Chapter 11: A Forced Match

“I’m not the one getting married. I’m matchmaking for that hunter in the mountains.” Qingfeng shook the gold in his hand. “That hunter once saved my life. He’s my benefactor. I’m here this time to repay that favor. By chance, I also ended up saving Lin Furong, and I think maybe she appeared just to help me fulfill this wish of repaying my debt.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“My benefactor, the hunter, has spent years hunting in the mountains and has never taken a wife. Lin Furong is of marrying age. If you and your wife are willing, I hope you can betroth Miss Lin to my benefactor.”

Uh…

The crowd started murmuring among themselves.

At that moment, Wang Laowai, who had been beaten to the ground by Lin’s father, suddenly jumped up. He pointed at the Lin couple and shouted, “Hey! Lin family, we agreed your daughter would marry me!”

Madam Lin glanced at Wang Laowai, then looked at the shiny gold. Without even thinking, she pushed Wang Laowai aside and snatched the gold ingot into her hand.

“Bah! Who agreed with you, Wang Laowai? It’s clear you just saw our Furong in trouble and started dreaming like a toad wanting to eat swan meat! Now you want to marry my daughter? Bring two gold ingots first. If you don’t have them, get lost!”

After saying that, she happily pulled Qingfeng over. “Matchmaker, we accept the betrothal gift you brought. Then it’s settled—the marriage is agreed. As for Furong, should we now…”

She was about to suggest whether they should bring Lin Furong back home and then choose an auspicious date to send her off with ceremony.

Qingfeng didn’t want to cause too much of a scene. Besides, he had taken the liberty to arrange a marriage for his master without telling him. His master didn’t even know about it yet.

Moreover, his master wouldn’t actually marry some rustic mountain girl. This was just a way to find someone to help with daily life and, at the same time, help Lin Furong out of her current situation.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

“You don’t need to bring her back. I asked Miss Lin yesterday. She’s willing, but she doesn’t want to return to this village. How about this—you pack up some of her clean clothes for me to take to her. I’ll try to talk with her. When the time is right, she’ll come back to visit and pay her respects.”

Knowing their daughter was safe, and having received a gold ingot for a bride price in front of all the villagers, the Lin couple felt proud and walked with straight backs.

They thanked the villagers for their help, then took Qingfeng home to pack Lin Furong’s clothes.

Not long after, Qingfeng left Yushou Village carrying a well-prepared bundle and returned to the mountains.

Wen Lan didn’t sleep well on her first night in Southern Zhou. On one hand, she was used to soft, comfortable beds and found it hard to sleep on the hay pile in the woodshed. On the other, although she had a general idea of what to do next, everything about the future was still uncertain. Would she be able to leave? What lay ahead?

So, when Qingfeng left the hunter’s house, Wen Lan had already woken up. But she didn’t rush to “get up.” Instead, she lay on the hay pile, listening for any sounds from the main house.

Soon, Xuan Yue also woke up. After washing up in the courtyard, he led Tie Jiangjun out the door.

Hearing movement, Wen Lan got up and squinted through the crack in the woodshed door, trying to figure out where the hunter was going that morning.

Everything had happened so suddenly last night. She hadn’t even figured out what the person who came back with the hunter did.

Could he be a human trafficker the hunter had brought in? Wen Lan had her suspicions. Although she was a young woman of the 21st century who had navigated elite training programs, she only knew a little self-defense. She’d sparred a few times with her cousin who was a SWAT officer, but she had never actually fought anyone for real.

“If I really meet a bad guy, I don’t even know if I could win,” Wen Lan thought as she grabbed a kitchen knife and held it in her hand.

Alone in the woodshed, she kept imagining the worst. Who knew how much time had passed when the hunter returned. Judging by the way he stretched his limbs, he had just finished his morning exercise outside.

Wen Lan looked at the hunter’s tall, lean, and strong figure, then glanced at the knife in her hand. She decided to believe he was a good person after all.

If he had meant her harm, he would’ve done it last night. Why wait until now?

Feeling more at ease, Wen Lan started to feel sleepy again. She went back to the hay pile, closed her eyes, and dozed off.

She didn’t know how long she’d been sleeping when a loud creak of the door startled her awake. She jerked upright like a fish flipping in water.

At the entrance of the woodshed, the man from yesterday was standing there, grinning sneakily at her while carrying a bundle on his back.