Parents' Order, Matchmaker's Words

"Mother..." Wang Yuyan's eyes brimmed with tears. Why was this happening?

"Cousin, marriage is decided by one's parents and arranged by a matchmaker. You can just wait for your wedding in peace. A Bi, go help Miss Wang pack. From now on, she'll be staying with us."

"We're people of the martial world. We don't care about all those tedious formalities."

"And Cousin, it's not that your aunt doesn't care about you. But you and Cousin Fu are blood relatives. When close relatives marry within three generations, their children may be born with deformities. You don't want your future child to have a crooked mouth, crossed eyes, and be twitching all day, do you? Your aunt is only thinking of what's best for you. You won't be happy living with your own cousin." Li Hao smacked his lips and added a few more words.

"Nonsense! My grandparents were cousins too!" Wang Yuyan finally fought back for the sake of her happiness.

"Exactly. Because they were close relatives, your father and my brother's mother both died young. A short lifespan is one sign of genetic defects. Besides, there's something wrong with your father's..." Li Hao pointed to his own head. Anyone could tell what he meant.

"Then why is there nothing wrong with me?" Wang Yuyan clearly didn't believe Li Hao's nonsense.

"Whether there's something wrong with you is a question for your aunt. Aunt, why don't you explain why Cousin Yuyan has no problems?" Li Hao asked Li Qingluo with a teasing look.

"How could there be no problem? She's so frail she gets breathless after walking a few steps. Just like your deadbeat father." Li Qingluo was panicking. She couldn't exactly announce in front of everyone that her daughter wasn't a Wang.

"Miss Wang, I think Second Young Master makes sense. Back in my hometown, a man next door married his cousin. One of their sons was blind, and the other was deaf. And..." A Bi truly was Li Hao's biggest fan. She immediately stepped in to help persuade Wang Yuyan.

"I don't believe you..." Wang Yuyan looked like she wasn't an idiot. Don't think I don't know why I get breathless after walking a few steps. It's because my chest is too big. You're just trying to fool me.

"Believe it or not, it's not up to you. It's your parents' order and the matchmaker's word. If you keep arguing, we'll make you consummate the marriage right now," Li Qingluo said with a grim expression.

Daughter, if you don't marry him, your mother's going to suffer for it in a minute.

Young people have plenty of energy. If your mother gets pregnant, neither of us will be able to show our faces! When the child's born, should it call you big sister or young mother?

And if you happen to get pregnant and have a child too, your little brother—who'd also be your child—could even share your milk.

"I agree... Heh, I was just trying to lighten the mood. Don't all look at me." Li Hao awkwardly scratched his head.

In the end, Wang Yuyan couldn't fight against her mother's decision. She had no choice but to say goodbye to the man she loved, Murong Fu, pack her things, and follow Li Hao back to Canhe Manor.

Li Hao had strongly insisted that Li Qingluo come with them, but she refused his kind offer, claiming it would be inconvenient.

At last, after Li Hao spent two fruitless hours trying to persuade Madam Li in her bedroom, he could only leave Mantuo Mountain Villa with Wang Yuyan, A Zhu, A Bi, and a piece of pale yellow, diamond-shaped silk embroidered with two ducks.

[Congratulations, Host, on successfully collecting A Zhu, the 516th-ranked beauty in the Compendium of Beautiful Women in the Martial World, princess of the Duan clan. Calculating rewards...]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 10 units of Attribute-less Inner Force, 9999 Bodhi Snake Galls, and 1000 Villain Points.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the divine sword: Dragon Spring Treasure Sword.]

[Congratulations, Host, on completing 10 main quests within the allotted time. The system has met the conditions for an upgrade. The upgrade is expected to take 12 hours. All system functions will remain available during the upgrade.]

[System upgrading...]

On the large ship back to Canhe Manor, Li Hao stared in bewilderment at A Zhu and A Bi, who were lying down.

Damn it, I was only bored and wanted to improve my cultivation. How did that make the system upgrade?

Forget it. There's no point thinking about it. The upgrade can only benefit me. He scratched his head, then, as usual, found two small diamond-shaped scraps of cloth among the clothes on the guestroom floor.

One was pink, the other pale green. The pink one was embroidered with a cluster of roses, the green one with a plum blossom. The stitching was exquisite—well worth keeping and studying.

Li Hao casually put them into his system inventory. Whether the two women had any objections was none of his concern.

"Second Young Master, we're almost at the dock." A Bi looked at Li Hao, who was sleeping like a piglet, and felt her chest ache with irritation.

A Zhu and she had felt sorry for Li Hao, who had spent all of last night gazing at the stars. Once they boarded, they'd taken the initiative to massage him and ease his fatigue.

And then things had ended up like this.

"Hmm, we're almost there?" Li Hao asked sleepily.

"Yes. Big Brother Deng is waiting for you at the dock. It seems he has something urgent." A Zhu and A Bi helped him get dressed as they spoke.

"What could he want?" Li Hao asked curiously.

"I don't know. Second Young Master, may I ask you something?" A Bi said, fidgeting.

"Go ahead. I'm listening."

"Well... have you seen our undergarments? A Bi and I can't find ours." A Bi's face turned bright red, and she didn't know what to do with her hands.

"I haven't seen them. Were you wearing them? I don't think I saw you wearing any!" Li Bai asked curiously.

System: I love watching the Host lie through his teeth with a perfectly straight face.

"Young master, how can you say that? You were the one who took them off, and you even said they looked nice," A Zhu retorted.

"All right, all right. If you can't find them, just go without." Li Hao was completely nonchalant.

"It really feels uncomfortable without them. Everything feels like it's swaying around," A Zhu murmured.

"Your clothes cover everything anyway. No one but me knows, so it's fine." Li Hao reassured the two women, who had only recently become wives.

The experience the night before had been wonderful—pleasurable for both body and mind. It had eased his physical fatigue and improved the quality of his sleep.

"Second Young Master, you're finally back. Ah, Miss Wang, you've come too." As soon as Li Hao stepped off the ship, Deng Baichuan brought a large group of men to surround and protect him.

Oh no. Li Hao sensed something was off. Did Deng Baichuan find out I was a fake and bring people here to start trouble?

"Big Brother Deng." Wang Yuyan was in low spirits and only offered a brief greeting.

"What happened to you two?" Deng Baichuan asked curiously, looking at the two women supporting each other as they limped along.

"It's nothing, Big Brother Deng. We just have leg cramps. Why did you bring so many people out today?" A Bi answered softly.

A Bi glanced at Li Hao. Sigh, I wonder how long it'll take for these injuries to heal...