He Zhizhong said, "Liu Chengcai and his wife and children are different. He is more greedy for pleasure. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to our familys proposal without considering his sons wishes. There is no risk, and he can easily get a large sum of money. He can also marry another daughter-in-law from a good family, climb up the social ladder, and achieve his goal. Its the most cost-effective thing for him, and he wont let it go. Ill find another opportunity to find a suitable person to act as an intermediary, so that both families can save face. Once he agrees, Liu Chengcai will have no choice but to agree, and Qi Shi wont be able to stir up trouble."

  He Dalang was so angry that he couldnt bear it, and with one punch, he slammed his fist on the table, shouting: "Youre really stupid!"

  He Er Lang shook his head in disapproval: "Its not possible to just let it go like this. There will be more trouble later, unless the middleman is someone with a much higher status than Liu Chengcai. And he agreed to it face-to-face, what if he secretly betrays us?"

  He Zhizhong frowned and said, "What can be done about it? Take one step at a time. If Im really forced to desperation, even a rabbit will bite people." He turned his head to look at Li Xing and asked, "Xing, dont you think thats the way it is?"

  Li Yi smiled and said, "I remember that in the past, a wealthy family in Luoyang, Wang, presented Persian dates and golden fine plates to the emperor, and also presented 30,000 bolts of silk as military funds. The emperor summoned him and granted him two things by imperial decree. The first was to bestow upon him the title of Gentleman of the Sixth Rank; the second was that he complained about the son of General Zhang of the Left Dragon Guard borrowing one million coins from him without returning them, so General Zhang not only had to return the money but also lost his position."

  This matter caused a sensation, and while Wang Yu generously offered his tribute, he also boldly boasted to the emperor about his wealth, saying that even if every tree on Mount Zhongnan was hung with silk, his family would still have some left over. But whats the point of hanging silk on Mount Zhongnan? Its better to offer it to the soldiers of our dynasty and do ones part. The emperor had a broad mind and didnt say: "You dare to boast about your wealth in front of me? You dont know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is!" Nor did he develop a hatred for the rich because of Wang Yus wealth, thinking about how to plot against him. Instead, he was overjoyed and said that with such wealth throughout the land, he must be wise and virtuous, his officials must be practical and effective, and his policies must be clear and beneficial to the people, so that the people know honor and shame. As a result, in addition to solving those two problems for Wang Yu, there were also rewards.

  Li Yi didnt mean that the He family should go before the emperor to boast of their wealth and offer tribute, after all, although the He family had money, they were still far from being comparable to Wang Yu. But offering rare objects as a way for Wang Yu to directly appeal to the emperor was not bad.

  He Erlang hesitated, "But something as precious and hard to come by as the Golden Essence Plate, how can it be obtained so easily? If its really going to be like that, then we should make contact with the Hu merchants earlier, perhaps we can still get some good treasures."

  He Dalang sneered: "Whats the need for such troubles and complexities? If his family is really so ungrateful, Ill go beat the drum at the gate of the imperial palace and fight it out with him to the death!"

  He Zhizhong smiled faintly: "Its not to that extent yet. My mind is made up, lets just do it this way for now. In two days, you two brothers will accompany me to find Liu Chengcai."

  The sky gradually darkened, and a muffled thunderclap came from outside. The wind swept in through the window gaps, bringing with it the damp smell of rain, which invaded the room. The hollow golden scent sachets hanging from the beams were blown into rotation, while the drooping five-colored silk threads drew colorful arcs in the air. The fresh plum fragrance spread out, and the stifling heat in the house instantly dissipated.

  Li Yi got up and pushed open the window, looked out at the thick dark clouds above, then gazed into the distance where the sky was turning white, saying: "There will be a heavy rain tonight."

  He Zhizhong said: "Take advantage of the rain that has not fallen yet, hurry up and go eat." He reminded Dalang brothers: "You two go take a look, have Lao San and others finished shopping and returned home?"

  Dalong and Erlang left together, while Li Yi and He Zhizhong walked slowly along the long corridor. Li Yi adjusted the silk tassel on his waist jade pendant and leaned in close to He Zhizhongs ear, whispering a few words.

  He Zhizhong narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a moment, then smiled: "Arent you afraid of getting burned by playing with fire?"

  Li Wei lost his smile: "Where can I still run away?"

  He Zhizhong smiled: "In that case, you can just pick whatever you want from my warehouse."

  Li Wei shook her head: "I dont want to."

  "What do you want then?" He Zhitong asked in surprise.

  Li You smiled slyly and leaned in, whispering: "Nephew wants to ask, if the Liu family is willing to make concessions because of our humility, would Uncle really swallow this insult and eat this silent loss?"

  He Zhizhong sighed: "You also saw that Dalang is hot-tempered and impulsive, Erlang is hesitant and has some resentment towards us for not considering things carefully in the beginning. The others are even more useless, what can I do as an old man with such a family?"

  Li Wei burst out laughing: "If Uncle really thinks so, then I wont say any more."

  He Zhizhong hastily wiped away the fake sorrow on his face and said seriously: "Are you being sincere? This is quite troublesome."

  Li Hen said with a serious expression: "Of course its true."

  He Zhizhong smiled and beckoned him over: "Come closer and listen. This matter really requires your intervention, none of us can handle it."

  A loud rumble, the pitch-black sky was torn apart by a few flashes of lightning, and pea-sized raindrops came pouring down. Soon, the water on the eaves flowed into a curtain of rain.

  He Zhizhong and Li Yin stood under the soft light emitted by the big red lantern, watching the raindrops flashing white outside the corridor, ending this conversation.

  At 2:00, Peony woke up to the sound of the morning drum and couldnt fall asleep again. It wasnt that she was homesick, but rather there were too many things on her mind, too many thoughts swirling around, making her eager for dawn to break.

  She sat up, pushed away the silver flat flower bird screen in front of the bed, and looked out. It was pitch black outside, everything was quiet, only the sound of Kuangs low and steady breathing could be heard from the windowsill. Peony felt a sense of peace in her heart, smiled lightly, and then covered the screen again, quietly waiting for dawn to break.

  Although all the city gates and alley gates are now open, officials are busy with their morning duties, and small food shops in each alley have also opened for business, but the East Market and West Market will not open until after the noon drumbeat. The He family has no one who needs to rush out early, so they sleep in until around 8 am before getting up, eating breakfast, and starting their daily work and life.

  At the time of Chen, a few soft sounds came from outside the door. Kuan Er woke up with a start from his sleep, got out of bed quickly and quietly opened the door to receive the hot water sent by the rough servant girl, and asked in a low voice: "Has the lady gotten up?"

  The rough servant woman smiled: "Shes up. I specifically instructed her that Dan Niangs body isnt well, so let her sleep a bit longer."

  Just then, Lins mother and Yuhe, who were already dressed neatly, came in with the clothes they had smoked last night, went straight into the house, and prepared to call Mudan to get up. As soon as the screen was opened, it was seen that Mudan had already put on her underclothes and sat in the tent looking at them smiling.

  Lins mother smiled with relief, and as a person who had returned home, she couldnt be as spoiled and carefree as she was before marriage. At that time, sleeping in late and eating whenever she wanted were trivial matters, and her sisters-in-law would only complain and envy her behind her back. But now it was different; she had already caused trouble for others, and if she continued to be so reckless, she would become disliked.

  Kuaner quickly tidied up the couch, put out Peonys dressing table and mirror, Peony washed her face and got onto the couch, where Yuhe was combing her hair. Yuhe smiled and said: "How about a Wishing for Immortality hairstyle today?"

  "Lets not, its too high and complicated. Lets just do a simple one. I was thinking of going to the market today to buy a few pots of flowers to take home." And also take a look at the market conditions, see what kind of peony varieties and shapes people like; after passing by for a couple of days, he said to his family again, "Lets go to Caos garden to take a look at the peonies together."

  Lins mother took the ivory comb from Yu Hes hand and said, "Since were going out, lets braid a bun."

  When peonies are in full bloom, a busy and noisy day for the He family begins.

  Every household is not like the Liu family, no matter early or late, its always a big family eating together. Except for confidential matters and mens business arrangements, all major and minor events in the family are discussed and settled at the dinner table. The He family has a very open-minded place, that is, regardless of size, male or female, everyone can freely express their opinions on things. As the head of the household, Mr. He Zhitong and Mrs. Cen will combine everyones opinions and consider them comprehensively before making the final decision. It can be said that the harmony of the He family, living in peace and prosperity, owes half its credit to the dinner gatherings.

  To put it in He Zhizhongs humorous way, even if one is a prime minister, they would still have to hold meetings in the public hall and discuss official business over meals. The He family may not have that many big things to discuss, but they can still learn from this approach. After learning from it, the results are obvious: after finishing their meal, all the big and small matters at home are arranged properly, and after dinner, everyone takes care of their own tasks, busy but not chaotic.

  Under such an atmosphere, Peony proposed to go shopping and see the flower market, and no one thought it was a big deal. She even got the support of her family members, who all thought she should go out more instead of staying at home and getting depressed.

  As Peony followed behind Fifth Sister Zhang and Sixth Sister Sun, trying to mount her horse, riding towards the rising sun in the neatly planned cross streets of Xuanping Lane, listening to the crisp sound of horseshoes clattering, smelling the fresh air after the rain, her mood was indescribable.

  Heaven has been kind to her, she is only seventeen years old, young and vigorous, with a wealthy family background, loving parents and brothers, and even has the talent for planting peonies. She doesnt have to worry about someone forcing her to bind her feet, or being scolded for losing her chastity for talking to a man, nor does she have to worry about being locked at home every day without being allowed to go out, let alone worrying that after divorce, she will not be able to remarry and spend the rest of her life miserably guarding her family.

  Although many things had a vague impression in her mind, when she saw them with her own eyes, they always surprised and amazed her. The openness of the He family and this era were far beyond her imagination. For example, when the 50-zhang-wide Zhuque Avenue first appeared before her, it brought her a shock, everything reminded her that she was a frog at the bottom of the well, except for the skill of planting peonies, she actually had nothing to boast about.

  She was so lucky to have been born in such an era. What kind of era is this, where all nations come to pay homage, with unprecedented openness and prosperity? Not to mention women being the masters of their own homes, even female millionaires are not rare. Her colorful life has just begun.

  ——*——*——*——*——

  Yesterday evening, I received news that the author of "Yao Cang Shu Nu", Qin Lu, suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was hospitalized... My heart is heavy with sorrow. While praying for her, it also serves as a wake-up call for myself.

  Ive been suffering from chronic insomnia due to staying up too late, and I need help falling asleep at night. After work, I spend all my energy and rest time writing books, barely exercising, which has made my body weak and prone to illness lately. I must change my ways, exercise diligently, adjust my biological clock, and never stay up late again.

  The body is the capital of revolution. Among book friends, those who love to stay up late should also pay attention not to stay up late frequently, as sleep is extremely important; those who often work at their desks should pay more attention to exercise, walk more and move more.

  Alright, no more nonsense, I wish every friend good health and happiness.

  [bookid=1736421,bookname="Joyful Gate"][bookid=1296881,bookname="Heavy Flower Shadows"][bookid=1421817,bookname="Leftover Woman is Not Virtuous"][bookid=1589709,bookname="Tian Yi Duo Mei"]