It seems like he's in a bad mood. Mudan thought carefully, she didn't seem to have offended him, so it must be someone else who provoked him. Is he angry with Pan Rong? Or did someone in the Fragrant Garden not follow the rules and offend him? As Mudan pondered the reason for Jiang Changyang's anger, she smiled and said: "Jiang Chengfeng, where are you going? This is the way to the kitchen." She bent down and took a serious look at the two wild chickens in his hand, smiling: "Wow, they're still alive, did you catch them with a net? You wouldn't be going to the kitchen to release them, would you?"

  Jiang Changyang saw Peony smiling with curved eyebrows and eyes, still in the mood to chat with him, and couldn't help but get angrier. He recalled what Pan Rong said to him last night - the more polite a woman is to you, the less interested she is in you, not putting you in her heart. Liu Chuan used that trick on him yesterday, if she had any thoughts about him, she wouldn't be smiling so happily now. And with the Liu family bullying her, spreading vicious rumors that almost ruined her reputation, she didn't seem to care at all - what was she thinking? What did she care about? Perhaps only her family, this garden, and those peonies in full bloom?

  Jiang Changyang was getting more and more annoyed, the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. In vain, he had hardly slept last night, constantly thinking about whether this matter was true or false. If it were false, it would be easy to handle, but if it were true, what should he do? He naturally knew that having children was a big deal and that his mother had long been eager to hold her grandchildren in her arms. He also wanted to have a loving wife and children, living happily ever after. But if the two things couldn't be reconciled, what should he do?

  He recalled that when he grew up, he occasionally chatted with his mother and asked her why she was so determined to leave that person and easily abandoned everything in the past. His mother said that it was actually not easy to make this decision, but her eyes could no longer hold on, nor could she deceive her own heart, so she had to leave. A coward would deliberately deceive his own heart. She listened to her own heart, not fate.

  Everything can be deceived, but not one's own heart. If his eyes really liked seeing her, if his heart was only excited because of her, if others couldn't give him this feeling and he really couldn't leave this feeling behind, then he had to accept reality and listen to his inner self. So he took Wu San's suggestion - after hunting, come here to see Mudan, he thought that when he saw Mudan again, he would know what his true heart was.

  When he went hunting, he tried to imagine that he and Peony were just friends like Yuan nineteen, and he had another wife at home waiting for him. But every time he imagined the wife at home, it was Peony's eyebrows, Peony's smile. Seeing the big gate of Fangyuan, he thought the first person he saw was Peony. Seeing the women coming out in a line, she was not among them. Realizing that she was avoiding him, the anger at that moment made him understand that his heart really wanted her, and he had to try.

  He listened to his heart, but she didn't know and probably didn't care. Jiang Changyang looked at the smiling peony with a heavy heart, he understood what Pan Rong meant, it was better if she got angry. If Peony was angry and sad about Liu Cheng's words yesterday, it means she still had some thoughts about him, if she wasn't angry or sad, then she didn't have any thoughts about him at all, she simply didn't care. He thought wildly, made random guesses, his mind was a mess, he even didn't know how to respond to Peony's words.

  To clear up the awkwardness, the best way is to ask Peony a question he wants to ask, and all the troubles will be resolved. But why is it so hard to ask her this? If he knew that she actually had some thoughts about him, then opening his mouth wouldn't be difficult... He tightened the rope tied around the wild chicken in his hand, recalling when he went to the He family, when he was leaving, Peony rushed out from inside and told him to come here to pick flowers. If she really treated him with such courtesy, she could have let her father, brother or servant tell him... Also, previously she had blushed and been shy in front of him, although maybe she didn't even notice herself, but he indeed saw it, and he liked that feeling very much.

  He told himself once again that he had to give it a try.

  His mood gradually calmed down.

  Next to him, Peony saw Jiang Changyang not responding to her words, only frowning and staring at her without blinking, as if getting angrier by the second. Her smile was gradually becoming harder to maintain. She coughed softly, cleared her throat, slightly turned her face away, and forced a laugh: "Why aren't you talking? What's with the staring?"

  "I wasn't staring at you, I was just thinking about something." Jiang Changyang finally blinked his eyes and held up the pheasant in his hand, "What did you say earlier? You wanted me to go to the kitchen to release it, right?"

  The pheasant had its wings tied up, its feet bound, and was being held aloft by someone, flapping its feathers wildly and kicking up a cloud of choking dust. The person holding it had an inscrutable expression, their eyes wide with excitement... Peony hastily laughed and said, "I'm just joking with you."

  Chiang Chang-yang said seriously: "I don't know if sending them to reincarnation counts as another form of release?"

  His expression finally returned to normal. Peony replied seriously: "If they get tired of being wild chickens and want to be reincarnated as humans, then that's it."

  Jiang Changyang handed the pheasants in front of Yu He and said without hesitation, "Then you take them to the kitchen to set them free."

  Yu He looked at Peony, hesitated, and Peony hinted to her to do as Jiang Changyang said. By now she already knew that he brought these two wild chickens over, absolutely not just for sending the two chickens to reincarnation, but specifically came to find her.

  Jian Yuhe walked away with the pheasant, while Peony's face was filled with smiles as she continued walking forward: "I heard from Ah Tao that you and Pan Shizi hunted many wild animals today? You even brought a pair of white gyrfalcons? They're extremely beautiful!"

  "Hmm." Jiang Changyang responded with a single grunt, closely following behind her, and quickly turned to the main topic: "Yesterday on my way back I ran into Liu Chuan, I punched him twice."

  "Earlier, I heard Madam Bai mention that this person always likes to stir up trouble and thinks he's superior. If you ignore him, he'll naturally calm down."

  Jiang Changyang looked at Peony sideways, but saw that her thick and curled eyelashes were trembling slightly, and the expression on her face was calm and peaceful, without any particularly angry or excited look. She didn't seem surprised that he had hit Liu Chuan, nor did she appear uneasy about him bringing up the matter. It seemed like she had come prepared, which wasn't a good sign. He fell silent for a moment before deciding to get straight to the point: "I know what happened with Autumn yesterday. What he said, actually..."

  What he said has nothing to do with her. Peony couldn't help but interrupt him: "Actually, Liu Chuan is that kind of person, who likes to make wild guesses and cause trouble, don't mind him..."

  "Dan Niang." Jiang Changyang interrupted her, gazing into her eyes, and solemnly said: "If someone is spreading rumors about you everywhere, maliciously wanting to put you to death, trying to harm you for a lifetime, do you care?"

  Peony was silent for a moment, then said softly: "Of course I care, saying that I don't care is deceiving. But it also depends on what it is, just like some things I cannot forgive, and must be made clear. However, some things are not worth arguing about, facts are facts, nothing can change them. So speaking badly and rumors also have many kinds, they need to be treated differently, only care about what should be cared about."

  "What is it that you care about?" Jiang Changyang didn't wait for her to respond, and directly said: "What Liu Chuan said is what I care about. Maybe you don't care, but I do."

  She circled back to that sentence. Peony was a bit annoyed, looking at his tightly pursed lips and forced a smile: "That matter wasn't anything serious, it wouldn't put you in a life-or-death situation, you don't have to take it so seriously. But since the fight has already happened, you must be careful from now on, he's someone who holds grudges." She almost pleaded with him: "Let's not talk about this, tell me about that place you guys went hunting today? Was it fun?"

  Jiang Changyang took in her changing expression, and saw that she had interrupted herself several times. He had a number in his mind. He keenly sensed that she wasn't really indifferent, but rather was concerned, which is why she didn't want to bring it up herself. This realization made him feel somewhat elated, and he couldn't help but call out softly: "Dan Niang."

  The peony seemed somewhat ill at ease, and slightly averted its eyes: "Huh?"

  Jiang Changyang saw that she was not at ease, and became even more certain of his conjecture. He took a deep breath and said: "Hunting is no fun, at least I think it's not fun. I've been thinking about things, my mood is terrible."

  The peony says nothing, quietly awaiting the next move.

  Jiang Changyang chased after her and asked: "Don't you ask what I'm thinking?"

  "Peony sighed: 'What are you thinking about?'"

  I've thought about you a lot, but I won't bring it up again. As long as you're willing, I'll do it. Jiang Changyang stopped in his tracks and stood in front of Mudan, saying slowly and seriously: "Even if some things really happen, I won't accept them. If I don't want to, no one can force me."

  Is this an indirect expression? Peony was speechless for a moment. He appeared in front of her, always bringing up that matter, she had tried to stop him several times but couldn't, so she had mentally prepared herself. At this time, she wasn't surprised or flustered, but she really didn't know how to respond to him. She felt her mind was a bit confused, after thinking for a long time, she finally forced out a smile: "Yes, I've heard that you're always very decisive. Look, this is what I meant by not taking rumors seriously."

  She looks good when she smiles, but that smile is difficult. Jiang Changyang thought about the rumors about her, the things she had encountered, and the difficulties she might encounter in the future, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, he thought that if she always smiled like this, her face would be sore. He said softly: "Dan Niang, you are only seventeen years old, there is no need to be so tired. When I am around, if you don't want to smile, then don't smile. If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. The rest I can't do for now, but I hope that when we are together, you can relax a bit."

  Peony was taken aback for a moment, and then her nose uncontrollably turned sour.

  ——.——.——

  There is more in the evening.