Would You Marry Me?

Ever since Xu Chuan had gained Shennong's Hundred Herbs as a Fate Talent, he had spent his time outside his daily practice of the Five Elements Creation Art reading the medical books and herbal texts Xu Mingyuan had gathered for him.

He also kept studying the properties of medicinal herbs.

His knowledge of the Medicine Way advanced a thousand miles a day.

Xu Mingwei occasionally ventured deep into Broken Fang Mountain to familiarize himself with Frost Breaks the Clouds.

But each trip lasted only an hour or two.

Yang Ronghua was a woman who understood the bigger picture. She did not resent Xu Mingwei for being unable to spend every moment with her, and she even helped Bai Jing manage the Xu Household.

She handled things well, earning Bai Jing's praise and the affection of many maids and servants.

She understood the Xu Household's situation.

Once her father, Yang Zhao, left, the Xu Household would stand alone. From then on, they would have to face the Aristocratic Clans of Qingjiang County by themselves.

And Xu Mingwei was the eldest son, the future head of the Xu Household. All the more reason for him to put the household first in everything.

Six days later.

A carriage left Qingjiang County Seat and soon entered Dongxi Village, stopping at the Xu Household's gates.

Four armed guards rode alongside it, two on each side.

A servant driving the carriage jumped down, fetched a folding step ladder from the back, and set it in place.

A noblewoman and a pretty young woman with a single ponytail stepped out of the carriage, each accompanied by a maid.

Zhou Ming, who had been waiting at the gate for some time, stepped forward. "Madam and Miss of the Wu Household?"

"Yes," a maid replied.

"Madam Wu, please follow me. My mistress has been waiting for you."

"Sorry for the trouble, Steward Zhou."

Madam Wu had visited the Xu Household twice before, so she naturally recognized Zhou Ming.

"Not at all, madam. This way, please."

Apart from Madam Wu, the young lady, and their maids, everyone else waited outside the Xu Household.

As the pretty young woman walked, she glanced left and right, curiosity about the Xu Household shining in her eyes.

"Rushan, stop looking around. Mind your manners."

The young woman immediately drew her gaze back. "Yes, Mother."

Madam Wu was the principal wife, so the children of the secondary wives also called her Mother. They called their birth mothers Little Mother.

They crossed the front courtyard and headed toward the hall in the central courtyard.

The maids and servants in the front courtyard watched them discreetly.

"So that's the young lady of the Wu Household. She has such a dashing air—nothing like our eldest young mistress."

"Do you think Miss Wu could become our second young mistress?"

"Do you all want to be punished for gossiping about the young masters?"

At that, they got back to work.

The Xu Household treated people kindly, but its rules were strict, and the servants respected and feared them.

"Sister Wu, I've been looking forward to your visit."

Bai Jing rose to greet her with a broad smile, then glanced at the pretty young woman.

"I'd like to visit you more often too, Sister, but I have the Wu Household's inner affairs to manage. I rarely have the time."

The two women exchanged smiles.

"Come, let's sit and talk."

After the three of them sat down, the maids stood behind their respective mistresses.

Three maids of the Xu Household brought in pastries and tea, placed them on the side tables beside the three guests, then quietly stepped back before turning to leave.

Bai Jing and Madam Wu chatted about family matters.

Before long.

Xu Mingyuan entered the hall. He first bowed to Bai Jing and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Mother."

"This is Madam Wu and her daughter."

Xu Mingyuan turned and cupped his hands to them as well. "Greetings, madam. Miss Wu."

As he spoke, he took stock of them, especially Miss Wu, the woman he was meeting as a prospective bride.

Her ponytail was tied with a red silk ribbon. She wore clothes resembling a narrow-sleeved Hu-style outfit, the indigo fabric setting off skin as white as snow. Her almond-shaped eyes shone like stars, and her brows carried a touch of gallantry.

She was a striking sight.

She might not have Yang Ronghua's peerless beauty, but her dashing bearing had a charm all its own.

"The second young master Xu is no less famous in Qingjiang County than the eldest. Even my husband has praised him many times. He says a son like him could secure a Lineage's prosperity for decades."

Bai Jing beamed, a hint of pride in her eyes. "You flatter him, Sister Wu. Who doesn't know that every child you've raised is exceptional?"

After they exchanged a few more compliments.

Bai Jing invited Madam Wu to take a walk and speak privately, leaving Xu Mingyuan to show Wu Rushan around.

Xu Mingyuan simply walked quietly beside Wu Rushan.

In business, he was decisive and shrewd, adept at dealing with all sorts of people. But when it came to romance, he was a complete novice.

All at once.

Wu Rushan stopped and turned to face Xu Mingyuan.

Xu Mingyuan stopped too. He had been looking at the ground, but now he raised his head to meet her gaze.

"Does Second Young Master Xu have nothing to say?"

Xu Mingyuan said nothing.

Wu Rushan continued, "They say you can handle anyone and that you're a business prodigy. Even when facing the heads of other families, you chat and laugh without yielding an inch. Why have you gone mute now?"

"If you don't want to talk, then let's spar."

"All right," Xu Mingyuan said.

The two found a courtyard and began to fight.

Wu Rushan, eager for battle, struck first, her dark hair whipping wildly as she stepped forward.

Xu Mingyuan countered each move as it came.

After a dozen or so exchanges, he had gauged her strength. To his surprise, she was a Third-Rate Martial Artist.

She was not from the main line and was a woman besides. To become a Third-Rate Martial Artist at sixteen, she must have worked hard.

"You needn't go easy on me!"

Wu Rushan had a fiery temper. She spread her arms and drove a leg toward Xu Mingyuan's chest, fast, precise, and fierce.

Xu Mingyuan reacted at once, catching her leg with both hands and stopping her advance.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, they froze.

Unable to pull her leg free, Wu Rushan suddenly twisted at the waist and swept her other leg toward his head.

Xu Mingyuan came to his senses and sprang back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

"Miss Wu, forgive me for my rudeness just now."

"In a sparring match, it doesn't matter whether we're men or women."

Xu Mingyuan was surprised. He had not expected a young woman from a wealthy Aristocratic Clan to have such a temperament, and appreciation grew in his eyes.

"Since you're so forthright, Miss Wu, I'll see this through with you."

But she was a woman, after all.

After they fought a while longer, Xu Mingyuan accidentally touched her chest. A jolt ran through him, and he snatched his right hand back.

Then he stopped and apologized.

"Forget it. You didn't mean to. I was the one who overestimated myself."

A faint blush rose to Wu Rushan's cheeks, and her heart fluttered like a startled deer, but she soon regained her composure.

Xu Mingyuan said, "Miss Wu, you're remarkably talented. I can't compare. If the Wu Household had given you its full support, your Martial Way cultivation would likely have surpassed mine already."

"Do you really think so?" Wu Rushan sighed softly. "Unfortunately, women still aren't valued in this world."

"My father doesn't say that." Xu Mingwei smiled. "He often says that men and women are equal in a household, each holding up half the sky."

"Head Xu truly is different." Wu Rushan's eyes lit up.

"My dad is amazing, of course. My siblings and I only achieved what we have today because he taught us by word and example from the time we were little."

Without realizing it, Xu Mingyuan had switched from "father" to "dad."

He generally called Xu Chuan "dad" only when speaking with someone close to him.

"Oh? What were you like as a child?"

"Me?"

Xu Mingyuan smiled, a reminiscent look crossing his face. He did not refuse and told her a few amusing stories from his childhood.

Wu Rushan was shocked to learn that the Xu Household had once been so poor, surviving on a mere ten mu of rice paddies. She admired them all the more.

She hesitated, then finally made up her mind. Looking at Xu Mingyuan, she asked, "Second Young Master Xu, what do you think of me?"

"Dashing and brave. A heroine who yields to no man."

"Then would you marry me?"

"What?!"

Xu Mingyuan jolted at her words and stood there, dumbstruck.