"Your love for me has always been boundless, Dad. I am so happy, really, I am so happy."

Wu Ying said these words while crying.

After she finished speaking, Wu Yuan took out a handkerchief and wiped away Wu Ying's tears. "Good child, live well with Ye Ming in the future. If that brat dares to do anything to betray you, tell your father and I will deal with him. As long as I am here, Tian Shu County will never be turned upside down."

"I know," Wu Ying said, her voice choked with tears, feeling the most sincere and ardent paternal love from her father.

After arranging his hair, Wu Yuan went out. At the door, he said to the young ladies from various powerful families who had come to offer their congratulations, "Please make sure my precious daughter looks beautiful."

As he spoke, the usually arrogant governor of Tian Shu County turned slightly to the side and bowed deeply.

Everyone was shocked.

When they realized what was happening, they quickly returned the greeting with clasped hands, saying, "Don't worry, sir, we will definitely dress the young lady up to be stunningly beautiful, and the young master will be unable to take his eyes off her."

Wu Yuan nodded and then left.

The villa became lively again.

...

At the inn, Zhou Mu and Su Yuan sat facing each other.

Su Yuan recounted the information he had gathered to Zhou Mu, who listened attentively while drinking water.

These past few days, he hasn't been idle either, constantly trying to find out information about Su Xuan'er. However, to his disappointment, even after he searched the entire stronghold from top to bottom, he still couldn't get any definite news.

Even with his calm and collected demeanor, he was somewhat flustered at this moment.

But he dared not show it like that in front of Su Yuan, otherwise this guy would get flustered and cause some big trouble.

After hearing this, Zhou Mu frowned immediately, and without even drinking his water, he hurriedly asked, "You mean, the Ye family and the Prefectural Governor's Mansion are engaged?"

Su Yuan frowned and said, "Yes, it is said that the betrothal gifts covered the entire ten-mile-long street. It was really prosperous. I did not expect that the Ye family had such a deep foundation and could bring out so many good things all at once."

Upon hearing Su Yuan's words, Zhou Mu immediately became uneasy. He had heard from the bandits that once the Ye family and the prefectural governor's office got engaged, Su Xuan'er would become a pawn to be discarded.

For someone whose beauty is unparalleled and who is utterly useless, such beauty would be a deadly threat.

"not good."

Zhou Mu's expression changed, and he hurriedly grabbed his coat and rushed out.

at the same time

Copycat

Cao Lun already knew about the marriage between the Ye family and the prefectural governor's office.

As the leader of the mountain stronghold, upon learning of the wedding, he smiled and ordered his men, "Men, get to work! I'm getting married today, and Su Xuan'er will be my wife. Understand? Bring out all the good food and drink. Today is New Year's Day."

As soon as Cao Lun finished speaking, the entire mountain stronghold erupted in jubilation.

Soon, festive red "double happiness" characters were pasted all over the entire mountain village.

The female protagonist, on the other hand, was in prison when she finally learned the news.

Deep in the dungeon

It's cold, dark, and damp here, and there are subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy in the air.

Beneath the dungeon lies a Saint-level spirit array, powerful enough to conceal all auras. If anyone enters this place, they will appear to lose contact to outsiders, and losing contact signifies the shattering of the soul lamp, resulting in physical death.

Carrying an oil lamp, Cao Lun walked into the dimly lit tunnel. After stumbling and turning more than a dozen times, he finally saw a dark room at the end.

The dark room was well hidden, located in the center of the dungeon.

Without guidance, even a saintly expert would likely not be able to discover this secret room.

Cao Lun placed his palm on it, and a flash of dark purple light appeared. Then, the door shimmered with a strange light, and the next moment, the door slowly opened.

Unlike the dark and damp outside, it was unusually warm inside, like the feeling of the winter sun shining on your skin, with comfort emanating from every pore.

In the corner of the room, there was a bed.

At that moment, a woman was sitting on the bed.

Upon seeing Cao Lun, the woman's pale face showed a sudden surge of intense emotion, but she quickly calmed down, closed her eyes, and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

"Xuan'er, I've come today to tell you something: your lover, Ye Ming, is getting married today."

Cao Lun walked over and stood in front of the bed, saying...

He was afraid of arousing Su Xuan'er's disgust, so he kept a considerable distance from her.

"impossible."

Upon hearing this, Su Xuan'er's pretty face immediately flushed with anger, "You lied to me..."

"Whether I'm lying to you or not, you know in your heart. I have no reason to lie to you, and besides, there's no benefit for me in lying to you," Cao Lun explained patiently.

However, Su Xuan'er didn't care about all that at the moment. She looked at Cao Lun with disgust and said, "Don't think I don't know your wolfish ambitions. Let me tell you, if you dare to touch a single hair on my head, I will die right in front of you."

"Whether you believe it or not, I've delivered the message."

After Cao Lun finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to leave.

Then, as if he had just thought of something, he turned around and looked at Su Xuan'er, saying, "I forgot to tell you something. The Ye family has announced that you have been removed from their list. In other words, from today onwards, you are no longer the Ye family's daughter-in-law, and you don't need to use the Ye family to pressure me anymore."

"Furthermore, I have already given the order that after Ye Ming and Wu Ying get married, I will marry you and make you my bandit queen."

"Impossible, you've given up on that idea." Su Xuan'er said angrily.

Cao Lun smiled and turned away from Su Xuan'er. "You'd better think this through. Without the Ye family as your backing, you and your brother are like fish on a chopping board. If you don't meet my expectations, it's hard to say whether your brother will see the sun tomorrow."

"Despicable." Su Xuan'er's budding chest heaved violently.

"Whether it's despicable or not doesn't matter, as long as I can marry the beauty, that doesn't matter either." Cao Lun finally closed the door to the secret room.

Once outside the dark room, Cao Lun collapsed to the ground, completely dazed.

"I...you're so cruel..."

It has always been cruel to treat people you don't love.

Cao Lun knew this, but after experiencing it firsthand, he found that this feeling was truly unbearable.

Inside the dimly lit passageway, a cold wind swept over us, carrying with it a strong, fishy stench.

He took a deep breath and felt the cold air rush into his chest. The feeling was extremely uncomfortable, and the distinctive fishy smell immediately enveloped his limbs and bones.

"waste."

A muffled sound suddenly rang out in the passageway.

Cao Lun was startled, then jumped to his feet. Looking at the person before him, he said excitedly, "Ancestor, you've emerged from seclusion!"