Marriage (Please Vote to Support)

"I once handled family affairs alongside this woman. What about it?"

Chen Lei explained, "The family's holding a Martial Arts Grand Ceremony in a year, remember? Every young martial artist in the clan will take part. It'll also be a major reshuffling of how the clan's resources are distributed."

"The family is mainly divided into three factions, and Chen Qiuyu's grandfather is the head of one of them.

"Though my talent in martial arts isn't exceptional, I'm still pretty capable. This woman came looking for me a few days ago, making it clear, both openly and subtly, that she wanted to recruit me. The terms she offered were quite tempting.

"I was already thinking of accepting. Since she's set this up today, I'll bring you along, too. I'll put in a good word for you, but whether you can get anything out of it is up to you."

Chen Han's expression immediately grew complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he agreed.

That made the whole thing seem even more hopeless. This woman wasn't kindhearted; she was practically a sly old fox.

Besides, Chen Lei had already wanted to accept her offer. Bringing me along was just a favor, not a condition.

Still, given my circumstances, I was already grateful that he was willing to help. If I complained, I'd be ungrateful.

Whether this worked out or not, I could only leave it to fate."

Dusk deepened. The setting sun stained the horizon like blood, and the chill of late autumn seemed to seep into one's bones.

The common folk returned home from their labor and shut their doors. The streets grew more chaotic at night, and killings and robberies were commonplace.

Chen Han tugged his coarse clothes tighter around himself. His frail body felt chilled.

With all trades in decline, martial arts had to flourish.

Once, I'd been a promising martial artist of the Chen Family, blessed with excellent talent and a bright future. Now, I had to humble myself and beg just to afford a month or so of food and medicine for my training.

"This is a terrible feeling."

But looking at the commoners along the road, living from one day to the next in coarse, tattered clothes, their cheekbones jutting out from long-term malnutrition, Chen Han felt a little fortunate.

At least he still had a chance. He hadn't started out in dire straits, nor was he one of the wailing masses outside the city.

Chen Han and Chen Lei arrived in front of a luxurious restaurant. Chen Han's first thought was that he'd "wandered into the emperor's home."

The enormous gilded sign reading "Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion" hung over the entrance. Pretty courtesans in silk dresses and light makeup glided to and fro, their alluring fragrance lingering beneath one's nose.

It was incomparably better than the high-end clubs of his previous life.

Chen Han's eyelid twitched. "Damn rich people!"

Inside, a courtesan with skin as smooth as cream swayed her hips as she came to greet them. Chen Lei exchanged a few words with her, and she led the two of them to a private room.

Chen Lei pushed the door open first, and Chen Han followed close behind.

"Little Brother Chen Lei, you're here."

Standing before them was a stunning young woman of peerless beauty. She had a graceful figure and skin as smooth as jade, and her bright, almond-shaped eyes drew everyone's gaze.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet cool and aloof.

Like a celestial maiden descended to earth, the moon reflected in water, an immortal in a painting.

Even though this was their second meeting, Chen Han was still dazzled.

The woman rose to her feet, a smile of just the right warmth on her face. But when she saw Chen Han following close behind Chen Lei, her gaze darkened.

Before Chen Qiuyu could speak—or perhaps she hadn't intended to speak at all—Chen Han swallowed his pride, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I'm Chen Han. I've long heard of the eldest miss's exceptional talent and grace. I've come with Brother Chen Lei today to pay you a visit. I hope you won't mind."

As he spoke, he took out an exquisite gift box and offered it to her. Seeing that she still looked at him coldly and made no move to take it, he awkwardly set it on the table.

He'd spent nearly all of what little savings he had left on it, and had even asked around to find out what she liked.

"Little Brother Chen Lei, there's no need to be so polite. Please, sit."

Chen Qiuyu ignored Chen Han completely and smiled at Chen Lei instead. At the same time, she gestured for the courtesan playing the qin nearby to come pour the tea.

Chen Han gave an awkward smile and said nothing more.

"Who knew this woman would be so unreasonable? Does she realize that if I hadn't been in front of her that day, she might already be dead?"

"In the end, she just doesn't want to take responsibility and ruin her reputation."

"But why repay kindness with enmity? Why? What gives her the right?"

Chen Han was furious, but he didn't dare say a word. The memories of his two lives had merged, making him feel as if he'd experienced it all himself, and he burned with indignation on behalf of the person whose body he'd inherited.

Just then, he noticed the courtesan about to pour him tea. She paused, then set down the teapot and waited to one side.

Chen Han followed her gaze and saw Chen Qiuyu looking at him coldly.

Clearly, the eldest miss had signaled for the courtesan to stop.

For a moment, it felt as if his heart had been gripped in a cruel hand. A humiliation unlike anything he'd experienced in either life swept over him.

He wanted nothing more than to flip the table right then and there!

But he knew that if he did, the eldest miss in front of him might beat him to death on the spot.

The angrier Chen Han became, the more his face turned ashen. Unable to say another word, he turned and left the private room.

As soon as he shut the door, a cool female voice drifted out from inside. "Little Brother Chen Lei, you should spend less time with lowlifes like him from now on..."

As expected, Chen Han lost his family's martial arts resources within just a few days.

A few days later, he was forced to leave the family. The only thing worth celebrating was that the family had found him a decent fallback.

He'd be marrying into someone else's family... becoming a live-in son-in-law...

It was a little hard on his pride, but the terms were genuinely good. He'd receive six taels of silver.

That might not sound like much, but in these chaotic times, three taels could buy a little maid.

The family was neither rich nor poor. His father-in-law had once practiced martial arts and now worked as a head guard for a wealthy household. His daughter was a cook at a restaurant, and he had a young daughter who was learning to read and write at school.

Perhaps Chen Han could have a meal with meat every few days.

Chen Han didn't refuse. Things moved quickly, and in just a few days he'd gone through the wedding ceremony, entered the household, and married. Ten men from the groom's side attended that day: the steward responsible for family affairs, who'd handled everything for Chen Han on the Chen Family's behalf, and Chen Lei.

The rest had come to make up the numbers, to liven things up and keep the occasion from feeling too desolate, so the Chen Family wouldn't lose face.

The steward presented two taels of silver as the family's "betrothal gift." Chen Lei secretly slipped Chen Han five taels more and apologized sincerely for what had happened a few days earlier.

The bride was a year younger than him, with delicate features and bright, watery eyes. Though born into a poor family, she had smooth, tender skin. With face powder and rouge, she looked even prettier.

They held the wedding and entered the bridal chamber. Everything was kept simple. To others, unless something unexpected happened, Chen Han would spend the rest of his life in this little courtyard.

And in these chaotic times, it was more likely that some unrest or accident would leave him dead in the street.

But there was always a way out. This world had no true dead ends, only people who had lost hope in their circumstances...

Drawing on the decent math skills and literacy he'd acquired in his previous life, Chen Han found work keeping accounts.

The job itself was fairly easy, but Chen Han asked for time to rest in the mornings and evenings. His employer was displeased and initially planned not to hire him, preferring to find someone else.

But after Chen Han promised that he could still complete his usual duties and asked for only half the usual wage, his employer reluctantly agreed, warning that he could be dismissed at any time if he didn't do well.

As a result, he had a heavy workload and very low pay. Still, at least he wasn't doing manual labor, so his body could handle it. And every day, he could set aside plenty of time to practice the Taiji Health Cultivation Technique.

[Taiji Health Cultivation Technique +1 +1]

From that day onward, his body gradually grew stronger...

With time, and the tremendous help of the proficiency panel, he believed that before long he'd return to the martial path—and make everyone pay back everything he'd lost, with interest!