Qi Ning was scared and wondered if the hearsay was true that the secret gift was marrying the lady. Did Mrs. Tian who was mature and beautiful want to find another husband as she couldn’t endure the loneliness after being a widow for three years?

Mrs. Tian noticed the surprise on Qi Ning’s face and understood at once, while her fair-skinned and tender cheeks got red and looked fascinating. She hurriedly explained, “No. Don’t get me wrong. I mean… Eh, Master Qi, since you went to the stage to compete, you must have heard some rumors.”

“Madam, what do you mean?”

“Some people have said that the secret gift after winning the competition is to marry the lady in our mansion. Have you heard about it?” Mrs. Tian looked at Qi Ning with her beautiful eyes like fog.

Qi Ning answered, “Since it is a rumor, it must not be true.”

Mrs. Tian smiled. “In fact, it is true.”

“What?” Qi Ning was stunned and asked automatically, “Madam, is…is the secret gift really…to marry the lady in your mansion?”

“Right.” Mrs. Tian came straight to the point. “Master Qi, since you competed, you must know something about our Tian family. There is no man in our family, and we need a man to support the family.”

Qi Ning smiled bitterly. “So you…want to marry me, Madam?”

Mrs. Tian was astonished and then blushed with shyness. “Alas, what…nonsense are you talking about? Who…said that I will marry you?” She had acted gracefully, yet she was in panic now.

Qi Ning was awkward but asked in surprise, “Madam, didn’t you say that you want to find a man to support the family? Then…”

“You misunderstand it.” Mrs. Tian explained in a hurry, “The Tian family wants to find a husband for the lady, not me, but my daughter. You will be my son-in-law.”

“Ah?” Qi Ning was surprised and then understood it. He felt embarrassed and stated in haste, “Madam, er…I am sorry. I misunderstood it. Well…”

Mrs. Tian recovered and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I didn’t make it clear, so it’s no wonder that you misunderstood it. It’s not your fault. Moreover, I am old and not beautiful anymore. Since Fu’er’s father passed away, I just want to support the family and don’t consider anything else.” She giggled.

Evidently she was a smart woman. If they didn’t clear up the misunderstanding but were evasive, they would be more awkward in the future. It was better that she made it clear, and she would be aboveboard.

Looking at the beautiful smile of this mature woman, Qi Ning thought that she was not old. Even though she was not at the height of her youth, at least she was still attractive in her thirties.

He understood that the secret gift was really to marry a lady, while the lady was not Mrs. Tian who was mature and charming but her daughter.

No wonder Mrs. Tian stared at him for a long time after she came in. It turned out that she was choosing a husband for her daughter.

Although Mrs. Tian was a woman, Qi Ning had a completely new appraisal of her. Undoubtedly, this beautiful woman was really shrewd.

Mrs. Tian had the right to explain the so-called secret gift. Her final purpose was to choose a husband for her daughter, yet she held back something.

Qi Ning even doubted if the dark-skinned big guy won the competition, the secret gift might not be to marry the lady. He had a reason to believe that Mrs. Tian valued his age and appearance, so she told him that the secret gift was to marry the lady.

Mrs. Tian set up an arena in order to choose a son-in-law, while she kept others in suspense. She was really shrewd.

At this time, Butler Tian personally brought a tray in and poured Qi Ning a cup of tea. Then he put a teacup next to Mrs. Tian.

However, when Mrs. Tian’s teacup was put down, Qi Ning heard a clatter, which was not loud, but he had a very good sense of hearing. He was surprised and thought that her teacup seemed to be empty when it was put down.

“Mrs. Tian, Manager Liu from the Eight-Treasure House sent somebody to ask us to send them fifty kilograms of quassia and fifty kilograms of bamboo shavings.” Butler Tian moved closer to Mrs. Tian and whispered, “Manager Liu told him to ask if we can give them discounts. If not, can we send some more?”

Mrs. Tian responded in a hurry, “We have been partners for several years. The medicinal materials in our Tian Family’s Medicine Shop are real with reasonable prices, and we can’t give them discounts. He asked us to send some more medicinal materials? Tell him that we won’t give more, not even half a kilogram.”

“I see,” Butler Tian answered and prepared to go out. Mrs. Tian ordered, “Tell Fu’er to come and see Master Qi.”

After Butler Tian went away, Mrs. Tian explained with a smile, “Master Qi, I set up an arena because I have no choice. I want to find a man to support the family, so I can’t look for one at random. I want to find a reliable hero, and it can’t be better if he has martial skills. By the way, you are a citizen in the capital. Where do you live? After you go back, tell your parents to come. We will talk about the marriage.”

She came straight to the point without the slightest hesitation.

Qi Ning understood that Mrs. Tian made a lot of effort to set up an arena in order to choose a son-in-law who was powerful in martial arts.

He had known something about the Tian family. Mrs. Tian’s husband had been killed by robbers three years ago, and the case hadn’t been solved now. She had supported the family for several years and obviously thought that it was too difficult, so she wanted to find a man to share the burden with her. If somebody became the son-in-law of the Tian family, he would care about the business of the family and frequently go out to deliver medicinal materials.

With a lesson from the failure of the predecessor, Mrs. Tian naturally thought that it would be safer if she found a son-in-law who had martial skills.

Qi Ning was only curious about the secret gift and came to see what it was. Of course, he wouldn’t be the son-in-law of the Tian family. He smiled. “Madam, you must get me wrong. In fact, it was a misunderstanding that I went to the stage to compete. I didn’t want to compete with others.”

Mrs. Tian was stunned and didn’t understand it evidently. “Master Qi, what do you mean? I…didn’t get it.”

“Madam, you want to find a son-in-law, but perhaps I am not suitable.” Qi Ning picked up the teacup and added with a smile, “And I don’t want to get married now.”

He uncovered the teacup, to find that this tea was much better than that in the main hall, yet only several tea leaves were inside, and the tea water was light. He was astonished and able neither to cry nor to laugh. He thought that the Tian family treated the guests so stingily. They served low-quality tea to the guests just now, and they finally served better tea but with merely a few tea leaves.

Mrs. Tian had a gentle smile on her beautiful face, while her smile stiffened now. Then she furrowed her arch eyebrows and asked, “Do you mean that you refuse to be my son-in-law?”

“Madam, I am sorry, but you didn’t mishear it,” Qi Ning replied. “I and your daughter have never seen or talked with each other. It’s too rash to decide the marriage in haste, and I have said that I don’t want to get married now, so…”

“So you think that the arena of our family is a children’s game?” Mrs. Tian’s pretty face fell, and she stated with displeasure, “Master Qi, although Fu’er’s father has passed away, our family never break faith. Even though we are a widow and a child, we will surely do what we have promised. Since I said that, the marriage should be decided. Moreover, the marriage should be decided by the parents. It doesn’t matter whether you and Fu’er have seen or talked with each other or not.”

Mrs. Tian had a beautiful smile like flowers earlier, while her expression changed now. Even so, when she got mad, there was a different kind of charm.

Qi Ning knew that it was troublesome, so he had to say, “Mrs. Tian, it’s my fault. I apologize to you, but this marriage…”

“It’s set in stone,” Mrs. Tian responded decisively. “Didn’t you say that you haven’t seen Fu’er? I have sent for her. You can see her soon.”

Qi Ning had a headache at once. If he had known it earlier, he wouldn’t have come to see the secret gift.

When he was about to speak, he saw that Butler Tian rushed in, saying, “Madam, Her Ladyship…closed the door again and didn’t open it no matter how I called her.”

Mrs. Tian frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, “I will go personally.” She twisted her waist and walked to the door. Suddenly she looked back at Qi Ning and waved her hand, gesturing for Butler Tian to approach her. She whispered in his ear. Then Butler Tian glanced at Qi Ning and nodded.

After they went out, Qi Ning knew that he couldn’t stay here for longer. He got up and planned to go away. Suddenly he saw Mrs. Tian’s teacup and thought of the weird sound. He looked around and found nobody, so he reached out his hand to uncover the teacup and looked at it. Then he couldn’t help but laugh. The teacup was empty, and there was no water in it.

Although he doubted it just now, he had never expected that it was true.

Undoubtedly, Mrs. Tian was entertaining a guest. Since she had tea with a guest, she would pour tea for the guest and herself. Qi Ning knew that it was the etiquette of entertaining guests.

However, she had an empty teacup. What did it mean?

Mrs. Tian didn’t like drinking tea? Or…she was so stingy that she was unwilling to pour tea for herself?

The Tian family was famous for dealing with medicinal materials. Would she be too stingy to have a cup of tea?

Suddenly he thought that the award of the competition was only one hundred taels of silver, and they entertained the guests with low-quality tea. He finally got a cup of nice tea later, yet there were just a few tea leaves. He was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh and thought that although Mrs. Tian was mature, beautiful and charming and looked shrewd and capable, she might be stingy.

He knew that if Mrs. Tian came back, he would be in trouble. When she was out, it was a great chance. He would take the opportunity to leave quickly, so he hurriedly walked out without hesitation. As soon as he reached the big door, several servants rushed over, and one of them expressed, “Master Qi, Madam said that she would come back soon. Please have a cup of tea and wait a moment.”

Qi Ning stated, “I have something to do at home and must go back now. Please tell Mrs. Tian that I will come and visit her another day.” Qi Ning was about to leave, but that servant shouted, “You can’t go!” Three servants rushed over and stopped Qi Ning.

Qi Ning knew that it was Mrs. Tian’s order. He thought, “I don’t want to get married. Will your family force me to marry the lady?” He frowned. “Step aside. Don’t force me to start a fight.”

One servant looked back. “Somebody, come here. He will run away!”

In no time, three or four more servants rushed out with sticks in their hands. These servants were burly, tall and big. They rushed up with sticks and stopped Qi Ning. One of them yelled in a hoarse voice, “You are not allowed to go until Madam comes back. Otherwise, we will show no mercy.”