“Madam Thompson, if the bride price is set so high, I’m afraid The Brooks Family won’t agree.”

　　Granny Wood said worriedly.

　　A ruthless look flashed across Madam Thompson’s face. “I have my reasons.”

　　“What do you mean?”

　　“Granny Wood, when it comes to matchmaking, you’ve always been in charge here in Jing County. All you need to do is spread the word that Sanlang Brooks is ill—what family would dare marry their daughter to him…”

　　Her voice dropped, becoming barely audible.

　　Granny Wood nodded repeatedly as she listened.

　　After speaking, Madam Thompson took out a red envelope. “I won’t let you work for nothing.”

　　Granny Wood squeezed and weighed the envelope—it was quite hefty. A smile spread across her face.

　　Madam Thompson continued, “After a few days, go to The Brooks Family again and tell Madam Brooks that the bride price can be lowered to three hundred strings. See if she’ll agree.”

　　Granny Wood was overjoyed. “Madam Thompson, what a brilliant plan.”

　　One push, one pull—just what people want. It seems The Thompson Family knows full well that a bride price of five hundred strings is absurd and bound to fail, so their real goal is three hundred.

　　Three hundred taels of bright silver—many families couldn’t save that much in a lifetime, but The Thompson Family only needs to marry off a daughter to get it.

　　Impressive.

　　The next day, a rumor swept through Jing County like the wind: it turns out Sanlang Brooks is suffering from a terrible illness, which is why he’s so thin and weak, and why he needs to drink ginseng soup every day to recover… It’s said that The Brooks Family wants to get him married to ward off bad luck—how inauspicious.

　　Hearing these rumors, Madam Brooks was both angry and helpless. Whenever she approached a matchmaker about a proposal, as soon as they heard the groom was Sanlang Brooks, they immediately shook their heads and waved her away.

　　“If this goes on, it really will be impossible for Yuan’er to find a wife. What should I do?”

　　Gossip is a fearful thing; public opinion can kill.

　　In her anxiety, Madam Brooks became haggard, as if she had aged several years overnight.

Chapter Four: A Girl at the Martial Arts School, A Line of Poetry

　　The spring sun was warm, the spring waters rippled, and the spring breeze swept across the land, coaxing green shoots from the earth. It was truly a wonderful time.

　　But Sanlang Brooks was in no mood to enjoy it.

　　Those malicious rumors had reached his ears. Although he had no intention of marrying and didn’t care much, seeing his mother weep in secret filled him with indignation.

　　Once rumors spread, they’re like dirty water spilled on the ground—impossible to clean up. So Sanlang Brooks said nothing in his own defense, quietly going about what he ought to do.

　　Early in the morning, he went to the martial arts school to practice horse stance.

　　No one knew how skilled the head instructor, Nancy Foster, truly was, but her horse stance training was solid and well-structured. At the very least, after practicing for several days, Sanlang Brooks found that the initial soreness and fatigue gradually gave way to steadiness and clarity.

　　According to Instructor Foster, there are two main purposes for practicing horse stance: first, to train leg strength; second, to cultivate internal energy.

　　As for “internal energy,” Sanlang Brooks didn’t dare think about it, but his leg strength had definitely improved. He had been weak from nourishing his sword with blood every day, and used to walk as if treading on cotton. But after sticking with horse stance, the problem of one foot being light and the other heavy had clearly improved.

　　Since it worked, he was determined to persevere.

　　“Well, well, isn’t this Sanlang? Up early and already practicing—truly admirable.”

　　“What’s the use of coming early? No matter how much he practices, that scrawny body will never make it to the bridal chamber!”

　　With these sarcastic remarks, two people entered the martial arts school.

　　Guitang Carter and Jintai Mason were two rich young men from Jing County. They were idle and dissolute, fond of drinking and pleasure, and especially liked flirting with pretty girls on the street. Still, they were law-abiding enough not to go too far, limiting themselves to verbal teasing.

　　Nancy Foster had a daughter named “Yvonne,” just sixteen, beautiful and refined, radiant and charming. One day, Guitang Carter and Jintai Mason saw her on the street and were instantly smitten, unable to eat or sleep.

　　Yvonne Foster was born into a martial arts family and was no ordinary young lady. She was bright, cheerful, and quite skilled—ordinary men couldn’t even get close to her.

　　Precisely because of this, Guitang Carter and his companion didn’t dare act rashly. After much thought, they came up with a plan: both rushed to the martial arts school to become disciples, using the pretense of learning martial arts to get close to her and see if they could win her favor. They figured that Yvonne Foster was young and naïve, not very worldly, so wouldn’t it be easy to coax her into bed? So what if she could fight? As long as they took her virginity, they could do whatever they wanted.

　　With new disciples, there was money for wine, so Nancy Foster agreed readily.

　　Carter and Mason had been at the school for half a year, but couldn’t stand the hardship of training. They slacked off constantly and couldn’t even manage a proper horse stance. Once, Yvonne Foster personally came to instruct them, and they were overjoyed, thinking their chance had finally come, ogling her lecherously.

　　Yvonne Foster was thoroughly annoyed and challenged them to a sparring match.

　　Sparring with her—wasn’t that practically intimate contact?

　　Guitang Carter’s eyes lit up and he rushed forward. Jintai Mason was a step too slow and deeply regretted it. But the next moment, when he saw Guitang Carter get slapped by Yvonne Foster and end up looking like a pig’s head, he swallowed hard and quickly claimed a stomachache to make his escape.

　　Ever since then, the two of them had been like wilted cucumbers, hanging their heads in dejection and coming to the martial arts school even less often.