The game of chess did not continue.
The old man couldn't keep up appearances, and Li Chonglou stretched lazily, then stood up and said, "Old man, I'll remember this matter. I'll find you when I recall it."
"Go play with Dad."
Playing chess with the old man was incredibly boring.
Too much calculation, no fun at all.
However, he felt satisfied. He had thought he was just a beginner, but when he tested himself, he discovered his innate abilities were far superior to Elder Jiang's calculated approach.
Walking out of the study, Jiang Yuxin was chatting with Lü Yunxu.
"Yuxin, the old man asked me to give you the family heirloom." Li Chonglou handed over the box containing the rhinoceros horn goblet.
Jiang Yuxin opened it and took a look. Her eyes instantly turned red.
As a member of the Jiang family, how could she not understand the significance of this item?
The Jiang family's rule was that heirlooms were passed down to males, not females.
To gain a foothold in the Jiang family, she had even married a man into the family, just to get her grandfather's approval.
After so many years, she had finally come into her own.
The old man's willingness to entrust this goblet to her explained everything.
"Chonglou, you chat with Yunxu. I'll go help with the preparations." Jiang Yuxin didn't want anyone to see her emotional state, and she quickly left.
"Is she always like this?" Lü Yunxu, not noticing Jiang Yuxin's change, asked with a helpless expression.
Jiang Yuxin was the opposite of her. She liked to have others do things for her, while Jiang Yuxin chose to shoulder everything herself.
It was her birthday today, yet she had to personally handle everything.
This made her, as a best friend, feel quite indignant.
The Jiang family members lacked any sense of propriety.
"Her living environment from childhood has determined her personality." Li Chonglou, understanding the reason, didn't say much and changed the subject, asking, "How did you resolve the matter with the Douyin executive I beat up?"
"It was smoothed over," Lü Yunxu said with a wry smile. "They didn't agree to any compensation."
"There was nothing I could do, so I had him beaten up again."
"Then I had someone arrange for a young lady to spend a night with him and take some videos."
"And that was the end of it."
Hearing this, Li Chonglou's eyelids twitched.
Miss Lü, despite her fresh and beautiful appearance, was actually quite wicked at heart.
She spoke of such morally questionable methods so eloquently, without any moral qualms, truly befitting someone from a wealthy family.
Just listening to it was exhilarating.
In fact, Li Chonglou envied Lü Yunxu's personality—bold, decisive, and unrestrained.
He couldn't be like that.
He hadn't seen his father since childhood and was raised by his mother, who painstakingly told him, "Our family is poor, never get into trouble outside."
"We can't afford to cause trouble."
These words were etched into his bones, impossible to wash away.
As a result, he was known as a coward in school, bullied by everyone.
If he hadn't faced a life-or-death situation, he wouldn't have achieved what he had today.
This was a natural disparity.
"Brother Li, you don't think I'm cruel, do you?" Lü Yunxu saw Li Chonglou's silence and a hint of worry appeared in her large eyes.
She feared nothing, yet she couldn't help but care about Li Chonglou's opinion of her.
Perhaps this was a case of one thing conquering another.
"As long as you're good in my eyes, what you do to others has nothing to do with me," Li Chonglou's words immediately reassured Lü Yunxu.
Whoosh.
As soon as he spoke, a commotion arose outside the villa.
It sounded like something extremely shocking had happened.
"Something's wrong, let's go see." Li Chonglou's brow furrowed slightly, and he turned to walk outside.
Today was his wife's big day, and an important moment to announce her ascension to the Jiang family to all of Qin Prefecture.
No mistakes were allowed.
Li Chonglou rushed out of the villa in three steps.
In the courtyard, guests looked pale and remained silent.
At the entrance, a young girl was followed by a group of burly men with fierce auras. Each of their eyes seemed like those of hungry wolves, exceptionally fierce.
In front of the girl lay two people.
One of them was Fu Bin, who had caused trouble for Li Chonglou earlier. His face was beaten into a pig's head, and he couldn't even scream. He was curled up on the ground, twitching all over.
The other was an unrelated guest.
"Li Duo'er." Li Chonglou's pupils contracted as he saw the young girl.
He had met this girl twice before he went to Yu City.
She was spirited and quirky, and from their first meeting, Li Chonglou felt a natural sense of closeness towards her.
It was like an older brother looking at a younger sister.
They hadn't kept in touch since then, and he didn't expect her to appear at the Jiang family villa today.
She had even beaten up Fu Bin, who should have left, and dragged him back.
"Big brother, I came to find you." Li Duo'er showed no embarrassment. She hopped over to Li Chonglou, grabbed his arm, and pointed at Fu Bin. "I didn't know the way earlier, so I asked him for directions."
"Then this guy cursed you in front of me, so I had him brought back."
"And gave him a small punishment."
Hearing this, everyone gasped. Many who had previously mocked Li Chonglou now looked fearful.
If Lü Yunxu acting as Li Chonglou's backer only made them outwardly compliant,
then seeing Fu Bin's battered state made them tremble from the bottom of their hearts.
They secretly wondered about the relationship between this smiling young girl and Li Chonglou.
Lü Yunxu's pupils contracted, and she asked in a low voice, "What's your relationship with Brother Li?"
"What business is it of yours?" Li Duo'er rolled her eyes at Lü Yunxu. "I'm here for Big Brother. I heard it's my sister-in-law's birthday today. Are you my sister-in-law?"
Her question left Lü Yunxu speechless.
"Yunxu, go find Yuxin." Li Chonglou's expression was calm, and he gave a look to the changing Lü Yunxu.
For some reason, he felt that Li Duo'er's sudden appearance was not simple.
Although this girl gave him a sense of closeness, the fact that she could lead these obviously trained henchmen to barge in and beat people up made him unsure of what this young girl was trying to achieve.
Lü Yunxu was also someone who feared nothing, and if a conflict were to arise between them, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Brother Li..." Lü Yunxu started to speak but stopped.
Seeing Li Chonglou's serious expression, she still nodded and retreated into the villa.
Li Chonglou's gaze fell on Li Duo'er's face, and he asked, "Duo'er, just tell me directly what you need me for."
"Big Brother, someone wants me to invite you to come with me," Li Duo'er said earnestly, pursing her small lips.
"Did the bald guy who runs the underground boxing ring send you?" Li Chonglou's eyes narrowed slightly.
In just a moment, he realized that the burly men following Li Duo'er were not thugs, nor were they ordinary people.
They were genuine martial artists.
Their auras, though not comparable to Xu Lie's, were far superior to ordinary people.
The key was that there were seven or eight of them. The only one who could gather so many experts was likely the bald guy.
Most importantly, he had a feud with him.
"What makes him think he's anything? He's just a dog," Li Duo'er said dismissively upon hearing this. "The person who wants you is in Yong'an. Come with me, Big Brother."
"Now?" Li Chonglou's heart trembled.
The bald guy was merely a dog in Li Duo'er's words.
Then, who was the person who sent her to invite him?
Could it be someone from the Xiao family in Yong'an?