Li Man Niang said, "Their nature is indeed different. At least in front of me, they are very gentle and polite, and their appearance is not bad either. Mrs. Pei was also very courteous and even took the initiative to talk to me about the last time we went out and the children got spanked, expressing a lot of apologies. I glanced at them, it seems like there's something else going on in their household."

  Mrs. Cui smiled slightly, with a mix of pride and disdain: "Although our son is only doing business outside now, there are still people who can see his excellence and potential. This is indeed something that makes a mother proud." It was precisely for this reason that she was even more determined to carefully select a good marriage for her daughter-in-law.

  Li Maniang was well aware that Mrs. Cui's words were only because she looked down on Qi Furen's character and worried that Qi Yuzhu would be similar, so she deliberately said so. It is necessary to know that the family Mrs. Cui found for Li Wei during this period is not worse than Qi Changlin's family, and moral character is the most important thing. However, Li Maniang did not intend to discuss this matter in depth with her sister-in-law, as she had already brought the matter to Mrs. Cui's attention, and how to choose a daughter-in-law was a matter for Mrs. Cui and Li Yuan themselves.

  What a pity for Peony! She is such a kind and gentle lady, and also the one Li Yi likes, but unfortunately, Mrs. Cui looks down on her...

  The two of them chatted idly about other things, and only stopped when they heard that Li Yi had returned home. Li Yi, who was usually cool and composed, was now sweating profusely, and upon seeing the pile of gifts in front of the two people, she furrowed her brow and said: "Mother, are you going to Ning Wang Fu to offer congratulations? Has the baby been born?"

  Madam Choi burst out laughing and didn't mind that Li Wei was a man who didn't understand these things, so she spoke directly: "How can it be that fast? It's only been this morning since the labor started, and the princess is having her first child, with a weak body too. If she gives birth tonight, that would be good enough."

  "These noblewomen, if they were those who loved horseback riding and archery, it would be fine. But these kinds of people are so weak and have been pampered since childhood, giving birth to children is a major obstacle." Li Maniang said with some pride, as she herself had not suffered much when giving birth to her child. She was physically strong and healthy, loved to move around, and didn't make a fuss about it, so giving birth was relatively easy for her. Most women in the border regions were like this, and there was even one woman who, after giving birth alone, saw the ripe green walnuts in the courtyard and felt especially hungry, so she climbed up the tree herself to pick some to eat. But how many of these women from the capital city could do such a thing?

  Mrs. Choi heard this and thought of another thing, and said sideways: "So, when marrying a daughter-in-law, physical health is the most important."

  Li Yin was speechless and her mood got worse. Li Maniang saw the situation and hastily said: "Xingzhi, last time I asked you to help me find out about the house, did you find out anything?"

  Li Wei forced a smile and said: "I've asked, there's nothing suitable recently. Let someone keep an eye on it, once there's something suitable, I'll go buy it immediately."

  Mrs. Choi also knew that Li Man Niang was intentionally interrupting, so she went along with it: "You must get this done for your aunt."

  Li Wei didn't respond, but instead nodded silently and sat for a moment before suddenly standing up and walking out: "I'm not eating dinner."

  "Ah, that child..." Mrs. Choi scolded, but before she could finish, Li Yi's figure had already disappeared outside the window. She looked at Li Man Niang with a helpless expression: "I admit that child is not bad, and I didn't mind her background either, after all, our family was also from a merchant background, but it's just that her body is so fragile, like she'd blow away in the wind...and then there's her appearance, I always feel that when something is too full, it will overflow, being too beautiful isn't a good thing."

  Li Maniang didn't comment on peonies with her, but lightly said: "This life, it's still got to be mutually willing."

  Mrs. Choi let out a long sigh: "Elder sister, you don't know, he's had feelings for her for more than just one or two days. He's been thinking about it since before, if that child hadn't fallen ill and almost died, wanting to rush into marriage, he wouldn't have hesitated, I'm afraid he would have brought it up long ago. You think he went out for the past two years just for those two dancing horses and some business? No. Just when things were getting a little better, this happened again. If that child has any mishaps in the future, he'll be ruined!" She gritted her teeth, a determined glint flashing in her eyes, "Rather than that, I'd rather cut off his hopes from the start! He can help her out of the fire, he can help her vent, but as for marrying her, I absolutely will not permit it!" Li Man'niang also couldn't say anything, shook her head and let out a long sigh.

  Li Wei changed into a plain white robe, reclining in the tea pavilion, his gaze drifting aimlessly as the courtyard gradually darkened. The cicadas in the grass emitted pleasant sounds, the red plum blossoms in front of the tea pavilion were almost ripe, and the peonies under the eaves swayed gently in the night breeze. The air carried the refreshing scent of boiled green tea, yet amidst all this beauty, his heart felt endless desolation.

  The peony didn't know, he had been quietly watching her from behind all along.

  He knew her when she was very young, and she had been beautiful and lovely since childhood, with a gentle and kind temperament. Every time he went to the He family, he could see her leaning against Mrs. Cen, blinking her beautiful phoenix eyes at him, and softly calling: "Brother..." If she was happy, she would also mischievously learn from the adults and loudly call out his name: "Xingzhi..."

  He liked her the first time he saw her, when he was still young and didn't understand much. By the time he grew up a bit, to around eleven or twelve years old, he had become a shy youth who understood things. He would often take advantage of others not paying attention to secretly glance at her.

  He knew how beautiful and captivating her eyes were behind those thick eyelashes; he knew how particularly sweet her voice was when she pouted, how thick-skinned she was, like a kitten rubbing against people's arms, making their hearts soften bit by bit until they melted into a pool of water; he knew she didn't like doing needlework or cooking, but only loved reading miscellaneous books and growing peonies; he knew how heart-wrenching it was when she cried; he knew how sensitive she was, always thinking that she was a burden to her family.

  A 14-year-old girl, bright and fragrant, although weak in health, couldn't stop her beauty. He didn't want to be just her cousin. However, it was destined that they were not meant to be together, fate played a trick on him, her illness suddenly worsened, followed by the mysterious words of the fortune teller, she mysteriously became Liu's wife. She didn't know he wasn't the one who could bring her good luck, which made him very sad, but he always hoped she would live well. Knowing she had passed the life and death test, knowing she liked that person, he thought, he could always forget, no matter what, life still had to go on as usual, in this world, he wasn't the only one, parents, family, the mission he carried was too heavy, couldn't put down anything.

  But can't forget or can't forget? Can't forget. Once he saw hope, he couldn't help but reignite the hope again.

  Li Wei gazed at the dozen or so peonies, these rare and precious flowers were all prepared for her, yet she had never seen them bloom. The only time she came here was when the flowers had already wilted. She couldn't know what he was thinking in his heart, but she said those words to him, and he couldn't blame her for it.

  Bishi Tuan sat on one side, her slender white hands skillfully and elegantly manipulating the teapot, silver spoon, and bamboo clip, but her mind was not on it. She secretly glanced at Li Wei beside her, seeing his furrowed brow and dim gaze, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. After holding back for a while, she finally spoke up: "Young Master, did your errand go smoothly today?"

  Li Wei has always been good to her subordinates. Even when she's in a bad mood, she won't scold anyone. Although her mind was elsewhere, she still replied kindly: "I'm fine."

  Bishui wanted to ask him again what had happened, but Li Wei had already said: "The tea is ready, I'll bring it up, you go eat, let me be quiet for a while."

  The blue water was calm and silent, quietly placing the tea tray in front of Li Wei's low table, and then gently waving the incense to drive away mosquitoes. She silently bowed and retreated. Just as she walked to the middle of the courtyard, she saw Zhen Luan standing at the gate, beckoning her over beside Mrs. Cui.

  Bishui walked over with a gentle smile and bowed slightly to Zhenrong: "Sister Zhenrong."

  Zhen Rong smiled and said: "The lady personally made wontons for the young master, let me bring them over, how is he now?"

  Bishi worriedly said: "He's just lying in the tea house drinking tea, doesn't want us to wait on him, and is staring blankly at the courtyard. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

  Zhen Rong sighed and looked around before saying, "It's still that matter."

  The blue water becomes more and more melancholy.

  Zhen Rong handed the tray in his hand to her: "Alright, I'll go and report to Madam now. Take care of yourself."

  Bi Shui took over the tray and stood silently for a moment, biting her lip as she walked towards the tea house: "Young Master, Madam has sent you some food."

  Li Wei said in a low voice: "Let go."

  Bixia listened with great joy, and immediately placed the steaming hot wontons in front of him: "Young master, this is what madam personally cooked for you, it smells good just by smelling it, eat it while it's hot."

  Li Wei didn't say much, holding his chopsticks and eating with his head down. After a moment, he finished eating, put down his chopsticks and said: "Take it away, if there's any news from the Ning Wang Fu, come tell me immediately."

  It's almost time to close the gate, what news can come? Bi Shui twisted her fingers, wanting to persuade him a few words, but ultimately sighed silently and retreated quietly.

  A bowl of delicious hot wontons went down, and Li Wei felt that whether it was his body or mind, he had to relax a bit. He tapped his fingers lightly on the tea table, slowly calculating. His parents didn't accept Peony, no more than hoping his future would be even greater. Then he would take it one step at a time, proving to them that he didn't need his wife's family to support him and could still achieve great things. When he succeeded and became famous, they probably wouldn't be so picky about Peony either. So, whether the Ning Wangfei had a smooth delivery or gave birth to a legitimate eldest son was no longer relevant to this matter. He would take his time, plotting an even greater achievement.

  The night gradually darkened, a few cold stars twinkling in the sky, and the evening breeze brought over the fragrance of jasmine flowers. Feeling comfortable after hearing it, Li Yi stood up, stretched her waist, and said loudly: "Bi Shui, have someone bring me hot water for bathing."

  The long night was still dark, the sky had not yet brightened, and the morning drum had not yet sounded. Li Yi woke up with a frown, got out of bed, and gently pushed open the window. He saw a brilliant river of stars flowing across the sky, more dazzling than usual. Looking at the river, he felt it was a good omen and decided to send the pearl over first.

  It was necessary to go see King Ning, and it was essential to dress up properly. After he finished dressing, when he went past the main bedroom where his parents lived, it was already three o'clock in the early morning of the fifth watch.

  The golden beads shone with a dreamy light under the candlelight, and Li Yuan nodded repeatedly: "This bead will surely be liked by the princess." After saying this, he looked at Li Huo suspiciously, "Had it been prepared long ago? Why bring it out now for us to see? What are you up to this time?"

  Mrs. Choi stopped her chopsticks at once, frowned and looked at Li Wei with a face full of displeasure. Only Li Maniang was concentrating on eating.

  Li Wei smiled slightly: "Nothing, I just want to achieve a few more great merits, so that Your Highness can entrust me with even more important tasks."

  Li Yuanchen hesitated for a moment and said with a hint of a smile: "You can make progress like this, your mother and I will be at ease."

  "The son will certainly not disappoint his parents."

  The father and son had just stepped out of the door, and before they could even take a step down from the threshold, a pale-faced woman rushed in: "Someone has come from the Wang estate, the princess consort is dead."

  Li Wei and Li Yuan's eyes met, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Li Wei's heart was racing with a "thumping" sound, although she had already thought it through not to ask for Ning Wang at this time, but the death of Ning Wang Fei brought a big uncertain factor. However, one thing is certain, at least recently Ning Wang has no mind to take care of his personal affairs.

  Not to mention Li Yuan and Li Wei, even the lady of the house, Cui, and Li Man'niang were shocked into standing up. Li Yuan and Li Wei rushed out quickly, as the chief historian of the Wang mansion, he had a lot on his plate, and it was likely that he wouldn't be able to return home for several days. Li Wei, on the other hand, had to prepare various things needed for the funeral rites, and would also be busy running around.

  Mrs. Choi took three steps in two strides and walked to the door, asking: "When did it happen? Where is the child?"

  The old woman, in accordance with the master's mood, made a very sorrowful appearance: "Young Master was born at one o'clock in the evening, but the queen had a hemorrhage and died at three o'clock in the morning."

  Madam Choi's tears fell out suddenly, and Li Maniang patted her shoulder and asked: "How is the young master doing?"

  The old woman hesitated for a moment, then said in a barely audible voice: "I heard that it's not too good, it took a while to cry out loud, and it was easy to feed the milk but spit it all out again. The queen's body is really too weak."

  The mother had passed away, and the child's condition was not good. No matter what kind of family it was, it was a tragedy. The two women fell silent at once. Mrs. Cui wiped away her tears and went into the house to call someone to pack up their things and prepare to go to the Wang Mansion to pay their respects. She became even more determined in her conviction that she must find a daughter-in-law with a strong body.

  On this day, Peony got up early and was accompanied by Gorō to Fushō-ji Temple to pick up Fukuen, a Buddhist priest. They then headed to the Fragrant Garden. Fukuen didn't mind the scorching sun and carefully examined the garden from front to back before asking Peony where she wanted to leave some space for a nursery. He smiled and said: "The one thing this place doesn't lack is water. We can make use of it by creating winding streams that bring all sorts of scenery together, with paths around the pond, bridges crossing the river, and pavilions and kiosks built along the way. We'll construct tiered bridges and multi-story buildings, and create islands in the shape of rings. We'll adorn them with famous flowers, bamboo, unusual trees, and strange rocks from all four seasons. When it's done, we can just float on boats back and forth, and take in the beauty of all four seasons at our leisure."

  Without asking Peony whether she agreed or not, he went straight into the house, picked up a brush and began to paint quickly on the rough sketch that Peony had drawn. He also learned from Peony's method, roughly marking out the outline and then outlining it, writing some small words.

  The peony stood quietly on one side, watching, but saw that Fuyuan monk, who was wearing a moon-white robe, had an expression of concentration, and his plain eyebrows and eyes emitted an irresistible charm. She couldn't help but think, is this the unique charm of a wise man?

  A Tao this time is different from the past, without being told by anyone, she honestly brewed tea and picked some early ripened plums from the back forest, washed them clean and brought them in. Then she retreated with her hands tied together, following Yu He and Feng Dainiang to prepare vegetarian dishes.

  Wulang smiled and said, "This girl doesn't seem as cunning as you all described her to be."

  "Peony Way said, 'She just entered my house, if she can't even do this, I don't have the necessity to let her stay.' However, his eyes saw that Fuyuan and Shang had painted the peach and plum forest behind the garden together with the river, bringing them into the picture. In this way, on a spring day when the peach blossoms were in full bloom, taking a boat ride through the forest would be like mistakenly entering the Peach Garden of the immortals, which was very much to his liking."

  The sun was setting over the Yellow River, and Master Fu Yuan had just finished his meditation. He smiled and asked, "Are you still satisfied, Lady Tan?"

  Peony then asked a few unclear questions and, after getting clear answers, thanked Fuyuan monk with gratitude. Fuyuan monk followed Gorō to have lunch, saw Peony frowning while studying the blueprint, and said: "Miss Tan, don't worry too much, since this blueprint was made by me and you together, when building the garden, I will definitely come to see it several times, and make sure it is perfect." This garden will be named after him in the future, how can he tolerate his own mediocre work being used to build a garden that would ruin his reputation?

  The peony was overjoyed and continued to ask: "Why not trouble Master Fu again to recommend a few garden builders?" Building this garden, a clever and capable construction team is the most critical. Rather than finding one himself, it's better to entrust Master Fu Yuan with the task. Having managed gardens for a long time, he must have some familiar and reliable craftsmen at hand.

  Fuyuan monk took a look at her, saw that she was serious, and readily agreed: "Alright, tomorrow I'll have someone ask them about the construction period, and then let them come talk to you about the wages."

  Wu Lang couldn't help but ask someone to send up some plain wine and thanked him again.

  When the two brothers and sisters sent Fuyu and Shang back to Fashou Temple, on their way home, they passed through Anyi and saw that all kinds of carriages and horses were constantly pouring into Anyi, which was unusually lively. Wu Lang, with the sensitivity and curiosity peculiar to businessmen, ordered his followers to go and ask what was going on. A moment later, the follower came back and replied: "The Princess of Ning has passed away."

  The peony suddenly recalled the woman she met on her way home, who was as plump as jade and had a gentle expression. She asked hastily, "What's going on?" Although she guessed it might have something to do with production, she still wanted to ask clearly.

  "That subordinate said: 'This is something I haven't inquired about clearly.'"

  Yu He heard about the conversation between Peony and Li Wei yesterday, thinking that this matter was closely related to Peony and Li Wei's affairs, so she had to ask carefully. She took the initiative to say: "Let me go and ask around." After Peony nodded silently, she rode her horse into An Yi Fang. Not long after, she returned on horseback, sighing: "It's a difficult birth, that young master is safe, but it's really pitiful." Seeing Peony silent, she couldn't help but feel twelve points of sympathy for Peony and Li Wei.

  Wulang didn't take it to heart, after all, the people of this family were too far away from him. He only remembered that Li Yuan was the chief historian of the Ning Wangfu, and Ning Wang had once said about peonies: "This time, Li's uncle will have to be busy for a while."

  At first, King Ning had come forward for your sake, although in the end it was not successful, at least he had spoken out, such a thing happened, we can't go to offer condolences, so let's prepare a funeral ritual and send it over.

  The peony thought that the people who came to offer condolences were at least in the thousands, and even if they went to offer condolences themselves, they might not be recognized. Even if they asked the Li family to send it over, they might still be ridiculed by others for taking advantage of their relationship with the Li family. So she said: "After all, it's just a thought, why not use this as an excuse to do some good deeds and bless the young master to grow up safely?"

  Wulang understood her implication, which seemed to be that she didn't want others to know. After thinking for a moment, he felt that it was indeed for the sake of being diligent and not for show, so he said: "Alright, I'll do as you say."

  "Things are my business, and I'll pay for it myself."

  Wulang had wanted to dissuade her, but seeing how serious she looked, he didn't dare to persuade her anymore.

  The two siblings returned home, and the gatekeeper came over to lead the horse, smiling: "Madam Li has also arrived."

  Peony guessed that Li Maniang was probably accompanying Madame Cui to pay her respects, but it wouldn't be good for her to stay with Madame Cui in the Wang mansion for too long. So she took advantage of the opportunity to come home and rest. Since Li Maniang wasn't a picky person, Peony didn't go inside to change clothes either, just handing the whip to Yuhe, and first went in with Wu Lang to pay their respects to Li Maniang.

  Li Man Niang was telling the story of Bian Cheng to Mrs. Cen when Wu Lang Mu Dan arrived, after exchanging greetings, she smiled and pulled Mu Dan over, holding his hand to examine it closely: "Compared to a few days ago, it seems to have darkened a bit."

  Madam Cen scolded: "Every day you ride a horse and run outside, can't help but get dark."

  Li Man Niang said: "This is good, physical health is the most important." And asked about Mudan's building a garden, Mudan answered one by one.

  Wulang thought to himself, although Peony is a silent and diligent person, the Li family asked for Ning Wang's help, so this matter should not be known to the Ning Wang Fu, but rather to the Li family. Otherwise, the Li family would still think that they are the ones who forgot their gratitude and betrayed their benefactor. He naturally changed the subject to the funeral of Ning Wang Fei, and then brought up Peony's plan again.

  Li Maniang sighed: "You're a kind and considerate child, but that child was unfortunate. I just mentioned it to your mother, and unfortunately, the poor child didn't make it."