Chapter 23 Coming up and falling into his arms
"Tease you?" Pei Huaijin's eyes grew dark, revealing a hint of disbelief. "How did she tease you?"
"She asked me to perform Qinggong for her, but I refused. Then she asked me to do a backflip..."
This young lady was really patient. She lay by the window and blackmailed him for a whole hour. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and gave her a set of punches. Only then did she go back to have a rest in satisfaction.
Pei Huaijin laughed after hearing this and said, "Oh, isn't that just monkey show?"
Qing Jian's face turned pale.
"Alright," Pei Huaijin patted his shoulder, "I'll go see her and say a few words to her on your behalf..."
"The young lady is not in the room anymore," Qing Jian said. "She ran out just as you released her from confinement."
He runs pretty fast.
In this huge Pei Mansion, the only place she could go was probably Ciyouyuan where Shen Yunshu was.
After being under house arrest for two days, she probably had a lot of grievances in her heart and wanted to talk to her sister about them.
When he went out in the morning, he heard that his seventh brother had run out again early in the morning and probably would not come back before dark. Since his seventh brother was not in Ciyouyuan, Pei Huaijin was not in a hurry to ask someone to urge her to come back.
Leaving Youyuan.
When Shen Youran came in, the kitchen staff had just brought in dinner. Tinglan was setting the dishes, and her sister was standing in the corridor, feeding a small and exquisite thrush.
This was Shen Youran's first time to Ciyouyuan. As soon as he came in, he was amazed by the exquisite and ingenious decoration here. The green bamboo and green pine, colorful flowers and trees, were very interesting.
At this time of year, the chrysanthemums and oncidiums are in full bloom, and more than a dozen pots of kalanchoe are in full bloom, overflowing with fragrance...
You won’t know until you compare it. Compared with Yunzhiyuan, this place seems like a fairyland.
This is her dream love house.
If the marriage had not been exchanged, she would be the one admiring the flowers and playing with the birds in the yard now.
Woohoo…
"Sister, I'm under house arrest. It's fine if you don't come to see me, but you still have the mind to play with birds?" Shen Youran had a sad face. She went over and hugged her sister, looking aggrieved.
Shen Yunshu quickly hugged her sister and explained, "No, it's just that the bird was making so much noise that I was annoyed, so I came over to feed it..."
"Sister, you have no idea how much Pei Huaijin has gone too far," Shen Youran complained. "Not only did he confine me, he even made me eat leftovers..."
"He asked you to eat leftovers?" Shen Yunshu was surprised that he would do such a thing and asked with concern, "What's going on?"
"How would I know what's going on? They sent me leftovers early in the morning, saying I couldn't even drink the muddy noodle soup, so what's wrong with eating some leftovers?"
"Wait, what's with the noodle soup?"
"It was the night before last. I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore. The Seventh Young Master took me to the kitchen to find something to eat. Seeing there was nothing, he made me a pot of noodle soup. It was terrible, but I was so hungry that I drank half a bowl..."
Pei Huaian had already explained to her what happened that night. Shen Yunshu only knew that he said that since his third sister was so hungry, he made her something to eat. It turned out to be noodle soup.
After a little thought, Shen Yunshu figured out the whole story.
"It must have been the night you were hungry. Pei Dalangjun was afraid you were starving, so he ordered someone to bring you food. But you happened to have slipped away with Qi Langjun, so you didn't get to eat good food. Instead, you had half a bowl of disgusting noodle soup. Pei Dalangjun must have been jealous, so he deliberately asked someone to heat up the food from the night before and send it to you..."
"He likes smelly things? What smell does he like? He doesn't like me..."
"But I heard that last night..." Shen Yunshu dismissed the maid beside her before continuing, "He stayed in your room last night?"
Speaking of this, Shen Youran became even angrier: "That old-fashioned guy really has no sense of humor at all. Matters of the heart should be left to nature. How can he force it?"
"Oh my God!" Shen Yunshu exclaimed, covering her lips with her hands. "Did he force you?"
As soon as Shen Youran saw her sister's pale face, she knew that she had misunderstood.
"Oh, it's not that kind of coercion, it's..." She frowned, thinking about how to tell her sister. "He seems to know that I'm very resistant to him, so he deliberately does things to improve our relationship."
"So what did he do?"
Shen Youran then told her sister everything that happened this morning.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the elder sister pondered for a moment and actually agreed with his approach: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with him doing this. You retreat and he advances. He's actively closing the distance between you two. If he also freezes in his place, then when will you truly accept each other?"
"Then at least he shouldn't say it out loud. If he does, won't it ruin the fun?"
"I think it's good to be open and honest like this..."
Shen Youran's face fell, and he loosened his arms around her. He looked at her for a long moment before saying, "So, you two are a match made in heaven. It's a pity that I ruined it..."
"Don't say such things," Shen Yunshu touched her sister's face, which was about to cry, "It's not your fault that the marriage was exchanged."
Shen Youran insisted, "It's my fault!" It was all her fault for provoking Lu's stepbrother, which led to this incident.
"It's really not your fault. If you think about it, it's my fault." Shen Yunshu pinched her little face and took her hand. "Now that things have come to this, we should all look forward. Didn't you say you've been eating leftovers all day? Today, the dishes in my yard are fresh. Why don't you stay here and eat with me..."
Shen Youran groaned with tears in her eyes and said aggrievedly, "I haven't had a good meal since last night..."
"I just asked the kitchen to make your favorite crab stuffed orange today. Eat more later..."
Danruo and Tinglan washed their hands and each stayed beside their master to help dismantle the crabs. Shen Youran ate a few bites of other dishes first, and then held up his chopsticks and waited attentively for the crab meat.
After the crabs were opened, she asked Dan Ruo Tinglan and the others to go and eat, and there was no need for her to serve them.
"Sister, I came here tonight because I have something very important to tell you." In front of her sister, she naturally didn't need to consider the rule of "not talking while eating". She whispered to her sister while eating, "Pei Huaian is leaving home."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunshu burst out laughing: "How is that possible? Where did you hear that?" He is a dandy boy who enjoys playing around in the world. How could he abandon other people's happiness and become a monk?
Shen Youran looked at her sister's indifferent look and couldn't help but get anxious: "Really! He said it himself, I heard it with my own ears!"
"Oh? What did he say?"
Shen Youran thought for a moment, "I guessed it first. I smelled the scent of sandalwood on him and guessed he'd been to the temple. He told me he went there to listen to the monks chanting. But why did he go to the temple to listen to the sutras on the second day after his wedding? I asked him if he wanted to become a monk, but he said other things, saying that whether you become a monk or not, he won't let you be a widow..."
Although Pei Huaian swore to her that he would not become a monk under her coercion, it was clear that he did not mean the oath sincerely.
"He also told me not to tell anyone else. I didn't even tell Pei Huaijin, but you are my biological sister, and now you are his wife, so I have to tell you..."
Seeing her sister's serious look, Shen Yunshu felt that this was impossible, but she still had doubts in her heart.
That night she did smell the scent of incense on Pei Huaian, which could only be found in temples, but she did not think much about it and did not ask him what he was doing in the temple. After all, they were just a fake couple and they had agreed not to disturb each other in private.
He went out again early this morning, and now it's almost dark, and he hasn't come back yet.
Did he go to the temple again?
Does he really want to become a monk?
But he doesn't look like it.
Although she couldn't understand why he had caused such a scene, even her third sister knew about it now. If she couldn't get to the bottom of it, her third sister would probably keep worrying about her.
"Thank you for telling me this, but don't worry too much. I will figure it out." Shen Yunshu comforted her sister.
Seeing that her sister's expression became serious, Shen Youran must have taken the matter to heart, so she breathed a sigh of relief temporarily and scooped another mouthful of crab roe into her mouth.
Soon, the crab in front of her was eaten up by her.
Seeing that she liked it, Shen Yunshu handed her the plate of crab meat that had not been touched yet.
Shen Youran didn't bother to be polite with her sister. After taking it, she started eating it in big and small mouthfuls.
"elder sister……"
"Um?"
"Tell me, why did Pei Huaian become a monk?"
Although the matter has not been concluded yet, Shen Youran has already made up her mind.
"I can't guess it now, but if he really has such an idea, it should be related to the marriage exchange."
"So he's using this to try to break away from your marriage in order to protest against the marriage swap?"
"No, I've talked to him, and he has accepted the marriage exchange." Besides, the divorce papers have been signed, so there is no point in him making a fuss about becoming a monk now.
"Why is that?" Shen Youran was troubled. "Is it because you can't get my love that you want to become a monk?"
In the past, she didn't believe that there really were people like the protagonists in the storybooks, who would do crazy things because of unrequited love. But since she guessed that Lu Yi was most likely responsible for the bride kidnapping, she began to believe that there really were paranoid people in this world who would go crazy because of invisible and intangible feelings.
Shen Yunshu glanced at her third sister. Although she felt that it was highly unlikely that Pei Huaian had become a monk due to his injuries, she still casually agreed, "Maybe."
"But I only met him once before we got married." And that time, she didn't even see his face before he scared her away. "Then why is he so deeply in love with me?"
Shen Yunshu saw her sister's innocent look and found it cute: "Maybe it's because you are so nice."
Shen Youran suspected that her sister was speaking in a sarcastic way: "I'm lazy and greedy, what's good about me?"
"You don't know how good you are at...playing!"
Shen Youran snorted: "I knew you were teasing me..."
She had dinner in her sister's yard, and then took her sister for a walk in the yard until it was completely dark, and she was reluctant to go back.
Shen Yunshu had no choice but to urge her: "It's too late, you should go back and rest. We will go back home tomorrow morning and there will be a chance to talk."
“But I don’t want to go back…” Shen Youran took her sister’s hand and said coquettishly, “Sister, can I sleep with you tonight?”
"We are both married now. We can't act like we were married before." Shen Yunshu saw that she was reluctant to leave and guessed the reason at a glance. "Are you afraid of Mr. Pei?"
"Well," Shen Youran said with his head down, "He asked me to copy the fourth chapter of 'Nujie' ten times today, and I haven't written a single word yet."
"Is that so..." Compared to the fact that she fainted her mother-in-law on the first day of her marriage and sneaked out with Pei Qilang in the middle of the night, copying "The Admonitions for Women" was already a very light punishment. Moreover, she didn't have to copy the entire article. The fourth article had less than 200 words, and ten times in total was only 2,000 words. Considering her previous level of practicing 3,000 to 4,000 words every morning, this number of words was really no problem.
Shen Yunshu also knew why her sister was unwilling to copy. It was simply because she thought she had done nothing wrong, so she was unwilling to do so from the bottom of her heart.
"I know you feel aggrieved, but outsiders don't know. The fact that you made your mother-in-law faint out of anger alone is enough to cause quite a stir. It's only because Master Pei suppressed the matter that it didn't get out of hand. Putting you in solitary confinement and making you copy books was just for show. The purpose was to get the matter over with as soon as possible. You should have cooperated. It's only 2,000 words, just consider it calligraphy practice..."
Although Shen Youran was stubborn during the day, he felt guilty now.
Especially after hearing what her sister analyzed with her, she became even more afraid to go back and face Pei Huaijin.
"Well, then I didn't copy it. What should I tell him now when I get back?"
"What he really wants is your attitude. Go back and be humble. Tell him you'll definitely copy it another day. He's a gentleman, tolerant, and a few years older than you. He won't really bother with a little girl like you..."
"real?"
"Believe in my sister."
With Shen Yunshu's encouragement, Shen Youran finally mustered up the courage and brought Danruo back to Yunzhiyuan.
It was late at night, the lights in the courtyard were bright, and Shen Youran was also feeling anxious.
She washed up first, then smoked her eyes, spending half an hour like this. When she returned to the bedroom door, she whispered to the maid on duty, "Is he asleep?"
The maid replied, "My lord, you didn't ask me to go in and turn out the lights, so I guess you haven't slept yet."
Chen Youran raised his hand to touch the partition door, but he didn't use much force. Finally, he lost his temper and turned to Dan Ruo and said, "Go in and get some of my clothes. I'm going to take a shower..."
Dan Ruo kindly advised: "Young Madam, didn't you bathe the day before yesterday? Now the weather is cold and the night is late. It's better not to bathe tonight."
"Just go in if I tell you to..."
"B-But I don't dare to go in."
The master is afraid of that young man, so shouldn’t she, a maid, be afraid too?
"Come in." Pei Huaijin's cold voice came from inside the partition door.
“Did you hear that? I let you in.” Shen Youran urged Dan Ruo.
"Chen Youran, come in."
Shen Youran, who was named, had no way to dodge it, so he had to walk in with a gloomy face, step by step.
There was a new brass incense burner in the room. Although it was not big, it made the room a little warmer.
The red curtain in front of the moon-shaped bed was divided into two ends by a golden tent hook. Pei Huaijin had already changed into his pajamas and was leaning against the bed, with a soft and auspicious pillow behind him, holding a book in his hand and flipping through it casually.
Shen Youran took a closer look and found that he was reading "The Instructions for Women". She couldn't help but take a breath.
"That..." Before he could notice, Shen Youran took the initiative to admit her mistake, "I didn't copy the "Female Commandments" today."
“Why didn’t you copy it?”
"Because... my eyes haven't healed yet."
"to be honest."
"Because I'm lazy..."
"Once you know you are lazy, you must correct it in the future."
"oh."
Although she agreed, her lips were pouting and her tone was reluctant, and she didn't look like she could change.
Well, the character that has been developed over many years cannot be changed overnight.
"If you don't want to copy, forget it..."
Shen Youran, who was under the bed, raised her head immediately after hearing his words, her dark eyes filled with surprise and joy.
"It's the same if you memorize it." He added.
Her eyes, which were dark and shiny just now, turned and she glanced at him with the whites of her eyes.
Pei Huaijin pretended not to notice and patted the seat beside him: "Come up and recite."
Is bed the place to memorize?
The bed is a place for sleeping.
"Can't you recite it tomorrow? It's already late today..."
"You have to finish your work today and return home tomorrow. You don't have time to recite it."
"But my eyesight is not good, and my father and sister never let me read at night." Although she was not that obedient, she often secretly read storybooks at night.
"In that case, I'll read and you'll listen. When you've memorized it, you can go to sleep..."
It seems that he is not going to let her go tonight.
Shen Youran pursed her lips, first took off her hairpins and rings, then went behind the screen to change into her pajamas, and then reluctantly climbed onto the bed.
He sat on the outside, so she had to go to the inside, where a quilt had been laid out in advance.
She pulled the quilt around her and sat down, wrapping herself up like a dumpling, looking both unconvinced and helpless.
Seeing that she was ready, Pei Huaijin turned to the fourth chapter and read it word by word: "A woman has four virtues: one is woman's virtue, two is woman's speech, three is woman's appearance, and four is woman's work..."
Shen Youran then recited it again.
Pei Huaijin: "A man says a woman's virtue doesn't necessarily mean she must be exceptionally talented..."
Shen Youran: "When a man says a woman is virtuous, she doesn't have to be exceptionally talented or brilliant."
"There's no need to argue with women..."
"Women's words, no need to..."
Pei Huaijin finished reading it for the third time, put the book down, and asked her, "Have you memorized it yet?"
Shen Youran, whose eyes had begun to become distracted at this moment, shook her head honestly: those words were like the transparent and slippery coat on water shield, sliding smoothly through her mind without leaving a trace.
Pei Huaijin frowned: He could memorize such a simple article after reading it once or twice, but he had already read it to her three times, so why couldn't she memorize it?
So he patiently taught her to read it twice.
After reading it twice, Shen Youran could hardly sit still, his body was shaking, and he could hardly open his eyes.
Pei Huaijin lectured her on her sitting posture: "Sit properly, don't shake your head."
"I'm not shaking my head, I'm just really sleepy..." She didn't like reading. Apart from storybooks, other books seemed to be drugged. As soon as she opened them, the drug would hit her face and make her drowsy.
In the past, her sister forced her to study, mostly in the morning or after lunch break, so that she would not feel sleepy when she had enough sleep and was full of energy.
It was almost midnight, the perfect time to sleep, and Pei Huaijin's boring words only made her more sleepy. She couldn't resist any longer, and her body leaned back, about to fall backwards.
"You..." Pei Huaijin took action at the right time to pull her back.
But she followed his strength and fell into his arms.
"Please let me sleep, I'm really sleepy..." She closed her eyes and begged in a daze, using a very pitiful tone, "I don't want to recite, I want to sleep..."
The big hand that was about to push her away was stuck in the air.
He knew she was just acting coquettishly, but she succeeded. No man could resist a poor cat-like girl, and neither could he.
The big hand slowly fell on her shoulder. He didn't push it away and even patted it twice.
"Okay, I won't recite it for now."
She was so sleepy that her body softened and her forehead pressed against his. She mumbled again, with a tone of great grievance: "I don't want to eat leftovers either..."
Pei Huaijin was stunned when he heard this, then his throat moved and he let out a helpless smile.
She was only given two meals of leftovers to eat, and yet she acted so aggrieved? It was as if she had been subjected to some terrible abuse.
He lowered his eyes and saw her fluffy hair. There were a few strands of hair that were sticking up and swaying gently with her movements, making him feel itchy.
Her body was still moving down, and before he could respond, he felt his legs sink, and she fell asleep on his legs.
It seems that she is really sleepy. She couldn't avoid him last night, but today she was so sleepy that she fell asleep on his legs.
Forget it. I think a girl of this age is in the best condition to sleep. Let’s talk about reciting “The Admonitions for Women” tomorrow night.
Pei Huaijin took off the quilt from her and put it aside temporarily, then helped her back inside, straightened her hands and feet, and covered her with the quilt.
The pair of eyes that could either express anger or joy were now quietly closed, with long feathery eyelashes casting a thin shadow under the eyes, completely different from this morning when she was pretending to be asleep and her eyelashes were fluttering.
It would be great if he could be as quiet and well-behaved when awake as he is when asleep.
Although she didn't memorize the fourth chapter of "Nujie" before going to bed, Shen Youran had a dream. In the dream, Pei Huaijin kept forcing her to memorize it and threatened her that if she didn't memorize it, he would consummate their marriage. She was so scared that she cried while reciting...
But the words on the book of "Nujie" in her dream were all distorted except for the first sentence. She didn't recognize them, couldn't understand them at all, and couldn't memorize them at all. She was so anxious that she wanted to find her sister, but Pei Huaijin pounced on her like a tiger, bit her lips, and said he wanted to consummate their marriage...
"Wow, I don't want to consummate the marriage," she cried and knelt down to beg for mercy, "Don't eat me..."
Just as she was about to wake up crying, a big hand gently patted her shoulder: "I won't eat you, just sleep peacefully."
“Woo…”
The big tiger in her dream suddenly let her go, and she fell asleep again in a daze.
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The author has something to say: The red envelope for the previous chapter has been sent!
Next chapter, see you at noon! [Milk Tea]
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