A gust of wind blew, and the door slammed shut. The room became darker. A

faint light came in from the window, and Pei Yuan stood with his back to the light, his facial features blurred as if covered by a layer of shadow. He was tall and had practiced martial arts for many years, with broad shoulders. The room was small, and he stood there like a wall, emitting waves of sinister coldness.

Baoning stood awkwardly at the door, not knowing where to put his eyes, his fingers tightly pinching the vegetable bowl in his hand.

For a moment, Pei Yuan really had murderous intentions, Baoning could feel it.

The room was very quiet, and only Pei Yuan's heavy breathing could be heard.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't scared. Baoning's heart

was pounding. It took him a long time to recover. He quickly pushed the door open and walked out. The cold wind blew over, and Baoning shuddered. Only then did he realize that his palms were already sticky with sweat.

...

The most unbearable side of him was seen by a woman who could be called a stranger. Pei Yuan closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

That woman must be disgusted, right?

Pei Yuan knew what he looked like now, dirty and sloppy, with a strange smell, more disgusting than the beggars on the street. At least the beggars were healthy and had a pair of legs that could walk, while he was covered in wounds and had countless scars. His disabled left leg was soft and disgusting. He was an absolute waste and had difficulty taking care of himself.

He had convinced himself a long time ago not to care about other people's looks, but when he really faced such a situation, he couldn't control his wild thoughts. He hated other people looking at him with disdain, and he was even more afraid of sympathy and pity. The feeling of having his self-esteem trampled in the mud was more painful and unbearable than being stabbed by a sword.

There were barbs on the wooden stick, and when it cut into the palm of his hand, there was a piercing pain, but Pei Yuan seemed not to feel it, and dragged his left leg away woodenly.

When he passed by Bao Ning, he didn't even look at her, and walked straight back to his room.

Bao Ning's eyelashes fluttered, and finally he sighed, and went into the kitchen holding the cabbage.

Light a fire, boil water, clean the pot, mix the batter... Dumpling soup is the simplest noodle dish, requiring only a bowl of noodles and a ladle of water.

Bao Ning pinched the ladle and sprinkled water on the flour little by little, stirring it with chopsticks. Soon, it became even-sized lumps

of noodles with distinct grains. The fire in the stove burned more vigorously, and the red flames peeked out, and the room became a little warmer.

Bao Ning poured some oil into the pot, and when the oil was hot, he rubbed the freshly cut chopped green onions into it. The aroma of the fried green onions instantly filled his nose. He also poured the cabbage in, stir-fried it with a spatula, added water to cover it, added salt and wine to season, covered the pot and waited for the water to boil.

After such a short while, it was completely dark. Baoning fumbled to light the wax, sat on the stool and stared at the lid in a daze.

Hot steam came out from the gap in the lid, carrying the unique aroma of food. The room was still small and cramped, but filled with the warm smell of fireworks.

It suddenly felt like a home.

Baoning thought of Pei Yuan.

He really scared her just now.

Pei Yuan hated her and wanted to drive her away. Baoning could feel all this, she could understand it, and she didn't mind. It seemed abrupt to say it, but in her heart, from the moment she married Pei Yuan, she regarded him as a family member.

They have no feelings for each other, but they are nominally husband and wife. Even if they will not be like other couples in the future, loving and harmonious, they are still relatives, with more care and connection than strangers.

Pei Yuan has a bad temper. He is now at the lowest point in his life. He is sensitive and fragile, and he will say hurtful things. Bao Ning can understand this.

All she can do is treat him better, give him warmth and encouragement, and accompany him to move forward.

In the days to come, they can get along happily together, grow flowers, drink tea, and keep each other company. This is the day she is looking forward to.

...

The water in the pot is bubbling and boiling.

Bao Ning slapped her face twice, stopped thinking about it, and quickly opened the lid of the pot. She took chopsticks and put the prepared dough into the pot, stirring them to prevent them from sticking together. She thought for a while, then took two eggs, broke them into the pot, and made egg drop soup.

Pei Yuan's body now needs to eat more nourishing food, but unfortunately she didn't bring many eggs and meat, only enough for two or three days.

Bao Ning hoped to return to her parents' home in three days, when she could take the opportunity to go to the street to buy more vegetables and some medicine.

After boiling for a while, the soup was cooked and ready to be served.

Small lumps of cabbage were scattered in the soup, and the cabbage was soft and leaning between the noodles, like a delicate and boneless beauty. The soup was thick and fragrant, making people salivate.

Baoning bent over to smell it, and found that her cooking skills had not deteriorated, so she smiled with her eyes curved.

She took a larger bowl, filled it with the food, and brought it to Pei Yuan.

Thinking that Pei Yuan seemed to have not had a hot meal all day, Baoning thought for a moment, put down the bowl, heated up the oil in a pan, fried an egg for him, and covered it on the soup.

When she stood at Pei Yuan's door with the bowl in her hand, Baoning hesitated for a moment. She remembered Pei Yuan's horrified expression at that time, and her heart skipped a beat.

Baoning took a deep breath and knocked on the door carefully twice: "Fourth Prince, I'm coming in?"

There was silence inside for a while, and Pei Yuan said hoarsely: "Come in."

Baoning breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the door open.

The room was dark. Pei Yuan sat against the wall. In front of him was a small table with pens, ink, paper and inkstones. There was also a small candle lit. The faint light was the only light in the room.

Pei Yuan lowered his head, not knowing what he was writing.

Baoning put the bowl on Pei Yuan's table, without looking at his paper, and whispered: "Fourth Prince, it's time to eat."

Pei Yuan glanced at the soup in front of him, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

He had smelled the smell of cooking in the west room a long time ago, but he didn't expect Baoning to bring it to him. With his bad attitude at that time, he thought Baoning would hate him, even if she didn't hate him, at least she would dislike him, just like Cui Fu who was sent to serve him at the beginning.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan raised his head and glanced at Baoning.

She was wearing a light blue casual dress, her face was unwashed, delicate and beautiful, but childish, with her eyes downcast, biting her nails.

Baoning was scalded by the bowl, her fingers were burning, she subconsciously put her fingers into her mouth, and saw Pei Yuan looking at her.

Baoning was embarrassed, she quickly put her hand down, turned around and wanted to leave: "Fourth Prince, you eat slowly, I'm leaving first..."

Pei Yuan said: "Let's talk."

Baoning stopped and looked at Pei Yuan's indifferent expression, feeling strange. She didn't know what Pei Yuan was going to say, but she had a feeling it wasn't a good thing. Baoning

said, "Okay."

Pei Yuan put down his pen, put his wrist on the edge of the table, and looked at her expressionlessly, "Were you forced to marry me?"

Baoning was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and shook her head.

It was indeed a coincidence, but she didn't feel dissatisfied in her heart, so she wasn't forced.

Pei Yuan frowned and asked suspiciously, "Did you do it voluntarily?"

Baoning nodded.

Pei Yuan's mouth twitched and he said, "Ridiculous."

Baoning was speechless.

"How old are you?"

Baoning replied, "Fifteen." In fact, she wasn't even fifteen yet, she was one month away from marriage, but she hid her age because the marriage was rushed. However, it seems unnecessary to tell Pei Yuan these small details.

Pei Yuan sneered, "You are ignorant of the world."

He tapped the table with his fingertips, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and then said, "Do you know what it means to marry me? Let me make it clear to you, I don't have anything you can use. The title of prince is just an empty shell. If you want to use me to get to the top, you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible. I have already written the divorce letter. With your identity as the daughter of the Duke of Rong, it is not difficult for you to remarry. Go wherever you love. Leave tomorrow morning and don't bother me here!"

After that, Pei Yuan pulled out the piece of paper under the inkstone, threw it in front of Baoning, squinted and said, "Get lost."

Baoning lowered her eyes and didn't take it. She lifted the hem of her skirt and whispered, "Eat your meal, it will be cool soon." Then she left.

Pei Yuan thought about many possible responses, either ecstasy, or pretending to shed a few tears, begging a few words to save face before leaving, or leaving in anger.

But Pei Yuan didn't think that Bao Ning would act as if nothing had happened, and just said to him casually, "Let's eat," without crying or laughing, as if it had nothing to do with her.

The dumpling soup in front of him exuded a fragrant aroma, and even though his heart was still in a mess, the gluttony in his stomach was still drawn out.

Pei Yuan couldn't help it, picked up the bowl, took a bite of the fried egg, and drank a spoonful of soup.

Unexpectedly delicious.

It can be seen that she made it with care and took his body and appetite into consideration.

This long-lost thoughtfulness and care made Pei Yuan feel a little strange. He looked at the bowl of soup with complicated eyes, but quickly put that feeling behind him.

If this care would disappear sooner or later, then he didn't want it from the beginning, so as to avoid being reluctant to give it up in the end.

Pei Yuan quickly finished the soup, made the bed, blew out the light, closed his eyes and lay down.

...

Baoning finished her meal, wiped the stove, and simply tidied up the things in the room. She sat on the kang with her knees hugged and lost in

thought. Pei Yuan's attitude made her feel a little sad and depressed.

Baoning was able to persuade herself to forgive him and not care about it, but she still felt uncomfortable in her heart.

She blinked and encouraged herself. She lived in someone else's yard and drank someone else's water, so why would she be so upset about a few words? Besides, she left the Duke's Mansion because of Pei Yuan. Compared with Ji Jiaying's secret mischief and the Duke's wife's weird temper, Pei Yuan's straightforward personality didn't seem so annoying. Thinking

of this, the sour feeling in her heart dissipated a lot.

There is little here, but there is a lot of firewood. They are not stingy when making a fire, so the kang is always warm and comfortable.

Baoning blew out the candles, crawled into the quilt, and yawned.

Baoning was tired after being tired for too long during the day, and fell asleep quickly after touching the pillow.

The next day, Baoning got up early and was in good spirits. She washed, cooked, and went to knock on Pei Yuan's door.

Pei Yuan had woken up a long time ago and was leaning against the wall reading a book. Hearing the knock on the door, he was a little surprised: "Come in."

Baoning opened the door and walked in with her little face. Her face without makeup was white and smooth, as soft as egg white, and her cheeks looked soft and sweet.

Pei Yuan was stunned.

Baoning smiled and asked him: "Fourth Prince, I made dumplings and boiled hot water. Do you want to take a bath after dinner?"

The author has something to say: Welcome to watch the third part of the large-scale ancient costume love theory education film - "How to Subdue a Bastard with Tenderness".

Don't look at the male protagonist's cold and arrogant appearance now, you will only be someone's foot washer in the future:)