Marriage Proposal

"Hm?"

Wang Yuyan suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked straight at her younger sister with puzzled eyes.

Wang Yuqi was immensely pleased by this and said proudly, "Zhi Qin-ge told me yesterday that since we can't continue the perfume business, he decided to wipe out the odd amount as compensation for the two of us."

Wang Yuyan shook her head. "I don't want his compensation! Besides, I still want to make a few more profits."

Wang Yuqi's expression changed drastically. She cried out in shock and anger, "Do you have a death wish?! Zhi Qin-ge said we've already let our wealth leak out. If we keep at it, our lives will be in danger."

"Zhi Qin-ge, Zhi Qin-ge! You can't get through three sentences without saying Zhi Qin-ge. Why don't you just marry him?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Wang Yuqi blushed bright red. She stamped her foot hard and huffed, "Hmph, money has bewitched your heart! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Just then, Zhao Sheng entered from outside and happened to hear that line. He could not help but laugh. "What are you two quarreling about now?"

As he spoke, he casually set the food box he was carrying on the table.

"Zhi Qin-ge, what delicious food did you make this time?"

The moment Wang Yuqi saw Zhao Sheng, she ran over to him in delight, asking as she curiously opened the food box.

"This one took quite a bit of effort. I call it cake. Try it and see if it's especially tasty."

As he spoke, Zhao Sheng took out a piece of soft, pale-yellow cake from the food box and brought it to Wang Yuqi's lips.

Faced with being fed, Wang Yuqi showed no resistance whatsoever. Her face was full of infatuation and love as she obediently opened her mouth and took a bite.

"Oh, it's so delicious! Sister Yuyan, you should try some too."

Unlike her ecstatic younger sister, Wang Yuyan remained very calm.

She leisurely took out a piece of cake from the food box and began to taste it.

As she ate, Wang Yuqi suddenly tattled to Zhao Sheng, "Zhi Qin-ge, Sister Yuyan still hasn't given up. She wants to go to the Market again."

Zhao Sheng's expression shifted slightly when he heard this.

He turned to Wang Yuyan and asked sternly, "Is that true? Don't you know it's far too dangerous?"

"I... I only wanted to earn a little more." Though Wang Yuyan's face was full of unwillingness, her voice grew softer and softer as she argued back.

Profit had blinded her mind!

Zhao Sheng shook his head helplessly at the sight. "Even if you wanted to, we can't keep doing it. If I'm not mistaken, Fragrant Swallow Valley has already discovered us."

"Oh no!"

"This is bad!"

The two sisters cried out in alarm upon hearing this, immediately panicking into a flustered mess.

They did not doubt Zhao Sheng's words in the slightest.

After spending several months together, the image of Zhao Sheng as someone who could calculate everything without missing a thing had become deeply rooted in their hearts.

Seeing the sisters panic so badly, Zhao Sheng instead smiled strangely.

He suddenly said with exceptional calm, "Don't panic! This is a good thing. I happen to have business in Fragrant Swallow Valley."

Wang Yuqi went pale with fright and immediately urged, "Zhi Qin-ge, you mustn't go to my home! My grandfather is terribly fierce. Be careful, or he might beat you to death in a fit of anger. Hurry and run away!"

Zhao Sheng remained composed after hearing this and asked in return, "Why should I run? Have I done anything bad?"

Hearing him say that, the Wang sisters finally came to their senses. "That's right, we haven't done anything bad. We merely concealed the matter of the perfume and earned a tiny bit of Spirit Stones while we were at it."

Once he saw them calm down, a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Zhao Sheng's face. "Besides, if I don't go to Fragrant Swallow Valley, how am I supposed to make a marriage proposal to the Wang Family?"

Those earth-shattering words instantly left both Wang Yuyan and Wang Yuqi frozen stiff.

Only after quite some time did Wang Yuqi gather her courage and ask with a face full of anticipation, "Zhi Qin-ge, y-you said you were going to make... a marriage proposal?"

Zhao Sheng's gaze swept over both sisters before finally settling decisively on Wang Yuqi. He said in a deep voice, "Yuqi, I want to marry you as my wife. Are you willing?"

"Y-you! I'm not talking to you anymore."

Wang Yuqi only got halfway through her sentence before covering her face in embarrassment and running out of the room.

Only two people remained in the room. Wang Yuyan beside him was exceptionally quiet. She lowered her head in silence, unable to keep traces of disappointment from showing in her eyes.

Zhao Sheng silently sighed when he saw her like that.

If he had the chance, he would marry both of them.

Unfortunately, Wang Yuyan possessed spiritual roots. She could never possibly marry a mortal.

Two days later, a carriage stopped before Fragrant Swallow Valley. The driver, Wang Si, silently lifted the curtain and let Zhao Sheng and the Wang sisters get down.

He was a witness who had personally seen how a mortal had effortlessly captured his young ladies' hearts within a few short months.

Wang Si did not wish to say much about Zhao Sheng. He could only offer a word of admiration! After getting down from the carriage, Wang Yuyan handed Zhao Sheng a Storage Talisman containing five hundred Spirit Stones.

These Spirit Stones were the marriage gift Zhao Sheng had prepared. The extra two hundred and sixty Spirit Stones represented her younger sister Wang Yuqi's wishes.

Wang Yuyan took out a Bronze Token and infused it with a thread of Spiritual Power.

The Bronze Token suddenly shot out a ray of blue light that sank into the thick fog. Immediately afterward, the dense fog outside Fragrant Swallow Valley slowly parted, revealing a narrow path.

After following the path for several dozen steps, Zhao Sheng's view suddenly opened up. Before his eyes lay a long, narrow valley spanning roughly several hundred mu.

Before them stood lush trees casting deep shade and fragrant grass carpeting the ground. Farther away, neat square Spirit Fields dotted the landscape like stars scattered across the sky, while seven or eight wooden buildings and courtyard residences flickered in and out of view beneath the distant shade.

But Zhao Sheng had no time to admire any of this. A group of expressionless middle-aged and elderly men stood only a few steps away, glaring at him like tigers watching their prey.

"Father, First Uncle, Third Uncle..."

When Wang Yuqi saw these people, especially the square-faced middle-aged man standing in the center, she immediately became at a loss, shrinking back timidly.

Wang Yuyan, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm as she greeted the Elders one by one.

The square-faced middle-aged man was named Wang Yigong. He was the father of Wang Yuyan and Wang Yuqi.

Half a month ago, he received a Thousand Mile Talisman from the family. After reading what was written on it, he flew into a rage and immediately set aside everything he was doing, rushing back to Fragrant Swallow Valley regardless of the cost.

No matter how urgent matters were, they could not compare to someone stealing away his family's little padded jacket! Wang Yigong glanced at Zhao Sheng and could not help letting out a cold snort.

His face was exceedingly dark as he beckoned to the sisters and said coldly, "Come with me!"

With that, he ignored Zhao Sheng completely, turned around, and headed toward the Wang Family Main Hall.

The Wang sisters obediently followed behind him, and everyone else turned and left as well.

Zhao Sheng gave a silent, bitter smile, then quietly followed after them.

After walking three or four li and passing through two groves of trees, the group arrived before a spacious, majestic hall.

The hall was built entirely from blocks of incomparably hard Black Steel Giant Stone and occupied nearly a mu of land. Though it had only one floor, its walls were extremely tall, and its roof was actually level with the three-story wooden building beside it.

Wang Yigong and the others from the Wang Family crossed the stone steps and entered the Main Hall.

Just as Zhao Sheng was about to enter through the doorway, a thick, muscular arm suddenly stretched out from the side and blocked his path.