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  Chapter Forty-Six: Doubts (Two)

  When Peony received the news, she couldn't believe it. Madame Bai had actually come to see her. She thought that after leaving the Liu family, she would have nothing to do with people like Shizi's wife or Qinghe Wu Shi's seventeenth daughter. Even if they met on the road, they wouldn't necessarily greet her, and of course, she wouldn't take the initiative to fawn over them either.

  Lin's mother frowned and said: "Dan Niang, isn't she here to persuade you? After all, they are in cahoots with each other."

  Yu He hesitated and said: "Madam Bai is not that kind of person, is she? Last time at the flower banquet, she was very good to Dan Niang."

  "No matter what, I must receive her sincerely." Peony also had no bottom line in her heart, but she vaguely felt that Madam Bai would not be such a person. At the last flower banquet, so many people were indifferent to her situation, even with an attitude of watching the excitement, only Madam Bai expressed her concern and sympathy for her without any reserve, perhaps others just came to visit her with good intentions. No matter what Madam Bai's purpose was, she must receive her sincerely today, just because of how she treated herself last time.

  In the central hall of the He family, Madame Bai was chatting and drinking tea with Xue Shi. Xue Shi was a steady and dignified person who did not show any panic or loss when she saw Madame Bai, such a noble lady, her words were proper, and her manners were measured.

  Madam Bai and Madam Xue exchanged a few pleasantries, discovering that she was a woman of substance, well-read and refined in her interactions with others. The He family's home decor also had its own unique style, the furniture although somewhat old, was extremely exquisite in workmanship and materials, without any gaudy decorations like gold frames or precious stones that were popular at the time. The only striking decoration was a beautifully crafted incense burner made from the finest sugar crystals and fragrant wood, exuding a subtle elegance and fragrance throughout the room. The servants were well-mannered and courteous, not a sound of noise could be heard. It was completely unlike the rumors circulating outside that the He family was coarse and uncouth, thinking that having money was all that mattered. As a result, her attitude also became genuinely warm and friendly, and her impression of Peony also rose to another level.

  When Peony arrived at the central hall, after some small talk, Mrs. Xue ordered her maid to serve them carefully and then politely took her leave, leaving only Peony and Madame Bai to chat.

  Madam Bai saw Peony dressed in an extremely elegant and outstanding manner, with ivory white short pants, emerald green six-paneled Luo skirt, the hem of which was embroidered with a few white peonies, blue sky-colored gauze scarf, shiny black hair styled in a half-turned bun, only adorned with a single piece of currently popular tortoiseshell ivory comb, skin as white as jade, smile as bright as flowers, and seemed to be a half-opened white jade lotus. She couldn't help but secretly admire her for a moment, lamenting that Liu Zhen had no good fortune, and straightforwardly said: "Liu Zi Xuan asked me to come and talk to you about making amends and offering compensation. As long as you are willing, he will personally come to your door to apologize and escort you back home with great fanfare."

  "Peony is still hesitant, isn't she saying that she's been confined? How can she still jump around and entrust others? On the surface, however, she just smiled warmly: "Thank you, Mrs. Bai, for your kindness. But once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back, and I don't want to be trampled on again." As for Mrs. Bai, a straightforward person like her didn't need to engage in those insincere pleasantries, so she just spoke her mind."

  Madam Bai saw that although she smiled warmly, her eyes were extremely determined, so she nodded: "I know you're a resolute person. I didn't want to come, but yesterday Xiaya begged the young master, saying that Liu Zishu was beaten by Liu Shangshu because of your sake and was locked up. They've been friends since childhood, no matter what, this time I had to come. I hope you don't mind my interference."

  "Understood," Peony smiled, but in her heart she was disdainful of Liu's words. Who was he trying to fool? He just wanted to lure her back and then take advantage of her again, trap her, and when she had no way out, abandon her to vent his anger.

  Madam Bai smiled again: "Alright, just now it was Pan Rong's wife talking to you, now it's me, Bai Xiang, talking to you." She paused and said in a low voice: "Wealth and glory are fleeting, we women should cherish ourselves when we have the chance. You have kind parents and family who treat you well, you should be grateful. With your looks and character, you shouldn't be treated that way. Even if Liu Zishu hadn't asked me to, I would still come to see how you're doing."

  Peony heard this, and a sincere smile appeared on her face.

  Madam Bai asked about the situation with Peony and Lychee, and upon hearing Liu Chengcai's evasions and Liu Chang's refusal to write a divorce letter, she pondered for a moment before saying: "This can't be dragged on any longer. On Dragon Boat Festival, I'll send someone to fetch you. If your luck is good and you meet a noble person, go ask her for help. If she agrees to assist you, this matter will be settled."

  Is there such a good thing? Peony hesitated and said, "Isn't this not good? If the young master blames you, what can be done about it?" She could see that Pan Rong's husband and wife didn't have a very good relationship. If Madame Bai offended Pan Rong because of her matter, she feared their marital relationship would become even more estranged.

  Madam Bai smiled and said, "You may have thought it through, but you don't know that Liu Zishu has a peculiar temper. And as for her, if she's not in the mood, she'll eventually take it out on you, so it's better to get rid of you early. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything, and as long as you don't say anything, who will know that I'm the one who took you away? How can he blame me? Even if he does, I'm not afraid."

  Peony didn't respond, and Madame Bai smiled: "What else are you worried about?"

  Peony hesitated for a long time before looking at Mrs. Bai seriously and saying, "Thank you for your kindness. I should be very grateful for your willingness to help me. But we haven't known each other for long, and I couldn't help but have some doubts. Why are you willing to help me so selflessly? Please tell me the reason." There is no unprovoked kindness or malice. If it were just a matter of lending a hand or offering kind words, she could accept it with an easy mind. But this was clearly something that could threaten her relationship with her husband, and that wasn't just any ordinary sentiment. Peony didn't want to think ill of others, but asking for clarification was always better.

  Mrs. Bai was taken aback by her question, and she couldn't help but laugh lightly, saying: "I rarely take the initiative to help someone, yet you're suspicious of me."

  "Your face is burning, yet you still insist: 'You know, I'm just an ordinary woman. If I didn't have a father or brother, I would be hard-pressed to protect myself, let alone help others. I don't want to owe you a favor for nothing and cause you trouble, only to be unable to repay you... What can someone like me use to repay such a great kindness?'"

  Mrs. Bai said seriously, "Actually, you are overthinking it. I just can't bear to see a good girl being ruined like this. Clearly, she has done nothing wrong, but because of someone else's mistake, she is suffering such an unjust fate. If I couldn't do anything about it, that would be one thing, but if I could and chose not to, or even helped the culprit, then what difference would there be between me and those people I look down on?"

  At this point, Madame Bai's tone was slightly agitated, and the maid behind her hurriedly handed her a cup of tea. After drinking it, she regained her composure and smiled wryly: "But I suppose you can't blame me either. Whoever has suffered such hardships would find it hard to believe that others would be kind to them for no reason. However, you are quite frank, able to say this in front of me. If you really don't mind, after the matter is settled, send a Yu Lou Dian Cui to me this autumn." In Peony's heart, she was probably only slightly better than those people.

  The peony's face turned even redder as she bowed her head and said, "Thank you for understanding." Perhaps she had been overthinking things.

  "Opportunity only comes once, you decide whether to come or not." Without waiting for Peony's response, she pointed to the maid beside her and said: "You still remember her? Her name is Nian Yu, it was she who led you to find me last time. She is the most trusted person by my side. On May 5th, during the Dragon Boat Festival, the night watch will be lifted. My family has set up a viewing platform near the Gongzheng Building. At midnight, go to the door between Dongshi Changping Warehouse and Fangshengchi, and Nian Yu will come to pick you up. She will tell you what to do. It's not enough for me to help you alone, it also depends on your luck."

  Peony thought that when the time came, the He family would all go to watch the excitement anyway, so she might as well let Dalang and Xue Shi accompany her on a trip.

  Yu He came in and reported: "The two brothers from the Zhang family have arrived. I told them to wait a bit, but they refused, saying that the road is far and the weather is bad, and they want to return home early."

  "Please wait a moment, madam," said Peony. "I have asked some men to dig up wild peonies from the mountains for me. They are honest folk, but they suspect I am cheating them and do not want to wait any longer. I'll go and be right back."

  "I should be going too." Mrs. Bai also stood up with the momentum, looking at Peony seriously: "Whether you come or not, I will let Ni Yu wait for you there for half an hour."

  Peony saw her clear eyes and had a proud and extraordinary aura, so she gritted her teeth: "I'll go"

  Madam Bai smiled: "Alright. We'll wait for you." She also instructed: "When the time comes, you can bring your family with you, just have them step aside when meeting the noble person."

  Peony heard this and almost completely believed that Mrs. Bai was sincere in her desire to help herself.

  Send off Madame Bai, and Peony goes to see the two brothers of the Zhang family. The two brothers of the Zhang family are squatting in the gatehouse of the He family, not even willing to sit on a stool, one holding a large ceramic basin pouring tea soup into his belly with all his might. Rain Lotus's mother, Madame Feng, stands in front of them with her arms akimbo and scolds: "Drink slowly, drink yourself to death, you little short-lived thing, aren't you afraid of stomachache?"

  Zhang Dalang lowered his head, Zhang Erlang's face turned red, but they all pretended not to hear and drank hard.

  "Peony smiled and said: 'What's going on?'"

  Feng Danni turned around and saw her, smiling: "Dan Niang, just now the two of them were idle and wanted to see you. I thought they hadn't had tea soup before, so I gave it to them to try. They looked like ghosts who died of thirst." She stretched out her foot to kick the two brothers, "Don't you hurry up? The master is here."

  The peony couldn't help but laugh, the big wife's mouth said fiercely, but in fact she was the softest, obviously seeing the two brothers pitiful, specially invited them to eat something.

  Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erlang hastily got up, put away the tea cups, carefully took out a bamboo basket from the corner, placed it in a bright spot, and invited Peony to take a look: "Young lady, this is it."

  ——*——*——*——

  Second update, rolling for pink tickets, there's still one more update today.