Since Su Mu already had a candidate for her primary husband, and if Su Mu showed no intention of changing her mind in the future, it would be fine for Xu Yunshu to be a secondary husband. However, he still needed to try his best to win Su Mu over to his side.

Xu smiled and said: “I see. It seems Miss Su is a person who values relationships. This is my sixth son, Xu Yunshu. Yunshu, quickly pay your respects to Miss Su.”

Only when Xu said this did Su Mu notice that there was another man standing behind him.

This man had a gentle face. Although he wasn’t stunningly beautiful like Xie Yi or Yan Jiyue, he gave people a very comfortable feeling. He was wearing a misty green robe with a thin gauze outer layer. His long hair was tied up in a bun with a white jade hairpin, with the rest falling down his back.

In the heat of summer, his green attire made people feel very cool and pleasant. Whether it was because the clothes suited him so well or for some other reason, even though his features weren’t striking, he had a quality that made him more attractive the more you looked at him, similar to what modern people would call an ‘vibe-type handsome guy’.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Su Mu had met Xu Yunshu.

In her previous life, due to her insufficient status, by the time she was able to sit at the same table as Xu, Xu Yunshu had already been married off. The two had never met.

In her memory, Xu Yunshu seemed to have married a salt merchant as his second wife. The salt merchant was quite old, with an eldest daughter older than Xu Yunshu, and other children and minor concubines who were all formidable.

She had heard that three years after the marriage, Xu Yunshu had finally become pregnant, but for some reason had miscarried. His body was damaged, and he was never able to conceive again. It probably had something to do with the salt merchant or his legitimate children. Anyway, that was all the memory she had left of Xu Yunshu.

“Yunshu pays his respects to Miss Su. I have long admired Miss Su’s reputation, and seeing you today, you are indeed as the rumors say,” Xu Yunshu took a small step forward, his eyes clear and pure.

His voice wasn’t particularly outstanding, but when he spoke, it was slow and deliberate, making people feel very relaxed.

“It’s all just rumors spread by others,” Su Mu thought that if Xu Yunshu were in modern times, he would definitely make a good psychologist. He was too easy to let one’s guard down around.

But despite her thoughts, because of Xu, Su Mu didn’t want to chat much with Xu Yunshu. So she immediately said: “Didn’t you say you had obtained an extremely precious peony, County Magistrate? Why don’t you bring it out for everyone to admire?”

“Hahaha, you young people are so impatient,” Xu laughed just like Yan Zhujun, a kind and harmless old man. Only Su Mu knew that beneath their benevolent facades, they harbored malicious intentions.

Especially Xu. When he had demanded money from her back then, his ugly face was just like the owner of the goose that laid golden eggs in fairy tales.

He wanted to cut open her belly and take all her money.

Kind-faced people are often the cruelest. The new county magistrate who died on the way in her previous life must have been set up and killed by Xu.

And now this danger had shifted to her, because as a Ju Ren, she was very likely to succeed him as county magistrate.

Xu’s visit this time was definitely to win her over. If she rejected him outright, her fate might be the same as that new county magistrate, dying without a trace.

That’s why she was willing to attend this banquet.

The poem just now was to warn her not to be too proud and arrogant.

Su Mu lowered her eyes and smiled, saying: “It’s just that precious peonies are so rare, I also want to broaden my horizons.”

Xu laughed heartily: “Good, I was planning to bring it out later, but since Miss Su has said so, this old man will bring it out early for everyone to admire.”

With that, Xu clapped his hands.

Soon after, two servants carried out a pot with a black-purple peony. The flower had dense, layered petals and long stamens. When this flower appeared, although it wasn’t a bright color, it overshadowed all the other flowers in the garden.

The crowd was immediately attracted by this deep-colored peony: “The peonies we’ve seen before were either red, white, or yellow, or maybe the ‘Two Beauties’ peony, but we’ve never seen a peony with such a dark color.”

“Yes, this color is too rare.”

“Is… is this… could this be the legendary ‘Green Dragon Lying in Ink Pool’?” someone knowledgeable in the crowd asked in astonishment.

Xu sat on a huanghuali wood chair and smiled slightly: “Indeed it is.”

The crowd immediately burst into an uproar.

“Green Dragon Lying in Ink Pool? This is the cream of the crop!”

“I’ve only heard of this flower in plays, I never thought I’d see the real thing one day.”

“Today has truly been an eye-opener.”

“It must have cost you a lot to transport it all the way from Luoyang, County Magistrate.”

“Naturally, it cost a bit, but it’s worth it if it makes everyone happy. What do you think, Miss Su?” Xu squinted as he smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching together, revealing a hint of pride.

Su Mu noticed that she seemed to enjoy the feeling of being admired, so she decided to play along, after all, flattery doesn’t cost anything: “Coming to your mansion today has truly opened my eyes. I never thought I’d see such an exquisite peony one day.”

County Magistrate Xu looked at her with a slight smile: “How about I give it to you, Miss Su?”

Su Mu’s internal alarm bells went off. Accepting food makes one indebted, let alone such a precious peony. It would be hard to explain in the future: “County Magistrate, my home is too humble. Taking such a precious peony back would be a waste. Peonies are the national beauty, and as such, they should naturally be nurtured in your garden.”

Xu smiled and patted her hand: “You really know how to flatter people.”

“County Magistrate, I’m not flattering. I’m just stating facts,” Su Mu said ‘sincerely’.

In her previous life, she had honed her skills of flattery through business dealings. In this life, it came naturally to her. Seeing that Xu had given up on the idea of giving her the peony, Su Mu finally felt relieved.

“Since everyone loves this flower, why don’t we have a little activity? Today, let’s use the peony as a theme and each compose a poem. How about that?” Xu suggested.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd objected: “My good County Magistrate, you know I’m a rough person. I can barely recognize a few characters, how could I compose a poem?”

Su Mu recognized the speaker as the notoriously unruly daughter of a well-known local gentry. She was uneducated and could barely read, wasting her mother’s status as a gentry.

Xu maintained her usual generous smile and said: “Alright then, just reciting a poem related to peonies will do. That should be fine, right?”

“That’s good,” the person who had objected earlier stopped talking.

“Good, then I’ll start.” Xu casually composed a poem about peonies, followed by Su Mu, who also made a poem. After that, everyone took turns, going around the circle, finally returning to Xu’s side.

Xu slowly turned her gaze to Xie Yi, who had been pretending not to notice: “This young gentleman hasn’t said a word. Do you not like peonies?”

Just as Xie Yi was about to speak, a young gentleman nearby suddenly said: “County Magistrate, you may not know, but this Gentleman Xie is from the Western Regions. He’s new to the Central Plains and probably doesn’t even know what a peony is. Just now when he passed through the garden, he couldn’t even tell the difference between peonies and herbaceous peonies. Hehe… But looking at him, it seems he prefers herbaceous peonies to peonies.”

Xu smiled and said: “Peonies and herbaceous peonies do look very similar at first glance, but there are quite a few differences if you look closely. You can compare the petals, leaves, and branches one by one. Moreover, if you put a herbaceous peony next to a peony, the herbaceous peony immediately looks delicate and weak. That’s why peonies are called the king of flowers, the number one among flowers, while herbaceous peonies can only be second, becoming the prime minister of flowers. The men in our country all prefer peonies, to highlight their status as primary husbands.”

The young gentleman from earlier squeezed his handkerchief and smiled: “Gentleman Xie doesn’t understand the saying ‘to be a close attendant to the peony’ and only likes the coquettish and formless herbaceous peony. Doesn’t that mean he’s willing to be second-best, letting others be above him? Well, it does suit him.”

The young gentleman’s last sentence was very quiet, only audible to the male companions next to him. A few of them laughed softly behind their fans, thinking the comment was quite accurate.

Because of Xie Yi’s intense looks, even though he was wearing plain and light moon-white clothes, the corners of his eyes and brows still exuded a flirtatious charm. In women’s eyes, this was called alluring, but in men’s eyes, it was a textbook example of a seductive harlot.

How could a seductive harlot be a primary husband?

According to common sense, he should be a secondary husband who mindlessly vies for favor. The primary husband should be someone like them – not particularly handsome, but with proper demeanor.

Xu smiled and said: “Don’t say that. Miss Su intends to marry Gentleman Xie as her primary husband. You’re talking nonsense. Be careful not to offend Miss Su. Hurry up and apologize.”

Upon hearing that Su Mu planned to make Xie Yi her primary husband, not only was the young gentleman from earlier startled, but others were also shocked.

They thought that now that Su Mu had become successful, she should at least marry a young gentleman from a prominent family. How could she marry Xie Yi? Even if Xie Yi had been with her since before she became successful, making him a secondary husband would be enough. How could he become the primary husband?

The young gentleman reluctantly lowered his head, but still stubbornly said: “Gentleman Xie, what I said earlier was unintentional. I didn’t mean to talk about you. I was just discussing the difference between herbaceous peonies and peonies. Please don’t take it to heart.”

“It’s alright. The young gentleman is right. I indeed just learned about peonies and herbaceous peonies. I like both of these flowers very much,” Su Mu wanted to speak up for Xie Yi, but unexpectedly, Xie Yi spoke first.

He strolled over to the young gentleman’s side, his moon-white robe swaying gracefully. His exquisite features and perfect profile created a stark contrast with the young gentleman: “However, I believe that every flower blooms for a reason. Even the coquettish and formless herbaceous peony that the young gentleman mentioned, I’ve heard that there’s a famous poet who wrote a poem specifically praising herbaceous peonies.”

“What poet would praise herbaceous peonies?” The young gentleman turned his face away, not wanting to be outshone by Xie Yi’s beauty, but unwilling to admit defeat, so he asked.

With a smile on his lips, but with a distant look in his eyes, Xie Yi’s thin lips slowly uttered: “The herbaceous peony enjoys spring’s favor, why would it ever envy the peony?”