Film and Television World Life Record

The sound of phoenix flutes stirs, the jade pot shines, and a night of fish and dragon dance unfolds…

At the same time, in another small courtyard of the Nie family mansion, Yuan Jin'er sat alone in the courtyard, feeling empty inside. Yun Zhu had finally taken that step, leaving her all alone.

While feeling disappointed, she couldn't help but feel a little envious. Women like them, who came from brothels, were considered "pure courtesans" who sold their bodies but not their skills. Their reputation was still bad, so they couldn't become wives and would only marry concubines.

Concubines also have different fates. If they marry the right person, they can enjoy wealth and happiness for a lifetime. If they marry the wrong person, they will not only not enjoy happiness, but they will also inevitably be beaten and mistreated.

Although she often mocked Li Mu with sarcastic remarks, it is undeniable that Li Mu, apart from being a son-in-law, was excellent in every way and was indeed a good match for her.

Previously, Yuan Jin'er disapproved of Nie Yunzhu and Li Mu being together and would take every opportunity to mock them. Now that the two are really together, Yuan Jin'er suddenly feels that Sister Yunzhu made a good choice. A man like Li Mu is indeed hard to find, and she feels a sense of envy and jealousy.

"Should I find a man...?" Yuan Jin'er asked herself. "Where is my ideal partner?" Suddenly, the image of Li Mu popped into her mind.

……

As the night passed, the next day, as dawn broke and a light drizzle began to fall, Nie Yunzhu nestled in his arms. Her usually resilient yet aloof nature was now replaced by tenderness.

Li Mu held her soft body, warm and vibrant, her delicate skin making him feel very comfortable.

A moment later, Li Mu stretched and was about to get up when Nie Yunzhu shyly opened her eyes and whispered, "Liheng!"

Li Mu smiled and said, "You're awake!"

Nie Yunzhu nodded.

Li Mu said, "That's good. I will formally teach you the Great Music of Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth."

……

In the following days, as soon as Nie Yunzhu recovered a little, Li Mu began to teach her the Kun version of the Great Music of Yin and Yang. Nie Yunzhu was very smart and had a foundation from practicing the Pine Crane Fist, so she quickly learned it quite well.

Although still shy, having tasted the flavor for the first time, and with the martial arts of the Great Joy of Yin and Yang as a temptation, she became quite proactive.

For a while afterward, things were quite harmonious, except for Yuan Jin'er, whose eyes were always filled with resentment and indignation, making her seem rather pitiful.

Li Mu continued to wander around leisurely every day, just like before. However, every three to five days, he would go to Calabash Valley to personally participate in and oversee the training of the guards.

Recently, Li Mu has been planning to set up a security escort agency, and guards who pass the training and assessment will join the agency.

Firstly, even outside the Jiangning area, they could legitimately possess some equipment and avoid attracting attention.

Secondly, even after these guards pass the training and assessment, they still lack practical combat experience. Placing them in the escort agency allows them to be taken out for training and participate in some real combat, quickly making up for these shortcomings.

Moreover, with the rapid expansion of Zhuji, security issues would inevitably arise in its businesses across various regions. The addition of these guards to the escort agency would make it easier for them to be deployed under the agency's name.

For the foreseeable future, the military force Li Mu is cultivating will primarily focus on protecting trade routes across various regions. He'll be accumulating strength while awaiting the opportune moment…

Chapter 621 Yuan Jin'er's Envy

In the following days, he would stay with Su Tan'er when she was at home, and accompany Nie Yunzhu to cultivate the Great Music of Yin and Yang.

Based on Su Tan'er's training progress, he has optimized the Jade Maiden Heart Sword technique again over the past few months. Without increasing the difficulty of entry, the sword technique has become even more exquisite.

Subsequently, the Returning Wind and Willow Body Technique were passed on to Nie Yunzhu. Although she did not yet possess internal energy and could not unleash the power of these two martial arts, learning them sooner or later was still worthwhile.

Once internal energy is developed in the future, it will be quickly mastered.

Thus, Yuan Jin'er was extremely envious of Nie Yunzhu, who practiced martial arts and swordsmanship every day.

She also had a great curiosity about martial arts. When she saw Nie Yunzhu practicing the Pine Crane Fist, she quickly followed suit and learned it after obtaining Li Mu's permission. The effect was remarkable, and she became more and more interested in martial arts.

Now that she hears that Li Mu is going to teach Nie Yunzhu even more powerful martial arts, she is even more envious, but unfortunately she can't learn them.

I didn't stop her from learning, but I clearly told her that without internal energy to support her, these sword techniques and light body skills would be just for show.

Yuan Jin'er kept insisting on learning internal energy cultivation like Nie Yunzhu. Li Mu didn't refuse her directly, but suggested that she ask Nie Yunzhu how to practice the Kun Scroll of the Great Joy of Heaven and Earth Yin and Yang... If she didn't mind and was willing to go all out, Li Mu wouldn't mind helping her.

After Yuan Jin'er asked Nie Yunzhu about her training process, her face turned as red as a monkey's bottom. She was too embarrassed to show her face in front of Li Mu for several days. When she finally did show her face, she either rolled her eyes or called Li Mu a hooligan and bullied her with Nie Yunzhu.

The matter of learning internal martial arts was no longer mentioned.

However, whenever Li Mu taught Nie Yunzhu swordsmanship and lightness skills, Yuan Jin'er would always come over, probably not intending to give up.

And so, life went on uneventfully. Li Mu shuttled between Su Jiazhu and Ji, and even set aside some time to establish a security escort agency called "Longmen Escort Agency".

After all, he wasn't very familiar with the martial arts world of this place, nor had he ever traveled the Jianghu (martial arts world). Therefore, Li Mu specifically recruited a subordinate who was familiar with the situation.

This person was none other than Jiang Jing, who had been captured after being defeated by Su Tan'er last time.

To be honest, Jiang Jing wasn't originally a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor among ...) person, but a scholar who had failed the imperial examinations multiple times in Tanzhou.

Later, disillusioned with fame and fortune, and having been fond of martial arts and chivalry since childhood, despite his mediocre skills, he gradually began wandering the martial world, eventually becoming the second leader of Huangmen Mountain, and later joining the Liangshan bandits. During the Liangshan Grand Assembly, he became one of the 108 heroes, ranking fifty-third, and was responsible for assessing the mountain stronghold's finances.

After Liangshan accepted the imperial pardon, he resigned from his official post and returned to Tanzhou to live as a commoner. He was one of the few people who were relatively clear-headed, able to see through fame and fortune, and protect himself.

Although his martial arts skills weren't high, he was quite intelligent. After all, he came from a traditional scholarly background and had a nickname, "The Divine Calculator." As the de facto coordinator of Liangshan's logistical support, he could be considered an indispensable professional and technical talent for Liangshan. After all, Liangshan was just a makeshift organization, and it was quite remarkable that their logistics hadn't encountered any major problems after so many battles.

As the person in charge of Liangshan's finances and logistics, he was a man of real ability, though he was not well-known.

Last time, Jiang Jing, along with Mo Yun Jin Chi Ou Peng and Tie Di Xian Ma Lin, went to rescue Xi Junyu. Ou Peng was immediately dealt with by Cheng Lie, the leader of the Hundred Blades Alliance. Su Tan, however, was fighting for the first time and couldn't be ruthless enough. He only managed to subdue Jiang Jing and Ma Lin, sparing their lives.

After questioning, it was learned that they were not deliberately targeting the Su family. It was just that Xi Junyu had helped Ou Peng before, and the two had a good relationship. The person who assassinated Su Boyong was arranged by Ou Peng.

This time, after Xi Junyu was arrested, Ou Peng kept inquiring about his whereabouts and looking for an opportunity to rescue him.

Finally, they jumped into the ambush set up by the Su family.

Jiang Jing and Xi Junyu had no connection; they had only met once. Jiang Jing had no intention of getting involved, but Ou Peng refused to let go and insisted on saving people. Ma Lin, though not very bright, was equally eager.

Unfortunately, the group had come out together on business, and Liangshan valued loyalty above all else. Jiang Jing couldn't refuse and had no choice but to participate.

On the day of the operation, Jiang Jing was the last to arrive. He intended to make a perfunctory attempt, but instead, he jumped into the encirclement and was ultimately defeated by Su Tan'er. Fortunately, Tan'er did not kill him, otherwise Jiang Jing would not have survived.

After Jiang Jing and Ma Lin were captured, they were interrogated. Ma Lin, who was already seriously injured, died a few days later.

Jiang Jing, on the other hand, was not seriously injured. After the interrogation, he learned about Su Boyong's assassination and what his connection was to it. He also had no grudge against the Su family.

The Su family wanted to kill the man to settle things once and for all, but since they had no personal grudge against him, they couldn't bring themselves to do it. They wanted to release him, but they were afraid that news of it would get back to Liangshan and someone would come down to seek revenge, which would also be a threat to the Su family.

Li Mu was setting up a security escort agency and happened to be short of someone with management skills and familiarity with the martial arts world. Jiang Jing came into his sights, so he took him over.

Upon learning that all ties with Liangshan would be severed, Jiang Jing initially hesitated. Li Mu, without further ado, used a month's worth of internal energy to create a Life-or-Death Talisman. As soon as the talisman was planted and began to activate slightly, Jiang Jing wisely agreed, not only out of fear but also astonished by Li Mu's unpredictable and mysterious methods.

Thus, Li Mu gained an extra helper, and the Longmen Escort Agency was quickly established.

……

Time flies, and soon the year will be over. During the New Year holiday, Li Mu took Su Tan'er to visit Qin Siyuan and Kang Xian. After learning their identities, Su Tan'er was shocked and surprised by Li Mu's casual manner with them.

The highest-ranking official the Su family could previously associate with was a local prefect, yet my husband managed to become friends with them…

……

The year passed by in this way, and Li Mu continued to spend his days leisurely in Jiangning City. He would wander around every day, leading a group of children to read books while swaying their heads, or playing chess with Qin Siyuan and Kang Xian, listening to the two of them chat about their gossip and the recent situation in the north.

In this era, information spread too slowly, ordinary people had too little knowledge, and the North was too far away. For many people, it was just a vague concept, and many people just talked big but didn't really understand what the Liao Dynasty was like, or what the Jin Dynasty was like.

However, the situation in the north has also reached a critical point. The number of officials visiting Qin Siyuan has increased significantly, which may be a signal that he is about to be reinstated!

Qin Siyuan, on the other hand, appeared extremely calm and rarely talked about such things. However, Li Mu could sense that he was somewhat tense, as if he was waiting for something to happen in the north.

However, another half month passed, and instead of fighting, the Jin and Liao dynasties signed a ceasefire agreement, making the war seem far off.

When the news came back, everyone thought that the Jin and Liao kingdoms were bound to fight for a long time, but they were surprised that they made peace. Everyone felt it was a pity.

Some people believe that the Wu Dynasty should take the initiative to send troops, seize the opportunity to unite with the Jin Dynasty, and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Even Su Tan'er and Xiao Chan were not immune to this influence, and often brought it up as a topic of conversation.

Unlike others who hoped that the Jin and Liao dynasties would soon go to war, Su Tan'er said, "I think it would be better if the two countries fought later."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Oh! Why do you say that?"

Su Tan'er said, "I am a merchant, so naturally I hope for peace. Only when the world is at peace can business be done well. Although war can create some industries and some people can make a lot of money from it, these are not sustainable and are not something we can interfere with. Moreover, we just finished sorting out the industries we took over from the Wu family, and now that the news of the peace talks has come, the Wu family seems to be regretting it and is not willing to give up."

Li Mu laughed and said, "It's too late to regret it now. Don't worry, if the Wu family really tries any more underhanded tricks, we won't hold back next time and won't give them another chance."

Su Tan'er nodded: "Yes, I'll listen to my husband."

The Wu family is now filled with regret. They never expected that the north would make a lot of noise but little action, and that the Jin and Liao dynasties would actually make peace and the war would not break out.

Li Mu's initial threat to the Wu family was based on the pretext of impending war. The Wu family was terrified and dared not risk their lives, ultimately having no choice but to make a drastic decision.

Not only did the Su family take away many of their valuable assets, reducing their wealth by a third, but they also spent a large sum of money to bribe officials in the capital to quickly quell the matter.

Looking back now, the Wu family realizes they were indeed frightened. Things wouldn't have been so bad, and there wouldn't have been such a rush to make arrangements, resulting in spending so much extra money. But when it came to their own safety, they inevitably lost their composure, and now it's too late for regrets.

What pains them even more is that the high-quality industries that the Su family took away are now no longer the largest cloth merchants in Jiangning; the Su family is.

After suffering such a huge setback and being fooled, how could they possibly be content with that!

……

After chatting and laughing for a while, Su Tan'er suddenly remembered something and said, "Husband, we haven't gone on a trip together yet. Let's go out for a walk together in the summer to escape the heat."

Li Mu said, "Okay, where to?"

Su Tan'er thought for a moment and said, "Well, in a few months, after the spring silkworm harvest, how about we go to Suzhou and Hangzhou and travel around? They say there's heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Our family has some businesses in those places, so we can go there to escape the summer heat."

Li Mu's heart stirred. Last year, due to the floods, Fang La had already started his rebellion. Now, he was making quite a stir in the southeast, and along with Tian Hu in Hebei and Wang Qing in Huaixi, he could be considered one of the major rebel kings of Wu Kingdom.

Then, the fall of Hangzhou is probably not far off. Although there are risks involved, they are negligible for Li Mu. There are also many benefits, so it wouldn't hurt to go and see for himself.

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

Su Tan'er said, "Then I will make the arrangements."