Chapter 49. He was in the prime of his life, full of youthful vigor.
Jiang Ninghui tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Pei Duo's cold and wicked smile.
He grabbed her hand and twisted it behind her back, pressing her down onto the pear blossom table.
She was forced to lie face down on the painting he had drawn.
She gazed into the eyes of the woman in the painting, her eyes sparkling with tears.
Help me!
Help me!
—I don't want to be trapped in the painting by him.
—I don't want to be watched and caressed by him day and night, save me!
Those eyes seemed to have been given a soul, constantly calling out to her for help.
Please beg her to save her...
But she was powerless to do anything about it.
She couldn't even save herself.
Pei Duo pinched Jiang Ninghui's cheeks with two fingers, forcing her to look directly at the person in the painting.
He chuckled sinisterly in her ear and sucked on the tip of her ear.
"Sister-in-law, look at my drawing! Isn't it good? Isn't it lifelike?"
His lips moved to the corner of her eye, touching her eyelid: "Sister-in-law, your eyes are so expressive, so alluring."
Jiang Ninghui was trembling all over.
She was controlled by him and could not do anything.
Besides crying.
All that's left is crying.
Pei Duo pulled down her shirt, and pressed his cool lips against her shoulder, savoring the sensation.
"Sister-in-law, has your husband touched this place?"
What about here?
"And here..."
Jiang Ninghui sobbed uncontrollably, her body trembling like a leaf.
The windows were wide open, letting in a hot, humid breeze that made the woman hunched over the desk shiver uncontrollably.
Summer clothing is extremely thin.
The coarse linen fabric was pitifully piled up on the woman's slender and delicate waist.
The woman's two slender, lotus-root-like arms were as white as snow.
Those delicate arms were twisted behind her back, pressed tightly against her slender lower back.
The towering, dark shadows of the rugged mountain peaks completely enveloped that petite figure in their gloom.
The oppressive, boiling body temperature made Jiang Ninghui feel as if she were rolling in fire.
Pei Duo pressed against her back.
He climbed up to her knees, laughing wildly in her ear.
"Sister-in-law, I've never tasted it before—"
The young man laughed maliciously: "Here."
Jiang Ninghui's face suddenly changed, her beautiful arched eyebrows filled with shame and humiliation!
The force, as powerful as a bamboo shoot, suddenly pierced through the mouth of the mountain stream.
Unfamiliar.
And an unstoppable momentum—
Jiang Ninghui felt as if she had suddenly fallen into the bottom of a cold pool, her whole body enveloped in biting cold.
That is a place where no one else but my lord could cross the pond!
Jiang Ninghui bit her lower lip until it bled, crying until tears streamed down her face and her limbs convulsed.
She vaguely saw a figure standing outside the window.
The figure was extremely familiar.
It was her husband—Zhao Zhixue!
At the same time, Pei Duo's wicked laughter rang in their ears: "Sister-in-law, your husband is watching us."
The young man turned her chin and forced her to look at her husband.
He said—
"Let your husband see for himself how much I love his sister-in-law."
"don't want!"
"don't want--"
Jiang Ninghui screamed and sat up. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness.
"My wife, are you having another nightmare?"
Zhao Zhixue sat up and hugged Jiang Ninghui. He raised his hand to touch her forehead and found it covered in sweat.
Jiang Ninghui's pupils trembled, her heart pounded like thunder, and she was covered in cold sweat.
She belatedly came to her senses and stiffly turned to look at the man who was holding her beside her.
Zhao Zhixue looked at her with a worried expression.
"Sui Sui, what's wrong?"
He raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
Jiang Ninghui finally came to her senses. She threw herself into Zhao Zhixue's arms and couldn't help but sob.
Thankfully it was just a dream.
Thankfully it was just a dream.
In her dream, she still vividly remembered the feeling of being forcefully taken advantage of by Pei Duo.
His terrifying presence was exactly the same as what she had witnessed before.
Jiang Ninghui cried for a while, and after she had vented her emotions, she explained in a low voice that she dreamed that countless snakes were chasing and biting her. No matter how she ran or escaped, it was no use. In the end, she fell into a snake pit, which made her wake up in fright.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhixue said helplessly, "I thought it was something serious, but it's nothing, just a dream."
Jiang Ninghui found it difficult to express herself.
She nodded gently and lay down with her husband.
Once awake, it was difficult to fall back asleep, and I didn't feel sleepy again until dawn.
.
Jiang Ninghui is sick; she has a high fever and is in a coma.
Zhao Zhixue was woken up by Pei Duo's knocking on the door in the morning. He had bought breakfast and called the couple to get up and have breakfast.
Zhao Zhixue glanced at the time and realized it was already the last quarter of the Mao hour.
He glanced at his wife, who was still fast asleep, and gently nudged her, only to find her hand burning hot.
Zhao Zhixue was startled and touched Jiang Ninghui's forehead.
It's incredibly hot!
"Wife, wake up, wake up."
Zhao Zhixue tried calling for a while but couldn't wake Jiang Ninghui. Worried, he hurriedly got up and dressed.
He opened the door and went out. He saw Pei Duo outside the door, but did not stop. He said, "Brother Pei, please eat first. Don't worry about my wife and me. Sui Sui has a high fever and is unconscious. I have to go and ask a doctor to come and treat her."
After saying that, Zhao Zhixue hurriedly ran out of the courtyard.
Pei Duo stepped inside, lifted his robe, and sat down on the edge of the couch, looking at the woman's flushed cheeks.
She seemed to be sleeping very restlessly, her eyelashes fluttering and her brow furrowed.
The young man reached out and touched Jiang Ninghui's cheek.
It was piping hot to the touch.
Even his breath was hot.
He heard her cry last night, and heard her tell her husband that she had a nightmare.
She developed a high fever again this morning.
The young man frowned, his fingertips brushing across Jiang Ninghui's trembling eyebrows and eyes, then lovingly stroking her cheek.
My sister-in-law is still too weak.
He fell ill from the slightest fright.
Yesterday was just an appetizer; how will she, with her timid nature, endure the rest?
It seems I need to find some tonics for my sister-in-law to help her recover properly.
thirsty--
I'm so thirsty.
Jiang Ninghui was talking incoherently, her lips were dry due to the high fever.
She wanted to drink water.
Just then, warm tea was poured into her lips, and Jiang Ninghui, as if parched, eagerly drank the tea that had been poured into her mouth.
The tea quenched my thirst.
The tool meant to serve her tea ended up in her mouth as well.
He twisted her tongue, drawing out the meager saliva.
Jiang Ninghui put up a difficult resistance.
But the strong scent of cedarwood that followed rushed into her nostrils, causing Jiang Ninghui to sob incessantly, no matter how she tried to escape it.
As her tongue tingled, a strong bitter taste spread through her mouth, making her feel nauseous and want to vomit. But before she could vomit, a rich sweet fragrance filled her mouth, instantly dispelling the bitterness.
Jiang Ninghui gradually lost consciousness.
She slept very soundly, not waking up until 3:45 PM. When she got up, she saw Sister Mu looking at her with a worried expression.
"Madam Jiang, you're finally awake! You scared me to death!"
Mu Hua helped Jiang Ninghui sit up: "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere else? If it's really not okay, get dressed and I'll take you to the clinic so the doctor can take a closer look."
"Thank you for your concern, Sister-in-law Laomu. I'm feeling much better now."
Jiang Ninghui leaned against the pillow. Due to a serious illness, she looked somewhat weak. Her once rosy cheeks now showed signs of illness and paleness.
"Sister-in-law Mu, what time is it now?"
"It's past 3:45 PM, and you've been unconscious for a full five hours!"
Jiang Ninghui was startled.
She slept for so long.
Mu Hua: "Are you still feeling unwell?"
She raised her hand to check Jiang Ninghui's forehead temperature; it was just right.
Jiang Ninghui smiled and said, "I just feel a little weak, but otherwise I'm fine."
Mu Hua: "You've slept for most of the day and haven't eaten yet. I'll go to the kitchen and bring you some food."
When Sister Mu brought over two warm dishes, a soup, and a plate of exquisite and delicious pastries, Jiang Ninghui was quite surprised.
She thought it was made by Sister Mu, but Sister Mu said that it was specially instructed by her husband before he left, and that Sister Mu should bring it to her when she woke up.
Sister Mu smiled and said, "Madam Jiang, Scholar Zhao is very considerate to you. He knew you had caught a cold, so he specially made chicken soup for you, prepared some light stir-fried dishes, and even bought some pastries for you to snack on. Unlike my husband, I have to cook for them even when I'm sick."
Jiang Ninghui almost thought she had misheard.
She simply couldn't believe that her husband had done it.
From the day she married into the Zhao family, her parents-in-law set a rule for her: she was not allowed to let her husband cook. He had never done such things since he was a child. He was born to study, pass the imperial examinations, and bring honor to the Zhao family.
Jiang Ninghui looked at the fragrant chicken soup in the bowl, which contained several pieces of tender chicken meat, as well as two other dishes. Both the appearance and the taste were excellent.
A vague suspicion began to grow in her heart.
Could this be something that Young Master Pei bought from the restaurant?
If that's really the case...
Jiang Ninghui pursed her lips, not daring to eat.
If she didn't know how Young Master Pei felt about her, she could still manage to eat a few bites.
But now that she knows, how can she possibly eat it?
Seeing that she was holding the bowl but not eating, Mu Hua asked with concern, "Do you have no appetite?"
Just as Jiang Ninghui was about to nod, her stomach growled first. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head in embarrassment, her fingertips gripping the rim of the porcelain bowl tightly. The bowl of chicken soup was right in front of her mouth; she didn't know whether to drink it or not.
Sister-in-law Mu assumed that she was touched because her husband had cooked this meal for her, so she urged, "Eat quickly, it will get cold if you wait any longer."
Jiang Ninghui finally decided not to argue with her body. After finishing a bowl of chicken soup and eating some stir-fried dishes, she felt much better and got out of bed to walk around the courtyard and stretch her muscles.
As dusk fell and the evening glow appeared, a few sparrows perched in the corner of the eaves.
Jiang Ninghui had just returned from Sister Mu's house.
She told Sister Mu about her request for help in finding another courtyard. Sister Mu asked her a lot of questions, and she only said that it was inconvenient for the couple to live with another man, so they were thinking of finding another place.
Sister-in-law Mu didn't ask any more questions and agreed to accompany her to inquire about it the next day.
Jiang Ninghui closed the courtyard gate and, as she turned around, involuntarily looked towards the house to the east.
That's Young Master Pei's room.
Thinking back to how Young Master Pei had harbored feelings for her since last year...
Jiang Ninghui suddenly realized that over the past six months, Pei Gongzi's kindness towards her had become more and more noticeable.
He helped her in every way and saved her from danger time and time again.
He helped her find a job, enabling her to earn money with her own hands.
Even so, Young Master Pei should never have had designs on a married woman like her.
It will not only ruin him, but it will also ruin her.
She pondered carefully, trying to figure out where Young Master Pei's feelings for her came from.
After thinking for a long time, I could only come up with one very likely possibility.
It is likely that Pei overheard her having sex with her husband at night, and over time, his mind became skewed, leading him to mistake his curiosity about such matters for his innocent and ignorant feelings for her.
The more Jiang Ninghui thought about it, the more she felt that this was true.
Although Young Master Pei was exceptionally talented, he was only seventeen years old, a time when he was full of vigor and had not yet been involved in matters of love. Therefore, after hearing about her secret affair with her lover, he felt a tender feeling and drew those portraits, which gradually led him to develop a misplaced affection for her.
Yes, that must be it!
no.
She couldn't let Young Master Pei continue down the wrong path.
She was a year older than Young Master Pei and was also his sister-in-law. How could she just stand by and watch him go astray?
She and her husband had to move out as soon as possible. As long as Young Master Pei couldn't see her, his mind would eventually return to normal.
Jiang Ninghui glanced at the sky and turned back to prepare dinner in the kitchen when the courtyard gate suddenly opened from the outside. She turned her head and saw a jade-colored robe swaying open through the crack in the door.
As the courtyard gate swung open, Pei Duo's handsome face came into view.
Jiang Ninghui's heart sank suddenly, and a wave of palpitations and panic washed over her.
Even though she tried to convince herself not to show fear or timidity to Pei Duo, her legs still moved backward uncontrollably. Especially when she saw Pei Duo's dark eyes, Jiang Ninghui remembered how he had stared at her intently last night.
Those eyes were like those of a demon gnawing at the souls of people in the mountains and wilderness.
Jiang Ninghui ultimately couldn't overcome the fear welling up inside her and continued to retreat step by step.
The young man looked at the woman who had been delirious with a high fever in the morning, and now she seemed to have regained some energy, which showed that the medicine he had given her that morning had worked.
He looked at her.
Looking at her feet that had retreated to the edge of the threshold.
Watching her helpless fingertips climb up the door.
She looked pitiful again, just like always, wanting to retreat into her shell whenever something happened.
The young man's handsome, thin lips curled into a meaningful smile.
He walked toward her.
He addressed her with excessive intimacy, calling her "sister-in-law."
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Author's Note: There's a red envelope in this chapter.
I was held up today, sorry to keep you all waiting. I'll update before 10 PM tomorrow night~ [hugs][hugs][hugs]
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