Chapter Twelve Comments

  Zhang Haicheng naturally agreed with Han Jiangxue's words just now, but seeing Han Yajing's pitiful and pleading gaze, he immediately softened. In front of them, Han Jiangxue was too harsh and unyielding towards her sister, which was somewhat excessive.

  "Never mind, Jing Er didn't mean it either. Jiang Xue, don't be too hard on her." He spoke up for Han Ya Jing without thinking much.

  Han Jiangxue didn't give face, and with a slightly mocking tone, she retorted: "Young Master Zhang is being too serious. I was just correcting my sister's improper words, why take it to heart? You're not unaware of my temperament, if an outsider dared to splash dirty water on my brother, I would directly slap them several times, no need to waste words with her!"

  As soon as these words came out, several people were stunned for a moment.

  Zhang Haicheng was subconsciously annoyed, and he really couldn't stand Han Jiangxue's unpredictable temper. He had only spoken up to ask a favor for her sister, but she was not only angry with him, but also suddenly changed from calling him "Zhang Dage" (Big Brother Zhang) to "Zhang Gongzi" (Young Master Zhang)!

  Mo Li, on the other hand, seemed to have understood something, and couldn't help but take another look at Han Jiang Xue, his eyes flashing with an increasingly curious gaze.

  Only Han Yajing, with a cautious look, pulled Han Jiangxue's sleeve and whispered: "Sister, don't be angry anymore, it's all my fault, I'm not good, I made you so angry."

  Han Jiang Xue turned to Han Ya Jing with a sideways glance, putting away the sharpness she had shown towards Zhang Hao Cheng earlier. Instead, her expression was full of puzzlement as she asked: "Sister, what's going on today? You're usually the most eloquent one, but now you're having problem after problem?"

  Upon hearing this, Han Yajing couldn't help but look at Zhang Haicheng again with a pleading expression, her wronged yet speechless appearance evoking sympathy.

  "Alright, you don't have to look at Zhang Jia's brother anymore. Isn't it because he's here that you're so flustered?" Han Jiangxue couldn't help but laugh: "One side telling me not to get angry, the other side telling me not to get angry... Don't you know my temper? If I really got angry, I would just turn around and leave. Why would I still be here wasting my breath with you? I won't say anything more, lest you keep talking nonsense."

  After a few words, the situation suddenly turned around, and there was no longer any narrow-minded person who couldn't tolerate others, but rather a good sister who truly cared about her younger sister from start to finish.

  Not to mention Zhang Haocheng and others, even Han Yajing herself might think that the normal reaction is what Han Jiangxue said after talking for half a day.

  "Sister, what are you talking about? It has nothing to do with Brother Haocheng..." Han Yajing couldn't tell whether she was truly blushing or just pretending to be, and seeing that all the attention had been taken by Han Jiangxue, she hastily changed the subject: "By the way, the peony king that Sister Wanru personally planted is really beautiful. I'm here specifically to ask you to take me to see it."

  "Mo Li, you haven't seen that peony king yet? Let's just go together and take a look. After we've seen the peony king, we'll return to the study and set up two game boards for a thrilling match."

  It wasn't easy for Zhang Haicheng to come to his senses from Han Jiangxue's quick change of face, which was faster and more natural than flipping through a book. Subconsciously, he didn't want to leave that quickly.

  I don't know whether it's to see how many more faces this girl will change into, or to worry that Han Jiangxue's unpredictable temper will clash with other flower-viewing guests again.

  Mo Li nodded slightly and followed the others as they headed straight for that peony king.

  The arrival of Zhang Haicheng naturally attracted the attention of other noblewomen, and as for Zhang's handsome and extraordinary eldest son, everyone was naturally not unfamiliar. As for Mo Li's words, because his appearance was not particularly outstanding, plus his illegitimate relationship, he was not familiar to the noblewomen, but even if he was a friend of the Zhang family's eldest son, he could still attract attention.

  Han Ya Jing, who has returned, is also like a fish in water. The previous embarrassment has disappeared, and Han Jiang Xue was once again ignored by everyone.

  Han Jiangxue remained nonchalant, casually finding a somewhat peripheral seat to size up the so-called "Peony King", while Zhang Haicheng and the others exchanged greetings with the crowd, the focus of attention and topic of discussion among the noblewomen naturally continued to shift towards the Peony King personally cultivated by Zhang Wanru.

  "What does sister think of this peony?" Han Yajing didn't know when she walked to Han Jiangxue's side, with a tone that seemed to be afraid that her sister would be neglected, so she came over to chat with her.

  The crisp and clear voice was not too loud or too soft, but just right for the dozen or so people surrounding the peony king to hear clearly, and they all involuntarily cast their eyes on Han Yajing.

  Han Jiangxue was suddenly pushed to the forefront by Han Yajing's words, not answering would be bad, but answering would inevitably carry a tone of evaluation, and in front of Zhang Wanru, it was unlikely to end well.

  This time, even Zhang Haicheng felt that Han Yajing's question was not quite right. He was worried that Han Jiangxue would scold her sister in public again, but unexpectedly, he was worrying for nothing.

  "Little girl is being naughty, are you trying to test your sister?"

  Facing Han Yajing's seemingly unintentional words again, Han Jiangxue had a completely carefree and natural smile, at that moment, anyone who saw such a smile would not doubt that the person in front of them was a good elder sister who loved and was patient with her younger sister.

  Later, amidst the crowd's unexpected and astonished expressions, Han Jiangxue spoke to Zhang Wanru with a calm and composed demeanor: "Wanru sister, this pot of Camellia reticulata has many large petals, each petal stringed with evenly spaced purple-red lines, it is truly a rare find. People say that peonies are the king of flowers, and tree peonies are the queen of flowers, but this Camellia reticulata's shape and charm are not inferior to peonies in any way, and can even be said to have an even more resplendent bearing, calling it the 'Tree Peony King' is truly a fitting name."

  "Lately, I've also become obsessed with planting and was thinking of trying to plant some peonies. After flipping through some books, I knew that peonies like warmth and can tolerate cold, and are not too complicated to care for, but cultivating varieties like '胭脂点玉' (a type of peony) is extremely troublesome. The most difficult part of this variety, which also makes it the most stunning, is precisely these purple-red lines on the petals. I wonder what good method sister Yu Ru used to make the purple-red lines on your '胭脂点玉' flower so evenly spaced?"

  Zhang Wanru did not expect that Han Jiangxue not only knew a thing or two about peonies, but also immediately spotted the key to cultivating this particular variety of peony, and was shocked beyond words. She had never thought that someone like Han Jiangxue would actually have studied horticulture.

  However, Han Jiangxue's rather sincere request for advice was very enjoyable for her, so she didn't think much of it and quickly explained in front of everyone with a slightly smug expression: "You're asking the right person this time, the method is simple, but the operation is very complicated, and even if you know the method, it's hard to achieve this effect without a few years of effort. Look here, first you have to do it when the roots are not fully...

  Zhang Wanru said as she pointed, and there was nothing hidden in her mind. As she said, the key still depends on experience and technique, and the method is secondary. It's no big deal to say it out loud.

  Everyone else seemed to be listening with a mixture of confusion and amusement, but only Han Jiangxue truly understood what was being said. Occasionally, she would ask a couple of very professional questions about cultivation, and it was clear that she wasn't just pretending to listen - she was genuinely paying attention. This made people look at her in a new light.