Chapter 20, Part 20: Gently, even more gently...
Jiang Ninghui had seen those eyes before.
On the second day of the new year, they came to the town from the countryside. She saw it when she was burning charcoal in Young Master Pei's house.
She has such beautiful eyes; I just wonder which lady she is.
Pei Duo closed the window, blocking Jiang Ninghui's prying gaze.
The young man came out of the house, all the emotions that had just overflowed in his eyes now covered by indifference. His clear and bright eyes were no different from before, cold and emotionless. He patiently repeated, "Does sister-in-law want to go to the tavern to find Brother Zhao?"
Jiang Ninghui nodded slightly: "Yes, it's late and cold at night. I was worried that my husband would get drunk and freeze, so I thought I'd bring him back."
Pei Duo's eyes were filled with a dark, sarcastic glint.
He thought so, though.
It's good that this waste froze to death.
Seeing the deep worry on Jiang Ninghui's face, the young man said, "Sister-in-law, go back and rest. I'll go find Brother Zhao."
Jiang Ninghui: "How could I trouble Young Master Pei? I'll go myself."
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled the latch.
A young man's indifferent voice came from behind: "Sister-in-law, have you forgotten about the three drunkards who got into a fight and passed out at the alley entrance that night?"
Jiang Ninghui's hand suddenly stopped.
Pei Duo stepped forward, his long shadow on the snow climbing up inch by inch from Jiang Ninghui's toes.
He took the kerosene lamp from her stiff, cold hand, his fingertips lightly brushing against the back of her fingers.
"It's freezing cold, and there must be quite a few people drinking at the tavern. Sister-in-law, please don't go to such a place. I will bring Brother Zhao back safely. Sister-in-law, please go back to your room and rest."
Jiang Ninghui did not insist any further.
She looked at Pei Duo, her clear eyes shimmering with gentle light: "Then I'll trouble you, Young Master Pei."
The courtyard gate closed, and Pei Duo, carrying a kerosene lamp, paced back and forth in the snow.
The shops on the street were closed, and the street was deserted. A man walked unsteadily in front of him. His gray-blue clothes were covered with white snow, and his black hair was tied with a gray ribbon, which was blown by the cold wind. His cheeks were flushed from drinking, and his eyes were tinged with drunkenness.
Pei Duo stamped his foot, his cold and sinister gaze fixed on the person in the distance.
Kill him.
He's dead, and that woman will no longer cry for him.
Evil thoughts and murderous intent resurfaced in the young man's mind.
This evil thought vanished in an instant.
Letting him die so easily would be too good for him.
He died, and that woman had to remain a widow for him.
It's not worth the risk.
"Brother Pei?"
Zhao Zhixue shook his head, which was still tingled with alcohol, and squinted to take a closer look. It really was Pei Duo.
He rubbed his aching temples and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Pei Duo: "I'm coming to find you. Your sister-in-law is waiting for you at home."
Zhao Zhixue remained silent.
Actually, he regretted it when he learned that Sui Sui had brought him lunch at school at noon.
She did nothing wrong; he shouldn't have taken his anger out on her.
He was just feeling resentful.
Why is it that, as a fellow man, he is inferior to Pei Duo in every way, from family background to ability? He will always be the one looking up to Pei Duo. Pei Duo can easily have a chat at the prefect's residence, while he can't even get close to the prefect.
He used to think that as long as he worked hard and diligently enough, he would definitely achieve something.
But in this world, there's no such thing as success guaranteed by hard work.
Some people are born into wealth and privilege, while others may struggle endlessly and still not achieve anything significant.
Pei Duo was the former.
He was the latter.
He passed the imperial examination this year and became a scholar, all thanks to the auspiciousness of his birth chart.
Zhao Zhixue's dull and lifeless eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had met a guide in a lost journey, and his whole body was full of energy.
The fortune teller said that his wife's birth chart was auspicious for him.
As long as you marry him, he will have a smooth life and pass the imperial examination with flying colors!
It was because he married Sui Sui that he was able to pass the imperial examination and become a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) this autumn.
With his drunkenness mostly gone, Zhao Zhixue's jealousy of Pei Duo lessened somewhat.
The two walked on the dark, deserted street, the kerosene lamp casting a faint light that could only illuminate a few steps ahead.
Zhao Zhixue broke the silence: "Has my wife gone to bed?"
Pei Duo: Not yet.
Zhao Zhixue: "I heard that Liang Wentao has been missing for more than half a month. Where do you think he went?"
Pei Duo remained calm: "I don't know."
Looking at the hazy moonlight, Zhao Zhixue's voice was tinged with ruthlessness: "I wish that scoundrel Liang Wentao, who bullies others by relying on his family's wealth, would die out there. If we hadn't rushed out in time last time, my wife would have been bullied by him."
Zhao Zhixue was unusually talkative tonight, perhaps because he had been drinking.
He then asked, "Brother Pei, what kind of person do you think my wife is?"
Pei Duo slightly raised his eyelids and asked in return, "Brother Zhao, what kind of person do you think your wife is?"
Looking at the snow-covered night sky ahead, Zhao Zhixue sighed, "My wife is very beautiful."
That was all.
The two turned into the alley, and the young man's clear, deep voice carried an almost imperceptible chill: "Besides his good looks, is there anything else?"
Zhao Zhixue remained silent for a long time before saying, "Brother Pei, before we got married, I thought I would marry a woman of refined character and knowledge, someone who was well-versed in poetry and literature. We could appreciate flowers and compose poems together, drink wine and chat freely. We would have a son, and she would stay home to take care of her husband and raise the child while I went out to pursue my career..."
He lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "But fantasies are ultimately just illusions. The wife I married is exactly the opposite of what I had hoped for. She is illiterate, dull and boring, and quite ignorant in some matters."
Zhao Zhixue lowered his voice and said, "Brother Pei, let me tell you, my wife is incredibly boring in bed, and she refuses to let me touch her, pushing me away time and time again. If you ever marry, you must not find such a dull and boring wife. You must find a wife who is well-educated, intelligent, quiet, and especially compatible with you in bed. That would be much more interesting."
Pei Duo remained silent, his face cold and solemn.
He seemed to see those red, tear-filled eyes before his eyes, so pitiful.
If she knew that the man she longed for thought of her this way, would she still be in love with him?
When the two returned home, Jiang Ninghui had not yet rested.
Zhao Zhixue returned reeking of alcohol. Jiang Ninghui thanked Pei Duo and then fetched hot water for Zhao Zhixue to wash up. She quietly served Zhao Zhixue without saying a word, afraid that she might say something that would be overheard by the young master Pei next door.
The couple lay on the tatami mat, with Jiang Ninghui burying herself in the blankets.
Zhao Zhixue hugged her from behind, buried his face in her neck, and whispered, "My wife, it was my fault."
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, and her eyes suddenly reddened.
Zhao Zhixue kissed Jiang Ninghui's cool, soft earlobe: "My wife, I shouldn't have lost my temper with you today. I'm sorry you suffered. I promise you, I will never do it again. If I do it again, I'll make you—"
Jiang Ninghui turned around and covered his mouth, stopping him from uttering the poisonous oath he was about to utter.
Zhao Zhixue pulled her hand away: "My wife has forgiven me?"
Jiang Ninghui nodded gently.
Zhao Zhixue rolled over and pressed down on Jiang Ninghui, kissing her passionately. Jiang Ninghui turned her head away in time, unable to escape. Zhao Zhixue still smelled of alcohol. He peeled off her clothes, revealing her undergarments, and climbed onto her soft collar, ignoring Jiang Ninghui's pushes and rejections.
"My wife, my back is all better now, and we haven't been intimate for twenty days. Are you still going to push me away?"
But……
But Young Master Pei lives next door.
He had excellent hearing; he could hear everything she and her husband did in their room.
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, unsure how to politely refuse her lover.
Her silence led Zhao Zhixue to mistakenly believe that she was willing, and he took the opportunity to invade her territory.
Caught off guard, Jiang Ninghui cried out in surprise.
She quickly covered her mouth, afraid that even the slightest sound would be heard by Young Master Pei.
"My wife, relax."
"Wife, please let go of my hand and call my name a few times, okay?"
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, her face flushed, her whole body as if dyed with red plum blossoms, beautiful and alluring.
Even though she didn't make a sound, the sound of the collision was extremely loud.
Jiang Ninghui grabbed the corner of the blanket, covered her face, and covered her ears, trying to deceive herself with self-deception.
She prayed that Young Master Pei couldn't hear her.
I pray that Young Master Pei has already fallen asleep.
But Jiang Ninghui was unaware that her prayers had all been in vain.
The low moans she made as Zhao Zhixue forced her lips open pierced the thin wall, like wet, sticky saliva seeping into Pei Duo's ear.
Her muffled, almost sobbing voice was muffled between her lips and teeth.
She pinned him down in the quilt.
Pei Duo stood in front of the table, gazing down at the painting on it.
The woman in the painting, with her alluring and passionate expression, seems almost alive, her shimmering eyes brimming with desire.
He seemed to see Jiang Ninghui's slender white fingers gripping the corner of the blanket tightly, her disheveled hair obscuring her tear-streaked eyes, almost begging for her lover.
Gently, even more gently.
Don't let Young Master Pei next door hear us.
pity.
He heard it all, even the way she deliberately slowed her breathing.
She's so easy to please.
They're so easy to fool.
With just a few sweet words, Zhao Zhixue coaxed her into submission beneath him, making her smile.
The night was deep.
Zhao Zhixue, intoxicated, drifted off to sleep.
Jiang Ninghui felt sticky and uncomfortable all over. There was still hot water in the pot in the kitchen. She put on her clothes, picked up the wooden basin, and then paused when she put her hand on the door latch.
It's so late now, Young Master Pei must be asleep by now.
He probably didn't hear the sounds she made when she and her husband were making love.
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, clinging to a sliver of hope, and pulled the latch to open the door.
Outside the door, the ground was covered in snow, and a tall, imposing figure stood in the small courtyard.
Jiang Ninghui's heart pounded violently a few times, and her fingers gripped the edge of the wooden basin tightly. Her pupils, still shimmering with the lingering scent of spring, suddenly trembled.
Young Master Pei... he actually didn't sleep!
He was actually standing in the yard!
As if hearing the door open, the young man turned around and looked at Jiang Ninghui, who was trying to escape back into her room and close the door. His dark eyes, shrouded in the night, stared at her, freezing Jiang Ninghui, who had only half-closed the door, in place, unable to make any further move to close it.
"sister in law--"
A clear, deep voice rang out, inexplicably sending chills down Jiang Ninghui's spine.
She didn't even understand why this chill had arisen.
Jiang Ninghui forced a smile and replied, "Mm."
He asked again, "It's so late, Young Master Pei, are you still awake?"
Pei Duo looked at the woman's still flushed cheeks and a wicked thought arose in his mind.
He said knowingly, "I was about to rest, but a whimpering cat kept me from falling asleep."
With a bang—
Jiang Ninghui felt as if she were being burned by flames, her cheeks and ear tips burning hot.
A note from the author:
----------------------
There's a red envelope in this chapter!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com