Smiling, she bowed to Nineteen Girl. Unlike Wu Xilian, Nineteen Girl didn't have an air of arrogance about her, nor was she as beautiful, but the self-confidence that radiated from within and without was unmistakable. That was a characteristic shared by women of good birth, upbringing, and self-perception in this era.

  The 19-year-old girl was also secretly admiring the peony, which was very beautiful. The 19-year-old girl didn't know what it meant to be stunningly beautiful, but she knew that among all the women she had seen in her life, the beauty of the peony was one of the few that could be counted on one's fingers. Youth and beauty are fleeting, so what she admired most was the peony's calm and composed demeanor.

  She wasn't a legitimate daughter born into the main house like Seventeen, nor did she have Seventeen's illustrious background or a body worth waiting for. She was just an illegitimate daughter of a concubine, and although her father worked hard, he couldn't shake off his humble origins. When she was very young, before her father had achieved success and they had to rely on their relatives to survive, she would observe people's expressions and gauge the atmosphere. However, her father always taught her that what was frightening wasn't having a lower social status than others, but rather thinking of oneself as inferior, not daring to fight or compete, which was truly pitiful.

  So, when she heard about Peony, she subconsciously linked Peony with the attitude her father had mentioned. Today, she finally met Peony and found that Peony did not disappoint her - a brave, generous, and carefree girl. The 19th lady glanced at Mingming who was uncomfortable in his heart, but deliberately made a gentle and polite gesture, publicly pointing out Peony's identity, and even surpassed Qi Yuzhu, who had just become popular in the palace with her tearful makeup. Suddenly, she felt that Peony was much more lovable than Qi Yuzhu.

  Xue Niang warmly pulled Mudan's hand and smiled: "He sister, the fragrance of the lotus dress you gave me last time is really good, it can't be bought with money outside. Just now I was chatting with my mother and the other ladies outside, these few sisters smelled the fragrance and all wanted to ask for your recipe, so Mrs. Cui said you were also here and let me bring them in, disturbing your peace, don't mind."

  It turned out that it was Mrs. Cui who let them in to find their own, although she didn't know what Mrs. Cui's purpose was, but it wouldn't be a genuine intention to make friends with these daughters of famous officials and herself, would it? But even if so, how could that be? Since the people were delivered to her doorstep, she had the opportunity to get familiar with them and advertise her peony garden! Moreover, Xue Niang was a good girl.

  As she thought of this, Peony became even more composed and smiled: "I've been very busy lately, otherwise I would have come to visit you earlier. Today, if I had known you were coming, I would have sent someone to look for you to talk, how could I be bothered by your disturbance? Come on, let's go to the pavilion over there, my sisters are all there, and my niece is also there."

  Qī Yùzhū glanced at the pavilion, saw that there were many people inside, and didn't like it, so she slowed down. Only Xuěniáng liked crowds and wasn't particular, just about to agree, Róngniáng and Yīngniáng had already considerately led several younger sisters over to say: "Auntie, we want to go for a stroll in the garden, heard that there's also a waterside pavilion on the other side, want to take a look at the fish." This was just making way for Mǔdān and others.

  It's still the most considerate of one's own family. Peony stretched out her hand to tidy up the clothes and hair of the youngest Rui Niang and Han Niang, and reminded them: "Yang Da, try to play under the shade of the tree, be careful not to get heatstroke, and when you're by the water, be careful not to fall in."

  Rongniang and Yingniang each took one of them by the hand and smiled: "Auntie can rest assured, we will take good care of our younger sisters."

  Jian Rong's wife and Ying's wife left, Xue's wife showed a look of envy: "Your family has so many people, your niece is not much younger than you, I'm sure your home must be very lively."

  Qī Yùzhū covered half of her face with a fan and smiled: "Since Xiǎo Niáng likes it so much, why not ask Hé Jiějiě to invite you to their home for a visit?" She had always secretly admired Lǐ Yīng, subconsciously treating all these girls as potential rivals. Especially Pú Tuán, who was closest to Lǐ Yīng, Shíqī Niáng, who came from the best family background, and then Xiǎo Niáng, whose father held the highest official position, each of them was her own rival.

  Xue Niang clapped her hands and laughed: "What a great idea! I've always wanted to go with He sister to your spice shop and jewelry shop." As she said this, she suddenly stopped and asked Peony seriously: "I heard from Mrs. Li that you built a villa on the banks of Huangqu River. Have you been busy with this lately?"

  "Exactly," Peony hastily replied, "apart from this, I've been busy buying peonies and irises everywhere, famous flowers all over the place, no time to make incense."

  The 19th girl thought for a moment, suddenly enlightened: "I see, I've heard that you have many famous peonies and are particularly good at growing peonies. What's this, are you going to build a peony garden? Who helped you with the gardening? How big is it?"

  Clever people are really many. Peony smiled and said, "It's exactly to build a peony garden, and I've invited Master Fuyuan from the Fahsou Temple to design it. It's about one mu in size, not very big, but enough for me."

  Fu Yuan Dashi's name was familiar to most of the women present, and some even had him build a separate house in their family compound. Suddenly, several people took the initiative to talk to Peony, asking her what kind of garden she wanted to build.

  The peony naturally praised it, but in order not to make people feel disgusted, the focus was not on their own garden, but rather on lavishly praising Master Fuyuan's wonderful ideas and using Master Fuyuan's name to attract these people's interest.

  Others may not be interested, but Xue Niang is exceptionally enthusiastic, tugging at her sleeve and coquettishly saying: "He sister, I don't care, after the garden is repaired you must invite me to play."

  Wu Shi Jiu Niang supported her chin and said: "With water as the main body, then on a spring day, sailing on the river, passing through your peach blossom forest, visiting flowers, it must be beautiful. When the time comes, also tell me, I'll go to join in the fun."

  Qī Yùzhū calmly said, "He sister is really formidable, this garden is planned to be like the Cao family garden, right? It seems that in the future, the income will definitely be substantial." With one sentence, she directly brought back the elegance of peonies to its original form. Business people, doing business, once tainted with the smell of copper, are no longer elegant.

  The rest of the girls were fanning themselves, waiting to see how Peony would respond. Peony smiled slightly: "I love peonies, my greatest wish is to collect all the famous flowers under the sky, plant them every day, observe them, appreciate them, and sail on the lake with like-minded people. In spring, I watch the flowers bloom; in summer, I play in the water; in autumn, I admire the moon; and in winter, I listen to the snow. That would make my life complete. However, this garden is so big, and there are so many flowers, every year it takes a lot of money to maintain them. As a woman, I have no special skills, and I don't want to rely on my father or brother to support me for the rest of my life. So, except for entertaining close friends and family, whether I like it or not, I have to take that path. Can't just let the flowers wither away, that would be a great sin."

  Xue Niang didn't distinguish between elegant and inelegant things in her heart, only distinguishing between right and wrong, should and shouldn't. At this moment, she looked at Peony with shining eyes: "He sister, you're really capable! My mother always scolds me, saying I'm only good at wasting the family's good things, squandering food, and being completely useless. If I had half your ability, she wouldn't say that about me."

  Qī Yùzhū suggested enthusiastically: "He sister's garden is designed by a famous designer, and the peonies planted are also precious. I'm sure many people will come to visit. When the time comes, we can charge more than Cao's flower garden, and all our problems will be solved."

  Peony realized that her name was good intention, but in fact it was a targeted move, but she didn't take Che Yu's approach seriously, and just laughed loudly: "Sister Yuzhu, you're wrong!"

  Qī Yùzhū said unhappily, "What did I do wrong?" She had put on a tearful makeup today, which was to abandon the red powder and use only white powder to cover her entire face, making it look like she had just cried and didn't have the heart to put on makeup. Although it was the most fashionable, Peony couldn't appreciate it - there wasn't any spirit or facial expression; when smiling it was okay, but when unhappy, it looked like she was really going to cry.

  Xuenniang's view was similar to Mudan's, and she was straightforward and quick-witted. Seeing the situation, she hastily pulled Zhou Yuzhu back and advised: "Yuzhu, don't cry, He sister just said that casually, she must have her reasons, can't we listen to her slowly and carefully?"

  Those who knew Xue Niang's personality would think that she was innocent and lovely, speaking without reserve. Those who didn't know her would think that she was intentionally teasing and mocking Qi Yu Zhu. At this moment, although everyone had their own thoughts, they couldn't help but burst out laughing. A woman named Cheng Mei Niang chimed in with a sly tone: "You silly child, why would Pearl (Yu Zhu) cry? This makeup is supposed to look like that. You're making it seem like Pearl is being petty and wants to cry over just one sentence."

  Qī Yùzhū forced a smile that was even uglier than crying: "Exactly, I'm not so bored. He sister, you say I'm wrong, where am I wrong? Isn't the purpose of building this garden for this? Since the things are better than others', what's the big deal about charging more money?"

  "I'm mainly doing this because I'm interested. I often think, I can satisfy my hobby thanks to the love and care of my family members and our relatively affluent household. But in this world, there are countless people who love peonies, a single high-quality plant can be worth more than the annual taxes of ten households, how many people can afford it? So, apart from collecting money to maintain the garden and make a living, I also want to allow those who cannot afford flowers or build gardens to spend a little money and enjoy the flowers they like in the garden, and have a happy day. As a woman, there's not much I can do, but I'll try my best to help people who love flowers and share the same aspirations as me, just hoping that one day everyone who loves flowers can grow peonies. So, I won't overcharge."

  Although her goal was to make money, be independent and strong, and live a better life, these words were not just empty talk. She really hoped that one day peonies would no longer be the exclusive luxury of wealthy families, but also become a treasured guest in ordinary households. Only when more people could afford them and even more people liked them, could she make even more money.