Zhens smile was fortunate, but it made Bai and Li try to curry favor with their mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law in vain. Bai and Li didnt care about this at all; at least they showed that they welcomed Peony back home, cared for her, and were generous without considering personal gains or losses. Mrs. Xian naturally knew their good intentions and wouldnt treat them unfairly. In the future, when it came to Peonys affairs, there would be people who would show favoritism.

  Xue thought for a moment, "Mother, which room would it be more suitable to move the things in your room to?"

  As soon as she said this, the sisters-in-law all had their own thoughts. The three rooms were not completely empty, but stored the private belongings that Mrs. Cen had accumulated over the years. Peonys dowry was rich, but it belonged to Peony and no one dared to touch it (even if they wanted to, there was no way). But Mrs. Cens private belongings were different. The illegitimate children might not have a share, but the legitimate ones could certainly share. However, everyone knew that Mrs. Cen favored Peony, and if their things were mixed together, in the future, Mrs. Cen would say that it was originally Peonys, and no one would be able to reason with her.

  Madam Cen had long made up her mind to let Peony stay at home for a long time, and she wanted to clear up all the financial matters so that no one would have anything to say about it. She also didnt want Peony to take anything out of their house in the future, or people would say that she had taken things from her sister-in-law and niece. So she said, "Yes, Dan Niang has a lot of things, we need to make room for her. I remember that behind our warehouse, there are two empty rooms, lets move all my things there. And let someone go talk to your father, about the things brought back from the Liu family, if theyre not important or too big, and cant be stored at home, well find a suitable storage room in our shop to put them in, and have someone keep an eye on them."

  She turned back to look at Peony and smiled, "Those things of yours are another set of family belongings. We have them all at home, except for the valuable, delicate, and daily necessities, dont bring anything else back, its cramped in the house. After theyre properly stored over there, Ill let your father give you the keys and inventory, and when you need something, we can send someone to fetch it. What do you think?"

  "Whatever you arrange, Mother," Peony nodded repeatedly. The more she interacted with Mrs. Cen, the more she admired her. Mrs. Cens arrangement was indeed reasonable, equivalent to separating her property from the He family completely. In the future, when she moved out, she only needed to move her own trunks from the three corridors, and didnt need to touch other furniture or objects at all. It was clear, simple, and easy-going. Everyone had nothing to say.

  Madam Xun saw her nod, so she assigned Zhen and Li, the two sworn enemies, to watch people move their own boxes, but asked Xue to arrange the beds, tables, chairs, and curtains for Peony. As for Bai, she was assigned to prepare dinner, drove the children out, and left only Zhang and Sun in the house to chat with Peony.

  In the late afternoon, there was a commotion outside. It turned out that He Zhizhong and He Dalang had brought a group of people to carry in more than 20 pots of peonies for Peonys dowry. After the chaos subsided, He Zhizhong sent everyone away, leaving only Mrs. Cen, Peony, Lin Mama, and Yuhe in the house to ask about the Liu familys situation in detail.

  Peony calmly and quietly told the whole story in detail, except for the ambiguous key points, which she glossed over and left to Mrs. Cen to fill in later.

  He Zhizhong had already heard some of it from Lin Mama and Yuhe, so now he just confirmed. The general situation was completely clear, who was right or wrong, whether they could still get along, and whether there was a possibility of reuniting, all were counted. At his age, he no longer had the explosive temper like He Dalang, and he was willing to put more energy into finding a solution.

  At this moment, he puffed out his big belly, walked around the house with his hands behind his back for a few laps, and sighed while stroking his already gray hair.

  Peony and Mrs. Cen walked quickly, but he was with Liu Chengcai and Liu Dang for the whole day. The Liu family father and son went out for a walk and came back later, already calm, their attitude completely different from before. Liu Chengcai spoke kindly, Liu Dang offered tea to apologize, and the father and son said in unison that if Peony wanted to go back to her mothers house to live for some time, she could stay longer, until she calmed down, and they would even let Liu Dang come to apologize and bring her back home with honor.

  Things have come to this point, how can they be easily settled? He naturally disagreed and took a stance to discuss the divorce with the Liu family. The Liu father and son made excuses one after another, avoiding him. Until evening, he couldnt help but return home. Peonys belongings were mostly moved back home, while he and Dalang were left with a belly full of anger and resentment.

  Peony knew that things wouldnt go smoothly after Liu Chang threatened her. Even in modern times, divorce is a technical and laborious process, especially when it involves property disputes. So she was mentally prepared and didnt feel too disappointed. She comforted He Zhizhong: "Father, dont worry, as long as I dont suffer at their house, Im not afraid to fight with him. But because of me, you, mother, and brother have been troubled a lot. And they took advantage of your hard-earned money for nothing."

  He Zhizhong patted her shoulder and said, "Dont think too much about it. Since the money was spent for you, its part of your dowry. Even if it comes back in the future, its still yours. Your parents did all this for your own good. If youre not happy, then it would be meaningless. Just wait patiently, and Ill discuss with your brothers to make proper arrangements."

  Just then, a servant came in to report: "The young master of the Li family has arrived."

  He Zhizhong hastily invited him to come in quickly.

  "Father, I must thank Brother Li for his help in this matter. Yesterday, he also stood up for me and helped me vent my anger. I want to personally thank him."

  Madam Cen said, "Its only right that we should thank him sincerely. Keep him for dinner, and you several fathers and sons accompany him to drink a toast. Another day, prepare gifts and go to his door to thank him."

  He Zhizhong agreed and had someone go call Dalang over.

  Soon, Li Yi personally brought in a large food box, saw the crowd, and first smiled and bowed to everyone. Then he handed the food box to Xue Shi, laughing: "Elder sister-in-law, this is my uncles favorite hammer pancake, made by the imperial kitchens chef, its flavor is crispy and beautiful, cant be described, hurry up and share it with everyone."

  Everyone burst out laughing. Mrs. Cen laughed and said: "Its no wonder that your shop is doing so well, it turns out that all the apprentices are learning from you."

  Li Yi burst out laughing: "The thing is really good, and being modest would be pretentious."

  He Dalang looked him up and down, pointing at his bare feet and laughing: "Hmph, youre still playing tricks..."

  The peony looked back and saw that Li Yi was wearing a black gauze hat, which was not only the most popular high hat at the time, but also had a unique shape. While others hats were hanging down behind their heads, his was folded up, making him stand out from the crowd. Paired with his bright green silk robe, he looked pleased with himself, just like a fashionable young man of ancient times.

  Li Wei didnt hesitate, and straightforwardly turned it over for the several half-grown sons of the He family to see, laughing: "You all hurry up and learn from me, in a few days youll have to follow along with the trend."

  The several half-sized children of the He family were indeed eager to try, laughing and playing with each others queues. He Zhizhong said with a serious face: "Which one of you has your uncles skills? Ill let him do whatever he wants, even if its just folding out a flower." With one sentence, he successfully subdued the group of grandchildren, who quietly retreated with their heads down.

  Li Yi Fang said: "I heard that Dan Niang has returned home, and Im worried, so I came over to take a look. If theres anything I can help with, please dont hesitate to ask, Uncle and Aunt."

  "Thank you, Brother Biao, for lending a helping hand and saving Dan Niang from the jaws of death."

  Li Wei smiled and said, "Its good that you can come out, no need to say polite words at home." After sizing up Peony from head to toe, he said with a good mood, "Youre not bad, I just heard that the beast made a move, and I was worried that youd suffered a great loss."

  Peony was going to say, Im taking a small loss for a big gain, and besides, I havent lost much yet. But she didnt dare say it, just smiled and said: "Good mood, no matter how painful it is, it doesnt hurt."

  Li Hen looked at her deeply and said: "Its good that youre open-minded. After this matter is over, lets just forget what should be forgotten."

  The peony smiled and replied.

  He Zhitong stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "Come with me, I really have something to discuss with you. You come too, Dalang."

  Li Wei had always been extremely respectful of his distant uncle He Zhizhong, who was doing a thriving business. He immediately put away his smile and followed He Zhizhong and his son to the study room with a serious expression.

  Several people had just sat down when He Er Lang returned.

  He Zhizhong said: "I think, Dan Niangs matter is afraid it cant be good. His family is a man, already has children, after wasting a few more years, still the same pampered wife and concubine. Dan Niang is different, dragging out her youth will make it no longer exist, dragging on this life will be over. Money, this thing, born not bringing, dead not taking away, lost can also earn again. Thinking of her future, I think its better to do so, after a few days we go find Liu Chengcai, take that paper and that money to exchange Dan Niangs freedom. What do you all think?"

  He Dalang said, "Isnt Dan Niang suffering a loss for nothing? Its really infuriating."

  He Zhizhong sighed, "For the sake of a breath of air to compensate for Dan Niangs youth and even her whole life, its not worth it. Since ancient times, ordinary people do not fight with officials. Now that the Liu family is in the wrong, we can take a step back, and they wont have much to say either. Why must we offend them so severely this time, and set ourselves up for future troubles?"

  He Erlang said in a deep voice, "Although Fathers words make sense, what we did at the beginning was to take chestnuts from the fire, and we have already made enemies. Liu Xiaoren is a narrow-minded person, even if we give in, he will hate Peony for life, and as soon as he has the chance, he will take revenge on us."

  ——*——*——*——

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