Encountering Du Tianci here didn't surprise Li Qianfan in the slightest.
Or rather,
He had already known that Du Tianci had arrived at Liushui Pavilion, and that he was one of the twenty-three guests.
Li Qianfan also knew that Du Tianci was being treated with indifference at Liushui Pavilion.
Even the eldest grandson of King Yimeng Dagui, barely paid attention to this notorious dandy from the provincial capital.
Bai Ziyan was at Liushui Pavilion, wasn't she?
Li Qianfan's intention to come to the Bai family and discipline the filial son who introduced Feng Linzhi to Jiao Meibi, a "cap-snatching" act, was not solely his own.
It was also Bai Ziyan's.
Bai Ziyan, who had been secretly planning to truly control the Bai family, demanded that Li Qianfan listen to her in everything he did concerning the Bai family.
Li Qianfan agreed.
This was because Bai Ziyan—
Not only was she a member of the Bai Du Bird group; but when she was about to be captured alive by Jessica's men, she had resolved not to betray Li Qianfan and Du Junlin!
"So, it's Young Master Du."
Li Qianfan stopped the car, got out, and leaned against the door.
Their first meeting had resulted in Li Qianfan breaking Du Tianci's hand when he had molested Dai Paipai.
Later, when Du Tianci tried to "auction" Mo Hongti, Li Qianfan had not only made the fool lose face but also suffer heavy losses.
They were, in essence, enemies.
But for some reason—
Li Qianfan always felt that Young Master Du was much more pleasant to look at than Bai Yujing, Du Yingjun, and the others.
Bai Yujing and the others were hypocrites, while Young Master Du was a genuine scoundrel.
It was better to be brothers with a real scoundrel than to stay away from a refined scoundrel who called himself a gentleman!
"Li Qianfan, here, have a smoke."
Du Tianci strode over, a fawning smile on his face, and offered a cigarette, "Oh, right, happy Chinese New Year."
"Happy New Year to you too."
Li Qianfan lowered his head and lit the cigarette, "Speak, what secret do you want to tell me?"
"That thing..."
Du Tianci glanced at Yaoya, who was sitting in the car, and asked in a low voice, "You're going to Liushui Pavilion to celebrate Madam Bai's birthday, aren't you?"
Li Qianfan replied, "Yes, I'm coming here during the New Year, so of course I'm going to Liushui Pavilion."
Du Tianci asked again, "Do you know who is celebrating Madam Bai's birthday there right now?"
Li Qianfan frowned, "If you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost. Playing coy during the New Year, aren't you annoying?"
"Heh, hehe."
After being crushed by Li Qianfan several times, Young Master Tianci's tolerance had noticeably increased.
He chuckled awkwardly, then recounted verbatim what he had accidentally overheard between Bai Fu and Wang Dagui.
The more Li Qianfan listened, the more grim his expression became.
Du Tianci secretly rejoiced.
He added fuel to the fire, asking, "Li Qianfan, the whole world knows Jiao Yin is your woman. But now, there are as many as twenty-two people vying to make a cuckold of you. How do you feel right now?"
How did Li Qianfan feel?
He raised his hand—
*Pia!*
"What the hell, why did you hit me?"
Du Tianci, suddenly slapped by Li Qianfan, instinctively raised his hand to cover his face and blurted out.
"Why did I hit you?"
Li Qianfan's eyes were menacing, "Because you dared to joke that I'm a 'King of Hats' (a man whose wife is cheating)."
"Oh, oh, oh."
Du Tianci understood and quickly nodded, "That... that's my fault. I really deserve it, I accept the punishment."
Huh.
This fool's temper seemed different from before.
It seemed that after suffering setbacks for the past six months, he had become much more mature.
Li Qianfan was secretly surprised, watching Du Tianci's continuous self-criticism, and suddenly found it a little amusing.
But on the surface, he said with a sinister tone, "Du Tianci, you told me all this deliberately, didn't you?"
"I just can't stand it—"
Du Tianci was about to retort, but after biting his back teeth, he said, "You're right, I do have ulterior motives! I want to use your hand to deal with those fools who look down on me!"
*Peh!*
Having said that, Young Master Du even lowered his head and spat fiercely, "A bunch of hypocritical dogs. So many people messing around with one woman, they have no shame."
Holy cow.
Young Master Du now understood shame?
Alright.
His demeanor had improved greatly.
Li Qianfan found it even more amusing, but his face was ashen. He lit another cigarette.
After waiting patiently for a moment, Du Tianci asked, "Li Qianfan, are you going to deal with those fools?"
Li Qianfan retorted coldly, "What do you think?"
"Absolutely! A man can endure the humiliation of being under his crotch, but he can never accept his hat turning green!"
Du Tianci said, "But can I ask you for a favor?"
Li Qianfan asked, "You want me to spare your father, considering you've informed me?"
"Yes. After all, he's my father."
Du Tianci was quite straightforward, "But I hope you can severely punish Bai Yujing and Du Yingjun, those two fools."
Before he finished speaking—
*Pia!*
Young Master Tianci felt thunder explode in his ears again.
He covered his cheekbone again, lamenting aggrievedly, "Li Qianfan, why did you hit me again? What did I say wrong?"
"You hope?"
Li Qianfan asked expressionlessly, "What kind of person are you? You ask me for a favor, yet you dictate how I should do it."
Du Tianci—
He lowered his hand, his face full of dejection, "Okay, I was wrong again. I am begging you to severely punish Bai Yujing and Du Yingjun, those two fools."
"I can understand you asking me to punish Bai Yujing severely. After all, you just said that as the host, he repeatedly neglected you. It's normal for you to hate him for that."
Li Qianfan said, "But I don't understand why you want me to punish Du Yingjun. Du Yingjun is your full brother, isn't he?"
"It's precisely because he's my own brother that I'm angry when he looks down on me too. I always feel like my old man was dragged down by him! Those two share the same woman. Damn it, aren't they beasts? They'll eventually be ruined by Madam Bai and end up in destitution! If the Du family is gone, what am I?"
Yo.
Young Master Du was becoming more self-aware.
Li Qianfan once again "looked highly" upon Du Tianci, turned to open the car door, and got in, "Du Tianci, come back to Liushui Pavilion with me."
"Ah?"
Du Tianci was stunned, "You want me to go to Liushui Pavilion too? Then, when you deal with those fools, will you tell them that I was the one who leaked the information?"
Li Qianfan replied, "Even if you didn't go, I would tell him it was you who leaked it."
"Holy cow—"
Du Tianci was a bit stunned, "Li Qianfan, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? After today, if I want to withstand the revenge of Du Yingjun and the others, I'll have to be your lackey, at your beck and call."
"You're quite smart."
Li Qianfan praised him, got in the car, and slammed the door shut.
He ignored Du Tianci and started the car, driving south towards Liushui Pavilion.
Young Master Tianci stood dumbfounded for a moment—
He stomped his foot in annoyance and quickly got into his car, "Damn! Since I can't escape becoming a lackey anyway, what can I do? Besides, being a lackey for Li Qianfan doesn't seem like such a shameful thing. As long as I follow him steadfastly, when he inherits Longxu, I'll be a minister who followed him from the start. Who would dare look down on my Young Master Tianci then!?"
Suddenly.
Du Tianci had an epiphany, realizing that being able to latch onto the eldest young master of Longxu was something many people desperately desired.
He immediately became happy.
He puffed out his cheek, still bearing the imprint of a slap, whistling, he quickly turned his car around and chased after Li Qianfan's car.
Du Junlin looked back.
He glanced at the car quickly catching up and asked, "You're going to take him as a subordinate? I heard from Chongchong that he used to indulge in drinking, gambling, whoring, and bullying everywhere in Tiandong, doing all sorts of evil. If he follows you, he'll definitely lower your status."
Li Qianfan retorted, "Didn't you notice that he still has some sense of shame? The key is, he seems to be somewhat filial. As long as a person is filial, no matter how bad they are, there's a possibility of redemption."
"But I always feel—"
Du Junlin frowned, "He won't be able to change his bad habits of doing evil for a while."
Li Qianfan, however, asked, "Yaoya, if you let him do evil in Dongyang, would you still have negative feelings towards him?"
"Of course not! If he can do all sorts of evil in Dongyang, the more evil he is, the more I will admire and support him."
Yaoya, who had no good feelings towards that island nation, blurted out these words and then understood, "You want him to go to Dongyang with Tang Wenyuan?"
Li Qianfan smiled, "Tang Wenyuan isn't a good person either. If he can team up with Du Tianci to cause trouble in Dongyang, perhaps he can give me a big surprise. Besides, even if Du Tianci is truly useless, we can just have him stay in Dongyang forever. He's been given an opportunity, it's up to him whether he can seize it."
"I think Tang Wenyuan is quite good."
Du Junlin paused and said, "The mistakes he made seem to be no different from yours. Strictly speaking, you, Tang Wenyuan, and Du Tianci are all the types who can't resist beautiful women."
Li Qianfan—
How could this child speak like that?
Comparing the esteemed eldest young master of Longxu with people like Tang Wenyuan and Du Tianci!
"Qianfan, let me ask you something."
Seeing Liushui Pavilion getting closer, Yaoya said in a very casual tone, "Is there already an unspeakable relationship between you and Su Maomao?"
Hmm?
Nonsense, how could I get involved with Su Maomao!?
Li Qianfan frowned. He was about to blurt out this response to Du Yaoya when he suddenly recalled Su Maomao's contribution to waking him up.
Although it was a sacrifice of the purest kind—
Li Qianfan felt guilty, coughed dryly, "I'll explain it to you later."
Heh heh.
Du Yaoya chuckled, and then said, "Also, has Su Nan Guanyin also become your prey?"
"Nonsense!"
Li Qianfan was stunned again, then quickly reprimanded sternly, "Others may not know, but my interaction with Guanyin was just a casual fling. Don't you know that either?"
Du Junlin lowered his head, "Or perhaps, you became her prey."
"Du Junlin, do you think it's amusing to say that?"
Li Qianfan said coldly, stopping the car by the entrance of Liushui Pavilion.
He didn't want to bother with Du Junlin anymore and opened the door to get out.
Just as he was about to close the door, he heard Yaoya whisper, "Actually, as long as the five of us don't say anything, there will be peace in the world."
You—
Sigh!
Li Qianfan sighed, and Yaoya also got out of the car, looking at him from across the vehicle, "I won't forget how sad Mom was before New Year's Eve. Ever since she returned from the Great Wall, our family has seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds. Mao Maochong and I tried desperately to lighten the mood, but nothing worked. But the moment you pushed the door open. Our family's sky brightened."
Li Qianfan stared blankly at Du Junlin, not knowing what to say.
*Bang.*
Du Tianci got out of the car and slammed the door shut forcefully.
"Boss, I'll go report your arrival first."
Young Master Tianci, who had finally figured things out, said with renewed vigor and strode into the courtyard gate of Liushui Pavilion.
He bellowed, "Young Master of Longxu, Mr. Qianfan! Has arrived at Liushui Pavilion!"