Chapter 34. Zhao Zhixue looked at the couple embracing each other! ...
The gate to the rented courtyard was open, as were the kitchen and house doors; the house was empty.
Zhao Zhixue noticed a trail of blood running from the courtyard gate to the doorway of his and Sui Sui's house.
Neither Pei nor his wife were there.
Zhao Zhixue realized something was wrong, thinking that something had happened to Jiang Ninghui, so he quickly turned around and ran outside to look for her. Just as he ran out of the courtyard gate, he saw two people walking out of the deep alley.
They are a man and a woman.
The two were almost huddled together.
The young man was very tall, while the woman was not even as tall as his shoulder. The young man had his arm around the woman's shoulder, and the two of them slowly walked towards them, step by step.
Zhao Zhixue recognized him.
It's my wife and Brother Pei!
Upon seeing Pei Di and his wife so intimately, a surge of anger and shame at being betrayed by both his friend and wife welled up within him, causing him to lose his temper instantly.
Zhao Zhixue's handsome face was gloomy and unsightly.
He stared intently at the two people not far away.
Jiang Ninghui kept her head slightly lowered as she walked, raising her right hand to firmly grasp Pei Duo's right wrist, supporting him with her slender body.
She was afraid that if she wasn't careful, she would trip and fall, causing Young Master Pei to fall down with her.
Pei Duo lifted his thin eyelids and glanced at Zhao Zhixue outside the courtyard gate.
The young man had excellent eyesight and could clearly see Zhao Zhixue's violently heaving chest and gloomy face.
His extremely angry expression made it seem as if he wanted to tear him and his sister-in-law apart.
"sister in law."
"Brother Zhao is back."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ninghui looked up and saw her husband not far away.
Then Young Master Pei said, "Sister-in-law, let go, lest Brother Zhao misunderstand and upset you."
Jiang Ninghui gently shook her head: "It's alright, I will explain to my husband, and he will understand."
Pei Duo glanced at the woman who remained steadfast.
She did not hastily let go of him even though her husband had caught them.
She is so kind.
She's so kind that you just want to keep teasing her.
As the two drew closer, Zhao Zhixue's vision became increasingly clear.
He noticed that Pei Di's left wrist was wrapped in a thin cloth, and then he noticed that his left sleeve was covered in blood.
Zhao Zhixue's gloomy and ugly expression suddenly froze for a moment, looking rather comical at first glance.
Jiang Ninghui explained the whole story to her husband.
When Zhao Zhixue learned the reason, the anger in his heart was instantly extinguished.
Then, I realized how ridiculous I was.
Pei Di is a cold and aloof person who has never liked others getting close to him. He is intelligent and has a good relationship with the prefect of Longchang. His family may also have connections with some high-ranking officials and nobles.
How could such a person even covet a woman?
Besides, this was a woman like Sui Sui who couldn't read a single word.
Zhao Zhixue stepped forward and helped Pei Duo up, asking, "Brother Pei, do you remember the figure and face of the person who injured you?"
Pei Duo: "It was too dark at night, I couldn't see clearly."
Jiang Ninghui glanced at the blood on Young Master Pei's sleeve: "Young Master Pei, go back to your room and change your clothes. I'll help you wash it after dinner, otherwise it will be difficult to wash tomorrow."
The young man said, "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ninghui gently shook her head: "It's nothing."
Tonight was a truly thrilling night for Jiang Ninghui.
She had never seen anyone bleed so much without making a sound.
After dinner, and after helping Young Master Pei wash his clothes, Jiang Ninghui glanced at the bloodstains dripping from the courtyard gate to the doorway. She then carefully washed the bloodstains with clean water, splashed the water out, and turned around to see that the window in Young Master Pei's room was half-open.
A scroll was laid out on the young man's table, and he was painting.
Jiang Ninghui: "Young Master Pei, you are injured and have lost too much blood. You should not overexert yourself. You should rest as soon as possible."
Pei Duo lifted his eyes and looked at Jiang Ninghui in the courtyard through the window.
The woman's slender figure appeared even more delicate under the cool moonlight.
These past few days she has been avoiding him, even keeping her head down at the dinner table.
It's all right now.
His sister-in-law finally stopped avoiding him.
The young man nodded: "Understood."
He lowered his eyes and began to trace the ink on the scroll with the tip of his brush.
Gradually, the portrait of the beauty on the scroll began to take shape.
The woman wore a thin undergarment with a delicate strap wrapped around the back of her neck. The strap hung precariously from her slender waist, its swaying end resting on her tailbone.
Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears.
She looked at him pitifully and helplessly.
The young man's fingertips touched the woman's watery eyes in the painting, gently stroking them. His touch followed the soft lines of her face down to her neck, the almost tangible caress gradually moving to her bare shoulders, her breasts, and her slender waist—
Finally, it landed on the blooming petal.
The young man heard a woman's soft voice coming from next door, a tenderness unique to her lover.
She called that good-for-nothing husband.
She was hugged by that good-for-nothing.
Her husband is kissing her.
The young man suddenly applied force with his fingertips, which were twirling the petals, and a blot of ink spread across the petals.
It is as white and translucent as a pearl, alluring and captivating.
In the next room.
Jiang Ninghui nudged Zhao Zhixue's shoulder and turned her head away from his persistent kisses.
After what happened last time, Jiang Ninghui was almost traumatized by such things.
Especially since Young Master Pei, who has excellent hearing, lives next door.
She nestled in Zhao Zhixue's arms and said softly, "My lord, let's do it another day."
She would wait until Young Master Pei was not home, and then close all the doors and windows before proceeding with this matter, otherwise she wouldn't feel at ease.
Zhao Zhixue recalled the day Jiang Ninghui suddenly got off him and hid in the quilt, crying uncontrollably. He didn't dare to force her, and could only stare at the dark ceiling and sigh silently.
He could only look at his wife, not touch her.
When will this end?
It was late at night, but a light was still on in the wide-open window.
The cold wind raged and assaulted, causing the lamp to flicker unpredictably.
Pei Duo rolled up the painting on the pear blossom table and placed the scroll into the painting box next to the table.
Five paintings have already been collected in the painting box.
Every single one is of my sister-in-law.
His sister-in-law went into his room every day, but never touched anything else in his room.
Whenever she opens a painting and glances at it, she knows what he's thinking in just one look.
Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and the school will be closed for the day.
The next morning, Jiang Ninghui learned from her husband that he had made plans to go boating on the lake with some classmates and asked if she wanted to go.
Jiang Ninghui shook her head: "My lord, you may go. I will not go."
Those boating on the lake were all students from the school; it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go along.
Zhao Zhixue stood up and hugged Jiang Ninghui from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder and tilting his head to kiss her cheek: "Today is the Lantern Festival. I heard from my classmates that there is a lantern festival in Longchang County tonight. After we come back from the lake trip, I will take you to the lantern festival tonight."
Jiang Ninghui had never seen what a lantern festival looked like.
She turned to look at Zhao Zhixue, her beautiful and gentle eyes shining brightly: "My lord, is the lantern festival beautiful?"
Zhao Zhixue laughed and said, "Whether it looks good or not, you'll know once I take you to see it tonight."
Jiang Ninghui's eyebrows curved into a smile, and for the first time, she looked forward to the arrival of night.
While eating breakfast, Zhao Zhixue asked Pei Duo whether he wanted to go boating on the lake.
The young man said calmly, "I'm not going."
This answer was exactly what Zhao Zhixue expected.
In the school, Pei Di never participated in what his classmates would do together.
His question today was merely a polite exchange with Brother Pei.
Zhao Zhixue left after breakfast.
Jiang Ninghui cleaned up the kitchen and came out to see that Young Master Pei's door was open.
She walked over and stood outside, asking softly, "Young Master Pei, are you going to the clinic to change your dressing now?"
The young man closed the book: "Hmm."
He got up and went out: "Sister-in-law, are you coming with me?"
Jiang Ninghui: "Okay, I'll tell the doctor and get you some more tonic soup to replenish your qi and blood."
She glanced at Young Master Pei's left hand; red bloodstains were seeping onto the white cloth.
She hadn't noticed that Pei Gongzi's left hand wasn't on the table while he was eating breakfast.
Looking at it now, I realize there's been so much blood loss.
Jiang Ninghui dared not delay. She went back into the house, stuffed the coins into her sleeve again, and went out with Young Master Pei.
When it was time to change the dressing and buy medicine, Jiang Ninghui put the money into the doctor's hand first.
It cost a total of twenty-eight coins.
The young man glanced at the woman's indifferent expression and slightly raised his stern eyebrows.
As the two walked out of the clinic, Pei Duo said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you with the expenses today, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ninghui: "It's not much of an expense. If it weren't for Young Master Pei's connection with that master, I wouldn't have earned this money. Compared to Young Master Pei's kindness to me, this amount of money is nothing."
The young man lifted his eyelids and glanced at the woman walking beside him.
She was good to him.
It was only because of those favors.
But that's not enough.
He wants more than just that.
If his sister-in-law knew that he wanted to kill her husband, wanted her, and wanted to imprison her by his side.
Will she still think about repaying him for these favors?
"Does your sister-in-law like lantern festivals?"
The young man suddenly asked a question.
Jiang Ninghui paused for a moment, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling with a newfound curiosity: "I've never seen a lantern festival before, so I don't know what it's like."
Jiang Ninghui looked forward to her husband returning to take her to the county town to see the lantern festival.
She was in a good mood all day.
At noon, Mu Hua came to Jiang Ninghui's house and noticed that she was in a very good mood. She asked with a smile, "What happy event has happened to you, Madam Jiang? I saw you smiling as soon as I walked in, like you had found money."
Jiang Ninghui did not expect that she would make her feelings so obvious.
She said, "My husband said he would take me to the county town to see the lantern festival tonight."
Sister Mu laughed: "No wonder Madam Jiang is so happy, Young Master Zhao is so thoughtful."
Sister-in-law Mu sat for half an hour and then left.
Jiang Ninghui stayed at home all afternoon, watching as she prepared the herbal medicine for Young Master Pei and served it to him.
As dusk settled, lamps were lit inside the house.
Jiang Ninghui waited all day, but her husband did not return until it got dark.
Jiang Ninghui's heart, which had been filled with anticipation all day, sank to the bottom, and the brightness in her almond-shaped eyes dimmed.
Perhaps my lord was delayed by something.
Or perhaps, her husband went to the lantern festival with his classmates, all of whom were men, and it was inappropriate for her, a woman, to accompany them.
After calming her disappointment, Jiang Ninghui got up and was about to open the door to go to the kitchen when there was a sudden knock on the door.
Thinking her husband had returned, she opened the door with great joy.
Unexpectedly, the person outside the door was Young Master Pei.
Pei Duo took in the disappointment in the woman's eyes, his dark pupils revealing a cold glint in his eyes.
She realized that the person who came was not her husband.
So disappointed?
pity.
Since her sister-in-law came to town half a year ago, she has waited for him time and time again.
The man she loved broke his promise.
Jiang Ninghui smiled slightly and said, "Young Master Pei must be hungry. I'll go make some food."
She lowered her head and walked past Young Master Pei. Suddenly, her wrist was grasped by a hand with distinct knuckles. The hand was large and warm, with strong and powerful knuckles, which reached her wrist through the layers of her sleeve.
The young man took another step closer to her, his tall and imposing figure trapping the woman between him and the door.
The faint scent of cedarwood, along with the tall, dark shadow cast by the young man, pressed down on Jiang Ninghui...
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Author's Note: There's a red envelope in this chapter! Update tomorrow at 6 PM! [Sprinkling flowers]
Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I drank a vial of flunarizine hydrochloride solution today, and as a result, I felt groggy all afternoon, the kind of person who could faint just standing up. I sat in front of the computer writing and deleting, but I was never satisfied with what I wrote.
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