Jiang Changyang’s eyes widened suddenly. He sighed softly, took her hand, and said gently, “In the past, neither my mother nor I knew how to do heavy work. Her needlework wasn’t anything to boast about, and she was unwilling to lead me to work for others and face humiliation. She preferred to sell fabrics, which was more difficult and risky. But she said she would never allow people to say in the future that her son had once poured water or carried shoes for them. Most people are good, but there are always ruffians who, seeing her young and beautiful with a seemingly useless son, would find ways to make things difficult. This included forcing her to drink.”
Drinking was common in that era, with people consuming alcohol like water. Mudan remained silent, holding his hand in return, listening quietly as he continued:
“My mother was a proud and strong-willed person who refused to admit defeat or suffer humiliation, which only made things harder for her. I remember one time she smashed a wine jar over someone’s head, looking so fierce. But that night, I thought she was going to die. I was so scared that I held her all night. What upset me most was that I was useless, unable to help or protect her. Although we eventually made it through and have a good life now, it still pains me to think about those times. I don’t want you to suffer like that.”
She thought she understood what he wanted her to do. Renting out the entire garden was definitely out of the question, but she wasn’t sure how far he wanted her to go. Mudan lowered her eyes and said softly, “I understand. What do you want me to do?”
Jiang Changyang turned her face towards him and said, “When I say I like to do things I’m sure about, I mean that no matter where I am or what situation I’m in, I want to know that you’re safe—truly safe. Renting out the garden can easily cause trouble, especially in these turbulent times. So let’s stop renting it out, shall we? Only lend it to people we know well. We’ll focus on selling peonies and charging admission when the peonies are in bloom.
No matter who comes, we’ll only count heads and charge per person, never renting out the whole garden. This way, you’ll only be busy for about twenty days a year, and the rest of the time you can focus on cultivating flowers without worrying about people disturbing you anytime. For those we can’t refuse, we can close the garden and lend it for a day. And for those who can’t conveniently visit in this way, you can choose a specific day to close the garden and entertain them. How does that sound?”
Before Mudan could respond, he added casually, “I remember how you used to feel sorry for those who came from afar but couldn’t see the flowers. This solves that problem too. The more people who see your flowers, the farther your flowers will sell, and the more famous they’ll become. Isn’t that great?”
This wasn’t much of a sacrifice, just a reduction in income. If she could cultivate new varieties and sell more plants, the income could remain stable. As long as she wasn’t forbidden from doing anything, it was fine. Mudan felt greatly relieved and nodded with a smile, “It’s alright if we earn less. The most important thing is stability. I promise you.”
Seeing her agreement, Jiang Changyang smiled happily, “Danniang, you’re so kind. I was really afraid you wouldn’t agree just now.”
“As long as you explain things properly, with good reasons and reasonable requests, anything can be negotiated,” Mudan smiled slightly, squeezing his hand. “I forgot one thing. My father asked me to thank you on his behalf. If he asks later, remember to say that I passed on his message.”
Jiang Changyang laughed, “We’re family, there’s no need for thanks.” He had another idea he wanted to discuss with Mudan when he had the chance. But seeing Mudan’s smile, he thought it best not to ask for too much at once. There was still plenty of time, so he decided to bring it up later. Instead, he changed the subject, deliberately trying to make amends and please Mudan by searching for amusing stories to tell her. Unfortunately, he had no natural talent for telling jokes, and even good jokes came out dry when he told them.
Lin Mama sat at the front of the carriage, straining her ears to listen. Hearing that all was calm inside, and listening to Jiang Changyang’s dry jokes with Mudan’s cooperative laughter and questions of “And then? And then?” she finally relaxed and said softly to Yuhe, “If the young mistress can laugh at the young master’s jokes, it seems she’s learned to flatter. I can rest easy now.”
Yuhe covered her mouth and laughed, “Mama, be careful not to let the young master hear you, or he won’t let you off.”
Just as she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence inside. Jiang Changyang stopped talking, Mudan coughed lightly, and they both looked at each other and fell silent.
The carriage continued for a while before Jiang Changyang looked at Mudan glumly, “Is what they said true?”
Mudan replied seriously, “No. They’re uncultured and don’t know how to appreciate it.”
“Hmm.” Jiang Changyang’s expression didn’t change much outwardly, but inwardly he vowed never to tell jokes again.
When they arrived at the He family home, He Zhizhong and the others, having received word of their arrival, were already waiting. As soon as they heard people arriving, they hurried out to welcome them. Jiang Changyang greeted each member of the He family in turn, then went with the men to feast and drink outside.
Madam Cen took Mudan’s hand and looked her up and down, making Mudan blush. She pushed her away playfully, saying, “Mother, why are you staring at me like that?”
Madam Cen, seeing her expression and knowing things had gone well, smiled and said, “I’m not looking at anything in particular, just noticing that your complexion looks good. How are things? Everything going smoothly?”
Mudan felt very shy for a moment and lowered her eyes, saying, “Everything’s fine. There was just a small incident this morning when we went to the temple.” She then quietly recounted the events with the old madam wanting to send someone, Jiang Changyang losing his temper, and the whole family wailing like ghosts. Madam Cen frowned as she listened, and after a long while, she sighed, “It’s fortunate that you don’t live with them, and that Chengfeng is sensible.”
Mudan smiled, “Isn’t that the truth.” Considering Madam Cen’s feelings, she described the events of the past two days in detail, assuring her that she was doing well. Madam Cen listened with great interest, repeatedly saying, “Your mother-in-law does indeed seem to be a good person.”
Just as they were talking happily, Madam Xue hurried in and said, “The Sun family is here.” It turned out that ever since Madam Sun had wanted to reconcile with Sixth Young Master, no matter how much Madam Cen and others tried to persuade him, he had refused to write a divorce letter, dragging things out until today. The Sun family had deliberately chosen to come on the day of Mudan’s post-wedding visit home, likely intending to force the issue of the divorce letter.
Although she could understand their concern for their daughter, today was Mudan’s special day. For them to come demanding a divorce letter on the day of her daughter’s post-wedding visit was truly excessive. Madam Cen’s face immediately darkened, “They know how to pick their moment. Tell them we have guests today and to come back tomorrow.
It’s not that I’m deliberately making things difficult for them. I’ve said before that we’d wait for your father to return and make the decision. For the past half year, we haven’t pressured them at all. They’ve taken everything they wanted to take, and I’ve even sent clothes and food for the four seasons and eight festivals, always trying to be considerate, fearing they might misunderstand. And how do they repay me? Everything was fine when they came yesterday, but they chose to come today of all days. Their intentions are not good, and their hearts are condemnable.”
Madam Xue was in a difficult position. If it had been easy to send them away, she would have done so already. Why would she have come to ask Madam Cen?
Mudan knew that Madam Cen had been exhausted from dealing with the Sixth Young Master’s affairs for some time, and she also knew that her anger now was because of herself. So she tried to persuade her, “Mother, don’t be angry. Their feelings are the same as ours were back then. It’s been dragging on for half a year, and sooner or later we’ll have to give them an answer. Since they’ve come, let father handle it. If you don’t want Jiang Changyang to know, find an excuse to send him to the back, saying you need to ask him something. How does that sound?”
Madam Cen sighed, glancing at Concubine Yang, whose face was crumpled with worry. She said flatly, “Today is Danniang’s special day, yet such an embarrassing thing has happened. After all, he is your son, not my flesh and blood. Whatever I do is seen as forcing you. I’ve done all I can, and I don’t want to deal with this matter anymore. I don’t want to say anything to you either. Whatever you plan to do, go and talk to the master yourself. Whatever he says, that’s what we’ll do. I won’t interfere.”
Concubine Yang, with tears in her eyes, walked up to Madam Cen and kowtowed once before silently following Madam Xue to the front of the house. Madam Cen lowered her eyes and drank her tea, looking particularly unhappy. Mudan quickly went to massage her shoulders, gently consoling her, “What did father say when he came back and learned about those things?”
Madam Cen didn’t speak for a long time. Finally, she said, “What else could he say? The facts are there for all to see. Everyone knows who’s right and who’s wrong. There’s nothing to say. But after all, he is his son. The ten fingers are of different lengths, but they’re all connected to the heart.”
Mudan was momentarily speechless. A little while later, Jiang Changyang came in accompanied by the Second Young Master. He greeted all the women in the room and sat down to drink tea and chat. They had barely exchanged a few words when a piercing scream like that of a slaughtered pig came from outside. It was the Sixth Young Master. The scream was sharp and brief, stopping almost instantly. Immediately after, Concubine Yang began to wail, sobbing uncontrollably: “Master, how can you be so heartless? He is your flesh and blood… He was just young and foolish, he didn’t kill anyone or start any fires, how could you…”
With such an embarrassing incident occurring in front of the new son-in-law, everyone in the room felt extremely awkward. They all wanted to find something to say but couldn’t think of anything appropriate. Zhang Shi, holding little He Ze in her arms, had a sudden inspiration and patted the child’s bottom. The child burst into a loud “Waa” cry. Although the crying covered Concubine Yang’s wails, it couldn’t dispel the awkwardness. Mudan was fine, just sitting quietly, but Madam Cen, Second Young Master, and even the children who were old enough to understand were all blushing with embarrassment.
Seeing the situation, Jiang Changyang smiled slightly and went forward to take He Ze: “Let uncle hold you. Oh my, your little face is all red from crying.” He then observed the child’s features and looked back at Fifth Young Master with a smile: “He looks more like Fifth Brother.”
“Indeed, everyone who has seen this child says he looks a lot like me,” Fifth Young Master quickly followed up, and everyone else chimed in with their comments. This finally managed to temporarily cover up the awkwardness.