Chiba

When he stepped into the door, he saw that all the elders of Jiwang Valley were sitting in the main hall. The atmosphere was solemn and dignified, as if something big was happening. Yuanli hurriedly walked over to Cha Suxun and sat down.

"I am old, and my ideas and strategies are declining. Apart from being able to refine Gu, I am of no use anymore. I have summoned you all here today to ask the elders of the village to come and bear witness. From now on, Chi Xun will be your young leader. After my death, he will be your new leader. Elders, do you have any objections?"

She is my father's daughter, and since she was born she has naturally been regarded as the young leader by the people in the village.

However, Chi Xun's strategy and talent were both excellent, and everyone in the village saw it. In addition, due to their engagement, everyone in the village unanimously agreed that he would be the future leader of the village and had already recognized him.

Qi Heng had won the test, and their engagement was practically set in stone. If she were allowed to take the position of village leader, Qi Heng would be the village leader. The people of the village were old-fashioned and would never be happy to listen to orders from an outsider. Now that her father had taken the initiative to propose that Chi Xun succeed him, they couldn't have asked for more.

But she didn't understand why her father didn't just acknowledge him as his son, so that he could succeed to the throne legitimately.

"Since all the Gelao have no objection, the matter is settled. Let's all go our separate ways."

Catching a glimpse of Qi Heng early on, the elders understood and quickly left the main hall. After everyone else had dispersed, leaving only the family, Dad spoke: "Qi Heng, I'll ask you one last time. Are you truly determined to marry my daughter? If you can meet my requirements, and Li'er is willing to marry you, I will accept you as my son-in-law."

"Junior is sure, uncle, please speak."

"First, my daughter must be your legal wife, married in a formal ceremony. Second, I want to see the imperial decree granting the marriage you promised, and have it announced to the world. Third, you must fulfill all your promises. Once the emperor grants the marriage, you cannot divorce her. However, if my daughter is wronged in your house, or if she wants to leave you, you must let her go. I don't care what method you use, but you cannot divorce her."

"I, Qi Heng, swear to heaven that I will fulfill the conditions set forth by my uncle today. If I break my oath, I will die, my name will be obliterated from the Three Realms, and I will be reduced to ashes."

Cha Suxun, who was watching the excitement from the side, suddenly spoke with a telepathic voice and laughed, "Ah Li, tell me, when those people in the Heaven Realm hear Heng Jin swear like this and think about it when they return to practice, will they be frightened and go crazy? If I had known this would happen, I should have used my status as your brother to make up some ridiculous and harsh conditions to make his oath come true."

"Acha, if that's the case, aren't you afraid of being punished by the heavens?"

"What is there to be afraid of? I didn't kill him. Besides, the Celestials stole my treasures, so they are the ones who should be punished."

Qi Heng said goodbye, "Thank you for the opportunity, uncle. I will immediately return to the capital to ask for permission. Uncle, aunt, take care of yourselves. I will take my leave. Miss Chi Li, goodbye."

Yuanli was delighted. He believed that Qi Heng would definitely fulfill his father's request and marry her.

Even if she rode at full speed, it would take her over twenty days to get from Jiwang Valley to the Imperial Capital. While she was waiting, she had plenty of time to spend with her parents.

After sending Qi Heng down the mountain, Chi Huai winked at her, and they both slowed down their pace and tried their best to stay away from their father and Elder Chi Xi.

"Ari, I've sorted everything out at home, but the problem now is, how can I explain where I disappeared to so that Elder Chi Xi and Brother Chi Que will be at ease? You have a smart brain, help me think of a solution."

"Take the exam? Join the army? Go down the mountain to do business?" Yuanli asked, but she felt something was wrong.

Chi Huai shook his head and said, "Are these just temporary solutions? They won't solve the problem forever."

Cha Suxun suddenly appeared from behind and said, "Chi Huai isn't the only one who wants to save Ling Yan. Isn't there a desperate weasel in the deep mountains?"

After Cha Suxun's suggestion, Yuanli immediately understood and nodded in affirmation, but Chi Huai was full of doubts, and couldn't understand why the two of them were looking at each other and smiling so cunningly.

Yuanli whispered in Chi Huai's ear and then warned, "Are we going up the mountain now? Later, you must do as I say. You must not give in. If necessary, you must say what I told you to do. Be firm and don't worry."

"Okay, I remember. I'll listen to you."

"Hey! What are you three talking about? You're so excited and you didn't even include me!" Chi Lu shouted as he ran down the slope.

Chi Huai was a dull man, not very good at lying. Seeing Chi Que coming towards him, he looked guilty. He lowered his head and tucked the corner of his clothes. From time to time, he looked up at Chi Que, then quickly looked away.

Seeing this, Chi Huai asked in a questioning tone, "Chi Huai? What are you feeling guilty about? Are you hiding something from me again? Hmm? Are you saying bad things about me behind my back?"

"No."

"No? Go back and borrow Sweet Potato Flower's precious brass mirror and look at yourself." Chi Que pointed at his face and paused, saying metaphorically, "I'm hiding something from you, brother. It's almost written all over my face."

Perhaps he was afraid that Chi Huai would repeat the same mistake without telling him, so Chi Que stuck to him and asked him questions. Chi Huai waved his hands repeatedly, sweat broke out on his temples, and he frequently turned back to steal tearful glances for help to Yuanli.

Yuanli couldn't bear to watch this any longer. She was afraid that if he pressed her for a few more rounds, Chi Huai would let the cat out of the bag. So she resorted to this desperate measure and shouted to the familiar figure in the vegetable patch beside the bamboo forest, "Sister Chi Yu! Brother Chi Yu wants to borrow your brass mirror!"

"Young Master has learned bad habits. I did some scouting before I left. Chi Ya should be helping her father roll tobacco. She can't be here. She can't scare me."

Even though Chi Yu said so, he couldn't help but shudder in fear when he heard her call her Sister Chi Yu.

Chi Que was the fastest mover among his peers. Even though his children had already started farming, he still hadn't married, devoting himself to his vegetable garden. His mother was anxious every year and arranged blind dates for him, but Chi Que always made a fool of himself and was rejected by the girls.

It was not until he had dated almost all the girls younger than him in the village that he met Sister Chi Yao, who was three years older than him and had also failed in blind dates.

Sister Chi Yu didn't mind that he was an eye-catcher and she pursued him passionately. However, her passion seemed a little too intense, causing Chi Yu to hide whenever he saw her.

Chi Yujie was not bad-looking, with a great figure, though a bit healthier and more robust than other women. However, precisely because of this, she could work just as well as men. Over time, Chi Yujie's mother grew increasingly satisfied with her. Chi Yujie was ill and could not afford to be angered, so, with Chi Yujie's warnings, he would wait with Chi Yujie on the occasions when he couldn't escape.

"Chithrush~"

Hearing this, Chi Yu had no time to look back and ran away. However, Sister Chi Yu was very strong and agile. She grabbed his collar with one hand and pulled him back.

Sister Chi Yao's cheeks flushed, and she said shyly, "I heard you wanted to borrow my yellow mirror. It's at home. Come with me and I'll... give it to you."

"You heard wrong. The young leader was just joking with you. I won't lend it to you. I haven't fertilized my vegetable garden yet. I really have to leave."

Every time Chi Yu struggled, Chi Yu would immediately pull him back, with a girlish shyness on her face at all times.

Chi Yu turned to look at Yuanli and the other two and asked, "Young Master, are you really kidding me?"

At Chi Yu's plea for help, the three of them shook their heads in tacit understanding and left. Behind them, Chi Yu said kindly and considerately, "You know, I'm the strongest woman in the village. I'll help you water the plants. As the saying goes, a man and a woman together makes the work easier. Together, we'll be done quickly. After that, I'll take you back to my house to get the yellow flower mirror..."

Now that Chi Yu has controlled Chi Yu, the vegetable fields can't be fully watered. Chi Yu has no way to leave the land he loves, and the few of them can go deep into the back mountain with confidence.

On the way to the back mountain, Yuanli asked curiously, "Sister Chi Yu is pretty good, isn't Brother Chi Yu interesting at all? Chi Huai, you know your brother best, what do you think?"

"I don't know, but I think Brother Chiyu is interested in Sister Chiyu. He probably feels that his family's financial situation is not as good as Sister Chiyu's, and he's afraid that she will be wronged if she comes here. After all, Brother Chiyu's family only has three plots of land, one house, and a mother."

"Sister Chi Yao is a very capable woman. She definitely wouldn't mind him being poor. She once said that being poor doesn't matter. As long as you have a piece of land and are willing to work hard, you'll have food to eat, and life will always get better."

"But Chi Que is afraid of poverty. He doesn't want her to live a life worse than her parents' after she marries him, suffering and working the land with him."

Chi Huai was a little out of breath as he walked, and suddenly remembered something about the two of them. He smiled and said, "When he was a child, his aunt took him to Chi Yu's grandfather's house for a feast. The ox cart broke down, and several of us kids slept on a big kang. As a result, Chi Yu found out that he had wet the bed in the morning, so he stayed in bed pretending to be asleep and didn't dare to get up. He was afraid that the children would laugh at him, and he didn't know how to say it. His aunt called him several times but he didn't get up. When she was about to get angry and go into the house to lift the quilt, she suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the ground from inside the house. We went into the house and saw Chi Yu holding a basin of water. Chi Yu's quilt was lifted up, and his body was all wet on the kang. It was not until after the New Year that we went to the teacher to learn to read that we heard about it from others. That time, Chi Yu got a good beating when he got home. You probably haven't heard about this because you are still young, but Chi Xun should remember it."

Yuanli subconsciously turned to look at Cha Suxun, but forgot that he was not the real Chi Xun. However, he nodded and said, "I vaguely remember hearing others talk about the incident where Chi Xun was beaten for splashing water."

"Because of this, Chi Yuge regretted his actions for a long time, feeling that he shouldn't have been such a coward. From that time on, every time after school, Chi Yuge would follow Sister Chi Yuge from a distance and escort her home. This was until Sister Chi Yuge turned eight and stopped learning to read from a teacher and went home to farm. When he couldn't sleep at night, he would often sneak away to tend to other people's vegetable gardens."

"Why do I feel like Brother Chiyu has been interested in Sister Chiyu since they were little? He wouldn't have done that for so many years just because he felt guilty towards Sister Chiyu. No wonder Brother Chiyu never went out to play after school. It turns out he was always escorting other girls home. Let's try to match them up some other day."

"Come on, are you addicted to matchmaking again? Have you forgotten that out of ten couples last year, six failed? If you like her so much, you should go to the Moon Fairy Palace and replace him as the matchmaker."

"Chi Xun you!"