A string of pearls (basic + pink 350)

  Sorry for the delay due to work being too busy, everyone have a great weekend, continue to vote

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  Madam Bai smiled: "Can't you really remember? Think carefully, this thing happened just yesterday. Besides the Li family, have you met anyone familiar or asked for help from someone?"

  Peony furrowed her brow and sank into thought for a moment, when suddenly she remembered Wu San's serious and solemn words to her at the time, telling her not to worry, that it was just a small matter, like a light drizzle of rain, which would naturally stop after a short while. A small matter, a light drizzle of rain, not needing much time... Because of coincidentally meeting Rain荷 seeking help, saving her from under the horse's hoof, Ning Wangfu's steward seeking trouble, kindly warning, enthusiastically helping, and also buying stones, White Madam stepping forward, Pan Rong and Jiang Changyang's relationship... Peony was almost certain who that person was at this moment.

  Madam Bai saw the look on Peony's face and knew she had already guessed who it was, so she said: "It's really him. Although he told me not to tell you, I think I should give you a heads up. Who helped you, why did they help you, what's the reason behind it, can you repay this kindness or not, you have to be clear about it in your heart."

  There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Once or twice can be considered a coincidence, and that person is kind-hearted, but if three or four times, the reaction is still so fast, even asking Queen Min to help, the favor owed cannot be said to be particularly large, but it will definitely not be small either. This far exceeds the normal range of sympathy or loyalty. Without mentioning Mrs. Bai, Peony thought about it too, and after a long silence, she said: "I think you also know that he's helped me many times before, I feel like he's a good person."

  Mrs. Bai sighed softly and said in a low voice, "I didn't say he's a bad person. It's just that I always hope you'll be more careful, ask clearly what needs to be asked, don't be so muddled. Not saying he will do anything to you, but if one day the favor is too great to repay, what will you do?"

  Mrs. Bai's words struck a chord in Peony's heart, for since she came here, although there were many people who cared about her, including innocent children like Xue Niang, but those who could talk to her and truly think of her were scarce, with Mrs. Bai being the only one. She couldn't help but stop on the road and say softly: "I have a lot on my mind, usually I can't find anyone to talk to, today hearing you talk to me about this, I'd like to take the opportunity to tell you something."

  "Let's not go in yet, it's still early. Let's take a stroll outside first and then go in later."

  The nun heard this and smiled: "Madam, there is a pavilion not far ahead, the scenery around it is quite good, do you want to go there and sit for a while?"

  Madam Bai followed the Taoist nun and walked down a small path, turning into the woods. They didn't walk far before they saw a small pavilion. The two of them entered the pavilion and sat down shoulder to shoulder. After generously rewarding the Taoist nun and instructing her to leave, Jade led Wan'er and the other attendants outside to wait, not disturbing the pair's conversation.

  Peony told Mrs. Bai about the help Jiang Changyang had given her, saying: "The Dragon Boat Festival was a coincidence, I'm grateful to him, but at the time, I just thought he was chivalrous and didn't think much of it. Later, several times of minor assistance, although uncomfortable, also didn't feel particularly outstanding, after all, in each incident, he wasn't overly enthusiastic. Moreover, among the people I've met, there are many who have the ability to help others in need, such as you, Princess Kangcheng, and many others. If it were me, if I could, my heart would truly sympathize with someone, I would do the same, not for reward or other purposes. So I didn't think much of it, still fantasizing about cultivating a few more good peony flowers to send him, days are long, maybe someday I can repay this kindness. But this time's matter has made me somewhat apprehensive... He's too enthusiastic. If this continues, I really won't be able to repay his kindness."

  He saved her from under the horse's hoof and asked for peonies as a thank-you gift; he sent her headache medicine, saying it was okay to pay him back; when Ning Wangfu's steward gave trouble in the village, he showed warning signs and made some reactions, but wasn't particularly urgent, and the matter was also resolved by the He family themselves, which he only knew afterwards; buying stones, although cheaper for himself, was also because his friend needed money to turn around, and there were other requests. Only this time, he quietly and quickly solved the problem, so fast that she couldn't even think of it, completely different from the previous times when he helped.

  She indeed couldn't afford to owe him more and more favors, especially when she didn't know what he wanted or why he was helping her. Thinking of this, Peony felt a bit annoyed, she was being ungrateful - logically, she should be very happy and grateful to have someone lend a hand in times of trouble, but if Jiang Changyang had asked for her opinion before taking action, she probably wouldn't have considered him unless absolutely necessary. People are like that, they seek help from those closest to them first, and only ask outsiders when there's no other choice, it's hard to open one's mouth to ask for help, and she was thinking the same way. But he had quietly taken care of everything.

  Was she really going to ask him what he was thinking? If she asked, it was possible that the other party didn't have any other thoughts, just simply wanted to be chivalrous and righteous. She had opened her mouth hastily, afraid of being laughed at, and might even lose a friend who could have been truly good; but if she didn't ask, continuing like this, she would suffocate to death. Human feelings were once excessive, especially after what she had just gone through, it was impossible for her to be as carefree with him as before, and still ridiculously thought that sending a few good peonies could repay this favor.

  Madam Bai thought for a long time and carefully considered that before knowing what Jiang Changyang was thinking, she shouldn't lead Peony to think in that direction. What if... wouldn't she be doing something bad with good intentions? So she chose her words carefully and said: "Maybe we're overthinking this, don't take it too seriously either. I guess he might just be sympathizing with you. His mother was the former Madame Zhu Guo Gong, because of some things she opposed everyone's opposition and divorced Zhu Guo Gong, at that time it was a big deal, she tried every means to leave with him, after hearing that the mother and son left the Zhu Guo Gong Fu they experienced a lot of hardships. Probably he saw you going through these things, felt a pang in his heart, empathized, and helped you, not necessarily for any other reason."

  "Perhaps it is. But no matter what, this matter has already reached the present, and I must admit that afterwards I will have to thank him, and ask clearly about the things that need to be asked. Recently, too many things have happened, and I am like a startled bird." Perhaps she had just gone through the Ning Wang Fu incident, so she also used that kind of thinking to speculate about Jiang Changyang.

  Mrs. Bai sighed, gently stroking Peony's shoulder: "If you need anything in the future, remember to tell me, be sure to say it, and don't worry about troubling me. If I can't do it, then I won't force myself, but most of the time, having more people and more paths is a must."

  The closeness or distance between friends is often reflected in this aspect. If they are very close, they will usually think of each other first when something comes up and it's easy to open their mouths. The more distant the relationship, the less likely they are to think of each other unless absolutely necessary. Peony nodded seriously: "I understand, you're the same, maybe I can't help you with anything big, but listening to you talk, accompanying you to clear your mind and all that, is still possible."

  Madam Bai smiled wryly: "Silly girl, this is the hardest part. Let's go, it's time to enter."

  Just like most people's hobbies at this time, today's flower appreciation banquet is also outdoors. At the end of the small path, a relatively empty and spacious area was left, with screens set up, and a long and wide large table placed in the center, on which were arranged pears, pomegranates, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes and other fruits, as well as wine, water, cream puffs and other items. Next to the table were intricately carved, beautifully decorated moon-shaped stools.

  Several young women dressed in finery were chatting and laughing while eating things from the table. When they saw Madame Bai and Mudan enter, the sisters called out to each other in a flurry of excitement, laughing and making a fuss. They all asked who Mudan was, and this time Madame Bai's response was slightly different from before: "She's my good friend. We happened to meet by chance and were seen by Princess Min, who took a liking to her. Today she especially invited me to bring her over to play."

  Those women, upon hearing this, all simultaneously stopped asking about Peony's identity, and warmly called her Dan Niang, offering her food to eat. They seemed to be very enthusiastic.

  There were not many times when the female Taoist who led the way earlier brought over five or six women, and among them was the one wearing an ivory white silk cloak, with a white chrysanthemum inserted in her hair bun, looking dignified and elegant, with a faint smile on her lips, who was none other than Meng Ruyi.

  Everyone saw her and still greeted her warmly, just like when they saw Madame Bai and Peony earlier. No one made a special effort to bow or offer their seat to Meng Ruren. They all sat down in disorder, just as before. Meng Ruren felt a bit unhappy, but thinking that these young ladies from noble families were always so arrogant before marriage, she naturally wouldn't be looked up to by them, so she endured it. But when she caught sight of Peony beside Madame Bai across the room, she couldn't help but take a big surprise, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She signaled with her eyes for her maid Liniang to take a look and see if it was really Peony.

  The peony saw Meng Ruo and the two servants staring at her, their expressions suspicious. She smiled calmly at them, but this smile made Meng Ruo frown. After a close look from all four eyes, it was confirmed that the person in front of them looked exactly like He's family daughter. But how could she appear here? And why was she sitting so leisurely across from her? Didn't Cui Shi go to He's house yesterday to take care of that matter according to her instructions? Was it successful or not? She had rushed out early in the morning and didn't even wait for Cui Shi to come back and report.

  Something's off, the He family is just a merchant family, and even if He Dan Niang was married to Liu Shangshu's son in the past, that was still in the past. Moreover, with Qinghua County Princess around, how could she possibly blend into this kind of place? These high-and-mighty aristocratic women actually allowed her to sit at the same table as them? Meng Ruren thought to herself that she must have misjudged her, and after thinking for a moment, she also smiled faintly at Peony and called out tentatively: "He sister..."

  Her sister's face was red with anger, but she still smiled and said: "You're overpraising me, I really don't dare to accept it."

  It was indeed her. Meng Ruo's eyes widened in surprise, and she grasped her handkerchief tightly, tilting her head back before quickly regaining her composure. She giggled continuously: "It really is you! I was startled when I saw you earlier, and I thought I must have mistaken. But looking at you again, you seem so familiar that I wondered if there's anyone else in this world who looks like you? So I took a chance and asked, and indeed it's you!"

  "Exactly me," Peony smiled and said. "I saw a child coming in just now, and I thought I was mistaken, but it turns out I wasn't."

  Meng Ru heard her words and saw her attitude, which was vastly different from before. He felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart and said: "I am indeed me, how could I be mistaken? You are the one who is wrong. How did you end up here? It's really astonishing."

  Qiu Man Niang's cousin smiled and said: "You don't have to be surprised, she is a guest of Queen Min, a good friend of Bai Jie, it's normal for her to appear here."

  She had never heard from Cui that she had such a social connection. Meng Ruo suddenly clenched her handkerchief, shocked and stunned, with countless thoughts flashing through her mind in an instant. Madame Bai was nothing to worry about, after all, she was just the legitimate daughter of the White family, only the wife of a marquis's son, and her husband was a spoiled young master without any achievements; but Queen Min was really troublesome, how did He Mudan know Queen Min?

  "Alright, meeting Mrs. Bai and Princess Min is nothing special, what's special is that she just ordered Cui to do that thing, and it's so coincidental that He Mudan appears here. Did Cui go to the He residence yesterday? What attitude does the He family have towards this woman? Is her appearance here related to that matter? Meng Ruren stared tightly at Mudan's eyes, smiling: "It's really a coincidence, after parting last time, I've been thinking about my sister's well-being, and thought it would be unknown when we could meet again, always feeling regretful..."

  "Isn't that a pity now?" Someone suddenly interrupted Meng Yiren's words. Along with the sound, seven or eight people surrounded a woman who was over fifty years old, plump and white, walking over from not far away. The woman wore a purple satin cloak, lined with yellow eight-piece gauze skirt, her feet in a pair of luxurious high-heeled shoes, her eyebrows long and curved, smiling like a sunflower.

  Peony guessed that this was probably the Queen of Min, and such a figure was indeed a match for the plump King of Min. As expected, everyone stood up to greet the woman with courtesy, surrounded her and had her sit at the top, and also called someone to go and bring back Qiu Manniang and Qin Aluan.

  Peony was a bit nervous, and Mrs. Bai told a lie, saying she was the guest of Queen Min, who liked her very much. Now that the host had arrived, if she didn't recognize who Peony was, wouldn't that be embarrassing? Just as she was thinking this, Mrs. Bai smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I've brought someone to see you, my task is complete, do you have a reward?" As she spoke, she pulled Peony along with her, indicating that Peony should follow her to pay respects to Queen Min alone.

  "Listen, isn't this girl her good friend? She brought her friends to play, isn't that a human feeling? Shouldn't it be? Now she's asking me for favors. Alright, these people are all greedy, let alone you young ones who don't understand things. Fine, what do you want? Speak up." Princess Min Wang smiled with a mix of scolding and indulgence, helped Mudan up after she bowed, and told her to sit beside her. After sizing her up, she said: "It's been a while since I've seen you, and you're getting more and more talented!"

  It was as if she had said something true, Peony pursed her lips and smiled, but didn't say anything else, because she didn't know how to continue.

  The Marquis's wife didn't ask her to respond, but instead talked to herself about how great Peony was, how capable, how smart, and how ambitious. Peony felt embarrassed by the praise, while others also chimed in to flatter the Marquis's wife. Qiu Manniang, who had just returned, cooed: "Exactly! This Miss He is really my type, I'll invite her over again next time."

  Madam Bai just smiled, but Meng Ruren felt more and more uncomfortable. She didn't know if it was because she had a guilty conscience, but she felt that when Princess Min said people were greedy, it seemed like she was specifically pointing at her. As someone who believed in conspiracy theories, she thought to herself, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that today's flower appreciation banquet was unusual, as if it was targeted at her. She lowered her head and thought for a moment before moving closer to Princess Min.

  The Empress Dowager finished praising the peony, and then went on to praise each of the other girls. When Meng Ruren squeezed forward, she was just praising Qin Aluan, who was even more charming than the peony, making Qin's face flush with embarrassment. The Empress Dowager smiled and said: "Why are you shy? Your sister's elegance and character are evident to all in the imperial family, and she is widely praised. The Emperor and Empress often say that princesses should be like her - humble, kind-hearted, magnanimous, and proper. As sisters from the same family, how could you be any different? I think you're not one bit inferior to your sister. You deserve my praise."

  Meng Ruren was stunned, comparing Qin Aluan to the late king's consort, and it came from Min Wangfei, who had always been close to the empress dowager. What did she mean? Was she suggesting a marriage alliance? She looked at Qin Aluan's flushed face, her heart filled with resentment. Why? Just because they were surnamed Qin? Were they one of the five noble families? In what way was she inferior to them?

  Just as she was filled with indignation and hatred, Queen Min saw her and beckoned her to come over: "Come here, I have something to say to you."

  Meng's face was filled with smiles as she walked over, curtsied and said a few auspicious words. Queen Min was an older person and naturally loved hearing these auspicious words, listening to them made her smile and nod repeatedly: "You have a good heart, your words are still so sweet and likable." Then she stretched out her hand to shoo away Qiu Manniang who was standing aside: "Didn't you say you had prepared some excellent pipa players? Why don't you hurry up and call them out to play? You're more idle than us hosts. Get going, let Meng sister sit down."

  Meng Ruren was allowed to sit down next to Queen Min, but saw Peony sitting on the other side, and couldn't help but feel a sense of strangeness in her heart. She only heard Queen Min laugh and say: "I chatted with the Empress Dowager the other day, mentioning that Ning Wangfei had just passed away, and there was no one capable and trustworthy to support the household, and Ning Wang had taken on such an important task, the Empress Dowager was very worried, but unfortunately couldn't do anything about it, and then she mentioned you."

  Meng Ruren was thinking of getting promoted, and suddenly found a competitor. He heard his superior mention himself, so he became very focused and attentive to capture any useful information. Just as he was waiting for the next sentence, Queen Min suddenly stopped talking and asked Mudan to peel a pomegranate for her, then personally taught Mudan how to choose a pomegranate with thin skin, large grains, and small seeds.

  Meng Ruren felt as if seven or eight small hands were scratching and clawing at her heart when she was interrupted at the crucial moment, and she was so distressed that she almost died. After enduring for dozens of moments, she couldn't bear it anymore, and asked sideways: "It's been a long time since I've seen Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, is Her Majesty in good health?"

  The queen dowager suddenly came to her senses and laughed, saying: "Ah, I'm really old. This is what the princess said, King Ning is now busy with government affairs and has no time to take care of things in the mansion. Now the person with the highest status in the Ning Wang Mansion is you, you should learn from the former queen dowager and handle the matters in the mansion properly, remember not to let anything happen that would damage the reputation of the royal family. The slaves below should be managed well, and the concubines in the mansion should also be tightened up. If anyone dares to be unruly, regardless of who it is, they will be severely punished. If demoting their status is not enough, then they will be expelled. If that's still not enough, then they will be held accountable... Do you understand?"

  "I understand." Meng Ruren stiffened, her face rigid as she forced a smile and stole a glance at Peony, who was holding a silver plate and intently peeling a pomelo with downcast eyes, looking completely indifferent.

  The Queen Mother patted Meng Ruren's shoulder heavily and smiled: "You're a clever person, it's good that you understand"

  Meng Ru's delicate skin and tender flesh were pinched by her, making her grit her teeth and smile wryly, not daring to cry out in pain.

  The Queen of Min sighed and said, "Look, I've used my authority again. After all, I'm a person who has tilled the land and dug up earthworms. This rough strength is really great. I'm not worried that you won't understand things. I heard that you're usually very kind to people. For example, when you met this little friend of mine, didn't you give her a string of pearls right away? I heard that the string of pearls was very valuable and impressive?"

  Meng Ruren's body hair stood up instantly, staring at Peony like a fighting cock. This little cheap person had indeed come to report to Queen Min, no wonder Queen Min said those sarcastic words to her. She gritted her teeth and said: "Your Highness is joking, what valuable pearls? It's just a string of trinkets, can be played with in daily life, but not worth showing off." Just like He Peony, can be played with in daily life, but not worth showing off.

  The Queen of Min suddenly turned her face and said sternly: "You also dare to take such a shameless thing to deceive me? I thought you didn't know!"

  Meng Ruo was so frightened that she immediately stood up from the crescent-shaped stool, hung her head and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, please calm down, what did I do wrong?"

  The Queen of Min didn't care about the expressions of others, she just stretched out her hand to Peony, who understood and immediately took out the string of pearls and placed it in her palm. The Queen of Min smashed the pearls onto Meng Ruren's face and shouted loudly: "What's most important for people is integrity, fewer dealings with crooked and evil things, it's all because you have a shallow and foolish mind, without any vision, that you dared to plot against my little friend with just one string of pearls, how dare you!"

  Meng Ru's face turned pale with rage, her whole body trembling. She not only hated Peony, but also resented Mrs. Cui even more, wishing she could poke dozens of holes in her. This Mrs. Cui not only didn't tell her the truth, but after going to the He family yesterday, she refused to come and tell her what had happened, leaving Meng Ru unprepared for today's humiliation.