Chapter 1768 — The Betrothal

"Mm." Gu Mengyao nodded. "You've heard everything you wanted to hear. We should get back and rest now, don't you think..."

"Yeah... Sister Yaoyao, why aren't they going to sleep yet? I'm getting a little sleepy... *yawn*..." Shen Yushu yawned, but as long as Wei Zhao and Tang Yun stayed out there, they had no way to leave either. The courtyard was dead quiet at night—the slightest movement would give them away.

"Nobody told you to play spy, Shu-007. Now look—if they decide to be romantic out here all night, we'll be sleeping behind the firewood pile!" Gu Mengyao snapped. "So many mosquitoes..."

"How about we just go out there? It's not like it's a big deal..." Shen Yushu figured that if they slept out here all night, by morning she'd be covered head to toe in mosquito bites.

"If you want to go, go by yourself. I'm not going." Gu Mengyao couldn't bear the shame. Eavesdropping on someone's private whispers—how mortifying was that?

But their exchange had reached Wei Zhao's ears, and he couldn't help but smile. "Yunyun, let's take a walk outside. The air around here is so fresh at night, and if we sit any longer our legs will go stiff."

"All right." Tang Yun nodded, letting Wei Zhao take her hand as naturally as could be, and the two of them walked out of the courtyard together.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu seized the chance to slip back to their room—though by now their bodies were covered in mosquito bites... Even with repellent spray and patches, the mosquitoes here were simply too savage.

Back in the room, Shen Yushu lit a mosquito coil, and she and Gu Mengyao dabbed cooling balm on each other's bites. A little while later, Tang Yun returned as well, looking at the two of them with some puzzlement.

"Huh? How did you two get bitten so much? Are there really this many mosquitoes in the room even with a coil burning?" Tang Yun asked in surprise.

"Uh... the mosquitoes here really are plentiful..." Gu Mengyao said, a little awkwardly.

"I was outside and didn't get bitten at all. How strange..." There wasn't a single bite on Tang Yun. What she didn't know was that the reason no mosquito had touched her was that Wei Zhao had used his true qi to drive them all away from the area—Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had been too far off for him to look after them.

"You didn't get bitten?" Shen Yushu was astonished, and grumbled, "These mosquitoes really play favorites. Sister Yaoyao and I got eaten alive—why not you? We weren't far apart..."

"Not far apart? What do you mean? Weren't you two inside the room?" Tang Yun was taken aback.

"Ahem... what Xiaoshu means is, inside or outside, it's only a short distance—we got bitten and you didn't, so she's feeling a little hard done by." Gu Mengyao hurried to explain.

"Oh... I see. Maybe it's because the room is small and the mosquitoes are more concentrated there..." Tang Yun couldn't really explain it either. "Are there still any mosquitoes now? Shall I help you swat them?"

"No need, we've already killed them all, and with the coil burning there won't be any more..." Gu Mengyao said quickly.

"Oh..." Tang Yun nodded.

Life in the countryside was leisurely and happy. When the villagers heard that Old Man Wei's household had three great beauties from the city staying with them, they came calling one after another, and they were endlessly envious of Wei Zhao's good fortune. Ergoudan had already brought home a city wife, which the villagers had found enviable enough—and now Wei Zhao had brought back three! Their admiration knew no bounds.

Still, these people only came to look. They knew their own limits well enough not to start proposing matches with eligible youngsters from among their relatives and friends.

Of course, the novelty lasted only a few days before calm days returned. Apart from spending each day sightseeing with the three girls, Wei Zhao's time was spent with Ergoudan.

"Boss, good timing—you're home. I'm about to get betrothed to Yuanyuan. We're holding the betrothal feast in a few days, and you absolutely have to come!" Ergoudan said.

"Betrothal?" Wei Zhao wasn't surprised. Though Ergoudan and Yu Yuanyuan weren't yet of marriageable age, village custom allowed a betrothal first—and in truth, once betrothed, they were as good as married. In the village, everyone would already treat Yu Yuanyuan as a member of Ergoudan's family.

"That's right, boss. How about you get betrothed alongside me?" Ergoudan asked.

"I'll pass..." Wei Zhao thought over his own situation and declined. How could he get betrothed? To Tang Yun? Would Xiaoshu be unhappy about that? And Feng Xiaoxiao wasn't even here—why should he go joining in the excitement?

In the blink of an eye, the day of Ergoudan's betrothal arrived. The once quiet little village burst into festivity—lanterns hung and colored silks draped everywhere, and relatives near and far, from this village and the next, all came to join in. Ergoudan's family, as hosts, had begun preparing well in advance!

Wild boar, wild pheasant, wild duck, wild roe deer—every kind of game was on hand, and side dishes like corn, potatoes, and vegetables had long since been readied and prepped days ahead. This morning, before the sky had even fully brightened, the kitchen at Ergoudan's house was already bustling!

Every relative who knew how to cook came to help, for the banquet was enormous—a full hundred tables. It could be said that the whole village, plus folk from neighboring villages, had all come. That was how it was here: whenever a family had a wedding or a funeral, everyone came to show their support. Whether or not they brought gift money was a minor matter—what mattered was the lively spectacle.

Wei Zhao, as Ergoudan's closest friend, naturally ran about busily helping to organize everything, while Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Tang Yun didn't rest either—they became serving girls, ferrying dishes back and forth for the banquet!

A mountain-village betrothal had few formalities. The two parties showed their faces on stage, said a few polite words about growing old together and sharing a lifetime, and then the hired opera troupe performed. The couple themselves had little else to do.

The crowd had come for the opera, while the newly betrothed went off to change clothes and toast each table in turn. Of course, whether they knew the guests or not, they had to toast them all—such was the custom of the little village.

"How fun! Will we have a betrothal like this someday too?" Tang Yun said with hopeful envy.

"If you want one, of course we can arrange it. I just worry you'd find it too noisy," Wei Zhao said.

"Right... how could Xiaoxiao and I possibly get betrothed to you together? Wouldn't people laugh themselves to death?" Tang Yun shook her head. "Better to keep things low-key."

Hearing Tang Yun's words, Wei Zhao didn't know how to answer, and could only respond with a bitter smile. Tang Yun was right—if two of them got betrothed at once, what would that even look like?

For the fastest updates, please read without pop-ups.