Chapter 35. Indulging Once
Jiang Ninghui's slender back pressed against the door, her wrists were against Pei Gongzi's strong fingers, and the tips of her toes were against Pei Gongzi's toes. The scent of cedarwood penetrated every crevice of Jiang Ninghui's clothes, wandering along her limbs and bones, and brazenly invading her vulnerable points.
The young man was very, very close to her.
So close that it was only the distance of a forearm.
To her, Young Master Pei was too high up, like a mountain about to collapse and crush her.
Jiang Ninghui felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of bewilderment and helplessness.
This shouldn't be the case.
It's inappropriate for a stranger like Pei Gongzi to hold her wrist.
She wouldn't be so shameless as to think that Young Master Pei had ulterior motives towards her.
Young Master Pei is a refined and elegant gentleman, whose talent and appearance are unmatched by others. How could such a heavenly being have any interest in a woman like her?
Just thinking about it made Jiang Ninghui feel ashamed and embarrassed.
But she really didn't know why Young Master Pei was like this.
Jiang Ninghui tried to break free and retreat.
But there was a door behind her, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
Just as Jiang Ninghui was wondering what to do, a young man's clear and deep voice sounded above her head.
"Sister-in-law, would you like to see the lantern festival?"
Jiang Ninghui thought of her husband who had broken his promise, bit her lip and gently shook her head.
Pei Duo stared at the woman's lowered head; the back of her neck was exposed, and a protruding knuckle was visible to him.
Porcelain white, fragile.
So fragile that a press of his fingertip could end this vibrant life.
The young man then asked, "Sister-in-law, do you really not want to go to the lantern festival?"
Jiang Ninghui said with difficulty, "I'm not going. I'll go make dinner."
fraud.
Little liar.
She clearly really wanted to go.
I don't want to go anymore just because that good-for-nothing broke his promise.
Sensing that Jiang Ninghui's mood fluctuated with Zhao Zhixue's, a raging evil thought grew wildly in the young man's blood. An extremely unfamiliar anger and injustice rushed into his chest, clamoring to burst out from his throat.
How could my sister-in-law's emotions be affected by that good-for-nothing time and time again?
He suddenly really wanted to know.
Will his sister-in-law's emotions be affected by him?
Because of his joy, because of his delight, or because of his sleeplessness and loss of appetite?
Pei Duo gripped her wrist tightly and pulled her towards the courtyard gate. The young man walked quickly, and Jiang Ninghui's sluggish brain couldn't keep up with Pei Gongzi's change of pace. She stumbled as he led her out of the courtyard gate and into the secluded alley.
"Young Master Pei, where are you taking me?"
"Let me go first."
"Young Master Pei—"
The young man's voice was cold and indifferent: "To repay my sister-in-law for paying for my medical expenses and preparing my medicine, I'm taking her to see the lantern festival."
How could a married woman go to see the lantern festival with a man from another family?
If this gets out, not only will her reputation be affected, but Young Master Pei's reputation will also be impacted.
She tried to break free, but Young Master Pei's fingers were like iron clamps, and she couldn't budge them at all.
"Let me go!"
"Young Master Pei!"
Jiang Ninghui's almond-shaped eyes burned with heat, and the corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint red. Her soft voice was mixed with sobs and panic that she could not break free from.
The young man suddenly stopped.
He turned to look at the woman who had taken several steps back.
The darkness of the alley concealed the chilling malice emanating from the young man's eyes. His sharp, thin jawline was taut, and the turbulent, restless malice bubbling around him was swallowed up by the darkness of the alley.
Jiang Ninghui kept retreating.
Pei Duo continued to close in.
He didn't stop until he had the woman cornered against the wall.
The night was too dark, and the alley was too dimly lit, so Jiang Ninghui couldn't see Pei Gongzi's expression clearly.
"sister in law."
The young man stopped two steps away from her, looking down at her.
She was frightened by him.
For the first time, Pei Duo saw wariness and fear in her eyes.
How could you look at him with such beautiful eyes?
That's such a spoilsport.
The young man suppressed the evil thoughts that were growing wildly within him, and his handsome appearance gave him the air of a gentleman.
"I apologize, it was my abruptness that startled you, sister-in-law."
"It's just that I, Pei, have never been one to owe favors. Knowing that my sister-in-law wanted to see the lantern festival, I thought of using this to repay her kindness. However, since my sister-in-law knew that she liked the lantern festival, she suppressed her own enjoyment because Brother Zhao had not returned for a long time, confining herself to a small space. That's why I was a bit rash."
After hearing Young Master Pei's explanation, the wariness and unease in Jiang Ninghui's eyes gradually faded.
It turns out that Young Master Pei's sudden change of heart was due to this matter.
She never kept any secrets from Young Master Pei.
Young Master Pei's eyes could see right through her heart and her thoughts.
The young man bent down to meet the eye level of the petite Jiang Ninghui. He looked at her and coaxed her gently: "Sister-in-law, life is only a few decades long, and it's all just joys and sorrows. So why do you suppress your joys and force yourself to be bound by sadness and grief?"
"The lantern festival is beautiful. Sister-in-law, haven't you never seen one before?"
"Then let's indulge ourselves tonight and see some new things we've never seen before. This will also fulfill my gratitude. You and I know that I'm taking my sister-in-law to see the lantern festival. No one else will know."
"Sister-in-law, please grant my request this once, okay?"
Jiang Ninghui is illiterate and doesn't understand profound principles.
But Pei Gongzi's words today actually stirred a tiny ripple in her stagnant heart.
But it was against etiquette for her to go to the lantern festival with Young Master Pei.
But she really wanted to see the lantern festival.
In the past ten years or so of my life, I have been tortured, beaten and scolded, and forced to do things I didn't want to do.
The word "indulgence" had never appeared in Jiang Ninghui's limited understanding.
But tonight, it was presented to her.
Then... let's indulge ourselves just this once.
Just once.
She'll come back after the lantern festival.
Jiang Ninghui finally nodded in agreement, and a warm smile appeared in the young man's cold, icy black eyes.
My sister-in-law is so good.
Jiang Ninghui whispered, "The courtyard gate isn't locked yet."
Pei Duo straightened up: "I'll go lock it."
Jiang Ninghui went with Young Master Pei. She went back to her room, took twenty coins, and stuffed them into her sleeve. After deciding to indulge herself one more time, the invisible shackles that had been binding her seemed to disappear, and she felt much lighter on her feet.
But... there are still some things I find hard to overcome.
That's all.
Just this once, just this once.
It takes nearly two hours to walk from Qingping Town to Longchang County. It is already 5:45 PM, and by the time they arrive, it will be almost 7:00 PM. Jiang Ninghui doesn't know when the lantern festival will end. She follows closely behind Young Master Pei, who has hired a carriage.
The carriage will arrive in just half an hour.
This was the first time Jiang Ninghui had sat alone with Young Master Pei in a closed carriage.
The young man's faint scent of cedar enveloped her, and even her hair seemed to be imbued with that scent.
Inside the carriage, lamps were lit, and three plates of exquisite and delicious pastries were laid out.
Pei Duo: "Sister-in-law, have some pastries first, and then we can eat something else when we get to the lantern festival."
Jiang Ninghui did not plan to have dinner at the lantern festival.
It must be very expensive there.
She brought twenty coins with her, intending to pay for whatever Young Master Pei wanted to eat.
Jiang Ninghui picked up a piece of pastry and took a bite. The pastry was soft, glutinous, and fragrant.
She finished one piece and picked up another.
The young man lifted his eyelids to look at Jiang Ninghui, who was quietly eating her pastries with her head down.
A crumb of pastry stuck to the corner of her lips, and the woman stuck out her tongue to lick it.
The soft, rosy tongue swept across his lips, pressing against the corner of his mouth, and the young man's prominent Adam's apple suddenly bobbed down twice.
He had tasted his sister-in-law's lips.
It's very soft.
But since I haven't tasted it yet, I don't know what it tastes like.
I long to savor that taste, to capture her lips and tongue, to swallow the pastry in her mouth along with her breath.
He wanted to see his sister-in-law's passionate expression in his arms.
It must be very beautiful.
Half an hour later, the carriage arrived in Longchang County.
This was Jiang Ninghui's first time visiting a county town since she was a child. Standing on the bluestone-paved street, she looked at the brightly lit Longchang County ahead. All kinds of lanterns she had never seen before were hung in every house, and countless lanterns illuminated the night sky as bright as day.
Even the stars in the night sky seemed dim under the bright lanterns.
On the street, both men and women were carrying lanterns of various designs.
As Jiang Ninghui watched couples carrying lanterns walk past her, a sense of sadness welled up within her.
If her husband brought her here, she could walk down the street with him, carrying a lantern, just like those couples.
"sister in law."
The young man's voice interrupted Jiang Ninghui's thoughts. She was momentarily distracted when a rabbit lantern appeared before her eyes.
Behind the rabbit lantern stood Young Master Pei's tall and imposing figure.
He lowered his eyes and asked, "Do you like it?"
Jiang Ninghui looked at the vivid depiction of the rabbit lamp and nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
Pei Duo handed her the lantern: "Take it if you like it."
Jiang Ninghui was stunned and looked at Young Master Pei in confusion.
Pei Duo said calmly, "Consider it repayment for my sister-in-law's payment of the medicine for me. Take it."
Jiang Ninghui took it and felt that the beautiful rabbit lantern was quite heavy.
Young Master Pei only wanted to repay her kindness, but she owed Young Master Pei so much that she could never repay it.
Pei Duo: "Sister-in-law, don't worry about anything tonight, just enjoy the lantern festival."
Jiang Ninghui clenched her fingertips and lightly tapped her chin: "Okay."
The two walked into the bustling night scene along with the crowd. Jiang Ninghui's shabby coarse clothes were really out of place with the gorgeous lantern festival tonight. She was accompanied by a handsome young man.
The young man wore a dark blue brocade robe, his hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and his features were cold and stern.
He didn't seem to match the young lady next to him at all.
The two walked halfway down the street, and Jiang Ninghui was overwhelmed by the dazzling array of lanterns.
Ahead lay a lake, the lanterns hanging from the boats reflected in the water, casting shimmering golden light. Pedestrians came and went on the boardwalk. Jiang Ninghui moved aside, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed by the young man again. Before she could react, she heard him say, "Let's go boating on the lake."
There were just too many people here, and Jiang Ninghui couldn't struggle, so she could only let Young Master Pei lead her to squeeze to the front.
She was led by Young Master Pei onto a three-story boat.
The ship was magnificent. Jiang Ninghui had never seen such splendid decorations in her life. She was stunned for a moment and did not even notice the young man's hand sliding from her wrist into her palm and touching her palm.
"Brother Zhao, this place is truly beautiful!"
"This year's lantern festival in Longchang County is much more lively than in previous years."
Opposite Jiang Ninghui, four young men walking with her approached.
Perhaps it was because she felt guilty about coming to see the lantern festival alone with Young Master Pei, but she actually heard her husband's voice amidst the noise.
Jiang Ninghui slowed her pace and stopped, gazing into the distance.
Amidst the bustling crowd, she finally saw her beloved.
He and several classmates walked this way.
Jiang Ninghui was stunned and stared blankly.
Pei Duo noticed that the soft, delicate hand he was holding suddenly froze. In the cold winter, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on the woman's palm. The young man raised his eyes and glanced at Zhao Zhixue, who was walking towards them from a distance.
He spotted the good-for-nothing from the shore.
He did it on purpose.
She deliberately let her sister-in-law see her good husband strolling through the lantern festival alone.
This caused the sister-in-law to gradually lose hope in the man she had been longing for.
He made his sister-in-law dependent on him.
Get closer to him.
For example, right now.
The sister-in-law finally realized what was happening. She moved closer to him, grabbed his sleeve in a panic, and looked up at him with her pitiful almond-shaped eyes, pleading.
Jiang Ninghui's lips moved slightly: "Young Master Pei, I've seen my husband."
The woman's fingertips turned white, her breath quickened, and her snow-white neck frequently clung to the cervical bone, highlighting the delicate and beautiful bony hollows.
The young man admired his sister-in-law's deeply moved expression.
At that moment, she only had eyes for him.
We can only rely on him.
Excellent.
A look of doubt appeared on Pei Duo's handsome face as he asked, "Where is Brother Zhao?"
Jiang Ninghui pointed to Zhao Zhixue, who was approaching step by step not far away, her face turning pale: "There he is."
The young man lifted his eyelids and looked in the direction Jiang Ninghui was pointing.
He was tall and imposing, making him stand out in the crowd.
As Zhao Zhixue and his classmates looked around admiring the scene, they happened to spot Pei Duo not far away.
Zhao Zhixue was taken aback, somewhat surprised that Pei Di would come to this lively and bustling lantern festival.
Across the crowd, Zhao Zhixue called out, "Brother Pei!"
Jiang Ninghui shuddered and almost collapsed to the ground, but the young man reached out and caught her forearm, forcefully pulling the woman into his arms.
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Author's Note: There should be another chapter at midnight tonight. If not, it will be updated at 2 PM the next day.
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