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  Chapter Forty-Seven Suspicion (Three)

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  The peony in front is carefully observed, and the wild peony is indeed rare in height. The flower stem and flowers are only about one and a half feet tall. The dry skin has brown stripes and longitudinal lines, with roots coming out of the stems. (Niú Wén ~ Web) The small leaves have 1-5 lobes, with coarse teeth on the edges, and the upper surface is ***, while the lower surface is covered with silky hairs. There are 10 petals, slightly wrinkled, with a few shallow notches at the tip, white in color, with some parts having a faint reddish tint, light purple at the base, dark reddish-purple stamens, and white near the top.

  Peony immediately confirmed that this was a dwarf peony, also known as the mountain peony. She gently stroked its leaves and branches, feeling emotional, as it is the original plant for cultivated peonies, and due to its medicinal root bark, it has become a nationally protected endangered species in modern times. She didn't expect to find one here by chance, and what's more, it was a highly dwarfed specimen that had only grown this much after over ten years, truly rare.

  Zhang Dalang saw the peony and was lost in thought, not saying a word. He seemed a bit anxious: "Young lady, are you satisfied?" Zhang Erlang quietly pulled his sleeve and whispered: "Brother, don't rush her, let her take her time to look."

  The peony came to its senses, carefully examined the roots, and saw that this time was slightly different from last time. The roots still had a large amount of mud on them, so there was no need to trim the flowers and leaves. He smiled and said: "I'm very satisfied. Let's stick to what we agreed on last time, one thousand dollars, is it okay?"

  Zhang Daliu brothers smiled with their eyes open: "Good, good."

  "Peony pointed at them and said: 'You've done a great job this time. In the future, if there's anything like this again, you should protect it with soil just like this.'"

  Zhang Dala and his brother nodded as if they understood, happily took the money and left.

  The peony called a rough servant girl over, carrying the basket to the backyard. As soon as she entered the yard gate, Zhen Shi and Bai Shi came forward. Zhen Shi glanced into the basket and smiled: "Dan Niang bought flowers again? By next spring, I'm afraid there will be peonies everywhere in this courtyard. How much did it cost?"

  The peony smiled slightly: "Still the same as last time."

  "These flowers are really expensive, are you sure you didn't overpay? Danni, if you really like them, it would be more cost-effective to buy flower buds at the Taoist temple. Zhen Shi followed closely behind her: "Where do you plan to plant them?"

  "Hasn't been seen clearly yet." How expensive or cheap this boundary is depends on how one thinks.

  Zhen's eyes sparkled again as she asked, "Are you going to plant them in the open air this time too?"

  "Peony said: 'It came with mud, and it's not that big, just use a pot to plant it.'"

  "Right, right. If it can be potted, it's best to pot it. Otherwise, it won't be easy to move later."

  Are you thinking that far ahead? Peony was taken aback, and couldn't help but look up at Zhen Shi. Is this the most polite way of putting it? Are they afraid she'll stay in this house for too long and not leave, so they're reminding her?

  Zhen's face was still smiling, but she somewhat unnaturally averted her eyes.

  Bai Shi glared at Zhen Shi and hastily said, "Dan Niang, let me go out and take a look. What does that young master's wife want to find you for? Is it related to the Liu family?"

  The peony lowered its eyes and smiled faintly: "Yes."

  "What's she doing here? Is she trying to persuade you to go back? I'm telling you, don't listen to her nonsense. A good horse doesn't eat the grass it has already passed by, and your parents or siblings can't support you, so what's the point of going back?"

  Excessive enthusiasm is just to cover up the unpleasantness in one's heart. Peony was a bit upset, but didn't want to make things unpleasant with her either, so she said lightly: "I have always remembered Brother and Sister-in-law's kindness, and I dare not forget it for a moment."

  "Miss Bai interrupted, 'What's the point of saying all this? Let Dan Niang handle things her own way, she knows what she's doing.'"

  "I'll go in and talk to Mother about what just happened." Peony bowed to the two sisters-in-law and went straight into Mrs. Cen's room.

  Madam Xian was checking the accounts with Mrs. Xue, and when she came in, she beckoned to her: "Come over and tell us, what did that lady say to you?"

  Peony repeated the original words verbatim to the two of them, and after listening, Mrs. Cen thought for a moment and said: "So, she's a good person? Do you believe her?"

  The peony nodded. If she had any doubts before, now she was determined to give it a try. If possible, she didn't want to rely on anyone for her living and didn't want to trouble anyone easily. The sooner this matter ended, the sooner she could live the life she wanted.

  Madam Cen frowned and said, "You can't judge a person's heart by their appearance. The Liu family wasn't... At first, I thought the Liu family was at least a decent and respectable household with some education and manners. They had a simple population and there were contracts to guarantee it, plus Dan Niang was really not doing well, so that's why we made that move. Who would have thought that this family would actually be without even the basic dignity and integrity of ordinary commoners, truly ruthless and heartless."

  "Please don't be sad, my illness is also better. I was just worried that Madam Bai helped me with ulterior motives and feared that it would bring unnecessary trouble to our family. Since she said she didn't want anything in return, it's probably true. Could it be that she would help Liu Cheng tie me up? Eldest sister has met Madam Bai before, do you think she is trustworthy?"

  Xue patted Peony's hand comfortingly: "I don't think that lady is a bad person."

  "Peony's eyes lit up, 'Does Big Sister also think so? I also feel that she wouldn't do such a thing.'"

  Madam Cen glanced at her sister-in-law and thought to herself that Xue Shi was usually calm and composed, never easily expressing such opinions. Now that she had spoken up, there must be something special about this Bai Furen. She sighed and said, "Let's go try it out then. At that time, let your elder sister, Fang Dama, Lin Mama, and Yu He follow you closely. Your two brothers are not allowed to wander off either, just keep an eye on things from a distance. It should be fine."

  In the evening, He Zhizhong returned home and heard about this matter. He specially sent someone to inquire about Bai's character. The news that came back said that this person usually looked arrogant, but his temperament was quite good, with no evil reputation, and the people in his household also praised him for being generous. After careful consideration, He Zhizhong decided to let Mudan try it out that day.

  In the following days, He Zhizhong sent someone to Liu's house every other day to ask about it. The reply was always that Liu Chuan was still locked up and was in a desperate situation. After inquiring, they learned that Liu Chuan had indeed not left the house, and also heard that Qinghua County Master had visited once and received warm hospitality from the Liu family, and she was very happy when she left.

  Although all the signs indicated that Liu Chengcai was indeed preparing for a good divorce, he was always in a state of uncertainty, unable to make further moves. The men of the He family were getting increasingly anxious as the weather got hotter. The men's dissatisfaction affected the women, who often quarreled and scolded each other over trivial matters when Madam Cen was not around.

  The peony was watching the peony flower's flowering period was about to pass, and Liu Chuan did not go out. He took a deep breath and asked He Zhizhong to take her to Cao's peony garden in the north of the city to see the flowers. However, He Zhizhong had no time, so he asked He Wulang and his wife to take Peony instead.

  He Wu Lang and Zhang Shi had a very close relationship, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but steal a glance at Zhang Shi with joy. Zhang Shi gave him a white eye, but also couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, turning her head to ask Peony: "Shall we leave after breakfast?"

  The peony garden of the Cao family was not in the city, but outside Guanghua Gate. The garden covers an area of about 10 acres, and indeed, as rumored, a large lake in the shape of a crescent moon is located in the center. The lakeside is adorned with Taihu stones, fake mountains, pavilions, and lush vegetation. In the heart of the lake, there are pavilions, towers, and lush vegetation. Peonies and paeonias are planted everywhere. The early-blooming varieties of peonies have already wilted, while the late-blooming varieties are about to fall off. However, the paeonias are in full bloom.

  Peony walked around in a circle, quietly memorizing the layout and carefully distinguishing between peony varieties. He Wu Lang saw her staring at some peonies that had already wilted, leaving only branches, leaves, and fruit, and smiled: "Dan Niang, what's so good about this? Look over there instead."

  Zhang smiled and said, "Wu Lang, don't make fun of her. I've heard Yu He say that our Dan Niang can tell the quality of a flower just by looking at its leaves, without even seeing the blossom itself."

  Wu Lang's eyes blinked, and he said in surprise: "Really? You're just like our second brother, when someone makes a fragrance, he only needs to smell it once to tell what kind of ingredients were used."

  "Peony chuckled: 'How can it be so mysterious? I can only know what variety it is at most.' As for what kind of flower it will bloom into, she didn't have that skill. Peonies are prone to variation, how could she know?"

  Xu'er remembered what Xià and Mùdān had said earlier, pulled Mùdān's sleeve and whispered: "Mùdān, you can also have a courtyard like this in the future. Look, we came with ten people today, he charged us 500 yuan, and another 500 yuan for renting the boat."

  The peony only smiles and does not speak. Harmony and separation, building a woman's house, buying land, building a villa, planting flowers, repairing the garden, wanting to see results, it should be two years later at least?

  The boat had not yet traveled a full week, and Zhang was already unable to hold on, pale-faced and covering her mouth, indicating that she couldn't go on. Wu Lang hastily called for Cao's boat-pushing boy to quickly push the boat back to the shore, while Peony fetched a water bottle from her bag to feed Zhang, who merely shook her head, not even daring to speak.

  It wasn't until they reached the shore that Zhang finally got off the boat and fell into Wu Lang's arms, immediately turning her head to the side and vomiting uncontrollably.

  Wu Lang patted her back and said, "She's not seasick, what's going on? Is she ill?"

  "Let's hurry back and get a doctor to take a look." Peony gave the little boy who was holding up the boat some money, apologized and said: "Sorry for dirtying your family's place. Here is 100 dollars, please help me ask someone to come and clean up the yard?"

  The little boatman hastily stretched out his hand to receive the money, carefully tucked it into his bosom and patted it in place, then smiled and said: "Don't worry, miss, just go ahead with peace of mind. We'll take care of things here."

  "What's going on?" A male voice came from a short distance away, and the little boy who was holding the boat retreated to one side, saluting with his hands together: "I've seen you, sir."

  When Peony turned her head, she was taken aback to see that the newcomer was none other than the man with the hooked nose and whiskers who had competed with them for peonies on that day. Little did they expect that he would turn out to be the master of the Cao family garden.