Chapter 74 Jiang Ninghui lets him do whatever he wants

Jiang Ninghui never expected that Pei Duo would dare to be so intimate with her in front of his uncle.

And he even... complained about his uncle.

Has he gone mad?!

This is his uncle, his elder; how could he do this?

Jiang Ninghui was both shocked and frightened, afraid that Second Master Xie would blame Pei Duo, and also afraid that Second Master Xie would scold her for being unchaste and flirting with his nephew in front of him, deliberately trying to break up their uncle-nephew relationship. She tried to pull her hand away, but Pei Duo held it even tighter.

"Let go."

Jiang Ninghui's soft voice carried a hint of sobbing.

She looked at him pleadingly, her watery eyes filled with surprise and fervor.

The young man noticed the soft hands trembling in his palms; her hands were icy cold, and her almond-shaped eyes were brimming with tears, as if they were about to fall.

They are so pitiful.

He looked terrified.

What a good uncle of his! Taking advantage of his absence, he lured his sister-in-law here and scared her like this!

Pei Duo held the woman's trembling hands tightly, his dark eyes filled with reassurance: "Don't be afraid."

He looked at Master Xie again, his voice icy: "What did you say to her? You scared her like this!"

Master Xie chuckled: "Useless."

Pei Duo: "You're promising?"

Master Xie slammed down his teacup: "I said you're useless, but I didn't mention your good sister-in-law."

Hearing that her uncle and nephew had argued because of her, Jiang Ninghui felt guilty and lowered her head.

She explained in a low voice, "Second Master Xie only asked me some questions about Aunt Xie, and didn't say anything else to me."

Pei Duo raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why didn't you ask me, Uncle?"

Master Xie stood up and brushed away non-existent creases on his sleeves: "I've asked everything I needed to ask."

He took two steps, then suddenly turned to look at Pei Duo, his deep black eyes filled with a smile, making no attempt to conceal Jiang Ninghui's presence: "Brother Duo, I sounded out your sister-in-law for you. She said that once her husband passes the imperial examination, she will return to Xiping Village. It seems that you and your sister-in-law are only interested in each other."

Pei Duo pursed his thin lips and stared at him coldly.

Jiang Ninghui was stunned.

Tears still clung to her eyelashes, her moist almond-shaped eyes staring in astonishment at Second Master Xie as he turned and left.

Second Master Xie did not reprimand her for seducing other men.

They neither criticized her nor mocked her.

He just left like that...

While Jiang Ninghui was stunned, she suddenly felt her body rise into the air, and the next moment she was sitting on the young man's strong and powerful legs. Through the fabric, she could feel the powerful muscles in the young man's legs. She was too small for him. Sitting on his lap, her legs were suspended in the air and could not touch the ground.

Jiang Ninghui looked at the door of the private room as if startled, fearing that Second Master Xie might return and witness this impolite scene. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the door had been closed at some point.

With her chin pinched by the young man's two fingers, Jiang Ninghui was forced to turn her head to meet a pair of dark eyes.

Pei Duo gently rubbed the woman's full lower lip with his fingertip.

He stared intently at her: "After the imperial examination, will you abandon me and return to Xiping Village?"

How could there be any talk of abandonment between her and him?

If that's the case, wouldn't she be a promiscuous and dissolute woman?

For the first time, Jiang Ninghui did not avoid him, but looked directly into his dark pupils: "You promised me that after the palace examination, we would go our separate ways. You cannot break your promise."

She never imagined that she and Pei Duo would have a future.

She was already married; he was an unmarried man.

Moreover, his family background was among the most powerful and influential in the capital, while she had nothing but her husband.

Between her and him, there was only this brief, ill-fated relationship.

Pei Duo suddenly tightened his grip on Jiang Ninghui's waist, causing Jiang Ninghui to gasp and fall uncontrollably onto Pei Duo. Her slender arms were forced onto the young man's shoulders, and her soft body pressed tightly against his, being squeezed and pressed against his muscular chest.

Before she could break free, Pei Duo lowered his head and kissed her lips.

He gave her no chance to breathe, relentlessly seizing every breath she had.

My sister-in-law's mouth is only sweet when she's kissing me.

This mouth of hers usually says things that are not pleasing to the eye.

Her plan was clever; she planned to return to Xiping Village after the imperial examination. Then, she'd have to see if he agreed.

Jiang Ninghui didn't know how they started kissing. She couldn't push Pei Duo away, so she could only let him hold her chin and tilt her head back, letting him do whatever he wanted.

The quiet, enclosed private room was filled only with the soft patter of water.

And... the swallowing sound of a young man yearning for something.

Jiang Ninghui completely collapsed into Pei Duo's arms, losing all strength to push him away, and barely had any breath left in her chest.

"Knock knock—"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Jiang Ninghui was startled and, in her nervousness, bit Pei Duo's tongue.

The smell of blood instantly filled their mouths.

Pei Duo seemed oblivious to the pain, instead greedily sucking on the tip of her tongue.

The knocking sounded again.

A chilling, sinister glint appeared in the young man's eyes. He impatiently lifted his gaze and glanced at the closed door of the private room.

What a spoilsport, interrupting his and his sister-in-law's good time.

A familiar voice came from outside the door: "Brother Pei, are you in there?"

Jiang Ninghui's almond-shaped eyes widened in horror, and her slender fingers, which were resting on Pei Duo's shoulder, suddenly curled up, gripping the young man's smooth, silky clothes. The scratching force, like a cat's claws, sent a strange, pleasurable sensation through Pei Duo's body.

Surprisingly, being scratched by his sister-in-law like this had a unique flavor.

At that moment, he wanted to sew the mouths of the people outside shut, only letting them knock on the door and letting his sister-in-law tickle him a few more times.

Unfortunately, the person was too disappointing and kept asking persistently.

"Brother Pei, are you inside?"

Jiang Ninghui whimpered and avoided him, tears welling up in her almond-shaped eyes.

She could tell.

The person knocking on the door was her husband.

Why is her husband here?

Could it be that he knew she had been invited here by Pei Duo's uncle, and therefore came to find her?

Pei Duo gently wiped away the tears from Jiang Ninghui's eyes and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, sister-in-law, I'll send him away."

My sister-in-law was already frightened by my uncle today, she must not be frightened again.

Pei Duo picked her up and placed her on a chair. He got up and walked to the door, opening it only a crack. Through the crack, he coldly glanced at Zhao Zhixue: "Brother Zhao, what brings you to the door?"

The young man's tall and imposing figure completely blocked the door crack, preventing Zhao Zhixue from seeing inside.

Zhao Zhixue smiled and said, "I saw Brother Pei looking hurried downstairs just now, is something wrong?"

Pei Duo replied succinctly: "Not at all."

Seeing Pei Duo's coldness, Zhao Zhixue almost lost his smile.

He forced a smile and continued, "Brother Pei, is something the matter? If not, why don't we go next door and have a few drinks?"

Pei Duo lowered his eyes, his patience already gone: "No need, someone is waiting for me in the room."

Jiang Ninghui hid in her room and listened to Pei Duo's conversation with her husband, her heart pounding with fear.

Especially when she heard Pei Duo say, "There's someone waiting for me in the room," her face burned with embarrassment.

How could he say such things in front of her husband?

Jiang Ninghui was afraid that her husband would discover that the 'person in the room' Pei Duo mentioned was her, so she squatted behind the table and used the tablecloth to cover her figure. She placed her hands on her knees, lowered her eyelashes and looked at the ground. Suddenly, she saw a pair of silver-threaded soft boots in front of her.

Jiang Ninghui looked up in a daze and saw Pei Duo standing in front of her at some point.

He lifted his robe and squatted down opposite her, smiling as he looked at her: "Is my sister-in-law playing hide-and-seek with me?"

"So, since I found your sister-in-law, has I won?"

"What should my sister-in-law reward me with?"

Jiang Ninghui's face, from her ears to her cheeks, was so red it looked like it could bleed.

How could he be so glib and shameless?

Next, Jiang Ninghui was held in Pei Duo's arms and he took her for a while.

They called it a reward for him.

Jiang Ninghui returned to the courtyard late in the afternoon. Pei Duo did not go out again, but continued to teach her to recognize the Thousand Character Classic and to write characters. Jiang Ninghui clumsily held the brush she had given to Pei Duo and wrote crooked characters.

She glanced at the Xuan paper that Pei Duo had placed to the side; the characters on the paper were sharp and vigorous.

Then look at hers, it's no different from a dog crawling.

Jiang Ninghui was very embarrassed and couldn't bear to practice anymore, for fear that Pei Duo would laugh at her.

Before she could put down her brush, a warm and broad chest pressed against her back. The young man's long arm wrapped around her waist, and his other hand covered the back of her hand, his five fingers enveloping her fingers, guiding her to continue practicing calligraphy: "Sister-in-law, don't be discouraged. You've only been learning calligraphy for a short time, and being able to write so many characters already shows your exceptional talent."

Jiang Ninghui felt even more embarrassed by his praise: "Don't try to fool me."

Pei Duo chuckled: "How could I lie to my sister-in-law? In my eyes, even if you are illiterate, you are the most perfect and flawless treasure."

Jiang Ninghui couldn't listen to this anymore, and, feeling both ashamed and annoyed, told him to stop talking.

Since the day her husband left without saying a word that morning, Jiang Ninghui had not seen him for nine days. She learned from Pei Duo that he had been staying at the residence of the Minister of Rites for the past ten days.

She also learned from Pei Duo that the Vice Minister of Rites was a third-rank official, a high-ranking official.

Jiang Ninghui was very puzzled. How could her husband know such a high-ranking official?

At the same time, she felt terrible. Her husband had left her in this small courtyard without a word and had not been heard from for nine days. If it weren't for Pei Duo, she would probably be searching for him like a headless fly.

Zhao Zhixue didn't return until two days before the imperial examination.

Jiang Ninghui noticed that the clothes her husband was wearing must have been newly bought; he did not own clothes made of such fine fabric.

Zhao Zhixue had been lost in thought ever since he returned to the courtyard, and he didn't even notice Jiang Ninghui walking up behind him.

Jiang Ninghui looked at her husband's handsome profile, her fingertips twitching slightly inside her sleeve. Knowing full well what was going on, she asked, "Where have you been these past few days, my husband? How come you've been gone for nine days? Do you know how worried I was about you at home?"

Perhaps it was because she had spent so much time with Pei Duo, but now she seemed less flustered and embarrassed when she lied.

Zhao Zhixue snapped out of his reverie, not looking at Jiang Ninghui, and said coldly, "I came to the capital to make connections, how could I stay in this little courtyard with you and just study all day? Besides, how could a grown man like me get lost? Why do you need to worry about me?"

He got up and lay down on the couch: "I'm a little tired, I'll sleep for a while."

Jiang Ninghui pursed her lips and watched her husband close his eyes. Since he returned, he had not looked at her once. Now, his attitude towards her was even more indifferent, like that of a stranger. If she was not sure before that her husband had become much colder towards her since arriving in the capital, the fact was right in front of her again, leaving her no choice but to believe it.

Jiang Ninghui felt an indescribable sadness and bitterness in her heart.

Her husband treated her coldly, but she couldn't say anything.

She had done something to betray her husband, but she didn't have the courage to ask him why he treated her this way.

Zhao Zhixue slept all afternoon, while Jiang Ninghui sat at the table all afternoon.

As dusk approached, Jiang Ninghui got up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, she saw Pei Duo carrying a food box entering through the courtyard gate.

The young man's handsome features were fixed on the woman's red, tear-filled eyes, and his dark pupils instantly revealed a sinister and malevolent aura.

He had only been gone for a little over two hours, and his sister-in-law was already crying because of that good-for-nothing!

Are those hiding in the shadows useless? Why don't you come and tell them?!

Pei Duo raised his eyes and glanced coldly at the treetops above. The people hiding in the treetops felt a chill run down their spines, as if a cold, slippery venomous snake was crawling over them. Fearing their master's gaze, they all lowered their heads.

They were wronged. Lady Jiang sat by the window all afternoon, but Mr. Zhao neither touched her nor said anything to her.

"sister in law."

Pei Duo walked towards her.

He stared at her red, swollen eyes: "Why are you crying all of a sudden? Did Brother Zhao bully you?"

As Pei Duo approached, Jiang Ninghui panicked and kept backing away.

Her husband was right there in the room, lying on the couch. If Pei Duo did something inappropriate and her husband saw it, it would be all over.

The tall, imposing figure of the young man approached step by step, his massive shadow looming over Jiang Ninghui's toes, then sliding up her legs, covering her calves, thighs, and lower abdomen...

Finally, his gaze settled on her face.

Jiang Ninghui panicked completely.

She quickly retreated into the house, leaving behind the words "I'm fine" before closing the door, completely blocking Pei Duo from the outside.

The young man stared intently at the closed door in front of him, an uncontrollable urge to kill rising in his heart.

Because of that good-for-nothing's existence, my sister-in-law avoids him like this.

He wanted to break down the door and crush that good-for-nothing with his own hands.

Inside the house, Jiang Ninghui leaned against the door, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.

She looked at her husband, who was still fast asleep on the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Zhixue woke up at the beginning of the Xu hour.

He glanced at Jiang Ninghui sitting at the table, then got up and rubbed his throbbing temples. When he went outside, he learned that Pei Duo had brought back dinner from the restaurant. The three of them sat at the table to eat, and Zhao Zhixue occasionally looked up at Pei Duo.

That day at the restaurant, he knocked on the door of Pei Duo's private room and kindly invited him to have a drink, but was met with a cold rejection.

He knew that Pei Duo must look down on him!

He has an uncle who holds a high-ranking official position, and he probably laughs at him behind his back for trying to curry favor with the powerful!

Even so, Zhao Zhixue still had to greet Pei Duo with a smile. He not only wanted to use Pei Duo to obtain the questions for the palace examination, but also wanted to curry favor with him and his uncle in the future. This humiliation of always being suppressed by Pei Duo made Zhao Zhixue's dark resentment grow deeper day by day.

The imperial examination is the day after tomorrow, and the candidates must arrive at the examination hall tomorrow.

This imperial examination also lasted for nine days, so the candidates had to live, eat, and travel in the examination hall.

Jiang Ninghui returned to the room and helped Zhao Zhixue tidy up his clothes. Zhao Zhixue sat at the table, absentmindedly flipping through books.

As night deepened, Jiang Ninghui lay alone on the couch. She propped herself up with her hand on the couch, glanced at her husband who was still sitting at the table, bit her lip, and asked softly, "My lord, it's getting late, you should rest."

Zhao Zhixue: "I slept too much this afternoon, I'm not sleepy, you go to sleep first."

Jiang Ninghui watched her husband's retreating figure, finally lay down, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

She couldn't help but recall what Sister Mu had once said to her—

You must keep a close eye on your husband. He is a scholar now, but when he goes to the capital and passes the imperial examination, he will meet different people and gain different perspectives. At that time, any man might change his mind. You don't have any children now. If he abandons you in the future, what will you do? It would be better to have a son before he passes the examination. Even if he changes his mind then, he won't be too cruel for the sake of the child.

Jiang Ninghui closed her eyes, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes to her ears, wetting the hair at her temples.

She had always believed that her husband wasn't that kind of person. He cherished her, protected her, and treated her well. He would never abandon her. But now that he was treating her this way, all her assumptions seemed like a joke.

Jiang Ninghui slowly opened her eyes and looked at her husband's back, a little bit of hope rising in her heart.

Perhaps, the young master was simply under too much pressure from the imperial examination, which was why he had no choice but to cultivate connections and was therefore so cold towards her.

Perhaps things will be better after my husband finishes his exams?

Jiang Ninghui didn't know when she fell asleep. When she woke up again, it was already bright. Her husband was nowhere to be seen beside her or on the table, but the bundle that had been placed to the side was still there. She got up, dressed, tidied the bedding, and was about to leave the room when she caught a glimpse of the Xuan paper her husband had placed on the table, which was filled with two repeated characters.

Jiang Ninghui picked it up and glanced at it.

Pei Duo taught her to recognize the entire Thousand Character Classic, and she now knows quite a few characters.

The top was covered with two characters: Li Fu.

Li Fu...

It sounds like a woman's name.

Thinking of her husband's nine-day stay at the Ministry of Rites' residence and his coldness towards her, a thought that she dared not delve into surfaced. Jiang Ninghui's knees buckled, and she almost fell to the ground. She quickly braced herself on the table and tried her best to shake the thought away.

No, it won't.

My lord is definitely not that kind of person.

Jiang Ninghui had no right to question her husband, nor did she have the face to do so, simply because she had done something to wrong him first.

"What are you looking at?" Zhao Zhixue entered the room and saw that Jiang Ninghui was holding Xuan paper. His expression changed drastically. He strode forward and snatched it from her hand, saying sternly, "Who gave you permission to rummage through my things?!"

Looking at her husband's cold face, Jiang Ninghui felt a heavy weight in her heart.

Seemingly realizing that his attitude had been too harsh, Zhao Zhixue's expression softened. He turned the side with writing face down on the table, stepped forward, hugged Jiang Ninghui, and said gently, "I frightened my wife."

Jiang Ninghui bit her lip and remained silent.

She then heard her husband say, "Tomorrow is the imperial examination. I was too nervous, so I lost my temper and scolded you. Please don't take it to heart."

Jiang Ninghui's hands remained frozen at her sides, and she ultimately did not hug Zhao Zhixue back.

She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "What did you write, my lord?"

Knowing that Jiang Ninghui was illiterate, Zhao Zhixue lied and said, "I wrote the two characters for 'examination' because the examination is tomorrow. I was so nervous that I accidentally wrote a whole page of them."

Jiang Ninghui closed her eyes, feeling a bone-chilling cold permeating her body, and a tightness in her chest that made it hard to breathe.

If Pei Duo hadn't taught her so many characters, she would have been fooled by her husband today.

Those weren't the words "Huishi" (会试), but rather "Li Fu" (黎茯).

Li Fu – must be a woman's name.

A wave of immense fear and lingering dread engulfed Jiang Ninghui.

She feared that one day her husband would indeed, as Sister Mu had said, abandon her after passing the imperial examination.

What will she do then?

She didn't know.

All she knew was that if her husband divorced her, she would not be able to return to Hongshan Village, the Jiang family would not tolerate her, and Xiping Village would not accept her either. In all the world, she would not even have a place to stay.

Zhao Zhixue released Jiang Ninghui and said nothing more, only saying, "I should go now. These days, my wife should stay in the courtyard and try not to go out. If you encounter any trouble while I'm not home, it will be difficult to resolve."

Jiang Ninghui lowered her head and remained silent.

Zhao Zhixue glanced at Jiang Ninghui, who hadn't uttered a single word, and lost all interest in continuing.

For the next nine days, he stayed at the Minister's residence every day, and often had a lot of contact with Li Fu, who came to the Minister's residence to chat with the Minister's wife to relieve her boredom. Every time he saw her, he couldn't take his eyes off her, just like when he saw her at the banquet that day.

She remained as stunningly beautiful and graceful as ever, with an elegant and refined demeanor.

He talked with her a lot these past few days, enjoying tea and composing poems together. She was a woman of great talent and knowledge; no matter what line of poetry he presented, she could provide the next line and answer his questions about things he had never encountered before.

He increasingly realized that she was the woman he had always wanted to marry but could not have.

Looking at Jiang Ninghui, who was standing silently with her head down, Zhao Zhixue felt utterly disgusted.

Such a dull, pedantic, and illiterate woman—if the fortune teller hadn't said that her birth chart would bring him good fortune and help him succeed in the imperial examinations, he would never have married her. Now, when Li Fu asks him what kind of person his wife is, he doesn't even know how to answer.

Zhao Zhixue folded the Xuan paper on the table, stuffed it into his bundle, and picked up the bundle: "I'm leaving."

Jiang Ninghui raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes red and moist.

She watched her husband walk out of the room, heard him calling Pei Duo from next door, and heard Pei Duo tell her husband to go first, as he still had some things to pack.

The young man said, "Then I will wait for Brother Pei outside the courtyard."

Jiang Ninghui listened as her husband's footsteps faded into the distance and he left the courtyard.

She lowered her head and finally couldn't hold back her tears.

Through her tear-blurred vision, a glimpse of a dark blue robe came into view. Jiang Ninghui paused in her sobs and looked up to see Pei Duo standing opposite her.

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

He stepped forward, cupped the woman's small face in his hands, and lovingly kissed away the tears on her cheeks.

Jiang Ninghui stood there stunned, taken aback by Pei Duo's audacious act!

Her husband was right outside the courtyard. If he came in and saw this scene, it would be all over.

Has he gone mad?!

Before Jiang Ninghui could push him away, the young man suddenly pulled her into his arms.

He bent down, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and gently rubbed his nose against the woman's warm skin, saying extremely mushy words: "Sister-in-law, do you know that when you cry, my heart aches too?"

Pei Duo held her tightly, almost embedding the woman's slender body into his embrace.

He greedily inhaled the scent of soapberry from the nape of her neck.

He extended his tongue and pressed it against the woman's neck, feeling the pulsation that brought him pleasure.

What vibrant people they are.

What beautiful ears of grain.

That piece of trash deserves to die.

Jiang Ninghui rested her chin on the young man's shoulder, tilting her head back to look at the roof beam. As her eyelashes trembled, tears rolled down her cheeks. After hesitating for a long time, she reached out and gently tugged at Pei Duo's robe. Seeing Pei Duo straighten up to look at her, she asked somewhat awkwardly, "Do you know what the Minister of Rites' surname is?"

Pei Duo looked into those brimming, watery eyes, which were filled with tears.

It's wet.

They are so pitiful.

He said, "My surname is Xu."

Before Jiang Ninghui could even catch her breath, he continued, "Among the ministers who are close to the Minister of Rites, there are those surnamed Huang, Deng, and Lu." The young man paused, then added, "And there's one surnamed Li."

Pei Duo seemed not to notice Jiang Ninghui's pale face. He cupped her small face in his hands and asked in confusion, "Why do you ask this, sister-in-law?"

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Author's note: Update before 5 PM tomorrow!