Chapter 37 Red Apricot A small red apricot is waving in the wind
When Shen Yunshu gave those books to Pei Huaian, she anticipated that he would be agitated, so she specially asked someone to fill the room with calming incense today.
But now it seems that the calming incense has no effect on him.
The pair of eyes that were as clear as a mountain spring were now flashing with a strange light, looking straight at him, like a wolf cub... watching its prey.
Shen Yunshu sat up, hugging the quilt and leaning back cautiously: "Pei Huaian, you have to learn to control your desires..."
When she moved, he moved with her.
Every inch she moved back, he would move forward an inch.
"Sister Shu," he said, one leg already on the bed, kneeling with bent knees, his hands supporting his body in front of her. There was hesitation and struggle on his face, but more of a look of helplessness driven by the unspeakable despair. "I feel so uncomfortable, I really don't know what to do? Please help me..."
Shen Yunshu hadn't expected those books to be so powerful. Seeing him in so much pain, she couldn't bear it. "Then how can I help you?"
"I can't relieve myself," Pei Huaian tried in the bathroom. The first three times were smooth, but this time it didn't work. He was almost exhausted. "Sister Shu, can you help me relieve it?"
Shen Yunshu had only learned about family matters from books, and knew only that such things had to be done by men and women together. She had no idea there were other ways, so when she heard him say this, she was inevitably shocked: "No, we are not a real couple, we can't do things like that."
Pei Huaian said aggrievedly: "But if my sister hadn't let me read those books, I wouldn't be like this..."
"It seems this method doesn't work. I'll think of another one later."
"Don't worry about the future, I really can't stand it now..."
Pei Huaian came closer and closer, and Shen Yunshu retreated until her back was against the wall, with no way to retreat.
"Pei Huaian..."
"Sister Shu," he held her hand, guiding it slowly downwards, his tone pleading, "Sister, please love me..."
"No, Pei Huaian, calm down..."
At this moment, the oil in the lamp outside the tent ran out, and the remaining light went out in an instant, and the two people in the tent were instantly plunged into the thick night.
Shen Yunshu's hand fell somewhere, his forehead rested on her shoulder, and a hoarse voice sounded in her ears.
"Sister, I'll teach you..."
*
The light in the sky faded, and the pale orange morning glow was about to dissipate. Before Pei Huaijin left, he told Qing Jian, "You stay in the mansion today. If the young lady wants to leave the mansion today, you can come with her..."
She is simple-minded, and her thoughts are written all over her face. Looking at her expression yesterday, it seems that she is likely to carry him out today.
No one in the courtyard could stop her except him, so he simply agreed to her request and arranged for Qing Jian to go with her to protect her, so that he could feel more at ease.
Shen Youran originally wanted to wait for her sister to finish her work in the morning and ask her to go together. She asked Danruo to ask her sister's wishes. Her sister said that she was busy today and would not go. She asked her to go early and come back early and not to play too much.
However, when Shen Youran saw Qing Jian was still in the mansion, she thought that Pei Huaijin deliberately left him behind to stop her, so she and Danruo Qinghe came up with a plan. She asked Qinghe to change into her own clothes to lure Qing Jian away, and she took Danruo out of the mansion and got on a carriage to Daxiangguo Temple.
When they arrived at the foot of the mountain where the temple was located, the carriage could not go up, so Shen Youran hired two simple sedan chairs. She and Danruo each sat in one and swayed up the mountain.
In the morning, the Yang energy rises, which is suitable for burning incense and praying for blessings. Therefore, there are many people burning incense in the Buddhist temple at this moment. Shen Youran did not come here to pray for blessings today, so he did not squeeze into the temple.
A temporary stage was built in front of the main hall, and the artists on the stage were performing a puppet show. Shen Youran pulled Dan Ruo and ran over excitedly to watch the show.
Just as she was enjoying the show, Danruo was unexpectedly bumped into by someone. She felt something was wrong and quickly reached for the purse tied around her waist.
Sure enough, it’s gone!
"There's a thief! Catch the thief!" She immediately looked up to find the person who had bumped into her. She quickly spotted a man in a gray paper coat in the crowd. "Madam, that man stole our purse..."
What?
If he stole the money, she wouldn't even be able to buy incense later.
"Hurry, Danruo, let's chase him!" Shen Youran pulled Danruo and chased the gray shadow, struggling to weave through the crowd.
But today, the temple fair was packed with people, and Shen Youran had her sleeves spread out like a curtain. She was still wearing a veil on her head, so she couldn't run fast. The thief was obviously a habitual criminal, and he was as slippery as a fish. It didn't take long for him to leave them far behind.
After running for a while, Shen Youran realized that he had been ill for the past few days and his health was not as good as before. He was exhausted and out of breath after running for just a short while.
"Forget it, let's not chase him anymore..." She pulled Danruo to stop, narrowed her eyes, and watched the thief's figure getting farther and farther away, and she gave up hope.
But at this moment, the thief seemed to be hit by something and fell to the ground. He got up, looked around, ran forward two steps, and then fell to the ground again...
This time, before he could get up, a young man in a navy-colored robe with narrow sleeves came up to him, held him down, and asked for his purse.
When Shen Youran and Dan Ruo rushed over, they saw that the thief was still struggling, shouting that he was innocent, and refused to hand over the purse.
The man turned him over and searched his body, but he really couldn't find the purse.
But they found bamboo tweezers, blades and other items used for stealing...
"It seems that your purse has been handed over to his accomplice..." The young man looked up and said to her, still holding the man in his hand until the patrolling clerk came over, and then he handed the man over.
Before the clerk took the man away, he asked Shen Youran's name and address, and said that if he found her purse, he would notify her to go to the government office to collect it.
"My last name is Chen, my husband's last name is Pei, and I live at..." She gave her address, and the other party took note of it and took the thief away.
Although she didn't get the purse back, she wanted to thank the young man for his help.
She turned around and was about to thank him, but she heard him hesitantly call her: "Mrs. Shen San?"
Um?
Shen Youran looked at him through the gauze under the curtain fence. He was tall and handsome, with slightly dark skin. He should be a martial artist. After thinking carefully, he suddenly remembered: "Are you...Liang Jia Liulang?" Liang Xu, Liang Liulang of the Guard General's Mansion.
The other party nodded slightly: "Yes, what a coincidence."
Because he had just helped her, out of courtesy, Shen Youran greeted him: "Are you also visiting the temple fair? Are you alone?"
“…Yeah, sort of.”
Seeing that he was being vague, Shen Youran remembered that they had met in this temple last time, and asked him hastily, "Are you here to see my wife again today?"
A hint of embarrassment appeared on his face: "Yes."
"That's true. I won't delay your visit. Go ahead."
He didn't move: "The meeting is over."
oh?
Shen Youran felt a bit curious: "So what do you think of her? Are you interested in her?"
He shook his head.
"I don't like it," he said with high standards. "It's okay. Fate is something you can only encounter if you encounter it."
Although this comforted him, he was also puzzled: it was summer when she met him, and now it was winter, and he was still meeting someone else. His standards were really high.
I remember that Mrs. Liang was also present when we met that time. Maybe Mrs. Liang’s standards were not low either.
But just now, Shen Youran heard him say that he came alone today, and couldn't help but be curious: "Didn't your mother come with you today?"
He looked at her with a sharp gaze: "Marriage is my own business, I want to make my own decision."
"Oh, that's good too." Shen Youran had only met him once and was not familiar with him. After exchanging pleasantries, he wanted to say goodbye, "I still have to go burn incense. Master Liang, you..."
He suddenly interrupted her: "Your purse was stolen, do you have any money on you?"
Not really.
But what she said just now about going to burn incense was just an excuse. It doesn't matter if she doesn't burn incense today. At worst, she can ask Pei Huaijin to accompany her tomorrow.
"I still have some here, you can use it first." He took out a purse from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Thank you very much." It seems that the incense can still be burned today. "I will ask someone to return it to you later."
“No need…”
Shen Youran bowed lightly to him to express her gratitude: "Then I will go to burn incense first."
The other party nodded.
Shen Youran walked towards the main hall for a while, and Dan Ruo suddenly whispered to her: "Young Madam, he is still following us."
Um?
Shen Youran turned her head and took a look, and sure enough, she saw him following them not far away.
Is he also going to the main hall to burn incense?
But he lent her all his money.
Shen Youran stopped and waited for him for a while. When he came closer, he asked him, "Do you want to go in and burn incense too?"
"No."
"Then you...are not going back home?"
"The thief just now only captured one person. I'm worried that his accomplices will harm you."
So that's it.
He is a very nice person.
Only then did Shen Youran notice the slingshot in his hand and glanced at it as he walked: "Did you use this to hit the thief back then?"
Seeing her interest, Liang Xu handed it to her and said, "I'm on duty in the archery squad. Sometimes when I don't have a bow and arrow, I use this thing to practice my eyesight."
"I just saw that thief get knocked to the ground with a thud. Can such a small thing really have such great power?"
"Yes." Liang Xu took out a ceramic bullet and placed it on the string, pulled it tight, aimed at a big tree not far away, then loosened his hand, and the next moment, he saw a branch falling from the tree.
“Amazing…” Shen Youran clapped his hands in praise.
"Do you like it?" He handed the slingshot over. "Here you go."
"No, no," How could I accept his things for no reason? "A gentleman doesn't take away what others like, and neither do women. You should keep it for yourself."
"I have plenty more there."
"Really," Shen Youran said with a smile, "My eyesight is not good, and I can't see things too far away. It's a waste for you to give this to me."
"This thing can not only be played with, but also can train eyesight, for those of us who practice archery, and for those with poor eyesight..."
"Really?" If this thing could really make her eyes clearer, she could definitely practice with it. "Thank you for telling me this method. I'll have someone buy one later."
After all, she is already married and it is not appropriate for her to accept things from other men.
Seeing that she had refused twice, Liang Xu stopped insisting and took back his slingshot. He said to her, "There are slingshots for sale at this temple fair. I'll take you to pick one later..."
Having already rejected him twice, and since he was well-intentioned, it wouldn't be a good idea to keep rejecting him, Shen Youran agreed: "Okay."
After burning incense, worshipping Buddha, and asking for a peace amulet, Shen Youran went with him to the temple fair to buy a slingshot.
"Thank you so much for today..." Shen Youran wanted to say goodbye to him again, but then she thought that there was only one way down the mountain, and it would be bad if one of them went first and the other went behind, so she said, "Then let's go down the mountain."
"good."
She rode in the same sedan chair when she went up the mountain and when she went down the mountain.
This sedan chair had no barrier, it was made of a round chair with soft cushions on it. Shen Youran was enjoying the scenery in the mountains while playing with the newly bought gadgets, gesturing from time to time.
"Mrs. Shen San..." Liang Xu suddenly called her, "I never had the chance to apologize to you before."
"Hmm?" Shen Youran turned to look at him, "Why do you want to apologize to me?"
"Earlier at the temple fair, my mother and I saw you being harassed by a lecher, but we didn't help..." He even thought she had bad behavior, as she had just finished seeing him and then she was flirting with another man.
"Oh, that incident?" If he hadn't mentioned it, Shen Youran would have forgotten about it. "It's nothing, actually. You don't have to feel sorry. I only found out later that the man was the Seventh Young Master of the Pei Family. He had no ill intentions at the time. He just wanted to help me pay."
Liang Xu was silent for a long time after hearing this. "So you later married into the Pei family because you met him that day?"
"I guess that was the time when I formed a bond with the Pei family..." But she didn't dare to say that it was her bond with Pei Huaian. After all, she was now marrying his elder brother Pei Huaijin.
Liang Xu stopped talking. His eyes were dark under his sword-like brows. He had no expression on his face and no one knew what he was thinking.
After going down the mountain, the two no longer had to travel together.
Shen Youran shook the slingshot in his hand, said goodbye to him, and walked towards where the carriage was parked.
Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he saw a scary man.
The other person was standing not far from her, with a cold face, arms folded, and sharp eyes.
Shen Youran was startled by him: “Qing Jian, why are you here?”
His tone was usually emotionless, but his words were very direct: "Young Madam asked Qinghe to lie to me and sneak out without telling me, just to see that person?"
"Don't make wild guesses. I came out to burn incense for Xiaoyu. It was just a chance encounter with him..."
"Who gave the slingshot in the young lady's hand?"
"I bought it myself."
"When did the young lady start liking to play with slingshots?"
"I'm starting to like it now, isn't it?"
He stopped talking and followed her and Danruo silently. After they got on the carriage, he rode his horse and followed behind.
Shen Youran knew his straightforward nature and expected that he would tell Pei Huaijin about what happened today.
However, she had nothing to fear from her own shadow. She and Liang Liulang had no hidden relationship. Besides, today was just a chance encounter, and they might never see each other again. If Pei Huaijin listened to Qing Jian's words, she would quarrel with him and not let him hold her in his arms to sleep at night...
At dusk, Pei Huaijin returned home from the government office. When he heard that his mother wanted to see him for something, he went to Haitang Garden first, and then returned to Yunzhi Courtyard.
The afterglow of the setting sun was fading, and the sky was still bright. Shen Youran and two maids were playing with slingshots in the yard. They had dropped a few bells on the outstretched branches of the magnolia tree. Shen Youran would hit the bells with the slingshot, but eight out of ten times she would miss.
Qing Jian caught a glimpse of Pei Huaijin coming in, and immediately went up to him and whispered something to him.
Are you so impatient to report her?
She was not concentrating, and the slingshot in her hand deviated a little, and this time it hit the bell by accident.
"Young Madam is so awesome!" Danruo and Qinghe clapped their hands in support.
"I don't want to play anymore..." Shen Youran's mood suddenly became bad. He put the slingshot into Dan Ruo's hand and said, "Please put it away for me."
Pei Huaijin had just heard Qing Jian finish his words when he saw the person who was playing with the slingshot excitedly just now walking towards the room without saying a word, looking like he was sulking.
Qing Jian told him that she had indeed sneaked out to play today, and before he could say anything, she was already unhappy.
Shen Youran returned to her room silently and sat on the bed. She suspected that Pei Huaijin would definitely believe Qing Jian's words and would come in to cause trouble for her. With his old-fashioned personality, he might ask her to copy "Nujie" again...
She doesn't want to copy "The Commandments for Women"!
When Pei Huaijin came in, he saw her sitting on the bed with her cheeks puffed out and her mouth pouting.
"I heard from Qing Jian that..." He had just opened his mouth when he saw the person on the bed explode with a bang like a lit firecracker.
"I won't copy!"
"……Um?"
"You are not allowed to sleep with me in your arms tonight!"
“…” What does this have to do with anything?
"The worst that can happen is a divorce!"
“…”Why are you saying this again?
Pei Huaijin hated her saying this the most, and couldn't help but frown: "Don't be unreasonable."
"You doubted me and said I was being unreasonable," Shen Youran said, feeling angry and aggrieved. He stiffened his neck and explained, "Liang Liulang and I just met by chance. Believe it or not."
Pei Huaijin was stunned: "Liang Liulang?"
Liang Liulang, sounds familiar.
He remembered Liang Liulang, who was guarding the General's Mansion. He had heard about him from Shen Yunshu.
On the night of the bride exchange, he suspected that the bride-kidnapping incident was related to the bride's contact with a man outside the family. When testing Shen Yunshu, Shen Yunshu once said that the only time the two sisters had contact with a man outside the family before they got married was when she accompanied Shen Youran to Daxiangguo Temple to look for a match, and the man they met was none other than Liang Jialiu Lang.
From what she said, did she meet Liang Liulang when she went out today?
Just now when he entered the yard, Qing Zhan came to him and apologized, saying that he had not taken good care of the young lady during the day, allowing her to slip away right under his nose. When he found out and rushed over, the young lady had already come down from the mountain.
Fortunately nothing happened.
Pei Huaijin didn't blame him too much, but just asked him to be more careful next time.
I didn't expect that Liang Liulang's story was involved here.
Looking at her expression, it was obvious that she thought Qing Jian had told him about Liang Liulang, which was why she was so angry and embarrassed. But in fact, Qing Jian had not mentioned Liang Liulang at all...
What a scoundrel Qing Jian is! He has learned to be so rude.
Pei Huaijin remained expressionless as he walked over to sit beside her, his tone rather gentle: "How did you run into Liang Liulang at the temple fair? Tell me about it. It's okay, I'm not angry..."
Shen Youran looked at her doubtfully: “Are you really not angry?”
"Your sister once mentioned Liang Jia Liu Lang to me. I know you two met before. At that time, you were both unmarried. These are all very normal things..."
Seeing that he looked calm and spoke in a gentle tone, as if he wasn't really angry, Shen Youran said, "Today, there was a stage at Daxiangguo Temple. When Danruo and I were watching the show, a thief stole my purse. Liang Liulang caught the thief, but unfortunately, the purse had already been taken away by the thief's accomplice and we couldn't get it back..."
After Shen Youran finished speaking, he glanced at him secretly.
Seeing that he was still calm, he was completely relieved and spilled the beans: "Liang Liulang learned that I hadn't prayed to the Buddha yet, so he lent me money. He was worried that the thieves' accomplices would retaliate against Danruo and me, so he followed us all the way down the mountain..."
"Where's that slingshot? Was it also given to him by him?" I saw her having a lot of fun playing in the yard just now.
"It wasn't a gift from him, I bought it myself..." But I also used money borrowed from him.
"Why did you suddenly think of buying a slingshot?"
"Liang Liulang said that this thing can not only be played with, but also can exercise eyesight. Maybe it can improve my eye disease."
"Oh? He also knows you have an eye disease?"
"It just happened to come up during a chat..."
Still chatting?
"So what did you talk about?" How did the conversation turn to eyes?
"That's right, he used that slingshot to shoot the thief, so I thought he was really awesome, and he wanted to give me a slingshot. I said my eyesight was bad, so I couldn't use it..."
"..." Haha, you're still praising him for being awesome? "Didn't you say you bought the slingshot? How did it become a gift from him?"
"He wanted to give it to me, but I refused to accept it. I'm already a married woman, how can I accept things from a man who doesn't belong to me?"
"Yeah." It seems that I didn't memorize "The Commandments for Women" in vain.
After hearing this, she should not have any thoughts about the Sixth Young Master of the Liang Family, but it was obvious that there was something wrong between the Sixth Young Master of the Liang Family and her.
After all, this Miss Shen San in front of him had the ability to make people fall in love at first sight and never forget her.
At that time, the seventh brother only saw her once at the temple fair, and he fell in love with her and insisted on marrying her. On the night of the exchange wedding, even though he knew that she was no longer innocent, he still insisted on taking her back.
It seems that Liang Liulang is no less despicable. Even though she is already married, he still refuses to give up.
Fortunately, this Miss Shen San is a simple-minded person, and Liang Liulang's courtesy this time is just like flirting with a blind man.
But the bad thing is that she is not smart enough to see through the other man's intentions of coveting her, which gives him an opportunity to take advantage of her.
Pei Huaijin seemed to see a lovely little red apricot waving in the wind on the wall of his courtyard.
There were seven brothers within the walls, and outside the walls there was the sixth brother of the Liang family. If one also counted the stepbrother of the Lu family who harbored ulterior motives towards both sisters, there would be three of them, just the ones he knew about. It was truly a situation of internal and external troubles...
It’s better to keep a closer eye on her in the future.
"Oh, right. When I returned home just now, my mother called me over. Tomorrow, a distant cousin of mine from the Meng family is getting married, and my mother also received an invitation. However, she hasn't been feeling well these past two days, so she asked me to attend the banquet in her place. You can go with me tomorrow..."
In fact, his mother only asked him to go. The cousin from the Meng family had served her for two years. He also knew that his mother had intended to match him with the cousin. In order to avoid suspicion, he could not go alone tomorrow. It would be better for him to ask her to go with him.
"Okay." Just like going out for fun, Shen Youran asked excitedly, "Whose son did she marry?"
"Changxing Marquis Mansion, Lin Wulang."
"Lin Wulang?" She not only knew this man, but also had a deep impression of him. Thinking of his behavior at that time, Shen Youran couldn't help but curl her lips, "Why did your cousin marry him?"
"Why? Do you know him?"
"Well," Shen Youran saw that he hadn't been angry about Liang Liulang just now, so she naturally trusted him very much and was willing to tell him everything. "Two years ago, he came to my house and proposed to me, and my father almost agreed. Luckily, my sister came at that time and helped me reject the marriage..."
Pei Huaijin: Oh, the fourth one...
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The author has something to say: Male protagonist: I feel like all the men in the world are eyeing my wife, and I want to rape them all!
Old Seven: Big Brother, I am innocent...
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