Chapter Fifty-Nine: Betrothal

  In theory, Pang Gang, as a hundred households of Ling Shan Wei, with a fifth-grade official rank, according to the standards of later military forces, he is also considered a regimental cadre, and also a not-too-big-or-small official. However, the problem is that people at that time emphasized "good men do not become soldiers, good iron does not make nails", and the social status of being a soldier was not high.

  Now, Yu Lan saw her father so enthusiastically entertaining this Mr. Pang with a family banquet to show hospitality, it was already unexpected enough, but he was still so enthusiastically asking about the other's marital status, wasn't that like having lice on a bald head? No matter how clever and poised a girl is, once she gets involved in her own marriage, who can still pretend to be nonchalant? Yu Lan's powdered face had already turned as red as a piece of crimson cloth, and to hide the shame on her face, her two small hands hidden under the table almost crumpled the handkerchief into pieces.

  But what made Yu Lan even more embarrassed and angry was that the Mr. Pang in front of her seemed to be out of tune, and had no reaction to Father's obvious hint, but instead drank with Father and big brother as if nothing had happened, how could she not feel resentful besides being shy?

  After drinking a few more cups of wine, Kong Wen's intoxication seemed to thicken, and he spoke with a thick tongue: "Lord Pang, since you and Xiao Er call each other brothers, then I'll brazenly call you 'noble nephew'. I'll muster up the courage to ask, noble nephew, since you haven't settled on a marriage yet, have you set your eyes on someone special?"

  At this time, Pang Gang also had a few points of intoxication. Although it was strange why the old man Kong was so concerned about his lifelong affairs, he still answered honestly: "The person in mind is naturally...". At this point, a flash of elegant and stunning beauty flashed through Pang Gang's mind, but Pang Gang shook his head hard to drive out the beauty before continuing, "The person in mind! What does a martial artist like me have to do with someone in mind?"

  "Good...good!" Kong Wen seemed even more satisfied after hearing this, stroking his beard and nodding in satisfaction.

  "Huh?" Pang Gang looked at Kong Wen with a slightly drunken expression, thinking to himself, "Brother, you don't have a crush on someone, what's there to be so happy about?"

  Madam Kong also secretly kicked her husband with one foot at the side.

  "Ah!" At this time, Kong Wenchao suddenly came to his senses and realized that his words had gone wrong. He couldn't help but blush and cover up by saying: "This virtuous nephew of mine, since you are not yet married, I'll take the liberty of speaking on your behalf about a potential marriage arrangement, how about it?"

  "Family affairs, speak of marriage for me!" A piece of mutton that had just been picked up by the chopsticks was about to be put into his mouth when Pang Gang suddenly froze, and he didn't even notice that the mutton had fallen onto his clothes. The traditional matchmaking method was really too unfamiliar to him, at least in the more than 20 years of his life, he had never encountered such a thing, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words after hearing this.

  Seeing the stunned Pang Gang, Kong Wen's heart was also somewhat embarrassed, but since the words had already been spoken, he let it go. Kong Wen pointed to the person sitting next to him, Kong Ruolan, and said: "My daughter Ruolan is sixteen this year, her appearance is still passable, and she has not yet been promised to anyone. If my virtuous nephew does not despise me, I would like to betroth Ruolan to you, but I don't know if I can aspire to such a high match."

  As soon as this was said, everyone around was shocked. For a moment, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were fixed on him, and even Pang Gang's chopsticks had fallen to the ground without anyone noticing.

  "Hmmph......"

  The first to react was Yulan, who quickly stood up and, too shy to say a word, scurried out of the hall like a little rabbit being chased by a tiger.

  The second one to react was Pang Gang. As soon as he heard this, he was shocked at first, and then the intoxication immediately woke up more than half of it. His eyes swept over instantly, except for Miss Kong who had already escaped, everyone present looked at him with an inexplicable gaze. Pang Gang suddenly realized that if he didn't answer well today, it would have a very bad influence.

  Kong Wen is a dignified person in Yangzhou, and now he's making a marriage proposal to himself. If he gets rejected, not only will the Kong family lose face, but their cooperation will also come to an end. In the future, if they meet again, they might become strangers.

  That Miss Kong herself also saw, with her beauty and talent, if placed in a modern university, she would absolutely be a campus belle, even compared to that Miss Wei from the other day at the Wei residence, she was only slightly inferior. If it were in another era, a woman of this beauty would have someone carrying her bags for her, and people wouldn't even bother with her now, yet somehow someone introduced such a great beauty to her, just short of saying: "Young man, as long as you agree now, this beauty is yours, she's not only elegant, gentle, and beautiful like a flower, but also a rich young lady, what more are you waiting for?"

  Is there anyone who would refuse such a thing? Pang Gang believed that there must be, but those people were either extinct or in a mental hospital, and he had never been to such a place, so soon he didn't think about it for long before making a decision.

  Pang Gang left his seat and came to Kong Wen's front, kneeling down on one knee like a golden mountain and jade pillar, holding his fist: "Thanks to your old man's appreciation of Pang Gang, how dare he not obey? Father-in-law is above, please accept the younger son-in-law's bow!"

  Kong Wen, who was slightly tense, finally felt relieved when he heard Pang Gang's words, although he had confidence in his daughter's appearance and behavior, but nothing is absolute, if this Pang Baihu refused him, then his old face would be lost.

  "Haha... Nephew... No, I mean son-in-law, please get up quickly. From now on, we are one family."

  "Thank you, Father-in-law." Pang Gang stood up and immediately paid his respects to Mrs. Kong beside him, "Your son-in-law has seen Mother-in-law!"

  "Alright, alright... Son-in-law, please get up." Mrs. Kong also smiled and lifted her hands to help Pang Gang up, then Pang Gang bowed again to Kong Lin who was standing beside him.

  Kong Lin burst out laughing and said: "I never thought that the bodyguard I brought back from Qingzhou would actually become my brother-in-law, this is truly fate."

  Hearing Kong Lin's teasing, even with Pang's thick skin, he couldn't help but blush a little.

  After acknowledging Pang Gang as his son-in-law, Kong Wen's enthusiasm suddenly increased: "Come on, today is a good day, come on, everyone! Today, the mansion is having a grand feast, and no one will leave without getting drunk..."

  Recognizing the son-in-law is a big deal, many servants and maids rushed to inform each other, and soon the entire Kong Mansion would know that the hundred officials who came yesterday had become the uncle of the Kong Mansion.

  At this time, the people at that time were trapped in a bit of happy trouble. According to the rules, engagement must be accompanied by gifts, regardless of whether the family is rich or poor. But our Mr. Pang was having some difficulty now, and he could be said to be so poor that he had nothing valuable on him.

  It's unthinkable for the new son-in-law to visit empty-handed, not just in this era, but also in the future. Pang Gang thought for half a day before finally remembering that he had something valuable on him - the large Damascus curved knife he was carrying.

  Then he took off the curved knife worn on his body and handed it to Kong Wen with both hands. This cheap old father-in-law said somewhat embarrassed: "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, now Xiao Yu has no long objects on his body, only this curved knife is what Xiao Yu has been wearing on his body all the time, now presenting it to Ruolan, I hope you two elders will not disdain."

  Kong Wen took the curved knife and pressed the mechanism, "swish" sound of the curved knife out of its sheath. Under the candlelight, a bright light immediately appeared, and the people beside him felt a chill. Kong Wen's family were all connoisseurs, and they couldn't help but praise in unison: "Good knife!"

  Kong Wen carefully examined it and then asked, "Son-in-law, isn't this a Persian scimitar of the Great Food People? Look at the two rubies and sapphires inlaid on the hilt. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's worth ten thousand gold pieces. Where did you get it from?"

  Pang Gang asked with some embarrassment: "Father-in-law, is this knife really that valuable?"

  Kong Wen nodded affirmatively: "Of course, I say it's worth ten thousand gold is an understatement. Just look at the two precious stones inlaid on it, they are extremely valuable. I've run the Treasure Gathering Hall for a lifetime, can't I tell? Look at the golden filigree craftsmanship on the blade, there's even the name of the swordsmith and ancient proverbs from the Classic of Orchids."

  "This style is clearly a treasure that only Persian kings and generals can use, and this Persian curve is made of Uzi steel through special craftsmanship, sharpened to be unmatched. I say it's worth ten thousand gold coins, which is not an exaggeration at all."

  Just as Kong Wen was speaking and praising, our comrade Pang Gang had already gone to heaven, "Damn it, if I knew this knife was so valuable, why bother working so hard? Why not just sell a hundred or eighty of them and get rich?"