Chapter 45: Teasing Qin Shubao

  The music stopped abruptly as Li Jiancheng shouted, and Qin Shubao, who was immersed in the music, also came back to his senses and looked at him. "Jiancheng, why did you interrupt such heavenly music?" There was still a hint of complaint in his tone. Unexpectedly, Qin Shubao had this side to him, and Li Jiancheng couldn't help but laugh wildly in his heart.

  "It's indeed the sound of the zither that is so moving, I couldn't help myself. This sound is truly from heaven above, and it's hard to hear it in this world!" In order to describe it more vividly, Li Jiancheng had no choice but to use a line from Du Fu's poem, hoping that he wouldn't blame himself for it later. Sure enough, upon hearing him say so, Qin Shubao's mouth curled up into a smile, even more delighted than if he had been praised.

  At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a Yuanbao hat and dressed in luxurious silk came over. Li Jiancheng was very curious who this person was? He turned his head to look at Qin Shubao, only to see him frowning slightly, as if he recognized him, could it be...

  As expected, the man walked straight up to him and said, "Young master, I am the owner of this wine house." It was indeed him, Li Ruo's uncle, a man with great business acumen and personality, but without an ounce of humanity.

  "Oh! I don't know what the boss wants me for?" Li Jiancheng asked in puzzlement.

  "Just now I saw you were very satisfied with the piano sound, I wonder if you would like to meet the person who played it?" The old man was tempting Li Jiancheng like a devil. But he wanted to see him anyway, so it didn't matter.

  "In that case, it's no harm to take a look. I also want to see what kind of person can produce such beautiful music on the guqin." Li Jiancheng said with a pretended thoughtful tone.

  "Rong'er, come out!" The boss shouted into the inner chamber.

  After a while, the bead curtain in the inner hall was pulled up by someone, and a long-haired, fair-skinned woman wearing a white dress walked out. She was about 20 years old, looked elegant and refined, and had an air of a noble lady from a high-ranking official's family.

  "What's this young master's surname?" The boss asked with a smack of his lips.

  "My surname is Li." Li Jiancheng only mentioned his surname, and it was unnecessary for this kind of person to know his full name.

  When Li Rongrong walked out, Qin Shubao's eyes didn't move at all, staring at her without blinking. And Li Rongrong subtly gave a glance to Qin Shubao, although it could deceive the boss, but for Li Jiancheng, it was child's play. It seems that these two are in love, and next time they will tease Qin Shubao thoroughly.

  "This girl is my niece, surname Qin, named Rong. Both of her parents have passed away, so she's temporarily living with me. However, now that she's grown up, it's time for her to find a family of her own. I don't know if you're interested, sir?" The boss said slowly, without even asking Li Rong's opinion, leaving Li Jiancheng puzzled - would she agree?

  All she heard was the woman shouting: "Uncle, I don't want to!"

  "Rong'er, it's not that your uncle doesn't want to raise you, but this wine shop isn't very profitable either, and I won't be able to support you." The boss first spoke in a gentle tone, but immediately turned stern: "Besides, when you first came here, you signed a contract, agreeing to obey me in everything. Now that you've grown up, your wings have hardened, and you don't need to listen to my words anymore?" Li Rongrong was left speechless by the boss's words, and could only sob quietly on the side. Qin Shubao, on the other hand, looked at the scene with wide eyes, his fists clenched in anger, as if he wanted to pounce on the boss and beat him up. If it were someone else, they would have taken action long ago, and wouldn't be hesitating because of this situation. If Shan Yuxin were here, he would definitely take care of the boss when no one was around, and then bring Rongrong away - he wouldn't just stand by and watch his loved one suffer because of money issues. But it's precisely this kind of personality that has earned him a high reputation among the people.

  "What do you think, young master? As long as you can afford the price, she'll be yours from now on." The boss said with a sly smile, revealing an expression that all men understood. Seeing him like this, even Li Jiancheng couldn't help but want to get rid of him, and he really didn't know how Qin Shubao had endured it.

  At this time, the three of them were all tense and staring at Li Jiancheng. The boss was hoping he would agree, while Qin Shubao was hoping he wouldn't, and Li Rongrong had a sorrowful expression on her face. It was indeed unbearable to have one's fate in someone else's hands. Under the gaze of the three, Li Jiancheng slowly said: "Alright! I just don't know how much the boss wants." Seeing that Li Jiancheng agreed, the boss became excited, while Li Rongrong still had a sorrowful expression on her face - after all, her fate was not in her control, and it made no difference who she was with. Qin Shubao, on the other hand, first felt relieved, thinking that Li Jiancheng was interested in women, so he didn't have to worry about him anymore. However, he immediately thought of Li Rongrong being in Li Jiancheng's hands and didn't know whether to be happy or sad. At this moment, he regretted not borrowing money from his brother to redeem Li Rongrong earlier, even if it meant losing face. Thinking about it, he also had a sorrowful expression on his face, making Li Jiancheng feel a bit embarrassed: did he also have the potential to be an evil demon?

  "How about 1,000 taels?" the boss said, but seeing Li Jiancheng furrow his brow, he immediately added: "I see that you are not an ordinary person, 500 taels, and I can let him go for 500 taels."

  At this time, Li Jiancheng was thinking that he hadn't brought so much silver, and suddenly thought of the jade on his body. He took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the boss, saying: "I don't have that much silver now, boss, what do you think of this jade? It should be worth 500 taels too." This jade was given by the emperor himself, how could it be an inferior product?

  When the boss saw Li Jiancheng's jade pendant, his eyes flashed with a hint of brightness, but it was quickly hidden. He hesitated for a moment before taking the pendant and pretending to be reluctant, saying: "Since you're so insistent, I won't say much more. Here's the contract, from now on she belongs to you." The boss said this in a deliberately casual tone, then handed over Li Rongrong's contract to Li Jiancheng. In his heart, Li Jiancheng sneered - this was something bestowed by the imperial court, worth thousands of taels, and yet the boss still looked like he was at a disadvantage. Anyway, Yang Guang wouldn't live for many more years, so whether or not it was bestowed by the imperial court didn't matter to him anymore.

  "Rong'er, go and pack up, then follow this young master!" The boss said to Li Rongrong, then turned his head to say to Li Jiancheng: "This young master, please wait a moment, there are still some things in the store that I need to attend to, I'll be right back, don't worry." After finishing speaking, the boss hurriedly left, probably worried that Li Jiancheng would change his mind and ask for the goods back. Li Jiancheng thought disdainfully, these things were useless to him anyway.

  "Jian Cheng, how much was that jade pendant worth just now?" Qin Shu Bao hesitated and asked Li Jian Cheng. It seemed he still wanted to know the value of the jade pendant, then let himself release Li Rong Rong, and then give the money to himself.

  Seeing his appearance, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but want to laugh, and casually said: "Oh! I don't know the specific value either, this was bestowed upon our family by the Emperor, probably can be sold for a few thousand taels."

  "What?!" Qin Shu Bao shouted in shock, the imperial gift was given away so casually, and at this rate, it seemed that the jade pendant would be gone for good?! Thinking of this, Qin Shubao felt a wave of powerlessness inside, and also began to feel angry with himself for being useless. He couldn't even protect his own loved one, but this also ignited Qin Shu Bao's inner determination, which was beyond Li Jian Cheng's expectation.

  After a while, Li Jiongjiong came out with a bundle on her back and an ancient zither in her arms. Her face showed no joy or sorrow, whether she was resigned to her fate or had other thoughts, it wasn't something Li Jiancheng could know. Originally, Li Jiancheng wasn't hungry either, and Qin Shubao couldn't eat anymore, so the three of them left the wine tower together.

  The boss of the store saw the three people leave and muttered to himself: "I didn't expect to sell it for such a high price, this jade pendant is worth at least a few thousand taels, I've really made a big profit this time, haha..."

  ……

  At this time, the boss's thoughts were unknown to the three of them. Li Rongrong followed closely behind Li Jiancheng, while Qin Shubao walked beside him with an expressionless face. When they reached the horse, Li Jiancheng said to Qin Shubao, "Brother Qin, would you please help me lift Miss Rong onto the horse?" Although Li Jiancheng was now 1 meter 6 tall, he still couldn't lift someone onto a horse by himself, so he asked Qin Shubao for help. Of course, they also thought that this was the reason why Li Jiancheng had asked for assistance.

  When Qin Shubao helped Li Jiongjiong onto the horse, with an air of "the wind is so sorrowful and the Yi River is cold", Li Jiancheng almost burst out laughing, but managed to hold it in.

  "Brother Qin, since it's like this, I won't see you off either. Let's just say goodbye here!" Li Jiancheng said to Qin Shubao.

  "Let's part ways for now, and hopefully we'll meet again someday!" Qin Shubao said weakly, casting a sideways glance at Li Jiaojiao as he spoke, before turning to leave.

  "Huh? Qin Ge, why didn't you take Rong'er with you?" Li Jiancheng said, feigning puzzlement.

  "What?" Qin Shu Bao and Li Jiao Jiao both exclaimed in surprise, looking at Li Jian Cheng with confusion.

  "Haha..." Seeing the expressions of the two, Li Jiancheng finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Brother Qin, I've long discovered that you have a crush on Miss Li, and Miss Li also has feelings for you, so I wanted to tease Brother Qin, but it was my mistake."

  "Which Miss Li?" Qin Shubao only realized he had been teased by Li Jiancheng's words, but was also very puzzled as to who Miss Li was. When Li Rongrong heard Li Jiancheng's words, she felt a sudden jolt, could it be that he knew?

  "Qin Rong, also known as Li Rongrong, was the daughter of Li Yushi in the 4th year of Sui Dynasty's Daye. Later, for some reason, her whole family was killed, and only she was not seen. Is that right? Miss Li Rongrong?" Li Jiancheng calmly told the general situation about Li Rongrong.

  "Why did you know?" Li Jiongjiong asked Li Jiancheng in surprise, while Qin Shubao stood firmly in front of Li Jiongjiong, worried that Li Jiancheng would be unfavorable to her.

  "Qin big brother, why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I would do anything to harm Miss Li Rongrong?" Li Jiancheng asked with a smile.

  "Oh! I was too anxious." Qin Shubao scratched his head in embarrassment. If Li Jiancheng wanted to take advantage, he could just bring it back and say so, no need to mention it here.

  "Li Jiongjiong, I'll ransom you from your uncle. Hope you won't think about revenge, when the time comes, it will be settled naturally. Hope you can live a good life with Qin Gege, and in the future, when you get married, invite me to have a drink." Li Jiancheng said with a smile, then handed over the contract to Qin Shubao, and continued: "The journey is long, my horse is given to Li Jiongjiong."

  "Jian Cheng, your great kindness and virtue are beyond my brother's ability to repay. If there is anything that drives you, I, Qin Mou, will definitely do my best to complete it." Qin Shu Bao expressed his heart to Li Jian Cheng. He also knew that Li Jian Cheng was so good to him, it was impossible for him to have no requests, but he had nothing except his martial arts skills, so he pledged his loyalty to Li Jian Cheng.

  Qin Shubao was now in his own hands, but for the time being, he didn't need to use him yet, so he would talk about it later. Then Li Jiancheng said a word to both of them and walked alone towards Taiyuan City.

  Li Rongrong looked at Li Jiancheng's distant back and said to Qin Shubao: "What a mysterious person!"

  "Yes!" Qin Shubao responded. The two men stopped talking, exchanged a glance, and whipped their horses to head towards Mount Donglai in Shandong Province.