Chapter 29: Is he crazy enough to tease her in front of his elder brother?
Shen Youran escaped from him in a panic, with a red face, and crawled into the quilt.
The quilt moved and was pulled half off by him. One side of the bed sank a little and he lay down again.
"Didn't you say you were going to be late? Why haven't you left yet?" she asked awkwardly from under the quilt.
"I'll leave soon."
"Can't we just leave now?"
"cannot."
"Why?"
"Waiting for it to calm down."
“…”
Pei Huaijin looked at the bulge in the quilt beside him and patted it. "Aren't you bored? Come out."
"No." It was so embarrassing that she didn't dare to come out. She could only secretly open the quilt a little to avoid suffocating herself.
After about a quarter of an hour, the noise finally died down.
Pei Huaijin brushed aside the curtains and got out of bed. He went to the closet to get dressed and asked her, "Aren't you going to get up and have breakfast with me?"
"No, I want to sleep for a while..."
Pei Huaijin chuckled helplessly: Who was it that had bitten a biscuit in the carriage and promised solemnly that he would get up early to have breakfast with him in the future?
Never mind. She didn’t sleep well last night, so it’s okay to let her sleep a little longer today.
After getting dressed, it was already late, so he couldn't do morning exercises. Pei Huaijin didn't even eat a few bites of breakfast before asking someone to bring him a cloak and going out.
Qing Jian was waiting in the yard. When he saw him come out, he handed him a stack of account books, saying that they were sent by people from Chunxuan Hall.
Pei Huaijin took a quick glance and understood what his grandmother meant. "You don't have to go out with me today. When the young lady wakes up, give her these account books and tell her to read two today. You supervise her from the side and don't let her slack off..."
"Yes." Qing Jian retreated with the account book in her hand. She watched her husband leave the yard before turning around and looking in the direction of the main house.
The young master just said that when the young lady wakes up, he will ask her to look at the account book.
It’s already this late, and the young lady hasn’t gotten up yet?
*
When Shen Yunshu arrived at Xiangguo Temple, the morning mist had not yet completely dissipated. The mist spread over the treetops, and the pine needles were covered with silver frost, swaying slightly in the wind.
She saw Pei Huaian's carriage at the foot of the mountain. Just as she had guessed, he came to the temple again.
In the past, I only heard that those playboys liked to go to brothels and music houses, but he was different. Not only did he go to the temple every day, he even stayed there.
When Shen Yunshu found Pei Huaian, he was limping out of the dormitory.
The injury on his foot had not healed yet, but that didn't stop him from running away after seeing Shen Yunshu.
Shen Yunshu lifted her skirt and chased him, from the dormitory to the dining room, from the backyard to the back mountain. He ran very fast with a limp, and soon disappeared in the mountains and forests.
Shen Yunshu couldn't find him anywhere. She suddenly had an idea and pretended to fall. Seeing that he still didn't show up, she pretended to call Tinglan: "Tinglan, come quickly, I was bitten by a snake..."
Tinglan didn't come, but the one who came was indeed that impatient and simple boy.
"Where did you get bitten?"
Shen Yunshu grabbed his hand and held it tightly: "I lied to you, don't run away again."
"You..." Pei Huaian was caught by her. Even if he wanted to run, he couldn't. He could only say, "Get up first."
Pei Huaian helped her stand up and tried to pull his hand back, but the other party not only did not let go, but grabbed another one.
He stared at his hand that she was holding, and said unnaturally: "I won't run away, let me go first."
Shen Yunshu didn't let go and asked him, "Your foot is still injured, why are you running?"
Pei Huaian subconsciously looked at her neck. Her fair and beautiful neck was clean, and the red marks he left in the carriage that day had disappeared without a trace.
"I... I did that to you. I'm too embarrassed to see you." They had agreed to be just husband and wife in name only, and to get along as brother and sister in private, but he had actually been so offensive to her after getting drunk, and even grabbed her hand and went to...
When he thought of that incident, Pei Huaian was so embarrassed that he wanted to bury himself in the ground and hide.
He has been staying in the temple these days and dared not go home. He planned to return to Quanzhou with his father after some time so that he would not have to face her again.
Unexpectedly, she would come to the temple to look for him.
"What happened that day wasn't your fault." Shen Yunshu knew why he was avoiding her, and she had already prepared an excuse before she came to find him. "In fact, there was something wrong with the wine that day. I sent someone back to the Lu family to investigate. The servants mistakenly brought a jar of kidney-tonifying and yang-replenishing wine. You were young and energetic, and you drank a lot, so that's why you did this..."
She was able to tell Pei Huaijin the truth about this matter because she believed that he was mature and reliable, and that he could not only help her deal with Lu Yi but also keep it a secret. However, she did not dare to tell Pei Huaian. He was young and impatient. If he knew, things would get out of control.
"So that's how it is." Pei Huaian took a deep breath and murmured, "I told you, I only dared to dream before..."
"Um?"
Pei Huaian quickly stopped talking and avoided her gaze guiltily. Another thought came to his mind: "I saw that Big Brother drank more than me that day. Did he also..."
Shen Yunshu was not in a position to fabricate a lie against Pei Huaijin, but she still had to keep up the lie, so she could only tell him vaguely, "That day, my eldest brother's lips were broken..."
After hearing this, Pei Huaian felt much more at ease: even his cold and aloof elder brother had lost control, so it was only natural that he, as a younger brother, could not keep his nature.
"Then you really don't blame me for being abrupt?"
"Since I know that wasn't your intention, I naturally won't blame you." Shen Yunshu saw that he looked relieved and guessed that he really wouldn't run away again, so she let go of his hand. "Now, are you willing to come back with me?"
Pei Huaian felt his hand lighten, and when he looked down, he saw that she had withdrawn her hand.
He refused to be caught by her just now, but now that she really let him go, he actually felt a little lost.
"Then let's go back." It just so happened that he had had enough of eating vegetarian food in the temple these days and missed the big fish and meat outside.
"The injury on your foot hasn't healed yet. Do you need me to help you?" Shen Yunshu asked considerately.
Pei Huaian moved his injured foot. He had ignored the pain in his foot when he was running away just now, but now that she reminded him, he felt extreme pain. The scarred wound seemed to have split open.
Deep down, he wanted her to help him, but he considered himself a man. If he asked for help for such a minor injury, wouldn't she look down on him?
"No need." He said casually.
"Then I'll walk slowly with you."
She matched his pace, walking side by side with him. Pei Huaian walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow, and he couldn't help but secretly glance at the person with a calm face beside him, with a hint of resentment in his eyes: He said he didn't need to help her, so he really didn't help her. He was just being polite...
The arrogant boy deliberately increased the amplitude of his limp and inched his body closer to her.
As her sleeves swung, the edge of her sleeves scraped against the back of his hand, which felt a little itchy.
Somewhere in my heart, it seems to be itching.
Shen Yunshu didn't look away, but she was secretly trying to hold back her laughter: He was clearly not limping that badly just now, and he wanted her to help him but was too embarrassed to ask, so she pretended not to see. Let's see how long he can keep pretending?
Pei Huaian limped more and more severely. Seeing that she still ignored him, he was extremely depressed. Finally, he couldn't help but say: "I think... if you hold me up, I can walk faster..."
Shen Yunshu couldn't help laughing and looked at him.
The boy looked awkward and aggrieved, his clear eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at her eagerly.
No one can resist the coquettishness of such a good-looking person.
"Okay." Shen Yunshu couldn't help but scratch his chin, the same way she would tease a kitten or puppy. "Call me sister, and I'll help you."
The young man moved his lips for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence: "Sister..."
"Scream again."
"elder sister."
"I haven't heard enough..."
“Sister, sister, sister…”
Shen Yunshu smiled and took his arm.
It was not until the two of them got on the carriage and drove for a long distance that Shen Yunshu told him the real purpose of her visit.
"Your eldest brother told me that you should concentrate on studying at home and let me supervise you..."
Pei Huaian, upon hearing this, completely changed his obedient demeanor in the back mountain. He stood up and was about to jump out of the car: "Why do you suddenly want me to study? Then I won't go back!"
Shen Yunshu held him back: "Studying is not a bad thing, don't resist..."
Pei Huaian really started to argue with her: "What did you tell me before? We agreed that we would just be a fake couple and you wouldn't push me to make progress..."
Of course Shen Yunshu remembered the promise, but it was difficult for her to refuse Pei Huaijin.
"It's not that I don't want to keep my promise. As for your studies, my eldest brother said he has discussed it with your father. Not only do you need to study, but he also wants you to enter a college or the Imperial Academy in a year..."
"Father also agreed?" Pei Huaian exclaimed, "Father didn't say that before. It must have been Big Brother's idea..."
He thought angrily for a while, and felt that his elder brother must have come up with a way to restrain him in order to prevent him from getting close to Shen Youran.
Big brother is too narrow-minded. What kind of person does he think of him? He has now accepted Shen Youran as his sister-in-law. In the future, he will definitely restrain his desires and will not have any improper thoughts about her.
"I'll go back and tell Big Brother in person..."
*
The late autumn sunshine has faded the scorching heat of summer, and only at noon it begins to gently cast a warm glow.
Seeing that it was almost time for lunch, Qing Jian took the account book to find Dan Ruo again and asked her, "Is the young lady still awake?"
Before the man got married, he could never have imagined that the man with strict self-discipline would marry a woman who could sleep until noon.
This morning, before leaving, my husband asked him to give the account books to the young lady, and told her to finish reading two books today. But now it's already this late, and if the young lady doesn't get up, I'm afraid she won't be able to finish even one.
Danruo knew that her daughter was a sleepyhead, but no matter how sleepy she was, she rarely slept until noon. What happened today? She wanted to go into the room to check, but at this moment, her daughter's lazy voice came from the room: "Danruo..."
Dan Ruo hurried in and saw her leaning against the bedpost with sleepy eyes. She looked fine, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
She helped her dress and wash, and asked someone to bring her lunch. After Shen Youran finished eating, she was about to jump into bed again.
Dan Ruo hurriedly pulled him up: "Hasn't it been noon? Why are you still sleeping?"
Shen Youran leaned on her: "The injury on my foot hasn't healed yet, and I can't go anywhere. What else can I do if I don't sleep?" How can I make up for the sleep I missed last night in just one morning?
"Young Madam, please don't sleep any more. Qing Jian has come to you several times with the account book, saying that it was ordered by the Master. Today, he wants you to look at the account book..."
"What account book?"
"I don't know, but I heard it was sent by someone from Chunxuan Hall."
Chunxuan Hall? Old Madam?
Shen Youran suddenly came to her senses: It's only been a few days since they got married, and she has to learn to read the account books. Is it really going to be the eldest grandson's wife who will be in charge of the family in the future?
Instead of having a smart and virtuous sister, why force a fool like her to learn how to manage the household? Isn't this asking too much?
However, even if he was reluctant, Shen Youran didn't dare to talk behind his elders' backs: "Where's the account book? Show it to me..."
Isn't it just looking at the account book? You can look at it while sitting, lying down, or even sleeping with the door closed and using your pillow.
"The account book is in Qing Jian's hands. He said he would give it to you personally."
He was a man and it was inconvenient for him to enter the bedroom, so Shen Youran asked Dan Ruo to help him go to the second room before calling Qing Jian in.
Qing Jian put down the account book but did not leave: "My husband ordered that the young lady should finish reading two books today and asked me to supervise."
Dog Pei Huaijin! He actually read her mind thoroughly and guessed that she would be lazy, so he left a little old-fashioned man to watch her.
"Okay, let me see." Shen Youran gritted his teeth and picked up the account book. Under Qingmian's expressionless gaze, he began to read it angrily.
On the other side, after Pei Huaian came out of the temple, he did not go home immediately. He took Shen Yunshu to Fengle Tower and had a big meal. After returning home, he asked someone to bring hot water and took a good bath. He also applied medicine and bandaged the wound on his foot again. When it was dusk, he guessed that his elder brother should be off duty and return home, so he went to Yunzhiyuan slowly.
He asked the maid in the yard and found out that his elder brother had not returned yet. He was about to go to his elder brother's study to wait for a while when he accidentally caught a glimpse of a little face with a frown and a deep hatred in the window of the second room of the main house.
He came closer out of curiosity, leaned on the window wood and looked inside, and asked in surprise: "What are you looking at?"
Shen Youran was chewing her nails over the complicated accounts when she was suddenly interrupted by someone's voice. She looked out the window and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I came to see Big Brother," he glanced at the things on the table and asked puzzledly, "Why are you reading a book?"
"It's not a book, it's an account book."
"Brother asked you to watch it?"
"I guess so." Although the account books were sent by Chunxuantang, it was he who asked her to finish reading both books today.
But now she hasn't even finished reading any of them.
"Big brother, this is really too much. It's fine if you force me to study, but why do you force you to look at the account books?"
"He asked you to study?" Shen Youran felt a headache when he heard about studying. "Then we really are in the same boat."
"No, no, no," Pei Huaian gloated, "I'm here to reject Big Brother. I don't want to study. You're the only one who's pitiful..."
“…” Shen Youran’s face fell and she glared at him angrily, “Dan Ruo, close the window!”
Before Danruo could close the window, Pei Huaijin came back.
He glanced at Pei Huaian, who was leaning against the window, and his brows sank slightly: "Seventh brother, come with me to the study."
Pei Huaian winked at her mischievously, held his head high, looked confident of victory, and followed Pei Huaijin to the study with his hands behind his back.
Shen Youran put down the account book angrily and decided to follow him to the study to eavesdrop: If he could convince Pei Huaijin to change his mind, then she would not look at this broken account book anymore.
"Brother, I don't want to study." As soon as he entered the study, he couldn't wait to state his purpose. "Besides, Daddy also said before that the money he earned was enough for me and my descendants to live a rich life, and he had no intention of letting me take the imperial examination. So what's the point of me studying..."
Pei Huaijin looked at the restless young man and said slowly, "Studying is not only for the purpose of passing the imperial examination and becoming an official, it can also enlighten your mind, enlighten your understanding, and cure your ignorance. Your uncle didn't let you study before because it was for your own good, and he's letting you study now because it's also for your own good..."
"Since I can live well whether I study or not, why force me to suffer the hardship of studying? I don't think you are doing this for my own good. Instead, you want to lock me up and keep me away from my sister-in-law." Pei Huaian leaned over the table and pleaded, "Brother, look, I'm willing to call her sister-in-law, so please don't force me to study, okay? I promise, I will never think about her again!"
"You think too much. I asked you to study. It has nothing to do with her."
Okay, okay, you don’t admit it, right?
Pei Huaian retreated to advance: "If you insist on letting me study, it's fine. I heard that my sister-in-law's knowledge is average. Why not ask her to study with me?"
Pei Huaijin raised his eyes and glanced at him: "Provocation doesn't work on me. She has her own things to do and doesn't have time to study with you."
"Then I won't study. At worst, I'll go back to Quanzhou with Dad in two days." "Third Uncle left for Quanzhou this morning," Pei Huaijin said with a half-smile, "He entrusted you to me and told me that if you don't obey, your monthly allowance will be cut off..."
Pei Huaian couldn't believe that his father had abandoned him and returned to Quanzhou alone, and handed him over to his eldest brother. He was stunned and speechless for a moment.
"In three days, the teacher I hired for you will arrive at the mansion. You can study with peace of mind. If you fail the Imperial College entrance exam after a year, I will send you to the Yingtianfu Academy. The teachers there are strict and stern, and it won't be as comfortable as at home..."
"Brother, you..." Pei Huaian covered his chest, his face heartbroken, "You have such a cruel heart, but I am your biological brother."
Pei Huaijin lowered his eyes, pulled up the corners of his lips, and smiled an ambiguous smile: "Whether we'll be kissing or not, it's hard to say in the future..."
Pei Huaian had no idea what to do. Like a defeated rooster, he turned around dejectedly. As soon as he opened the door of the study, a soft, fragrant and gentle person fell into his arms.
Shen Youran, who was eavesdropping through the door, didn't hear any footsteps in the room. It was as if he suddenly opened the door, and she, who was standing on one leg, lost her balance and fell forward.
His arms were supported by the other person, his forehead rested on his chest, and half of his body was thrown into his arms.
The scent in my nose was not the agarwood scent that Pei Huaijin wore, but a woody sandalwood scent.
It’s Pei Huaian.
She was startled and tried to pull back, but the other person suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her up.
She was forced to look up and meet his gaze.
"Now, we really are in the same boat..." He raised his hand and pinched her cheek in a rather intimate manner.
Shen Youran's eyes widened: Is he crazy? He actually teased her in front of his eldest brother?
Pei Huaian turned his back to his eldest brother, with a wicked smile on his lips: That's right, he was deliberately teasing Shen Youran just now, because his eldest brother forced him to study.
He said that letting him study was for his own good and had nothing to do with Shen Youran, so he didn't believe his elder brother's nonsense.
It was clearly to keep him away from Shen Youran.
But now she has taken the initiative to fall into his arms. This is a godsend opportunity. If she doesn't get angry with her brother now, when will she do it?
Sure enough, the next moment, the eldest brother came from behind him, pulled Shen Youran behind him, his eyes full of displeasure: “Seventh brother, watch your words and actions.”
"My sister-in-law was about to fall, so I helped her up out of kindness. Why are you scolding me?" Pei Huaian raised his eyebrows, shook his shoulders, and left in a good mood.
Pei Huaijin stared at him gravely as he walked out of the yard, then turned around and raised his uneasy little face.
His cheeks were whiter than snow, without a trace of dirt, but he still used his fingertips to scratch the place where Pei Huaian had pinched him just now, neither lightly nor heavily.
Her skin was too delicate and tender. Even though he didn't use much force, he still scratched her cheek, leaving a few red spots.
Her eyes, pure and soft like a deer's, were filled with light and trembling. She asked him cautiously, "He just pinched my face. Are you going to suspect me of having an affair with him again?"
"No." Pei Huaijin knew that what he had just done was purely out of Seventh Brother's bad taste, deliberately trying to irritate him. He made his move, lowered his eyes and asked her, "Why are you eavesdropping outside the door?"
She pursed her lips: "Well, curious..."
It's easy to guess what the little girl is thinking. What's more, the seventh brother said something like "sympathy for each other" before he left, which shows that she and the seventh brother have the same distress. The seventh brother doesn't want to study, and she... probably doesn't want to learn how to be a housekeeper.
Fortunately, he had just rejected his seventh brother in a harsh tone, otherwise it would be her turn to make a fuss now.
"How are the books?" he asked.
"I haven't finished reading it yet..."
"How much have you seen?"
"Half."
Pei Huaijin frowned: When I left this morning, I asked Qing Jian to supervise her to look at two account books. Now it's late, and she has only read half of it?
“Why do you see so little?”
Shen Youran lowered her head, rubbing the handkerchief in her hand, and muttered, "I, I slept until noon..." Then, without waiting for him to speak, she immediately raised her head to defend herself, "It's because you pressed on me last night, causing me to not sleep well all night. You were so heavy, my waist still hurts now."
Qing Jian and Dan Ruo, who were outside the study, seemed to have heard something extraordinary. One of them looked up at the sky, and the other looked at the ground, but they were reluctant to leave, and continued to listen with their ears perked up.
Pei Huaijin's face showed a bit of unnatural expression, and his throat felt strangely itchy, causing him to cough dryly a few times: "I know, I won't do this tonight."
Seeing that his expression was no longer as strong as before, Shen Youran immediately took advantage of the situation and asked, "Can I see the account book tomorrow?"
The other party refused her outright: "No, today's work must be done today. After dinner, come to the study. There are glass lamps in this room, which are bright and not harmful to the eyes. When you finish reading the account books, you can go to bed."
Those words completely blocked her escape route, even taking her eyes into consideration, leaving her with no other excuse to get out. She could only agree dejectedly: "Okay."
After dinner, Shen Youran walked into Pei Huaijin's study with heavy steps, holding two account books.
He specifically asked his maid to light the refreshing incense. Snow-white and clear mist rose from the incense burner, and the cool and sweet scent slowly spread throughout the room.
Shen Youran opened the half-read account book, his eyes swept across the densely packed papers, then turned to secretly look at the man opposite him.
He said he had some official business to attend to and was writing something on a piece of paper with his head down.
The fingers holding the pen were slender and cold white like jade, and his palm was broad. The blue veins on the back of his hand throbbed slightly as he wrote, extending all the way to his cuffs, and no longer visible further down.
She admitted that his hands were beautiful, at least better looking than the account book.
She couldn't read any of the words in the account book. She stared at the account book in a daze for as long as Qing Jian stared at her during the day.
Fortunately, tonight is not so boring. At least there are still many rare things to see in this study.
The clay inkstone from the Taishan White Pagoda beside her, the lotus-pedestal Ru kiln incense burner on the desk, the elegant asparagus fern on the corner table—normally, she never paid much attention to these elegant things, but tonight, looking at them, they all seemed quite interesting...
Pei Huaijin noticed her inattention, stopped writing, and looked across.
Under her beautiful eyebrows, a pair of dark pupils were moving around cunningly, looking here and there, but never looking at the account book in front of her.
"Pay attention." He reminded.
The person opposite was startled, and his eyes really looked at the account book.
Pei Huaijin continued to write his own works.
A quarter of an hour later, he put down his pen. The person opposite him was as sleepy as a chick pecking at rice. Every time she nodded her head, her face got closer to the table.
Across the table, he reached out and held her face: "Didn't you say you would sleep until noon during the day? Why are you sleepy now?"
She grabbed his big hand, tilted her head, and rested half of her soft little face on his palm: "I'm so sleepy, can you let me sleep for a while?"
Soft, smooth, and warm, like a handful of snow melting in his palm, making his breathing slightly stagnate...
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