Wei Ying would stand tonight as a marriage offering.
The Lan clan could make the first offer. If the Jiang clan accepted it, the process was over. If not, or if the Lan clan made no offer, then the next chance to bid would be decided by lots between the remaining three clans – Jin, Nie, and Wen. The Jin clan would pass, as they had just broken their son’s engagement with the Jiang sister. That left a 50% chance that Wei Ying would wind up under the control of Wen Rouhan and Wen Ling.
As the clan leader, Lan Xichen would be expected to produce heirs – and act with propriety. With no daughters or first cousins, that left only Lan Wangji, as the second son, who could make an offer for Wei Ying to be his cultivation partner.
He gritted his teeth. Was it too high a price? To be tied to that… hooligan for the rest of his life?
Source: The Arrangement – Chapter 1, by WriterGirlAR – 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) [Archive of Our Own]
A marriage of convenience with soulmates and even a dragon – what more could I wish for?