Chapter 12. Pei Duo actually coveted his brother's wife!
Zhao Zhixue had not been intimate with his wife for ten days, and they were just getting into the swing of things when a knock on the door interrupted them.
At this moment, the person knocking on the door was none other than Pei Di.
Startled by the dull knocking, Jiang Ninghui burrowed into Zhao Zhixue's arms. Her naked body seemed to be splashed with a layer of dyed crimson. She clutched the corner of the blanket in shame, her almond-shaped eyes misty with tears, and gave Zhao Zhixue a silent accusatory look.
Zhao Zhixue felt a tightness in his waist and abdomen from that one look.
Before he could ask, a clear and melodious voice came from outside: "Brother Zhao, I just discovered a key point that might be on the exam next year. Would you like to come over and discuss it with me?"
Zhao Zhixue was extremely obsessed with academic knowledge and the imperial examinations.
He could put aside anything else when it came to matters related to the imperial examinations, especially those concerning the examination sites for the provincial examinations the following year.
Pei Duo is exceptionally talented, far surpassing him in aptitude and ability. If he thinks this point will be on the provincial examination next year, then it's almost certainly true.
Zhao Zhixue was ready to go, but he rationally got up and covered Jiang Ninghui with the blankets: "Wife, I'm going out for a bit. If you're sleepy, go to sleep first."
Jiang Ninghui gripped the corner of the blanket with her fingertips, glanced at the tightly closed door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She couldn't bring herself to share a room with her husband, separated only by a wall.
Zhao Zhixue got up, quickly put on his clothes, opened the door and went out, where he saw Pei Duo standing outside his own room with his hands behind his back.
The clear moonlight shone on the young man, coating him with a layer of cold frost.
Zhao Zhixue walked over, rather anxiously: "Brother Pei, which point is it?"
Pei Duo handed him the book, his jade-like fingers pointing to several places: "Brother Zhao, read it several times and understand its deeper meaning. If there is anything you don't understand, I can help you with some pointers."
Zhao Zhixue beamed with joy: "Thank you, Brother Pei. I'll go back to my room and take a closer look."
Jiang Ninghui lay on the couch. She peeked out and saw her husband enter the room, close the door, pull out a chair, sit at the table, and hold a book, reading it intently without blinking. She called out to her husband a few times, but he seemed to be engrossed in the book and did not reply to her.
Zhao Zhixue immediately saw the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).
The next morning, Jiang Ninghui had to call him several times before she finally woke him up.
For the next seven days, Zhao Zhixue stayed up late every night, engrossed in reading.
Jiang Ninghui was afraid that he would ruin his health, but she didn't dare to disturb her husband's studies.
Before they knew it, it was the end of December. A heavy snow fell that night. Jiang Ninghui opened the door and saw that everything outside was covered in a blanket of white. The pear tree branches in the yard were covered with a thick layer of snow, and the ground was also covered with a layer of white snow. When you stepped on it, it made a crisp crunching sound.
In three days it will be New Year's Day, and I heard from my husband that the school will be closed for three days.
Last month, Jiang Ninghui returned to the village again, once again in a carriage hired by Young Master Pei.
She handed the letter to Pei's father, who then stuffed a whole large sack of coal into the carriage.
The mother-in-law gave Jiang Ninghui twenty coins, which earned her another cold look from her father-in-law.
Jiang Ninghui went into the kitchen, intending to sweep the snow in the yard after making breakfast. However, just as she added a ladle of water to the pot, she heard the sound of sweeping snow outside. She peeked out and saw Young Master Pei wearing a thin jade-colored robe, holding a broom and sweeping the thick snow in the yard.
She hurriedly ran out: "Young Master Pei, you don't need to do this kind of rough work. I'll do it after breakfast."
Pei Duo turned slightly to the side and glanced down at the soft hand that brushed against his elbow.
Her fingers were slender and snow-white, but the tips were red from the cold.
The young man raised his eyes, his dark pupils falling on that fair and beautiful face: "If my sister-in-law can do such rough work, how can I, a man, not do it?"
Jiang Ninghui shook her head and explained, "That's not what I meant, Young Master Pei, you are a scholar—"
"I am a scholar, and also a man."
The young man's clear, gentle voice calmly interrupted Jiang Ninghui's words.
He looked at the woman's warm breath and alluring pink tongue as she spoke, his deep, dark eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness: "Sister-in-law, I'm hungry, why don't you make breakfast first?"
Jiang Ninghui stopped arguing with Pei Duo about who should sweep the snow. Upon hearing that he was hungry, she hurriedly went to the kitchen.
Unsurprisingly, my husband overslept again today.
After breakfast, the young master and Pei Duo went to the school. Jiang Ninghui looked at the clean courtyard and had nothing to do, so she went to Pei Gongzi's room to add some new charcoal to the brazier, making the room warm and cozy.
Not long after, Sister Mu came to find her, saying that there was another batch of fresh fish and shrimp for sale at the ferry crossing.
Jiang Ninghui thought it was cheap, so she bought some to keep and bring back with her husband when he came home from his day off.
It was cold today, so Mu Hua didn't bring her child; it was just the two of them who went to the ferry.
There were few people at the ferry crossing today, but there were quite a few fish vendors.
Jiang Ninghui looked at two shops and asked about the prices when suddenly a hand came from behind. The person in the hand quickly covered her nose and lips with a handkerchief. Before Jiang Ninghui could struggle and make a sound, she lost consciousness and slumped softly onto the person behind her.
There was another person beside him. Seeing this, he quickly supported Jiang Ninghui's other arm and held her chin with his other hand. He spoke loudly, deliberately so that others could hear: "Young lady, come and see our fish and shrimp. They were just fished out from under the ice chisel today. They are absolutely fresh."
The two men helped Jiang Ninghui out, and when no one was looking, they carried her into a nearby carriage and rode away.
Mu Hua compared prices at several fish and shrimp restaurants and found one that was cheaper. She turned around and called for Jiang Ninghui, but after searching around, she couldn't find her. She immediately panicked. If they had gotten separated due to the large number of people that day, it would be understandable, but there were fewer people today. How could they have gotten separated?
Mu Hua pulled a few people aside and gestured to show Jiang Ninghui's clothes and height, asking if they had seen this young lady before. Everyone waved their hands and shook their heads.
Seeing this, Mu Hua searched along the way back, and when she got home, she found that Jiang Ninghui's courtyard gate was locked to the outside.
She waited and waited for almost half an hour, but no one came back. Only then did she realize that something was wrong, and she hurriedly rushed to the school to tell her husband what had happened.
.
The dimly lit, cramped little house occasionally crackled with the sound of dry firewood burning in the brazier.
A person lay on the hay, their slender figure wrapped in bulky, thick coarse cloth. Their wrist, draped over the haystack, was exposed under the sleeve, pale and delicate, with blue veins visible beneath the skin.
The woman's fingertips curled slightly, and her closed almond-shaped eyes flickered.
She frowned uncomfortably, then suddenly remembered something and opened her eyes in horror, staring at the unfamiliar room.
Even if Jiang Ninghui was slow to understand, she would eventually realize it.
Someone kidnapped her.
She rarely went out of town and had never made enemies with anyone, so who could have kidnapped her?
Suddenly, a pair of sinister and terrifying eyes pierced her mind, causing Jiang Ninghui's back to be soaked in a layer of cold sweat.
Could it be—Liang Wentao?
A month has passed since the incident where Liang Wentao almost bullied me outside the school.
She heard from her husband that the following night, Liang Wentao fell from the second floor while drunk, breaking his right hand and left leg, and has not been to school since.
Jiang Ninghui clung to a sliver of hope, hoping that the person who kidnapped her wasn't Liang Wentao.
Hopefully... I hope it was just a joke someone played on her.
She staggered to her feet. There were no doors or windows around her, only a narrow staircase to the southeast. Jiang Ninghui staggered up the staircase and pounded on the wooden planks above. Apart from the muffled pounding, there was no other sound.
Her escape route was completely blocked.
Jiang Ninghui squatted in the corner, hugging her knees and curling herself up, her almond-shaped eyes filled with fear as she warily stared at the wooden plank on the stairs.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting, only that her whole body was stiff, her limbs were numb, and cold sweat kept seeping from her back, soaking her inner garment.
"Clang—"
Suddenly, the wooden plank was lifted, and the iron chains rattled as they fell.
Jiang Ninghui heard a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
"The person has been arrested?"
The other person replied, "They've caught him, he's down there."
Liang Wentao limped down the stairs, his right hand in a splint, and three hideous scars on his left cheek, which looked like the scars left when he fell from the second floor and was cut by a splinter.
The wound scabbed over, but the scar was deep and wouldn't completely disappear.
Liang Wentao's face was gloomy, and his eyes were like those of a cold, venomous snake as he stared intently at Jiang Ninghui, who was curled up in the corner.
The moment Jiang Ninghui saw Liang Wentao, her last remaining hope was completely shattered.
In just one month, Liang Wentao was like a completely different person.
His left leg was severely crippled, and his body swayed up and down with each step he took. He had become much thinner, his cheekbones were prominent, and his eyes were sunken, making his eyes look even more sinister and terrifying.
Jiang Ninghui was so frightened that she trembled all over, her back pressed tightly against the cold wall.
"Don't come any closer."
"No...don't come any closer!"
She fought back tears of fear, her fingers gripping the wall tightly.
Liang Wentao's hideous and terrifying half-face was reflected in the light from the brazier.
It's getting increasingly creepy.
He glared fiercely at Jiang Ninghui, raising his undamaged left hand to touch the three scars on his left cheek: "See? I'm in this miserable state because of you! Ever since I first met you, I've been fucking unlucky!"
"I only said a few words to you in class, and Pei Duo gave me a lecture!"
"I merely saw you outside the school and greeted you, and he nearly stabbed my head through with a wolf-hair brush!"
Liang Wentao pressed hard on the scar on his face, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
He only had one cup of wine at home that night, how drunk could he possibly be?!
That night, he clearly felt something hit his left shoulder hard. The powerful force made him lose his balance and fall forward. He fell from the second floor, breaking his right arm and left leg, and disfiguring half of his face!
That night, there was no one else on the second floor except him.
But he felt that the person must be Pei Duo!
It must be him!
He hid in the shadows and took advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, causing him to fall from the building!
Liang Wentao stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Ninghui's hair bun with his left hand, forcing her to raise her head.
He stared intently at that beautiful face: "I've checked. Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo are from the same village and their families are neighbors. They've known each other since childhood. You are Zhao Zhixue's wife, so by seniority you are also Pei Duo's sister-in-law. No wonder he protected you so much and almost killed me several times for your sake!"
"I had you secretly kidnapped this time, and the place is extremely well-hidden. Even if Pei Duo turns Qingping Town upside down, he won't be able to find you!"
Liang Wentao leaned forward, sneering maliciously, "I'd like to see how he's going to save you this time!"
He swung him hard, and Jiang Ninghui was thrown to the ground.
Ignoring the pain in her body, she got up and kept backing away.
Liang Wentao is spouting complete nonsense!
What do you mean by saying he only exchanged a few words with her and said hello? It was clearly him who had ill intentions, verbally bullied her, and even tried to hit her, but in his mouth, it became Young Master Pei's fault.
She was really unlucky to run into Liang Wentao!
But Jiang Ninghui couldn't bring herself to express the humiliation she felt.
She has nowhere to run now, and whether she lives or dies today is unknown.
Liang Wentao's vicious gaze was fixed on Jiang Ninghui: "It's your good fortune that I took a liking to you. You're the one who doesn't know what's good for you, and you've made me into this inhuman mess because of Pei Duo! If you had known better and followed me earlier, you could have enjoyed a good life with me instead of suffering with that poor, pedantic scholar Zhao Zhixue. Now it's too late!"
He raised his left hand, and three burly men behind him stepped forward.
Jiang Ninghui's breath hitched, her shoulders and back snapped into a straight line, and overwhelming fear washed over her.
She was trembling all over.
Liang Wentao sneered sinisterly, "You made me suffer so much at Pei Duo's place, I'm going to get my revenge. You let me have my fun first, and then you can serve those three properly. If I'm in a good mood, I might just send them all back to you."
"don't want--"
"Don't come any closer!"
"Don't come any closer!"
Jiang Ninghui stumbled backward. She noticed the wooden door on the stairs was open, turned around, and rushed up the stairs. Behind her, Liang Wentao roared, "Bring her back! Strip her clothes off!"
Three burly men rushed over in a few steps.
Just as two hands were about to grab Jiang Ninghui's thin shoulders, a short blade suddenly struck, piercing one of the men's hands and penetrating his arm. The force of the blow sent the man crashing backward to the ground.
Before Jiang Ninghui could see what was behind her, a long arm grabbed her waist and forced her into a broad, hot chest.
The scent of cedarwood filled her nostrils, instantly dispelling the fear in Jiang Ninghui's heart.
She gripped the only straw in her grasp, her fingers clutching the waistband of the person in front of her tightly, as if afraid that all of this was just a dream she had conjured up before her death.
Liang Wentao stared wide-eyed in horror at Pei Duo's sudden appearance.
Especially when he saw Pei Duo holding Zhao Zhixue's wife, the so-called sister-in-law he mentioned.
The impact of this scene allowed Liang Wentao to glimpse the paradoxes and taboos inherent in morality and ethics.
That young scholar, whom everyone described as exceptionally talented and charismatic.
—He actually coveted his brother's wife!
A note from the author:
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There's a red envelope in this chapter!
Pei Duo: We've been found out!
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