Chapter 31 You’re not allowed to leave…
This was not the first time she had thrown herself into his arms, but each time it was when she was drowsy, or when she was unconscious in the carriage.
It was the same this time, which made Pei Huaijin feel helpless and amused.
The person in his arms wasn't heavy, but soft as a ball of cotton, with a hint of sweetness. Pei Huaijin held her in his arms, and his temper with her disappeared completely. He thought that even if she had really faked a stomachache to anger Aunt Xiao away, it wouldn't be unforgivable...
When he woke up the next day, the person was still sleeping in his arms. For the first time, Pei Huaijin didn't want to get up, but the self-discipline he had developed over the years made him gently push the person away from his arms, leaving her to sleep in bed for a while longer. He changed his clothes, washed up, and went to the yard to do morning exercises with Qingjian.
When the kitchen staff brought breakfast, Shen Youran also got up. After having breakfast with him, she said to him, "Since Aunt Xiao is not coming today, I want to take the account book to my sister's courtyard. If there is anything I don't understand, you can ask my sister for help at any time..."
Pei Huaijin knew that the two sisters had a good relationship, and since her seventh brother had run away again in the past two days, Shen Yunshu must be worried about this. She asked her to go over and talk to Shen Yunshu, so she didn't stop him: "Go ahead."
Shen Youran held the account book and happily went to Ciyouyuan.
Pei Huaijin took the gifts and went out, taking a carriage to the Xiao Mansion.
In Ciyou Courtyard, Shen Yunshu had already had breakfast and was reading a book with her forehead supported. Occasionally, her thoughts would turn from the book to Pei Huaian.
That day he ran out of the house and hid in a friend's house. Shen Yunshu sent people to look for him for three days before finally bringing him back. But after he came back, he read books for two days and then sneaked out again. Now we still haven't found where he hid.
It's not that Shen Yunshu had no way to force him to come back, but she was worried that if she pushed him too far, he would reveal the fact that they had divorced, so she didn't dare to use tough measures against him.
After Shen Youran came in, he first glanced at the study.
There was no study in Ciyouyuan originally. A few days ago, in order to invite a teacher to teach Pei Huaian, a wing room on the east side was converted into a study.
Today the windows of the study were open, and the person sitting inside was Shen Yunshu.
Shen Youran walked in and asked in confusion: "Sister, why are you here? Where is Pei Huaian?"
"He ran away again the day before yesterday and hasn't been found yet." Seeing her coming here, Shen Yunshu couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here? Don't you have to go to class with Aunt Xiao today?"
“Hmm…” Shen Youran said vaguely, “It’s been several days in a row. It’s time to let Aunt Xiao rest for two days.”
"It's good to rest for two days... Hmm? What are you holding in your arms?"
"The account book." Shen Youran placed the account book in her arms on the table. "Pei Huaijin asked me to study on my own for the past two days. I couldn't understand it, so I came to you."
Shen Yunshu chuckled and reminded her: "He is your husband now, don't always call him by his full name..."
"Of course I wouldn't dare call you that in front of others, but can't I be more comfortable in front of my sister?" Shen Youran saw that her sister also had a book in front of her. She had already flipped through most of it. The obscure words on it gave her a headache just by looking at them. "Sister, Pei Huaian has been gone for several days. Do you still have the mind to read?"
"I've already sent people out to look for him. I'll go find him myself when I get some news. Anyway, since you have nothing to do, come over and read for a while..."
Shen Youran knew that her sister loved reading, so she held her chin and said with regret, "It would be better if your sister was a man. With your knowledge, if she took the imperial examination, she would definitely do as well as a man..."
Shen Yunshu smiled and said, "I do have this plan."
"Huh? You're going to take part in the scientific examination?" Shen Youran blinked in surprise. "A woman dressed as a man?"
"That's a crime of deceiving the emperor. How dare I?" Shen Yunshu looked at her innocent sister and explained to her, "A few days ago, I heard from the teacher that in the past, the palace selected female officials, mostly from the palace maids. Starting this year, the emperor has granted grace, allowing women from outside the palace to enter the Forbidden City by passing the imperial examination. I want to give it a try..."
Shen Youran was more and more surprised: "You want to enter the palace? But you are already married?"
"I asked the Master, and there's no restriction against taking the imperial examinations if you're married..."
"It's too sudden," Shen Youran held her face, unable to accept it for a moment, and stammered, "I thought that since we married into the Pei family, we would be together forever."
"I just wanted to give it a try, but I don't guarantee I'll pass. Don't overthink it." Shen Yunshu took her sister's hand and warned her, "I don't want anyone else to know about this for now. You have to keep it a secret for me..."
Shen Youran pouted and groaned: “Then you might as well not tell me.”
"Okay, don't be unhappy..."
After Shen Yunshu comforted her sister, she closed her book and concentrated on teaching her how to read the accounts.
After only watching for two quarters of an hour, Tinglan knocked on the door: "Young Madam, a servant just came to report that he has found the whereabouts of the Seventh Young Master. He is going to play polo with his friends at Yadao Liujing today..."
"Got it." Shen Yunshu turned to her sister and said, "I have to go and catch him back. You can look at the account book first..."
Shen Youran hurriedly grabbed her hand: “Sister, I want to go with you.”
"You don't look at the account book anymore?"
"What's so interesting about the account book? I'll go with you and help you catch the criminals."
Shen Yunshu knew that she had been studying quite seriously with Aunt Xiao in the past few days. Since she didn't have to go to class today, she might as well take her out for a walk to relax.
"Then let's go. I'll take you to see them play polo..."
Yadao Liujing is next to Jinming Lake, where there is a polo field with a radius of a thousand steps. The rammed earth inside the field is as flat as a mirror, with low walls on three sides and railings all around. Last March, their father brought them here to watch the performance of the Royal Polo Team.
When Shen Youran and her sister arrived here, the game on the court had already started for a while.
Several horses crossed each other on the field, the ball tumbling in the dust under the horses' hooves, and the two teams fought fiercely for it.
Shen Youran leaned over the railing and watched with relish for a while before squinting his eyes to look for Pei Huaian's figure.
Although her eyesight was poor, Pei Huaian's appearance was outstanding and his skin was fair, so she found him quickly.
At that time, a teammate passed the ball to him. He rode his horse around to the back of the goal and hit the ball into the net with a bicycle kick, which caused the audience outside the railing to cheer.
His team had already won by two points, and according to the rules, the game was suspended, but they could rest for a while. Shen Youran turned around and asked his sister if she wanted to go find him now.
Shen Yunshu looked at the unbridled young man on the court and said in a calm tone, "Let's go over after he's had his fun."
Shen Youran was happy to watch for a while longer. The people on horseback were all young men of the same age as Pei Huaian. They wore jade belts around their waists and black leather boots on their feet. They were full of vigor and vitality. They were much more pleasing to the eye than the old and conservative Pei Huaijin.
Someone handed a water bag to Pei Huaian. When Pei Huaian raised it to drink water, he caught a glimpse of two familiar figures outside the railing. He couldn't help but look closely. After seeing clearly, he choked on the water in his throat, causing him to cough uncontrollably.
He threw away his water bag and said to his companions, "That's all for today. I have to go."
Having said that, he jumped on his horse and was about to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey, the fight isn't over yet, why are you leaving?" His companion pulled his reins.
At the same time, Shen Yunshu realized that he was about to escape, so she had to take her sister to find him.
Shen Youran usually eats a lot and sleeps a lot, so now she has used her only advantage over her sister: she runs faster than her sister...
Pei Huaian was unable to explain the reason to his companion, so he forcibly pulled the reins back from his hand. When he was about to ride his horse away, he saw Shen Youran running in front of his horse in the blink of an eye.
She stretched out her arms and blocked his way: "Don't run!"
Seeing that Shen Yunshu hadn't come over yet, Pei Huaian felt a bit lucky and discussed with the people under his horse: "Little aunt, since we share the same suffering, please let me go."
“No, I’m your sister-in-law, not a horse herder!” Shen Youran stood in front of the horse stubbornly, with no intention of moving.
Seeing that there was no hope of escape, Pei Huaian had no choice but to jump off the horse. He and Shen Youran stared at each other for a while until Shen Yunshu came over.
Behind him was a group of young men in bright clothes and handsome horses, who were at the age when they were looking for beautiful ladies. When they suddenly saw a pair of beautiful sisters on the court, they immediately started to make a fuss.
"Oh, Qilang is so lucky..."
"Qi Lang, why don't you introduce yourself? Which one is your wife?"
Pei Huaian turned around and stood in front of Shen Yunshu. With his back to her, he raised his hand to drive away the companions who were making strange noises: "Go away, go play your polo."
After the commotion, those people picked up their polo clubs and went to the center of the field.
Pei Huaian then turned around and said with a sad face: "I really don't want to study, so don't force me..."
"I know you don't want to, and I'm in a difficult situation. Please come back with me first. I've already made an agreement with the teacher to be less strict with you in the future..."
"It's not a question of being strict or not. I just don't like studying. Why do you have to force me? You clearly..." Pei Huaian wanted to bring up their previous agreement, but because Shen Youran was also here, he had to stop, "Anyway, I'm not going back with you today."
Shen Youran stood obediently by the side, thinking that with her sister's intelligence, she would definitely be able to persuade Pei Huaian to go back. Just as she looked at her sister expectantly, she heard her say, "If you've made up your mind not to go back, then forget it..."
Um?
My sister actually gave in so quickly?
Is there nothing my sister can do to him?
Can't it?
As stupid as she is, she can think of several ways to force Pei Huaian to go back. If soft methods don't work, she will use hard methods. If hard methods don't work, she will use coercion. How come her sister can't even think of one method?
Pei Huaian was also surprised: "Ah... forget it?" Don't continue to persuade him?
"Well, if Grandmother and Big Brother blame me, I will bear the responsibility alone. After I return today, I will go to Chunxuan Hall to apologize to Grandmother..."
Shen Youran was shocked: "Sister, you..." When did you become so cowardly?
What about the spankings she'd received in the past two years? She said she didn't want to study, so her sister took out the ruler. She wasn't concentrating on her calligraphy practice, so her sister took out the ruler. She played the piano out of tune, so her sister took out the ruler again...
Why is it that when it comes to Pei Huaian, let alone using a ruler, my sister doesn't even dare to say a harsh word.
Is my sister trying to retreat in order to advance? Using gentleness to overcome strength?
Pei Huaian had not expected that she would be so on his side this time. He was stunned for a moment, but still did not change his words: "You don't have to apologize to grandma. I will go back to see grandma another day..."
Shen Youran’s gaze shifted from her sister to Pei Huaian: “Sister, this trick doesn’t work.
"Okay, let's go back first." Shen Yunshu didn't bother to argue any further and took her sister's hand and was about to leave.
She came here to look for him today just for show. If she could persuade him to go back, that would be even better. If she couldn't persuade him, it would mean that she had tried her best, and the people of the Pei family would not be able to find any fault with her.
Besides, it wouldn't take too long for the Dali Temple to apprehend Lu Yi, and then she could leave the Pei family. And her third sister now had Aunt Xiao to teach her, so she didn't need to worry too much. From now on, she could just do what she liked.
However, Shen Youran had no idea what she was thinking. Seeing her sister being so humble and gentle in front of Pei Huaian, she couldn't help but feel resentful, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
no!
We can't just go back like this.
She had to help her sister bring Pei Huaian back.
Shen Youran let go of her sister's hand, turned around and ran back to Pei Huaian. Seeing that he had picked up the polo stick again, ready to go back to the court to play, she snatched it away and acted like an elder sister-in-law: "The elder sister-in-law is like a mother. You have to listen to me. No more polo. Come back with us!"
Pei Huaian had just heard what Shen Yunshu said, and he was actually a little shaken in his heart. It was only because of the teasing of his friends behind him that he picked up the polo club. He thought that he would save his face today, and he would go back to the mansion tomorrow. He couldn't really ask her to take the punishment for him.
But he didn't expect Shen Youran to come back and say something like "elder sister-in-law is like a mother" with a fresh face, without even considering her less than five feet tall figure to see if she had enough momentum to say such words.
The friends behind him obviously heard Shen Youran's words and immediately burst into laughter.
Pei Huaian couldn't help but feel humiliated. He put on a cold face and tried to take back his polo club. He lowered his voice and said, "Sister-in-law, if that's the case, you should still call me 'brother-in-law'. Be obedient and give me the club..."
Shen Youran hugged the pole tightly in his arms: “If you don’t give it to me, then I won’t give it to you…”
Pei Huaian didn't take her strength seriously at all: "Stop it, I don't want to hurt you."
But at this moment, her lower abdomen began to ache again. Shen Youran frowned, but endured it and looked at Pei Huaian stubbornly: "Come back with us..."
"Oh," Pei Huaian sighed helplessly, and while she was not paying attention, he snatched the polo club from her arms, "Here you go."
At this moment, the pain in his lower abdomen suddenly intensified, Shen Youran's body swayed, and he squatted on the ground in pain.
Pei Huaian took the golf club and turned to get on the horse, but her clothes were pulled by him.
She squatted on the ground, her face pale, and stubbornly grabbed the corner of his clothes: "Don't leave..."
Shen Yunshu also turned back at this time. Seeing that her face looked strange, she squatted down and asked, "You Ran, what's wrong with you?"
Shen Youran tightly grasped the corner of Pei Huaian's clothes with one hand and pressed deeply into her lower abdomen with the other hand: "Sister, my stomach hurts so much..."
"Pei Huaian!" Shen Yunshu changed her previous meekness and tolerance and looked at him sideways, "Why did you hurt her?"
"It's none of my business!" Pei Huaian felt wronged, thinking Shen Youran was putting on an act. "I was just retrieving the club. How could I possibly have hurt her?"
Is she still having a stomachache? His golf club clearly didn't hit her stomach. Could he be more convincing in his performance?
"Are you trying to trick me? I won't fall for it..."
Pei Huaian wanted to pull the corner of his clothes back from her hand, but before he could use any force, he saw her hand loosen, and then she fell into Shen Yunshu's arms.
"You Ran, Youran..." Shen Yunshu called her anxiously, but the person in her arms didn't respond at all.
Pei Huaian also noticed her abnormality at this time: her face was pale, and her forehead and nose were covered with sweat, as if... she was indeed not acting.
Could it be that I really hurt her accidentally just now?
He quickly threw away the polo club in his hand, bent down to pick up the person, and said to Shen Yunshu: "There is a clinic nearby, come with me."
Shen Yunshu and he took their sister to the clinic.
During the journey, Shen Youran woke up from the pain and did not forget to grab Pei Huaian's collar and asked him: "Will you follow... us back?"
"It's already this late, and you're still thinking about this..."
"Are you...going back?"
"Back, back, I'm back, okay..."
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Shen Youran fainted from the pain again.
Pei Huaian carried the person into the clinic. After the doctor listened to their description of the symptoms and took her pulse, he said, "She's had her period. It's just abdominal pain during menstruation. It's nothing serious."
In one sentence, Pei Huaian was cleared of all charges: "Look, I said I didn't hurt her."
Shen Yunshu felt something was wrong.
My third sister didn't start her period until she was fourteen. She didn't know anything when her period first arrived, so it was her older sister who taught her how to cope. My third sister has always been in good health. For the past two years, she's never had any pain during her periods, just some slight discomfort in her lower back and abdomen. And since her period wasn't even due today, how could it have come so early? And with such severe pain...
"Sir, please take a closer look. She usually doesn't feel any pain. Why is she in so much pain this time?"
The doctor was young and hadn't been practicing medicine for long, so he couldn't figure out any other reason. "If you don't believe me, go find another clinic to see her..."
Fortunately, an elderly doctor passed by at this time. He stopped and came over to take her pulse. His white beard twitched as he said, "She has a cold evil entering her body, causing blood deficiency and coldness, and her uterus is not warm. That's why she is like this..."
"Cold evil has entered the body?" Shen Yunshu asked in astonishment, "What does that mean?"
"It must be that he took something extremely cold..."
"Is that... serious?"
"She didn't eat much, so she's fine now," he said to the young doctor, "First, give her Huo Luo Xie Ling Dan to relieve the pain. Then prescribe a prescription for warming the uterus and dispersing cold. Take it for three days. Then prescribe another prescription for Dang Gui Sini Tang. Take it for seven days to dispel the cold poison..."
"Yes, teacher." The young doctor was the old man's apprentice. He immediately took out the pain-relieving pills and asked Shen Yunshu to give them to her first. Then, according to the teacher's request, he wrote down two prescriptions.
After Pei Huaian took the prescription and took the medicine, Shen Youran had already woken up. The pain in her lower abdomen was relieved a lot, but when she moved her body, she felt a warm current flowing from her lower abdomen, and then she realized that her period had come early.
Shen Yunshu was not in a position to take off her coat, so she asked Pei Huaian to take off his coat and put it on her, then helped her out of the clinic.
Pei Huaian helped the two of them onto the carriage, squeezed in himself, and sat quietly on the side.
Shen Yunshu hugged her frail sister and glanced at him: She came out to look for him today without holding any hope of persuading him to go home. Unexpectedly, after her third sister made a scene in front of him, he actually went back with them obediently.
It seems that he still likes the third sister...
Shen Yunshu sighed silently in her heart, lowered her eyes and asked her sister in her arms: "The doctor just said that you ate something cold and that's why you're like this. What have you been eating these past few days?"
"No, the food I eat is all sent by the kitchen in the mansion..."
"Did you have any abdominal pain before?"
"The pain started two days ago, but it wasn't as severe as this."
"It's been hurting for two days now. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I asked two doctors to come and see me, and they both said there was nothing wrong..."
Shen Yunshu had a guess in her mind: If she hadn't met the old doctor with superb medical skills today, she probably wouldn't have been able to find out the real cause of her sister's illness.
Could it be that someone in the mansion is secretly doing something bad to my third sister?
*
The carriage rumbled over the bluestone slabs, turned into the alley, and stopped at the gate of Pei Mansion.
Pei Huaijin got off the carriage and walked straight to the mansion.
He had just returned from the Xiao family, apologized to Aunt Xiao on behalf of Shen Youran, and drank a few cups of tea in the flower hall with Xiao Ci, who was also on vacation today.
Xiao Ci told him that according to the clue about Lu Yi provided by him, they followed the clues for several days and found several suspicious places. It was suspected that Lu Yi was colluding with a group of bandits outside the city to cause chaos. Now they are searching for witnesses and material evidence. Once all the evidence is obtained, they can go to Lu's mansion to arrest him.
Pei Huaijin thanked him and chatted with him about other things. He stayed in the Xiao Mansion for nearly an hour. As noon was approaching, Xiao Ci wanted to keep him in the mansion for lunch, but he made an excuse to decline and left the Xiao Mansion.
He rushed back to the mansion to see if Shen Youran still had abdominal pain today. Just as he was about to walk into the mansion, he heard the sound of a carriage bell behind him. Looking back, he saw that the driver was Qing Wu, the attendant of his seventh brother.
It seems that the seventh brother is back.
Sure enough, after the carriage stopped, he saw the seventh brother jumped out of the carriage with a lot of medicine in his hands. When he saw him, he called out "Big Brother".
Pei Huaijin was about to ask him what he was doing with the medicine when he saw Shen Yunshu come out of the carriage and stand beside his seventh brother. She bowed slightly and saluted him: "Brother, we just came back from the clinic. You Ran is not feeling well..."
"But you have stomachache again?" He walked over.
"yes……"
The curtain of the carriage was still held up by Qingwu. The person in the carriage leaned out, wearing a man's coat. Judging from the shape, it should be the robe of the seventh brother.
Shen Youran took the painkiller and gradually recovered, but because of her early period, she had some difficulty moving.
She slowly got off the carriage, and a hot current between her buttocks immediately froze her in place.
"Is it still painful?" Pei Huaian saw with his own eyes that she fainted from the pain, but he misunderstood that she was acting. He couldn't help feeling sorry for this and became more concerned about her.
Shen Youran nodded awkwardly: "Yes, there is still some..." In fact, it didn't hurt anymore, but she couldn't tell the truth in front of so many people.
Pei Huaian scratched his head: "Then I'll find someone to carry you in..." He took her to the clinic in an emergency, and it would be unreasonable to carry her again now.
"No need, I'll just carry her in." Pei Huaijin raised his hand to take off her outer robe, but she held on to the clothes tightly, not allowing him to take them off.
"I can't take it off..." she said embarrassedly.
Pei Huaijin's eyes darkened, but he finally picked up the person along with his clothes and turned to walk towards the mansion.
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