Chapter 25: Zhong Yuan Takes a Wife

  First! I want to sue the game ads on the internet! Unintentionally clicked on it, found it very interesting! So I forgot myself and played for a while, looked at the time! Nine o'clock already! Finished. Missed the update.

  Then! I found a strange problem, the click-through rate and red ticket rate of my book are not in direct proportion! Others have hundreds of clicks and can get hundreds of red tickets, while my 3000+ clicks... Don't say it anymore... Pitiful... Your Honor, don't be stingy with your red tickets! Red tickets are free!

  Finally! To clarify, this book is a historical fiction, and I don't focus too much on the relationships between historical figures, but rather on character descriptions. Some people have suggested that I should improve, but I will still prioritize character descriptions.

  The above does not count as part of the word count!

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  Before long, Zhong Yuan ran back, changed into a close-fitting shirt, and had an additional seven-foot snake spear in his hand. According to Yun Qi's observation, this snake spear was made of pure steel throughout, weighing at least sixty or seventy kilograms. Seeing Zhong Yuan jogging over with stable breathing, even Yun Qi couldn't help but ask himself if he could do the same.

  The village head's courtyard was large enough, and at this moment, Zhong Yuan held a weapon in his hand, standing in the courtyard waiting for the prince's instructions.

  "Good. Good. Good. It seems that this trip was not in vain, indeed a general's demeanor. How heavy is this weapon of yours?" The prince asked.

  Zhong Yuan was now full of vigor and spirit, his eyes fixed intently ahead, all previous tension gone. He raised the snake spear in his hand and said: "Tell His Highness! The commoner's weapon is an heirloom, named the Eighty-six Catty Snake Spear!"

  "Cheers!" The people around heard the weight and suddenly exclaimed, especially Yang Wenguang. This kid's eyes were wide open like eggs, and there was an excited light in his eyes. If it wasn't for Yang Wenxin holding him back, he would have rushed over to pay homage by now.

  The prince said, "Indeed, he is the descendant of a famous general. In those years, General Zhong was a great general of the previous dynasty, but my father had always said that General Zhong was an invincible and fierce general of his time. With a single spear, he could charge into the enemy's camp and no one could withstand him for even two rounds. Taking the head of the enemy commander was as easy as taking something from his pocket. Even my father admired him deeply. Today, I am fortunate to see General Zhong's descendant, and I believe you will not disappoint me, Zhong Yuan!"

  "The common people are here!"

  "What book is it that you've taken out?"

  "Agreed!"

  The crowd gave Zhong Yuan a large enough space, and he stepped forward with his spear, "Clang!" The long spear was inserted into the ground half a foot. Zhong Yuan stood his spear beside him, freed up both hands to tie his wrist guards, took a deep breath.

  Only a loud shout was heard: "Go!" With a kick of his right foot, the long spear was thrown into the air, and Zhong Yuan caught it in mid-air. He took a step forward and made a swift thrust with the spear. Then, he made a strange turn in the air, making three consecutive stabs at the empty space. If someone were standing opposite him, these three moves would have aimed at their throat, heart, and knee respectively. The snake-headed spear danced like a dragon emerging from water, generating a powerful gust of wind. The surrounding air seemed to be affected, and a loud whooshing sound could be heard. Everyone around was stunned, including Yun Qi. He had never seen anyone with such great strength and agility before. Unless it was an empty-handed fight, Yun Qi was confident that he could put Zhong Yuan down after a few moves. But if they were to engage in a weapon-based battle, he feared that he wouldn't be able to last twenty moves against him.

  Zhong Yuan's long spear moved faster and faster, gradually everyone only saw his body completely hidden in the midst of it, with the shadows of divine soldiers everywhere! Yang Wenguan swallowed hard at this time, he used to admire his big brother, later he began to admire Yun Qi, now... everything is fleeting, only Zhong Yuan in front of him is the object of his true admiration.

  Only to see Zhong Yuanshun pace forward, gradually moving in front of a stone mill weighing at least three or four hundred catties. Suddenly, he let out a loud shout: "Halt!" With both hands grasping the long spear vertically, he jumped high and then heavily smashed down like a human tank.

  "Boom!" The stone mill split in half from the middle, and when they looked at the cut, it was also very neat, showing how great Zhong Yuan's strength was.

  "Wow!" "Great, great! As expected of the famous general's descendant, I've opened my eyes today." The prince's tone was excited, he too had never seen such a powerful and unbeatable spear technique before.

  "Thank you for the compliment!" At this time, Zhong Yuan was slightly panting, his robust chest muscles still heaving with power, and the sweat on his ancient bronze-colored skin made him look even more heroic.

  "Go! I'll go propose on your behalf!"

  ……

  The prince was surrounded by guards, and several people followed Zhong Yuan to the home of the girl he liked. Along the way, Yun Qi just felt amused, the prince had an air of indifference, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, while the twenty strong men dressed as guards around him were on high alert, as if a great enemy was approaching. Whenever there was a rustling in the wind, it was these guards who panicked first, making everyone's head ache. This was in Suo Shi Village, and all the people around were villagers from their own village. If there were assassins, they would have struck earlier on the road, why wait until now?

  However, this momentum also frightened some villagers, and most of them crouched at home without going out, only watching from the window. On the contrary, a group of curious children gathered together, chattering and laughing.

  The houses they passed were all old, dilapidated wooden huts, some of which had been clearly ravaged by termites, with thick layers of straw piled on top. Standing outside the window, one could see almost all the furniture and facilities inside at a glance. The road was also a muddy path, with some stones casually laid out. Yun Qi had never seen such a poor place before, and the village to the west was a vast expanse of rice fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. In the early spring season, the rice shoots were not high, but they had already turned green, showing signs of vitality. Seeing this scene, Yun Qi couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, thinking back to when he used to carry out missions in some border areas or mountainous regions, where similar scenes could be seen. No matter how developed the world was, there were always some scenes that didn't fit in, telling people about backwardness, poverty, and rare tranquility.

  Before long, the crowd arrived in front of a dilapidated wooden hut, a simple courtyard surrounded by a fence, with several equally weak chickens scattered about. A yellow dog lay on the ground, listlessly lifting its head only when people entered, its eyes gleaming with vigilance. Perhaps recognizing Zhong Yuan, who led the group, the yellow dog merely looked at them for a few moments, let out a low whine, and then lay back down, hanging its head.

  A noise was heard outside the courtyard, and the old door creaked as it was pushed open from the inside. A middle-aged woman, who must have been quite attractive in her youth, walked out. Seeing that the visitor was Zhong Yuan, she looked at the people behind him and hurriedly knelt down to pay her respects: "The commoner's wife has seen the Crown Prince." It turned out that the woman had also caught a glimpse of the Crown Prince when he arrived at the village entrance earlier, so she naturally recognized him as well as the Yang siblings.

  "You're welcome!" The prince replied.

  Although the woman was surprised that Zhongyuan would bring the crown prince to her home, she also had ancestors who followed the army and understood some etiquette.

  Zhong Yuan saw the woman come out, took a glance at the prince, and after getting the prince's tacit consent, he plucked up his courage and said: "Aunt Li, p-please... may I ask if Gui Hua is in?" While speaking, he also glanced through the woman with his spare vision, looking inward with a tense expression.

  The woman, upon hearing that Zhong Yuan had come to find her daughter, knew what was going on and a surge of anger rose up in her heart. However, in front of the Crown Prince and the others, she couldn't lose her temper, so she dryly said: "She's inside, doing needlework!" After finishing speaking, she turned towards the Crown Prince, bowed her head respectfully and asked: "Your Highness! Please follow me to sit in the house, I hope Your Highness won't despise my humble home."

  Yun Qi stood to one side, listening and watching everything, thinking to herself: This woman is quite perceptive, not like the average poor household's wife. Seeing that the prince and others had already entered the house, she also followed them in.

  After everyone sat down, the woman's family didn't even have tea leaves, so they had to use a large bowl to pour some warm water to entertain. The prince didn't mind, but the bowl of water in front of him was like an ornament. Yang and his sister were used to eating jade food and wearing brocade clothes since childhood, and they might not feel thirsty, so they didn't touch the water in front of them. Zhongyuan was nervous and sat there, not knowing what to do. Yunqi was thirsty, and from getting up in the morning until now, he hadn't drunk any water. He had a lot of experience and wasn't particular about it. When he took over the bowl, he said "thank you" softly and drank it all at once. After drinking, he directly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, feeling that he still hadn't drunk enough. Politely, he handed the bowl back and said: "Trouble Auntie to fill me another bowl, I've walked a lot on the road and I'm still a bit thirsty."

  The woman didn't mind serving Cloud Seven with just water, and she was very polite. Suddenly, her impression of Cloud Seven greatly improved, and she smiled and responded with a "heh heh". She took the bowl and refilled it again. After Cloud Seven had drunk three large bowls in a row, he wiped his mouth and let out a satisfied belch.

  Then, the prince stepped forward and expressed his intentions to the woman. Before she could even react, he also mentioned the benefits. After finishing speaking, he looked at the woman, waiting for her reaction.

  As a special forces veteran, Yun Qi heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from inside the room when the prince was speaking, and they gradually got closer until they stopped right next to the door. The others didn't notice anything unusual, but Yun Qi suspected that it might be Gui Hua, whom Zhong Yuan had mentioned earlier.

  The woman initially looked embarrassed, but as she gradually heard the conditions set by the prince, especially when he added another condition after seeing the broken house, which was to build a new house and merge the two families together, so that they could take care of each other in the future. Upon hearing this, the woman's eyes showed a hint of a smile, seemingly quite satisfied. After listening further, she heard that Zhongyuan would soon be entering the imperial court as a general, at which point the woman directly interrupted the prince and said excitedly: "Everything will be decided by Your Highness!"

  "So you're agreeing?" The prince asked.

  "Ah! Alright! Don't laugh at me, Your Highness. We poor people have been living a life of poverty all our lives. It's exhausting and frustrating. All we hope for is that our daughter can find a good family to marry into, so she won't have to suffer like I do. Actually, Zhongyuan is a good kid, filial and obedient... But as a mother, I always hope my child will live better than me... Ah..." The woman's eyes welled up with tears at this point.

  Everyone fell silent...

  At this time, the door of the house suddenly opened, and a girl with a delicate face, long and white skin, and a seven-part resemblance to a woman ran out. Her eyes were already filled with tears, her eyes were red and swollen, and she rushed into the woman's arms, crying loudly, and shouted: "Mother! Daughter wants to serve you forever, daughter won't get married!"

  The woman heard this and instead laughed, with tears in her eyes saying: "Foolish girl, you say you won't marry, but now that the prince has come to preside over the wedding, how can it be up to you?"

  The girl listened and, regardless of the crowd present, coquettishly said: "I won't marry! I won't marry! A daughter only wants to be by her mother's side!"

  The woman said: "Really won't marry? Alright then, mother will drive the young master of the Zhong family away. From now on, you two are not allowed to see each other again."

  "Mother!" The girl was no longer calm when she heard the woman say that Zhong Yuan would be driven away, and yet still allow the two to meet again. She suddenly lifted her head and called out in a bashful tone.

  "Hehe! As a mother, can't you understand what's in your daughter's heart? Don't worry, I'm just teasing you. Besides, the prince has already arranged the marriage, and I wouldn't dare go against it! Alright, go clean up, look at you, you've cried so much that you're all puffy like a flower cat. Later on, if the young master of the Zhong family finds you ugly, he won't want you!"

  "No way!" Zhong Yuan hastily shook his head and said.

  "How dare he!" The mother and daughter exclaimed in unison, then exchanged a knowing smile.

  Witnessing this scene was also a perfect ending, and everyone else couldn't help but smile at the three of them. The most excited ones were Zhong Yuan and the Crown Prince - one had just gotten married, while the other had gained a talented general. As for Yun Qi, he ended up being the unlucky one, with only one cigarette left. Under the Crown Prince's mischievous gaze, he could only offer it to him.

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