Chapter 18 Sister-in-law, these are your eyes, even...

Jiang Ninghui was still somewhat dazed.

She didn't understand.

She accidentally bumped into Young Master Pei. Why didn't Young Master Pei move away?

And...and he was so close to her.

Jiang Ninghui is honest and straightforward, and she is used to enduring and yielding in everything.

From childhood to adulthood, no one cared about her, and she was used to being neglected, ignored, and mistreated. Naturally, she did not think that a handsome and dashing young man like Pei Gongzi would have any thoughts about a woman like her.

Perhaps, when she bumped into Young Master Pei, he didn't immediately back away because he was concerned about her feelings?

Jiang Ninghui hurriedly turned around and took a few steps back, stopping only after creating a three-step distance between herself and Pei Duo.

She suppressed her embarrassment and lowered her head to explain shyly, "Young Master Pei, I didn't know you were behind me. It was not my intention to bump into you. I'm sorry."

Pei Duo straightened up, his deep eyes sweeping over Jiang Ninghui's bright red ear tips.

"It's alright."

Then he asked, "Sister-in-law, you haven't answered my question yet. What do you think of my drawing?"

Jiang Ninghui focused her attention back on the portrait in her hand.

The painting depicts only a pair of eyes, moist with emotion, the corners of which are upturned with a hint of wetness and passion. These are eyes she has never seen before. Apart from the eyes, only the simple outline of the face is sketched with ink, making it impossible to tell who the person in the painting is.

But one thing is certain.

The person in the painting is a woman.

Jiang Ninghui really didn't know how to praise it, so she bit her lower lip and said softly, "Young Master Pei painted these eyes very beautifully."

"So beautiful—"

Pei Duo repeated his whispered words.

He gazed at Jiang Ninghui, who had her head bowed, and a faint smile appeared on his usually aloof and handsome face.

The smile was ambiguous and difficult to decipher.

The young man nodded in agreement: "It is beautiful."

Jiang Ninghui did not ask whether the owner of those eyes was the woman that Young Master Pei admired.

This is, after all, Young Master Pei's private matter.

As a married woman, she shouldn't be curious and ask.

Jiang Ninghui placed the Xuan paper on the table and explained, "I just saw this painting leaning against the edge of the table, and I was worried that a spark from the charcoal brazier might jump over and burn it, so I thought I'd put it away properly."

Pei Duo: "In that case, I thank you, sister-in-law."

Jiang Ninghui could hardly accept Pei Duo's thanks.

He saved her time and time again, and she didn't know how to thank him enough.

Jiang Ninghui: "Young Master Pei, you don't need to be so polite about such a small favor. I can't help you with important matters, but if you need anything for everyday matters, just ask me."

The charcoal fire burned brighter and brighter, and the bone-chilling cold in the room gradually dissipated.

Jiang Ninghui heard Young Master Pei reply with a very calm "Okay".

She then turned and left.

The burning sensation and blush on her ears from what had just happened hadn't subsided, and she practically ran away as if fleeing.

Pei Duo walked to the table and traced the eyes in the painting with his fingertip.

The night before, with the windows wide open, her frightened and terrified almond-shaped eyes lingered in his mind.

She was only wearing a small, tight-fitting top.

The small garment tightened around her soft body, and she hugged herself tightly, both startled and frightened, turning her porcelain-white, slender back towards the window. The thin straps of the light purple garment hung precariously from her thin waist.

My sister-in-law's skin was as white as snow, just like when she first came to town and slept in his bed.

After he caught her, a patch of snow-white skin frantically burrowed into his bedclothes.

The young man traced the shape of those captivating almond-shaped eyes with his fingertips.

Sister-in-law, how could you not recognize these as her eyes...?

What beautiful eyes.

.

Zhao Zhixue's back injury was severe, and on the day he came to town, he ate his dinner on his bed.

He was able to slowly get out of bed the following morning.

Jiang Ninghui was worried and wanted to send him to school, but Zhao Zhixue firmly refused.

He's a man, after all. He twisted his back while sleeping with his wife, and then he made her take him to school. He still has some shame.

Zhao Zhixue, supporting his back, would slowly walk between home and school every day.

After arriving in town, Jiang Ninghui felt that life was much more comfortable than at home.

I would go to Young Master Pei's room several times a day to light charcoal, and take advantage of the time while the charcoal was burning to enjoy the warmth.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Zhixue's back injury has gradually improved, but it still aches slightly when he takes large steps or turns over in bed at night.

Since that day, the couple has not had sex.

Jiang Ninghui didn't need to worry about being ashamed or embarrassed if Young Master Pei heard her.

After breakfast that day, Sister Mu brought her child to find Jiang Ninghui and told her something.

Liang Wentao has disappeared.

He has been missing for half a month, and Liang's father has asked around to find out where Liang Wentao is, but to no avail.

Jiang Ninghui thought that Liang Wentao might be hiding.

Perhaps he was afraid that she and Young Master Pei would report him to the authorities and arrest him, so he secretly left Qingping Town, thinking he would come back after the matter was completely over.

In fact, she didn't dare to report it to the authorities.

Once the matter is reported to the authorities, the fact that she was almost humiliated by Liang Wentao will no longer be able to be kept secret.

At that point, she wouldn't even have the courage to stand on her own two feet in this world.

The weather is getting colder and colder, and the Lunar New Year will be here in a month.

Early that morning, just as Jiang Ninghui had finished preparing breakfast, a horse-drawn carriage arrived outside the courtyard.

This carriage is luxurious and grand; it's clearly the carriage of a wealthy family.

The coachman, dressed in a thick gray linen cotton coat and with his hair tied up, appeared to be around ten years old. He alighted from the carriage, gently knocked on the courtyard gate, and glanced into the yard with his bright eyes. Upon seeing the young woman emerging from the kitchen, he respectfully bowed and said, "Young lady, may I ask if the young master Pei from the Pei family of Xiping Village is here?"

Jiang Ninghui replied, "Yes, I am."

Inside the kitchen, Zhao Zhixue peeked out at the carriage and driver outside the courtyard.

The carriage belonged to someone of high status and wealth; it didn't look like the property of a wealthy merchant, but rather that of an official.

The man claimed to be a slave and had come to see Pei Duo, which stirred a surge of uncontrollable jealousy in Zhao Zhixue's heart.

In fact, the Zhao family had known about the Pei family's extraordinary background for more than a decade.

Every year, a luxurious carriage would arrive at Xiping Village, and two or three men and women dressed in brocade robes would enter the Pei family home, often staying for most of the day before leaving. At that time, Zhao Zhixue was young and did not understand much. As he grew older and his knowledge broadened, he realized that those people were very likely from official families.

Their demeanor was incredibly refined, and their accompanying coachmen and guards were all tall and imposing, making them stand out starkly from the remote Xiping Village.

Zhao Zhixue's tone held a hint of jealousy that he himself was unaware of: "Brother Pei, he's looking for you."

Pei Duo didn't take his little scheme to heart and said calmly, "Hmm."

The coachman entered the gate and saw Pei Duo sitting by the window. He bowed respectfully and said, "Young Master Pei, my master, the prefect, invites you to his residence for a chat. He has specially sent me to fetch you."

Your Excellency the Prefect?

Zhao Zhixue was surprised that Pei Duo was so familiar with the prefect.

Jealousy welled up in his heart, but he asked Pei Duo in a friendly tone, "Brother Pei, is he referring to our prefect of Longchang?"

Pei Duo put down his chopsticks and nodded in response.

Zhao Zhixue suddenly clenched his chopsticks, his lowered eyelids revealing a deep sense of envy and resentment.

He wanted to go with Pei Duo to see the prefect of Longchang, hoping that he could use the prefect's connections to help him in next year's provincial examination. However, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Pei Duo stood up, his deep, cold eyes glancing indifferently at Zhao Zhixue, whose intentions were impure.

The young man ignored him and said to Jiang Ninghui before leaving the kitchen, "Sister-in-law, I'll be back this afternoon, so you don't need to cook for me this morning."

Jiang Ninghui: "I understand."

Pei Duo boarded the carriage, which was covered with soft bedding and lit with silver charcoal. Several plates of exquisite pastries were placed on a small square table.

There was a plate of pastries that matched the ones on the carriage that had brought them back to the village that day.

The young man picked up a piece of pastry and took a bite.

The sweet and soft flavor lingers on the lips and teeth, and the soft and chewy texture is just like the pastries on my sister-in-law's lips and teeth.

Sweet.

Tempting.

If it weren't for the secret matters to discuss, he would have brought Zhao Zhixue along so he could have gotten closer to his sister-in-law.

Zhao Zhixue is still too much of a nuisance.

The carriage drove away from the courtyard, the rolling sound of its wheels fading into the distance, leaving only the couple in the kitchen.

Seeing that her husband's bowl was empty, Jiang Ninghui asked considerately, "My lord, shall I serve you another bowl?"

Zhao Zhixue slammed down his chopsticks, stood up with a cold face, and spoke in a tone of impatience that Jiang Ninghui had never heard before: "What are you still eating? If you keep eating, you'll make me late for school. My family background and abilities are not as good as Pei Di's. If I don't work harder, won't he trample me into the mud?"

Jiang Ninghui was startled by his sudden action of throwing down his chopsticks.

Judging from his indignant tone, I guessed that he was feeling wronged.

She said softly, "My dear husband, in my heart you are the best in the world. You are diligent and hardworking, and you will surely achieve great things in the future. We should not compare ourselves with others, and sticking to our own path is the best thing we can do."

Zhao Zhixue looked up at her, his eyes cold, filled with the embarrassment and anger of having his pride exposed.

"Which eye of yours saw me comparing myself to Pei Duo?!"

"You are my wife, how can you belittle your own man like this!"

This was the first time she had seen Zhao Zhixue like this in six months of marriage.

She bit her lip and shook her head, explaining, "My lord, you've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I—"

"That's enough, I don't want to hear it, I'm going to school!"

Zhao Zhixue coldly interrupted Jiang Ninghui, turned around, went back into the house, grabbed his book bag, and left the courtyard.

Jiang Ninghui stared helplessly at the empty courtyard gate, overwhelmed with sorrow.

That's not what she meant at all.

She just wanted to put her husband at ease and let him know that he was no less than her, and that he was very, very good in her heart.

Jiang Ninghui looked down at the leftover food on the table, her eyes welled up, and she shamelessly shed tears.

She cleaned up the kitchen, added some charcoal to Young Master Pei's room, and then sat alone in the cold room, lost in thought.

At noon, heavy snow began to fall from the gray sky.

Jiang Ninghui went to the kitchen to prepare lunch and wait for her husband to return, but she waited and waited and waited and her husband did not come.

Lunchtime had passed, but her husband still hadn't returned.

Jiang Ninghui reheated the food, packed it in a food box, and headed to school amidst the heavy snowfall.

The school's red-lacquered gate was closed.

Jiang Ninghui tapped the iron ring in the lion's mouth. After a short while, the person sweeping the schoolyard opened the door, saw the young lady outside, and asked, "What can I do for you, young lady?"

Jiang Ninghui: "My husband didn't come back at noon, so I came to bring him lunch."

This person had seen Jiang Ninghui before. Last time, Young Master Pei and Young Master Zhao almost got into a conflict with Liang Wentao because of this young lady. He also knew that her husband was Scholar Zhao from the academy.

He said, "Young lady, I remember you. Your husband is Zhao Zhixue, right? He ate at the school cafeteria, and I even helped him clean up his food."

Jiang Ninghui forced a smile and thanked the man, then trudged along the sparsely populated street carrying the food box.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and a thin layer of white snow settled on her hair, shoulders, and food box.

Jiang Ninghui's face was as white as snow, and her eyes were as red as plum blossoms.

She fought back the tears welling up in her eyes, her fingers gripping the food box tightly, her thin shoulders and neck trembling with tension.

The young man got angry with her.

He didn't even want to come back for dinner.

He took the imperial examinations very seriously, and now he was unwilling to see her because of a few words she said. She dared not think about how her husband would treat her if he failed the provincial examinations next year.

A massive wave of panic and fear crashed down on them.

Jiang Ninghui felt a deep sorrow; she had been sold to the Zhao family by her own family under false pretenses.

Once this lie is exposed, she will face a future worse than death.

Jiang Ninghui turned the corner of the alley and looked at the narrow and empty alley. The snow fell heavily and quickly covered the bluestone paving stones.

She could no longer hold back and crouched down, burying her face in her arms and sobbing softly.

The rolling wheels and the sound of horses' hooves crunched over the thin snow and stopped behind Jiang Ninghui.

The heavy carriage curtain was lifted by a slender, jade-like hand, and a tall, handsome young man leaned out of the carriage. He looked down at Jiang Ninghui, who was squatting by the wall, crying helplessly.

The faint sobs muffled between his teeth were like a rusty, dull knife, grinding against his heart with pain.

Pei Duo was experiencing a pain he had never felt in over a decade.

It was unfamiliar and strange.

At the same time, a strong sense of irritability rose in my heart.

His agitation fueled his resentment.

He wanted to kill someone.

A note from the author:

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There are red envelopes in this chapter.