Flourished Peony Episode 9 Recap, Plot

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> Flourished Peony Recap

Inside the box was not a real leopard but a jade leopard, radiating a pure, translucent glow. He Weifang drafted a contract and handed it to Jiang Zhangyang for review, but Jiang Zhangyang turned out to be even craftier than she anticipated. He directly changed the originally equal profit split of fifty-fifty into a ninety-ten split in his favor, requiring He Weifang to repay all the initial capital if there was a loss.

Left without any other patron to turn to, He Weifang had no choice but to agree to these terms. Meanwhile, Princess Jia of Ji’an convinced King Ning to select Liu Zishu as her new fiancé. Overjoyed, she prepared to deliver the news to Liu Zishu, who was in Luoyang, but encountered Jiang Zhangyang and his party descending the mountain. Curious, she asked which woman had managed to make Jiang Zhangyang so eager to hide someone away.

Jiang Zhangyang wove a web of lies, but Princess Jia, already elated by her success, chose not to press the matter. However, Jiang Zhangyang’s keen mind caught an important detail from her words: to outsiders, He Weifang was believed to have fallen off a cliff and died. Moreover, Liu Zishu was soon to arrive in Chang’an.

Jiang Zhangyang told Mudan that while their cooperation had one price, keeping her survival a secret from Princess Jia and King Ning had an entirely different cost. He Weifang quickly expressed her loyalty, claiming that Liu Zishu’s arrival in Chang’an didn’t concern her. She vowed that when the time was right, she would personally settle accounts with the Liu family. With He Weifang and Qin Shengyi’s careful tending, the dwarf peonies finally blossomed.

At dawn the next day, the two women brought the dwarf peonies to the flower market to sell. He Weifang named the dwarf peonies “Huai Xiu Xiang” (Fragrance for the Sleeves), pricing each pot at just eighty wen. The flowers were lush and vibrant, making them affordable for ordinary families. Huai Xiu Xiang quickly sold out, and many customers even placed pre-orders.

With money in hand, He Weifang decided to rent a proper courtyard, where they could cultivate flowers without worrying about excessive dampness during rainy weather. Through a real estate broker, He Weifang and Qin Shengyi found a seemingly suitable property. Though it was dirty and rundown, it was conveniently located next to the Jiang residence, making it easier for them to seek payments or credit from Jiang Zhangyang in the future.

Liu Zishu arrived in Chang’an and, using his connections, secured a position as a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. Princess Jia even had the Liu family residence cleaned and refurbished so that Liu Zishu could move back in upon his arrival. Within the Ministry, many officials sought to curry favor with Liu Zishu, hoping to gain King Ning’s recognition through him. However, Liu Zishu felt uncomfortable with the situation.

He was determined to prove his abilities and earn people’s trust through genuine accomplishments. Meanwhile, He Weifang and Qin Shengyi realized they had been tricked by the real estate broker—the courtyard they rented wasn’t near Jiang Zhangyang’s back residence but was, in fact, part of it. The broker had already absconded with the money.

After much negotiation and assurances that they would pay nine-tenths of the profits by the end of the month, they finally persuaded Jiang Zhangyang to rent them the abandoned courtyard. Hiring workers to clear the weeds in the yard was prohibitively expensive, so the two women rolled up their sleeves and did it themselves. During the process, He Weifang discovered that the weeds in the yard were actually purslane, a medicinal herb.

She decided to sell it for ten wen to someone willing to dig it up. Qin Shengyi was puzzled and asked why they didn’t harvest the purslane themselves to make more money from selling it as medicinal herbs. He Weifang patiently explained that one of the most important lessons she had learned from her father, who had been in business for many years, was that time is more valuable than money.

While purslane was worth something, it paled in comparison to the value of peonies. Selling the purslane quickly at a lower price allowed them to save time and focus on the more profitable peonies. Though Qin Shengyi’s experience in business was far less than He Weifang’s, after listening to her explanation, she finally understood.

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