Chapter 22 22 My sister-in-law is so easy to fool...
After lunch, the young master and young master Pei went to the school, and Jiang Ninghui cleaned up the kitchen before going to the neighbor's house, where Sister Mu lived.
Mu Hua noticed that Jiang Ninghui seemed uneasy, so she asked, "Is something on your mind, Madam Jiang? You seem very restless."
"fine."
Jiang Ninghui smiled, got up and wrung out her clothes. She didn't notice that Sister Mu's child was squatting behind her playing in the mud. She turned around and almost bumped into him. She also forgot that there was a wooden basin behind her when she stepped back, and fell into the basin. The cold water instantly soaked through her clothes and clung to her body.
Mu Hua was startled and quickly dropped the clothes in her hand to help Jiang Ninghui up.
"You little rascal, why did you have to squat behind your Aunt Jiang!"
Jiang Ninghui: "Sister Mu, please don't scold the child. I'm fine. I'll just go back and change into some dry clothes."
Mu Hua helped her wring out the water from the corner of her clothes: "Okay, go on, don't catch a cold in this cold weather." After saying that, she still kicked the child's bottom.
Jiang Ninghui was shivering from the cold, her cheeks were pale, and water droplets were dripping from the hem of her clothes.
She shakily pulled the key out of her sleeve, but someone else snatched it away.
Jiang Ninghui was stunned. She looked up at the long, slender hand and saw that Young Master Pei, who should have been at school, was there.
"Young Master Pei."
Jiang Ninghui turned her head and sneezed, feeling cold: "Didn't you go to school?"
Pei Duo glanced at her soaking wet clothes, his broad brows concealing a barely perceptible fierceness.
I just took the key from her fingertips and touched her fingers, which were cold and devoid of any warmth.
The young man's cold and handsome face was tense and stern. He opened the courtyard gate, looked at Jiang Ninghui who was huddled with her arms crossed, and said in a cold and indifferent voice that revealed no emotion: "Does sister-in-law want to change her clothes?"
Jiang Ninghui's lips trembled from the cold: "Mm."
Pei Duo: "Sister-in-law, take your clothes and go to my room to change."
How could a married woman go to a man's room to change her clothes?
That is impolite.
Jiang Ninghui shook her head and refused: "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Pei, but it is not proper for me to do this. I will go change my clothes first."
She was so cold that she couldn't stand it anymore, so she hurriedly ran inside and closed the door.
Pei Duo stared at the closed door, his dark pupils gradually filled with a chilling light.
Even with a cold body, she was still agonizing over what was unreasonable.
The young man's gaze was almost glued to the closed door. Behind the door, the woman took off her outer garment and inner garment, revealing her slender, pale back. A light purple ribbon was tied around her neck and waist, the thin fabric outlining the woman's full and soft curves.
She bent down and took off her dress and trousers, exposing her two slender, straight, and snow-white legs to the cold indoor environment.
Just as Jiang Ninghui picked up her undergarment, the terrifying feeling of being intensely spied on that night when she and her husband failed to consummate their marriage suddenly surged up again, as if icy, bone-chilling fingertips were moving inch by inch up her waist, sliding down her back, neck, shoulders—and the red plum blossoms, covered by her undergarment and standing coldly.
Jiang Ninghui felt a chill run down her spine, and an indescribable feeling washed over her.
Startled, she turned around and found herself alone in the room.
The door was bolted shut, so even standing outside, one couldn't see inside.
She quickly changed her clothes and hung the wet clothes on the back of the chair to dry temporarily, planning to warm them again later in the evening by lighting a charcoal brazier.
Jiang Ninghui opened the door and went out; Young Master Pei was no longer in the courtyard.
She thought Young Master Pei had left, but unexpectedly, a young man's indifferent voice came from the next room: "Sister-in-law, could you come in and help me with something?"
Jiang Ninghui walked outside; the door was ajar.
She raised her hand to knock on the door, and the young man said, "Come in."
Jiang Ninghui pushed open the door, and instantly, the warm air from the room enveloped her. She felt her body, which had been frozen solid, regain some warmth. She turned around and closed the door slightly again, and saw Young Master Pei standing tall and elegant in front of the pear blossom table, holding a dark blue outer robe in his hand.
The outer robe seemed to have been torn by something, like a flawless piece of jade with a crack.
Before Pei Duo could speak, Jiang Ninghui took the initiative to ask, "Young Master Pei would like me to help sew your clothes?"
Pei Duo nodded and looked at the woman standing inside the doorway.
She was still wearing the cheapest coarse cloth, and the baggy clothes made her look too big and bulky, obscuring her slender and delicate figure.
But Pei Duo knew.
Beneath this bulky dress lies a fair, delicate, and exquisite figure.
He said, "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law."
Helping Pei Duo was something Jiang Ninghui desperately wanted.
She thought of taking the clothes to her room to sew, but Young Master Pei said, "Sister-in-law, bring the needle and thread over. My room is warm, and your hands won't be cold, so you can sew faster and I can put them on and go to school sooner."
Jiang Ninghui, unsuspecting, said, "I'll go get it right away."
After that figure left, the young man lowered his eyes and gently traced the wound he had just torn with his fingertips.
My sister-in-law is so easy to fool.
If only... she would only be deceived by him in the future.
It will happen—
That day will come soon.
Jiang Ninghui took out a needle and thread and sat on the chair that Pei Duo had pulled out for her. Her dark blue robe was piled on her lap, and her slender white fingers held the robe, with the needle tip moving through it.
Pei Duo stood by the window, his bent knuckles gently tapping on the rolled-up Xuan paper.
Unfold this sheet of Xuan paper, and inside is a beautiful and alluring portrait of my sister-in-law.
The young man's fingertips traced the back of the Xuan paper, as if meticulously depicting her tangible, snow-white skin. He watched as Jiang Ninghui's fingers moved across his robes, as his robes gently covered and bound her legs and lower abdomen.
She must be covered in his scent.
Pei Duo lifted his eyes and looked at how the golden glow from the burning charcoal in the basin made the woman's soft and beautiful face appear even more gentle.
He asked, "Just now I saw my sister-in-law coming out of Sister Mu's house with her clothes wet. Did something happen?"
Jiang Ninghui hesitated for a moment, then truthfully told Pei Duo about how she and Sister-in-law Mu were earning money by washing clothes. Then, she bit her lip and looked at Pei Duo, her almond-shaped eyes pleading, "Young Master Pei, could you please keep this a secret for me? I don't want my husband and in-laws to know."
If they find out, the ten coins she earned will no longer be hers.
It was impossible for her to express her gratitude to Young Master Pei with her meager efforts.
Pei Duo: "Okay."
Jiang Ninghui smiled gently and said, "Thank you, Young Master Pei."
She lowered her head again and continued sewing.
The young man looked at her slender, straight nape; the prominent knuckles made her appear delicate and frail.
"Young Master Pei, it's sewn up."
Jiang Ninghui finished sewing the clothes and handed them to Pei Duo. The clothes of Young Master Pei were made of the finest fabric, which she had never seen before. She only felt that they felt very good to the touch. She tried her best to repair the stitches, but the traces of mending could still be seen.
Pei Duo took it and put it on, his fingertips tracing the stitches on the side of his waist: "Sister-in-law, your stitching skills are quite good. You can't even see the mending unless you look closely."
No one has ever praised her needlework skills.
Young Master Pei was the first one.
Jiang Ninghui was a little embarrassed. She put away her needle and thread and said, "Young Master Pei, I'll go now."
"sister in law."
Pei Duo called out to her.
Jiang Ninghui turned around: "What's wrong?"
The young man said, "Sister-in-law, please use hot water to wash your clothes. There's no shortage of firewood in the kitchen. It was a gift from a good friend of mine, and he didn't charge me. Once you earn some money, treat me to a flatbread. That will be my way of repaying his kindness. How about that?"
But one flatbread isn't enough.
She felt that even ten servings wouldn't be enough for Young Master Pei.
She nodded gently: "Okay."
Pei Duo took two books from the table, glanced at the rolled-up Xuan paper on the table that seemed ready to fall at any moment, but ignored it. Before leaving, he said, "I would like to trouble you with one more thing, sister-in-law: please add more charcoal to the brazier to make the room warmer."
Jiang Ninghui agreed and turned to go to the next room.
The young man fiddled with the Xuan paper on the table with his fingertips until he moved it to the edge of the table before leaving.
My sister-in-law is so kind and caring; she will definitely help him keep that painting safe.
If my sister-in-law could unfold that painting and see herself in it—that would be wonderful.
A note from the author:
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