The sun was shining brightly. Ji Yan was standing at the door in a navy blue brocade robe. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and looked up with a youthful spirit.

Seeing Bao Ning coming out, he was delighted. He ran over and picked her up and spun her around.

"Sister, are you doing well?"

Ji Yan was twelve years old, but he was tall, almost the same height as Bao Ning. He looked at Bao Ning's face and saw that her eyes were red. His face darkened and he said, "Did he bully you?"

Bao Ning wrinkled her nose and said, "No."

She would not lie. She said these two words without confidence, and her eyes were darting around.

Ji Lin's eyes were full of anger. Bao Ning was afraid that Ji Lin would really get angry, so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Why are you here? Did your aunt ask you to come? Did you bring me some delicious food..."

"Stop talking!"

Ji Lin grew up with her, so how could he not know her character? His sister was the kindest person in the world. She didn't cry even when she suffered such a great injustice at her wedding, but now she is crying. The fourth prince must be to blame.

He was distressed and angry, but before leaving, his aunt repeatedly warned him not to cause trouble to his sister, so Ji Lin could only bear it.

Bao Ning came out in a hurry and was wearing thin clothes. Ji Lin was afraid that she would be cold, so he took off his coat and put it on her shoulders, and said forbearingly, "Don't worry, I won't beat him."

Bao Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Ji Yan asked, "Who is that person?"

He didn't like Pei Yuan and refused to call him brother-in-law, so he called that person instead.

Bao Ning was in a trance for a moment before he understood who he was asking about. He glanced in the direction of the east room and said, "Maybe he is sleeping." Ji

Yan gritted his teeth and said, "It would be better if he died in sleep and never woke up again."

Bao Ning hurriedly covered his mouth and said, "What are you talking about..."

Ji Yan said, "I said it, what can he do to me? Can't he get up and beat me? My sister is so good. Marrying her is a blessing he has cultivated for several lifetimes. But he doesn't know how to cherish her and dares to let you suffer. I don't know if he is blind or blinded by greed. Sister, wait for me for a few more years, I will take you away, and let him regret it!"

Bao Ning knew that he was speaking up for himself, and his heart was sweet and sour. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Okay, don't say it, go into the house quickly, sister will make you delicious food."

"I whispered to vent my anger. He can't hear me anyway, so I won't cause any trouble for you."

Ji Yan frowned, then she remembered that she had brought a dog with her. She had held it in her arms, but it moved and she put it on the ground. Now it's gone.

Ji Yan hissed and bent over to look around on the ground: "Sister, where's the dog? It was just here. Did you see it?"

Bao Ning shook her head: "No."

Ji Yan said anxiously: "Look for it quickly. The puppy is only one month old. It will be troublesome if it gets sick from frostbite."

Bao Ning hurriedly followed to look. They were talking at the gate of the courtyard. One step outside was the forest. Ji Yan was afraid that the puppy would run away. Just when she wanted to go outside to take a look, Bao Ning suddenly pulled her sleeve.

"What's wrong?" He straightened up and looked in the direction of Bao Ning's sight, meeting Pei Yuan's eyes.

Pei Yuan leaned against the door frame, looking at him expressionlessly, his clothes flying in the wind. He didn't know how long he had been standing there and how many words he had heard.

And the little puppy was crawling under Pei Yuan's feet, pulling at his pants and licking him flatteringly, with a fawning look.

Ji Yanben was stunned for a moment, and when he saw the puppy's movements, he was furious. He took a few steps forward, picked it up and stuffed it into his arms, then rolled his eyes at Pei Yuan, snorted coldly and went into the west room.

Pei Yuan looked at Bao Ning and asked hoarsely, "Your brother?"

This was the first time he took the initiative to speak. Bao Ning thought of what happened last night and was still upset. She didn't know how to face him. She casually said "um" and ran into the house holding the hem of her skirt.

Pei Yuan stared at her figure until she slammed the door, then turned his eyes back.

She had never been so cold before. Somehow, he suddenly remembered the phrase "you deserve it".

Pei Yuan raised his hand and hooked his eyebrows, smiled sarcastically, turned around and closed the door.

He himself didn't know what he wanted to do by coming out this time, he was simply sick.

...

The puppy was the one Bao Ning rescued before she got married. It seemed to remember Bao Ning's smell and wanted to lick her face affectionately.

Bao Ning was itchy because of it, so she held its nest with both hands and moved away.

The puppy wouldn't let him go and barked twice in a baby voice. Baoning imitated its barking and felt so soft-hearted that he quickly pulled the puppy back and kissed it on the head twice. Then he held it and lay on the bed, biting its ear gently to tease it.

The man and the dog were having a great time, but Ji Yan was not happy at all. He walked around the small house, frowning, and said to Bao Ning: "Sister, I will take you home, and we will not live here anymore."

Bao Ning frowned: "What nonsense."

Ji Yan said: "I can't bear to see you suffer like this. When I first came and saw this yard, I was unhappy. What a hell of a place, not even as good as our stable. I thought to myself that maybe the house would be better, so I endured it. But now I see that the house is not as good as the outside. There is not even a decent decoration. How can it be lived in!"

"The suffering in life is better than the suffering in the heart." Bao Ning said with a smile, "You don't know how comfortable I have been these days. I can do whatever I want without any constraints. Besides, I am not short of money. No suffering can affect me. If I need something, I can just buy it. It's just right that you are here today, let's go back to the city and buy more food and daily necessities, so that my sister can live the good life in her dreams."

Ji Yan reached out to pull her: "Then let's go buy it now."

Bao Ning said: "No hurry, let's talk about it after dinner, I still need to make a list."

"It makes a difference where you eat, you don't have to cook at home..." Ji Yan said halfway, and suddenly realized, "Do you want to save some food for him?"

Bao Ning said: "I can't just watch him starve." Ji Yan was

angry: "It would be better if he starved to death!"

"You are talking nonsense again." Bao Ning tapped his forehead and told him to sit on the kang obediently while she went to knead the dough and cook.

The food got cold easily. Pei Yuan had a bad leg and it was troublesome to light a fire to heat the food, so Bao Ning fried meatballs, meatballs, vegetable meatballs and vermicelli meatballs.

She did think about not cooking for Pei Yuan to make him angry, but then she thought it was unnecessary. Pei Yuan's excesses were his business. She just had to do her best and have a clear conscience. She didn't have to bother him anymore, and there was no need to make things so awkward.

Bao Ning worked efficiently and finished quickly. She let Ji Yan eat first and went to deliver a portion to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan had been waiting for her. As soon as Bao Ning knocked on the door, he immediately looked over.

Bao Ning didn't look at him, but just put the basin on the small table beside her, and left without saying a word.

Pei Yuan felt very upset. Just now, he heard Bao Ning and Ji Yan talking and laughing. She was very happy at that time, but now she saw him, all her smiles disappeared.

Pei Yuan supported his arms and sat up. Seeing Bao Ning about to step out the door, he couldn't help but called out: "You..."

Bao Ning turned around.

Pei Yuan's Adam's apple moved, but he didn't say it in the end. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay."

Bao Ning nodded and walked out.

... Pei Yuan leaned back against the wall.

The house was not soundproofed, and Pei Yuan could vaguely hear what was said in the west room. Ji Yan didn't like him very much, and he knew her hostility towards him.

He heard Ji Yan say that she wanted to take Bao Ning away.

This was the result he had always wanted to see, but now that it had really come to this, Pei Yuan felt as if his heart was blocked by a ball of cotton, and he felt depressed and uncomfortable.

Pei Yuan closed his eyes, his mind was full of random thoughts. One moment, Bao Ning was lying at the door and smiling at him, and the next moment, she had red eyes when she was sad yesterday. All kinds of emotions came together, and Pei Yuan felt a splitting headache.

The basin that Bao Ning had just brought over exuded a fragrant smell, and Pei Yuan suddenly thought that this might be the last meal Bao Ning cooked for him.

She is leaving soon, right?

Who would tolerate his temper again and again? If it were someone else, I am afraid they would have passed away the first time he got angry.

She is a girl from the Duke's Mansion and has a brother who loves her. She shouldn't have to suffer with him here. It's already a great honor for her to accompany him for these three days. What right does he have to ask for more?

Just as he was thinking, there was a neighing of a horse outside the yard.

Pei Yuan raised his head suddenly.

...

Ji Yan sat on the horse, stretched out his hand to Bao Ning, and asked her with a smile: "Sister, you are not afraid, my horse is very docile, get on quickly."

Bao Ning looked back in the direction of Pei Yuan's house, wondering whether she should tell him. But then she thought that he wouldn't care if she told him, so why should she go to such trouble and embarrass herself.

Ji Yan saw her thoughts, turned the whip in his hand, and snorted coldly: "Let him have a taste of this, let him think you're gone, and see if he regrets it!"

Bao Ning shook her head. She didn't believe Pei Yuan would regret it. He was a lonely and arrogant man with nothing in his eyes.

"Let's go." Bao Ning grabbed Ji Yan's hand, got on the horse and sat behind him. Ji Yan whipped the whip and shouted "Go", the horse raised its neck and neighed, then kicked its hooves away.

... He

really left.

Let's go.

Pei Yuan sat expressionlessly for a long time, then suddenly got off the ground, went to the corner to get two bottles of wine, opened the cork, raised his head and drank a big sip.

...

It was already night when Bao Ning came back. Ji Yan sent her back. He bought too many things, so he found a driver and asked him to deliver them tomorrow morning.

She was tired and exhausted, and she was still thinking about the puppy that had just arrived. She said goodbye to Ji Yan and walked back to the west compartment in a hurry.

When she entered the room, Baoning glanced at Pei Yuan's window and saw that the light was off, so she thought he was asleep.

Pei Yuan's room was filled with a faint smell of alcohol. Baoning smelled it and frowned, thinking that he was just disinfecting the wound and didn't think much about it.

She boiled some hot water to wash up, fed the puppy something to eat, took off her clothes and went to sleep.

In a daze, she suddenly heard a crisp sound coming from the west room, as if something was broken. Baoning was startled and sat up quickly.

She was worried that something had happened to Pei Yuan himself, and after thinking for a moment, she went to check.

No one answered the door when she knocked, and the smell of alcohol was getting stronger. Baoning bit her lip, pushed the door open directly, and took a breath of cold air when she saw the scene in the room.

Pei Yuan was drunk and lying on the edge of the kang with his right leg on the ground, as if he was asleep.