That day, Jiang Changyang didn't stay long in Fangyuan. He just sat down and had a cup of tea before leaving. He didn't linger, which made Lin Mama, who had run to the kitchen to prepare many dishes, unhappy. She kept asking Mudan why Jiang Changyang left so early today.

  "Alas, people have their own affairs, and when it's time to go, they must leave."

  Mrs. Lin had nothing to say, so she blamed Fasheng again, saying that it must be because of Fasheng's rudeness, and locked Fasheng in the frame with a silver chain without any politeness. She also forced Peony to eat something, wanting her to gain some weight. Peony was very depressed, and could only bite hard on the pastry, staring at Rongniang and Yingniang who were laughing and being mischievous on the side.

  On the second day at noon, Wu San sent over that mute flower craftsman. The craftsman's surname was Li, and he looked to be around sixty years old, with completely white hair and beard, dark and thin, with a pair of turbid eyes, wearing a yellow short shirt, holding a big black dog that was fat, stupid, and constantly drooling. Even when he went into the hall to see Peony, he didn't let go of the dog's leash, and the man and dog were inseparable.

  Li Hua stood in front of Peony, silently staring at her with a detached and critical gaze. Peony didn't like this kind of gaze from him, after all they would be together for a long time, and he would be her reliable right-hand man. It wasn't comfortable to have someone she relied on stare at her with such an expression.

  "Peony decided to get straight to the point: 'I heard that you, sir, used to manage the flowers and trees in Furong Garden, your craftsmanship is outstanding, I really need someone like you.'"

  Li Hua's expression didn't change, not even blinking. This pretty little woman herself said it, that was in the past, now he is just a slave who can be bought and sold by anyone, what's the point of saying these nice words? What use is it?

  The peony was a bit dull, and he continued stubbornly: "My friend told me that as long as I take care of you in your old age and treat you with sincerity, you are someone who can be trusted. Taking care of you in your old age and treating you with sincerity, I can do both."

  The coffin of plum blossoms still has no reaction. Is it not death to die somewhere? A broken mat rolled up and thrown into a pit is also considered a farewell.

  When facing Wu San, Peony's smile was somewhat unsustainable, so she simply put it away and looked at Li Huajun seriously: "I have received some precious peonies in my nursery. I need a trustworthy and skilled person to take care of the garden for me when I'm not around, to take care of those flowers. I don't know if you can do it?"

  Li Hua thought for a moment, then made several gestures to the peony. Wu San automatically took on the role of interpreter: "He's asking you, what about the person who received the flower? Why didn't that person come to manage?"

  "Peony smiled and said: 'That person is me.' Since she couldn't be bribed, then she had no choice but to make him surrender willingly, to let him know that she wasn't an ignorant fool."

  Li Hua slightly bowed and made two hand gestures. Wu San said, "Old Li says, please take him to the garden and show him what he needs to do."

  Peony led them to the nursery. She first took Li Huasheng to see a few peonies that had been grafted by Zheng Huasheng, but Li's expression didn't change much and he seemed somewhat uninterested. Peony smiled slightly and then took him to see some whatnots. Li squatted down and stared intently at the whatnots.

  The peony was tense, waiting for his judgment. Even the big black dog came over and sniffed her shoes nonstop, dripping saliva all over them, but she didn't have the heart to care.

  The peony had been watching for half the day, and only then did it turn its head to look at the peony, pointing to the flower. The peony let out a sigh of relief at this moment, smiled slightly: "This is what I received."

  Wu San also smiled and said: "That's right, this is what I and my young master saw when we received He Niangzi together."

  The peony gardener smiled and gave the peony a thumbs up. The peony was taken aback for a moment. The peony gardener took out a deerskin bag from his waist, opened it, and inside were a grafting knife shining with a cold light, a pair of scissors, and a bundle of fine hemp thread. He placed these tools on the ground beside him, made a few more gestures to the peony, which Wu San couldn't understand and couldn't translate, but the peony understood. His meaning was roughly that her skills had been recognized by him, and he also wanted to show off his skills to her, so he smiled and said: "You can use these flowers as you like."

  Li Hua glanced sideways at Peony and Wu San, unmoving. His grafting technique was a secret, not something to be easily shown to others.

  Wu Sang laughed and said: "Let's go further away."

  After Peony and Wu San walked far away, Li Huajun confirmed that the two of them couldn't see his specific actions, only then did he start to act. Wu San got bored from waiting and spoke with Peony: "This old Li has a strange temper, when leaving didn't even give King Jing a courtesy, and King Jing also didn't mind. However, He Niangzi you have a good temper, won't quarrel with him either. In this era, people with real talent and material have enough strange tempers."

  "As long as he has real talent and learning, and doesn't have those crooked ideas, putting up with an old man's bad temper is nothing. Peony stared intently at Li Huajun's movements, although they were far apart, but she could still roughly see what he was doing from his movements, taking materials, pruning branches, grafting, binding, and doing it very skillfully, and his movements were also faster than hers."

  It was almost dinner time when Li Hua finally stopped and called out to Peony. From the position of his grafting and some specific details, it could be seen that he was doing subcutaneous grafting, which was done perfectly. Moreover, he also grafted a variety of brocade, but used Kunshan night light, Gejin purple, and silver powder gold scales for grafting. White, purple, and pink, three colors, late blooming flowers.

  I really didn't expect him to be able to do it too, this one Jiang Changyang found is a real treasure. Peony smiled contentedly and gave him a thumbs up: "This garden will have to be entrusted to Master Li from now on."

  She sincerely called him Master Li, not Old Li, and did not pretend to be the master. This is the respect that a skilled craftsman should have. Li Huajun smiled slightly and began to gesture with his hands. Wu San hurriedly said: "He says he wants to live in this garden to keep watch, and asks where the house is?"

  "Those rooms over there are all empty," said Peony, pointing to a row of houses that had been recently built not far away. "You can live in any one you like."

  As they spoke, Zheng Hua entered. "The servant saw that the garden gate was open and thought that the young lady would be having dinner at this time, so he came to take a look. Since the young lady is here, the servant will take his leave first." Zheng Hua asked about Peony while glancing at Li Hua with a suspicious expression.

  "Old Zheng, you've come at just the right time," Peony smiled. "This is the new Li Shifu. In the future, when I'm not around, he'll be in charge of the nursery." As expected, she saw a look of shock and disappointment on Zheng Huajun's face.

  Zheng Huajuan was not convinced. Why? He had been here for so many days, and during the most difficult and tiring times, he had helped Peony get through it. Previously, he had also taken care of this garden most of the time. As the only master who could enter and exit the nursery, he was indeed the leader among the many flower masters in this fragrant garden. Who wouldn't show respect to him? But suddenly, a nameless old man appeared out of nowhere, wanting to take away his things, as well as his hope of learning techniques from Peony. He naturally refused to accept it.

  He glanced at the peony next to Li Hua's pot, which had just been grafted and hadn't been fertilized or watered yet, and walked over with a smile: "This is Master Li's grafting, right? Good craftsmanship." His hand was about to touch the peony when the big black dog, which was stupid and fat, suddenly let out a low growl and darted towards his wrist like lightning. Its white sharp teeth gleamed in the light, and its transparent saliva fell from mid-air with a fishy smell.

  "Ah!" Zheng Hua's eyes widened in terror as he let out a loud cry, his face turning deathly pale as he backed away repeatedly. But how could he outrun the dog? Although it was just a fat dog, it was much faster than him. Moreover, he clumsily sat down on the ground, and Peony thought he would at least get bitten once. However, at the critical moment, Li Hua let out a hoarse "ah", and the big black dog stopped its attack, placing its two front paws on Zheng Hua's shoulders. Its shiny black eyes stared at Zheng Hua's panicked face, as transparent drool dripped onto his chest.

  Li Huajun let out another "ah" and the big black dog released Zheng Huajun, running to his feet and squatting down. Li Huajun made a few hand gestures towards Peony, and Wu San coughed softly before saying loudly, "Old Li says that this dog was raised from a young age to watch over the flowers. Whoever dares to touch the flowers without the owner's permission will definitely be bitten. It just misunderstood earlier, please don't mind it, Master Zheng."

  It turned out to be a mute. Zheng Huajun angrily wiped the sweat from his forehead, disgustedly pulled at the front of his shirt that had been soaked by the dog's saliva, and stormed off without saying a word.

  "Old Zheng, you've had a shock. Tonight, let the kitchen add some dishes for you. Go and see if there's anywhere that's been hurt. If there is, go and ask a doctor to take a look." She knew Li Huajuan was doing it on purpose. This was a warning to Zheng Huajuan. These peony craftsmen, their techniques have been passed down, they won't easily let others know, let alone learn from them. This newly received peony, after disassembling it, will reveal how the stem and anvil are handled, before the wound heals, he absolutely won't let anyone else touch it. She thought she had already taken enough precautions, but this Li Huajuan was even more cautious.

  Zheng Huakui left in a huff, while Li Huakui calmly put away his tools and arranged the flowers. Led by Yu He, accompanied by the big black dog, they went to choose a room without saying a word.

  Wu San smiled and said: "He Niangzi, our young master asked me to tell you that Pan Shizi and Bai Furen will arrive in two days. Please go over for dinner."

  Peony should stay down and have dinner with him, but Wu San didn't stay, saying that there were too many things to prepare for the banquet at Zhuangzi's house, so he couldn't stay long and bid farewell.

  After dinner, Yuhe came over to chat and said that Li Huajuan had been settled in properly and had even arranged for Ashun to go with him to do some small tasks. Li Huajuan was quite satisfied. Just as they were talking, Kuang'er came in and said: "Madam, there's someone at home who brought a guest."

  However, it was a shop assistant from the Dalang shop with the surname Jia who arrived. He led in a young man wearing a round-collared gown made of satin with a floral pattern and a black crepe hat, about twenty years old, with only a decent appearance. Assistant Jia smiled and said: "Madam, this is Mr. Lu from Yangzhou."

  Peony was perplexed, she didn't recognize this person from Yangzhou Lu's family at all.

  "My name is Lu Quan, fifth in line of descent. People call me Lu the Fifth Master. My mother's surname is Duan, and she is known as Madame Duan. Previously, your esteemed brother sent a letter stating that my younger aunt, Qin San Niang, had encountered difficulties. As my mother was traveling on business by boat, it wasn't until over a month ago that she received the letter, so she has dispatched me to escort my younger aunt back home and express our gratitude to your noble household."

  Qin San Niang, after Da Lang sent the letter to Duan Da Niang, there was no response. She thought the letter had been delivered to the wrong person and that Qin San Niang's sister was not actually the wealthy woman Duan Da Niang. But it turned out she was. To be honest, Lu Quan's appearance didn't resemble Qin San Niang's at all. Peony sighed: "Lu Gongzi probably made a wasted trip. She left the next day and I don't know where she is now."

  Lu Zhēnzhèng said: "Just now I went to see your respected father, and he also said the same thing. But before I came, my mother had instructed me that when someone is alive, you should meet them in person; when they're dead, you should see their body; if there's a grudge, you should repay it; if there's kindness, you should return it. You are the last person to have seen her, so I imagine she must have said some things to you that can provide some clues. Please tell me about the circumstances of that day."

  On that day, Peony remembered the situation. Lu Quan listened to Peony's words and pondered for a moment before saying: "According to what you said, my aunt has probably made up her mind to take revenge. Before Yan Balang falls into misfortune, she won't leave Beijing. I plan to go see Yan Balang."

  "Today the sky is already late, I think Lu Gongzi won't be able to rush back to the city, why not stay here overnight and go again early tomorrow?"

  Lu Quan bowed his fist in gratitude: "Thank you, He Niangzi. My mother asked me to thank the mansion and I previously asked your father what we could do for the mansion, but he said it was all your idea that day, so let me ask you. What do you want?"

  "I didn't actually do anything, just invited her to dinner, stayed in a hotel for one night, called a doctor, and chatted with her for a bit. The money spent was still my father's money, so you don't have to worry about it." Peony felt a little embarrassed, she hadn't done anything for Qin San Niang, but Duan Da Niang was being so serious, indicating that Duan Da Niang still had Qin San Niang on her mind. It's no wonder Qin San Niang would feel ashamed back then because of her misunderstanding of her sister.

  Lu Quan looked at Peony seriously and said, "It's not that great, but at that time, there were so many people coming and going on the street, only you reached out." He smiled slightly at Peony: "Duan Dama has never owed anyone a favor, in order to preserve her reputation, please don't be polite anymore."

  His expression was serious and sincere, although he was joking, but with a visible persistence that would not give up until the goal was achieved. Peony thought for a while, it seemed that she really didn't need anything, but Duan's merchant ship was indeed very famous, maybe one day, she could sell her peonies to places outside the capital through Duan's fleet. Peony looked at Lu Quan with a smile: "I've long heard of your mother's great name and admired her in my heart, I really want to make friends with such a capable person like her, I don't know if I have such good luck?"

  If Peony accepted the reward this time, she would only have this one opportunity; but if she wanted to be friends with Duan's wife, then what she could get in the future would far exceed this. Similarly, if Lu's family could make friends with He's family in the capital, it would also be very good. Lu smiled slightly and said slowly: "My mother likes making friends. If Madam He has a chance to go to Yangzhou, she will definitely host the best banquet for you."

  "Peony smiled and said, 'Lu Gongzi is not familiar with the place, my family can take you to find Yan Balang's residence.' She pointed at Rain Lotus: 'She had been to Tongshan Lane where Yan Balang lived before, let her accompany you tomorrow.'"

  Lu Quan thanked him and didn't mention it again, following Xiao Tao to eat and rest. The next morning, Yu He led him and his entourage into the city on horseback, heading straight for Tongshan Alley. Peony stayed in the nursery all day, watching how Li Hua took care of the flowers and trees, learning how to communicate with him, and then gave the big black dog a name, calling it Da Hei, feeding it a pile of chicken bones.

  Li Hua's face was stern, and for the whole day, he only exchanged less than three gestures with Peony. Once, Peony asked him if she could choose a few young, intelligent, and well-behaved servants to learn how to care for peonies together with him. She asked if it was okay, but Li Hua shook his head and said no. However, Peony didn't plan on listening to him; she was determined to get them, even if it meant just letting them water and loosen the soil from a distance.

  Once, Peony called that big black dog "Big Black", and fed it chicken bones. He made a gesture in anger, but Peony didn't understand what he meant. She guessed he was mad at her for giving his dog a weird name, but instead of kicking away the chicken bones she brought for Big Black, he watched as the dog ate them all up. So Peony decided to ignore his anger and let the dog continue drooling on her shoes, taking the opportunity to grab the dog's ears twice.

  The last time was at dinner, Peony gave him two padded jackets and two pairs of shoes, as well as a bottle of grape wine and a plate of fried sparrows. He fell silent for a moment, made a gesture of thanks, and then accepted the things.

  But Peony didn't think he was someone who could be easily bought off with small favors, it seemed she still needed to spend a long time struggling with him. As she walked out of the nursery, Xilang was wandering not far outside and came over to greet her as soon as he saw her come out, as if there was something he wanted to say to her. Peony wasn't in a hurry because she could guess what he wanted to say. She only asked him if he was getting used to living in the Fragrant Garden, and also asked if Zheng Huajuan had fallen anywhere yesterday, because today she hadn't seen him all day.

  Xilang hesitated for a moment, then said: "Jiushu is not feeling well, but he spent the whole day by the lake trimming flowers and trees, so you didn't see him." He ultimately didn't tell her about Cao Wanrong's matter, but instead repeatedly assured her that he would work hard. Mudan praised him a couple of times, then said gently: "I heard your father passed away, if there's any difficulty at home, you can tell me. I'll help in any way I can."

  Xilang was slightly surprised, and responded softly, watching Peony leave with his head bowed. Peony asked Duan's wife: "Auntie, do you think he is a bad person?"

  Duan's wife knew about Xi Lang's background and that he had once stolen the peony from Cao's garden. She thought for a moment and said, "I don't know anything, but he is definitely not an honest man."

  Peony smiled and said, "How many truly honest people are there in this world?" Of course, there were still quite a few who claimed to be honest.

  On the second day at noon, Wu San personally came over to pick up Peony: "Madam Bai has already arrived first, please go with me to accompany her."

  "Peony furrowed her brow: 'Didn't Pan Shizi come with her?'"

  Wu San carefully helped her steady the horse, making it easier for her to mount: "No, it's said that Pan Shizi has some matters to attend to and will rush over for dinner. However, Madame Bai brought not only young master Pan but also another maiden, seemingly Wu Shi's seventeenth daughter from Qinghe, who is apparently acquainted with you?"

  "Have met once before." The proud and noble Wu Xilian, 19th Lady had already been betrothed to Li Yi, she must have also been promised to someone else's family.

  The peony rode a horse through the rice field that had been harvested and was now bare, all the way to the entrance of the Jiang family's villa. The willow trees along the wall had turned yellow and were starting to fall, but the pine and cypress trees were still green, making the high white walls seem even whiter, and the blue sky above the wall seemed even bluer.

  Wu San saw the peony staring at the courtyard wall and smiled: "This spring, our young master had just had it whitewashed, now it looks particularly new. But before that, it was a patchwork, with moss crawling all over the wall. Alas, the old mouse has grown yellow skin and become a spirit, as big as half a cat, seeing us come but not afraid, daring to enter the hall in front of us, I guess it must have lived freely for more than ten years, already forgetting what fear is."

  Peony felt that Wu San was hinting at something.

  The layout of Jiang's villa was completely different from that of Fangyuan. As soon as you enter, it is a large and spacious courtyard paved with bluestone bricks, spotlessly clean. Wu San introduced eagerly: "Here, every three days, we wash the floor with clear water, using the water from your river." He pointed to a clump of wintergreen trees not far away, "The river ditch is just behind it, along this small river, and not far ahead is my newly built waterside pavilion. Madame Bai is waiting for you there right now. Please follow me, Miss He, the path is over there."

  Behind the evergreen tree was a small path about three feet wide, paved with cobblestones. The path was next to the river, and the water was clear enough to see the colorful cobblestones and lush aquatic plants at the bottom. Occasionally, one or two small fish swam by. On the other side of the river, there was a row of willow trees, their yellow leaves curled up and falling into the water like flat boats. The Jiang family's estate was also very beautiful, much more so than Ning Wang's estate with its expensive polo field. Mudan asked Wu San, "Does this estate have a name?"

  "It used to be called Liu Garden, but now it has no name." Jiang Changyang stood at the end of the path admiring the peony. The peony was wearing a silver-white folded peony brocade jacket today, tied with a rich purple eight-piece Luo skirt, black gold-embroidered ribbon belt, and on the belt was tied a pair of walnut-sized gold hollow flower bird perfume sachets, and only one pair of simple double-strand gold hairpins were inserted in her interlocking hair bun, and her lips were still dotted with pink lip balm, looking particularly lovely. He thought she looked even more beautiful than when he first saw her.

  ——*——*——*——

  Tomorrow night from 7:30 to 8:30, I'll be on a live chat with a famous host, you can find it on the homepage of the women's channel and enter the chat room. Hope everyone will go support me, don't let me get cold feet, hehe. Asking for pink powder (fans).