He Lan Tianxia

“Yes. I’m accusing you of harboring someone who forcibly took another man’s husband,” Hong Xiuying replied.

The magistrate's face darkened, and he was so angry that his chest ached: "Am I, a grown man, going to harbor another woman's husband? Besides, my son isn't even married yet, why would I be hiding another man in my house?"

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuying was delighted, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind: "Since your family has a son, that makes things much easier."

The magistrate had no idea what wicked scheme Hong Xiuying was plotting, but he quickly guessed what it was: "You wouldn't happen to want to marry my son, would you?"

In the magistrate's mind, his son was a refined and cultured man; wouldn't marrying such a boorish girl to him be a disgrace to his son? No way. Such an arrogant woman would ruin the family fortune; absolutely unacceptable. Just as the magistrate was utterly unwilling to consider it, Hong Xiuying spoke up.

"I've heard that the young master Wang, who's hiding in your yamen, has a woman by his side. But I don't like being a concubine. Since he's holding a martial arts contest to find a husband, he should marry me in a grand and honorable way. Perfect! I'll hold the contest and find a husband for young master Wang, and your young master can marry the woman by his side. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone, a win-win situation? Your Excellency, what do you think of this idea?"

The magistrate wiped the sweat from his brow, clutched his heaving chest, and angrily said, "How dare you! What kind of lousy idea is this?"

The couple is inseparable, so loving and affectionate. How could you insist on interfering? The problem is, they don't even look at you. You came here unilaterally, with drums and a wedding sedan chair—how shameless! The magistrate thought about it quietly. Even those two big shots inside weren't right. Since you two are already a couple, why bother with this martial arts contest to find a husband? It's truly a sin!

Hong Xiuying was displeased. She looked at the magistrate without any hesitation and said, "Then tell me, what should we do now?"

The magistrate thought to himself, "How would I know what to do? If I knew, would I be sitting here in this predicament?"

To assert his authority, the magistrate slammed his gavel again: "Since young Master Wang is unwilling to marry you, you cannot force him. As the saying goes, a forced marriage is not sweet, and a forced marriage is not fragrant. Why must you hang yourself on one tree?"

Hong Xiuying retorted, "I don't care. I didn't force him to participate in the martial arts contest to find a husband. Since the contest was held, the marriage must be arranged."

The magistrate suddenly asked, "I'm curious, how did Young Master Wang agree to your challenge during the martial arts contest?"

Hong Xiuying replied, "Young Master Wang didn't go on stage to compete, nor did he promise me anything, but he sent the woman next to him onto the stage."

The magistrate was furious: "What did you say? Young Master Wang didn't go on stage to compete? Then what kind of marriage are you looking for?"

Hong Xiuying: "That woman did the competition; she said she was competing for her son."

The magistrate chuckled. Judging from the young man's skills he'd witnessed a few days ago, even a hundred of you couldn't defeat him. And he wanted to find a wife?

Hong Xiuying retorted, "I don't care, I'm determined to marry into this family today."

The magistrate shook his head and thought to himself: They are really overestimating themselves.

The magistrate stated, "This dragging on won't solve the problem. Since you suspect those two are inside the yamen, allow me to go in and find them. How about we confront them face to face?"

The magistrate thought to himself, "I can't be bothered with this kind of thing that I can't handle. The best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee." So the magistrate lifted his leg and prepared to go inside and escape.

"Wait a minute." Hong Xiuying stepped forward to block his path. "What if you run away?"

The magistrate, enraged, shouted, "Insolence! This is my yamen! Where do I run to? Why should I run?"

Besides, even if I were to flee, I could escape, but I can't escape my temple. Who do you think you are? Those two big Buddhas inside are impossible to get rid of. I'm even thinking of packing my bags and retiring to my hometown now.

The magistrate took two more steps, with Hong Xiuying following closely behind.

The magistrate was displeased: "What? I urgently need to relieve myself, and you want to use the toilet with me?"

Hong Xiuying was taken aback, and finally felt embarrassed as a young woman, so she stopped. The magistrate seized the opportunity and fled inside.

Unexpectedly, Prince Murong and his wife pushed the county magistrate out again, along with the magistrate's son.

Upon seeing this, Hong Xiuying bowed to Prince Murong and said, "Hong Xiuying greets Young Master Prince."

"Young Master Wang?" Murong Junlan glanced at Yan'er beside him, guessing the origin of Young Master Wang's background.

The magistrate's son also bowed to Hong Xiuying: "Zhong Ziqi greets Miss Hong."

The magistrate's son was refined and courteous, and Hong Xiuying couldn't help but glance at him again. At that glance, Murong Junlan smiled.

After the magistrate returned to his seat, Murong Junlan spoke first: "My lord, congratulations!"

"What's the cause of this joy?" The county magistrate was completely baffled.

"Your son has taken a liking to Miss Hong," Murong Junlan said calmly.

"What?" The magistrate's mind went blank. Hong Xiuying was clearly beating the drum to find Prince Murong Junlan, so how did it get involved with his son? What kind of nonsense is this?

The magistrate slammed his gavel and said, "Absolutely impossible."

Such a reckless person, his son could never control him. Besides, he came to you, how did you manage to fool his son?

Murong Junlan ignored the magistrate and bowed to Hong Xiuying, saying, "This prince... this young master first apologizes to Miss Hong. My wife's impulsive decision to participate in the martial arts contest for a husband was truly inappropriate. I am devoted to my wife and will never marry another. It just so happens that Miss Hong is very much to the magistrate's son's liking. Today, I will make an exception and act as matchmaker to arrange your marriage. What does Miss Hong think?"

Miss Hong retorted angrily, "No way! Do you think I'm someone who does things casually? The person I admire is you. Since you've already engaged in a martial arts contest, then this marriage must be with me. It's settled."

Murong Junlan thought to himself, "Since she won't listen to reason, then she'll have to be punished." So he took a long stride, led Yan'er to sit down in the armchair, and sat down beside her, abandoning his previous politeness.

"Martial arts are beyond my capabilities, and a marriage with me is definitely out of the question. You'd better decide what to do, young lady."

"You?" Hong Xiuying was furious. She suddenly drew a short knife and held it to Murong Junlan's neck. "If you can't have the young master, then let's die together."

The magistrate broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing this. He thought to himself, "Miss Hong, you're courting death!"

Murong Junlan said unhurriedly, "Miss, Young Master Zhong is not bad either. He is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). If he passes the imperial examinations in the future, you will be far above him. There is another matter. If you agree to this matter, I promise to give you an unexpected and wonderful job that I guarantee you will be satisfied with. If you insist on going your own way, then I have misjudged you."