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  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Sun saw that it wasn't clear who had brought up the matter of dowry with her, and she felt slightly disappointed. She soon smiled again: "Alright. I'm such a person, these days I haven't slept well. Your aunt and Sixth Brother both want me to come and explain and apologize to you, don't misunderstand..."

  If it were a fellow who had grown up together, where would he be so careful? Peony smiled and said seriously: "Really nothing. I'm not that kind of person who is careful with my heart. When I care about me, I'm happy and haven't come yet, how can I think of those unnecessary things? You guys are really thinking too much."

  Sun saw Peony speaking sincerely, thinking that these days she had been treating herself as before, so she also put her mind at ease, feeling that Peony was really kind and not the kind of person who liked to cause trouble. However, thinking about how she had been disliked by her parents-in-law and scolded by her aunt, she felt unbalanced in her heart, and said: "Yes, they don't think about it either, your dowry, what can I do? To say something unpleasant, no matter what, it's not my turn. Besides, although we are born out of wedlock, who has treated us unfairly? Without me and Liu Lang, we have always been the most contented."

  As soon as this complicated matter was mentioned, Peony felt a bit overwhelmed and didn't want to continue the conversation, so she changed the subject. Sun also tactfully avoided mentioning it again and instead smiled and said: "Thanks for helping me out back then, thanks!"

  Yu He had been waiting by the side, and after Sun Shi left, he quietly asked Peony: "Dan Niang, why didn't you ask who told her that thing in the end? The Sixth Young Master's wife was clearly being schemed against."

  "Peony got up and went into the house, saying in a low voice: 'What to ask her? If she really tells me who it is, how should I respond? Should I say that person has ulterior motives together with her? Or should I say she's overthinking? We're all family members, why do I seem so troublesome. Just pay attention and watch, see who she suddenly became distant from recently, and who Yang Niang usually targets, won't you know who it is?"

  Yu Heqiang took a step forward, lifted the crystal bead curtain for Peony, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but laugh: "You're right. 79 Free Net 79x."

  "Let's not dwell on who is who, it doesn't matter. We just need to keep a distance from that person in the future. As for other things, we can do whatever, but let's not talk about it." With the money she currently has, it's already enough. As for the Liu family's money, even if it comes back, she has made up her mind to not want it, nor has she ever thought of getting extra money from He's parents. Since she is not greedy, where did all these conflicts and calculations come from?

  Rain Lotus felt a little sad: "No matter where you go, I'll follow you." Although most people at home are now very good to Dan Niang, after all, it's true that the old saying is that daughters don't count as their own family members, they're raised for outsiders, and married-out daughters are like spilled water, no matter how good they are, they can't be compared to sons who carry on the family line.

  The peony smiled and held Rain Lotus's hand: "I know. You are all treating me with sincerity." Without Lin Mama, Rain Lotus, Kuan Er and Shu Er, her days in the Liu family would be even more difficult.

  "What's going on?" Lin Mama came in with a red silk handkerchief wrapped around something, smiling, and immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere in the room.

  "Peony smiled and said: 'Sixth Aunt was afraid I'd be worried, so she just told me some good things. What did Mom bring?'"

  Lin's mother unfolded the cloth and brought out a crystal peach-shaped powder box and a tin box, smiling: "It was sent by your uncle."

  The peony's hand, which had just stretched out, withdrew again: "Is anyone else here?"

  "Madam, Young Madam, Auntie, and Rongniang all have them. Not too many or too few, a total of seventeen sets. The things inside are the same, only the patterns on the boxes are different."

  "Peony picked up the crystal peach-shaped powder box to take a look, opened it and found that it was pink-colored fragrant powder. This is Li Han's red fenxiang, said to be made in the palace, and the princesses like to use it the most. It is made from talcum powder one liang, cinnabar two liangs, light powder five qian, and a small amount of musk, ground together, different from ordinary fragrant powder for applying on the skin, said to be fragrant, sweat-absorbing, and just right for use on this day."

  In the summer, people often wear thin gauze clothing that is so light it reveals their skin tone even when layered. As a result, everyone was in the habit of powdering themselves to show off their fair and delicate complexion through their clothes. Peony, however, had never been fond of this practice, thinking that since she already felt hot, sweating made her feel sticky and uncomfortable. Earlier, seeing that the powder was flesh-colored and could help with sweat, she showed some interest. But now, hearing that there was a "heart red" extracted from mercury, she immediately lost interest and put the box aside, turning to look at the tin box instead.

  The tin box was exquisitely made, with a lid engraved with a peony in full bloom and an egret in a leisurely pose, forming a luxurious pattern. Peony opened the lid to take a look, inside was a special perfume for wearing on the body, which was what she usually used, only slightly different, with a sweeter scent, and she didn't know what had been added, so she felt a little dazed.

  Lin Mama and Yu He exchanged a glance, both of them having some tacit understanding.

  After a long time, Peony let out a barely audible sigh and wrapped the two exquisite boxes in the cloth again, handing them to Yuhe: "Put them away."

  By the time dinner was served, Li Wei had already bid farewell. The women of the He family were still excitedly discussing the perfume he had brought earlier, and the fragrance on his clothes. Peony listened carefully and found that everyone's fragrance was different, but only hers was peony fragrance.

  Sun saw Peony sitting aside, just smiling and not participating in the discussion. With a kind intention, she asked Peony: "Dan Niang, what scent are you wearing? Mine is Fuhuo Yixiang. It's really well-matched, I heard that Xing Ye is also an expert at blending scents."

  This remark stirred up a group of people's hearts. Looking at the situation, in the future, Peony might have to marry into the Li family. If she were to learn the He family's secret fragrance recipe again, wouldn't the He family's incense shop be doomed to never open again? With so many people, how could they possibly only do jewelry and fragrance raw material business forever? They would inevitably have to do something else, such as running an incense shop or a decoration shop, in order to make a living. Therefore, when Peony remarries and whom she marries are very crucial matters.

  Zhen Shi glanced at the crowd of sisters-in-law, seeing that they all lowered their heads and didn't speak. She secretly despised them for not having the guts to do what they thought, while smiling and saying: "Need I ask? It must be Peony's fragrance." She slanted her eyes at Peony, teasingly saying: "Everyone else is just taking advantage of the situation, but this person is really not bad. Isn't that right, Dan Niang?"

  Peony looked up at Zhen Shi and frankly admitted, "Brother-in-law is indeed a good person. If it weren't for his help, my affairs wouldn't have been so easy to settle. As for benefiting from the situation, I'm actually quite puzzled about the reason behind it. Sister, please enlighten me?"

  From that day on, after Liu Chang publicly questioned her about having a private relationship with Li Wei, the people at home were very careful not to let her have any one-on-one contact with Li Wei, and they also paid attention not to say anything that might cause misunderstandings. After all, one was still unmarried, and the other had no wife yet, so nothing could be discussed. No matter how open-minded the atmosphere was, a woman's reputation was always the most important thing. It was tolerable for outsiders to make such jokes, but what did it mean when her own sister-in-law made such jokes in front of the children?

  Mrs. Zhen thought that Peony would be shy and avoid the topic, but she didn't expect her to face it calmly and even deliberately ask in front of the whole family. As for the rest, she just dryly laughed and tried to gloss over it, making ambiguous jokes about how dare she, asking her to say this in front of the whole family, but she didn't have the guts to do so.

  Peony saw her and didn't dare say anything else, so she lowered her head and ate, no longer pressing for an answer.

  He Zhizhong's face sank as he said, "What's this nonsense about basking in the glory? Who's basking in whose glory? This is a return gift your mother just sent to their house."

  "Oh." Zhen's family was not interested, and she glared at He Lang, who was eating with his head down, and then swept a circle around several sisters-in-law who were either gloating or expressionless. She cursed silently for a few sentences, and then took a big bite of the pastry in front of her, chewing fiercely.

  Everyone didn't dare to speak again, and the meal was eaten in silence. Even the children became more well-behaved. As soon as He Zhizhong put down his chopsticks, others followed suit. Mrs. Cen raised her eyes and looked at Zhen Shi with a cold gaze: "Daughter-in-law, come with me."

  Zhen saw Mrs. Cen looking at her with that gaze for the first time, and she felt a chill run down her spine, knowing it was not good. She looked pleadingly at Wu, but Wu's face was stern and didn't even glance at her. Then she looked at He Lang, who was smiling as he led his eldest daughter Hui Niang to Peony, saying that Hui Niang would help Peony plant flowers. Hui Niang indeed affectionately leaned on Peony's shoulder and cooed.

  Zhen Shi took a cold breath, hung her head and followed Mrs. Cen into the back. Zhen Shi stayed in Mrs. Cen's room until nightfall before coming out, and after coming out, she quickly returned to her room with her head down. On the second day, she was the first to go to Mrs. Cen's room to pay respects early in the morning. After this incident, she became much more polite to Peony and didn't dare speak again.

  The next day, Peony went out several times, but each time she wanted to go to the spice shop, she couldn't make it. Either she was held back by Zhen's family, or by Li and Rui's mother, or entrusted by Bai's family to buy things. Gradually, she didn't easily go out again, watching the potted peony flowers in the courtyard wither and produce seeds. She devoted herself to taking care of those flowers every day, and as soon as she saw signs of pests or yellowing leaves, she would guard them for half a day, catching insects that could be caught, and using sulfur to kill those that couldn't be caught, and was quite content.

  As it turns out, the person Sun and Yang are keeping at arm's length is none other than Xue. This is something Peony and Lin Mama, as well as Yuhe, had not anticipated. Peony's emotions are complicated; it seems that before she returned home, the He family was not so complex. Her arrival has been like a catalyst, causing some things that were previously hidden beneath the surface to gradually emerge. And these events are beyond her control; all she can do is strictly supervise Yuhe, Kuai'er, and Shu'er along with Lin Mama, forbidding them from getting involved in the factional struggles among the He family's servants, telling them to keep a low profile and not stir up trouble.

  Everyone must take a look and help me out!

  The national color has fallen from the new book, pink is on top... Begging for pink votes, this chapter will add 160 words first, and the next chapter will be after Dragon Boat Festival... Everyone vote, if there are 20 more votes from 79 free web book friends, I will add more updates, and so on. Thank you everyone.

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