She smiled silently: "Is that so? If it's really like that, then congratulations to Mr. Jiang." She only saw that Jiang Er Gong had some interest in Xiao Xue Creek, but didn't know there was another reason behind it. It seemed that Jiang Er Gong was being so nice to Xiao Xue Creek because he looked up to her status and position, and also feared that Jiang Chang Yang would get Xiao Xue Creek instead? She vaguely guessed a few points of Jiang Er Gong's intentions, and her mind began to make plans.

  Jiang Er Gong saw that her expression was normal, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake. But since he had already taken action, there was no reason to back down, so he might as well try again. He smiled and said, "Of course it's true. Why would I joke about something like this?" He looked around and gestured for Peony to follow him: "He Niang, this isn't a place to talk, let's go over there."

  The peony came out with a tense and fearful look, looking around left and right while smiling wryly: "Director Jiang, isn't this not good? It's dark and deserted, just the two of us."

  Jiang Er Gong quickly turned his head, but saw Peony nervously clutching her hem, with a look of being afraid of being cheated and taken advantage of. The little maid behind her was also watching him with a vigilant gaze, making him secretly despise himself. What did he take her for? This woman looked very good, but he had never liked the hobby of picking up fallen flowers.

  He leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Sir, caution is key in all matters."

  Jiang Er Gong heard the words and fell silent for a moment, not finding it strange that this woman was thinking wildly. In this desolate mountain wilderness, with only men and women present, it was indeed inappropriate. This was a critical moment, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes, or else rumors would spread. Thinking of this, Jiang Er Gong coughed and said: "He Niang, don't be afraid, I am a gentleman. I have no ill intentions towards you. You're not even afraid of tigers, how could you be afraid of me?"

  "That's natural, how could the Zhu Guo Gong Mansion produce a wicked person? I just reminded you, and it's naturally noble and upright. But what I'm afraid of is that there are petty people who like to gossip, and tarnish one's reputation. That's something that can't be redeemed even with a thousand pieces of gold." Peony nodded in agreement while secretly thinking that people who often claim to be righteous usually aren't good people, just like those who loudly proclaim themselves as the eldest son are usually not the real deal.

  Jiang Er Gong laughed happily upon hearing this: "You're right, it's good that you know." He coughed again: "He Nang, you might not know, but this Xiao Niang is of an extraordinary background, and she's a woman with five surnames. Her father is the newly appointed Minister of Personnel, and she's talented, beautiful, and has many abilities. You could say that she's the best match for any man."

  He stopped here on purpose and observed Mudan's expression. However, Mudan nodded: "Indeed a good girl." Apart from this, it was still a mysterious daze, even the expected being hit, jealousy, loss of air, and sadness were not there. He couldn't help but feel a little down, and the words that followed were somewhat weak: "According to reason, my brother got such an opportunity, should be overjoyed, but he doesn't think much of this marriage, yet my father wants to force them together. As the saying goes, 'a forced marriage is not sweet', these two people who have no intention of being together, what good can come of it? I really worry about them."

  Peony seemed to understand that Xue Creek was not interested in Jiang Changyang either. According to normal reasoning, she should have expressed her approval of Jiang's words and gossiped a bit more, or if she had a crush on Jiang Changyang, she should have asked who his heart belonged to. But she would never ask this question, she turned around and left: "Mr. Jiang, I'm really sorry, but I'm really powerless about the matter you mentioned, and it's not my place to intervene. If I listen more, I'm afraid it will damage that girl's reputation, and I'm even more afraid that my benefactor will misunderstand me. Please forgive me, I'll take my leave first."

  Jiang Er Gong hadn't finished speaking, especially the most critical sentence hadn't been said yet. Seeing her turn around and leave without any hesitation, he hastily shouted: "Hey... don't go, I haven't finished speaking yet..."

  Just then, someone laughed and said, "Does General Jiang have something to say to my Dan Niang?" It was Li Man Niang who had walked over with Du Fu Ren and Xue Niang.

  Jiang Er Gong cursed under his breath, touched his hair and said: "I'm apologizing to her and asking if she's hurt anywhere." He turned his eyes and had an idea: "Also, I'll pass on a message from my brother to her." Regardless of whether she believes it or not, first get the message across, let Xue Xi hear that Jiang Chang Yang is already disgusted with her.

  Li Man Niang furrowed her brow: "May I ask who your brother is?"

  Jiang Er Gong smiled slyly and said, "My brother is Jiang Changyang. I suppose all the ladies should know him. The thing about saving He Niang during the festival is something that nobody doesn't know."

  Xue Niang stared at him in shock: "What? Jiang Ge is your brother?"

  "Xue Niang!" Madam Dou scolded in a low voice, and Xue Niang immediately shut her mouth. Indeed, she looked a bit like him. She didn't understand the truth and couldn't help but mutter to herself, wondering if it was strange that he was called the eldest son of the Zhu Guo Gong Fu, while the Xing Kang Jun Zhu called him Jiang Er Lang, could Jiang Chang Yang actually be the illegitimate child?

  The eldest son is the most likely to inherit the title, Xue Niang sighed secretly. How could this kind of person be the eldest son? In any aspect, Jiang Changyang was far superior to him. This heaven is really unfair. No wonder Jiang Changyang never mentioned his own life experience. If it were her, she would not mention it either, and die unjustly.

  Jiang Er Gong raised an eyebrow and looked at Xue Niang: "So Huang Niang also knows my brother. You're close to He Niang, she didn't listen to what I had to say before leaving, it's the same if I tell you, go tell her."

  "What?"

  "Snow daughter, since He's mother won't listen to you, it's no use telling her even if you do hear something. If she gets angry with you, what can be done? Since that's the case, there's no point in your hearing it either, and it would just waste Magistrate Jiang's time."

  Xue Niang thought to herself, "This person is clearly not a good person, how could Jiang Da Ge mention him and let him deliver messages to Mu Dan?" She looked at Jiang Er Gong with a sweet smile: "Jiang Gong, my mother said it's true, He Jie Jie has a big temper, I don't dare provoke her. You'd better go talk to her yourself." After finishing speaking, she skipped ahead quickly. Duan Fu Ren and Li Man Niang also furrowed their brows at Jiang Er Gong before following after Xue Niang.

  Jiang Er Gong was extremely distressed and wanted to persuade Xue Niang to stay, but Que Er Duo hastily advised him: "Sir, you absolutely must not."

  He frowned and said: "What's going on? Is this law not working? Then you'd better give me a good idea."

  "Sir, this matter cannot be made public and it's not urgent. Now that everyone basically knows about your delayed appointment as the Emperor, some things can't be hidden, so we must be more careful. This method is feasible, but no matter who says it, it can't come from your mouth. Not to mention the Duke of State, even if others hear that you, his younger brother, said it, it would still sound bad. Regardless of whether she really had an affair with the Emperor or not, the opportunity has been missed and cannot be regained. What you need to do now is to remain humble and courteous as before, and if someone asks about the Emperor's affairs, you should speak well of him and praise him constantly, never saying anything bad."

  Jiang Er Gong was annoyed and muttered in a low voice, "How annoying! This hypocritical little man, why didn't he die at the Anxi Du Hu Fu? He said he would, so why did he come back to stir up trouble?" He glanced over at Xing Kang Jun Zhu and others who were laughing and chatting not far away, saw Xiao Xue Xi surrounded by four young men in the middle, smiling brightly, and couldn't help but feel a sour taste, saying "Then I'll go sit with them." As long as Xiao Xue Xi took a liking to him, what more could that old man say?

  "Sir, it's getting late. Instead of going to drink and chat with them at this hour, wasting your energy, why not go back and get some rest? Try to make a big splash tomorrow and take the top spot. Who will dare look down on you then? Those few relatives may sound good, but when it comes to real talent and family background, who can truly be compared to you? What you need to do now is let them see your true abilities."

  Jiang Er Gong pondered for a moment, raised his eyes to look at Que Er Duo, and smiled: "Zheng De, you're right! With so many people, if each of them says one good thing about me, my father can't say anything bad about me! I'll listen to you. Now, what's this matter?"

  "Leave this matter to the madam, she will definitely consider it more thoroughly and handle it more properly than you. You just show your best and most courageous side to Xiao Niang."

  The night was deep and dark, the mountain wind howled outside the tent, Snow Daughter slept soundly, occasionally making a slight sucking sound with her mouth. Peony wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, half-closing her eyes, motionless, lost in thought.

  After Li Maniang and others returned, Li Maniang found her and asked in a low voice about Jiang Er Gong's affairs. She told the truth but didn't mention Jiang Changyang at all. Li Maniang sighed and also didn't mention Jiang Changyang, only saying: "It seems that their brothers' struggle is very fierce, be careful not to get involved. Be cautious, if nothing happens, it's better not to have dealings with him for now. Let's talk about it again after this storm passes."

  She told Li Maniang at the time that she had not seen Jiang Changyang for a long time, and temporarily comforted Li Maniang. But she was very clear that this was not her careful or careless problem. Since she and Jiang Changyang made that appointment, she has been tied to Jiang Changyang. He said he would be careful not to disturb her with those troubles, but she understood that as long as someone had a mind, they could always come up with something. After all, after he returned to the capital, the woman who came and went with him most closely was her, and she couldn't hide it. If it spread out, she would wait for the consequences.

  In the dim light, Peony heard a strange noise coming from outside her tent, as if something was gently tapping and scratching at her felt tent. She sat up with some fear, looking around vigilantly, but saw that Snowy was sleeping soundly, and the two maids sleeping by the door were also fast asleep, seemingly unaware of the strange noise.

  It was probably just her imagination, but she knew that there were always people keeping watch outside, and if they saw anything, they would definitely sound the alarm first. Peony lay down again, but after a while, she heard a few more faint noises. It must be something scratching against the felt tent, Peony thought, just as she was about to wake up Xue Niang, when she heard a rustling sound of leaves.

  She gave a violent start, thinking she had misheard, and then heard several more rustling sounds, somewhat like bird calls but not quite. She felt they sounded more like someone was shouting "Dan Niang, Dan Niang". Her heart racing, she clutched the quilt tightly, wanting to get up immediately and go out, yet fearing that others would be disturbed and her actions discovered, so she remained frozen in place.

  After a while, when the sound of scratching the felt tent came again, she tentatively scratched back a few times. Immediately there was silence, and Ye Di's voice was gone.

  The peony quickly put on her clothes, wrapped up her cloak and hood, sat quietly for a moment, confirmed that the people around were all asleep, then plucked up the courage to tiptoe past the feet of the two maids, gently opened the door of the felt tent, and stepped out.

  Not far away, several fires were burning brightly, and five or six night watchmen were holding a pot of wine, speaking in low voices while drinking. Apart from the crackling sound of burning firewood and the men's laughter, there was occasionally the sound of night wind passing through the mountain forest, otherwise it was quiet, and the distant sky was pitch black. Peony stood at the entrance of the felt tent, covering his head and face with a hood, and for a moment did not know where to go.

  "Dan Niang..." someone softly called out from the darkness not far behind her.

  The peony quickly turned around, and saw a tall figure standing there, looking at her with his head raised. It was indeed Jiang Changyang, the person who was least likely to appear here! Although she had guessed it earlier, when this guess was confirmed, she couldn't help but open her mouth in surprise, looking left and right to see if anyone noticed what was happening here. Jiang Changyang saw her reaction, beckoned to her, and said softly: "Come, just come."

  Peony decided to trust him, turned around and walked into the shadows. Jiang Changyang walked in front of her, she followed behind, after leaving the camp, it was pitch black, he stopped and held her hand, leading her forward, quickly turning into a nearby forest, mixed with the sound of wind, the sound of fallen leaves being trampled underfoot didn't seem so jarring either. After walking for about half an incense stick's worth of time, he stopped and stood in front of her, calling out softly: "Dan Niang."

  "Peony pursed her lips tightly, wrapped her cloak and hood closely around her, and replied softly: 'How did you come? At this time? And how did you find me?'"

  Jiang Changyang approached her and said in a low voice: "Dan Niang, what did you say? I couldn't hear it. Let's get closer and talk."

  The light was dim, and Peony couldn't see his face at all, but she could smell the familiar scent of grass on him, hear his breathing, and feel his scorching breath almost piercing through her hood, making her face and neck itch and tingle. As he drew near, Peony instinctively felt a sense of danger and subconsciously wanted to retreat, but was tightly wrapped in a pair of iron arms around her shoulders. She whispered: "Hey, don't..." This shameless guy was again taking advantage of her in all seriousness.

  "Dan Niang..." Jiang Changyang's breathing was a bit unstable, he heard his own heartbeat extremely violently, almost bursting out of his chest. He calmed himself down and said in a low voice: "The situation has been a bit unstable these past few days, I heard that he also came, I'm very worried about you, are you okay?"

  He was worried about her, so he came to find her at midnight. Peony felt that the fear of being pounced on by the leopard and the unpleasantness of being stopped by Jiang Er Gong were nothing compared to what she had experienced before. She looked up at him with a cheerful tone and said: "Don't worry, I'm fine. It's not safe to walk in the mountains at midnight, how many people did you bring? The weather is getting cooler, wearing so little, aren't you cold?"

  "Of course it's cold, warm me up instead. It's both cold and tiring." Jiang Changyang pursed his lips tightly, suddenly pulling her into his arms. Peony didn't struggle, quietly resting on his chest, hearing his heart beating strongly under her ear, she felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility and happiness. Jiang Changyang found Peony's quiet obedience, and unconsciously increased the strength in his arms.

  Neither of them spoke, and they just quietly leaned against each other. The cold mountain wind swirled around them in waves, but neither of them felt the chill. After a long while, Peony asked him, "How did you know I came here?"

  Jiang Changyang released her, inserted a large hand into her hood, and playfully grasped her hair, messing it up. Then he stopped his hand on her neck, lingering there, and said softly: "I naturally know. I also know that today he let the leopard scare you by putting it on your shoulder." Such a big thing, she didn't mention it, but instead asked if he was cold, how many people were with him, and if he was safe. Receiving her care and concern, no matter how far he ran, he would be willing to do so.

  "Peony was taken aback and asked: 'How did you know?'"

  Jiang Changyang smiled and said, "I knew it." He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered intimately, "Good girl, you're really brave."

  Having been praised, Peony felt a bit proud and smiled slightly at him: "Quickly tell me, how did you know?"

  Jiang Changyang just wouldn't say, and intentionally teased Qiao: "Guess."

  "Never mind." Peony saw that he seemed unwilling to say more, so she reached out and pulled his hand: "Let go, I'm leaving. I'm afraid Snow Maiden and the others will wake up and can't find me, it won't look good if they make a fuss."

  "I'll leave someone to watch over that side, it's fine if you stay a bit longer." Jiang Changyang let out a sigh and took her hand in his, saying softly: "I originally came to Fangyuan looking for you today, I have good news to share with you. But when I arrived, I found out you'd been called here by them. Coincidentally, I also discovered he followed along, with his temperament, I'm worried, so I rushed over." There was another concern, that being Xiao Xuechi, he hesitated about whether or not to tell Peony.

  He was still hesitating when he heard Peony say, "Chiang Er Gong is very sympathetic to you. He said that Zhu Guo Gong insisted on tying you and Xiao Xue Xi together, which really pitied you."

  Jiang Changyang remembered that day when she heard Liu Chuan say those words, and she stopped paying attention to him. Today, she saw the person again and heard Jiang Er say similar words. On the surface, she smiled, but she didn't know if she was especially angry in her heart. She tensely said: "Even if he dares to make decisions behind my back, I dare to go to the Xiao family to cancel it. You..."

  "I believe you." Peony interrupted him, smiling: "Although I didn't hear Jiang Er Gong finish speaking, but I think he probably wants to cooperate with me. According to his imagination, my goal should be you, and his goal should be Xiao Xue Xi."

  Jiang Changyang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled lightly and said: "Now it's fine, I'm afraid someone will come looking for you in no more than two days." Although the night was dark and he couldn't see Peony's expression clearly, he still carefully stared at her. She had originally said she was afraid of trouble, now that someone would go to disturb her, he didn't know if she would be annoyed or not.

  The peony fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "After I agreed with you that day, I was mentally prepared. What do you want me to do?"

  Jiang Changyang's heart warmed up, and he said: "I don't want you to do anything. Just stick to the old way, no matter what they say, don't respond, neither admit nor deny, just pretend to be muddle-headed, we won't give them a chance to use us as a gun. Let them jump around if they want." He paused for a moment, "I see that there aren't many strong and capable men in your Fangyuan, go buy one when you get back?"

  "Peony smiled and said: 'How much does it cost? Is it expensive or not? If it's too expensive, I won't buy it.'"

  Jiang Changyang sighed: "I didn't know you were so stingy before. I'll pay for it myself, is that okay?"

  "Right," Peony smiled lightly, "you said you had some good news to share with me earlier. What is it?"

  Jiang Changyang fell silent for a moment before speaking in a soft voice: "Do you still remember that Monk Fuyuan once went on a long journey?"

  " I remember, I even gave him some spending money."

  Jiang Changyang smiled slightly: "That's right, that time he went on a long trip, was to help me capture a group of evil monks."

  "Is it about the Lu Huan Mountain case?" she asked hastily. She had heard that in Lu Huan Mountain, there was a group of evil monks who specialized in deceiving people out of their money and lives, resulting in several deaths. The case had caused a sensation at the time. However, she did not know that it was actually Jiang Changyang who had done it.

  Jiang Changyang smiled slightly: "Exactly."

  The peony could vaguely feel his hidden pride, and couldn't help but smile slightly, saying in a soft voice: "You've never told me you were this amazing. How about telling me now?"

  As a man, he hopes that the woman he admires thinks he's awesome, and Jiang Changyang is no exception. However, he is naturally calm and composed, and although he was delighted to hear Peony say so, he still modestly declined: "There's nothing to say, after all, it's not just my credit, it's everyone's credit."

  "Tell me, how did they cheat? I want to know their tricks. If I encounter something like this in the future, I'll be more careful."

  Jiang Changyang pursed his lips and said concisely, "They wore golden robes and sat in a dark room, shining with golden light from the outside, claiming to be Buddha's radiance. They also lit a fire at the foot of the cliff and had people wear thin clothes to walk on the cliff, making it seem like immortals were flying when seen from afar. They deceived believers into eating vegetarian meals laced with poisonous herbs, deceiving them into climbing the cliff. After eating the poisoned food, the believers' souls became unclear, and seeing the 'immortals' flying in front of them, they followed suit, falling off the cliff and landing right into the fire at the foot of the cliff, dying instantly. Then, they would seize the believers' property and wealth. We found several charred bodies and remains at the foot of the cliff."

  "Really, it's too hateful."

  Jiang Changyang nodded: "Yes, this time the case and the crime have been fully investigated and settled, relevant personnel have been rewarded according to their merits, and I have also received a reward..."