Chapter 43 The Nightmare Created by Pei Duo
A few steps away, Young Master Pei had already changed into a light blue cross-collar robe.
He did not repeat the loss of control he had shown in the room earlier, nor did he display the vulnerability he had shown her for a moment.
There was no longer the cruelty and plundering that had occurred when she was forcibly restrained.
Standing outside the house, Young Master Pei was as handsome and refined as ever, as elegant as a jade tablet.
Jiang Ninghui dared not meet Pei Gongzi's gaze.
She dared not meet the gaze of her beloved.
Startled, she lowered her head, hastily withdrew from her husband's embrace, turned her back to the two of them, and said softly, "Dinner is ready, let's eat."
Zhao Zhixue knew that Jiang Ninghui was shy and didn't like to do intimate things in front of outsiders.
He called out to Pei Duo, "Brother Pei, let's eat."
Pei Duo stepped in, his dark eyes sweeping over Jiang Ninghui's tense shoulders and neck.
He knew his sister-in-law was very nervous.
I'm very scared.
Fear is the right thing to do.
It's best to fear that it seeps into your bones, and remember what he did to her today.
Thus, at the moment her husband touched her.
She remembered every moment how he kissed her, touched her, and bullied her.
Let's see if she can still have sex with that good-for-nothing without feeling guilty.
The three of them ate together at the dinner table.
Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo were talking about the autumn imperial examinations in August of this year, which were less than five months away.
Zhao Zhixue was unsure of himself.
He actually didn't quite understand some of the articles, and there were even some things he couldn't understand at all.
For the past six months, he shamelessly went to the teacher's house every night to seek guidance. The teacher never showed any displeasure. On the contrary, the teacher praised him for his hard work and said that given time, he would surely pass the imperial examination and be the top scorer in the palace examination the following year.
Zhao Zhixue glanced at Pei Duo beside him.
Before the New Year, Pei Di gave him a book and some insights. After reading it, his thinking became much clearer.
Brother Pei said that the book was brought from the prefect's residence. I wonder if Brother Pei could bring him some other books to look at?
If that's the case, he might have a chance to pass the imperial examination this autumn.
Zhao Zhixue pondered that he would find an opportunity to sound out Pei Di's opinion another day.
At the dinner table, the husband and wife each had their own thoughts.
Jiang Ninghui, who had always been concerned about whether her husband would pass the imperial examination, seemed to have lost her soul at this moment, and didn't dare to lift her head as she shoveled rice into her bowl.
Sitting opposite her was Young Master Pei.
Even without looking up, she could still catch a glimpse of that pale blue figure out of the corner of her eye.
She could feel Young Master Pei's gaze hovering above her head.
Jiang Ninghui's cheeks burned with shame and embarrassment, and she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
She couldn't sit still any longer, so she put down her chopsticks, lied that her stomach wasn't feeling well, and hurriedly went back to her room to shut herself off.
Pei Duo lifted his eyelids and glanced at the half bowl of rice and dishes that Jiang Ninghui had left.
To avoid him, his sister-in-law even stopped eating.
He held her in his arms tonight, pressing her slender, delicate body tightly against his.
She was even thinner than he had imagined.
He was already very thin, and yet he still had to go hungry.
The young man put down his chopsticks.
Zhao Zhixue glanced at the food that Pei had barely touched and asked in confusion, "Brother Pei isn't eating either?"
Pei Duo: "I just remembered something. A good friend gave me two books and asked me to pick them up tonight. Brother Zhao, you eat first. I'll be right back."
Zhao Zhixue knew that the book given to him by Pei Di's friend was probably no ordinary item.
At that time, he will borrow Pei Di's book to read a bit, and perhaps he will learn a lot more.
After Zhao Zhixue finished dinner and returned to his room, Jiang Ninghui learned from her husband that Young Master Pei had gone out.
She breathed a sigh of relief and went to the kitchen to clean up the leftovers.
Upon entering, she discovered that Young Master Pei, like her, had barely touched his chopsticks.
Jiang Ninghui reheated the food in the pot, and after cleaning up, she kept the remaining food warm in the pot so that if Young Master Pei was hungry when he returned, he would have a hot meal to eat.
Zhao Zhixue was preoccupied with the books Pei Duo was about to bring back, so he sat at the table reading them with a distracted mind, unable to think about anything else.
Jiang Ninghui went into the room and glanced at her husband.
She walked to the cabinet and carefully pulled out her only light purple undershirt, tucking it into her sleeve.
Beneath her inner garment, there was nothing, nothing to restrain her.
Her undergarments were taken away by Young Master Pei, and he did that kind of thing to her.
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip in shame, closed the closet door, hid herself under the quilt, secretly took off her clothes, and put on her undergarments.
She didn't have many clothes, only two to change into.
One piece was red, and the other was mauve.
She will ask Young Master Pei for that undergarment tomorrow, otherwise she won't even have a replacement.
But the thought of that undergarment stained with Young Master Pei's raindrops...
Jiang Ninghui tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw what she had done with Young Master Pei.
Like a persistent nightmare, it haunted her at all times.
The second quarter of Hai hour.
Jiang Ninghui heard Pei Gongzi's clear and indifferent voice coming from outside the door. She gripped the corner of the quilt tightly and curled up inside.
Not long after, the young man opened the door, went out, and came back in.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently nudged Jiang Ninghui: "Wife, Young Master Pei's friend brought us three servings of hot wontons. You didn't eat much tonight, so it's a good time to get up and have some. The wontons are so fragrant and delicious that you can tell they taste great just by looking at them."
Zhao Zhixue lifted the corner of the quilt, and Jiang Ninghui smelled a fresh and rich aroma.
Having barely eaten anything that evening, Jiang Ninghui now felt genuinely hungry as the aroma filled her nostrils.
She got up, tidied herself up, and sat down at the table with her husband.
Jiang Ninghui glanced at the bowl of wontons. It was a celadon glaze with an excellent texture, clearly the kind of porcelain used by high-ranking officials and nobles. It seemed that her friend, Young Master Pei, came from an extraordinary family.
She remembered the friend who had helped Young Master Pei weave tassels for her.
I don't know if it's the same person.
White wontons wrapped around meat filling, in a rich and flavorful broth, garnished with chopped green onions.
Jiang Ninghui ate a wonton, and immediately, the aroma spread between her lips and teeth, reaching deep into her lungs.
Actually, she had never eaten wontons.
Not to mention these wontons with their tender meat and excellent flavor.
Jiang Ninghui finished her bowl without realizing it, only then noticing that her husband was eating absentmindedly. He was reading a book while eating wontons, his mind mostly on the book. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Zhao Zhixue glanced at her and smiled, "Has my wife finished eating?"
Jiang Ninghui nodded gently: "Mm."
She then asked, "It's so late, is my lord still going to read?"
Zhao Zhixue: "This book was borrowed from Pei by his friend and I'm reading it for a while. I need to finish reading it as soon as possible and memorize it so I can return it to Pei on time."
Therefore, Jiang Ninghui could not urge her husband.
She desperately hoped that her beloved could pass the provincial examination with the help of Young Master Pei.
If her husband's path to the imperial examinations is smooth and successful, her life will be easier.
The couple's conversation could be heard through a thin wall to the next room.
Pei Duo stood before the pear blossom table, holding a celadon bowl in his hand, stirring the thick soup wontons with a spoon, sometimes gently, sometimes heavily.
He listened to the sound of a woman chewing her food.
Listen to the sigh she made after finishing her wontons.
According to that good-for-nothing, she finished a whole bowl.
It seems so.
My sister-in-law should like this bowl of wontons.
The young man scooped up a wonton and brought it to his lips; the wonton filling was fresh, fragrant, and delicious.
Even more delicious—
It's my sister-in-law.
My sister-in-law's lips are very soft.
The tiny, pink tongue hidden between the teeth is also one of them.
The young man lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the small red garment draped over the edge of the table.
The red color is absolutely stunning and captivating.
Wrapped in delicate softness, the floral patterns painted on it bloom open, revealing the fine fuzzy stamens inside.
Pei Duo hooked his knuckles around the thin ribbon of the small garment, grinding his fingertips on the extremely fine ribbon, as if trying to crush the lingering scent of Jiang Ninghui that belonged only to her onto his fingertips.
Tomorrow, his sister-in-law will probably ask him to take it back.
But he didn't want to give it.
A sinister and eerie smile crept into the young man's dark eyes.
I don't want to.
Then I won't give it to you.
As night approached midnight, Jiang Ninghui finished a bowl of wontons and soon lay down.
She tried to convince herself to forget what had happened with Young Master Pei that night.
While in a deep, chaotic sleep, Jiang Ninghui seemed to hear someone calling her.
"sister in law--"
"sister in law."
"Sister-in-law, I feel so bad."
"Sister-in-law, please teach me."
It's Young Master Pei's voice!
Jiang Ninghui opened her eyes in fright, only to be greeted by the handsome face of Young Master Pei.
Young Master Pei's usually handsome and refined features were now tinged with a sickly gloom.
He approached her.
Her long knees were wedged at her waist.
His strong, wiry fingers climbed up her cheek and caressed it inch by inch.
He gave a wicked laugh, leaned in and bit her earlobe, asking, "Sister-in-law, could you teach me again?"
"Teach me how to please my sister-in-law."
"Is it alright?"
Suddenly, a look of pain and discomfort appeared on the young man's handsome face.
He took her hand.
Gradually moving downwards—
"Sister-in-law, please help me."
Please help me again.
"No! No, let me go—"
Jiang Ninghui screamed in fright and struggled to push away the young man in front of her.
She tried to hide, but there was no way to escape.
She seemed to have lost all her strength, like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
The eerie, ghostly voice of Young Master Pei could not be heard any longer.
"Sister-in-law, he is very obedient."
"He won't hurt you, he just wants you to comfort him more."
"don't want!"
"don't want!"
Jiang Ninghui cried uncontrollably, until she lost her voice, and until the delicate veins on her forehead and neck bulged out.
She seemed to have struggled all night, trapped in that nightmare and unable to wake up.
As dawn broke, Jiang Ninghui opened her eyes and looked at the sunlight reflected on the window frame.
She suddenly stood up, but her husband was nowhere to be seen in the room.
Looking at the time again, it was already 9:00 AM!
The young man and his companions went to school at Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day, and she got up at 3:45 AM (5:45 AM) every day to prepare breakfast.
Today it's more than an hour late.
Jiang Ninghui didn't know if her husband and young master Pei had eaten breakfast. She quickly tidied up and went to the kitchen. When she lifted the pot lid, the leftover rice from last night was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a bowl of still warm meat porridge and three white steamed buns.
It must have been breakfast that her husband left for her.
Jiang Ninghui drank a bowl of porridge and ate a white steamed bun.
The steamed buns were filled with meat, and the filling tasted very similar to the wontons from last night.
After breakfast, Jiang Ninghui hurried to Sister Mu's house. Usually, she would arrive around 3:45 AM, but today she arrived after 9:00 AM. Sister Mu seemed to know that she would arrive later than usual, and smiled at her as soon as she entered the door.
Jiang Ninghui felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze.
She regretted not understanding Sister Mu's subtle hints yesterday, which led to this disaster.
Thinking back to last night's dream made me feel even more embarrassed and ashamed, wishing I could disappear into a crack in the ground.
But Sister-in-law Mu wouldn't let her off the hook.
As she sat down, Sister Mu asked with a low laugh, "Madam Jiang, did your husband feel refreshed and savor the wine he drank last night? Look at you, you're an hour later than usual today. Did your husband drink that wine and overdo it?"
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, her head almost touching her chest.
Her cheeks were flushed, as if she had applied rouge, and the tips of her ears were also red.
She pleaded, "Sister Mu, please stop talking."
She dared not tell Sister Mu that the wine was not given to her husband at all, but to Young Master Pei.
What happened between her and Young Master Pei last night is known only to heaven, earth, and herself.
It must not be known to any third party.
Otherwise, she would not only harm Young Master Pei, but also plunge herself into an abyss of no return.
Jiang Ninghui thought of the wine that was still left in Young Master Pei's room.
I suppose Young Master Pei is lost now?
While Jiang Ninghui was lost in thought, she heard Sister Mu laugh and say, "We've all been through this, what's there to be ashamed of?"
Then he asked, "Did Zhao Langjun ask you where that wine came from?"
Jiang Ninghui replied evasively, "I asked, and I said it was given to me by Sister-in-law Mu."
Jiang Ninghui spent the morning weaving tassels and rushed back to prepare lunch.
Not long after.
The young master and Young Master Pei returned from outside.
Jiang Ninghui kept her head down and dared not look at Young Master Pei as he stepped into the kitchen.
Last night's events and her dream made it impossible for her to face Young Master Pei with a clear conscience.
As long as Young Master Pei appears in front of her.
She couldn't help but recall the domineering and predatory nature that Young Master Pei had brought her.
At the dinner table, Zhao Zhixue talked to Pei Duo about the book he had read the night before. He felt that some things he hadn't understood before suddenly became clear and he understood a lot. His tone was full of joy.
Pei Duo said coldly, "In that case, Brother Zhao, please read for a few more days. After some time, I will ask a friend to lend you some more books to read."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhixue was overjoyed and expressed his deepest gratitude to Brother Pei.
Jiang Ninghui was very grateful to Young Master Pei for helping her husband.
She glanced slightly at Young Master Pei across from her.
Unexpectedly, Young Master Pei lifted his eyelids and looked at her.
Their eyes met.
The young man raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Did you like the meat porridge this morning, sister-in-law?"
Jiang Ninghui lowered her head and nodded gently: "It suits my taste."
When the topic of meat porridge came up, Zhao Zhixue said, "My lady, this morning's breakfast was bought by Brother Pei from the market. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you up."
Jiang Ninghui was surprised.
She assumed that her husband had brought back breakfast.
Unexpectedly, it was Young Master Pei.
She kept her head down and thanked Young Master Pei.
Pei Duo glanced at his sister-in-law, whose head seemed to be buried in the bowl.
He knew that his sister-in-law was a woman who was very proper and valued ethics and morality.
She has bound herself with too many shackles.
Last night, he merely unlocked one door for her, and she has been avoiding him at every turn ever since.
If in the future, he breaks all the shackles on her body.
Force her, pressure her.
Let her sink into depravity with him.
What will she do?
The young man lowered his eyelids, his eyes, as deep as an icy pool, brimming with malice and wickedness.
My sister-in-law is honest and obedient.
They are easy to bully and deceive.
And they're easy to coax.
After lunch, Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo went to the school.
Jiang Ninghui absentmindedly wove tassels in the afternoon.
She was thinking about Xiao Yi, wondering how to get it back from Young Master Pei.
As dusk settled, every household lit a small fire.
After preparing dinner, Jiang Ninghui went back to her room and did not go outside to wait for Young Master Pei to return.
She heard the courtyard gate open and saw Young Master Pei returning through the crack in the window.
Jiang Ninghui stood up, her pale fingers twisting her sleeves tightly.
She took a deep breath and hesitated before walking to the door.
I'm trying to forget what happened last night.
To make myself feel more at ease facing Young Master Pei.
That way, she could finally ask Young Master Pei for her undergarment back.
Jiang Ninghui reached out to open the door, but the door was knocked on first.
Young Master Pei's cool and indifferent voice came from outside the door: "Is your sister-in-law inside?"
This was not a question, but merely a polite remark.
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip and forced herself to open the door.
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Author's note: Update before 6 PM tomorrow!
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