"What an outrageous atmosphere in Yunjing!"
Zhang Shi murmured to himself in his heart. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up!
Is it difficult because one can't afford the betrothal money?
Well, this was an easy problem for him!
Wasn't it just over two hundred taels of silver?
If he could figure out Lu Chaosheng's love story and win Lu Chaosheng over, what was this measly two hundred taels of silver?
Immediately, he said, "Alright, I'll give you the two hundred and eighty-eight taels of silver. And then, I'll also give you a generous wedding gift to congratulate you on your marriage. How about that?"
Zhang Shi thought that after this one - two punch, the clerk would surely kneel on the spot. However, to his surprise, the clerk shook his head.
"General Zhang Shi, the betrothal money is not all I want."
"Ah, no, I didn't come for the betrothal money. I just want to know if that female shopkeeper really loves me?"
"Is she worth me spending so much betrothal money to marry her home?"
This question was beyond Zhang Shi's knowledge. But now, he was determined to become a person who understood the situation and knew how to use troops even in Yunjing. So, no matter how difficult the question was, he had to grit his teeth and answer it.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Of course, she's not worth it."
"What normal woman would ask you for so much betrothal money? Isn't this clearly making things difficult for you?"
As soon as he said this, Zhang Shi himself was a bit surprised.
Did these words really come out of his mouth?
However, what surprised him even more was that he seemed to have found the logic and could continue, "You're a clerk under Lu Chaosheng's command and have a certain status. Yet, she still makes things so difficult for you."
"In my opinion, that woman is completely unworthy!"
"Alright, come and serve our Lord Duke. Then, I'll personally ask Lord Su Jin to introduce a good marriage for you."
"Lord Su Jin has rich experience and has seen all kinds of strange people. With her discerning eyes to help you, she'll surely find you a match that will satisfy you greatly!"
After saying this, Zhang Shi's heart was filled with excitement. He found that something he had always feared seemed to come naturally at this moment.
It just flowed out of his heart smoothly without any hindrance, filling him with a sense of accomplishment and boosting his confidence.
However, the clerk shook his head again and said, "General Zhang Shi, my hometown is Tiemen Pass. Now that Tiemen Pass is in your hands, I'm already one of Lord Duke's men."
"But..."
"I've fallen head - over - heels in love with that female shopkeeper at first sight. I just want to marry her. So... I just want to know if she's worth it?"
"Did she ask for so much betrothal money because that's the norm in Yunjing? Or did she deliberately ask for so much?"
Zhang Shi's sense of accomplishment was instantly shattered, and his anger flared up. He subconsciously wanted to draw the sword at his waist and put it on the clerk's shoulder.
He wanted to ask, "Why are you so troublesome? Do you really think I'm so idle? I'm asking you something, and you just keep blabbering on and on!"
However, when the thought came up, he managed to restrain himself.
In order to be able to say "husband" like Wang Ming in the future, he had to overcome this mental hurdle today.
But Zhang Shi didn't have a good solution at the moment, and he also needed to sort out the relationships involved.
Just as he was about to ask the clerk to wait a moment while he went to discuss and then come back, a voice came from the side.
"This matter is easy!"
Lu Shuang stepped forward and slowly said, "All you want is to test the woman's sincerity. Such a trivial matter can be easily accomplished."
Zhang Shi was overjoyed and looked at Lu Shuang with admiration.
The clerk was also overjoyed and excitedly said, "Please teach me, miss!"
Only then did Lu Shuang slowly say, "Later, you go straight back to that female shopkeeper and tell her that you're willing to pay any amount of betrothal money..."
Lu Shuang explained the plan one by one, and Zhang Shi beside her was stunned.
Damn it, it can be done like this?
The clerk was also stunned.
Damn it, so it can be done like this!
"How about it?"
Lu Shuang said, "Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The clerk said overjoyed, "Thank you, miss, for your advice. I'll go to the female shopkeeper right away and give it a try. Whether it works or not, the result will be clear in an hour!"
"Then go."
Lu Shuang made the decision on behalf of Zhang Shi.
The clerk was in a hurry and didn't stay at all. He turned around and walked away quickly.
This made Lu Shuang breathe a sigh of relief. If everything went smoothly, in at most an hour, they could learn a lot about Lu Chaosheng from this clerk and fulfill General Zhang Shi's wish.
- To be honest, as someone under General Zhang Shi's command, she was also quite dissatisfied.
Why did all the credit go to Wang Ming?
What was wrong with their General Zhang Shi?
He was so hard - working and brave!
He dared to rush forward in everything!
He never complained even in such harsh conditions when out - flanking the enemy. His mind was full of the desire to establish great achievements.
Such a great general, why did he always lose to Wang Ming in Yunjing?
She must do her best to help General Zhang Shi turn the tables.
When she turned her head, she found that Zhang Shi was still in a daze.
Obviously, the constructive suggestion she had just put forward had a great impact on Zhang Shi's perception.
She quickly said, "General Zhang Shi, stop being in a daze!"
"Quickly send someone to watch over the clerk to prevent any accidents."
Only then did Zhang Shi come to his senses and immediately said, "Oh, oh, oh, yes, yes, yes. You're right. We have to send someone to watch..."
"No, there's no need to send someone. I'll go myself right here in Tiemen Pass!"
Zhang Shi was as swift as lightning and strode out.
...
In a private room of a teahouse.
The clerk invited the female shopkeeper to sit down. Before the tea was served, the fairly good - looking female shopkeeper couldn't wait to say, "These two days, I discussed it with my family."
"My mother said that a girl as naturally beautiful as me is rare in the world. It's a blessing you've accumulated in eight lifetimes to marry me. It's like your family's ancestral grave is smoking."
"So..."
"The two hundred and eighty - eight taels of betrothal money is not enough!"
"My mother said that you should at least give three hundred and eighty - eight taels of silver."
In the past, when the female shopkeeper said such things, the clerk would always be extremely nervous. But this time, the clerk was unusually calm.
He was leisurely looking out of the window while saying indifferently, "Okay."
"Okay?"
Now it was the female shopkeeper's turn to be stunned.
So straightforward?
"Yes, okay!"
The female shopkeeper didn't know why the clerk's attitude had suddenly changed 180 degrees. But since he had agreed, she must press on, "Besides the three hundred and eighty - eight taels of betrothal money, you also have to prepare a brand - new mansion for me in Tiemen Pass."
"No problem!"
The clerk readily agreed again.
Now the female shopkeeper was even more confused.
Had the stingy man turned into a generous one?
...
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
