Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze, two hands suddenly reached up and firmly grasped Maya's waist, lifting her up into the air and swinging her around. Maya let out a shrill cry of surprise, laughing and begging for mercy, but she never loosened her grip on the huqin, holding it tightly in her hand without letting go to wrap her arms around the neck of the man who had startled her.

  You are playing with me, and I am playing with you. For some reason, Peony suddenly thought of this sentence in her mind, and she stared at Maya in a daze.

  Maya didn't look at the peony, but instead gazed at the person who scared her and laughed, while hugging the person wearing a black silk robe with a jade-colored lining, with a sleek and tidy hair bun adorned with a sheep's fat ancient jade hairpin, thick eyebrows and beautiful eyes, with a hint of sarcastic smile on his lips. He raised his slightly drunken eyes, seemingly looking at Maya who was frightened and screaming in his arms, but actually looking at the person downstairs.

  He saw her in men's clothing for the first time.

  She is looking over here.

  Liu Chuan exerted himself to kiss Maya's delicate neck, then held her by the window and sucked on her neck desperately. To hell with it, he didn't care, she was just a stinky leather bag anyway.

  The child pulled the reins of the horse. The horse turned its head, gently kicked its belly, and slowly opened up the East Market.

  Liu Chuan became more and more passionate, Maya's laughter became more and more open-hearted, but who cares? Maya didn't care, others didn't care either. Liu Chuan suddenly pushed Maya away, stumbled down the stairs, and rode his horse away.

  "Liu Si Cheng, leaving just as you arrive? You heartless thing." Maya glanced at his back with a hint of disdain, calling out to him in a soft and playful tone. She then pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped away the saliva he had left on her neck, tossing the cloth out the window. After adjusting her clothes and expression, she picked up the hu qin and sat back down at the windowsill, smiling as she watched the passersby outside. Occasionally, she would bat her eyelashes at someone who caught her eye, or a young man with a lot of gold, and smile again.

  Peony returned to the middle, asked clearly about Erlang, Wulang and Liulang who had not yet returned home. She changed her clothes and went to Mrs. Cen's room, where Yang Niang was chatting with Mrs. Cen. Seeing Peony come in, Mrs. Cen let her sit down: "How is it? Have you seen Mr. Jiang?"

  "Speaking of which, I went to the palace and waited for a long time. When I met him upstairs, he said it was just a misunderstanding and it's all settled now."

  Yang's aunt joined her palms and smiled: "That's great, good people have good rewards." Then she squeezed her eyes at Peony with a smile: "Did you meet Lu Wulang when you came back?" When she smiled, the golden frame of the rhinoceros horn comb inserted on her hair shone brightly in the sunlight.

  The peony saw her raising an eyebrow and making eyes at him, but didn't understand what she was up to, so he just smiled and said, "Never."

  "Yang's wife smiled and said: 'He is going back to Yangzhou. Today he came to bid farewell, he wanted to see you but you were not here. He waited from the beginning until just now, and only left when it got dark.' She paused intentionally and said: 'He said he will come again tomorrow, Dan Niang, please wait for him at home, there is something he wants to talk to you about.'"

  Lu Wulang hasn't seen Pomegranate since he took over for He Zhizhong and others that day. It's said that he often goes to find Erlang and Wulang, but there has been no news of Qin Niang. Since it was decided to leave, one must see oneself, which means there is something to ask for, and it must be related to Qin Niang? Pomegranate ignored the ambiguity in Yang Niang's words and smiled slightly at her: "Thank you for reminding me, I remember. The hairpin on your head looks great, I've never seen one like it before."

  Yang's wife felt a bit uneasy, stretched out her hand and touched it, smiling: "A few days ago, before the master left, I gave it to him on my birthday."

  Peony praised for another two sentences. In fact, she was very clear that He Zhizhong had given Yang Niang a rhino horn comb at the time, but it was absolutely not this one. He Zhizhong made a distinction in this regard, such a luxurious and delicate comb, even Cen's wife didn't have, how could Yang Niang have?

  Madam Cen brushed off the hairpin on Yang's head and looked up at the sky, saying: "A'Yang, the children will be back soon. Go take a look if dinner is ready."

  This was to drive people away, and it must be about telling Peony about Lu Wulang's affairs. Yang Niangniang made a gesture towards Peony with a heartless expression, smiling as she walked away.

  The smile on Peony's face remained until the hem of Yang's wife's skirt disappeared at the gate before it stopped.

  "Go on, what is it?" said Mrs. Cen.

  After all, it's the relationship between a biological mother and a stepmother. Any matter must be handled with care, so as not to wrong anyone or miss the best opportunity. Peony carefully chose her words: "I went to the spice shop originally to ask Sixth Brother to accompany me to find Zhang Wuji and ask for his help in doing something. But Sixth Brother wasn't there, the shop assistant said that Lu Wulang had gone to look for him, and the two of them had gone together to a tavern to drink wine. At that time it was exactly 3 pm."

  But Lu Wulang had been at the He's house since noon. Madame Cen's expression turned serious.

  "Master said that business is still stable, all old customers. I went to find Zhang Wuge alone, and Zhang Wuge said that Liu Ge had found him several times, all inviting him to drink, but he was busy and didn't have time to drink idle wine, so he didn't go. Later when he had free time, he went to invite Liu Ge, but Liu Ge wasn't in the shop. It's said that Liu Ge likes to go to the largest Hu wine tavern in Dongshi."

  Madam Qin pursed her lips, grabbed the ceramic tea cup and drank a full cup, then wiped her mouth clean with a handkerchief before slowly saying: "Luckily your father never handed over the silver money in the shop to him, only trusting old Zhang. Otherwise, it would have been disastrous. Don't mention this matter for now, just pretend you don't know. When he comes back, he'll surely hear about it from someone in the shop and will come to test you. Just make up some random excuse then. Wait until I discuss with your second brother and fifth brother, we'll talk again after we've figured out a plan."

  After the evening drum sounded, Erlang and Wulang went home first. After listening to Mrs. Cen's account of Liu Lang's situation, Erlang frowned and said, "Tomorrow I'll think of a way to go see Old Zhang and find out what's going on."

  Wu Lang said: "I think he's been in a good mood lately, he must have made some money."

  Madam Cen thought of the rhino horn comb on Yang's wife's head and worried: "It's okay to win money for now, but what if we lose money later? The shop owner will have his own way. Although the shop has a set of rules for collecting money and checking goods every day, he can find a way to cheat if he wants to. What I'm most afraid of is that he'll pass off inferior goods as high-quality ones, make a profit from the difference in price, and ruin the reputation of our shop. You two brothers should come up with a plan and see how to handle this matter best. Before you have a solid plan, don't take any rash actions, and be careful not to hurt his feelings."

  Erlang replied: "I understand."

  Just then, Liu Lang's laughter echoed at the door: "Hey, today I'm the last one home again."

  Everyone smiled slightly and stopped talking, without revealing any special expression. Liu Lang first greeted Mrs. Cen and exchanged greetings with everyone, then sat down beside Peony and said with a smile: "Dan Niang, I heard you went to the shop looking for me today?"

  Peony sniffed and smelled a faint scent of wine on him, then smiled: "Yes, the partner said you went to the tavern to entertain guests. Sixth brother wants a bowl of hangover soup?"

  Liu Lang smiled while looking into Peony's eyes, "No need to worry, brother I have my limits, the business in the store is important, how could I get drunk so early? I just had a few drinks with Lu Wu Lang and then he came to our house. I went to another Huren shop to look at the Xianglian incense. The Xianglian incense in our store is almost gone."

  It seems that she had already spoken with Yang's wife. Peony smiled and winked: "So, have you seen it?"

  "The quality is not good, I don't want it." Liu Lang sat for a while longer, chatting casually with the others about trivial matters, and then talked about some business in the store, which customer was picky, and how he responded, etc., looking calm and composed.

  A night without words.

  On the second day, soon after sending off Erlang and his brothers, Lu Wulang arrived. As expected, he came to pay his respects to her. It turned out that Qin Niang had indeed followed Jing Wang, but she had not entered the Jing Wang Mansion, instead living in Fenglefang without a name or status.

  "I first met with my aunt, she pretended not to recognize me and had someone drive me away. But the next day, she sent someone to bring me to see her." Lu Wulang sighed, his mood heavy as he said: "She said she's doing well and we shouldn't worry, I think it's true too. So I decided to return to Yangzhou... but two days ago, her maid came with a message saying she hasn't been feeling well lately." He paused for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply towards the peony, "I wanted to go visit her myself, but it's not convenient for me to go. After thinking about it, I could only think of you, so I'm asking you to go take a look, also so that I can be at ease when I return and have something to report back to my mother."

  Peony recalled Qin Niang that day, she also pretended not to have seen her, and after a long time of contemplation, she said resolutely: "Lu Wuge, you saw it last time, she didn't want to recognize me, I shouldn't go. Besides, since she could quietly take you to see her last time, this time she can naturally also quietly take you to see her. You might as well stay in the capital for a while longer, she will eventually find an opportunity to take you to see her."

  Lu Wulang fell silent for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply, saying: "It's me who owes you an apology, I told a lie. She didn't want to acknowledge you, actually she had her own difficulties. This time..."

  "Is she in trouble again?" Peony asked faintly.

  Lu Wulang looked somewhat embarrassed: "Jing Wang had some misunderstandings with her, and it's been a long time since he went to see her. She became pregnant, but couldn't move around freely, so I thought of asking you to go..."

  "Peony bit his teeth and interrupted him: 'Lu Wuge, I'm really sorry. This matter, I have no way to agree with you. I'm just a small old surname, limited ability, dare not get involved in the affairs of the Wang family, let alone I've suffered greatly before. If you're not convenient at hand, I can try to find a way, but this matter, I really have no way.'"

  "No need for money, no need for money." Lu Wulang was very disappointed, but his face didn't show any unhappiness. He sat silently for a moment and finally didn't say anything else, bidding farewell and leaving.

  Madam Cen said, "Dan Niang, why did you refuse him? Is it really because Qin Niang didn't recognize you last time and you're still angry about it? Actually, if it's just going to his place to take a look, it wouldn't be a big deal."

  "Peony Road: 'No, I just feel something is off.'"