Return to the village to propose marriage
"The smell of blood. How can there be blood in such a good wine..."
Before he could finish his words, the horse neighed in shock and suddenly braked. Yuanli was thrown out by the force and her body fell forward uncontrollably. Fortunately, Qi Heng was quick to pull her back into his arms.
"Sir, there's a convoy being attacked ahead."
Hearing this, Qi Heng hugged her even tighter, but his face showed no sign of panic. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"Yeah." Yuanli nodded in response, her eyes lingering on his hands placed on her waist.
Qi Heng quickly reached out to cover her eyes. There was a loud noise outside the car, as if someone had fallen dead to the ground.
Only after everything outside the carriage had calmed down did Qi Heng remove his hand from covering her eyes. At that moment, the carriage window on the side closest to Qi Heng was splattered with blood.
"Thank you so much for saving my life, thank you so much for saving my life, thank you so much..."
Several people outside the carriage thanked her, and Qi Heng gently pushed the window next to her to take a closer look.
Yuanli looked in the direction he was looking and saw a group of villagers in coarse linen clothes kneeling on the ground and kowtowing continuously. Several carts were piled with huge earthenware jars, and many of them were broken on the ground.
"Xiang Yao, let's go."
Qi Heng closed the windows tightly and the carriage was back on the road. The group of villagers were particularly considerate and made way for him, kneeling down on the side.
Through the blood-stained holes in the car wall, the corpses scattered on the road were chilling.
With a casual glance, Yuanli vaguely saw that there were villagers in the crowd who were clinging to their carriage.
He stood out in the crowd and was very memorable. Although he was wearing coarse cloth, the material was brand new without a single patch, and his eyes were not as numb and frightened as those of the people around him.
Perhaps having learned from his previous experience, Qi Heng sped up and changed his route after getting a clean new carriage. It wasn't until he saw the top of the Jiwang Valley that he relaxed his vigilance a little.
Spring is in full swing, and flowers are blooming all over the mountains. From afar, a long line of happy flowers looks like a dragon lingering at the foot of the mountain.
The carriage drove straight to the front of the team, and Yuanli could see clearly that those people in wedding clothes were carrying boxes tied with big red silk.
The long procession behind him followed the carriage slowly into the valley and up the mountain. Yuanli then realized that these were the betrothal gifts he brought.
When we reached halfway up the mountain, people from the Miao village rarely showed up and waited at the checkpoint, blocking the road.
Elder Chi Xi showed no intention of backing down and giving way. Instead, he blocked the way and said, "Master Qi, please go back. The village chief has already made his intention clear. Besides, as the saying goes, it's better to demolish a temple than to break up a marriage. Our young village chief has already made the engagement."
"The elder is right, but a gentleman loves a beautiful lady. I know that Miss Chi Li is engaged, and I would like to fight for her." Qi Heng's tone was gentle and patient.
In just a moment, Qi Heng's expression flashed with doubt as he said this. He apologized, "I understand what you just said, but this letter is indeed a little... inaccurate. That's why I took the liberty to come here directly with the betrothal gifts. I hope Elder can understand."
"How could that be? We elders saw with our own eyes the people you sent take the letter away."
Qi Heng took out the letter from his sleeve. The totem painted on it was indeed from the Miao village, and the handwriting looked like that of his father.
Seeing this, Elder Chi Xi opened the letter with a heavy look of doubt and read it, then casually put it aside.
Before he could even take a closer look, the elder sneered, "The handwriting on the outside, and even the envelope, were indeed from the village chief himself. But what's inside, even if I try my best to imitate it, I can tell at a glance that it wasn't written by the village chief himself."
Elder Chi Xi casually folded the letter and said, "Everyone says that Lord Qi is upright, a master at solving cases, and a sharp mind. How could he not see through such a despicable trick? If you don't believe me, Lord Qi, why don't you show it to the young leader?"
Without waiting for Qi Heng to make a move, Yuanli quickly took the letter and examined it briefly. After a moment, she also confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
If it wasn't someone close to him, then the person who imitated the letter had superb skills and his imitation was first-rate. Even his own daughter couldn't see any flaws at first glance and had to take a closer look.
On one side is the Miao village, and on the other side is Qi Heng. Yuanli is caught in the middle and is really in a dilemma.
"Elder, there must be something fishy about this. Ah Heng has never seen a letter from my father, so being deceived is only natural. Even I, my father's biological daughter, was nearly deceived, let alone him?"
Even though Yuanli tried to intercede, Elder Chi Xi remained firm and refused to back down.
Pulling her half a step behind him, the elder said sternly, "Even if he came here today because he was deceived, the village chief still won't see him. Besides, we came here today not only to dissuade Master Qi, but also to bring back the young village chief. Please forgive me, Master Qi."
Seeing this, Yuanli could only put on a smile and move towards the elder, holding his arm and sleeve and whispering: "Elder, they have come from thousands of miles away, you should let them in first to talk, it's so rude..."
"It's impolite! Who is impolite? Thinking about someone's first wife who hasn't even married him yet is the real impolite!" Elder Chi Xi was like a fighting cock with its feathers standing on end, his words were excited.
"Shh! Shh!" Yuanli quickly increased the strength of her hands to give a reminder.
He glanced at Qi Heng from the corner of his eye. He showed no sign of displeasure or anger. Instead, he spoke in a gentle tone, "It was my negligence that allowed someone to take advantage of this situation. I will investigate and punish them severely. I apologize for causing trouble to you all by coming here hastily. I will leave now and come back when the village chief is willing to see me."
After saying that, Qi Heng's subordinates lifted up several boxes, which made a heavy thud when they landed on the ground. This was enough to show the weight of the boxes, but compared with the wedding gift behind him, it was less than one-third of the weight.
"Elder, please take these gifts to the village chief and the elders on my behalf."
“As the saying goes, no reward without merit…” As soon as Elder Chi Xi started to preach seriously, the huge crowd behind him automatically made way for him.
After noticing someone coming, they turned their heads and looked behind them at the same time. Chi Xun walked straight towards Elder Chi Xi with a serious expression.
Although Chi Xun had a blank expression on his face and his inner turmoil and emotions could not be seen, the moment he stepped into the crowd, every corner of his vision was occupied by her.
Although his gaze was not as intense and intense as usual, and seemed to be more cautious and restrained, Yuanli could still quickly notice his gaze falling on her.
Chi Xun leaned over to the elder's ear and whispered a few words, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear clearly.
After he finished speaking, Elder Chi Xi looked at him with more anger at his lack of fighting spirit and more heartbroken reproach.
After a brief silence, Qi Heng was allowed to enter the Miao village amid the lament of Elder Chi Xi.
On the way up the mountain, the whole team was very quiet. Yuanli followed Elder Chi Xi silently, while Qi Heng and Team Xi were sandwiched among the people in the Miao village.
It doesn't look like a marriage proposal, but rather like a robbery by bandits.
The shadows were lengthened by the warm sunlight and then disappeared under the mottled green shade of the trees.
The team's slow pace seemed to deliberately keep a distance from the villagers, and her lone figure occupied most of her sight.
Just when she was feeling thirsty, a broad and tall shadow approached her and handed her a familiar water bag.
"The spring water at home is not available outside."
Chi Xun's tone was soft and cheerful, without any displeasure in it, as if he didn't care at all that she wanted to cancel the engagement and get engaged to someone else.
But the more he acted like this, the more uncomfortable she felt. She took the water bag and met his gentle, soft eyes, feeling a strange sense of guilt and shame creeping into her heart.
It's like going against the wishes of your father and brother, doing something that makes your family sad and worried, and not daring to face their concern.
But she doesn't regret it.
Chi Xun did not say anything else. Instead, he walked silently in front of her, always keeping a distance of five steps from her.
This actually made Yuanli breathe a sigh of relief, and she felt a little more at ease. As they were about to enter the Miao village, Chi Xun suddenly slowed down, gradually balancing with her.
Almost the moment they entered the village, Chi Xun lowered his voice and asked, "Have you thought it through?"
As Yuanli looked up with a puzzled and doubtful look, Chi Xun said again: "Ali, if you have really thought it through and are sure you have no regrets about marrying him, and it is your own will, I will help you this time."
"Yeah, since you brought it back, it means you've thought it through carefully."
Chi Xun didn't reply, but just smiled faintly and nodded in response to her.
When I entered the main hall of the house, I saw several elders and my father sitting upright. The gloomy atmosphere and silent silence made me feel depressed and suffocated.
"Ali, go back to your room." Dad's tone was undeniable. "Master Qi, please take a seat."
Yuanli was a little worried about Qi Heng, but after hearing what her father said, her mother immediately came forward and took her back to the house.
With the door tightly closed, A'niang pulled her to sit by the bed. She hesitated several times before finally saying, "Don't hope. Even if you and Chi Xun weren't engaged, your father would never agree to the Qi family's proposal."
"But isn't Dad willing to see him?"
"Do you think your father gave in? When he received the invitation from the Qi Mansion, he flew into a rage and said he would never agree. He even wrote back immediately to refuse. He was able to let Qi Heng into the village and listen to his repeated refusals. It was only because Chi Xun begged him on his knees for a long time that he reluctantly gave in."
A'niang held Yuanli's hand and soothed her, "There are countless men in this world, so why did you choose to fall in love with that child from the Qi family? Li'er, even if you and Chi Xun are not destined to be together, you can choose anyone of any status and position, but it cannot be someone in the officialdom, let alone a senior official."
"Why? Dad is afraid that I will be wronged in an official's family?" Yuanli asked anxiously.
"With your ability to use Gu alone, which house would you suffer any harm or injustice if you entered? Your father has his own concerns, so don't ask."
A'niang has always been the most partial to her. If she is unwilling to explain the things mentioned, then there will be no way to get anything out of her, so Yuanli didn't say anything more.
After a long time, there was a knock on the door and her father called her to the front hall.
As soon as he stepped through the threshold, his father suppressed his anger and asked, "In front of Li'er, Chi Xun, I'm asking you one last time. Have you really thought it through? Once you say this, it's a done deal!"
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