Chapter 51: Fang's Suspicions

  "Who is he? As long as he has offended my brother, he is the king of heaven and I will move." Duan Xing is a straightforward person who values loyalty. If someone has become friends with him, they must be sworn brothers for life and death. For such friends, even if it means going through thick and thin, he wouldn't bat an eyelid. The world is treacherous, and so are people's hearts. After many years of ups and downs, Duan Xing has many friends, but those who can truly be called bosom friends are few, Li Mu being one of them.

  Li Mu knew that Duan Xing's words were absolutely true, he was a man of his word.

  "Brother, don't be impatient. The person I'm talking about is our family's old master." Li Mu transformed in the blink of an eye into that elegant and refined noble son again, picking up his cup to drink another large bowl.

  "What's with 'Lord Father'?" Now Xing was confused, and he put the wine that had been on his lips back down. "What business do you have with Lord Father?"

  Li Mu shook his head and said: "My father drove me to a dead end, I really had nowhere to go, so I came to my brother for help."

  Duan Xing knew he was joking and playfully said: "So, I should thank your respected father? If it wasn't for him driving you to a dead end, this small temple probably wouldn't have welcomed a great Buddha like you?"

  The two brothers were delighted and naturally pushed each other to drink a few more rounds. Duan Xing couldn't suppress the doubts in his heart, and finally couldn't help but ask: "What's really bothering you? Tell me, brother, and I'll share your worries!"

  Li Mu just smiled, but didn't say a word.

  Duan Xing was shocked and said, "Brother, this doesn't sound like you. When did you become so nagging?"

  Li Mu immediately asked: "Oh? Then according to Brother Duan's words, what should I be like?"

  Duan Xing put down his wine bowl and shouted: "A handsome face, a set of clever kung fu, carefree and natural, not bound by worldly etiquette. Brothers are like gods in my eyes."

  "Haha!" Li Mu burst out laughing, "What Duan Shi said is not false, my brother I am indeed a god-like figure, I am the Scatterer of Wealth!"

  The two brothers laughed again, raised their wine bowls and clinked them together, downing another large bowl of wine.

  Duan Xing wiped the wine from his mustache and said seriously, "Brother, do you still consider me your brother? Can't you tell me a bit of truth? What's been troubling you?"

  Li Mu said solemnly, "You and I are eight bows in one head, Brother Duan is of course my brother. Although we are not close relatives by blood, my friendship with Brother Duan is like that of brothers!"

  Duan Xing slapped his thigh and said, "That's right. Since that's the case, you should have a good talk with your brother." It wasn't that Duan Xing was nosy, but he really cared about all matters concerning his brother. It's not easy to meet someone who truly understands you in life, and if you do meet such a person, you'll naturally be willing to go through thick and thin for them.

  Li Mu smiled and said, "It's not like I'm old, but my dad is forcing me to get married." It wasn't a difficult thing to bring up, and it was nothing between brothers, except that he couldn't avoid being teased by Duan Xing.

  "This is great!" Duan Xing slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly: "A man setting up a family, there's nothing wrong with that! My virtuous younger brother, you're so handsome and from a noble family, it's high time for you to get married. I'm afraid the young ladies of Jiangdong are getting anxious?"

  Li Mu smiled bitterly. If there really was a woman in this world who had a single-minded love for him, it would be good to marry her back home. Unfortunately, the things those people valued were just his family background and wealth. What use did he have for women who loved money and power but were indifferent to him?

  Duan Xing saw Li Mu only bitterly smile, but didn't speak, thinking could it be that this brother has a hidden illness? Thinking back to three years ago, although he followed himself and often appeared in various places, he was always clean and self-disciplined, even the top courtesans in the brothels looked down on him, could it be...

  Li Mu saw Duan Xing's eyes gleaming with a thieving light, and his face also changed to a sly expression. At this point, he knew that this guy had gone astray.

  "Never mind all that, come and I'll toast you." Let him think what he likes! Then down went another big bowl of yellow soup.

  It seems that it's really suffocating! Duan Xing touched his beard with his hand, and his eyes shone with a calculating light. If he could keep Li Muru here...

  "Brother, don't think that just because I'm drunk you can take advantage of me." Li Mu's alcohol tolerance was good, although he had drunk a lot, he was still far from being drunk. How could he not see the flash of cleverness in Duan Xing's eyes? Although he hated being calculated by others, he knew that Duan Xing was different from others.

  "Alright, alright." Duan Xing knew that his tricks wouldn't fool him, and didn't hide it either, saying directly: "Brother, you should know what I'm thinking."

  How could Li Mu not know what he was thinking? Three years ago in Wu Chuan, this guy forced himself to join the partnership and insisted on becoming a deputy leader. If it weren't for what happened later, Li Mu might have agreed to it. Thinking about the annoying things from three years ago, Li Mu's heart inexplicably hurt again. Although the incident had passed for three years, he still cared deeply and felt pain.

  Duan Xing asked carelessly, "Speaking of which, what exactly happened three years ago that made you leave and return to Jiangdong?" Li Mu's identity was something he only found out later. Although he was a bit angry about the deliberate concealment, thinking about the complicated relationships in his family, he let it go. A big tree attracts wind, after all.

  "It's over, let's not talk about it. Come on, have a drink." Duan Xing, who didn't care about anything, naturally didn't know that Li Mu was secretly hurting inside, and Li Mu wouldn't bother to argue with this rough person, so he changed the subject instead.

  Duan Xing, even if he was blind, would have to come out and say that he didn't want to mention it again. He thought to himself that this matter would eventually be cleared up, so why bother rushing into things? As long as Li Murong could stay behind, everything would be fine.

  "Little brother, are you really hiding out at my place because you don't want to get married?" This sounds like a pretty unreliable story.

  "Of course, I'll leave a note and run away, but where can I go? Brother, will you take me in?" Li Mu said, half seriously and half jokingly.

  Duan Xing asked again: "The family's words about marriage are not in line with your brother's wishes?"

  After talking for half a day, we're back here again. It seems that if the matter isn't made clear, Duan Xing won't let go of this topic.

  "My brother is well aware of my family's situation, and marriage is nothing but a loveless exchange of benefits. If I can't find someone I like, at least I should marry someone who respects me. What use are those women who only see money?"

  Although this idea is a bit "unconventional", it is very much to Duan Xing's liking, as a Jianghu person.

  "That's right!" Indeed it is.

  Duan Xing leaned his head towards Li Mu and whispered, "Is it because that girl is too ugly and scared you away, so you ran away from the marriage?"

  He put down the wine bowl in his hand, ate a few more bites of food, and said: "If it's about looks, although not national beauty, it's still considered a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, her personality is really too boring, I can't appreciate it!" After finishing, he shook his head with a pretended regret.

  "Aren't all the talented women in this world the same? No wonder, my virtuous brother, you don't like them. Every one of them is locked up in the courtyard all day long, except for embroidering flowers and writing poems, there's nothing else they can do. Naturally, each and every one of them is timid and uninteresting, how can they compare to us, the girls from the rivers and lakes?"

  Li Mu listened to him and thought it made sense, but for some reason he remembered a scene on the small path outside the forest, and remembered that ordinary-looking woman with a beautiful face. Judging from her appearance, she should be a young lady from an official family, how could her temperament be so unsophisticated? Could she be the daughter of a military general? But thinking again, it seemed that he had heard someone mention that her surname was Qin, but on the imperial court, there was no mention of a military general with the surname Qin. Was she just a small official in a local area? If so, then it would make sense.

  "Brother, brother? Drinking again, what are you thinking?"

  Li Murui came back to his senses, raised his wine bowl and clinked it with Duan Xing's, saying: "I was just thinking about our family's old master, who knows what kind of mess the house is in now!" After finishing speaking, he tilted his head and drank the wine in the bowl.

  At this time, it was not only the Li family in Jiangdong that was in a mess. When several servants of the Qin family rushed back to the Qin family to report the news, the Qin family also became a mess.

  As soon as she heard that Qin Dai Xin was kidnapped by bandits, Su Shi immediately fainted. Everyone quickly called a doctor to come and give her an injection before she slowly came to. However, she was emotionally agitated, constantly blaming herself for letting her daughter go to the temple to burn incense instead of going herself. Several times she wanted to rush to the backyard to ask Old Madame to save her own daughter, but was stopped by Nai Nang and Fang Qiu, who had no choice but to persuade her again until they fed her medicine, after which she fell asleep, exhausted.

  "This child, why is she so troublesome? She was fine just a moment ago, where did she go?" Fang Wanru looked like she was at her wit's end, pacing back and forth in the Fang family's house. She wasn't particularly concerned about this daughter of hers, but rather worried that this incident would tarnish the Qin family's reputation. If it got out to people with ill intentions, Qianxin's marriage to the Jia family would be even more unlikely."

  Qin Congwen had already received the news at this time, and hurriedly rushed back from the shop. After learning what had happened, he was also in a state of utter devastation.

  Fang Wanru saw that Qin Chongwen was silent and didn't speak, thinking he hadn't recovered yet, so she said: "Master, what's to be done? You'd better make a decision! It all comes down to that Su woman, still burning incense at this hour!"

  Mr. Fang saw that she couldn't calm down and said, "What's the use of saying these things at this time? Isn't it just adding trouble for everyone? Think about how to solve the problem is the real deal."

  The several family servants who were interrogated earlier all had basically the same account and there were no loopholes, even Ruyi, who was by San Yatou's side, said that these people seemed to have known in advance that they would be passing through here.

  Mr. Fang's heart skipped a beat as he recalled the whispers Qin Fengsong had shared with him the night before: "Let your mother arrange it! Who knows, this might be an opportunity? With just a little manipulation, she'll marry Jin'er obediently."

  The more Fang thought about it, the more shocked he became, could it be...

  P.S: Friends, can you collect and give me a boost?