Chapter 47 Taken Out Casually

In an instant, everyone's gaze converged on Li Mu's face.

"Hey, beggar, you didn't really come here without preparing a gift for Grandpa, did you?"

Jiang Yusheng chimed in once again from the side.

To be fair, this was indeed an oversight on Li Mu's part. He had originally thought that a single grand gift prepared jointly by him and Jiang Wan would suffice.

He simply hadn't expected Jiang Yusheng to target him specifically today!

"That's right, you beggar! Take out your gift so we can all broaden our horizons!"

"Indeed, let's see what kind of trash you managed to scavenge from a dumpster to use as a birthday present!"

Everyone's eyes were filled with mockery. They were certain that Li Mu couldn't possibly produce anything decent.

Yet, no matter what, one simply couldn't show up empty-handed to someone's birthday celebration!

"I did prepare a gift, but there's no need to take it out right now!"

He had long since seen through the petty attitudes of these aristocratic families; hardly anyone among them had any true appreciation for antiques.

Thus, there was no need to let them gawk at the item he carried with him.

"Don't be like that. I'm actually quite curious what kind of treasures your family manages to scavenge for a living."

"Exactly! Young Master Yang brought something of immense value. If you can't pull out anything good, I'm afraid your wife is going to run off with someone else!"

Jiang Wan's expression shifted instantly.

She would not allow these people to mock Li Mu like this. Even though Li Mu lacked vast wealth, his character was vastly superior to Yan Kuan's!

At the very least, during the incident at the Emperor Club last time, Li Mu had risked his life to protect her.

Unlike Yan Kuan, who had practically pushed her straight into Young Master Chen's arms!

With that thought, she instructed a servant to retrieve a top-grade jade thumb ring from her room and secretly slip it into Li Mu's hand.

Standing nearby, Hai Yan's face was contorted with fury.

"Why haven't you rolled out of here yet, you disgraceful wretch!"

"Showing up here to freeload is one thing, but you didn't even bring a gift!"

Although Li Mu deeply disliked this old woman, she was, after all, his prospective mother-in-law.

No matter what she said, he had to take it.

With a flick of his hand, he placed his schoolbag on the sofa and prepared to sit down, only to find that Jiang Yusheng was determined to push the issue.

"Don't be so disgraceful. What on earth did you prepare? Let us take a look too!"

As he spoke, Jiang Yusheng reached out and dumped the contents of Li Mu's bag onto the floor.

Inside lay a box indeed.

It was the most ordinary wooden box, and some parts of it had lost their original color, making it look battered and worn.

For a moment, the entire villa fell completely silent.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on that box.

Jiang Yusheng opened the wooden box and casually tossed it into the trash can. Inside lay a folding fan.

The ribs of the fan appeared to be made of black wood, bearing the scratches of time from years of handling.

The fan face featured a simple landscape painting, accompanied by a short poem in the corner.

Although the landscape painting was indeed the work of a master, as for that poem...

A three-year-old child could probably improvise lines far superior to it.

At the bottom of the poem was a signature.

Emperor Qianlong!

Upon seeing those three characters, Jiang Yusheng could no longer contain his amusement.

"Hahahaha! Are you here just to be a comedian?"

With him taking the lead, everyone present burst into laughter as well!

"This is hilarious. You accused someone else's luminous pearl of having obvious signs of being fake, but your fan... is as fake as it gets!"

"And you even claimed it's from Emperor Qianlong? Could this be Emperor Qianlong's personal fan?"

"Stop bragging nonsense. Even museums might not have an item like this; it belongs in the imperial palace, doesn't it?"

"Tell me, little beggar, did your parents time-travel back to the Qianlong era just to scavenge this from the trash?"

Waves of laughter echoed through the surroundings.

Li Mu merely smiled indifferently, knowing full well these fellows lacked any eye for treasures!

"Tell us the truth, where on earth did you scavenge this piece of junk?"

"A friend gave it to me!"

As soon as those words fell, Bai Weiwei stepped forward.

"Earlier you claimed my friend was trying to scam a naive, wealthy socialite like me. It seems your friend isn't any better either."

"He's specifically scamging a beggar who's both naive and penniless!"

Hearing this, the entire hall erupted into explosive laughter once again.

This fellow was utterly ridiculous—he simply had no shame whatsoever!

Just as Elder Jiang was about to speak, Hai Yan snatched the fan from the floor.

"Li Mu, Elder Wang held you in such high regard and even intended to marry our Wanwan off to you. When his elder honor's birthday arrives, what harm is there in spending some money on a proper gift? Instead, you bring this sort of trash to humiliate us!"

With that, she casually hurled the fan onto the ground.

"Such garbage doesn't deserve to be in our house. Hurry up and throw it out!"

Li Mu sighed.

What was the saying about failing to recognize genuine jade?

Forget it. It was merely a broken fan worth tens of millions; tossing it away was of no consequence!

Following this farce, Elder Jiang felt a splitting headache coming on.

Slowly, he rose to his feet.

"Enough. Everyone, allow me to say a few words!"

"Thank you all for coming today to celebrate my birthday. I deeply appreciate every single gift. The Jiang family has prepared plenty of food and wine today, and I hope everyone eats and drinks well!"

Soon, everyone moved to the banquet hall, where the staff had already arranged the tables.

The delicacies of land and sea laid out before them left many guests slack-jawed!

Every single dish was exorbitantly expensive, prepared with top-tier ingredients.

Just as everyone had taken their seats, a servant hurried over to report at the entrance.

"Eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family, Wang Yurou, has arrived to offer her congratulations!"

Hearing this name, Li Mu's mind involuntarily recalled her pitiful expression from that day.

Her expression aside, the main point was... she was simply too alluring, making anyone's heart race at the mere thought of her.

In truth, everyone present was well aware of the Lu family's current situation; this eldest daughter-in-law was currently the one running the household.

Since she had come to offer birthday greetings today, Elder Jiang could not afford to dismiss her face.

He hurriedly left the banquet hall and led a group of people to the front foyer to welcome her.

Wang Yurou looked quite different today compared to before.

She wore a tight-fitting short dress, paired with limited-edition crystal high heels.

A pair of long, fair legs were exposed, gleaming even more brilliantly under the shimmering light of her heels.

Voluminous wavy curls cascaded naturally over her shoulders, with tiny diamonds subtly sparkling amidst the strands of hair.

Her entire presence shimmered with radiance.

Upon catching sight of Li Mu, she froze for a split second before a blush crept up her cheeks.

Li Mu stared fixedly at her long legs, almost transfixed.

Not just him—virtually every male in the room had their eyes locked onto Wang Yurou.

This woman was an absolute femme fatale!

"I am so sorry, Elder Jiang, I was delayed by traffic on the way, which is why I'm late!"

Before she could finish her sentence, her gaze was drawn to something inside the trash can.

An expression of astonishment crossed her face.

"What is that?"

What had caught her eye was precisely the wooden box and the folding fan that had just been discarded!