Chapter One: What Kind of Mystery Is It That I Have Seven Marriage Certificates!

The man's voice still carried a roughness, his breathing heavy. Intermingled with it was the bashful murmur of a woman.

"Qianze, why don't you hurry up and break up with that country bumpkin already?"

"I want to! I've had enough of her for a long time. Last time I tried to hold her hand, she flung mine away! She's a real hick! If my dad hadn't interfered, I'd have dumped her ages ago!"

"Your dad said... she seems to have some kind of background?"

Lin Qianze actually laughed out loud. "Ha! Don't make me laugh. She's just a girl from the sticks—what kind of background could she possibly have? My dad's getting senile if you ask me!"

Their conversation was loud, the two of them oblivious to the fact that the "country bumpkin" in question was standing right outside, listening to every word.

Su Qingli dug a finger into her ear—the scene she'd just witnessed had truly assaulted her hearing.

The man inside was the boyfriend her master had practically forced upon her, and the only reason she was here today was because her master insisted she come—something about delivering some fresh eggs?

With a bang, Su Qingli pushed open the door. The two inside turned ashen, scrambling under the covers at lightning speed.

"Su Qingli! Why are you here? When did you get here? Who let you in?!"

"I've been here a while. Couldn't listen to any more, honestly. My master asked me to give you this. I won't bother you—go on with whatever you were doing."

She set the basket of eggs in a corner and started to leave, but Lin Qianze called out after her.

"Su Qingli, you heard all that and you're not angry? Ha, I get it, you're just doing this on purpose! You want my attention, don't you? I know exactly how women like you think."

She looked him up and down, her gaze filled with disdain.

"With that attitude? No wonder my master sent you eggs. Enough of this—let's break up."

Lin Qianze, still wrapped in a towel, chased after her, grabbing her wrist only for her to wrench it away in disgust.

"Su Qingli, cut the act! Your damn master foisted you on me because he wants my family's fortune! You're just a shallow gold-digger, so stop pretending you're above it all!"

"I've checked your fortune. You might want to prepare for mourning."

"What the hell did you just say?! I'll rip that mouth of yours apart!"

Su Qingli didn't bother with a reply, shook her head in silence, and walked out. She'd even warned him out of kindness, yet he'd only lashed out.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder what on earth her master was thinking.

It was already late by the time she returned from the city to their mountain village. As she reached the foot of the hill, her senior brother appeared.

"Already broken up?"

"How did you know that?!"

"Master asked me to give you this."

"What?"

She accepted what he handed her, flipped through it, and went completely stiff. "What is this? Marriage contracts? Seven of them?!"

"Master said it was his mistake to pair you with that jerk, so he's making it up to you sevenfold."

Su Qingli was speechless.

She glanced up the mountain, preparing to go confront her master. "I need to talk to Master. There’s no way I’m doing this! I—"

"Enough. Master said you're not allowed back up the mountain until you finish all the matchmaking."

Su Qingli was baffled. Was she not even allowed home now?

"Then… at least ask him to give me some money—"

"Master said each of those seven is richer than the last. Pick any one of them and you'll have enough wealth to rival a nation."

This, Su Qingli could actually believe. She cast one last look at the mountain, sighed, and trudged down the road.

An orphan, she had grown up with her master—a white-bearded old man whom even the most influential figures respectfully addressed as 'Elder Pavilion.'

With marriage contracts in hand, she performed a divination to see which of the seven was the wealthiest. The answer: Di Yunshen.

And so… she set off in pursuit!

"Excuse me, miss, who are you here to see?"

She was stopped by a security guard just as she was about to enter.

"I'm here for… Di Yunshen."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"I'm afraid without an—"

At that moment, a scoffing laugh sounded from the side. "Ha, looks like just anyone thinks they can meet President Di these days. Have you even looked in a mirror to see what you are?"

"Sasha, that's the country girl Su Qingli! After Qianze dumped her, she actually came to see President Di! Shameless! Maybe she thinks just because she dated Qianze, she's become some kind of society lady. Must be out of her mind!"

Su Qingli glanced over, recognizing the woman as the one with Lin Qianze the night before.

"What are you staring at, hillbilly?"

This was Qiao Ke from the Qiao family, and hanging onto her arm was Yun Shasha from the Yun family.

Yun Shasha had fancied Di Yunshen for quite some time. She had come to see him tonight as well, but his assistant had told them he was expecting an important guest and asked them to leave.

Yun Shasha hadn't even caught a glimpse of Di Yunshen's face. Naturally, she was in a foul mood and sought some satisfaction by picking on Su Qingli.

Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin arrogantly, looking down her nose. "You're from the countryside, so you shouldn't even know people like Yunshen. I'm curious—what business do you have with him? I'm quite close to Yunshen, so if you tell me, maybe I'll put in a word and let you in."

Her words sounded generous, but every phrase dripped with condescension, belittling Su Qingli in a roundabout way.

Su Qingli let out a cold laugh. She'd heard plenty of this kind of sniping before.

"Matchmaking."

With those two words, time seemed to freeze. And then—