Ye Daquan walked out of the courtyard gate, rubbing his fists together in anticipation.
Before long, Ye Daquan and his wife, Jin Hua, Ye Xuan, Ye Siquan, Ye Bajin, and about a dozen other people from Qinghe Village, along with a group of servants and maids, walked out in a grand procession.
Ye Si Quan asked, "Brother, what major challenges have you prepared to make things difficult for him? How many are there in total?"
Ye Daquan said smugly, "Hehe, there are three. They're all physical labor!"
"Big Brother Gao! He's such a refined scholar, he's bound to suffer a terrible setback!"
"Hmph, of course! Otherwise everyone would think my little sister is easy to marry! Brothers, come with me!"
Ye Daquan led a group of brothers out with great gusto.
Jin Hua, who was standing to the side, chuckled and whispered to Du Shi, "Father and Fourth Uncle, they're acting like bandits coming down from the mountain."
Du: "They are."
Ye Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to stay hidden in the crowd for a while.
Gradually, the sounds of joy outside reached my ears.
The group arrived at the gate and saw a large bridal sedan chair with a golden roof and canopy parked outside.
The band and the crowd of onlookers were both present.
Shen Zhiyan was dressed in a red wedding robe with gold thread and cloud patterns, his hair tied up with a golden crown. He was handsome and noble. His usual temperament was aloof, but today, the red robe made him look extremely rich and gorgeous.
The crowd watching the spectacle all exclaimed, "The groom is so handsome!"
"Of course. That's Second Master Shen from the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion, a famously handsome man!"
Shen Zhiyan stood in front, a smile playing on his lips. He used to find praise annoying, but today, it made him happy.
At this moment, Ye Daquan led a group of people out.
Shen Zhiyan immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Elder brother."
"Hey, don't shout yet. If you want to take my little sister away, you'll have to go through five checkpoints and defeat six generals!" Ye Daquan said smugly.
“Brother, you only prepared three,” Ye Siquan said.
"Don't interrupt! I'm speaking!" Ye Daquan turned around and glared at him.
Everyone present laughed.
"Ta-da! I'm here again! Hehe!" A laugh rang out, and Shen Manman jumped out from behind Shen Zhiyan.
Today she was also dressed in a light red outfit and had her hair styled in a double bun.
Madam Du smiled and said, "Manman's outfit is the same as Jin'er's and Huan'er's."
Shen Manman said proudly, "That's right! We agreed to wear the same thing! Uncle Daquan, bring out your secret weapon! My father isn't afraid of you!"
Ye Daquan laughed heartily: "Hey, what a boastful tone! Come here!"
Amidst the lively atmosphere, Shen Zhiyan was ushered through the gate.
This time, apart from Shen Manman, all three Shen brothers, Shen Xingyue, came with the Shen family.
As soon as they entered the door, a long string of firecrackers was set off outside the gate.
The group passed through the moon gate, then the hanging flower gate, and arrived at the second courtyard.
Three targets stood in the distance. Ye Daquan shoved a longbow and a quiver of arrows into his hands.
"Hmph, if you can hit even one target after you finish shooting all these arrows, you'll pass the first test."
Shen Zhiyan paused for a moment, then smiled sincerely: "Thank you, brother. Please move aside!"
Shen Manman took the quiver from him and stepped back a few paces with Shen Xingyue and the others.
Ye Daquan and Si Quan laughed like bandits, wondering how long it would take the groom to draw his bow and arrow.
Jin Hua scratched her head and muttered to herself, "How come I remember Mr. Shen hunting?"
Shen Zhiyan swung his longbow, drew three arrows, nocked them, bent the bow, and with a "bang," all three arrows were released at the same time. Then, with another "thud," all three arrows hit the bullseye of the three targets.
"Great!!!" The relatives and servants who were watching, whether they were there to pick up the bride or to stop the groom, all cheered and applauded.
Ye Daquan and Si Quan were so shocked that their jaws almost dropped.
Ye Siquan exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, he hit the target! And not just one, but three! And all of them hit the bullseye! And they were all fired at the same time, am I seeing things?!"
Ye Daquan grinned: "Shut up, or I'll punch you if you say 'moreover' again."
Ye Xuan tugged at his sleeve from behind: "Dad, are you stupid? How could you forget that Master can hunt? He even came to Niutou Mountain to hunt last year! He also invited Aunt and us along."
"Holy crap! It's been so long, I've forgotten everything from before!!!"
Ye Siquan, Ye Bajin, and the others all rolled their eyes at him: "You can forget this? You might as well forget about us all! Anyway, we're all insignificant nobodys."
"Shut up! Watch me, there's another level to come!"
"However, I never expected that Mr. Shen, a scholar, would know how to shoot arrows."
Shen Manman jumped up and down with a cheer: "Yay! My daddy is the best!"
The three Shen brothers looked proud: "Uncle's archery skills are the best in the family."
Shen Zhiyan's eyes were full of smiles as he cupped his hands towards Ye Daquan: "Thank you for your kindness, elder brother. You flatter me."
Ye Daquan choked, his face turning pale: "Next level!"
The group marched through the second courtyard in a grand procession.
As they walked, Ye Siquan squeezed next to Ye Xuan and whispered, "Xuan'er, has studying and taking the imperial examinations become this difficult now? You have to know how to shoot arrows too?"
Ye Xuan choked: "No need to know how to shoot arrows."
Ye Siquan clutched his chest: "You scared me. Your two younger cousins are starting their education now, they'll be going to school in the future."
Soon, the group arrived at the third courtyard.
There were five stone locks on the ground, and their weight was frightening.
Ye Daquan rubbed his hands and laughed: "Hehehe, each one here weighs eighty pounds. Move them all to the flower bed over there."
The flower bed is not far from the stone lock, only about ten feet away.
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