Chapter 68 (Part 1)

  Li Yi, however, didn't even use an umbrella. He simply wore a oilskin hat on his head and wrapped himself in an oilcloth coat, walking slowly and leisurely through the fine rain like silk threads, set against the lush green flowers and trees in the courtyard and the crimson pillars, looking just like a painting.

  Sun saw it first and glanced at it, clapping his hands and laughing: "So leisurely, indeed coming to visit relatives."

  Several children immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks, ran to greet him, lifted his large oil coat to cover themselves, and giggled as they followed him into the dining hall. He didn't scold the mischievous kids either, just smiled and beckoned him over.

  Peony quietly got up and added a bowl of chopsticks for him, and he didn't hesitate to sit down next to Liu Lang and start eating. Everyone asked about his health, and he patted his chest with force, laughing: "The medicine given by Big Brother is good, I'm as good as new! Two days ago when my uncle came to see me, I was already much better, but my mother was nagging, only today did she agree to let me out."

  He Zhizhong smiled and said, "How are those few brothers of yours? I've been listening for several days, but haven't heard any news. All I know is that Liu the old thief hasn't left his house for several days, didn't go to court, don't know what kind of wicked idea he's brewing again."

  Li Wei smiled slightly: "I was just about to tell you this, Liu Laozei didn't attend the court meeting just to stir up public opinion and take revenge on people? Although it's not very glorious to say so, he is after all a high-ranking official. If all the high-ranking officials in the court were treated like this, they would lose face and credibility. So my elder cousin and others were convicted of a crime of offending against the emperor, yesterday my elder cousin and second cousin were each given a board beating, the rest had long legs and ran away."

  The He family was shocked and immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks. He Zhizhong furrowed his brow, and Dalang exclaimed, "What's the matter?"

  "It's nothing, Liu the old thief has miscalculated this time. My uncle has military merit and is also generous and righteous in his daily life, so he gets along well with people and they don't want to make things difficult for him. Father has also made arrangements, these two brothers may sound intimidating but actually didn't hit that hard, not as hard as when Uncle had someone beat them up in Youzhou before, it'll heal in a couple of days. As for the others, hiding out for a couple of days will be fine. Aunt doesn't care either."

  He Zhizhong turned around and looked at Mrs. Cen: "Pack some medicine, after dinner you and I will go see the two nephews together."

  Li Wei also meant that, seeing He Zhizhong understand a little, he didn't mention it again and smiled: "I came today mainly for the Treasure Meeting. Today's weather is bad, will it still be held?"

  He Zhizhong said: "The date that has been set cannot be changed. However, it's still early now, let's go see your brother first and then head to Xicheng, the timing will be just right."

  Li Wei looked at Peony: "Auntie said last time that she also wanted to go and see the excitement." He originally wanted Peony to take this opportunity to speak up and follow him, but unexpectedly Peony lowered her head and ate quietly, not looking at herself, so she didn't receive his gaze, and he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

  "He Zhizhong said: 'I'm afraid today she will take care of your cousins again and won't be in the mood to go.'"

  Li Wei smiled and said, "No, Auntie has long been used to it." After finishing speaking, he coughed violently once, seeing Peony still not raising her head, he coughed violently again. Finally, everyone turned their heads in surprise, and Peony also looked at him with concern. Five-year-old He Chun held his rice bowl and blinked his eyes, saying clearly: "Cousin, are you sick?"

  Li Wei's face turned slightly red, and she stroked her neck, saying: "Nothing, just a bit uncomfortable in the throat. Drinking some soup will be fine." Before she finished speaking, Ying Niang had already scooped up half a bowl of fish soup and handed it over: "Uncle Li, drink this."

  Li Yi had no choice but to pick up his bowl and drink soup while making eyes at Peony.

  The peony didn't understand what he was thinking, assuming he had something to say to her but it wasn't convenient in front of everyone. After some thought, she was originally going to follow him to watch the excitement anyway, and it wouldn't be too late to talk about it then, so she gave him a slight smile.

  But Li Yi's eyebrows rose, and her eyes slanted towards He Zhizhong, then winked at her with a rich implication. Peony thought to herself: "Could this have something to do with my own father? What is it?" So she looked at Li Yi in confusion, winked, and gestured with her eyes: "What are we going to do?"

  This time, Li Wei smiled and nodded at her. Mudan thought to herself, "Ah, it's indeed related to my own father." But she couldn't understand what Li Wei was trying to say, so she simply stopped guessing and sat still, waiting to ask him later. However, Li Wei suddenly looked furious, banging his forehead on the dinner table before lifting his head to glare at her with a look of extreme anger, as if he wanted to slam his fist on the table.

  The peony is becoming increasingly inexplicable.

  The two of them were exchanging flirtatious glances, thinking no one else had noticed, but it turned out everyone saw through their act. This time, however, Lady Cen showed concern and said: "Xingzhi, are you still recovering from your head injury and experiencing dizziness again? Don't worry about the gathering, I'll have someone tidy up the room for you to rest in. We can send a carriage to take you back later."

  Li Wei was taken aback, then shook his head vigorously: "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. I'm fine. Just now, I thought there was a hole on this table and suspected it was infested with insects, but it turned out to be my eyes playing tricks on me."

  Mrs. Cen said seriously, "So that's how it is." Then she stopped talking. Others had wanted to make a joke, but seeing He Zhizhong and Mrs. Cen being serious, they also lowered their heads and ate quietly.

  Li Wei realized the atmosphere was different and didn't dare to flirt with Peony anymore. She turned her eyes and saw He Chun eating seriously on the side, and an idea came up.

  As soon as Peony put down her bowl and chopsticks, the chubby He Chun leaned over to her side, wrapped his arms around her neck and said in a flattering tone: "Auntie, can you please speak for me and ask Grandfather and Uncle if I can go with them to watch the treasure exhibition?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned to Peony at the same time, all with undisguised longing. As long as Peony dared to respond to He Chun, others would have reason to rush up. Peony dryly laughed and glanced at He Zhizhong with his eyes.

  He Zhizhong said faintly, "Where can we take so many people? The children have gone to waste their places. He Ru and He Hong are not young anymore, they should follow us to see the world. Everyone else stays at home."

  As soon as this was said, Madam Xue thought that it would delay her two sons' studies and couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied. However, seeing that Dalang didn't react at all, she didn't dare say more and instead turned to remind the two children: "Listen to your grandfather's words, it's good for you, having many skills is not a burden."

  Bai Shi was heartbroken, staring at Er Lang with each glance. Is the old master going to cultivate Da Fang's inheritance of the jewelry business? Among her own children, He Wen and He Mu are not younger than He Hong, why can't they go together as a family? Although it is the main house, this is also biased. Seeing Er Lang sitting still with an expressionless face, she had no choice but to push her eldest son hard. He Wen had already received instructions and asked with some fear: "Grandfather, can Ah Wen go?" Before he finished speaking, he was met with a fierce glare from Er Lang. Bai Shi looked at He Zhi Zhong firmly.

  He Zhizhong expressionlessly said, "Since that's the case, Awen will follow along as well." He stood up and looked at the sky, then turned his head to look at Mudan and said, "Go gather your things and prepare to set off."

  Elder, second elder's family can all go, why can't our own family go together? Are we going to starve ourselves to death in the future? Zhēn shì was very dissatisfied, but seeing her seven or eight year old son, she held back. Smiling at Peony, "Peony, you've seen something fun, remember to come back and tell us all about it."

  Peony didn't care about the open and secret struggles between her sisters-in-law, she just smiled slightly: "Alright. What would you like to take home, sisters?" Since the family members knew that she was going to establish a female household by planting peonies instead of getting jewelry or perfumes, although some people still held a wait-and-see attitude, no one deliberately targeted her anymore. She felt much more at ease and when the family members were being petty and playing tricks on each other, she just remained calm.

  Li Yi only then realized that Peony was going to leave, and couldn't help but turn her anger into joy. She laughed and picked up He Chun, saying: "Let him go, I'll let him ride on my shoulders, it won't take up space." Who knew that suddenly stirred up a hornet's nest? The younger children were all furious with him, and he was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat. He promised to take the kids to Qujiangchi Lake for a boat ride another day, which finally calmed down the crowd.

  "Alright, got it? With many kids in our family, we must be fair and just."

  Li Wei just smiled. He Zhizhong, however, looked at the children and said, "It's really not proper." With just one sentence, the children became restrained and didn't dare to make a fuss again. He Chun also stayed behind in Li Wei's arms, standing still with his hands hanging down, not daring to mention following along again.

  A group of people went to the Li's house, as usual, they didn't see Li Yuan. Mrs. Cui saw that the He family had brought their elderly and children, and were sincerely visiting and inquiring after them, and also sent many good things, so she was delighted, wanting to keep Madame Xian to chat and play. However, taking advantage of when no one was paying attention, she fiercely glared at Li Huai with a stern expression. Li Huai pretended not to see it, carelessly supporting Li Man Niang's arm, smiling: "Auntie, are you willing to part with your brothers? Today's appointment will not be changed."

  Li Man Niang smiled and said, "How can I bear to part with them? It's not like I have to take their place in suffering, let's go." She pulled Li Wei and set off, truly carefree. After walking a couple of steps, she saw Mudan about to get into the carriage, so she ordered someone to throw an oil coat and oil hat to Mudan: "Don't you want to try the feeling of riding a horse in the rain? What's there to sit on in a carriage?"

  Peony smiled and accepted the past, armed herself, and let Da Lang help her mount the horse. She thought she was already quite familiar with it compared to before, but Li Man Niang clicked her tongue: "Really needs more practice."

  Mrs. Choi watched as Li Wei put on his oil coat and rode off into the rain with the He family, disappearing from view in no time. She couldn't help but turn around to complain to Mrs. Cen, who had stayed behind: "He's so unreasonable! At his age, he still won't agree to a marriage arrangement. Lately, he's been doing well and even got a good opportunity when the Ning Wang Ye personally brought up a potential match with his father, which would have been beneficial for his future. But instead, he made a big fuss and put his father in a difficult position, so they had to stall for now."

  Mrs. Cen smiled calmly: "Who hasn't been young before? Children are always a bit willful, but they'll come around eventually."

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