Chapter Eighty-six Self-willed

  Li Mu never dreamed that he would one day do such a ridiculous thing, so willful and arbitrary, just like his older brother's style.

  He likes to keep a low profile because of his identity, and never likes to interfere with trivial matters. He's afraid that if he's not careful, he'll get into trouble. After all, he doesn't just represent himself, but also the entire Li family behind him. So when Qin Dai Xin was tied up in the woods outside Pu Fa Temple, he clearly saw it but didn't intervene to avoid getting entangled.

  Who would have thought that after he went to Sifang Mountain and saw Duan Xing, he would often think of the scene outside the forest, thinking of that Qin surname woman who was weak but had a heroic air. Duan Xing saw him being troubled by his thoughts every day, so he asked him with concern. He couldn't withstand this sworn brother's soft and hard probing, and finally told him everything.

  Duan Xing is a fearless master, and there's nothing in the world of Jianghu that doesn't interest him. He heard that some bandits had kidnapped someone, but he wasn't worried about it. What he was concerned about was his brother's attitude, who couldn't stop thinking about a woman he had only seen from afar, which is truly one of the most bizarre things in the world.

  He finally persuaded his own brother to intervene in the matter, ostensibly for the sake of Jianghu's moral integrity and peace of mind, but actually he just wanted to see what kind of woman could have such charm, that she could torment Li Muguang, who regarded women as dirt, to such an extent.

  The two men knew that the group of bandits was just a motley crew, without any great abilities, so they let their scouts go down the mountain to carefully investigate their movements and set out to rescue the people the next day. But when they arrived at the small hill, all they saw was a group of captor-like people scolding and coming down from the mountain, as well as a house that had been burned beyond recognition, still smoking. The two men were puzzled and decided to investigate further, so they decided to stay at the foot of the mountain, searching for clues about the bandits and the whereabouts of Miss Qin.

  Li Mu found the Li family's business in Taizhou and sent a manager to inquire about the Qin family with a good reputation. The manager, although not understanding Li Er Gongzi's intention, was also a thoughtful person who guessed that this might be Li Er Gongzi's private matter, so he didn't ask any questions and went to investigate. As a result, he found out that there was only one merchant surnamed Qin in Taizhou city with a good reputation. When Li Mu learned that the Miss Qin was not the daughter of an official family but the daughter of a merchant family, he felt unexpected. He went to the Qin family's store together with Duan Xing, intending to use business as an excuse to inquire about the safety of the miss. Unexpectedly, they ran into Qin Zongwen who came to inspect the store.

  Li Mu didn't want to say that he had seen her dying and hadn't saved her, so he just said that he had met the third young lady once. Qin Zongwen was somewhat surprised, not knowing when his daughter had gotten acquainted with such a gentleman. He felt displeased in his heart, thinking that his daughter privately getting to know men was really shameless. As soon as he thought this, his face suddenly didn't look good.

  Li Muxi knew countless people, how could he not understand his thoughts? He calmly and unhurriedly told Qin Congwen his identity in his ear, and indeed saw that Qin Congwen was somewhat unbelieving, but with an uncontrollable excitement in his eyes.

  Merchants prioritize profits, which is an undisputed fact. Qin Zongwen must be aware of the implications of "Jiangdong Li Family". Although he dislikes his daughter doing anything that might tarnish the family's reputation, if the suitor is from the esteemed Li Family of Jiangdong, it's a different story altogether. If he marries his daughter off to him, the Qin Family will reap boundless benefits. How could he possibly blame his own daughter? He can't wait for something to happen between the two, which is also why his attitude changed drastically after learning about Li Mu's identity.

  Li Mu was now in a difficult situation, unable to express his feelings. If he didn't reveal his identity, he feared that the young lady would be burdened by her own curiosity and suffer damage to her reputation. Now that his identity had been exposed, he thought that Mr. Qin would not let him leave easily and would try every means to win him over, this big tree.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, Qin Congwen invited Li Mu to his mansion for a chat with various excuses. Li Mu deeply understood the nature of businessmen, these people were all old foxes, extremely cunning, and seemingly carefree on the surface, but in reality, they only cared about profits.

  He was unwilling to be used, so he politely declined.

  However, Qin Congwen was also a shrewd person. After some thought, he decided to invite the two of them to dinner under the pretext of fulfilling his duties as host. Li Muzhen was unwilling, but it wasn't good to repeatedly refuse someone's invitation, so he agreed. At the table, Qin Congwen casually mentioned that his third daughter had been kidnapped by bandits a few days ago, but she returned unharmed...

  This trick was indeed effective, not only did Duan Xing become curious to death, but even the normally calm Li Mu wanted to know how she had escaped, and thus there was the scene of the second son of the Li family in Jiangdong visiting the Qin Manor!

  Li Mu brought the prepared gifts and visited the Qin's house on the eighth day as agreed, of course, with his sworn brother Duan Xing who loved to watch the excitement. The two arrived at the gate, handed in their visiting cards and explained their identities, and then waited for the servant to pass on the message. Unexpectedly, Li Mu and the others did not wait for the servant's message, but instead waited for Old Man Qin, Qin Zongwen personally welcomed the two into the house, came to the main hall to chat, after the host and guest sat down, the servants brought in the brewed tea and snacks, etc. and then retreated, waiting outside the hall.

  "Master Qin, this is just a small token of our humble intentions, I hope you won't despise it!"

  "Mr. Li is being too polite," said Qin Zongwen, "how could he not hear that people are being polite to him?" "Zichen, this is the Mr. Li Muzi I told you about." On one hand, Qin Zongwen was afraid that the two of them were too far apart in age, so he invited his eldest son Qin Zichen to accompany them; on the other hand, he also hoped that Qin Zichen could make friends with him and soon take charge of the family business.

  "I've long admired your reputation, but I didn't expect you to be so young, forgive me." Qin Zicheng never thought that the Jiangdong Li's second son, who dominated the business world, would be such a refined and elegant person. He saw that he had a pair of expressive eyes, his mouth seemed to hold a hint of a smile, and with his wealthy upbringing, not a single trace of arrogance could be detected, making him feel extremely comfortable, like a beautiful jade.

  "Brother Qin, no need to be so polite. This is my sworn brother, surname Duan." Li Mu's face wore a faint smile, but he didn't intend to continue the conversation, which was also his way of being courteous yet distant to strangers.

  Duan Xing didn't like such gatherings, but he also didn't want to lose face in front of his own brother, so he hurriedly made a fist at the Qin family father and son as a greeting.

  "Mr. Li and Mr. Duan have graciously visited my humble abode, truly a fortunate encounter in three lifetimes. I must also ask Qin to slightly advance the host's etiquette, as it is still early, I have instructed the kitchen to prepare fine wine and dishes to treat you both, hoping that you two will not despise the thin wine and sparse dishes."

  Li Muxiang has come all the way here, so don't be unpleasant to people. At this point, he said: "Since that's the case, I'll follow the host's convenience."

  Qin Congwen was delighted when he agreed, and hastily said: "Mr. Li and my daughter are old friends, so we won't bother with the tedious rules of literary people. I'll have someone call her over to chat with you."

  Duan Xing was a man of the jianghu, and he had never liked the twisted logic of scholars. Seeing Qin Congwen being so pretentious, calling two people he didn't know "old friends", he couldn't help but look down on him.

  Coming in is a guest, let alone the other party being Li Mu's sworn brother and also a rough man. Qin Zongwen didn't like him very much, but felt that he couldn't afford to offend him, so he could only pretend not to see him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he had Qin Zichen send someone to invite Qin Dai Xin over.

  Before long, footsteps were heard outside the hall. Everyone was amazed at how quickly someone had arrived. A red figure rushed in like a whirlwind. When Qin and his son saw her, they both showed painful expressions. On the other hand, Li Mu furrowed his brow, while Duan Xing looked excited.

  Qin Qianxin, who had caused trouble, was unaware of it. Her eyes scanned the hall briefly and saw that apart from her father and brother, there were two other men: one with a full beard and a rough appearance, and another dressed in elegant clothes, with red lips and white teeth, looking like a refined gentleman. Qin Qianxin knew this person was Li Mu, thinking to herself that rumors were indeed true - the second son of the Li family from Jiangdong was truly as handsome as a jade-faced young master, even more so than Jia Baoyu from the Rongguo House. Her face flushed red, she quickly withdrew her gaze and came before Qin Zhenwen, bowed and said: "Father, I heard that we have noble guests at home, so I came to take a look. You won't blame me for taking liberties, will you?"

  P.S: Today is Li Chun (Beginning of Spring), have you eaten spring pancakes? Wow!