Xiao Yingtao pulled the money pouch in with one hand, and everyone gathered around.

“How much is it?”

“Looks pretty good!”

“Let me see too.”

“Let’s split it.”

Quite a few of them were experiencing a wedding procession for the first time, and more importantly, today’s events were things none of them had ever witnessed before.

Everyone was in high spirits, excited.

“Knock, knock, knock.” Just as Xiao Yingtao was about to divide up the red envelope money, the gate was knocked on again.

“Can we open the door now?” Feng Jiang’s voice came through.

“Pfft!” Feng Jiu’er, sitting not far away, covered her lips and laughed.

At this moment, tables had been set up on both sides of the main path in the middle of the courtyard, laden with delicacies.

At the end of the path, the largest table had been placed, and behind it, Qiao Mu sat on a long bench covered with a blanket.

Not just Feng Jiu’er — even Qiao Mu occasionally curved her lips into a smile.

She truly liked this kind of wedding ceremony!

Feng Jiang’s voice snapped the ones about to divide up the money back to attention.

“All right, all right.” Xiao Yingtao waved her hand. “The sincerity’s more than enough.”

“Xing’er, Xuepiao, let them in.”

“Yes.” Gong Xing’er and Leng Xuepiao nodded at the same time.

Leng Xuepiao unhooked the iron chain, and Gong Xing’er, gripping the door handles, gently pulled the door open.

“Back up!” Xiao Yingtao called out in a low voice.

As the sisters stepped back, the gate was pushed open from outside.

Leading the way was Feng Jiang, dressed in his bright red groom’s attire, followed immediately by Yu Jingfeng, Long Yi, Xing Zizhou…

Finally, Di Wu Ya and Jian Yi entered and stood on either side of Feng Jiang.

The eleven men lined up in a row — nothing particularly special about their posture, yet no one could look away.

Even Feng Jiu’er couldn’t help glancing over an extra time before her gaze returned to her own man.

Di Wu Ya stood tall and straight, and the moment his eyes met Feng Jiu’er’s, his brow furrowed slightly.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and finally gave him a thumbs up.

So she’d looked at the brotherhood a bit longer than usual — was he actually jealous?

“Wait a moment!” Xiao Yingtao spread her arms, blocking Feng Jiang’s path.

The rest of the women, having also gotten their fill of staring at the handsome men, joined hands and lined up.

Xiao Yingtao looked left, looked right, then withdrew her gaze, lifted her chin, and looked at Feng Jiang.

“To marry our Qiao Mu, you have to win the upcoming challenges — understood?”

“Mm… mm-hm.” Feng Jiang nodded, though his eyes still hadn’t left Qiao Mu.

His bride — truly beautiful!

“Xiao Yingtao, what are the challenges? Name them, whatever they are.” Yu Jingfeng flicked his black hair back, looking rather pleased with himself.

Xiao Yingtao looked around at everyone, nodded, and lowered her raised hands.

“Since that’s the case, everyone might as well sit — either way, you can’t take the bride away until the competition is over, and no cheating!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, wouldn’t dream of it.” Xing Zizhou waved his hand and walked out.

“Xiao Yingtao, where should we sit? Let’s talk sitting down, you’ve been standing too long.”

Xiao Yingtao, her small hand taken hold of, blushed and turned around.

“Let’s sit here.”

“Eleventh Brother, we’re sitting too, right here.” Gong Xing’er went over and took hold of Long Shiyi’s palm.

“Eleventh Brother, I’m really happy today, are you happy?”

“Mm.” Long Shiyi sat down together with Gong Xing’er.

Yu Jingfeng came up to Leng Xuepiao, reached out his palm, but in the end didn’t dare take her hand, only scratching his head.

Leng Xuepiao said nothing and turned to walk to one side.

Yu Jingfeng said nothing either, following along with a face full of delight.

Feng Jiu’er, seated on the long bench, waved her hand, and two tall figures walked toward her at once.

Feng Jiu’er blinked, shifted her position, and sat right in the center of the bench.

Di Wu Ya and Jian Yi bent their long legs at the same time, sitting down on either side of her.

Yang Sheng and Yue Qinchun walked off together. Duan Liuyang glanced at Zhao Yusheng.

Zhao Yusheng looked at Duan Liuyang and raised his thick eyebrows. “Come on, let’s go together.”

Shen Rong’er watched as everyone paired off, her eyes shining with something wistful.

“Miss Shen, please!” Yang Sheng cupped his hands.

Shen Rong’er turned, smiled, and nodded slightly.

Yet another pair passed in front of him, and Long Yi frowned, turning to look at Feng Jiu’er.

“Miss Jiu’er, this is…”

“Whoever you like, go pick them.” Feng Jiu’er said with a smile.

“Big Brother Long Qi, let’s sit together, shall we?” Xiao Tian gently patted Long Qi’s shoulder.

“Sure.” Long Qi looked down at the little girl before him and smiled.

“Let’s go.” Xiao Tian’s whole face turned red as she turned around.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the only two left standing inside the gate were Long Yi and Gong Xinyue.

Gong Xinyue said nothing, and when she looked up, she met Long Yi’s turned gaze.

The corner of Long Yi’s mouth twitched slightly, and he waved a hand. “Miss Xinyue, please.”

“Please.” Gong Xinyue nodded and stepped toward the last remaining table.

No one had told her the seating would be arranged this way.

Still, since there were already several pairs present at the scene, this kind of arrangement seemed fairly natural too.

Feng Jiang and Qiao Mu sat together, already utterly wrapped up in each other; Xiao Yingtao was being thoroughly doted on by Xing Zizhou.

But since it had been agreed that the bride could only be taken away after completing the challenges, the competition had to be seen through to the end.

“All right.” Xiao Yingtao stood up. “Bring out the herbs.”

Two servants carried over a table, and several maids brought trays.

Soon, twenty boxes were arranged on the middle table.

“There are ten kinds of medicinal herb powders here. Each side, male and female, sends one representative to guess the herbs.”

“If you can out-guess our person, you win.” Xiao Yingtao explained the rules of the game.

“You’re the ones who prepared the herbs — isn’t that a bit unfair?” Long Qi frowned.

“We don’t know which herbs they picked either, and besides, the contest is blindfolded.” Xiao Tian explained softly.

Long Qi raised an eyebrow, then finally nodded. “Fair enough.”

He looked up at Feng Jiang and asked, “Mister Jiang, who should we pick to take on this task?”

“I’ll do it.” The man beside Feng Jiang stood up.

Xiao Yingtao turned around and looked at Xing Zizhou. “Are you sure you’re a match for Rong’er?”

“Let’s find out.” The corner of Xing Zizhou’s mouth curved up as he stepped forward.

Shen Rong’er, feeling everyone’s eyes on her, also stood and walked out.

“This test isn’t just about identifying herbs by scent — it also tests one’s memory.” Xiao Yingtao walked out as well.

“In a moment, I’ll have you each smell ten kinds of herbs one after another. You need to identify all ten by scent, remember them, and finally write them down. Understood?”

“Mm.” Shen Rong’er nodded.

“All right.” Xing Zizhou said, looking down at his little wife.

“Blindfolds.”

At Xiao Yingtao’s command, a servant and a maid each blindfolded Xing Zizhou and Shen Rong’er with a red cloth.

“Both contestants, get ready. The match is about to begin.”

Xiao Yingtao looked left and right at the two of them, then waved a hand.

“Begin — first, smell the first one.”

The servant and the maid each picked up the first box beside them at the same time, opened it, and held it up to the noses of the two contestants.