Chapter 54 She offered herself to the wolf's den, letting him taste her...

The room was dimly lit.

The flickering candlelight reflected in a pair of almond-shaped eyes that were slightly watery.

Those incredibly beautiful eyes.

It's incredibly vivid.

Pleading, pity, terror, fear—all these appeared in those eyes, making the owner of those eyes appear even more delicate and fragile, as if a gentle touch with a fingertip would shatter her.

If he weren't afraid of completely frightening his sister-in-law, he would have loved to hold her in his arms and personally wipe away the fear and dread from her eyes.

He then told Zhao Zhixue that the woman he loved was his brother Zhao's wife.

Pei Duo lowered his gaze, his brush tip pausing on the Xuan paper: "When the time comes, Brother Zhao will naturally know. Let's look at the interpretation first."

Seeing that Pei Di was unwilling to talk about it, Zhao Zhixue stopped asking.

Seeing the two of them continue discussing their studies, Jiang Ninghui, who was standing by the edge of the table, felt as if she had been granted a pardon. Only then did she realize that her palms, which were clutching the corner of her clothes, were sweaty, and that a thin layer of sweat had formed on her back.

She lowered her head, her two slender legs, encased in trousers, stiff and trembling.

Jiang Ninghui slowly walked to the edge of the tatami mat and sat up straight. Her wet almond-shaped eyes stared blankly at her hands resting on her lap, still not fully recovered from the shock she had just experienced.

She was terrified.

Just now, she was really afraid that Young Master Pei would say that the person was her.

She dared not imagine how her husband would react if Young Master Pei exposed this to his face.

And what consequences will she face?

In the quiet night, the occasional croaking of frogs and insects could be heard. Jiang Ninghui glanced at Young Master Pei and her husband, who were still at the pear blossom table. Because Young Master Pei was there, Jiang Ninghui felt uncomfortable going to bed. She gently moved to the other side of the bed, rested her head on the bedpost, and closed her eyes to relieve her soreness.

As soon as she closed her almond-shaped eyes, drowsiness swept over her like a flood.

Jiang Ninghui fell asleep without realizing it.

Zhao Zhixue seemed to have fallen into an ocean of knowledge, feeling that he could never learn enough. Especially after Pei Di’s careful guidance, he felt enlightened and full of energy. He wanted to learn and understand everything thoroughly, so as not to let himself down or Pei Di’s care for him.

He put down his brush and said, "Brother Pei, I'm going to the restroom first."

Pei Duo nodded: "Mm."

After Zhao Zhixue got up and left, the young man turned around and walked towards the sleeping woman.

The woman's slender shoulders and forehead rested against the bedpost, her delicate, porcelain-white neck curving softly, her chest, concealed by her clothes, rising and falling gently, her breathing even and long, indicating that she was sleeping soundly.

The young man bent down, his strong, long arm cupping the woman's slender back. His long, slender fingers gripped her delicate, soft arm, while his other long arm slipped under her skirt, cupping her behind her knees, and gently lifted her up.

Watching Jiang Ninghui nestle unguarded in his arms...

A thought suddenly occurred to Pei Duo.

He wanted to carry the person in his arms to his room.

I want to hold her.

He slept in the same bed with her.

Even the thought of that good-for-nothing sleeping in the same bed with his sister-in-law every night, embracing her every night, inexplicably stirred up evil thoughts in his heart, twisting his calm reason and causing his boiling, scarlet blood to rage.

They shouted—"Kill Zhao Zhixue!"

Replace him.

To become her husband.

In her sleep, Jiang Ninghui seemed to feel as if she were bound by a scalding hot rope.

The rope tightened more and more.

She was so tight she could hardly breathe.

She groaned softly, and soon the tightness disappeared, as if she had been placed into a soft and comfortable bed.

In her hazy state of consciousness, Jiang Ninghui felt someone grab her ankle.

That warm, large hand removed her shoes and socks, its warm fingertips tracing the instep of her foot. Finally, that warm hand, like a venomous snake heated to a flame, slipped inside her trouser leg, pressing against her calf—

A light and gentle glide.

Jiang Ninghui thought it was her husband, and that he wanted to have sex with her.

She pulled her legs back, freeing herself from those cunning, snake-like hands, and mumbled groggily, "My lord."

A warm sensation spread between my nose and breath.

It seemed as if her husband was pressed against her cheek, extremely close to her.

A clear and pleasant voice reached her ears, very low, so low that she could barely hear it.

"Sui Sui, I'm here."

"Go to sleep."

It sounds like...it sounds like Young Master Pei's voice.

Perhaps she misheard.

Why would Young Master Pei be by her bedside, and why would he take off her shoes and socks?

Jiang Ninghui was feeling sleepy and fell into a deep sleep again.

Pei Duo leaned down and pressed his thin lips against Jiang Ninghui's lips, tracing the shape of her lips with the tip of his tongue.

Finally, his tongue parted her lips and teeth, probing inside and entwining with her soft, sweet tongue.

He brazenly and obsessively sucked away the breath between her lips and teeth.

The footsteps outside drew ever closer.

A sinister, ghostly aura crept into the young man's eyes, and a chilling, malevolent energy emanated from them.

He forcefully suppressed the murderous intent surging through his body and restrained the urge to snap Zhao Zhixue's neck.

As Zhao Zhixue stepped in, Pei Duo stood up, his dark eyes cold and indifferent. He lowered his gaze and said coldly, "My sister-in-law has gone to sleep. It's getting late. Brother Zhao, you should rest early too."

Zhao Zhixue glanced at his wife, who had somehow ended up lying on the couch, and looked rather disappointed.

Actually, he wanted to ask Pei Di to teach him more.

Although he was jealous that Pei Duo was younger than him yet possessed such knowledge and talent, and that he could not compare with him in terms of family background or personal ability, jealousy aside, if he could learn more from Pei Duo, he would rather give up his pride and self-respect, he would give up anything, as long as he could learn more.

His goal has never changed.

That means passing the imperial examination, entering officialdom, becoming a superior person, and making those who looked down on him before, those arrogant good-for-nothings, have to treat him with respect and courtesy in the future.

Zhao Zhixue insisted on keeping Pei Duo at home.

He sat alone at his desk for a long time, pondering what Pei Duo had taught him, before finally resting.

In the deep darkness of night, the windows were wide open, and the candlelight was soft.

Pei Duo sat at the table, holding the wolf-hair brush he had cleaned between his fingers.

Upon closer inspection, the handle of the wolf hair brush has three tiny cracks, extremely fine and small.

He went out today to find someone to repair this pen.

This was a gift from his sister-in-law.

She secretly bought it for him with her hard-earned savings.

What a wonderful sister-in-law.

Good people are endearing and lovable.

.

August has arrived in the blink of an eye.

On the third day of the eighth lunar month, the autumn provincial examination was held.

Jiang Ninghui heard from her husband that the provincial examination was held in Linzhou, and it would take a whole day to travel by horse-drawn carriage.

This provincial examination lasted for nine days, and every candidate had to eat and sleep in the examination venue and was not allowed to leave during the period.

On the first day of the eighth lunar month, Jiang Ninghui prepared a change of clothes for her husband and saw him and Young Master Pei off.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked outside the gate, and the driver was the same one who had taken them back to Xiping Village the previous times.

Jiang Ninghui handed the bundle to Zhao Zhixue, wanting to reach out and smooth out the wrinkles in her husband's clothes. As soon as she raised her hand, she was stared at by a pair of dark eyes. Her hand froze in mid-air, as if her fingers were being gripped by an invisible hand, sliding down her fingertips inch by inch.

A feeling of terror and trembling immediately washed over me!

Jiang Ninghui raised her long eyelashes and saw Young Master Pei behind her husband.

He looked at her with a smile.

But that smile had a sinister, ghostly quality to it.

Beneath his handsome, jade-like face lay an extremely endearing... pitiful grievance.

It seemed as if she was accusing her—"Your sister-in-law promised me that she would not be intimate with your husband in front of me, so don't break your promise."

Jiang Ninghui withdrew her hand, which had been frozen in mid-air, and smoothed her hair, which was not messy. She said to Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo, "My lord, Young Master Pei, I will be waiting for you to come back at home."

Zhao Zhixue's expression remained tense throughout. He wasn't very confident about the provincial examination, feeling that he still had many key points to grasp. If he failed the examination, he didn't know how he would face Xiping Village.

Zhao Zhixue thought of what the fortune teller had said.

Sui Sui brings him good fortune; their marriage will surely pave a smooth path for him in the imperial examinations.

I hope so.

"My wife."

Zhao Zhixue stepped forward and hugged Jiang Ninghui tightly, trying to get his wife to bring him good fortune one last time before he left.

Jiang Ninghui was somewhat surprised.

She was tightly embraced by Zhao Zhixue, forced to raise her chin high, her jaw resting on Zhao Zhixue's shoulder, and Pei Duo's handsome and slender face suddenly appeared in her vision.

The young man stared at her calmly with his dark eyes.

The smile on his lips vanished, replaced by a cold, expressionless expression.

Jiang Ninghui seemed to understand the deep resentment in his eyes—Sister-in-law, you broke your promise.

No!

She didn't!

It was her husband who suddenly embraced her; it wasn't that she intentionally wanted to be intimate with him in front of him.

Jiang Ninghui hurriedly looked away, not daring to meet Pei Duo's dark gaze.

When her husband released her, she hurriedly stepped back, lowered her head and whispered, "My lord, you should get into the carriage. I'll go inside first."

After saying that, he turned and left in a hurry.

Zhao Zhixue knew that his wife was always shy and didn't like to be intimate with him in front of others.

He smiled and said, "My wife, take good care of yourself at home and wait for me to come back."

Jiang Ninghui responded.

Zhao Zhixue: "Brother Pei, let's go."

Pei Duo: "Brother Zhao, please get in the carriage and wait for me for a moment. I'll go get something and come right away."

Zhao Zhixue: "Okay."

He stepped onto the stirrups, lifted the curtain, and entered the carriage.

Pei Duo turned around and pushed open the courtyard gate.

The creaking sound was quite clear in the quiet courtyard.

Hearing the sound, Jiang Ninghui, who had already reached the eaves, turned around and saw Pei Duo walking towards her.

The young man's eyes were dark and deep.

He stared intently at her, his footsteps drawing ever closer.

Jiang Ninghui looked at that handsome face with an extremely calm and indifferent expression, his clear and bright eyes filled with a coldness.

He neither laughed nor got angry, but Jiang Ninghui had a strong intuition.

Young Master Pei is angry.

She was angry that she was close to her husband.

I'm angry that she broke her promise.

But what she did just now was not what she wanted.

Jiang Ninghui felt a chill run down her spine and her palms sweat under his gaze.

She couldn't resist, and her two slender, straight legs retreated step by step until her body was pressed against the window, with nowhere left to go.

Pei Duo noticed her behavior of avoiding him like the plague.

He smiled.

That smile bloomed on his face, making his extremely handsome face even more stunning and alluring.

It even has a hint of eeriness.

"Is your sister-in-law afraid of me?"

Jiang Ninghui's fingertips tightened, and she bit her lower lip hard with her pearly teeth.

She shook her head, repeatedly, trying to tell him that she wasn't afraid of him.

The young man strode up the steps, his tall and imposing figure looming over Jiang Ninghui like a mountain pressing down on her.

The young man's figure completely enveloped her beneath him.

He moved an inch closer, his dark eyes fixed on her, his clear and pleasant voice sounding like a demon.

"sister in law."

You broke your promise.

Pei Duo was so tall; he was so close to her.

She had to look up to see him.

Jiang Ninghui leaned back, her upper body almost suspended in the open window, presenting the soft flesh of her body, bound by her clothes, to the young man. Her lower back was softly pressed against the windowsill, her hands resting helplessly on the windowsill, and her slender neck stretched out in a beautiful and alluring arc.

She hooked her arm around Pei Duo.

He was tempting Pei Duo.

The woman's neck bone adheres to the skin of her neck, showing a graceful and supple beauty.

Jiang Ninghui's almond-shaped eyes welled up with tears, but she still shook her head. Her expression and the violent heaving of her chest made her look extremely pitiful.

“Young Master Pei, you saw it yourself, I did not break my promise. It was my husband who suddenly hugged me, and I was unable to avoid it, nor could I avoid it.”

She spoke in a low voice, afraid that her husband outside the courtyard would hear her.

She was even more afraid that her husband would suddenly be hospitalized and see her being forced to the window by Pei Duo, who wouldn't budge an inch.

Pei Duo moved even closer to her.

The young man's hot, strong chest pressed against her.

It also pressed down on the woman's exceptionally vulnerable softness.

He squeezed his long arm between the windowsill and the woman's lower back, and with a gentle pull, he drew Jiang Ninghui into his arms.

Jiang Ninghui almost cried out in surprise.

She was forced into an embrace overflowing with the scent of cedarwood, her cheek pressed against the young man's trembling chest.

Immediately, Jiang Ninghui felt a heat on the tip of her ear.

Pei Duo kissed the tip of her ear.

The young man sucked on that piece of porcelain-white soft flesh, his hot breath spraying onto her ear.

"In that case, sister-in-law, let me hold you for a while."

"The provincial examination is the day after tomorrow. My sister-in-law wouldn't want me to be upset and fail the exam, would she?"

Jiang Ninghui was naturally unwilling.

Being held by Pei Duo like this made her feel truly ashamed and embarrassed.

He also... he even bit her earlobe.

A ripple appeared in Jiang Ninghui's almond-shaped eyes. She tried to avoid Pei Duo's lips, but he persisted, even going so far as to trace her earlobe with the tip of his tongue.

The scalding, hot air rushed in.

Jiang Ninghui shuddered.

She felt as if she had been thrown into a scorching oven, her whole body burning with heat.

"Young Master Pei, please... don't do this."

Jiang Ninghui's soft voice was tinged with sobs: "My husband only hugged me, he didn't kiss me."

The young man's lips enveloped Jiang Ninghui's earlobe.

He laughed unrestrainedly, a satisfied pleasure seeping from the depths of his dark, pool-like eyes: "It was my sister-in-law who broke her promise first, therefore, she should be punished."

Jiang Ninghui shuddered, her shoulders hunching over repeatedly.

What does it mean to deserve punishment?

What kind of logic is this!

She kept shrinking into Pei Duo's arms, trying to escape his persistent lips.

But by doing so, she has undoubtedly put herself in the lion's den.

Jiang Ninghui bit her lip hard, her eyelids turning red.

It's pitifully red.

I feel even more like being bullied.

"Brother Pei, are you alright?"

Zhao Zhixue's voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

The sound was loud, as if it were right next to the courtyard gate.

Jiang Ninghui froze in fright, and the fingertips that were pushing Pei Duo's shoulder also curled up in fear.

My husband mustn't see this!

Absolutely not!

My lord must go to take the provincial examination immediately; we must not let him be distracted at this crucial juncture.

Jiang Ninghui pitifully and pleadingly looked up at Pei Duo, who was so close to her.

She pleaded softly, her rosy lips parting slightly, her soft tongue hidden in her mouth: "Young Master Pei, please, let me go, okay?"

Pei Duo cupped her small, delicate face in his hands and asked, "In the future, will you, sister-in-law, still let your husband hold you in front of me?"

Jiang Ninghui shook her head.

No, never again.

Tears welled up in her almond-shaped eyes and rolled down her cheeks, leaving wet streaks.

The young man lowered his head, his thin lips wiping away the tears on the woman's cheek: "Sister-in-law, I'm a very meticulous person when it comes to this matter. If you break your promise again, next time it won't be so simple."

After this ordeal, how could Jiang Ninghui not see it?

She truly regretted agreeing to Pei Duo's absurd request out of momentary weakness, which led to her being bullied by him like this now.

"Brother Pei?"

After waiting for a long time without receiving a response from Pei Duo, Zhao Zhixue, who was outside the courtyard, lifted the carriage curtain, got out of the carriage, and walked into the courtyard.

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Author's note: Update before 8 PM tomorrow night! [Sprinkling flowers]