Chapter Thirty-Two: The Prolonged Affection of Children

  Qin Congwen cursed inwardly when he heard it was these two. The good catch of thieves had unexpectedly led to the Qin residence, causing a disturbance for a whole night, and not only did they fail to catch the thief, but also nearly took the life of the young lady in the manor. Just thinking about it made him angry. However, despite his anger, Qin Congwen knew that ordinary people shouldn't fight against officials, let alone these two who were probably here because of the thief's business, and he couldn't avoid seeing them.

  "Got it." Qin Zongwen said a few more words to Su and hurriedly got up and walked towards the main hall.

  Su was a woman who understood propriety, unlike those concubines who only knew how to cause trouble. She knew this was men's business and couldn't be delayed, so she didn't say much and had someone escort Qin Congwen out of the house.

  Inside the main hall, Ding Huaiyuan and Gao Liren sipped tea brought by servants while sizing up the decorations. Neither of them was interested in the gold, silver, and precious jewels filling the room, so they just took a cursory glance. Qin Zichen sat beside them, carefully maintaining a smiling face, afraid that the other party would shift their attention to his own family.

  The two parties sat there, each with their own thoughts, and didn't have much to say about anything useful or useless. They just sipped the tea in their hands. For a while, the hall was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop.

  Qin Congwen stepped into the main hall and saw this scene. He hastily apologized and hurried forward, bowing his hands to Ding Huaiyuan: "Ah! I didn't know you were arriving, sir. Forgive me for not welcoming you from afar. It's my fault, my fault!"

  Ding Huaiyuan also stood up and bowed his hand towards Qin Congwen: "Brother Qin, what are you talking about? I'm here to accompany the guilty."

  The two men stood in the hall and exchanged pleasantries for a while, before Ding Huaichuan hastily introduced Qin Zongwen: "Brother Qin, this is Gao Liren, Mr. Gao. The other day, something unexpected came up, and I didn't have time to introduce you."

  Qin Congwen hastily bowed his hands to Gao Liren and said, "Lord Gao, please forgive me. That day my mood was really bad, I neglected you, forgive me!" He had long since realized that this Lord Gao was not an ordinary person, at least Ding Huaichuan was very wary of him.

  Gao Liren hastily waved his hand: "No, no, if it wasn't for official business, how dare I disturb you at your residence so late at night." If it weren't for catching thieves and arresting people, with his status, even if Qin Zongwen wanted to invite him, he might not have been able to.

  The three of them exchanged pleasantries again until they finally ran out of polite conversation and took their seats as host and guests.

  "I don't know what the two gentlemen have come to our humble abode for today, but whatever it is that Qin can do, I will definitely help alleviate your concerns." Qin Zongwen saw that his counterpart was slow to speak, so he could only ask with feigned ignorance.

  "Brother Qin, it's like this. The thief that night was never caught, and both I and Lord Gao are feeling uneasy in our hearts. Firstly, we feel guilty about wearing these official robes, secondly, we couldn't catch the person who hurt your beloved daughter, so we can't help but feel sad. Today, I came to visit, mainly to see how your daughter is doing, don't know if her injuries have fully healed?"

  "Alas!" At the mention of this, Qin Zongwen couldn't help but sigh: "The person has woken up, but is very weak. I only saw her for a while in the room and hadn't said a few words when she fell asleep again." Qin Zongwen knew that these two people wouldn't come to the third treasure hall without a reason, and it was probably not just a simple visit to see Qin Daihe.

  "Brother Qin, rest assured that we will do our best to catch this thief and avenge your daughter." Ding Huaiyuan said with an indignant expression, patting his chest.

  "Qin brother, when will the other Miss Qian wake up? We want to ask about the details of that night and understand whether Third Sister saw the thief's face clearly."

  Qin Chongwen was somewhat displeased, thinking to himself that this girl had almost died and had just returned from the gates of hell. You can't even catch a thief, yet you want to drag my daughter into this? However, he didn't show any of this on his face, only revealing a look of difficulty before saying: "Two esteemed gentlemen, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but my daughter has just gone through a terrible ordeal and has only just woken up. Her body hasn't recovered yet. The doctor says she needs rest after the shock. Why don't we do this: in a few days, when my daughter's condition stabilizes, I'll send someone to invite you two gentlemen over? Would that be alright?" His words were reasonable and logical, no matter how one looked at it. He wasn't refusing to help, he just couldn't because his daughter was currently unwell.

  Ding Huaiyuan's face showed a hint of difficulty, and he secretly glanced at Gao Liren's face. Seeing that he didn't show any displeasure, he said: "Of course, of course. Thank you, Qin brother. I still have official business with Lord Gao, so I won't disturb you further." He then took several exquisitely packaged gift boxes from beside him and handed them over, saying: "These are some tonic products to calm the nerves for Third Young Lady. Please don't refuse them, Qin brother."

  The officials gave gifts to the common people, and it was rare from ancient times to the present. However, Qin Zhenwen did not feel surprised that these two men searched the Qin mansion for evidence without any objections, but after all, because of this matter, even the young lady in the mansion was injured, and their reputation was also damaged. If the thief had been caught, it would have been fine, but unfortunately, no one saw a shadow of him, and if they wanted to find clues to catch the thief, they might have to rely on the injured Third Miss. Although showing just a bit of official authority would be enough to make the Qin family cooperate with the investigation, this approach wouldn't look good on the surface. The Qin family was a merchant family, but not a small one, and it was better not to offend them; instead, they should leave some room for maneuver, so that in the future, when dealing with them again, they could avoid some unnecessary awkwardness.

  "Mr. Ding is being polite, so I'll thank you on behalf of my daughter for your kind intentions." Qin Zongwen also didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the gift with both hands. He knew that only by doing so would the other party be convinced that he was really willing to let his daughter help out.

  The three of them chatted politely for a while before Ding Huairen and Gao Liren took their leave. Qin Zongwen escorted the two men to the gate of the Qin residence, watching as they rode off into the distance until they disappeared from view, before turning around to head back inside.

  "Father, what's with that tall man? I saw Ding Huaiyuan seem to be afraid of him." The father and son walked and talked, and soon they arrived at the side hall.

  The father and son often liked to discuss business matters in the small parlor. The maids saw the two of them come, hurriedly paid their respects, and stood at the door. The little servant who was waiting on them quickly opened the door, and after the two entered the hall, the servant quickly closed the door again. His movements were quick but not chaotic, obviously having received special training.

  The servants had poured the tea and hastily retreated. They all knew the rules, as the old master liked quietness and wouldn't require them to wait on him unless he gave orders.

  "This tall man, his official position must be much higher than Ding Huaiyuan's! Ding Huaiyuan is completely looking at his face to do things, as for what kind of official he is, it has nothing to do with us. As long as we don't provoke him, that's all." Qin Zongwen had no good impression of this suddenly appearing tall man, if it wasn't for him, the thief might not have rushed into the Qin mansion in a panic.

  "Ding Huaiyuan is a city defender, not big or small, but also a fourth-grade official. This Gao Liren must have come from a powerful background!"

  The father and son were both bewildered by this sudden appearance of the tall man, and for a moment they didn't know whether he was friend or foe, or what had brought him here.

  "You said, could it be that Ding Hua Yuan's attempt to seek a marriage alliance was unsuccessful, so he thought of this idea to find fault with our family?" Qin Zi Cheng, although he had started taking care of some family business since the age of 15, was still young and inexperienced in many things. He instinctively felt that Ding Hua Yuan came for revenge over an incident from years ago.

  "It won't be, Ding Huaiyuan was able to reach this position today, it's definitely not because he is narrow-minded and makes a fuss over small things."

  Earlier, Ding Huaiyuan had sent someone to the mansion to discuss a marriage proposal for his only son to marry Second Miss, but at that time Qin Qian's heart was not yet ready, so Fang Wanyu refused. Now that the young master of the Ding family is already married, it's likely that he didn't take last year's matter to heart. If he were someone who bears grudges over such a small thing, he probably wouldn't have made it to his current position and would have been pulled down by his enemies long ago.

  The father and son's casual conversation didn't last long before they started talking business again.

  "Zi Cheng, I've let you consider the matter your father has been thinking about. How's your consideration going?" Qin Zhenwen took a sip of tea, put down his teacup and looked at his eldest son with a serious expression.

  "Father, I understand you're doing this for my own good and for the sake of our entire Qin family, but I've only just married Qingyue, it's not fair to her if I take a concubine so soon."

  "When will you stop indulging in romantic fantasies? Having multiple wives and concubines is a common practice among men, and this matter concerns the interests of our Qin family. For many years, we have only operated our family business south of Taizhou, never venturing north. Now is a good opportunity - if you marry Qi's daughter as your first wife, we can break through the Beijing market, which would be an excellent chance for the Qin family." Qin Zongwen knew that intermarriage was a great opportunity to strengthen the Qin family's power. The Qi family was a prominent northern clan and imperial merchant with deep roots, vast business interests, and extensive connections that far surpassed those of the Qin family. If they could really win over Qi's daughter, the Qin family's strength would likely increase significantly.

  "Co-wife?" Qin Zichen unconsciously raised his tone: "Isn't it taking a concubine? How can it be a co-wife."

  Qin Congwen put down the teacup in his hand and said sternly, "What kind of family is the Qi family? How could they possibly marry their daughter to another family as a concubine? You don't even think about it. She's someone else's treasured gem, and for her to be married into our family is our good fortune, and also your good deed. Although she's just an illegitimate daughter, she's not inferior to any son. I've heard people mention that she's truly talented."

  Qin Zichen is just a concubine's son, no matter how talented he is. Can he surpass the Lin family? He only likes the strong backing of the girl's family and speaks of her as if she were a flower, making the Lin family look inferior.

  Qin Zichen was in a difficult situation, his father's attitude was firm and unyielding, he was afraid that the idea of marrying him to the Qi family's daughter would not be dropped. Taking a concubine was already Lin Shi's limit, if he were to marry a wife of equal status, what kind of reaction would she have? And how should he explain it to her himself?