She pressed Liu Chong's previous temper, thinking that he would definitely be reckless and might even splash the hot tea soup in front of him on Wu Xilian's face. But unexpectedly, Liu Chong didn't, but instead said calmly: "Thank you for your concern, Seventeen Niang. Although I'm still not convenient to move around, Qinghua is already able to walk on her own. I think she'll definitely come to congratulate you on your big day. If I remember correctly, your future husband is from the original prefecture's Cen family, right? Cen Shilang used to live in Beijing for two years, he can be considered a good friend of mine, we often drink together and discuss poetry. Maybe in the future, we'll also be together. So you shouldn't be so rude to me, Seventeen Niang."

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Liu Chuan's face revealed a hint of a cold smile. Peony was all too familiar with this smile, and she knew that what he was about to say would be extremely hurtful, not something that Wu Xilian could bear. She cleared her throat softly, preparing to change the subject, but Liu Chuan didn't give anyone the opportunity. He gazed at Wu Xilian, his smile radiant: "You know, in Pingkangli, the wine there is really good, always more fragrant and rich than anywhere else. He would often get drunk to the point of not being able to ride a horse, and had no choice but to stay there for an extended period."

  Wu Xilian's eyes suddenly dimmed, and her cherry lips, painted like a pomegranate, trembled uncontrollably. What is Pingkangli? A place where courtesans gather. She had just said that Cen Shilang was as dissolute as Liu Quan and Pan Rong, and he immediately proved it to everyone present. Cen Shilang, her future husband, was indeed such a person. However, how many of the numerous young masters from noble families in the capital, scholars, and court officials did not visit Pingkangli? Many noblewomen could pretend not to see or hear like Madame Bai, or be as overbearing and difficult to deal with like Madame Qi, but Wu Xilian couldn't do either, nor was she as shameless and cruel as Liu Quan. So she was destined to be hurt by Liu Quan.

  She fell silent for a moment, glaring furiously at Liu Chuan, wanting to pour the still scalding tea all over his head and face. But Madame Bai calmly pressed down on her hand. She saw Peony's silent and sympathetic expression, and suddenly remembered that she was different from Peony. She was a noble-born lady of the Five Surnames, her family had lasted for generations, and men would feel more honored to marry her than to marry a princess or a duchess. Her status and upbringing did not allow her to behave like a shrew, especially in front of someone as pitiful and looked down upon as Peony. Wu Xilian slowly withdrew her trembling hand, a layer of icy calm spreading across her face, glancing away, refusing to look at Liu Chuan again, as if he were something disgusting.

  Liu Chang didn't think much of it and happily savored Wu Xilian's expression, contentedly finishing the tea in his hand. As for that sentence about Wu Xilian that pierced his heart, he had been very mindful of it, just like when he first saw peonies or heard topics related to the He family, he would involuntarily think of how he had given a dying daughter-in-law a dowry, only to have her sold as goods by his worthless and greedy father. At that time, he was still young, so he couldn't control his anger, always wanting to vent it out recklessly, just to get a moment's relief.

  But it's different now, since he got engaged to Peony and the young master of Qinghua County. He has heard more than ten times worse things than this, so many that he can't even remember them all. When you hear vicious words too often, there are two possible outcomes: one is to get angry and fight back until you're numb and forget; the other is to remember deeply but not show it, and find another way to counterattack, finding the opponent's weakness and then striking a fatal blow. He chose the latter, found Wu Xilian's weakness, and with just one sentence and a smile, she was covered in scars and couldn't fight back.

  Hehe, what a noble family girl, it's nothing more than that. The noble and just Mrs. Bai, the noble and cold Wu Xilian, they don't dare to vent their anger in their hearts. They don't dare to be like Peony, who dares to spit on him without regard for her image, loudly scolding him on the street. They also don't dare to be like the Qinghua princess, who is reckless and lawless. They are hypocritical, they have a double standard, they are fake. This is the definition that Liu Can gave them, he is also hypocritical, but he just wants to pretend to be a cold and ruthless person, so he can get what he wants.

  He had just drunk a salty tea soup, but he felt like he was drinking wine. His lips, tongue, throat and stomach were all burning hot. He glared fiercely at Peony, she had taken everything from him, so one day he would make her pay back tenfold.

  Peony stared back at Liu Chuan without flinching, quietly gazing into his sinister eyes. At that moment, her expression was something, but she thought maybe it contained a hint of disdain and indifference, or perhaps no emotion at all, because apart from fearing he would use force to harm her, he meant nothing to her, not even as much as an insect on the leaves of a peony flower. But now she wasn't afraid that he would use force to harm her, so it was entirely possible that she had no expression at all.

  Jiang Changyang half-rose, handing a cup of tea to Peony's face, saying softly: "There is no salt in it." His tall body blocked Liu Chuan's line of sight, and the grassy scent on his body blocked the strong incense smell that came from Liu Chuan. Peony held the cup of tea, and for a moment, Jiang Changyang seemed like a six-panel screen made of purple sandalwood, thick and wide, blocking out all the things she didn't like outside.

  There was no salt in the tea soup. Everyone present heard and saw Jiang Changyang's actions. Peony didn't like tea soup with salt, nobody had ever heard of it before. But Jiang Changyang handed her a cup of unusual tea soup, what did it mean? Was it his own preference? Or was it Peony's newly cultivated special preference? Anyway, he was conveying his concern and comfort to Peony.

  Liu Chong regarded this action as a provocation. He lowered his eyelids, and through the gap between his eyelashes, his gaze fell on Peony's hand and the celadon tea cup she was holding with lotus flower patterns. The celadon was as beautiful as jade, and her hands were slender like an orchid. However, the celadon did not belong to him, nor did her hands. They might be held by another man. He took a deep breath and smiled: "Dan Niang, when did you start liking this unsalted tea soup? We've been together for years, day and night, and we were once deeply in love. I never knew you had such a quirk. When did you develop this quirk? Did it come from Li Yi? You're changing so fast. First me, then Li Yi, now who's next? No wonder people say that women's hearts are like needles at the bottom of the sea." He refused to admit that he was resentful of her for easily changing her heart and also resented her ruthlessness.

  The courtyard was quiet. Wu Xilian forgot her own pain, and stared at Peony in astonishment, but only saw an expressionless face. Wu Xilian quickly looked around at the others to see if they were like her, and heard the same message from Liu Chuan's words. Jiang Changyang was still focused on serving tea, with no particular expression, Pan Rong was smiling bitterly, and Madame Bai's eyebrows were tightly furrowed. And Feng Dainiang and Shu'er already had sparks of anger in their eyes. So she turned her gaze back to Peony.

  Peony picked up the cup of unsalted tea and took a light sip, saying faintly: "Since it's an eccentricity, you don't know and that's not unusual. At your age, you didn't know, now it's even more unnecessary to know." She didn't explain what Wu Xilian wanted to know because Liu Chuan wasn't qualified to ask or listen. Li Yi was the same, and so were other people, they all had nothing to do with him.

  "Ah, one day as husband and wife is a debt of gratitude as deep as the sea. You two have already parted ways, you got what you wanted, why must you continue to entangle yourselves? Isn't it better to part on good terms? What's the use of all this entanglement?"

  Among the people present, Liu Chong hated no one more than Bai Furen. She had promised to help him persuade Mudan to change her mind, but instead she secretly joined forces with Kang Cheng's Princess and Qinghua's Duchess, selling him out completely. He owed his current situation to Bai Furen. Therefore, he gazed at her calmly and said in a flat tone: "Bai Furen is indeed a very chivalrous female hero, a female Zhuge Liang, who would stop at nothing for the sake of friendship, so I have always respected you."

  Pan Xiang whispered to herself, placing Pan Liang in Madame Bai's arms, and sat down beside her. She gently patted the table and glared at Liu Cheng with dissatisfaction, saying: "Hey, hey, I'm telling you, Liu Shu, you're being too nosy. How my wife wants to behave is our own business, it's none of your concern." He regretted bringing Liu Cheng along in the first place. He had thought he could make up for Madame Bai's irrational behavior regarding the peony earlier, but it seemed that was impossible.

  Liu Chuan smiled slightly: "That's natural." He looked at Jiang Changyang, wanting to see how Jiang would react or counterattack against his previous words. He Mu Dan, do you think beauty is enough? Not enough, far from enough. Family background, talent, power, wealth, none can be missing, and appearance is secondary. In this world, with such a status, only I am willing to keep your position as my legitimate wife. If you don't hit the wall, you won't turn back; if you hit the wall, will you turn back?

  Jiang Changyang looked at him with a warm smile and a firm tone, "Liu Si, you are Pan Er Lang's friend. Wu Niang is Bai Fu Ren's friend. Pan Er Lang couple, He Niang is my friend. You are all my guests, I am willing to make the greatest effort to entertain each of you well, but if anyone dares to bully my friends, that would be bullying me."

  It's only natural that a guest who deceives his host is expelled. Everyone can understand this, although he dragged in Pan Rong and his wife as foils, everyone knows who he was referring to.

  Liu Chuan sneered. He indeed couldn't grasp any weakness in Jiang Changyang's words. But he was clear that Jiang Changyang and Mudan must have something going on between them.