The group got off the car and found themselves inside the military camp.
They were standing on a vast open ground, which Shen Ruyi guessed was the parade ground where soldiers usually trained.
“Follow the formation! Thirty people per squad. Keep one arm’s length between each person.”
One of the two captains who had come to pick them up addressed the group.
Shen Ruyi hurried to fall in step and line up.
Xing Yu stood one arm’s length to her left, with about three people’s distance from the squad in front.
Once the women were in formation, squads of soldiers began emerging from the camp.
Shen Ruyi couldn’t see their faces clearly, but their matching clothes suggested their rank. Those with finer clothes walked toward the women first.
She couldn’t judge the ranks precisely by clothing, but the men had saluted the captains, so it seemed the soldiers receiving the women weren’t higher than captains themselves—just low-ranking officers.
It made sense. Among the women were three young ladies from marquis families, plus other legitimate daughters. These marquis families had been sent to the frontier because they lost to the new emperor’s rivals.
Assigning mid- or high-ranking officers as husbands could create trouble for the emperor. The new emperor was clearly meticulous, having secured his throne after carefully considering all aspects.
The first rows of women were quickly chosen. Then, the remaining officers started moving toward the back rows.
Shen Ruyi, lost in thought, suddenly noticed a shadow fall over her.
Looking up, she saw a tall, thin man with a scruffy beard. Except for his sharp, dark eyes and furrowed brows, his face was hard to discern.
Shen Ruyi silently compared him in her mind. Thankfully, aside from the beard, his height and build were unremarkable—not like a black bear or a mountain looming over her.
The man stared at her silently. Though his expression was hidden by his beard, the furrowed brows clearly showed his unwillingness.
“Cough, cough—” A voice interrupted.
A refined, scholarly-looking man in plain clothes was blinking rapidly at the bearded man in front of Shen Ruyi.
Is he treating me like I’m blind? But… why does he look so familiar? Shen Ruyi thought, quietly observing, knowing she had no say here.
“Think of your sister’s tears,” the scholarly man whispered into the bearded man’s ear.
Shen Ruyi realized these two clearly acted as though she were both blind and deaf—and, at the moment, she truly could only be that.
“That one,” the bearded man finally decided, pointing casually at Shen Ruyi, then walked off.
He just walked off?
Shen Ruyi noticed that others chosen earlier walked together, sometimes holding hands. Why was it different for her? Why did he insist on choosing her so reluctantly?
“Still standing there? Follow him quickly!”
The scholarly man, coughing and signaling again, loudly ordered Shen Ruyi, who was still stunned.
His face and voice were oddly familiar to her.
Without time to ponder, she hurried to catch up to the fast-moving figure.
This man, long legs and all, definitely heard me running and panting, yet he doesn’t slow down one bit.
Once the women and their chosen grooms reached the other side of the parade ground, Shen Ruyi couldn’t help rolling her eyes at the scruffy beard on his chin.
Looks like a hairy Amazon monkey… and I still have to put up with him.
With fewer women than men, all the brides were quickly chosen, moving in order from front to back.
Shen Ruyi didn’t know where they were heading. Fearing she might get left behind, she grabbed the edge of his clothes and went along with the crowd.
The bearded man glanced at her hand on his garment, said nothing, and slowed his pace slightly.
After another half-hour of walking, Shen Ruyi, sweating lightly, saw the destination.
Rows of newly built small courtyards stood neatly ahead. Behind them stretched a vast plain, with distant mountains beyond.
A river flowed from the mountains across the plain toward the horizon.
The courtyard walls seemed to be built of stone and earth. The first few houses had their doors pushed open.
The soldiers led their newly chosen wives inside and immediately shut the gates, as if afraid anyone would intrude.
Outside, the remaining women laughed in colored bursts, then quickly quieted—everyone followed the same procedure.
Shen Ruyi stared, astonished. Could this be the start of the wedding night already? So hasty?
The bearded man moved again, and Shen Ruyi, still holding his clothes, stumbled but hurried to keep up.
All the houses looked similar, and the bearded man seemed reluctant about choosing her. She hoped he wouldn’t abandon her in this unfamiliar place.
His house was at the end of the last row. Surprisingly, it was slightly larger than the neighboring courtyards.
He pushed open the courtyard gate, and Shen Ruyi looked inside—
Oh? This isn’t like the northern courtyards from my past life…