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  Chapter Seventy-Four: Bestowal (Two)

  The carriage moved slowly through the wet streets, the green locust trees by the window passing by slowly, leaving only a row of blurry silhouettes. Peony took a deep breath of cool air and tried to smile calmly: "Mother, did you want to talk to me about this? Actually, you all thought too much, my cousin never promised me anything, and I didn't say anything to him either." As for my aunt wanting to be a matchmaker for me, let's just forget it. For now, I don't want to get married, I just want to take care of you both more.

  Madam Cen looked at Peony with a pained expression, but she still had to say what needed to be said: "As long as there's even the slightest possibility, your father and I have always hoped that you could receive the best care and find the most suitable home. That way, even if we were to pass away, we would be at peace. But with things being the way they are now, how can we possibly feel at ease? The Ning family and our family are ultimately from different worlds; it's fine to be relatives, but becoming in-laws is highly unlikely. I heard your maternal aunt mention that your cousin's marriage will be decided by Duke Ning, so there's no chance for our family."

  Li Wei has a crush on Peony, and they are very considerate of each other. Originally, she and He Zhizhong also thought highly of Li Wei, thinking that the two were a match made in heaven. They even planned to let Li Wei formally propose after Peony's divorce was successful. However, the Li family looked down on the He family's background, or rather, they looked down on Peony who had a weak body - helping out as relatives is one thing, but becoming a daughter-in-law is another matter altogether.

  Today, Mrs. Cui's meaning is very implicit but also very clear. Her family is willing to be close relatives with the He family, pull each other up, and benefit each other mutually. They are also willing to help Peony as much as possible, but do not hope for a closer relationship. Although she is angry and unwilling as a mother, she has already learned from the lesson of the Liu family's experience and should let Peony give up this idea early on and just be good relatives.

  Peony leaned her head on Mrs. Cen's shoulder, suppressing the sourness in the corners of her eyes: "Don't worry, I understand in my heart." She wasn't blind, she could see Li Wei's goodness and also understood Li Wei's thoughts, but she had long passed the stage of daydreaming, learning to analyze calmly and accept calmly.

  Since Li Maniang hinted at it, she had mentally prepared herself. The Li family was tied to the Ning King, and marriage was one of the best ways to expand their power. Since the Ning King valued Li Huai, he would naturally arrange a marriage that was most beneficial to himself, with the feelings of those involved being put last. Whether you liked it or not, were willing or unwilling, when the interests of the majority clashed with those of the minority, it was always the minority's interests that suffered.

  She thought to herself with a hint of self-mockery, what she should be most happy about now is that she and Li Wei haven't reached that point yet. If they really had reached that point, no matter how clear-headed she was, she would still find it hard to bear the heartache.

  Madam Cen grasped Peony's hand tightly, but felt a chill run down her spine. She asked warily, "Child, you're not going to be stubborn and keep things bottled up inside again, are you? Don't mind what others say or think; let's take our time and get to know each other slowly. We'll definitely find someone who is genuinely good for you, a hundred times better than before."

  "Rest assured, I won't be so stubborn anymore. At this moment, what's most important to me is that our family lives in peace and harmony, and we enjoy our simple life together. There's no need to compare with others or seek someone who's ten or a hundred times better. As long as you think it's good, then it's good." The feeling of being despised and looked down upon is indeed unbearable, but love is important in this life, yet it's not everything. No matter what, the sun will still rise, life will go on, and we'll do what needs to be done.

  Madam Cen listened to Peony's words, which were so clear and saw that she didn't show any signs of crying. The big stone in her heart finally relaxed a bit, and she said with satisfaction: "You can think this way, it's the best. Marriage is predestined by heaven, maybe you two just aren't fated to be together."

  Peony responded vaguely and told Madam Cen everything that had happened at the treasure meeting, finally managing to cheer her up a bit.

  He Zhizhong and He Dalang followed behind the carriage on horseback, listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter. They both felt a bit uncomfortable. He Dalang was the most distressed, as he had been thinking of finding an opportunity to remind Li Yihua to propose marriage, but did not expect that the Li family did not have this intention at all, and instead suspected that the He family had such intentions. He thought that since the Li family were also from a merchant background, they knew each other's roots and would not believe in rumors from outside, and besides, his own sister was indeed very good and could be matched with anyone. Who would have thought that they would be so lightly looked down upon? If the parents-in-law were prejudiced against her, even if Li Yihua liked Peony, what kind of good life could she have after being forced to marry into their family?

  He Zhizhong's expression was calm as he said, "Fortunately, you didn't speak up, otherwise the relationship between our two families would have been ruined. No matter what, his family has helped us a great deal and we can't hold grudges. Besides, this matter has nothing to do with Xingzi, so you should still treat him as a good brother and not make any ugly faces. Previously, he had held onto a glimmer of hope, but from now on, it would be impossible for Peony to meet with Li Mei alone again. If he wanted to give Peony to Li Mei, the Li family would have to fulfill all six etiquettes, do so willingly and wholeheartedly, and make a grand proposal; otherwise, it would be just an idle fantasy.

  "Must make He Ru and He Hong work hard to get ahead, so they can support our family's daughters in the future."

  He Zhizhong nodded and added: "Just remember not to call them ignorant bookworms. Having many skills is not a burden."

  A group of people walked in with some gloom, Zhen Shi was the first to welcome them with a smile, and exchanged greetings with He Zhizhong and Cen's wife. She asked Peony with a laugh: "Peony, did you have fun today? I heard from the kids that you finally let out a good breath?"

  "Alright then."

  Zhen Shi's eyes swept across, and she sensitively saw that several people were in a bad mood. She immediately thought of going to the Li family to visit the sick today as well. So she didn't follow the crowd into the house, but instead went to grab Feng Dainiang, who was following the carriage, to ask for news.

  Mrs. Feng had never been very welcoming to Zhen Shi, and she refused to tell her anything. The more she refused to speak, the more Zhen Shi was convinced that it wasn't good news. Without even asking for clarification, she had already made up her mind, and the matter of Peony and Li Yi was doomed from the start. Zhen Shi couldn't help but feel secretly delighted, and she quietly began to think to herself: her natal family had a younger brother who was only one year older than Peony, and he was just at the right age for marriage. It would be a pity if Peony were to fall ill in the future, but with such a large dowry... Now that the external threat had been eliminated, it was hard to guarantee that the other sisters-in-law wouldn't have similar thoughts, so she needed to take action first.

  Today's dinner at the He family wasn't so delicious, thanks to Zhen's clever guesswork. Everyone knew that the Li family looked down on Peony and refused to form an alliance with the He family. The women were all careful not to provoke Mrs. Cen, who was in a terrible mood. The men were also unhappy. Even the children felt the heavy atmosphere and were being cautious. The usually lively dinner table was unusually quiet, and even the sound of chopsticks accidentally touching bowls seemed especially jarring.

  Peony didn't like the atmosphere, so she pretended to be very curious and asked He Zhizhong: "Dad, I heard that Hu merchants have a custom of hiding pearls in their bodies. Is it true?"

  As expected, He Zhizhong looked at Peony with a praising gaze and smiled: "Of course it's true." He told some legends he knew, saying that the story was very good to hear, and everyone listened in a daze, temporarily putting aside the matter of the Li family.

  After dinner, everyone dispersed, and Peony returned to her room, lazily picking up a book to read on the couch. After reading for a while, she felt annoyed again, casually throwing it aside, and brought in Sha Sha to tease her. Lin Mama and Yu He stood guard beside her, wanting to say a few comforting words, but fearing that Peony would become even more heartbroken, so they pretended not to know anything and played along.

  Seeing the caution in their eyebrows, Peony felt a bit impatient and dismissed them: "I'm going to run horses with Li Jia's aunt outside the city the day after tomorrow, you go help me see what to wear."

  Lin's mother was delighted to hear that she was willing to go out and play, but after some thought, she realized that this was with the Li family, and couldn't help but think: "Is it suitable?" People need face, trees need bark, the Li family has already been like that, if Dan Niang still acts as if nothing is wrong and follows Li Man Niang everywhere, someone will inevitably say unpleasant things, and in the end, it will be Dan Niang who gets hurt.

  "Peony raised an eyebrow and said, 'What's not suitable? Auntie invited me to play with good intentions, why shouldn't I go? What reason do I have for not going? Can't let people say that when I need help, I rush over, but when I don't need help anymore, I disappear like a shadow?' The more she didn't go, the more it seemed like there was something. With rumors spreading about her outside, she dared to go out, but with such a small matter, she didn't dare to go out or interact with people? What kind of logic is this?"

  Lin's mother wanted to say something else, but Yuhe had already very obediently said: "You're right, I'll go prepare now."

  Before the morning drum had sounded, Liu Chong was already up. He paced back and forth in his room, irritably pushing away the breakfast that Yu'er had brought him: "I've said I have no appetite, why are you bothering me like this?"

  "Master, I've arranged for someone to wait outside the door. If Lord Pan arrives, they'll come in and inform you right away. You don't know how long it will take when you go out to meet guests, so why not eat something first to fill your stomach? It'll give you energy to handle things too."

  Liu Chang heard this and glanced at her lightly, saying: "Bring it over." His tone was much warmer.

  Yu'er glanced at the several carefully wrapped treasures Liu Chang had placed on the table, and let out a soft sigh. Could Young Master really get rid of this marriage with just these few things? It was unlikely. Thinking about the incident where Qinghua County's mistress trampled the peony in the street, she shivered inwardly and secretly implored Buddha to bless Young Master's success. The cruel and powerful mistress would be a nightmare for all of them.

  The sun was high in the sky, and Liu Chong had sent someone to ask many times, but no one had heard that Pan Rong had arrived. He became anxious and sweaty. He sent someone to the Chu State government office to inquire, and the news he received was that Pan Rong had not returned last night, and since it was something they were used to at the government office, no one went looking for him, so no one knew where he had gone.

  Something terrible happened at a critical moment. Liu Chuan watched as the sun rose higher and higher, his heart growing colder inch by inch, while sweat dripped out of his body bit by bit. He suddenly jumped up, hugged something and walked out.