This sight startled the children's parents, who hurriedly brought their young ones forward to bow and offer heartfelt thanks.
Seeing this, Meng Jiangchu could not help but chuckle. "You certainly aren't stingy, kid."
Li Guanqi smiled softly. "We'll all be family from now on. If I don't favor my own people in little things like this, who else would I favor?"
Meng Jiangchu laughed heartily, giving Li Guanqi a sidelong glance. "Only you could have such a sweet mouth."
Before long, the group arrived at the Meng clan's main hall. Aside from key figures among the higher-ups, no one else was permitted inside.
Yet just before entering, Li Guanqi looked back toward Qin Xian and Ling Daoyan.
"Grandpa Qin, Grandpa Ling—if the two of you aren't here, who will be my witnesses?"
Hearing this, Qin Xian could not help wiping away unbidden tears.
Seeing this, Lu Kangnian also called out, "Guanqi asked for you, so the two of you come inside as well."
Only then did the two elders, dressed in splendid ceremonial robes, support each other as they walked into the main hall.
Just as everyone stepped inside, an exquisitely beautiful woman stepped out slowly from behind a folding screen.
Lightly powdered and adorned, Meng Wanshu wore a crimson gown with a vermilion hairpin in her hair. Her lips were red against pearlescent teeth, and her eyes shimmered with tender light.
Meng Jiangchu said in mild surprise, "Wanshu, today is the day Guanqi delivers his betrothal gifts. Why did you come out?"
Meng Wanshu smiled faintly and turned toward him, speaking softly. "Father~ We aren't some pedantic, rigid clan. Why cling to so many taboos?"
Meng Jiangchu shook his head helplessly, waving affectionately for Meng Wanshu to come sit beside him.
The two families did not sit facing each other across a divide. Instead, Meng Jiangchu and Lu Kangnian sat side by side.
Lu Kangnian smiled. "Shall we have Guanqi present the betrothal gifts one by one?"
Meng Jiangchu had already swept his divine sense over the gift ledger, which clearly detailed every betrothal gift. Waving his hand, he chuckled, "No need to go through all that trouble and bother with empty formalities. However..."
Meng Jiangchu's expression grew solemn as he looked at Lu Kangnian, Qin Xian, and the others, his gaze ultimately settling on Li Guanqi. "A casual chat is fine, but there is one thing I must state first."
Looking toward Meng Wanshu, he pursed his lips into a smile. "These betrothal gifts—the Meng clan accepts!"
Applause erupted!
Pengluo clutched Cao Yan's head and clapped wildly, while Ye Feng and the others broke into heartfelt cheers and applause.
Lu Kangnian cupped his hands with a chuckle. "Good, good, good! Then the matter between the two children is officially settled, Brother Meng."
"Hahahahaha! Naturally!" Meng Jiangchu laughed heartily, brimming with delight.
Meng Wanshu turned to look at Li Guanqi and saw his hand gripping his sleeve beneath the cuff. She stifled a giggle. "I wouldn't have guessed you'd be this nervous."
Li Guanqi licked his lips and glanced sideways at the elders chatting nearby, murmuring in a low voice, "Of course I'm nervous... scared half to death. It seems being deeply in love and together is still quite different from going through the three letters and six rites of a formal wedding. Even though being together is already wonderful, facing the grand wedding rites still sets my heart racing."
Meng Wanshu's eyes filled with tender amusement as she nodded firmly. Li Guanqi was nervous, but how was she any different? The night before, anxiety had kept her tossing and turning until dawn.
What followed was completely relaxed, without the stiff solemnity one might have expected. Nor were there any clan elders stepping up to make things difficult. Everyone offered their sincere blessings.
Ye Feng and Xiao Chen stared with wide eyes, not letting a single detail slip past. This was a golden opportunity to learn—listening to explanations could never match firsthand observation!
Soon, Lu Kangnian and Meng Jiangchu finalized the wedding date for seven days later. As everyone chatted, the fine details were ironed out one by one.
However... as for how many guests would arrive bearing congratulatory gifts, the two men debated for a long time and still could not be certain.
In the end, they simply calculated based on an estimate of ten thousand guests. As for any others whose status did not warrant a seat at the banquet tables, they would simply receive a return gift before being seen off.
Now they had a new problem: not enough cooks.
The two elders began to fret over where to find enough culinary masters, until Li Guanqi finally spoke up:
"Leave a minor matter like this to Guanyun Pavilion."
Meng Jiangchu nodded with a smile. "Fine, then Guanqi, you handle that. Prepare the banquet—we can talk at the table! Brother Lu, it's been years since we last met; let's have a drink this noon."
A grand feast was laid out in the Meng clan's main hall, attended exclusively by prominent figures of high standing.
At the table, Meng Jiangchu and Lu Kangnian sat side by side, exchanging toasts as they discussed the size of the bridal escort and welcoming parties, the timetable, the procedures, and more.
Meng Jiangchu didn't forget to add:
"By the way... the presiding officiant will be the Realm Lord..."
Hearing this, Lu Kangnian nearly spat out his mouthful of wine.
"Guanqi's grandfather is coming too?"
Meng Jiangchu nodded. "Not just the Realm Lord... the Four Kings, Ling Tianchen, and numerous cultivators from the Seventh Domain..."
At that, Lu Kangnian hurriedly took out jade slips to send voice transmissions and make arrangements—their accommodations, the viewing platforms, and so forth.
Li Guanqi sat to the side, listening intently to every single detail of their discussion, especially paying close attention to what was required of him.
Meng Wanshu rested her chin on her hand, her gaze gentle as water as she watched Li Guanqi's profile with a blissful smile. She had watched the betrothal procession from hiding earlier, and the sheer grandeur of it had left her heart fluttering. It showed just how deeply Li Guanqi cherished and valued her.
After finishing their midday meal, everyone sat and chatted through the afternoon before returning to the Great Xia Sword Sect ahead of sunset.
Before departing, Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu embraced tightly.
Gazing into her eyes, Li Guanqi whispered softly, "In seven days, wait for me to come marry you!"
Meng Wanshu's eyes melted like water, as though her entire being was dissolving into tenderness. "All right. I'll be waiting."
Just a few simple words, yet overflowing with boundless affection.
The two parted and said their farewells.
Upon returning to the Great Xia Sword Sect, the entire sect was thrown into a whirlwind of bustling activity.
Paradoxically, Li Guanqi and his companions were left with nothing to do. They had genuinely wanted to help, but Lu Kangnian chased them away for getting in the way.
Left with time on their hands, the sworn brothers simply took turns giving lectures on the Dao atop Tianjian Peak.
As a result, virtually all the sect's disciples took shifts working and listening, lingering until late into the night, reluctant to leave.
Li Guanqi and his brothers were generous with their insights, imparting knowledge and answering doubts without reservation.
What brought Li Guanqi particular joy was that the sword steles he had left behind in the past had already helped many disciples comprehend their own paths and sword intent.
During this period, an amusing situation unfolded across the Six Domains.
Nearly all the renowned chefs across the Six Domains had been whisked away.
Consequently, business at countless restaurants and taverns plummeted during this time.
Yet every one of those restaurant owners was grinning from ear to ear.
Time flew, and soon the day of Li Guanqi's wedding arrived!
This time, the bridal escort procession was even more colossal, numbering close to three thousand people!
Every single one of them was clad in crimson robes!
It was said that from this single order alone, the spirit stones paid by the Great Xia Sword Sect had propelled Feihua Valley from a second-rate power straight into the ranks of first-rate factions...
Li Guanqi was dressed in a magnificent wedding robe. Its style and patterns resembled the one he had worn to deliver the betrothal gifts, but it was far more opulent, highlighting his ethereal, otherworldly grace.
Taking a deep breath, Li Guanqi rose and looked back at his brothers waiting by the doorway. He broke into a faint smile.
"Let's go, brothers! Time to fetch my bride!"
Chapter 1518