Hei Siro kicked open the door of the quiet room, looked around and gazed at Li Wei who was brewing tea and reading by the window, sneering: "You're living a pretty carefree life, aren't you?"

  Li Yi's shop is very large, although the imperial court has regulations, "In the two capitals, all industries have their own regular shops, and it is not allowed to build a side shop in front of the shop." However, this shop far exceeds the regulations, which is six times larger than a normal shop. Correspondingly, the backyard is also more spacious, with many flowers, grasses, and trees planted.

  At this time, it was the autumn season with crisp air, so he took down all the screens from the back courtyard, rolled up the Xiangfei curtains, spread a mat on the ground, set up a low table, prepared some exquisite tea sets, held a book in his hand, and poured himself a cup of tea. From Si Lang's perspective, all that could be seen was the trees swaying gently in the courtyard, the green color reflected onto the curtains, the yellow chrysanthemums below the steps were lovely, and the fragrance of osmanthus wafted from afar. With Li You holding a book in his right hand and tea in his left, he looked utterly carefree and at ease, which made people feel even more unbalanced when compared to their own chaotic lives with chickens flying and dogs jumping about, and people tumbling over each other.

  Li Wei saw that Si Lang's eyes were wide open, like a cow's eyes, filled with anger, and his lips still had a cold smile, as if he was his enemy. He couldn't help but be shocked, and quickly stood up and laughed: "Fourth brother, you..."

  Before the words had fallen, Si Lang had already pounced on him like a whirlwind, viciously grabbing his collar with one hand and swinging his fist at his face with the other. Li Yin thought of dodging but changed his mind and didn't dodge or evade, letting Si Lang act as he pleased.

  Si Lang's fist was already close to his cheek, but he suddenly pulled it back and kicked over the small red clay stove not far away, angrily saying: "Why didn't you dodge?"

  Li Yinnang gazed at him calmly and said, "Fourth brother has always been good to me, not related by blood but better than relatives. Since he hit me, there must be a reason for it. Taking this punch from you doesn't count as anything."

  Si Lang heard Li Wei say this, and in anger, he punched his own chest twice - he couldn't bring himself to do it, what's more infuriating than this? Clearly, when he rushed out of the house earlier, his heart was filled with rage and hatred, wanting to thoroughly thrash Li Wei and smash his shop, making Madame Cui suffer a good deal. But now that he saw someone, he couldn't bring himself to do it... it's infuriating him to death.

  Li Wei saw Si Lang's face full of anger and frustration, yet unable to vent it out anywhere, and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly grasped Si Lang's arm tightly and said: "Fourth brother, if I really did something wrong, you shouldn't hit yourself instead of me, what kind of taste would that be for me to see? You have to tell me what's going on!"

  But Si Lang let out a long sigh, gazing at him with an extremely strange look in his eyes, and remained silent for a long time. Li Yin was even more frightened, and instinctively linked Si Lang's behavior to the hook. As soon as he thought of it being related to Peony, he suddenly became so tense that he almost couldn't breathe. Even the charcoal in the small red clay stove that Si Lang had kicked over had ignited the tinder without anyone noticing, until Cangshan, who was still dazed from the scare, let out a shout: "Ah, the fire has started!"

  He had just woken up and grabbed the pillow beside him to follow Cangshan to put out the fire. Si Lang held his fist and watched from the side without moving. When the fire was extinguished, Si Lang immediately snatched the pillow from his hand and swung it violently at his head, hitting him several times before stopping his hand, saying: "I'd rather burn this quilt to ashes to vent my anger."

  Li Wei was dizzy from being scolded by him, on the one hand gesturing to Cangshan to clean up, and on the other hand asking Si Lang to sit down beside him: "Fourth brother, don't just get angry, if I really did something wrong, let me either apologize or make amends, you have to tell me first."

  Si Lang didn't sit down, threw the pillow in his hand and said lightly: "Nothing else, it's just that your mother came to my house today, let's choose a day to send Dan Niang to Ning Wangfu to serve Ning Wang as a nameless concubine." He didn't even want to call his cousin's mother.

  Li Wei only felt a loud "hum" sound, as if something in his brain suddenly exploded, stunning him so that his eyes went dark, his blood was no longer hot but cold, and his heart was icy. He felt his limbs were unable to move, even moving his eyeballs was very difficult. He could only stiffly stare at Si Lang and said firmly: "Fourth brother, you must be mistaken!"

  Si Lang saw him like that, and his heart softened a bit to pity him. But as soon as he thought of Cui's wife's viciousness and ruthlessness towards Peony, his heart hardened again. He said: "I may be wrong, you go back and ask, then you'll know. If your mother was just entrusted by someone and came to pass on the message because she was in a difficult situation, I wouldn't blame her for that either. But she not only acted as a matchmaker, but also deliberately slandered Dan Niang, intimidated and tempted her, with the intention of sending Dan Niang to be ravished by someone. I don't know why she hated Dan Niang so much, why she was so ruthless. But since she did this, it's clear that she intentionally wanted to cut off the relationship between our families. Since that's the case, I have a message for you to take back to your father and mother.

  "All these years, although our family has been relying on yours a lot, it's not like we've been taking advantage of you for nothing. To put it nicely, it's about mutual relationships; to put it bluntly, it's about shared interests. If this matter is resolved smoothly, then that's the end of it. But if Dan Niang suffers any consequences because of this, don't blame us for turning against you and refusing to acknowledge our connection with your family! Don't think that just because you're a high-ranking official in the imperial court, or even the prime minister, or a noble lady, you can get away with anything. At the end of the day, everyone has only one head on their shoulders. My words may be unpleasant to hear, but they're the plain truth. I'll say it once and not repeat myself."

  Si Lang finished speaking and left without another word. At the door of the quiet room, he met Bai Shi and Li Shi who were running in a hurry, panting for breath, and said faintly: "Go home!"

  Bai saw that although the house was in disarray, nothing serious had happened, so he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Wait, I still have something to say to Xing."

  Li Wei now completely believed that Si Lang was telling the truth, and by rights he should have felt extremely ashamed and guilty towards the He family. However, at this moment he did not feel any heat rising to his face due to shame. Instead, he calmly looked at Bai Shi and asked: "Second Aunt, how is Dan Niang doing now?"

  Bai sighed and said, "She's fine for now, but if this matter isn't resolved properly, she might just end up dying in front of the Ning Wang Fu." Seeing Li You's expressionless face, he raised his voice and said, "Li You, we all know you're a good kid, but for your own good and for the sake of everyone else, don't come looking for my daughter Dan Niang again. It'll be better for everyone that way."

  Li Wei curled up the corner of his mouth and smiled: "I know. You guys go slow, I'm really not in a good mood, so I won't see you off."

  Shi Lang glanced at him for a moment, hesitated, and finally turned around and walked out with big strides.

  Li Wei sat on the charred and damaged mat, gazing up at the clouds in the distance that were gradually turning pale and transparent. He didn't say a word. The silence was oppressive, making Cang Shan feel a little afraid. He quietly knelt down beside Li Wei and spoke softly: "Sir, this is really unbelievable. Why don't you go back and ask about it? Maybe there's been some misunderstanding."

  Li Wei slightly shook her head: "No need to ask, I'll ask you, has Luoshan been too afraid to show his face in front of me these past few days? Is he faking illness?"

  Cangshan's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily interceded on behalf of Luoshan, saying: "Yes, I asked him, but he refused to say anything. He is young and foolish, perhaps he doesn't even know when he inadvertently lets something slip, it's definitely not intentional."

  "It's all over, it's fate, can't blame him." Li Yi's eyes were calm and still, he stretched out his hand to Cangshan: "Help me up, my legs seem to be unable to move."

  Cangshan hastily stepped forward two steps and leaned over to support Li Wei, carefully saying: "Sir is probably numb from sitting for too long, right?" In fact, he knew it wasn't so, Li Wei hadn't been sitting for that long.

  Li Wei didn't say a word, propped himself up against the shoulder of Cangshan Mountain and slowly stood up, stiffly walked forward a few steps, feeling that his limbs' movements were somewhat coordinated, then quickly ran outward.

  Cangshan looked at Li Yi with concern, but saw him suddenly speed up from his previous stiffness and incoordination, running like flying, even Cangshan himself could hardly keep up. But after leaving the store and getting on horseback, Li Yi, who had been sharp just now, looked around blankly again, as if he didn't know where to go. Cangshan felt even more distressed, and asked in a trembling voice: "Sir, are you going to find your wife?"

  Li Wei nodded, but in fact he didn't know whether to go see Peony first or find Madame Cui. Rationally, he should have gone to find Madame Cui immediately to resolve the matter, but emotionally, he especially yearned to see Peony at this time. But what could he do if he saw Peony? Apologize? Comfort her? These actions were all laughable. Even if Peony wouldn't hate him for it, he would still be too ashamed to face her again. Since they couldn't meet without feeling sad, it was better not to see each other at all.

  Cangshan observed his expression and said, "Since the lady has already gone to the He family's house, she can't be staying at the He family's house anymore. She must have returned home." Then he carefully patted Li Wei's horse head: "Let's go this way, it's faster."

  Before his words had fallen, Li You had already violently whipped his horse and galloped away.

  Mrs. Choi received the news that Peony had gone to the Huang's house, sat down and thought carefully for a moment, feeling it was necessary to go and tell Meng Yueren immediately, taking advantage of the opportunity to say how Peony refused to listen, how she scolded her, how she pushed her away, and how she threatened to parade her through the streets with a signboard, and even die in front of the Ning Wang Fu. The purpose was to show that she had really tried her best, but it was just that the He family and Peony were ungrateful and difficult to deal with.

  If Meng Ruo really came according to Ning Wang's intention, and was determined to succeed, or felt that the dignity of the palace had been offended, she would not be able to swallow this tone and must force it. That is something she can't control, what Ning Wangfu wants to do is their own business, although Peony's approach is frightening, but also needs an opportunity to implement - after all, a weak woman, the palace just made a move to suppress her, the possibility of making a big noise is actually not great. If Meng Ruo was acting on her own initiative, she would be timid and withdraw, but from now on, she would hate Peony, and secretly make things difficult for her. In any case, this time she will definitely suffer Meng Ruo's anger.

  She sighed, let the anger be, as long as the child is fine, it's worth more than anything. Just about to have someone prepare dinner, she heard someone outside asking Li Wei for a blessing, and then the door was pushed open, Li Wei stood at the door with an expressionless face, staring at her, his eyes were dark and mysterious, unable to see any emotions.

  Mrs. Choi felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look into Li Yi's eyes, forcing a smile: "Li Yi, you're back so early? Are you hungry? I'll get someone to make food for you, I have an urgent matter to attend to..." She said as she walked out.

  Li Wei blocked the door and wouldn't let her out. Mrs. Cui forced a smile and said, "You naughty child, you're so big now but still love to cause trouble, hurry up and move aside, I'm in a rush to go out."

  Li Wei suddenly said: "Just now, He Si Ge went to my store and asked me to pass a message to you. He said that if Dan Niang has any mishap, one life for another. I have already agreed to it, and if that moment really comes, I will take my own life in exchange for Dan Niang's."

  Mrs. Choi was taken aback, then immediately raised her hand and slapped Li Wei's face with all her might, her chest heaving with rage, tears welling up in her eyes as she exclaimed: "How dare you! How dare you say such unfilial words to my face! I had a difficult labor when giving birth to you, which ruined my body and left me unable to bear more children. I've loved and protected you like the apple of my eye, fulfilling all your desires. You wanted to go into business, so I let you; you abandoned your family for over two years for her sake, and I worried day and night without ever blaming you. You made enemies everywhere for her sake, almost losing yourself in the process, and I was heartbroken with worry, yet never once did I reproach you. But now, for her sake, are you willing to abandon your parents, family, future, and even your own life?! Does my twenty years of hardship and sacrifice mean nothing to you compared to her smile?!"

  Li Wei was beaten by her and loudly said: "Even if I did something wrong, let you be dissatisfied, you shouldn't go harm her. How innocent she is! How can you be so cruel!"

  "Am I cruel?" Mrs. Choi's hatred for Peony rose to a new level at this moment, she suddenly pushed Li Wei and shouted: "I'm telling you! This is all your fault! I won't just watch you ruin yourself and our family! So it's your fault that she's like this! It's all because of you! As long as I live, she'll never get her way! Get out! Don't block my path!"

  It was his fault, he was to blame... Indeed it was so. Li Yi lowered her eyes and stared at the gold embroidery on Madame Cui's skirt, saying slowly: "She is right. In fact, it wasn't a matter of whether she was satisfied or not, but rather whether I was satisfied or not. You know, she didn't even want me. The one you treasure like a precious gem, in her eyes might not be worth more than a peony flower." Peony was right, if she had followed him recklessly, she would probably have ended up miserable too. Li Yi thought absent-mindedly, if he were a peony flower in her garden, receiving her gentle care every day and blooming vigorously under her palm, how wonderful that would be?

  Mrs. Choi thought of Mrs. Cen's curse when she left, and said fiercely: "Then you're even more despicable! She doesn't want you, what do you think about her? Are you helping her family threaten me? Alright, from now on it's either one of us dies, either she dies or I die! If you don't fulfill my wish for a day, I'll make sure she can't fulfill hers for a day!"

  Li Wei glanced at her, turned around and left without a word. Mrs. Cui was frightened by the dead silence on his face, hurriedly bent down and pounced forward, grabbing his sleeve and shouting: "Where are you going?"

  Li Wei said faintly: "I'll go find Ning Wang."

  Mrs. Choi was furious and indignant: "How dare you!" She could imagine what Li Wei would do and say when he went to see King Ning, what a mess!

  Li Wei didn't say a word, and simply went to grab the sleeve. Seeing that it couldn't be pulled off, she decisively tore it off with one hand, and then strode out of the room in large steps. Madame Cui grasped the torn sleeve, both shocked and frightened, her tearful eyes blurry as she cried out: "You heartless scoundrel! Who was I doing all this for? I spent my whole life toiling away, smiling and fawning everywhere, all for you! Tell me, am I closer to you or is she? She nearly ruined you, ruined our family, what did I do wrong? I didn't do anything! All I did was follow Meng Ruo's wishes in promoting her, and yet she felt wronged, while I felt humiliated!

  "Was it Meng Ruo who spoke up for Ning Wang, and I could refuse? Who is to blame? Do you think she's a good person? If she were self-respecting, why would she cause so much trouble? Instead of staying at home and enjoying life, she runs around with that face, causing trouble everywhere! Even if Meng Ruo was meddling in the middle, and I misunderstood her, couldn't we just clear things up? Why did she humiliate me like that? Not only did she scold and push me, but also wanted to ruin your and your father's reputation and future! How cruel is her heart?! This He family is a den of white-eyed wolves! You only know how to blame me, resent me, hate me. Why don't you ask if I have any grievances or difficulties? I've raised you for 20 years in vain! You don't need to force me, just wait for me to die here and clear the way for her, then everything will be perfect for you!"

  Mrs. Choi finished speaking and indeed rushed forward, hitting her head against the pillar. The maid beside her saw that things were not going well and quickly stepped forward to hold her back. Some people tried their best to persuade her, while others loudly shouted at Li Yi, who had stopped moving after hearing the commotion: "Master, come quickly and apologize to your wife..."

  "Never mind asking him, I'd rather be a childless widow and die cleanly than be tormented to death like this."

  Li Wei was infuriated by Mrs. Cui's hurtful words about Peony, her whole body trembling with rage. Several times she thought of turning back to defend Peony, but instead quickened her pace, not once looking back. Mrs. Cui saw through tear-filled eyes that Li Wei still refused to turn back, walking further and further away, her heart churning like it had been boiled in oil, simmering with sorrow, and she couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable wailing.

  Suddenly, Li Maniang rushed in hastily and said: "What are you doing? It's noisy outside, let the servants laugh." While speaking, she grabbed Li Wei with one hand, gave him a warning look, and dragged him to Mrs. Cui, shouting: "Neither of them is decent, is this what a mother should be like? Those who don't know would think they are sworn enemies!"

  Madam Choi saw her and was overjoyed, as if she had seen a lifesaver. She cried even more sorrowfully: "Elder sister, he is disobedient and unfilial, I won't be able to live!"

  Li Yi also felt that Li Man Niang had arrived at just the right time and said angrily: "Aunt, you don't know what she's done..."

  Li Maniang had just sent away Du's wife and hurried over, how could she not know what happened? She glanced at Cui's wife lightly, held Li Yi's hand and comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay, I've already asked someone to invite your father back. What should be done will naturally be done, neither of you needs to go out, just sit with me and drink tea until your father returns home."

  Unexpectedly, Li Maniang also knew about it. Madame Cui covered her face with a handkerchief and whispered: "Elder sister, how did you find out? Did they go to your place to complain?"

  "I'm not an official, what are you accusing me of?" Li Maniang said calmly: "It was Madame Dou who came to find me and asked me to tell Yuan Chu that she wanted to know when the Ning King would be free. She wants General Huang to return the hand string that Meng Ruren gave to her daughter Xue Niang. I didn't think much of it, just a ordinary pearl necklace, so I asked a few more questions. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known that my sister-in-law was so capable. She can intimidate and bribe relatives at their doorstep, and also threaten her children with death at home."

  Mrs. Choi was taken aback, and her face immediately turned slightly red. She knew that the string of beads had been used as a threat by Peony to inform Li Man Niang about something. Although Li Man Niang usually didn't interfere with her affairs, she couldn't be trifled with. Since they had come to her doorstep, sent someone to fetch Li Yuan back home, and spoken in such a tone, it was clear that they were very dissatisfied with her. But she refused to admit her mistake, so she said begrudgingly: "I was forced into it, deceived by Meng Ruo Ren, and also angry and confused... Peony is being a bit too much..."

  Li Maniang didn't argue with her, but said calmly: "Now I'm worried that relatives and friends will say we've become rich and forgotten our roots, unreasonable, selfish, cruel, and sold out our niece. The little prestige Yuanchu has accumulated among relatives and friends over the years may not be preserved."

  Mrs. Choi was anxious, wiped her nose with a handkerchief and said: "Sister! No matter how good you are to Mrs. Cen, you can't be closer than us, why are you pushing your elbows outward? You're also a mother, why can't you understand my feelings? I'm in trouble!"

  Li Maniang shook her head helplessly: "You're also a mother, how can't you understand others' feelings? If it's for the sake of your son, I really don't see what good this behavior brings to him." Seeing Cui Fu Ren's face turn red and her expression become agitated, she decisively ended the conversation: "Let's not talk about this, it's pointless."

  Mrs. Choi was so choked with anger that she got up to wash her face, comb her hair and think again. After Li Yuan returned, if he also blamed her, what should she do? She thought for a moment, gritting her teeth, she hadn't done anything wrong! What kind of family is the Wu family in Qinghe Village? If you miss this village, there won't be such a good store! It's not just her idea, Ning Wang thinks so too! Can Li Yuan forget himself? In terms of ability and experience, he is no worse than others. It's just because of his background that he has been struggling to get by until now, and behind his back, people often mock him as a nouveau riche. He won't watch this marriage fall through and let his own son be looked down upon... At most, the whole family will think of a way to tactfully reject Peony's proposal, anyway, from now on, Li Yi and Peony are impossible. How much more can Li Yi be sad?

  Li Maniang glanced at the back of Cui's wife and whispered to Li Wei, "Xingzhi, a real man should make decisions promptly. If it's not something that should be thought about, then don't think about it anymore."

  Li Wei said in a low voice: "Let Aunt worry. From now on, this kind of thing will never happen again. Once this matter is over, I will never see her for the rest of my life."