Flourished Peony Episode 31 Recap, Plot

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Jiang Zhangyang and Mudan followed the customary rituals for their wedding, including the "que shan" (closing the fan) ceremony, the "wo guan" (washing hands) ceremony, the "tong lao" (joining in prison) ceremony, and the "he jiin jiu" (wedding wine). Afterward, they proceeded to the bridal chamber. Inside, Mudan helped Jiang Zhangyang undress, while he carefully removed her headpiece and combed her hair. They both observed the proper manners, completing each step of the ceremony with respect.

Mudan’s hair had only just grown out, and she was reluctant to cut it. Jiang Zhangyang didn’t mind. He placed a lock of his own hair in the fragrant pouch and told her that whenever she lost a few strands while combing her hair, he would add them to the pouch. This would be the symbolic "jie fa" (joining hair). Mrs. Feng had sent a jade comb in a hurry.

It wasn’t a valuable item, but Mudan accepted it calmly, not realizing that it had once been a treasured possession of Jiang Zhangyang’s birth mother. She had intended to give it to her son's future wife. Xu Jijiu and Sun Daniang, both elderly, couldn’t bear to watch the young couple’s intimate gestures and left one after the other. Only Zhu Fu, Xiao Chun, and Chuan Yu remained, peeking through the door.

After the "jie fa" ceremony and the bridal candles were lit, Jiang Zhangyang sent them away. Mudan was overjoyed when she saw that the bed was covered in money, her smile wide and bright. Since their marriage was a sham, there was no true bridal chamber. Mudan became hungry, so Jiang Zhangyang brought food to the bed for them to share. He treated her with great indulgence, not wanting her to feel any constraints just because she married him.

He assured her that things would remain the same as before. Mudan was touched. Her first marriage had been real, but the wedding had been absurd. She had suppressed herself every day to act as Liu’s second wife. Now, in this false marriage, she could truly be herself. In contrast to the happy Jiang Zhangyang and Mudan, Liu Chang spent his wedding day drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

He mocked himself, comparing his situation to that of He Weifang, who had married into the Liu family. Officials trample on merchants, and royal family members trample on officials. If one cannot rise to the top and become someone important, they will forever be at the mercy of others. Seeing the thousand-petal lotus in the yard being drenched in rain, Liu Chang, disregarding his injured leg, rushed into the rain, lost his umbrella, and shielded the lotus.

Li Youzhen, who was behind him, saw everything clearly. In her anger, she tore the thousand-petal lotus off her head and ordered that no more peonies or lotuses should be planted in the entire household. The next day, when Jiang Zhangyang woke up, the servants congratulated him, and he rewarded each of them generously. However, his happiness was short-lived when he discovered that Mudan had moved to Fang Garden. He asked Chuan Yu to convey a message to her.

Seeing that Mudan truly didn’t realize his feelings, Jiang Zhangyang smiled bitterly. Fang Garden was large, with many houses, and the workers were busy with their tasks. Mudan thought back to her childhood days spent there and imagined that if flower enthusiasts were allowed to visit and admire the blossoms, her mother’s spirit would be at peace. In the garden, an elderly woman named Tang Daniang had threatened to hang herself and refused to leave.

Mudan gave her three days to prove her worth, warning that if she failed, she would not be allowed to stay. Chuan Yu remarked that Jiang Zhangyang had no chance to help search for people anymore. Mudan hadn’t returned to Jiang Fu’s small courtyard for two days, leaving Jiang Zhangyang feeling lonely as he roasted meat by himself. At that moment, King Ning arrived and forcefully gave him a beautiful woman named Lian Zhou as a concubine.

Jiang Zhangyang couldn’t refuse, so he reluctantly accepted. In three days, Tang Daniang not only brought in skilled and practical artisans but also found three women with specific talents: A Tao, a guqin player; A Man, an expert embroiderer; and Jin Niang, a master of cooking and steaming. Each of them had their own tragic pasts, but Mudan recognized their skills and immediately decided to redeem their contracts, bringing them to work with her in the re-establishment of Fang Garden.

King Ning had already arranged for the wedding banquet and sent out invitations, so everything was prepared. Jiang Zhangyang was pushed into a corner. During the banquet, Chuan Yu overheard people talking but didn’t dare to interrupt. Lian Zhou took an entire hour to finish her makeup, and when Jiang Zhangyang went to hurry her along, she pretended to be pitiful, complaining about the lack of a wedding carriage and a poem, and even mentioning Mudan.

Jiang Zhangyang made up an excuse and quickly left when he smelled the delicious scent of food wafting from the backyard. Zhu Fu defended Mudan when she heard the gossip, but Mudan wasn’t too concerned. First, because her marriage to Jiang Zhangyang was fake, and second, because it was his right to take a concubine.

Jiang Zhangyang didn’t want to barge into Mudan’s event, so he threw a stone to knock over the trash can, making it obvious that he was climbing the wall to see her. Jiang Zhangyang explained to Mudan that taking a concubine was not his wish but something forced upon him by King Ning. Even the Emperor had a concubine, Huifei, so how could he refuse?

Mudan understood and said she would handle Lian Zhou, but Jiang Zhangyang hurriedly stopped her, worried she might embarrass herself since she had drunk too much and was flushed with wine. Mudan cleverly used rouge to cover her face, enhancing her beauty, and the guests at the banquet admired her rather than Lian Zhou.

Mudan treated the newly arrived Lian Zhou with great kindness and even took the initiative to hand over the household responsibilities to her, making it impossible for anyone to find fault with her actions. That night, Jiang Zhangyang, eager to avoid the bridal chamber, went to Mudan’s courtyard. After the banquet guests had left, Lian Zhou’s maid couldn’t find Jiang Zhangyang and reported back, discovering that he had gone to Mudan’s courtyard.

Lian Zhou, realizing that King Ning had sent her to marry Jiang Zhangyang to win him over, decided not to wait idly. Eventually, Mudan and Jiang Zhangyang played along with a little drama. Jiang Zhangyang pretended to be drunk, and Mudan took care of him, successfully sending Lian Zhou away. After she left, Mudan took out a contract and gave Jiang Zhangyang two-tenths of Fang Garden’s profits. She was grateful for his protection and was not one to forget favors.

Jiang Zhangyang didn’t like that Mudan always talked about money instead of emotions, but Mudan was fully focused on the business and didn’t understand his feelings. Jiang Zhangyang took out a new design of Fang Garden he had made and showed it to Mudan, who cherished it greatly. As he reluctantly left, Mudan was so engrossed in the design that she didn’t notice how much Jiang Zhangyang didn’t want to leave her room.

Since the noblewomen had learned that Mudan had befriended the Empress Dowager and helped her recover her health, they all flocked to Flower Mansion to buy incense and rouge, and the business boomed. The tickets to the garden’s opening were sold out immediately. Jiang Zhangyang thought Mudan would be moving to Fang Garden the next day, and with a heavy heart, he wrote a letter to congratulate her on her new home.

However, Mudan returned that night and told him she wouldn’t move to Fang Garden after all. Jiang Zhangyang was overjoyed and immediately told Chuan Yu to burn the letter, not wanting anyone to know how much he couldn’t bear to let Mudan go. On Liu Shen’s birthday, Liu Chang returned to his family home and killed the dog King Ning had sent as a gift to Liu Shen, cooking it and serving it to Liu Shen and his wife.

This severed their ties. Jiang Zhangyang went to the garden to accompany Mudan, helping her weed the garden. While digging, they found an old jar of daughter’s red wine that Mudan’s mother had buried for her years ago, which seemed like a blessing from her mother in the afterlife. One jar had leaked, and they both drank from it, joking and playfully arguing like a couple teasing each other.

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