Marriage Proposal

"Hm?"

Wang Yuyan suddenly stopped what she was doing. Her beautiful eyes stared straight at her younger sister, filled with puzzlement.

Wang Yuqi was immensely pleased by this. Proudly, she said, "Zhi Qin-ge told me yesterday that since we can't keep doing business with Perfume, he decided to wipe off 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 deals."

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

"Zhi Qin-ge, Zhi Qin-ge! Every three sentences, you mention Zhi Qin-ge. You might as well marry him."

The moment those words came out, Wang Yuqi blushed scarlet. She stomped her foot and said coyly, "Hmph, money has clouded your mind! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Just then, Zhao Sheng entered the room from outside. Hearing that last remark, he could not help but laugh. "What are you two bickering about now?"

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

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

The instant Wang Yuqi saw Zhao Sheng, she ran happily over to him. As she asked, she curiously opened the food box.

"This took quite a bit of effort. I call it Cake. Try it and see if it isn't delicious."

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

Wang Yuqi showed no resistance whatsoever to being fed. Her face was full of infatuation and love as she obediently opened her mouth and bit down.

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

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

She leisurely took a piece of cake from the food box and began tasting 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 changed slightly at this.

He turned to Wang Yuyan and asked sternly, "Is that true? Don't you know how dangerous that would be?"

"I... I only wanted to earn a little more." Though Wang Yuyan looked utterly unwilling, her rebuttal grew softer and softer.

Blinded by profit!

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng helplessly shook his head. "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 moment the sisters heard this, they cried out in alarm and fell into a panic.

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

After spending several months together, the image of Zhao Sheng as someone who calculated everything without a single omission had become deeply rooted in their hearts.

Yet seeing the sisters panic like this, Zhao Sheng 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's face drained of color. She immediately urged, "Zhi Qin-ge, you mustn't go to my home! My grandfather is terribly fierce. If he gets angry, he might beat you to death. Hurry and run!"

Zhao Sheng remained composed after hearing this. He asked in return, "Why should I run? Did I do anything bad?"

Only then did the Wang sisters come to a sudden realization. "That's right, we didn't do anything bad. We merely hid the matter of Perfume and happened to earn a little Spiritual Stone."

Seeing that they had calmed down, Zhao Sheng suddenly revealed a mischievous smile. "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 froze both Wang Yuyan and Wang Yuqi in place.

After a long while, Wang Yuqi finally gathered her courage and asked expectantly, "Zhi Qin-ge, you... 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. In a low voice, he said, "Yuqi, I want to marry you as my wife. Are you willing?"

"You... you! I'm not talking to you anymore."

Before Wang Yuqi could finish speaking, she covered her face in embarrassment and ran out of the room.

Only two people remained in the room. Wang Yuyan was unusually quiet. She lowered her head in silence, but traces of disappointment could not help showing in her eyes.

Seeing her like this, Zhao Sheng silently sighed.

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

Unfortunately, Wang Yuyan had spiritual roots. She could never 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.

As for Zhao Sheng, Wang Si had nothing to say but one word: 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 betrothal 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 poured a thread of Spiritual Power into it.

The Bronze Token suddenly shot a beam of green light into the thick fog. Immediately afterward, the dense mist outside Fragrant Swallow Valley slowly parted, opening up a narrow path.

After walking several dozen steps along the path, Zhao Sheng's view suddenly opened up. Before his eyes lay a long, narrow valley covering several hundred mu.

Nearby stood lush green trees and carpets of fragrant grass. Farther away, neat square Spirit Fields lay scattered like stars across the sky, while seven or eight wooden towers and courtyard buildings flickered in and out of sight beneath the distant shade.

However, Zhao Sheng had no time to appreciate the view. 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 in the center, she immediately became flustered and shrank back timidly.

Wang Yuyan, on the other hand, calmly greeted the elders one by one.

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

Half a month earlier, he had received a Thousand Mile Talisman from the family. After reading what was written on it, he had flown into a towering rage, immediately set aside his affairs, and rushed back to Fragrant Swallow Valley without regard for anything else.

No matter how urgent any matter was, it could not compare to the importance of someone stealing away his precious little padded jacket!

Wang Yigong glanced at Zhao Sheng and could not help letting out a cold snort.

His face was exceptionally grim. He beckoned to the sisters and said coldly, "Come with me!"

Without sparing Zhao Sheng so much as a glance, he turned and headed toward the Wang Family's Main Hall.

The Wang sisters obediently followed behind him, while the others also turned and left.

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 covered nearly one mu of land. Though it had only one floor, its walls were extraordinarily tall, and its roof was actually level with the adjacent three-story wooden building.

Wang Yigong and the other members of the Wang Family climbed the stone steps and entered the Main Hall.

Just as Zhao Sheng was about to enter through the doorway, a thick arm suddenly stretched out from beside him, blocking his path.