201: Chapter 201 Marrying into the Family

"Catching a son-in-law under the list," as the name implies.

It refers to the practice where, after the list of successful imperial examination candidates is posted, young ladies from wealthy merchant or official families browse in front of it.

They usually rest in side rooms during the examination process, taking pleasure in observing the young talents taking the test.

The imperial examination process is generally completely enclosed; candidates eat and drink in the same room.

They are only released once the exam concludes.

And at that moment, just as they step out of the doorway, the sound of silver-bell-like laughter reaches their ears.

The ladies seek amusement, covering their faces with round fans while whispering and chatting among themselves.

They discuss which man is handsome and which one appears talented.

It is just like during the military training at the start of a modern university, where they sit in groups of three or five.

Then they gossip, "Oh! That man is quite handsome."

"Hehehe, what kind of taste do you have? Clearly, that man over there looks better."

"You guys are all so lame; you shouldn't look for a partner in your own class..."

It is pretty much the same as that.

But Chen Yunxuan did not even participate in the examination, so how could he have caught the eye of the Second Miss of the Su family?

It was impossible for his name to be on the list.

Before Chen Mo could react, his father immediately kowtowed three times.

With a beaming smile, he said, "Oh my! Oh my! Thank you, kind sir."

"My Chen Yunxuan must have accumulated blessings in his previous life to be able to make the gold list and marry into the Su Family."

"I... I have no way to repay you, let me kowtow to you once more."

Just as his father was about to kowtow, Chen Mo caught him with his palm.

"Father, there is no need to kowtow; I never agreed to marry into the family."

"You ungrateful wretch! The Jiangnan Su Family is one of the top ten wealthiest families in the country. This is a blessing from your previous life; are you really unwilling to be their son-in-law?"

Chen Mo wanted to retort.

Being a son-in-law might be comfortable, with good food and drink provided, but how is that any different from a host in the island country?

Isn't it just being kept as a mascot? It could even be said to be a pet for the young lady to use for pleasure and indulgence.

A man should have grand ambitions. Once he marries into a family, even if he becomes an official, it is merely a nominal position with no real power.

[Main storyline updated: Please complete the marriage.]

Seeing the prompt before him, Chen Mo said nothing more.

Fine! Let's get married!

He hadn't expected the plot to jump straight to a wedding, and one where a grown man has to sit in a bridal sedan chair, no less.

Just imagining that scene gave Chen Mo a strong sense of humiliation.

Chen Mo had originally assumed it would be the next day, with big red lanterns hung high and colorful flags fluttering to welcome the wedding procession.

To his surprise, in the dead of night, the sound of a suona drifted from outside his dilapidated hut.

The sound was lively and resonant.

There was also a moving red dragon approaching the door.

Chen Mo rubbed his eyes and got up.

He saw that what looked like a swinging dragon tail from a distance was actually a wedding procession piecing together the shape with lanterns.

The procession was very long, spanning dozens of meters.

Everyone was dressed in gorgeous silk, holding red lanterns and colorful banners.

The bridal sedan in the center was carved with extravagant grandeur.

The wood was hard with a beautiful grain, and it emitted a unique fragrance.

From the luster and the scent, Chen Mo knew at a sniff that it was Golden Phoebe wood!

When the sedan arrived at his doorstep, Chen Mo clearly saw the patterns carved onto it, including: "Dragons and Phoenixes bringing prosperity, Qilin delivering children, opera characters, and more."

The sedan curtains were made of red silk and satin, with strings of red tassels encircling them.

"Hiss..." A wedding procession in the middle of the night?

Chen Mo hurriedly hid on the stone bed.

On the surface, the wedding procession looked very festive, but in reality, it made Chen Mo feel a deep, chilling cold, as if the entire procession were a group of ghosts in disguise.

"Damn it! This isn't a ghost marriage, is it? The Eldest Miss Su is already dead, and now a bunch of lunatics are tying me up."

"Are they going to throw me into a fire and burn me? Or bury me alive so that I can be with my Ghost Bride forever?"

This is a fear hidden deep in the genes of Chinese people; seeing an eerie "Fu" character in the middle of the night, or opening a shoe cabinet to suddenly find a pair of embroidered shoes, is enough to make anyone's blood run cold.

"Is this the residence of the scholar Chen?" A sharp, shrill voice, reminiscent of a eunuch, suddenly came from outside.

Hearing this, his father, who had been snoring loudly, immediately woke up.

He draped a tattered quilt over himself and pushed the door open.

Standing at the door were two graceful, luxuriously dressed women with thick rouge and powder on their faces.

But just looking at their silhouettes, they were plump and curvaceous, and their voices were sweet, which truly made his father so shy that he could barely string a coherent sentence together.

Chen Mo hid behind the window frame, looking at the two women standing at the door through the moonlight.

He didn't know if he was seeing things, but why did it feel like they looked flat from the side?

Or rather... as thin as paper.

The two women's faces were deathly pale, just like the faces of corpses in a morgue.

The only hint of color came from the red rouge they had applied.

But whenever they turned to look toward Chen Mo's side, they seemed like normal people again.

His father was in the shade and could only see that the women were beautiful, failing to notice anything unusual.

"I am the Second Aunt of Miss Su."

"I am the Aunt of Miss Su." The two women introduced themselves.

"I apologize for the trouble of you coming all the way from Jiangnan. You must be tired after traveling for a day."

"Not tired, not tired at all! These are the betrothal gifts from our Su Family to you. Xiao Lizi! —"

"Yes! Yes! Coming!"

A young man dressed in simple cloth clothes, accompanied by a group of attendants, carried a large pile of bamboo baskets into Chen Mo's home.

His father's eyes went wide!

"My goodness, is this... silver?"

Looking at the glistening silver ingots in the bamboo baskets, piled so high that they were pressing against each other, his father was so excited he could barely breathe.

There were also baskets of pastries, tea, and all kinds of silk and satin.

His father's tongue was tied in knots.

He looked at Chen Mo, thinking that having a handsome son was truly useful.

This one deal was worth more than hundreds of years of his farming.

Chen Mo curled his lip.

He couldn't use any items right now; the mission prompt said they could only be used once he reached the Su Family.

Otherwise, Chen Mo would have wanted to see exactly what these creatures were right then and there.

"Alright! Hurry up and let us see the son-in-law! Son-in-law!"

"Son-in-law!" Various teasing shouts erupted from outside.

"You little brat, the Su Family has come to pick you up, yet you're still hiding here? Hurry up and get changed!"

He received a punch from his father for no apparent reason.

However, Chen Mo complied, went to the stone bed, and put on the wedding attire prepared by the Su Family.

Changing into a bright red crimson gauze robe, Chen Mo shook his sleeves.

He wore a scholar's cap on his head and black leather boots on his feet.

It was magnificent and grand.

Then, with one hand behind his back, he swaggered straight out.

"Oh my! He really is a handsome young man!"

The eyes of the surrounding women lit up, and some couldn't help but swallow their saliva.