It was him, Peony didn't expect Jiang Changyang to take the initiative to greet her. Jiang Changyang's attire was as simple and unadorned as it was when they last met, with that horizontal sword still hanging at his waist. Only his expression was much more vivid than before. When he smiled, a hint of shyness flashed through, and when he didn't speak, the overly rigid lines on his face softened, easily bridging the distance between them.

  He was a man who wasn't very good at dealing with women. Peony thought of this and made a proper bow to him, smiling: "Exactly."

  Jiang Changyang swept his eyes over the crowd and understood that they had come to eat the leftover cold dishes, so he said: "You all wait a moment." After speaking, he went inside.

  The peony was inexplicable, and Zhang Shi hurriedly asked: "Do you know him?"

  "Met a few days ago at the Liu's place. Exchanged a few words."

  Sun said with a wild imagination: "He must have gone to discuss business with the owner of the pastry shop, so that we can also eat cold rice."

  Zhang laughed at her: "You just remember to eat."

  Before the words had fallen, Jiang Changyang and a sturdy man with a short stature, wearing a suit of Hu attire and six-harmonious boots, with golden and silver decorations on his belt, came out. The mustache only glanced at Peony and others, and then ordered the shopkeeper: "Take good care of these guests, all on my account."

  The peony looked at this person, and there was a sense of calmness between his eyebrows. He didn't get angry but had an air of authority. Looking at the way he walked, she knew he wasn't an ordinary person. She thought to herself that since they had already closed up shop, it would be inconvenient for them. Jiang Changyang's actions were indeed polite and considerate, and she couldn't just ignore his kindness and cause him trouble. So she solemnly bowed and thanked him, politely declining.

  That whiskered fellow didn't say much, just smiled faintly and went inside. Jiang Changyang laughed and said: "You're too polite. It's just a bowl of cold noodles after all, if you've come to eat and then leave, it's not a big deal. If you really feel uncomfortable, you can pay for yourself. The most famous dish in his house is the Water Flower Cold Noodles."

  But merely nodding acquaintances, how could he be so diligent? Peony hesitated and looked at Jiang Changyang, unexpectedly seeing a hint of sympathy and regret in his eyes. She suddenly realized that others thought she was pitiful, rarely going out, and today didn't get to eat the famous Shui Hua Leng Tan, who knows when she could have it again. At this moment, she smiled slightly: "It's okay, I'll come again tomorrow."

  Jiang Changyang was somewhat surprised to hear this. He also saw Peony smiling brightly, and Yuhe was also smiling and talking to a maid beside her. Sun Shi and Zhang Shi were being very affectionate and intimate with Peony, the atmosphere was completely different from before, he thought that perhaps something else had happened that he didn't know about. So he stopped forcing Peony, and bowed his fist at Peony: "In that case, please take care of yourself."

  The peony was already ten or more yards ahead, when she suddenly thought of something else. She had forgotten to ask Jiang Changyang where he lived. Originally, it was through Pan Rong that she got to know this person, and because he had helped her out of a predicament, she had promised to send him some peonies. But now that she had fallen out with Pan Rong and the Liu family, even if she wanted to keep her promise, it wouldn't be convenient to ask Pan Rong about it. And yet, turning back to ask now would be a bit too much trouble. Never mind, as long as he was still in this capital city, there would always be opportunities to meet again.

  A group of people returned to Xuanpingfang, and Sun and Zhang competed to give money. Peony firmly stopped them, letting the doorman pour water for the two brothers who sent themselves home to drink, heavily rewarding the two brothers, and when they were dismissed, they bought food to entertain other people in the shop, and also let Lin's mother take out 10 taels of silver to give to the two brothers. The two brothers took the money and were overjoyed: "Madam, don't worry about us, we'll go exchange it for rice, oil, and salt to take home."

  "Big Brother glanced around at the gate of the He family, and smiled: "I'm Zhang Dalang, he's my younger brother Zhang Erlang. Next time if we run into this kind of flower again, would you still want it, madam?"

  "Ordinary ones I don't want, they must be like this one, different from the rest. For example, if it's born in the wild, has more petals, a stronger fragrance, and a different color, then I'll take it. The rarer the better."

  Zhang Er Lang hesitated for a moment and said: "I remembered something, there's a strange peony tree at the back of the mountain near the Sheng Cliff."

  "What kind of strange method is this?"

  "Zhang Er Lang gestured: 'I remember when I was a kid, I saw it and it never grew taller or bigger, now it's only about one and a half feet tall.'"

  "Is it a foot and a half high when in bloom, or is it always a foot and a half high? Are the flowers large? Do they bloom profusely? What color are they?" She had a vague feeling that she was dealing with a miniature peony.

  The peony has a saying in the folk "growing one foot and shrinking eight inches", but it is not actually so. Peonies sprout in spring, and the initial growth of a mixed bud is the elongation of the stem, then leaves grow, and a flower bud forms at the top, with a fairly long peduncle below the flower bud. After flowering, the residual flowers and peduncles are connected to dry and die. The original stem that sprouted only has one-third or one-half of its base continuously forming mixed buds or leaf buds for next year's flowering, and gradually lignifying. Therefore, before and after flowering in spring, due to the elongation of the peduncle, the plant appears to be taller, and after flowering, the peduncle withers and falls off, making it seem like the plant has become shorter again.

  From her observations of these days, the basic requirements for peony appreciation among Beijing people are tall and straight plant type, full flowers, and lush blooms. However, they have not thought that varieties with small and low plant type, small annual growth, fine and short roots are more suitable for potting and even potted landscape, which can be used for indoor decoration and arrangement to achieve unexpected effects, and this is also one of her future breeding directions.

  Suppose this wild peony is indeed as Zhang Er Lang said, even when it blooms, it only grows to be one foot five inches tall. It would be a good material for cultivating miniature peonies in the future. In the homes of royalty and nobility, if a pot of peonies like this were placed on a table with other flowers and rocks, forming a auspicious potted landscape, it can be imagined what kind of effect it would have.

  Chapter Two Lang saw the peony and asked, thought for a long time, and said foolishly: "The flower is white, not very big, and there are many of them? I didn't notice when it was tall, I just knew it was short. Could it be different?"

  "Of course, it's not the same. No matter what, just dig it up and bring it to me. Be extremely careful not to damage the roots. If it's really as you said, I'll give you 10,000 yuan. Even if it's not, I won't let your trip be in vain." Peony couldn't explain clearly for a while, so she could only wait until they saw the flower again to talk about it.

  The Zhang brothers heard this and repeatedly guaranteed that they would dig it up and send it over within three days at most. They also remembered the specific location of the He residence, and then happily left.

  After sending off the two brothers, Mudan went in to see Mrs. Cen. From a distance, she heard the sound of people laughing and the flattering voice: "Good mother!"

  Lin's mother explained to Peony: "At first, it loved to learn this sentence from you. After going to the Liu family for three years, it had already forgotten it. This morning, when it heard everyone and the mistress asking after its well-being, and the children calling out to their mother, it suddenly remembered again. The mistress was actually hurt by its antics, but afterwards, she even had someone bring pumpkin seeds to reward it."

  "Peony couldn't help but laugh: 'This stinky bird is really quick to change sides, and now it's already clinging to my mother's leg.'"

  Yu He smiled and said, "It's not boasting, among the parrots I've seen, this bird is the smartest. That day, thanks to it, I only taught it a few times and it remembered."

  "Go back and tell Kuan'er and Shu'er to be careful, don't say important things in front of it."

  Yu He is careful to respond. Living in this house, for the time being, it can't be said that anyone is bad. Looking at it, everyone seems to care about Peony, but with many people and loose talk, if you're not careful and say something you shouldn't, it will be spread by Shuaishuai, which would increase Peony's troubles and cause trouble for Mrs. Cen, so being extremely cautious is a must.

  Madam Cen had just woken up from her afternoon nap and was resting on the cool couch under the corridor, surrounded by the women and children of the He family. Some were drinking tea, some were chatting, and others were listening to the children recite their lessons. Everyone was in high spirits. When Peony entered, they all smiled and made room for her, letting her sit down beside Madam Cen.

  Mrs. Cen grasped Peony's hand and said, "Fortunately, you brought a lot of people today." Peony saw that both Sun and Zhang were standing around Mrs. Cen, so she knew they must have already told her about what had just happened. She smiled and said, "If there were fewer people, I wouldn't dare to go out casually either."

  Madam Cen nodded: "Is it true what your cousin Li did?"

  The peony hesitated for a moment, then said: "It seems to be true. Liu Chong asked him and he admitted it. Having offended those two people, his future will probably not go well." And as for why Liu Chong dared to ask Li Yin, it was likely because he had already asked the mistress of Qinghua County and she did not acknowledge it, which made him suspect Li Yin. In fact, considering the mistress's character, doing such a thing was inevitable. Even if Li Yin didn't admit it, Liu Chong might not have been able to completely determine that it was him; but now that he has admitted it, he has completely offended both the Liu family and the mistress of Qinghua County, and his future days will probably be very difficult.

  Mrs. Cen sighed: "This child... you owe him a great favor." What can she say? She glanced at Peony, seeing that Peony was looking down with a heavy heart, so she didn't say much more and just urged Peony: "Didn't you buy flowers? Hurry up and plant them?"

  Peony got up and went to plant flowers. Several nephews and nieces hurriedly asked their mother for permission, chattering endlessly as they followed Peony to the backyard.

  "Mother, I think Liu Chan is really angry today and has vented all his anger on Xing's body. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for him later." She and Sun Shi were both women, so they naturally understood what Liu Chan and Peony said. As a daughter-in-law, she couldn't mention her sister-in-law's private affairs in front of her mother-in-law, so she could only bring it up very vaguely.

  Madam Cen said calmly: "What's done is done. An upright person doesn't fear a slanted shadow."

  Zhang and Sun exchanged a glance and responded in unison with a "yes".