Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1300: 426: The Grand Martial Arts Competition in Three Towns, Marriage Alliances and Integration (Part 2)
Previously on Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely...
“Wow, brother-in-law Xiao, you really came!”
Jiang Yining displayed the most over-the-top reaction, clearly caught off guard by Xiao Hen's unexpected arrival. Once the shock passed, she quickly pieced it together and shot a playful glance at Xiahou Qingqing: “Oh! It seems sister Qingqing and brother-in-law Xiao have been keeping in touch for quite some time. Come on, spill the beans truthfully, when did you two begin?”
Jiang Yining's keen nose for juicy stories clearly outdid Xiahou Qingqing's preparations. At those words, Qingqing's face instantly betrayed her guilt.
The rest, spotting Xiahou Qingqing's telltale look, caught on right away, grins spreading across their faces as they dove into the teasing.
“Yeah, yeah, I was wondering how you got engaged out of nowhere last month? So you've been sending letters back and forth for a bit, right?”
“Tell us, did it start after brother-in-law Xiao played hero and saved the beauty last year?”
“Qingqing, you're such a sneak, fess up, fess up!”
………
Bombarded by her siblings' onslaught, Xiahou Qingqing buckled under the pressure and shot Xiao Hen a desperate glance, only to see him smirking while gazing off in another direction.
Xiahou Qingqing glared daggers at him, silently warning, “You just wait,” but right then, her intimidation fell flat. She was already cornered by Jiang Yining and the gang, forced to field their barrage of questions.
Xiao Hen observed his fiancée struggling and perspiring under the relentless questioning, a cheeky smile never leaving his lips.
He and Xiahou Qingqing had first crossed paths last September on the southern slope of Moao Mountain.
It was no stretch to label it a classic hero-saving-beauty tale. Without his prompt detection of the Jiangxia group's peril and his choice to intervene, there'd have been no dramatic rescue of Xiahou Qingqing afterward.
Come October, Jiang Yuandong, Jiangxia's Deputy Army Chief, led Jiang Shouping, Xiahou Qingqing, and the survivors from that day to He Yin to offer their gratitude in person.
That trip marked the official start of Xiao Hen's connection with Xiahou Qingqing. With their strengths so matched—his over 90,000 catties, hers at 110,000—they hit it off easily and soon started swapping letters without realizing.
Unlike inside Great Xia Territory, where station couriers made chats simple, sending mail between towns proved trickier. Xiao Hen routed his letters to Jiangxia via Hongmen first, relying on Hongmen's traders to forward them to Jiangxia Town.
Merchant caravans didn't run daily, so at the start, their correspondence stayed pretty sparse.
Paradoxically, the rarer the exchanges, the fiercer their urge to connect.
Before long, two or three letters monthly no longer sufficed. By December, Xiahou Qingqing took the bold step of joining Jiang Shouping's Hunting Team officially, positioning herself nearer to He Yin Village.
Proximity smoothed things out immensely. At first, they set up a secret drop spot on Moao Mountain's edge, where one left a note and the other picked it up each day. But once both hunting teams caught wind, they dropped the charade, merged the teams openly, and even teamed up for solo hunts...
Their romance's escalation felt nothing short of enchanting!
In April, Xiao Hen finally gathered the nerve to discuss it with his father.
Shockingly, Xiao Kangcheng was already in the loop and knew every detail about Xiahou Qingqing.
This inter-town love story thus blossomed without a hitch.
After all, as Xiahou Zhang's direct great-granddaughter and Jiangxia's lord, Xiahou Qingqing carried weight. Feeling his own clout lacking, Xiao Kangcheng enlisted his boss Xu Ning to join him in pleading the case at Xia City.
Xu Ning accepted without hesitation. Xiao Hen had fretted a little, aware he was marrying somewhat above his station.
Yet somehow, the news hit his brother-in-law Xia Chuan's ears.
During their April trip to propose in Jiangxia, spotting Xia Chuan heading the delegation put Xiao Hen's mind at ease instantly—he knew success was locked in.
True enough, Xiahou Zhang greenlit the union.
Their big day was locked for this October.
………
Snapping back to the moment, Xiao Hen noted how Jiang Yining and the crew's queries grew ever slyer, leaving his fiancée red-faced and stumbling over words, so he stepped up to bail her out.
“Ah Ning, everyone, the trip must have worn you out. I've booked a private room at South City Tavern. Why not head there, grab some food, and talk it over?”
“Already coming to her rescue, tsk tsk tsk…”
All saw Xiao Hen swooping in to save Xiahou Qingqing, but Jiang Yining's cheeky jab had them bursting into laughter.
Xiao Hen chuckled too. Just last month in Jiangxia Town, he'd crossed paths with Jiang Yining and come away impressed by the Jiang Family's spirited youngest talent.
“Ah Ning, I'll hook you up with some friends soon—the Martial Arts Competition kicks off in just over twenty days. Aren't you curious about the competition?”
That hit home; the Jiangxia youths, quirky Jiang Yining included, sobered up at once and nodded vigorously.
“This way!”
With the spotlight finally off her, Xiahou Qingqing let out a huge breath. Catching Xiao Hen striding ahead with that triumphant smirk, she hurried up beside him and sneakily pinched the soft spot on his waist with her right hand.