When Medusa heard the First Elder's question, she glanced at Gu Shenge. She had summoned the elders and chiefs to watch him make a fool of himself, but she had never expected him to be so forceful. At the slightest disagreement, he had subdued Mo Basi and intimidated the other chiefs in the process.
Of course, with a Dou Huang expert before them, Dou Wangs like Mo Basi and Yan Ci could never have put him in an awkward position. What puzzled Medusa was why the First Elder had agreed.
Medusa looked at the First Elder and replied coolly, "I don't want people from other factions invited. We'll hold the wedding tomorrow."
"Hmm?" The First Elder heard a faint urgency in Medusa's voice, as if she couldn't wait to get married.
"In that case, may I ask whether Your Excellency has prepared the betrothal gifts?"
The First Elder turned to Gu Shenge. A grim smile appeared on her old, withered face as she asked him. Gu Shenge nodded.
"Of course. Your Queen has already seen them. Once Queen Medusa and I are married and have consummated the marriage, I'll hand the gifts over to her."
Hearing this, the First Elder understood. No wonder their Queen was so eager to marry him. The betrothal gifts this man had offered must have greatly appealed to her.
The First Elder was curious about what gifts could make Queen Medusa so impatient, but she didn't feel it was appropriate to ask.
"In that case, this old woman congratulates the Queen on finding a worthy husband. The Snake-People Tribe will arrange the wedding as soon as possible. Before then, however, the Queen and Wang Fu must not meet. I hope Wang Fu will abide by our tribe's rules."
They weren't even married yet, and the First Elder had already started calling Gu Shenge Wang Fu.
Gu Shenge was quite pleased to hear it, while Medusa was somewhat displeased. Why was she calling him that already?
"Then I'll trouble you with the arrangements, Elder. I have a Top-Grade Sect-Breaking Pill here. Though it isn't as good as a Perfect Sect-Breaking Pill, it can give a Dou Huang a seventy percent chance of breaking through to Dou Zong. I hope you'll accept it."
A pill box appeared out of thin air in Gu Shenge's hand. He opened it, revealing the Top-Grade Sect-Breaking Pill inside. Pill Patterns curled around it, and its fragrance filled the air. He had exchanged it from the System Store for fifty thousand Origin Points.
Gu Shenge gave the First Elder a Top-Grade Sect-Breaking Pill because he believed in giving someone a sweetener after a show of force. He wanted to win her over with both kindness and authority.
The Four Great Elders stared at the Top-Grade Sect-Breaking Pill in Gu Shenge's hand. When they heard it offered a seventy percent chance of breaking through to Dou Zong, their eyes went wide.
They had been stuck at Peak Dou Emperor for years, unable to break through to Dou Zong, and they had little of their lifespan left. If they still failed to break through, they would likely die within a decade or so.
The First Elder showed little change in her expression, but inside, she was overjoyed.
Wang Fu was so generous! Having a Wang Fu like him was a blessing for the Snake-People Tribe!
The Snake-person chiefs also looked astonished. Such a high-level pill—something they could only dream of obtaining—had been handed over so casually. Just who was this human?
The First Elder took the Top-Grade Sect-Breaking Pill from Gu Shenge as quickly as she could, then promised him, "Thank you, Wang Fu. This old woman will make sure your wedding to the Queen is arranged beautifully. I won't disappoint you."
Gu Shenge smiled and nodded. "Then I'll trouble you with it, Elder."
Medusa watched Gu Shenge smiling away. A black vein bulged on her snow-white forehead. This man! She wanted to slap him to death!
And the First Elder, too—she'd sold her out so quickly for a single Po Zong Pill. How infuriating!
But the next moment, something even more infuriating happened.
Gu Shenge tilted his head slightly toward the peerlessly beautiful, alluring Medusa and asked her teasingly, "My dear wife, since the wedding is tomorrow, who will your accompanying maids be?"
"Gu Shenge, what do you mean?"
The moment Medusa heard "accompanying maids," she flew into a rage! Was he saying that marrying her wasn't enough and he wanted a few concubines, too?
Seeing Medusa and Gu Shenge at odds, the First Elder tried to smooth things over. She couldn't let such a wealthy Wang Fu run off; that would be a huge loss for the Snake-People Tribe.
"First Elder, this isn't your place to speak!"
Medusa turned and glared at the First Elder. The surging aura of a Dou Zong forced her back, and the other elders hurried forward to support her. Seeing the Queen grow angry at Gu Shenge, Mo Basi secretly rejoiced, while the other chiefs chose to watch.
Medusa turned back to Gu Shenge, her beautiful face covered in icy fury.
I'm not even married to you yet, and you're already thinking about taking concubines! You really don't take me seriously, do you?
With Medusa's anger climbing higher by the second, Gu Shenge spoke to soothe her.
"My dear wife, please calm down. I'm only thinking of taking one of your accompanying maids as a concubine so you won't have to work so hard in the future. Even if she's only a concubine, I'll still give you betrothal gifts you'll be satisfied with."
At the mention of betrothal gifts, Medusa's rising anger abruptly stopped. She fell into thought.
The main thing was that Gu Shenge's betrothal gifts were so generous. If he could give her a little more, letting him take a concubine might not be so bad.
That way, she could let the concubine consummate the marriage with him. She wouldn't have to do it herself.
She just didn't know whom to choose as an accompanying maid. Her personal guard captain, Hua She'er? Or...
Gu Shenge, meanwhile, looked at Yue Mei, one of the Eight Chiefs. Though she wasn't as stunningly beautiful as Medusa, she was a rare beauty in her own right, alluring and captivating, with delicate features and a superb figure. Her curves were full and voluptuous, her slender, graceful waist narrow enough to fit in his hands. It swayed enticingly, while her green snake tail swept across the ground, radiating a peculiar charm.
Seeing him stare at Yue Mei, Medusa snorted. It seemed he'd already made his choice.
Gu Shenge had only come up with the idea of taking a concubine on a whim. He'd been thinking that the system had given him a super-sized reward for taking a wife for the first time. If he took a concubine for the first time, would the reward be super-sized too?
With that in mind, Gu Shenge decided to give it a try.
Yue Mei noticed the gaze of the Queen's Wang Fu and thought uneasily, This is bad. Could Wang Fu have taken a liking to me and want me as his concubine? Wouldn't that mean I was competing with the Queen for her man?
"Yue Mei."
The Queen's proud, authoritative voice rang out, startling Yue Mei into quickly bowing her head.
"Here, Your Majesty."
Medusa said, "Tomorrow, at the wedding, you and Hua She'er will serve as my accompanying maids and come with me when I marry."
Taking one concubine was taking one, and taking two was taking two. They were both her subordinates anyway. She could collect a double share of betrothal gifts.
Thinking of it that way, Medusa's mood improved at once.
I don't care about the man. I only care about the betrothal gifts.
Yue Mei, on the other hand, was taken aback to hear that her Queen wanted her and Hua She'er to accompany her when she married.
But since it was the Queen's command, Yue Mei didn't dare disobey.
"Yes. Yue Mei will obey Your Majesty's orders."
Yan Ci, one of the chiefs, and Hua She Wang heard that the woman he admired—Yue Mei—and his younger sister, Hua She'er, were to become Wang Fu's concubines. Their expressions darkened.
But it was the Queen's command. They had no way to object.
Still, they looked at Gu Shenge with little friendliness.
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