He Zhizhong thought to himself, the old man wouldn't buy Ning Wang's account and had grasped his own weak point of being a doting father. He knew he was dragging down his family and wouldn't easily clash with him unless absolutely necessary. It seemed that pressuring him today would be pointless, and if things went too far, it would give the old man an excuse to speak up in front of Ning Wang. Since both sides had prepared a second route, they weren't afraid of what tricks he might play, so He Zhizhong didn't refuse Liu Chengcai's proposal.

  Watching Liu Chengcai write the guarantee, take out the private seal and cover it properly, and then carefully read it again to confirm that there is no mistake, he blew dry the ink marks, carefully put it in his bosom, bid farewell to Liu Chengcai, thanked Qi Changlin, and led two sons with a face full of unwillingness and eyes revealing a fierce light out of the door.

  Qi Changlin didn't know how things had progressed, so he asked Liu Chengcai: "Brother-in-law, how are things going? I'll go back and report."

  Liu Chengcai said seriously: "Everything has been discussed. You go back and tell them that our two families will be harmonious and peaceful, and we will discuss things carefully. We must make sure to part on good terms. However, Zi Shu is reluctant to give up and needs some time to think about it. I'll have a good talk with him and your sister to persuade him. Once he agrees, it will also avoid future troubles with He Jia Dan Niang, and everyone's face will be saved, which would be the best outcome."

  Although this makes sense, it's still not settled. Qi Changlin said with difficulty: "I'm afraid that's just an excuse. Brother-in-law, why don't you take advantage of the situation and advise Zishu well? A great man has no worries about having a wife, why must he insist on being stubborn?"

  "Hey, isn't he more anxious than the He family? Liu Chengcai said unhappily: "What's going on? Look at the cunning and ferocious appearance of the He family father and son, can they be fooled? I wrote a guarantee letter for him just now and stamped it with my seal. Is my guarantee letter worthless? It just takes some time, don't worry, what's our relationship? Can I cheat you or harm you? I've never done anything to betray my relatives!"

  Having written the guarantee, he naturally wouldn't shirk his responsibility. Seeing Liu Chengcai speak with righteous words and stern tone, Qi Changlin thought to himself that indeed he had never wronged his own family, and couldn't help but feel ashamed, not daring to say more, hastily took his leave.

  Liu Chengcai sat alone with his legs crossed, mentally rehearsing the things he was about to do step by step, making sure there would be no mistakes. Only then did he say, "Bring Xi Xia to me." The He family father and son had always been cautious in their business dealings, having their own way of doing things that couldn't be interfered with. In this case, they could only start from Mudan.

  Liu Chengcai stroked his beard and said quietly, "He Mudan, you have never wronged my family, but I'm afraid I will wrong you. Who told you not to be honest and straightforward, but instead sing this tune?"

  He and his son left the Liu family gate, mounted their horses, loosened the reins, and let the horses walk slowly. He Dalang changed his irritable appearance from earlier and asked He Zhizhong in a soft voice: "Dad, he was originally after that money, so why didn't we agree to it from the start? Why waste so much effort and make Mother and Dan Niang wait anxiously at home?"

  He Zhizhong patiently explained: "If I had been too generous from the start, wouldn't he have become suspicious? The harder it is to get something, the more at ease he'll feel when he gets it, and the more he'll think we're afraid of him. In the future, no matter what happens, he won't suspect us, at most he'll just blame bad luck."

  It's just like doing business, if the buyer haggles and the seller agrees, the buyer will suspect that there is a problem. If the seller doesn't agree and argues with the buyer, the buyer will think it's worth paying more in the end. Dalang smiled: "This breath has been stuck in my heart for too long, once Dan Niang's matter is settled, we'll leave immediately. Let this pair of dog father and son suffer a big loss!"

  "Second Brother said: 'Dad, you wrote a guarantee for me to take a look?'"

  He Zhizhong took out the folded paper from his bosom and handed it to him. After He Erlang carefully studied it, he smiled and said, "With this guarantee letter, Dan Niang's divorce papers are definitely obtainable."

  "Give me a look?" After carefully examining it, he still folded it into a square and handed it to He Zhizhong to put away. "Indeed, second brother's method is wonderful. We need to invite someone even more important than him to take charge of this matter, otherwise who knows how long they will drag us on for."

  "Actually, he didn't take Ning Wang seriously at all. This matter was just a convenient opportunity for him to push us around. Later on, we'll definitely have to find another way to deal with the trouble he's going to cause us, so let's be careful."

  He Zhizhong said, "I know Liu Chengcai's temper, he wouldn't dare to seek revenge that leads to death, and he won't easily take someone's life, but he will definitely make our lives difficult. We should be more careful."

  Dalong said: "Thanks to Xingzhi. The two precious horses were exchanged for a single sentence from the King of Ning. Father, you can't treat him unfairly!"

  He Zhizhong smiled: "That's natural." He turned his head to look at his eldest and second sons with satisfaction. These two sons, one literary and one martial, had helped him a lot over the years. For their jewelry and spice business, it was not enough to just have good eyesight, recognize goods, and be eloquent; they needed to have courage and vision, go everywhere, and protect their own goods.

  The eldest son, Dalang, is bold and powerful, not afraid of anything. He can do things that others cannot, even if it means stabbing holes in his own leg with a knife, he will remain calm and composed, talking and laughing as usual. Erlang, on the other hand, is different from Dalang, Silang, and Wulang, who are all robust and sturdy, while he is thin and lean like a peony flower, no matter how well-fed he is. In this world where martial arts reign supreme, he has always known that he cannot compete with others in terms of physical strength, so he thinks more carefully before acting, being cautious and meticulous, and loves to read books on military strategy. Despite their differences, the two brothers get along well and make a perfect pair, invincible wherever they go.

  In a few more years, when I'm old, I can rest assured and entrust everything to Dalang and Erlang. The younger children also have their own accomplishments, and Slang is even more courageous and wise, so in the future, arranging Mudan's marriage will be no problem at all. He Zhongzhong thought this way, and his mood became very good.

  The three of them returned home in high spirits, and as soon as they dropped the reins, they were surrounded by the children and went inside. At a glance, he saw Peony sitting under the eaves and burst out laughing loudly: "Dan Niang! It's done!"

  Peony had been on tenterhooks since early morning, unable to focus on anything. After tidying up the over twenty peonies, she sat down under the corridor in front of Mrs. Cen's house, watching a few older nieces embroidering golden threads onto their dresses while eagerly waiting for He Zhizhong and his family to return home. In the meantime, she thought of several possibilities, holding both beautiful hopes and preparations for being struck, ready for a long journey. She just didn't expect it would end up like this - half succeeded!

  "What's the meaning of this?" Peony hadn't even opened her mouth when Mrs. Cen got up and came forward, scolding: "Either it's done or it's not done, what's this 'half-done' business?"

  He Zhizhong took out the letter of guarantee and showed it to them, not mentioning how Liu Chengcai had made things difficult for him. He just smiled and said: "Liu Quan didn't agree, so it will take some time to get everything sorted out. As for Liu Chengcai, he's already agreed to everything, but I'm still worried, so I forced him to write this letter." He also said: "Dan Niang, if Liu Quan has indeed been confined at home and hasn't left the house in the past few days, you will be free to go out as you please."

  Da Lang and Er Lang just smiled foolishly, neither of them mentioning whether the money would be returned or not. He Zhizhong and his two sons didn't mention it because they had already discussed it beforehand - if the money was returned in the end, they would give it to Mudan; if it wasn't returned, they would use this excuse to secretly give Mudan some more money without letting others know. If they said too much about it now, their daughters-in-law might get suspicious, so they didn't mention it.

  Madam Xun didn't ask, thinking that since He Zhizhong hadn't said it in front of everyone, he must have had his reasons; Peony didn't ask, fearing they would misunderstand her as being fixated on the money. However, among the several daughters-in-law, there was someone who asked with concern: "When will they return the large sum of dowry that Dan Niang left behind? They won't try to welch on it, will they?"

  He Zhizhong and Qian's wife simultaneously raised their eyes and scanned them lightly. The one who spoke was the youngest, Liu Lang's daughter-in-law, Sun Shi. This was unexpected by both of them, but Qian's wife usually wouldn't speak at this time. He Zhizhong said lightly: "When you divorce, that's when you pay back, no excuses." His eyes were fiercely staring at Yang Shi, whose face had greatly changed.

  The origin of this large sum of money was not very clear to most people in the family, only knowing that it was Peony's dowry, and the Liu family married her for the rich dowry. Only Mrs. Cen, Zhu Shi, Da Lang, Er Lang, Xue Shi, and Bai Shi knew the ins and outs of the matter. Yang Shi happened to hear a little about it by chance. After that, he had seriously warned Yang Shi not to mention a word. This time when Peony returned home, she only said that there were still some things left at the Liu's house that hadn't been taken back, but didn't mention anything else in detail. Now Sun Shi asked so clearly, wasn't it because she heard Yang Shi gossiping? He Zhitong wanted to teach Yang Shi a lesson, but was afraid of attracting attention from others, so he had to hold back for the time being and replied lightly to Sun Shi's words.

  As soon as the words left her mouth, Sun realized that the atmosphere was not right. Several of her sisters-in-law, who were usually very affectionate and concerned about Peony, were now silent and still, while Zhen looked at her with a strange gaze. The faces of her father-in-law and mother-in-law did not look good, and Yang's face was full of anxiety. Only Zhu Niang and Peony seemed normal. Although she didn't understand why, Sun also sensitively realized that she had asked the wrong question. She wasn't happy either, but it was just because she cared too much to say that sentence. Could it be that she still wanted to take charge of Peony's dowry? From now on, she would not ask again.

  Peony noticed something was amiss, so she quickly ran up to He Zhizhong and coquettishly said: "Dad, yesterday Wu Niang and Liu Niang took me to eat liangpi, but I didn't get any. The kids all said they wanted some too. It's rare that you're back early today, can you buy some for us?"

  He Zhong finally shifted his gaze away from Yang, and Yang let out a slight sigh of relief. At the same time, she felt grateful to Peony but also secretly cursed her bad luck. She was really being wronged to death; she had indeed never mentioned this matter to anyone else. How could she possibly compete with the united front of Mrs. Xian and Zhu, along with their five sons? Besides, she wasn't someone who didn't know what was good for her; she was well aware of the kind of life Liu had been living all these years - he had never been mistreated. He Zhong would certainly not mistreat Liu or her in the future either. So why would she go out of her way to offend He Zhong and Mrs. Xian? She wondered who had instigated Liu's wife, that foolish woman, to speak those words. Whoever it was, Yang would definitely not let them off scot-free!

  ——*——*——

  Editor's note: "National Color and Fragrance" will be launched tomorrow. It's not easy for Xiaoyi to code words, so I hope everyone will support the genuine version. O(∩_∩)O~ Thank you all! Also, I'm asking everyone to vote for the guaranteed monthly ticket. During the May Day period, pink doubles, Xiaoyi is on holiday, and I'll work hard to update even if it's overnight.

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