moons, and pursed her lips, revealing two deep dimples. With a sly smile, she said, "I love hearing that, but I wonder if your capacity for liquor is big enough."

  Li Ruofeng understood the provocative tone of the double-edged words, and he looked deeply at Lin Xiuer, smiling: "You can try."

  Lin Xiuer's face suddenly turned red, and she glared at Li Ruofeng, saying fiercely: "You think that just because we've gone through the wedding ceremony, I'm yours? My father agreed to let me marry into your family, but I didn't agree!"

  "Lin Xiaojie, aren't you saying this a bit too late? What were you doing earlier?" Li Ruofeng asked with a smile: "Once you enter the door of my Li family, of course, you become one of us. There's an old saying that goes like this... hmm, now you're alive, you're a member of my Li family, and when you die, you'll be a ghost of my Li family too, haha."

  "You scoundrel!" Lin Xiuer shouted angrily.

  "Shh!" Li Ruofeng raised his index finger to his lips and deliberately lowered his tone, saying: "Keep your voice down, it's okay for us to make a scene, but if we disturb your dad and my father, things will get out of hand."

  Lin Xiuer seemed to have thought of something, looked a bit tense towards the door and window, and said in a low voice to Li Ruofeng: "I warn you, don't tell my dad what you just said!"

  "What was it? I seem to have forgotten," Li Ruofeng said with a silly smile.

  "Hmph! Good for you, knowing what's good for you." Lin Xiuer shot Li Ruofeng a glance before continuing to eat her snacks.

  That sudden appearance of charm and beauty made Li Ruofeng's heart skip a beat.

  "I say, wife, let's discuss how we're going to deal with this," Li Ruofeng said, leaning his head slightly towards Lin Xiuer.

  "What are you talking about?" Lin Xiuer seemed to not really dislike Li Ruofeng in her heart, so she didn't move her body back.

  A whiff of delicate fragrance wafted over, causing Li Ruofeng's emotions to become uncontrollable as he deeply inhaled the scent several times.

  "Get out!" Lin Xiuer's pretty face turned red again, her slender body slightly shifted backward, and she scolded: "Speak quickly if you have something to say, don't pretend to be a lecher."

  "How did you know I was pretending?" Li Ruofeng asked with interest, smiling at her.

  "I just know. But I'm not telling you." Lin Xiuer said with a triumphant smile, and then pinched another piece of cake into her small mouth.

  "Lin Xiuer, are you really hungry or just enjoying these snacks?" Li Ruofeng asked with a smile as he watched her savoring the food.

  "Aren't you hungry?" Lin Xiuer said while eating: "From this morning when the makeup artist came to dress me up, until now, I haven't eaten anything."

  "Yeah, there is." Li Ruofeng was suddenly also feeling empty in the stomach after she said that, "It seems like I've been busy with this and that gift all day today, and haven't eaten anything. Wife, why don't we sneak into the kitchen to get some delicious food?"

  "Alright, alright!" Lin Xiuer nodded repeatedly in response.

  Li Ruofeng said, "I'll do it," and stood up to remove the big red flower from his body. He also took off the new servant's gift hat and threw it aside. He walked to the door and listened to the movement outside, then beckoned Lin Xiuer to come over with a hook of his hand.

  Lin Xiuer obviously couldn't stay still either, and without thinking much, she jogged over to Li Ruofeng's side.

  Li Ruofeng unlocked the door, gently opened it, peeked outside, and then subconsciously pulled Lin Xiuer's soft jade hand to make a run for it.

  Lin Xiuer's slender small hand was grasped by Li Ruofeng, her pretty face suddenly flushed, she struggled lightly but couldn't break free, thought for a moment and stopped moving. Her right hand gently lifted the edge of her embroidered skirt, allowing Li Ruofeng to pull her along, the two of them quietly slipped towards the direction of the kitchen under the cover of the dark shadows beneath the eaves.