?

  Chapter Forty-Five Suspicions (Part One)

  He Zhizhong knew that Peony was in harmony with the mud, and although he secretly resented his concubine and son for being greedy and thoughtless, he thought of Peony's usual kindness and magnanimity. He worried that others would be troubled by her, and remembered that she had said she didn't want that money. If it caused trouble at home because of the money, he feared that she would not want to stay in the house either, and would not be happy. So he didn't want to mention this matter again in front of Peony, and smiled along with her meaning: "I thought you ate something that couldn't be eaten, it's just a bowl of cold porridge after all. Let's go eat together while the sky is still early."

  Everyone let out a cheer and began to gather their things, preparing to leave. Madame Wu, however, did not go, saying softly: "The master and mistress have taken the children with them, I'll stay behind and prepare dinner."

  Yang's family had just provoked He Zhizhong, although she also wanted to go out, seeing the situation could only laugh and say: "The concubine will stay at home to help Sister Zhu." She also winked at Sun's family, Sun's family reluctantly expressed that she was not going either.

  Xue's family also came to join in the fun: "There are many things at home, I'll stay too."

  Madam Cen didn't force them either, only asking if they wanted to eat Water Flower Cold Noodles or Pagoda Tree Leaf Cold Noodles. Then she ordered the people beside her to take note and later had someone deliver it to their homes. The rest of the He family members left happily and headed straight for East Market.

  Today I went late, but there weren't many people eating cold noodles. The He family ate to their heart's content, and as the sky was about to darken and the market was not far from closing, they decided to head to He Siliang's shop together to pick him up and return home.

  He's spice shop was on the left side of Pingzhun Mansion, facing the main street, and lined up with many brocade shops. The scale of the shop was not small, about four or five rooms as big as ordinary shops, looking very majestic. He Zhizhong was very proud, pulling Mudan softly and saying: "Look, these more than a dozen shops in this row are all ours."

  This peony has a number, the He family has shops in both East City and West City, except for their own use, they have rented them out at high prices, with an annual rent of no less than 100,000 yuan. It is unknown why, as the daughter of a merchant, He Peony's dowry did not include any shops. Peony thought to herself, perhaps it was because her dowry was too rich, and taking out too much at once would be unbalanced, so He Zhongzhong left this lucrative business for his son and daughter-in-law instead? For people with many children, wanting to coordinate the relationships in between is indeed a laborious task.

  A tall and sturdy man, about twenty years old, with a ferocious expression, appeared at the entrance of He's spice shop. His appearance was eye-catching: he wore a green silk band around his forehead, a green robe with a high collar, and brown satin sleeves rolled up to reveal two muscular arms with tattoos. On his left arm was tattooed "Fearless in life, not afraid of the Governor of Beijing", and on his right arm was tattooed "Fearless in death, not afraid of King Yama". He looked like a local ruffian.

  Peony was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly. This person is too arrogant and interesting, challenging the two greatest authorities in ancient people's minds: the government when alive, and the government after death. The man glared at Peony fiercely and walked straight towards him. Peony thought to himself that he was in trouble, having provoked a bully. Just as he was about to hide behind He Zhizhong, he saw the man stop three or four steps away, bowing respectfully to He Zhizhong and Cen's wife, asking: "Uncle, aunt, brothers, sisters, where are you from?"

  He Zhizhong and Mrs. Xian both smiled and said politely, "Is the young master free today? We came to find Si Lang to return home together. Is he inside?"

  "That person said: 'He's over there, I was just talking to him. He's having someone collect the stall and settle accounts before closing up shop. Uncle and aunt are busy, I have something else to attend to, so I'll take my leave first.'"

  The peony heart said, can't see it coming, this person speaks and acts with courtesy. Just thinking about it, that person was greeting He Dalang and He Er Lang on one side, but also took a fierce look at her, not staring, not glaring, but looking. He Zhizhong saw the situation and quietly covered Peony behind him.

  Zhen's wife pulled Peony into the shop first, and said: "This Zhang Wu Lang looks at people with eyes like a wolf, he is not a good thing, you will encounter him in the future, hide far away."

  Originally called Zhang Wulang. Peony responded with a sound, and seeing He Silang coming out to welcome her, she insisted on showing her various legendary spices. Who knew that after taking a look, she was shocked by the variety of spices in He's store, the categories were so fine, and the grades were completely beyond her imagination. Just sandalwood alone was divided into six grades, and each grade was further subdivided; there were also agarwood, **, tongue-leaf fragrance, aniseed fragrance, osmanthus fragrance, dragon brain fragrance, musk, frankincense, honey fragrance, wood fragrance, suhe fragrance, dragon's saliva fragrance and many other precious spices from overseas. As for the various fragrant flowers and grasses native to this land, they were too numerous to count.

  Apart from the luxurious use of large chunks of natural fragrances piled up and carved into fake mountain shapes, gold-plated decorations, and emitting a faint fragrance, He's family only sells raw materials and does not sell finished incense products, incense burners, incense pots, incense tubes, etc.

  He Si Lang saw Peony staring at the spices with unblinking eyes, and chuckled: "You've been learning to identify scents with us since you were a kid, how come you're acting like it's something new now?"

  "Peony was just curious and casually said: "I've almost forgotten, I want to learn again. Fourth brother is free to teach me?"

  He Silang said, "What's difficult about this? You're idle anyway, learn this and then go learn perfumery from Second Brother. You can open a perfume shop and have fun. You'll be in charge of making the perfume, your brothers will help with the management. Planting flowers is nice, but it's too dull, and you can't exchange them for money to use."

  They had been wanting to open such a shop for some time, but their fathers and brothers were resolute in not allowing it, and even more so refused to teach them the secret art of incense-making. Now they were rushing to curry favor with their own sisters, these flesh-and-blood relatives were indeed different from others. If they married again in the future, wouldn't they be competing with their own family for food? Zhen Shi listened on the side, her face immediately changed, and she quickly turned to look at Bai Shi and the other wives. She saw that although their faces were light, they were clearly not very happy. She thought silently for a moment, then quickly calculated.

  The peony didn't notice the expressions of several sisters-in-law, and only said: "I don't want to open a fragrance shop at all. I just learn how to make fragrances with my second brother. If there's something to do, I won't be so idle."

  She only told the truth, but others might not believe her. They just thought to themselves: she learned how to distinguish fragrances and then learned how to make perfumes, and with her parents' favoritism and her brothers' support, taking advantage of the timing and circumstances, it would be foolish not to open a shop and make a lot of money. Who is she fooling? They all said that she was always honest and kind, but now it seems like she's also two-faced. Zhen Shi gave Li Shi a glance, implying: look at how good your husband is to his sister. Li Shi calmly looked away, lowering her head in silence, thinking to herself: when I get back, should I also take this opportunity to have my own daughter Rui follow Peony and learn some skills? After all, they're both daughters of the He family; can't the He father and son treat them equally?

  The peony was unaware that a careless remark had caused so much trouble, and happily pulled He Si Lang around the shop in a circle. Only when the cymbals signaling the end of the market rang out did she reluctantly follow her family home.

  Back home, Yang and Wu, Xue were all there, but Sun was nowhere to be seen. When asked by Mrs. Cen, Yang's face turned gloomy and said: "Suddenly felt unwell, dizzy, and went to lie down. Said he didn't want to eat dinner."

  "Has the doctor been invited?"

  Yang said hastily: "It's nothing serious, I've already taken the medicine, and I'll be fine after a nap."

  Most of them were scolded and felt uncomfortable in their hearts. Mrs. Cen didn't ask any more questions, just let someone bring the cold dish to Sun's family. It was Zhen who raised her eyebrows and frequently made eyes at Xue, but Xue lowered her head and ignored her.

  That night, the wind howled all night, keeping several people in the He family awake. Mrs. Li thought of bringing up the matter of letting Rui Niang follow Mu Dan to learn perfumery several times, but ultimately didn't dare say it out loud. After tossing and turning until the fourth watch, she finally made up her mind to wait until Mu Dan had really gone to study before mentioning it again.

  Zhen's wife was rolling around on the bed, humming and making a fuss, holding He Sanlang in torment. One moment she pinched his waist, the next she bit his shoulder, with two bubbles of tears in her eyes, only choking: "You don't care about me, you don't care about our child."

  He Sanlang stood with his back to her, motionless and silent, neither asking what was wrong nor retaliating or even acknowledging her.

  Zhen's wife made a fuss for a while, felt bored, and kicked He Sanlang with one foot, scolding: "You're a useless dead man, marrying you is really unlucky. Anyone can kick me a foot. Your aunt always wants to..."

  He Sanlang was caught off guard and stumbled against the screen, almost falling off the bed. He got angry and sat up, clenching his fists, saying: "Don't you dare think that no one will trample on you just because you're not satisfied? Don't you know your place? If it weren't for the sake of your aunt's face, who would be so tolerant of you now? You have sons and daughters of your own, how can you not tolerate a poor Dan Niang? If brothers want to teach her to make incense, they must know that you can't tolerate her. Can't teach her, other families won't sell incense, and no one in the world will be able to make incense again? One more noise, one more noise, and I'll kick you out!"

  In the darkness, Zhen Shi couldn't see He Sanlang's face clearly, only knowing that he was very angry. Normally, he rarely lost his temper, and when he did, it made her feel a strange sensation in her heart. She hastily threw herself into his arms, embracing his waist, and cooed: "Who can't tolerate her? It's not like I'm spending my own money on her food and clothes. But compared to her, I still care more about you and the children, we're the closest ones after all! Now that Father is still alive, what will happen in the future? What will we do then?"

  He Sanlang's heart softened, and he covered her mouth with his hand, saying somewhat unsteadily: "Don't talk nonsense, don't let others hear. The relationship between Mother and Aunt is not ordinary, and Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother treat us differently too. No matter what, they will have more affection for us than Sixth Brother. You shouldn't go against them, it makes me feel more at ease when I'm out doing things."

  Zhen's wife resentfully said: "You've been following your elder brothers for so many years, but you're still neither high nor low, not as bold as the eldest brother, and not as sharp-eyed as the second brother. After all these years, even the fifth child can go out on his own to purchase goods, but you're still unable to do so, only able to follow others around, and also won't be able to curry favor with your father like the sixth child."

  He said a few more words that made He Sanlang's heart feel anxious and confused, so he pushed her away, turned his back on her and fell asleep with his head buried in the pillow.

  The second day was overcast, with a gloomy sky and occasional gusts of wind that sent shivers down the spines of thinly clad pedestrians. The streets of Xuanpingfang were less crowded than usual, with six or seven people clustering around a white rattan sedan chair that had stopped in front of the He family's gate. Madame Bai leaned out of the sedan to ask her maid, "Nianyu, is this the right house?"

  ——*——*——*——

  On the first day of listing, I strongly ask everyone for pink tickets. Today, I want to update three chapters, but I don't know if I can make it. Please give me encouragement and grit my teeth.