Recommendation votes, long reviews, clicks, my dear friends, have you abandoned me?

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  Qiu Wus personal item, the inlaid gold ball, was dropped on the ground when he and Ailian were having fun together. Mozi took advantage of Qiu Wu bending down to pick up a stone and picked it up as well.

  If Qiuwu and the little girl in his house were messing around, she wouldnt be so reckless. However, Ailian is Qiusis only concubine, and she was given to him by his wife as a token of respect. There are rumors in the mansion that Qiusi dotes on Ailian, and its likely that he will soon promote her to concubinage. Now that Qiuwu has messed with his own brothers woman, he is close to committing incest.

  So this little thing, whether its useful or not, depends on how she plans to use it. If you put it by your side, youll also have to be careful not to provoke trouble. Its best to hide it and wait for the right moment.

  "This is a mans ornament." Xiao Yi didnt see clearly with her purple eyes, only making out three parts, and then smiled mischievously, "Purple..."

  No need to guess, its clear that theres no serious talk below. Mozi stuffed the golden ball into Xiaoyis hand and said, "The young lady has ordered you, why dont you hurry up?"

  "You should have said so earlier." Xiaoyi followed San Niangs words and took out a small embroidered pouch and a pair of pointed shoes, ready to leave.

  "Things are all set, lets hurry back. The mistress is having a dinner party tonight, and we cant be absent from serving the young lady." Mozi ended her half-day break.

  Xiao Yi nodded and headed west.

  Mò zǐ zì qù zhǎo bái hé bù tí.

  Translation: Mozi went to look for Baihe without mentioning it.

  The old woman An in the garden replied to Zhang Shi.

  "Its the square-shaped copper stove you gave her before, with the fragrance of peony and lily. I can still smell it from the ones 9th sister had someone send over the other day. The decorations havent changed much, and all the utensils are the same as those of 6th and 7th sisters. Shes wearing the cloud-patterned skirt and sleeveless jacket with floral patterns that you had made for her."

  "Look at her, is she pretending to be gentle or truly content with her status?" The lady sitting above, a middle-aged woman with an elegant and noble demeanor, gently blew away the steam from her cup and sipped her tonic in small mouthfuls. Her hair was piled high, adorned with precious stones, gold pins, and silver ornaments. Her fingers wore golden rings, and on her wrists were a pair of pure white jade bracelets. She wore a blue-based spring breeze skirt with embroidered ten-color purple cloud patterns and a brocade jacket with a "east coming" design.

  "Madam, weve checked the accounts and everything is in order. The silver notes that Third Miss gave you also match the total account. My husbands father was the one who checked the accounts. In all these years since we followed you here as part of your dowry, his abacus has never made a mistake."

  "Youre just a woman who doesnt tell the truth, and instead boasts about her own family." Zhangs wife feigned anger, "So in your opinion, San Niang is honest?"

  "This is nothing, madam. Im just a blockhead and dont know what Im talking about. Dont listen to me." When the servant is smarter than the master, good times are coming to an end. Ancestor knew this principle well.

  "I think youre really getting old and muddled, your heart is softer than before." Zhang suddenly sneered, "Our young lady of the Qiao family isnt that easy to deal with? The more she acts nice in front of me, the harder it is for me to trust her."

  "Then you still want the noble guest to see her? Not to mention, San Niangs appearance is one in a hundred. Liu Niang and Qi Niang are far inferior. If he really chooses her..." Anpozi found it hard to understand Zhangshis thoughts, whom she had seen grow up since childhood.

  "Whats the use of having a good appearance? Yuqiong has always been indecisive, so naturally whatever I say is good is whats good. Its a pity that Jiuer is too young, otherwise, the good fortune of marrying into the Jingwang Fu would have belonged to my own daughter." Zhang Shi was filled with regret.

  "Madam, people say that there is an order between the old and the young. The younger sister getting married before the older sister seems to be out of order." Anpozi just stated a fact, not taking sides with Qiu San Niang.

  "After settling down for a few days, Ill find another one for San Niang. Letting San Niang marry before Liu Niang wouldnt be proper?" Zhang Shi thought to herself.

  "Are you thinking of marrying Liu Niang off?" An Baba saw Zhang Shi put down the clock and hurried over to help her pinch her arm.

  Zhangs eyes narrowed comfortably as she pinched and grasped An Pozi, but couldnt hide the sharp glint in her eye. "Qī Niáng is a clever girl, usually knowing when to be warm or cold in front of me, far more intelligent than her own mother. But Liù Niáng has a soft temperament, no mind for schemes, and when she marries into the Wang household, I can still control her."

  "Madam is very thoughtful." The ability to get Zhangs reuse till now, An Babas mouth that can say something at some time and be dumb at some other time has played a considerable role.

  "We should have sent San Niang away first, but this family relationship is too important to us. The border area is not peaceful now, the two countries are at war, and our six shops were destroyed. Master was so anxious about this that he had a heart attack and still cant get out of bed." Zhang Shi told An Paozi the truth.

  "Madam, the border is not peaceful, but thats just external disturbances, it wont affect our Zhou family. Besides, our Luozhou is in the south, and its far away." An Puzi timely comforted her.

  "Keruo State is only three days waterway from the southern border of De. If the north can be fought, why cant the south? Although Zhou and De are on good terms now, todays affairs are unknown tomorrow. If we can climb up to the Jingwang Fu gate, not to mention that if we move to the capital in the future, there will be a response, even if we get an official position tomorrow, it will be easy." As a businesswoman, Zhang Shi is different from ordinary women, knowing the changes of the times.

  "This is also the case with you, madam. Where did my wife get such insight? Im exhausted from managing these young girls all the time." Anniang smiled and belittled herself, her old eyes turned around, and she helped Zhangs mother worry, "Im afraid that Third Young Miss might be difficult to deal with."

  "Shes not easy to deal with, but I still have to hand over the account books and shop to my two sons. I think even if she has hidden some private money, it cant be more than a thousand taels of silver. When she gets married, Ill secretly deduct it from her dowry, what can she do to me? This time I want to let her see whos in charge at home. Dont think that just because youve taken care of the family business and have some small cleverness, youre worthy of great merit. Whether its marrying Sixth Lady off to the Wang family or marrying her off to whoever she wants, its all up to me." Zhang Shis methods were many, but overall slightly inferior to Qiu San Niangs. If Old Man Qiu hadnt been ill and confused, perhaps she would still be suppressing San Niang. Now that she was in charge of the Qiu family, she used every trick in the book to try and drive San Niang out empty-handed. The return of her close friend Wei Qiong Yu from her hometown gave her a clever plan."

  "Madam, I have something unclear, but I dont know if I should ask or not?" An asked with a low bow and respectful tone.

  "Say." Zhangs mood was not bad.

  "Although the Shangdu Jing Wang Fu is an outer surname king, it is also a red person in front of the emperor. Why did the third son of the kings wife go to another province to find relatives?" An old woman was cautious with her words.

  "Qiong Yu wouldnt mention these things in her letter. But she said it was a marriage, I reckon, probably as a proper and dignified concubine. Although we are a local prominent family, being a concubine to the eldest son of the Jing Wang Fu is still considered a high match. A concubine who bears a son and is raised under the name of the legitimate wife can inherit property in the future. For Liu Niang, its truly a great fortune."

  Anpozi thought to herself, its also true, no matter what, being a legitimate wife is impossible.

  There were only two people in the house, Zhang Shi and An Pozi. Zhang Shi beckoned to An Pozi and whispered in her ear, "You go quietly and find a matchmaker, let her introduce someone. Tell her not to worry too much. Do you understand?"

  Although Anpo followed the master and didnt like San Niang, since she became a grandmother with age, she wasnt as cruel as before, secretly sighing that Qiu San Niang was pitiful.

  "Understood, understood, just hand it over to me and Ill take care of it." However, poor as she was, she didnt dare to slack off on Zhangs orders.

  "Madam, Fourth Mistress and Fifth Mistress have arrived." Yinger announced from outside.

  "Come in quickly." Zhangs wife put on a mother-in-laws face for the two daughters-in-law, because their families were wealthy.

  She also gave An Baozi a meaningful glance.

  Anpo busy gave two grandmothers a bow, and then went out. After the green silk curtain was dropped behind her, she heard Zhangs intimate voice calling "my son" twice. Unexpectedly, just as she turned to the window at the corner of the house, someone suddenly bumped into her waist.

  "Whos going to die? Which blind fool is running wild?" Ah Pozis waist was full of fat, where would it hurt if she bumped into something.

  An eight or nine-year-old little girl with two buns on her head, wearing a pink silk scarf, rushed to call out to her grandmother.

  What could she do about her own granddaughter, An Pozi watched as Little Maid made a face and ran off.

  The little guy ran swiftly, like the wind, and as a result, shook a cluster of newly opened large flowers, deep purple as ink, beautiful and vibrant.

  The peony is the king of flowers, and the Yu Ling peony is the king of kings.

  It is said that this was a birthday gift given by Fourth Master to Zhang, who spent a thousand gold coins to get it from a friends house. It is a famous product of Yuling Peony -

  Deep purple.