Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 164 She Will Walk with Us

Chapter 164: Chapter 164 She Will Walk with Us

"Bang——"

Shi Zhou slammed the martial arts contest notice on the table in front of Shi Fuyou, causing most of the soup on the table to spill.

The maids nearby turned pale, and even the usually calm strategist Gu Ruhai couldn’t help but frown.

"What is this about?" Shi Zhou asked with a cold face, almost grinding her teeth.

If she hadn’t come down the mountain today, she probably would still be in the dark.

Shi Fuyou accepted a handkerchief from a maid, wiped his hands unhurriedly, and then sighed, "Look at your temper, I truly spoiled you over these years."

"You are already of age to marry, and you should take this matter of marriage seriously. But tell me, with your foul temper, who would want to marry you? Your father is so worried that I’m going gray, so I came up with this idea to find a son-in-law to come to us, so you wouldn’t have to suffer or struggle."

"I won’t marry or settle down!" Shi Zhou turned her head towards the door, showing her refusal with her whole body.

Moreover, she already had someone in her heart and would not agree to any martial arts contests for marriage.

"Nonsense!" Shi Fuyou choked on her words, smacking the table in anger, but his strike was much stronger, leaving a noticeable crack on the fine rosewood table.

Zhou Ruhai rubbed his temples as he watched the father and daughter confront each other, dismissed the maids with a wave of his hand, then walked over to Shi Zhou and whispered persuasively, "The village chief is doing this for your own good. This martial arts contest is a competition, after all. You always enjoy watching others compete, don’t you? Why not just go and watch, and if you see someone you like, then consider it."

"What if I don’t fancy any of them?" Shi Zhou glared at him, a bit defiantly.

"Then I naturally won’t force you to marry," Shi Fuyou picked up the conversation and sighed deeply again, "These years, my health has deteriorated significantly. In the future, this village will definitely pass into your hands. This martial arts contest is also to find someone strong in martial arts who can support and assist you."

Shi Zhou was always fearless, and as a child, she was mischievous and would take any punishment from Shi Fuyou without a murmur, no matter how harsh.

But she had one weakness; she hated it when others showed their vulnerability, making her seem unreasonable.

So, she could only reply in a muffled voice, "I understand.

This matter also reached the ears of Qi Yu and the other two; Shen Xiheng sat silently for a while after hearing it.

Watching his usually playful friend becoming gloomy, Qi Yu couldn’t help but smile and said, "Aren’t you skilled in martial arts? Why not try entering the contest?"

"Where do I know any martial arts?" Shen Xiheng said irritably, frowning.

Realizing something was amiss, he looked at Qi Yu and seriously replied, "I have no intentions towards Miss Shi, so why should I participate?"

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow but didn’t expose him.

No intentions, yet he desperately took that blow for someone.

He probably hasn’t realized his own feelings yet.

Shen Xiheng couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart; it was somewhat stuffy and somewhat bitter.

Seeing him like this, Qi Yu didn’t tease him further. He and Li Mingjue got up, deciding to go to the back mountain to enjoy the scenery instead.

Upon arriving at the back mountain, they happened upon Shi Zhou practicing with her sword. Qi Yu silently watched for a while and then tugged at Li Mingjue’s sleeve, whispering, "How is Miss Shi’s skill?"

Being a layperson, she couldn’t discern much, but seeing Shi Zhou’s moves, all in the style of a Jianghu cavalier, she grew curious.

Li Mingjue watched for a moment and replied, "Not bad."

Seeing Qi Yu’s eyes light up and nod her head, he added, "But far inferior to this Prince."

Qi Yu laughed, looking at him and blinking, "Our Prince is unparalleled in the world, incomparable to ordinary people, right?"

While they were talking, Shi Zhou had stopped her practice, sheathed her sword, and slowly walked toward them.

"Has Miss Shi been practicing martial arts since childhood?" Qi Yu asked with evident admiration in her eyes.

Shi Zhou felt the heat from her bright gaze, slightly turned her head, and replied, "Yes."

Qi Yu asked a few more questions, to which Shi Zhou responded briefly.

She seemed somewhat distracted.

Qi Yu noticed it right away and knew what she was thinking, so she didn’t stop her.

After the other person left, Qi Yu touched her chin and sighed, "Miss Shi is quite a decent person indeed."

Li Mingjue glanced at her nonchalantly, "What makes you say so?"

He had nothing against Shi Zhou, but he felt that Qi Yu was paying too much attention to her recently, which somewhat upset him; he was just nitpicking.

Qi Yu was used to his pettiness and wasn’t surprised. She smiled and said, "She has integrity, treats others with neither subservience nor arrogance, and doesn’t easily compromise, which is very rare."

Li Mingjue didn’t say anything but heard Qi Yu say, "I think, in a few days, she will join us."

"Because of Shen Xiheng?" Li Mingjue scoffed lightly.

Although he couldn’t see what Shen Xiheng had that made Zhou such a devotee of his, he was after all his good friend and deserved some face.

He just wondered if Zhou would feel she had misjudged him if she saw Shen Xiheng’s true colors.

What a charming young gentleman, all fake.

On the day of the martial arts contest, after noon, as the stage was set up, the villagers gathered in droves at the grain drying ground on the back mountain to watch the spectacle.

Qi Yu dragged Li Mingjue into the excitement, while Shiqi and two others hid in the shadows, tasked with protecting them.

Shen Xiheng initially didn’t want to come but was dragged down the mountain by Qi Yu, "Get some sun; you’re almost getting moldy."

Shen Xiheng involuntarily wanted to retort, but he just moved his lips and said nothing.

As he looked at the crowd packed like sardines, his mood grew heavier.

Inside the carriage, Zhou somewhat irritably tugged at the hairpin on her head, which felt uncomfortably prickly.

The maid beside her watched her action with a fearful heart, afraid that she might dishevel the hairdo that had been styled with great difficulty.

Zhou had practiced martial arts since childhood and dressed like a man, which was both comfortable and worry-free, making fighting much easier.

But today, wrapped in layers of thin gauze, she felt uncomfortable all over and was already regretting agreeing to this.

At the grain drying ground, Zhou was assisted out of the carriage by two maids. If it weren’t for Shi Fuyou watching her closely, she might have already mounted a horse and fled.

Zhou followed behind Shi Fuyou, her face covered with a layer of white gauze that hid the lower half, but her eyes were bright, keenly observing everything around her.

Qi Yu and her party sat on the other side and could only see a delicately frail woman slowly ascend the platform, a peach blossom adorned on her forehead. Sitting upright, she exuded an elegance of an unparalleled beauty.

Shen Xiheng caught a glimpse of that graceful figure and paused for a moment.

Most people had come for the spectacle; some were also covetous of the Shi Family’s property. However, after seeing Zhou, more and more people became eager to try their skills on the stage.

Not to mention anything else, just getting a few more glances from a beautiful woman was worth it.

Shi Fuyou stood up, full of presence, and announced, "Thank you to all the villagers for your support; today’s martial arts contest for marriage formally begins."

Zhou Ruhai stood by the stage, announcing names, and then the competing pairs began their matches on stage.

The local martial artists were few, and their techniques lacked sophistication, mostly relying on brute force to win.

Zhou watched with little interest as the group below performed their Three-legged Cat Skills. Without even needing to take the stage herself, those people could trip over each other, which was truly dull.

Bored and yawning, the first round of the contest finally ended.

According to the rules, ten men who won in the first round would continue to fight until only one winner was left to compete against Zhou.

But Zhou was really bored, so she stood and shouted to Zhou Ruhai, "Uncle, let these ten men compete against me. If they can withstand three moves against me, they win. How about that?"