Qin Mu understood the reasoning. After all, holding a large army would definitely arouse people's suspicion. If they made too many connections, the court might not tolerate them.

"They call it an invitation to guard the border, but it's just to facilitate smuggling. Most border guards do this to some extent," Lu Ce added.

"The invitation wasn't for smuggling; it was to capture beastmen on the grasslands."

"slave?"

"That's right. The court turns a blind eye to these things, since it doesn't do much harm anyway."

"Oh, I see."

“We arrived early, so you can look around inside the pass.”

"Uncle, is there something you need?"

"Now that we're at the border, we can't waste this opportunity. I'll go outside the pass and get some things," Luo Cheng said.

Seeing that Luo Cheng didn't want to explain, Qin Mu didn't press him and nodded in agreement.

Sure enough, when he got up the next day, Luo Cheng had already left with his men, leaving only Lu Ce to accompany him and protect him.

"What are we doing today?" Lu Ce asked.

Now that it was just the two of them, Qin Mu felt quite bored. His mind was elsewhere, and it wasn't a good time for reading. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's make two folding fans!"

He saw other scholars carrying swords, but he had never learned swordsmanship, so he wanted to get a folding fan to carry in his hand. Firstly, it wouldn't be so monotonous, and secondly, he wanted to show off and pretend to be a refined gentleman.

Although he didn't understand why Qin Mu suddenly wanted to make folding fans, Lu Ce still went to find someone for him. He mainly found a carpenter.

Nowadays, most fans are round, but some are feather fans. As for ordinary people, any piece of wood will suffice; they don't have many requirements.

The Qin family was large and powerful. Before long, not only did a carpenter arrive, but he also brought timber, Xuan paper, and Bai Juan.

The timber was undoubtedly top-grade rosewood, along with snow-white, high-quality Xuan paper and silk cloth. With these things, Qin Mu naturally didn't need to send anyone to find bamboo.

The carpenter's skills were undoubtedly superb. Qin Mu explained his requirements, and the carpenter finished the product in no time.

With his skillful hands, the fan ribs he made were as smooth as if they had been polished, and finally, he used fish glue to bond the silk fabric together.

After letting it cool for a while, Qin Mu picked up the folding fan, opened it with a "whoosh!" and closed it with a "snap," finally patting it in his hand with satisfaction.

"Wow! That's fun! Master, could you make one for me too?" Lu Ce's eyes lit up, and he said with delight.

The carpenter, of course, wouldn't refuse. He also noticed that folding fans looked quite elegant, and realized that this would add another skill to his repertoire. So he got to work, putting in extra effort. Not only did he make a folding fan for Lu Ce, but he also used the remaining wood to make several more so that Qin Mu could use them interchangeably.

Qin Mu was very satisfied with the carpenter's flexibility and finally chose a large folding fan that was over forty centimeters long.

A fan cannot be without writing on it. Qin Mu could not paint, so he could only write on it. He carried a purple bamboo rabbit hair brush and tribute ink with him, and he would set up his brush and start writing.

After the ink dried, I played with it again, opening and closing it repeatedly. Looking down, I was quite satisfied.

He didn't deliberately write anything pretentious on the folding fan; on one side he wrote "The highest good is like water," and on the other side he wrote "Awakening from a great dream."

"Young master, please write a word for me too," Lu Ce said, stepping forward once more.

"Okay!" Qin Mu's eyes darted around as he smiled and agreed.

Without suspecting anything, Lu Ce handed over his folding fan.

"Why is there only one word?" Lu Ce asked Qin Mu with wide eyes.

Do you recognize this character?

"Of course."

"Although it only has the word 'handsome,' it not only enhances your dashing appearance, Uncle Lu, but also represents your talent for leadership. It's the most suitable word to describe you. I really can't think of any other words that would be suitable to describe you," Qin Mu explained earnestly, then looked regretful at the end, indicating that his knowledge was limited.

"Yeah?"

"Of course! Uncle Lu, don't you believe me?"

"Hehe, of course I believe you, young master." Although Lu Ce had a feeling that something was wrong, he didn't know where it was, so he didn't think too much about it and happily kept opening and closing his folding fan.

However, combined with his fan-like palm, it looked somewhat like a rolling ball holding a bamboo shoot.

"Young Master Qin, my master has come to pay a visit." Just then, a guard entered the courtyard, clasped his hands in greeting, and said.

"Please come in." Qin Mu was taken aback, not expecting anyone to visit him, before speaking.

Lu Ce tucked his folding fan into his waistband and helped tidy up the room. He mainly put away the messy things.

Not long after, two young men walked in.

"Qin Yue and Qin Yue greet Young Master Qin." The two men looked Qin Mu up and down and bowed.

"Qin Mu greets you both." Qin Mu could tell at a glance that Qin Yue was a woman disguised as a man.

"My father knew that Young Master Qin was alone at the pass, so he specially sent the two of us to accompany you on your tour of the pass," Qin Yue said with a smile.

"Thank you both, but please don't call me 'Young Master.' My name is Qin Mu, courtesy name Huaidao."

"My name is Qin Yue, courtesy name Lingyun."

"Brother Lingyun, Miss Qin."

"Hehe, I told you this was unnecessary, wasn't it?" Qin Yue turned around and said with a smile.

"Mind your own business!" Qin Yue glared at Qin Yue and said.

"Brother Huaidao, you flatter me. She is my twin sister!" Qin Yue said with a wry smile.

"It's my older sister!" Qin Yue's eyebrows shot up, and she glared at Qin Yue again.

"Yes, yes." Qin Yue took a step back, nodded, and said helplessly.

It was clear that the siblings had a very good relationship. Qin Mu didn't interrupt, but just watched with a smile.

"Brother Huaidao, please."

"Please, both of you!"

"Brother Huaidao, what's this?" Qin Yue asked curiously, looking at the folding fan in Qin Mu's hand.

"It's hot, so I asked the craftsmen in my household to make a few folding fans," Qin Mu said, opening and closing a fan.

"What an elegant item!" Qin Yue exclaimed.

"Which craftsman made it?" Qin Yue asked more directly, asking for the source.

"I happen to have some extra here," Qin Mu said with a smile.

"I'm so sorry, we came empty-handed, but we're accepting a gift from Brother Huaidao." Qin Yue said, already taking a folding fan that Qin Mu had taken out.

"Brother Huaidao, may I borrow your brush and ink?" Qin Yue opened and closed the fan several times, saw that it was blank, glanced at Qin Mu's folding fan, and said with his hands clasped.

"Brother Lingyun, please feel free to do as you please!" Qin Mu gestured to the brush and ink that had not yet been put away.

Qin Yue pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote four large characters.

"Huai Dao, could you write a few words for me?" Qin Yue's eyes darted around as she handed the folding fan to Qin Mu.

"Okay." Although he didn't understand why, Qin Mu still took it, twirled the folding fan a few times on his fingers, then opened it, laid it on the table, and began to write.

"The fish sink to the bottom of the lake, the wild geese fall to the ground, birds startle and cry out; the flowers blush and the moon hides its face, the flowers tremble with sorrow." As Qin Mu put down his pen, Qin Yue read the poem aloud from the fan.