31: Chapter 31 The whole town was in an uproar as the Gu family proposed marriage.

"Propose marriage?"

Liu Ruyan was stunned.

She even suspected that something was wrong with her ears.

She looked at the man outside the door, whose expression was calm and didn't seem to be joking, and her mind was in total chaos.

"What... did you say?"

"I said, I want to marry you." Gu Yan repeated, his tone still calm, yet carrying an unquestionable certainty.

Liu Ruyan fell silent.

For the first time, violent ripples stirred in her originally indifferent eyes.

There was shock, absurdity, confusion, and mixed in... a panic hidden in the deepest part of her heart that even she hadn't noticed.

Ever since her third husband died suddenly and mysteriously, she had become a plague god that everyone in Luoyun Town avoided.

The men in town looked at her either with naked desire or with disgust mixed with fear.

Behind her back, they would use the filthiest language to fantasize about her cursed body.

Yet not a single person dared to actually approach her.

Let alone... propose marriage?

To marry a "husband-killing" "jinx" home?

Unless they were crazy!

"Old Immortal Gu, have you... not fully recovered from your illness, and your brain is burnt to a crisp?" Liu Ruyan's tone returned to its usual sharpness, which was her only weapon to protect herself. "I kill my husbands! Do you know what it means to kill my husbands? A blacksmith, a peddler, a butcher! Three of them! Each died more miserably than the last! You are now the number one person in Luoyun Town, a living immortal revered by everyone. Why do you insist on coming into my gutter to get covered in bad luck instead of living a good life?"

"Are you not afraid... of ending up with the same fate as them?"

She stared fixedly into Gu Yan's eyes, trying to find even the slightest hint of wavering or fear within them.

However, she was disappointed.

Gu Yan's gaze remained as calm as water.

He just said calmly: "My fate is tough; I am not afraid of being cursed."

After saying this, he did not continue to pester Liu Ruyan, but turned around, leaving her with a meaningful back view.

"Miss Liu, my words are not a negotiation."

"Three days later, the Gu Family bridal sedan chair will arrive here on time."

"Prepare yourself well."

As his voice faded, his figure disappeared at the entrance of the lane.

Leaving only Liu Ruyan alone, standing blankly at the door, watching the direction he left, unable to recover for a long time.

...

The news that the Gu Family was going to propose to the "jinx widow" Liu Ruyan swept through the entire Luoyun Town like a hurricane within half an hour of Gu Yan returning to the mansion!

The first to explode was the inside of the Gu Family.

"Old Ancestor! This must not happen!"

Steward Gu Zhong was the first to kneel at the door of Gu Yan's study, tearfully remonstrating.

"Liu Ruyan is an ominous person! You are the pillar that our Gu Family has finally been waiting for, our backbone! If you... if you were to have any mishaps, our Gu Family... would really be finished!"

The servants in the mansion also gathered in the courtyard, whispering among themselves, their faces filled with worry and fear.

Even Shen Qingxue, who had always been obedient to Gu Yan, could not help but find her way to the study after hearing the news to tactfully express her worries.

"Father, Miss Liu's... reputation is indeed... are you... are you sure you want to reconsider?"

However, facing the overwhelming opposition and remonstrance.

Gu Yan's response was only one sentence.

"My mind is made up on this matter; no further discussion is needed."

With the unquestionable authority of the head of the family, he forcibly suppressed all voices of opposition.

Subsequently, he issued an order that left all the servants dumbfounded.

"Prepare generous gifts! Prepare the bridal sedan chair! Prepare the honor guard!"

"Tomorrow, beat the gongs and drums, go to Willow Leaf Lane, and present the betrothal gifts!"

[Host, well done! This is exactly the kind of domineering spirit that defies worldly conventions!]

In his mind, the System's voice was excitedly cheering for him.

[Go for it! For our great KPI! Take her down, and I must be on the list for this quarter's outstanding employee selection!]

Gu Yan ignored this drama-queen System.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

He wanted to use the most high-profile and flamboyant way to announce his decision to all of Luoyun Town.

He not only wanted to marry Liu Ruyan, but he also wanted to marry her in a grand and spectacular manner!

He wanted everyone to know that from now on, this woman despised by the world was under his, Gu Yan's, protection!

...

The next day, early morning.

A grand procession of dozens of people officially set off from the Gu Family mansion to propose marriage.

At the very front of the procession were four musicians, vigorously playing festive music.

Following closely behind were eight strong men carrying boxes of betrothal gifts covered with red silk.

Finally, there was Gu Yan, riding on a tall horse, dressed in brocade, with a calm expression.

As soon as this procession appeared on the main street, it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

The entire Luoyun Town was in an uproar!

"Heavens! It's true! The Gu Family... is really going to propose to the jinx!"

"Crazy! Old Immortal Gu must be crazy!"

"I heard that Liu Ruyan is a fox spirit reincarnated, the best at seducing men! Old Immortal Gu must have been bewitched by her evil arts!"

"Instead of living a good life, he insists on getting involved with an ominous person! I think the Gu Family is going to have terrible luck!"

"Heh, maybe this is just the Heavenly Dao's cycle of Reincarnation! He, Gu Yan, killed so many people a few days ago, his Evil Qi is too heavy, and look, retribution has arrived!"

All kinds of rumors, mixed with shock, confusion, ridicule, and schadenfreude, spread wantonly on both sides of the street.

Gu Yan turned a deaf ear to all of this.

His gaze remained calm, fixed on the road ahead.

The betrothal procession, beating gongs and drums all the way, passed through half the town and finally stopped at the entrance of the remote and desolate Willow Leaf Lane.

The lane was already crowded with townspeople who had come to watch the excitement.

They stood far away, pointing and whispering, but not one of them dared to actually approach the small courtyard that was considered a "taboo".

Gu Yan dismounted.

He ignored the onlookers' gazes as if they were watching a show and walked alone to the tightly closed courtyard gate.

He did not knock on the door.

Instead, he turned around, faced all the onlookers, and focused his Qi into his Dantian.

The next moment, a voice containing the thick True Qi of Qi Refining Stage 4 boomed from his mouth!

"I, the head of the Gu Family, Gu Yan!"

"Today, I formally present betrothal gifts to Miss Liu Ruyan of Willow Leaf Lane!"

"With full traditional rites, I shall marry her openly and properly!"

"Three days from now, on an auspicious day, I will personally lead the bridal sedan chair to welcome her as my Gu Family's... Third Lady!"

His voice, like a thunderclap, rolled out, not only clearly spreading through the entire Willow Leaf Lane but was even heard clearly by half of Luoyun Town!

All the noisy chatter stopped abruptly at this moment.

Everyone was left dumbstruck by his incredibly domineering declaration.

This... how is this a proposal?

This is clearly... announcing it to the world!

And behind the tightly closed courtyard gate.

Liu Ruyan leaned against the door panel and slowly slid down to the ground.

She listened to the man's unquestionable declaration outside the door that spread throughout the town, and listened to the crowd outside that had instantly fallen into dead silence.

She couldn't help but cover her mouth tightly with her hands.

A hot tear, the taste of which even she did not know, quietly slid down from her peach-blossom eyes that were always filled with indifference and guardedness.