Chapter 57, Section 57: Pei Duo: Do you know who I'm helping him for? ...
When Zhao Zhixue did not see the woman who brought tea to Pei Di return to the room for a long time, he came to knock on the window to inquire.
To everyone's surprise, Pei Di's window was not bolted; he only knocked lightly, and the window opened a crack.
Just as Zhao Zhixue was about to peek through the crack, half of the window suddenly opened, and Pei Duo stood in front of the window, his tall and imposing figure completely blocking Zhao Zhixue's gaze from peeking inside.
The young man, with his sparse, cold features, asked, "Brother Zhao, is there something you need?"
Zhao Zhixue: "Brother Pei, do you know where my wife is?"
Pei Duo: "I asked my sister-in-law to sew me a dress, but she said she didn't have any silk thread that matched the fabric. So I went to Sister Mu's house to borrow some. If she hasn't come back yet, she's probably chatting with Sister Mu."
Zhao Zhixue understood: "I understand. I'll go wait for my wife outside the courtyard."
Jiang Ninghui, who was crouching and hiding beside Pei Duo's legs, suddenly felt her heart jump. Her fingers, gripping the hem of her clothes, were extremely tense, and her palms were soaked with cold sweat.
How could she let her husband wait for her outside the courtyard?
Wouldn't that expose our secret?
Jiang Ninghui had no other choice but to raise her head high and look up at Pei Duo with a pleading and pitiful expression. Her slender, white fingers tugged at a corner of the young man's clothes, trying to get him to stop her lover.
Sensing a slight tug at the hem of his clothes, a faint smile appeared in the dark eyes of the young man.
That laugh carried a seductive, gratifying, and even subtly malicious undertone.
Look.
His sister-in-law was begging him.
She begged him to help her keep their secret rendezvous.
His sister-in-law must care about him.
Otherwise, she would have stood up at this moment and denounced her husband's evil deeds, instead of obediently hiding at his feet and letting him bully her.
He had figured out just how far his sister-in-law would go in to tolerate him.
That is—no bottom line.
The honest and pitiful sister-in-law could be given whatever she wanted.
Zhao Zhixue turned to leave when he suddenly heard Pei Duo say, "Brother Zhao, are you worried about whether you will pass the provincial examination this time?"
Zhao Zhixue stopped in his tracks and nodded solemnly.
He was not confident in himself.
However, it's not entirely without a chance.
As luck would have it, the questions for this provincial examination were remarkably similar to the essay Pei Duo had given him in the carriage that day. Fortunately, he had memorized the essay by heart, so he was able to answer the questions with ease, but he was still uneasy.
Pei Duo: "Since Brother Zhao is uneasy, why don't you write down your answers to the provincial examination and give them to me for review? I can help you make a decision."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhixue was overjoyed, his joy evident in his words: "In that case, thank you very much, Brother Pei. I will go and write it down right away."
Zhao Zhixue didn't wait for his wife outside the courtyard anymore; he hurriedly returned to the house to pick up his pen and write an article.
Upon learning that her husband had left, Jiang Ninghui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she realize that her back was covered in cold sweat and her palms were sweaty. Before Pei Duo could touch her again, she quickly got up and ran to the door.
Pei Duo closed the window, his dark pupils following the slender figure: "My sister-in-law is far too heartless, using me and then discarding me."
Jiang Ninghui's face flushed, feeling both ashamed and angry.
These words make her sound like a slut, someone you use and then discard.
Even though Jiang Ninghui was gentle and honest, Pei Duo still managed to provoke her: "You! Don't talk nonsense!"
After saying that, he quietly opened the door and went out.
The young man opened the window again and looked at the furtive figure in the courtyard.
What a well-behaved and gentle sister-in-law.
Even when she gets angry, she's like a clawless cat, letting out a few harmless meows so people know she's upset.
Jiang Ninghui stayed outside the courtyard for a short while. She patted her burning cheeks and wiped her lips, which had been wantonly ravaged by Pei Duo. Even now, she still felt a tingling sensation on her lips, a sore and numb tongue, and the lingering scent of him on her teeth.
She felt that ever since she had agreed to Pei Duo's absurd request in the house that day...
Their relationship deteriorated absurdly and irreversibly.
This cannot continue.
Given Pei Duo's domineering and predatory nature, she would probably be completely taken advantage of by him before the day of the palace examination. At that time, she would truly become a harlot, and how could she have the face to live in the world afterward?
no.
Absolutely not.
She would definitely keep her distance from Pei Duo in the future, and avoid spending time alone with him if possible, so as to avoid causing any more trouble.
When Jiang Ninghui returned to the room, her husband was still writing at the table. When he saw her return, he simply said "You're back" and continued writing. Jiang Ninghui was glad that her husband's mind was on the article, so he did not notice that her lips were red from being teased by Pei Duo.
She quickly washed up, took off her clothes, crawled into bed, and closed her eyes to pretend to sleep with her back to her husband.
Zhao Zhixue handed the completed article to Pei Duo, who told him that the article was good and had a high chance of passing the imperial examination. He was advised to wait patiently for news.
Zhao Zhixue was naturally pleased.
It wasn't that he trusted Pei Duo that much.
Rather, he believed in Pei Duo's talent and judgment.
It was evident from the article Pei Duo handed him before he left for Linzhou that he was extremely intelligent, having guessed the questions for the provincial examination in advance and written them down for him to read. Zhao Zhixue remembered this kindness.
Zhao Zhixue chatted with Pei Duo for a few words before returning to his room.
The gloom on his face vanished instantly. He put the article away, went out to wash up, and when he returned to the room and lay down, he gently shook Jiang Ninghui's shoulder and whispered, "Wife, are you asleep?"
The person on the bed was breathing heavily and did not respond to him, indicating that they were fast asleep.
Zhao Zhixue did not shake her awake again. He hugged her from behind, rested his head on the back of Jiang Ninghui's neck, sighed deeply, and murmured to himself, "My wife, Brother Pei said that I have a high chance of passing the imperial examination. If I really pass, then the fortune teller's words will come true. My wife is lucky for me. With my wife by my side, I should be able to have a smooth journey in the provincial and imperial examinations in the future."
Jiang Ninghui, who was already 'sound asleep', had her eyelashes tremble uncontrollably a few times.
She opened her eyes. The lights in the room were off, and her vision was dim. Behind her was her husband's broad and warm chest, and around her waist was his arm.
He muttered to himself behind her, saying nothing more than the things her parents had taught the fortune teller to use to deceive the Zhao family.
Only she and the Jiang family knew that the claims about his auspicious birth chart and smooth path in the imperial examinations were all lies.
Since marrying into the Zhao family, she has been tormented by this lie that could be exposed at any moment, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted.
She prayed every day that her husband would pass the provincial examination. He did indeed pass, and she escaped a disaster. Then she prayed every day that he would pass the provincial examination. Now, there is a high chance that he will pass the provincial examination.
This time, it was Pei Duo who helped him from behind the scenes.
If it weren't for Pei Duo, my lord probably wouldn't even have had the chance to pass the exam.
Jiang Ninghui couldn't help but recall the question Pei Duo had asked her in his room earlier, when he forced her to look him in the eye.
—My sister-in-law thinks that I'm going to great lengths to help him, but who am I doing it for?
How could Jiang Ninghui not know?
Pei Duo only helped the young master because of her.
But she will also have to pay the price for it.
The likely price would be being completely taken advantage of by Pei Duo.
In fact, she still doesn't understand how the intelligent and handsome young master Pei could fall in love with a woman who can't read a single word.
Jiang Ninghui always felt that Young Master Pei was young and rarely had contact with women. Also, because he lived in the same courtyard as the couple, he had long heard the noises she and her husband made at night, which was why he had developed feelings for her.
Furthermore, his nightly sketches of her in her undergarments only deepened his entanglement with her.
When Young Master Pei goes to the capital one day and meets the young ladies from the high-ranking families there, he will understand that she is just an ordinary woman and will not waste his affections on her anymore.
Perhaps, that is indeed the case.
All she can do now is to carefully avoid Pei Duo.
And there's still more to come.
When the imperial examinations were held in March of the following year, her husband and Pei Duo went to the capital, and she was finally free.
Jiang Ninghui took a careful breath, trying her best not to let her husband know that she was not fast asleep, and even more so, she couldn't let him see her still slightly red and swollen lips. Her husband was an experienced man and would know at a glance.
That will surely arouse his suspicion.
Jiang Ninghui closed her eyes again, listening to her husband continue to murmur to himself behind her.
Zhao Zhixue wasn't the only one anxiously awaiting the results of the provincial examination.
Many students in Qingping Town are also anxiously waiting.
On the contrary, Pei Duo remained calm and composed, showing no sign of worry.
After the provincial examination, Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo no longer needed to go to school. During the month-long wait for the results, the two stayed in the courtyard.
To avoid a repeat of the night Pei Duo forced her into the house and bullied her, Jiang Ninghui was careful and cautious for the past month, avoiding him at all costs. However, he still managed to force her into the house, hold her on his lap, and kiss her with his tongue.
Several times during this period, she was almost discovered by her husband.
Jiang Ninghui was terrified, while Pei Duo seemed completely unaffected.
She struggled to pull it out of his arms, stumbled to the door, and, taking advantage of her husband's absence, unlatched the door and ran back into the house to hide.
This hiding lasted for five days.
For the past five days, apart from three meals a day, she has stayed indoors almost the entire time and has never stepped out of the door.
As the day for the provincial examination results approached, the magistrate of Longchang County was supposed to announce the list of successful candidates in the county town, so the students wouldn't have to go to the Linzhou Examination Hall to see it in person. However, Zhao Zhixue couldn't wait any longer. He was eager to go to the Examination Hall to see the list of successful candidates himself and wanted to know as soon as possible whether he had passed the exam.
Zhao Zhixue opened the wardrobe, took out a decent-looking outfit, and prepared to change.
But as he closed the cabinet door, he noticed a small section of pomegranate-colored fabric peeking out from among the clothes his wife had folded.
He frowned and pulled it out, only then realizing that it was a small garment made of excellent fabric.
This material is extremely expensive.
But the lady didn't have any extra money, so how could she afford it?
Where did you get this little garment, madam?
Footsteps came from outside the door. Zhao Zhixue turned around and saw Jiang Ninghui coming towards him.
Jiang Ninghui stepped over the threshold, a gentle smile on her beautiful face: "My lord, lunch is ready, eat—" But when her gaze fell on the pomegranate-colored undergarment clutched in her lord's hand, the words she was about to say caught in her throat.
Jiang Ninghui's pupils suddenly contracted for a moment!
It felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar, with a chilling cold seeping into my very bones.
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Author's note: Update before 10 PM tomorrow night~
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