Chapter 4, Part 4: Crushing his sister-in-law's scent between his fingertips

"no!"

Jiang Ninghui stood up as if on cue. She didn't dare to look into Pei Duo's dark eyes and quickly explained to Mu Hua, "Sister-in-law Mu, you've mistaken him for someone else. This is Young Master Pei, a classmate and friend of my husband."

ah?

They look so well-matched, yet they're not a couple.

Mu Hua thought of another young scholar, who was also handsome, but compared to this young master, he was like a red flower next to a green leaf. She smiled embarrassedly and said, "I was blind and mistook him for someone else."

She greeted Jiang Ninghui and then took her son and went home first.

As soon as Mu Hua and her son left, the courtyard became so quiet that only the gentle breeze could be heard.

Jiang Ninghui stood awkwardly under the pear tree, unsure how to begin speaking to Pei Duo.

"sister in law."

A few steps away came the young man's indifferent voice: "I'm coming back to get the Xuan paper."

Jiang Ninghui: "Okay."

She pointed to the kitchen: "I'll go prepare lunch, and we'll wait for you and your husband to come back for lunch."

The young man nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law."

Jiang Ninghui: "It's nothing."

She turned and ran into the kitchen, her lower lip bearing clear teeth marks from her embarrassment.

Hearing the footsteps fading away outside, Jiang Ninghui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She finished the remaining work before preparing lunch. She got up early to prepare some dough, and planned to make some steamed buns, two dishes, and a soup for lunch. Jiang Ninghui had been working around the stove since she was a child, and she was quick and efficient at cooking. She had developed her culinary skills from a young age.

Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo returned around noon.

After having lunch and resting for a while, the two went to the school again.

In the afternoon, Mu Hua came to find Jiang Ninghui and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk in the street and buy some household necessities. Jiang Ninghui thought that her family was almost out of oil. When she came from home this time, her mother-in-law had given her some oil and forty coins.

The mother-in-law specifically instructed that the money was for the young man to buy food and meals.

This was Jiang Ninghui's first time wandering around the town. She was not familiar with Qingping Town, and after following Sister Mu for two streets, she found the shops and pedestrians on both sides of the road novel.

Mu Hua bought some vegetables and put them in the basket she was carrying. She also bought a candied hawthorn for the child. Jiang Ninghui bought some vegetables and bought two jin of oil.

Jiang Ninghui asked, "Sister-in-law Mu, do you know where the school is in town?"

Mu Hua smiled and said, "Of course, come on, I'll show you the way."

Jiang Ninghui smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Mu."

Mu Hua: "Why are you being so polite with me?"

Jiang Ninghui followed Mu Hua around two streets. She calculated in her mind that it would take a little over fifteen minutes to walk from her home to the school.

"Young lady, she's right there, can you see her?"

Mu Hua pointed to a red lacquered wooden door on the north side. Outside the door stood two imposing stone lions, and above them hung a plaque. Jiang Ninghui was illiterate and didn't know what was written on the plaque, but she remembered the place. Just as she was about to leave with Sister-in-law Mu, a teasing voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Whose young lady is this? She's so pretty."

The speaker was a young gentleman, tapping a fan between his fingers.

Sister-in-law Mu glanced at the young man and snorted coldly, "What business is it of yours whose young lady she is?"

After saying that, he grabbed Jiang Ninghui's wrist and pulled her away, saying, "Let's go, ignore him."

The man chuckled and said, "Sister-in-law Hu, you're so fierce, be careful your man doesn't leave you!"

Mu Hua turned her head and spat out a curse: "Get lost!"

This wasn't the first time Jiang Ninghui had encountered such a frivolous person. She had met someone like this before she got married, and since then her parents had kept her at home and rarely let her go out.

Mu Hua let go of Jiang Ninghui's hand after they had walked all the way down the street, and said to her, "That scoundrel is the son of the owner of a small restaurant in our town. He acts recklessly because his family is rich. He's a real scoundrel. You should avoid him if you see him in the future."

Jiang Ninghui: "Thank you, Sister-in-law Mu, I'll remember that."

.

In the school in Qingping Town, Zhao Zhixue carefully pondered the lessons the teacher had taught him that morning.

He closed the book and glanced at Pei Duo, who was sitting by the window.

The young man rested his elbows on the table, his knuckles touching his temples, as if he were closing his eyes to rest.

Zhao Zhixue sighed silently. It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy.

He studied diligently every day, almost to the point of hanging himself by his hair or pricking his thigh with an awl, but he failed the first provincial examination. Meanwhile, his younger brother Pei was relaxed and leisurely every day, and at a young age, he actually won first place in the provincial examination.

"I just saw a beautiful young lady outside our school. Her figure and waist were so slender that it was almost painful to look at. Her skin was like a peeled egg, and it looked like you could squeeze water out of it if you pinched it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhixue looked up and glanced at Liang Wentao in front of him.

This person appears to be a student, but he is actually ignorant and incompetent. He is just someone whose father has a little money and wants him to learn more characters at school. Zhao Zhixue has always looked down on this kind of person.

Upon hearing this, the person next to Liang Wentao asked, "Brother Wentao, do you know whose young lady that is? You can take me to see her sometime."

Liang Wentao tapped his palm with his fan: "I don't know either, but since that young lady is with Sister-in-law Hu, Sister-in-law Hu must know who she is. We can try to get some information out of Sister-in-law Hu another day, and we're sure we can find out who that young lady is."

When the young man sitting by the window heard "Sister-in-law Hu," he opened his closed eyes and his deep gaze fell on Liang Wentao.

A flash of memory crossed his mind: a snow-white figure hurriedly slipped into his bed. Pei Duo lightly touched his temple with his knuckles. As Liang Wentao passed by him, the young man's strong knuckles gripped Liang Wentao's wrist and pulled him down.

Caught off guard, Liang Wentao was pulled to his knees by the terrifying force, his knees slamming hard against the ground and his wrists slamming heavily onto the table.

The pain from both ends made Liang Wentao's face turn pale. He frowned and glared at Pei Duo, who had suddenly attacked him.

This person is used to being alone, has a cold and aloof personality, and rarely interacts with others.

Others didn't know this man's background, but he had heard his father say a few things about him.

The Pei family has connections with the prefect of Longchang and is not someone to be trifled with. His father specifically instructed him that he would not interfere with what the scholar did at school, but he should not provoke the Pei family.

The thing is, he didn't provoke him.

"Pei Duo! I didn't do anything to you, why are you hitting me?!"

Liang Wentao angrily tried to pull his hand back—but couldn't, and his face immediately turned purple.

The young man's dark eyes stared at him with emotionless disdain, his clear voice filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Is this how the school taught you? To produce a person of low character, vulgar and foul-mouthed?"

Liang Wentao's face was extremely ugly: "I can do whatever I want, what business is it of yours to tell me what to do?!"

As he spoke, he grabbed his own arm and pulled it outwards with force. Unexpectedly, Pei Duo's fingers loosened, and with his sudden exertion, he fell backwards and landed flat on his back.

Liang Wentao jumped up in anger, grabbed a stool, and was about to smash it at Pei Duo.

The young man neither dodged nor avoided him, but simply raised his eyes and coldly glared at him: "Try smashing one."

His tone was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet it inexplicably sent a chill down Liang Wentao's spine.

"If you dare to provoke that scholar surnamed Pei, I'll disown you as my son!"

His father's words kept replaying in Liang Wentao's mind.

Liang Wentao was so angry, he felt like his chest was about to explode.

He angrily threw down the stool, pointed at Pei Duo, and cursed, "You just wait!"

We can't openly mess with that Pei guy, but surely we can do it behind his back? If we put someone in a sack and beat him half to death, who would know it was him?

Liang Wentao stormed off without attending his afternoon classes. Seeing this, the others merely glanced at Pei Duo a few more times, but none of them dared to step forward to stand up for Liang Wentao.

They're not stupid. Even Liang Wentao wouldn't dare mess with someone like that, so why would they?

Liang Wentao was well-connected at school, partly because he was generous. His family owned a small restaurant, and he would often invite his classmates to eat there. You'd be a fool not to make friends with these freeloaders.

Zhao Zhixue walked over to Pei Duo and squatted down, asking, "Brother Pei, why did you provoke that kind of person for no reason? Let him say what he wants, it has nothing to do with you or me. You've offended him now, and he'll surely come after you later."

Pei Duo glanced at Zhao Zhixue, a look that left Zhao Zhixue somewhat bewildered.

Moreover, he felt that Pei Di was acting a little strange today.

Liang Wentao had mentioned other women to others in the past, but Pei Di never seemed to meddle. Why is he so interested in this today?

The last rays of the setting sun are fading, and dusk is approaching.

Jiang Ninghui prepared dinner and waited for her husband and young master Pei to return.

She opened the door and waited outside the courtyard, gazing at the alley under the twilight. The night in late September was already a bit chilly. A person walked towards the dark and narrow alley entrance. From a distance, Jiang Ninghui couldn't see the person's appearance clearly. Only when the person got closer did she realize that it was Pei Duo.

Jiang Ninghui glanced behind Pei Duo: "Young Master Pei, didn't my husband come back with you?"

Pei Duo glanced at the pair of clear, bright eyes in the twilight and said calmly, "He was kept behind by the teacher and will be back in a quarter of an hour."

Jiang Ninghui understood: "Young Master Pei, dinner is ready. Let me serve it to you first."

After saying that, she turned and went into the kitchen.

Pei Duo entered the house and opened the courtyard gate. He noticed that the quilts and blankets that had been drying in the courtyard that morning were gone. When he returned to the house, he saw the quilts and blankets neatly folded on the bed. The young man walked to the bed and gently rubbed the edge of the blankets with his fingertips, as if he wanted to crush the scent of the woman that had lingered on the blankets onto his fingertips.

"Young Master Pei, the food is ready. Come and eat."

Upon hearing this, Pei Duo washed his hands and went to the kitchen.

On the table by the window was a bowl and chopsticks. The bowl contained steaming hot soup noodles topped with a few thin slices of meat and a dish of pickled vegetables. He glanced at Jiang Ninghui, who was sitting in front of the stove, tending to the fire. The orange-red flames flickered on the woman's porcelain-white face.

The young man sat down, his clear, magnetic voice carrying a touch of sophistication in the quiet kitchen: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Jiang Ninghui pursed her lips: "You don't need to be so polite with me."

Pei Duo glanced at the noodles left on the cutting board, guessing that she was waiting for Brother Zhao to come back so they could eat together.

Jiang Ninghui covered the fire in the stove with ash to prevent the water in the pot from boiling continuously.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, she suddenly heard Pei Duo ask, "Did you go to town with Sister-in-law Mu this afternoon?"

Jiang Ninghui paused for a moment, then turned to look at Pei Duo sitting by the window and nodded: "Yes, I bought some vegetables and oil."

Pei Duo lowered his long eyelashes and stirred the steaming noodles.

It really is her.

A note from the author:

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Let me recommend my friend's novel to you guys; it's already completed.

"When Flowers Bloom in Peace" by Yun Xian Feng Qing

Copywriting:

Shen Tangning was the legitimate daughter of a fallen marquis's family. Although she was gentle and quiet, and beautiful and charming, she did not have a good reputation among the many noble ladies in the capital. When she was fifteen, her uncle arranged a marriage for her with a wealthy family in order to climb the social ladder.

However, an unexpected turn of events led to her consummating her marriage with the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo at a banquet.

Xie Zhan, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, is a promising young man with a handsome appearance. He and the granddaughter of the Grand Secretary have been childhood sweethearts and are waiting for her to come of age before they get married.

However, after the news spread, both parties had no choice but to cancel their previous engagements, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion sent people to the Marquis of Pingning's mansion to propose marriage.

From the time the marriage proposal was made to the time the wedding date was set, her fiancé Xie Zhan never appeared.

Three months later, a disheartened Shen Tangning, heavily pregnant, hastily married into the Zhenguo Duke's mansion.

On her wedding night, Shen Tangning, holding back her tears, said to her husband who was about to leave coldly after lifting her veil, "Your Highness, rest assured, after I give birth to the child, I will immediately divorce you and will not delay or entangle you any further."

Xie Zhan paused, but left with a cold expression.

-

Xie Zhan married Shen Tangning out of necessity. To him, Shen Tangning was just a stranger, a vain and promiscuous woman, his wife, and even the mother of his child.

He had no feelings for her whatsoever, and if it weren't for the child, he thought he would never have set foot in her yard.

As the baby grew older, Xie Zhan visited her courtyard more and more often, and he discovered that although she was a woman of few words, she was quiet and gentle, and never made things difficult for others.

He held no grudge against her, speaking to her gently and showing her utmost care and consideration…

After some time of cold indifference, Xie Zhan thought that since they already had a child and Shen Tangning was unwilling to divorce, if she could change her bad habits, he could consider continuing to live with her.

Until that night, the Lantern Festival, when the streets were ablaze with lights, he watched as his heavily pregnant wife released a lotus lantern by the river, her beautiful eyes gentle and devout.

After his wife left, Xie Zhan inexplicably retrieved the lotus lantern, but the name written on the lantern was not his at all—

"Brother Zhongyun, may you enjoy a long and healthy life."

Zhongyun, the courtesy name of her ex-fiancé.

Xie Zhan tore the lotus lantern in his hand to pieces.