Chapter 64: Changing into a Red Wedding Gown
Pei Duo pinched Jiang Ninghui's chin, forcing her to look up, his dark eyes staring intently at her: "Sister-in-law, I'll say it again: since you've already promised me, don't go back on your word. I've always been a man of my word, and I expect you to be too. If you break your promise, then—"
The young man approached her and said, "Wherever your husband has touched you, I will do the same to make up for it, so that you can treat everyone equally."
After Pei Duo's mask of gentlemanly virtue was torn off, Jiang Ninghui could no longer see the word "trustworthy" in him. Instead, his tongue was silver-tongued and eloquent; she could never win an argument against him, and in the end, she always ended up blaming him.
Right now, she was even more embarrassed by his reckless words, her face burning with shame.
Jiang Ninghui could only plead with him, "Young Master Pei, we are outside, please let me go first."
She didn't want to be criticized or gossiped about.
She also didn't want others to judge her with strange eyes.
She couldn't take it.
Pei Duo gently stroked the woman's soft cheeks with his fingertips: "Then, sister-in-law, you asked me before I did, 'May I hold your hand?'"
Forced into a corner, Jiang Ninghui had no choice but to reply, "...I can lead you."
A smile finally appeared on the young man's handsome face. He released his hands from Jiang Ninghui's cheeks as instructed, took her hand and walked into the mansion. He then lowered his head to comfort her: "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. These three men are trustworthy and know that I love you. I assure you, none of them are gossipy or talkative. They will not look down on you or speak ill of you. Therefore, you don't need to be afraid or lose sleep over them."
These people are not worthy of your sister-in-law's approval.
Not to mention causing his sister-in-law worry and fear.
Anyone who dares to say a word about his sister-in-law should be killed.
Jiang Ninghui was not reassured by Pei Duo's explanation.
In truth, she couldn't get over this mental hurdle. Even though the three servants wouldn't look down on her or gossip about her, she couldn't help but overthink it.
By late October, the weather was gradually turning cooler, and at night, dampness rose from the ground.
These days, since her husband has gone to the capital and is not at home, Jiang Ninghui no longer needs to worry about him discovering that she is sewing sachets. She really doesn't want to stay in Pei Duo's room anymore. He either 'bullies' her in a roundabout way or takes advantage of her, and then turns around and accuses her of seducing him. He even shamelessly says that he is too young to resist his sister-in-law's temptation.
Jiang Ninghui felt her cheeks flush with shame and embarrassment at his lewd remarks.
She never seduced him.
She ate quietly, while he kept staring at her lips.
She sat there embroidering a sachet, and he stared at her hands.
She practiced calligraphy at the table, and he stood behind her, holding her tightly, claiming that he was teaching her how to write better.
Jiang Ninghui had no choice but to hide in the room she shared with her husband. Except for the three meals a day when she was forced to go to Pei Duo's room, she insisted on staying in her own room and never went out. This continued until early November.
A winter rain has arrived, bringing with it the chill of the year.
A charcoal fire was burning in Jiang Ninghui's room, keeping it warm as ever.
Such days were never experienced in the Jiang family, the Zhao family, or even in the courtyard of Qingping Town. Only in Pei Duo's house back then and now in the residence in Longchang County did I feel this kind of comfort that made me unafraid of the cold winter.
It has been more than ten days since my husband left, and he said that he will not be back for more than twenty days.
Judging by the days, my husband should be back in ten days at most.
For the remaining ten days, Jiang Ninghui continued to sew sachets in her room every day.
That afternoon, a familiar face suddenly arrived at the mansion—Sister-in-law Mu.
Jiang Ninghui was somewhat surprised when Steward Zhou led Sister Mu to her house.
The two hadn't seen each other for almost two months, and they had so much to talk about.
Jiang Ninghui learned from Mu Hua that she had come to Longchang County with her man. Since she was in Longchang County, she thought it best to visit Mu Hua and catch up with her. Since arriving in Longchang County, Jiang Ninghui had rarely gone out. Firstly, she didn't like going out alone, and secondly, she didn't have any close friends to accompany her.
Now that Sister Mu has arrived, Jiang Ninghui suggested that she take a stroll around Longchang County with her.
Mu Hua smiled and said, "Alright, I brought a hundred coins with me this time, and I was just thinking of buying some rare things that are not available in Qingping Town. Madam Jiang, let's go."
Jiang Ninghui said goodbye to Steward Zhou, and then left the residence with Sister Mu.
Neither of them were familiar with Longchang County, so they didn't go to any remote places. After turning a corner, Mu Hua went to a fabric shop, wanting to buy some fabric to make a new dress for her husband. Jiang Ninghui saw the pomegranate-colored fabric and suddenly remembered that the little clothes Pei Duo had given her were pomegranate-colored. She hurriedly looked away and then heard Mu's sister-in-law say, "Oh dear, it's snowing. It's snowing early this year."
"Mom, I want to eat candied hawthorn."
The children from Mu Hua's family pointed to an old man passing by outside. The old man was carrying a straw target covered with bright red candied hawthorns.
Jiang Ninghui: "Auntie will buy it for you."
Mu Hua wouldn't let her buy it. Jiang Ninghui smiled and said, "It's rare for Sister Mu to come and visit me with her child. Even if it's just to be a good host, I should treat you to a meal. What's a candied hawthorn?"
In the past, Jiang Ninghui would not have had the backbone to say such things.
But things are different now; she has her own money.
Jiang Ninghui walked out of the clothing shop, ran through the heavy snow to the old man, and asked for seven candied hawthorns.
She had relationships with Sister Mu and her child, as well as with Pei Duo and the housekeeper Zhou and his servants.
Seven candied hawthorns cost seven coins. Jiang Ninghui counted out the money and handed it to the old man. She took the candied hawthorns and had only taken a few steps when a damp handkerchief was suddenly covered her mouth and nose. Before Jiang Ninghui could cry for help, she lost consciousness.
Snowflakes fell softly, and people came and went on the street.
In the clothing shop, Mu Hua waited and waited, but Jiang Ninghui did not return.
After the fabric was cut, she gave the money, took the child out to look around, and found the streets crowded with people. The old man who used to sell candied hawthorns with a straw target was nowhere to be seen, nor was Jiang Ninghui.
Mu Hua led the child along the streets to search, but after searching two streets, they still couldn't find Jiang Ninghui.
Something's not right.
Something's not right!
She knew that Madam Jiang was not one to break her word, so her sudden disappearance must mean something had happened.
Sister Mu's eyelids twitched suddenly, and she hurriedly took the child to Pei Duo's residence.
.
In a cramped little house, there was a charcoal brazier filled with dry firewood. The golden-red flames devoured the firewood, occasionally crackling. The house was clean and tidy, but the furnishings were extremely simple, with only a bed and a dressing table. A woman sat in front of the bronze mirror, and three women dressed identically stood beside her.
The woman sitting down is Jiang Ninghui.
The woman behind her held Jiang Ninghui's shoulders with both hands to steady her so that she could sit upright in the chair and not slip to the ground.
The woman to the left and behind held Jiang Ninghui's head, letting another woman apply rouge to her face and style her hair. On the table was a vanity case, on which were placed two gilded hairpins inlaid with pearls and stones, decorated with double happiness patterns.
After the woman finished dressing up Jiang Ninghui, she placed the two hairpins into her hair bun.
"Madam, I've dressed her up."
Upon hearing this, the other woman sitting in the room got up and walked behind Jiang Ninghui, looking at the sleeping face in the bronze mirror. Before coming, she had not applied any makeup and was dressed in coarse cotton clothes. She did have some beauty, but compared to the noble ladies she had seen in the capital, she was just average. Now, dressed up, she was quite beautiful.
Even if she is beautiful, she is still a country bumpkin, a shameless slut!
She's clearly married, yet she shamelessly flirts with other men.
She was merely pretty, yet she bewitched Pei Duo, making him lose his mind and focus entirely on her. For her sake, he cruelly harmed the only bloodline of the Zhou family, causing him to wail in pain every day. No matter how many doctors he consulted or how precious the medicines he used, they could not save his life.
She watched as her younger brother closed his eyes in resentment.
On his deathbed, he said he was unwilling to accept his fate.
He hadn't even touched her yet, but just because he frightened her, he was treated like this by Pei Duo.
On what grounds?
She was just a country bumpkin; was his life not even worth that lowly woman's?
Since her younger brother kept mentioning this vile woman before he died, she granted his wish, captured the vile woman, dressed her in a wedding gown, buried her in her brother's coffin, and sent her to the underworld to be her brother's bride.
Zhou Ru: "Wake her up."
The servant beside him replied, "Yes."
She took out a tiny porcelain bottle, opened the lid, and held it between Jiang Ninghui's nostrils for a few breaths. The unconscious woman's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly before she slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was a dressing mirror, with a bronze mirror placed in front of her.
In the bronze mirror, an extremely unfamiliar face appeared in the field of vision.
It took Jiang Ninghui a long time to recognize that the face was hers. Someone had applied makeup to her, styled her hair, and transformed her coarse cotton clothes into a bright red wedding dress that looked like it had been splashed with blood.
Jiang Ninghui's memory flashed back to when she went out to buy candied hawthorns, was then smothered unconscious, and when she woke up, she was in the present.
"woke up?"
A strange woman's voice came from behind.
Jiang Ninghui turned around abruptly and was startled to see four women behind her. She stood up and backed away, bumping into a dressing mirror and knocking it over onto the table.
She asked in a trembling voice, "Who...who are you? Why did you capture me, and why did you dress me up like this?"
Zhou Ru didn't beat around the bush: "Do you still remember Zhou Hongxiang?"
Jiang Ninghui pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
Zhou Ru was so angry that she almost vomited blood!
Her younger brother died tragically because of her, and this vile woman didn't even know her brother's name!
Zhou Ru raised her chin and glared at her resentfully: "Do you still remember that in February of this year, a carriage came to the prefect's residence to pick you up?"
Jiang Ninghui gripped the edge of the table tightly with her fingers, glanced at the person who spoke, and then at the three well-behaved servants behind her. A thought flashed into her mind: Could this person be... someone from the prefect's residence?
Judging from her gold and silver jewelry and the finest fabrics of her clothes, she must be a mistress of the prefect's household.
Jiang Ninghui didn't know what she had done to offend her, and that's why she was kidnapped and dressed up like this. After thinking it over, she was afraid it wasn't related to her husband, but rather to the matter of the prefect's carriage coming to pick her up in February of this year.
Could it be related to the deaths of Liang Wentao and the other three?
Her expression changed slightly: "I remember."
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her collar, her face contorted with rage, and glared at her fiercely!
"The person who came to fetch you that day was not the prefect, but my younger brother Zhou Hongxiang! However, after that one visit to you, he was bewitched by you, you vixen, and insisted on bringing you to his residence. It is your good fortune that he took a liking to you! You not only refused this good fortune, but you also caused the death of my younger brother!"
Jiang Ninghui didn't understand what she meant for a moment.
Wasn't the person who came to pick her up that day sent by the prefect?
Moreover, Pei Duo told her that it was because the prefect wanted to try the meat soup dumplings she made.
How could this woman say it like this?
Jiang Ninghui suddenly remembered that the prefect sent a carriage to pick her up after lunch. At noon, a carriage did come to her house, and the people who came were a master and a servant. Could it be that the younger brother she mentioned was that person?
Jiang Ninghui had no recollection of that person, as so much time had passed that she had completely forgotten his appearance.
But what does this have to do with that person? Could it be that, as that person said, the person who came to pick her up that day was not the prefect, but this woman's younger brother?
But this contradicts what Pei Duo said.
Jiang Ninghui was completely confused and didn't understand.
Her confused and bewildered appearance made Zhou Ru both angry and resentful!
My younger brother died because of her, but she was completely unaware of it!
In a fit of anger, Zhou Ru threw her to the ground, then squatted down and pinched her cheeks: "What kind of seductive tricks did you use on Pei Duo to make him protect you like this? Fine! Since you don't know anything, I'll tell you everything today, so you can die knowing why!"
“My brother took a liking to you and wanted to bring you to his mansion to spend the night with him. After the deed was done, he planned to reward you with some silver. But then Pei Duo appeared out of nowhere! She stopped you and went to the government office herself, making the dignified prefect take his brother-in-law to the dungeon. Do you know what my brother suffered that day?”
"He was kicked against the wall by Pei Duo, which injured his heart meridian! Pei Duo pierced his genitals with a hexagonal bayonet! The bayonet went through from front to back, and when it was pulled out, it brought with it a large piece of flesh and blood! I just watched as a deep bloody hole appeared in my brother's lower abdomen! When he woke up, he cried and told me that he was in pain, he was in so much pain! It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, how could Pei Duo have hurt my brother!"
Zhou Ru cried out in anguish, her eyes bloodshot, and she gripped Jiang Ninghui's cheeks with all her might.
Jiang Ninghui's cheeks were dented from being pinched, but she seemed not to feel any pain, and was in a daze.
What she said was completely different from what Pei Duo had said that day.
If what she said is true, Pei Duo not only helped her out of danger that day, but also killed that person.
He killed someone...
No.
He did more than just kill people.
He could even have the prefect take the man to the dungeon and let him kill him.
How could Pei Duo wield such power? He even managed to command the prefect.
She finally found out who had captured her.
It was the prefect's wife!
The man who died was the prefect's brother-in-law!
Zhou Ru grabbed her collar with her other hand and yanked hard, pulling Jiang Ninghui's neck forward: "My brother kept talking about you until he died, but you don't even know who my brother is. You deserve to die!"
“Pei Duo is of high rank and great power. I can’t hurt him or get close to him, but killing you is more than enough for me! However, Pei Duo really cares about you. When he went to Linzhou for the exam, he even sent people to guard you around the alley, afraid that bad guys would get close to you. Not only did my people not have a chance to catch you, but he almost discovered you.”
"Since you've moved into Pei Duo's residence, I haven't been able to make a move. So I've been waiting for an opportunity every day, and today I finally found one. There are many people coming and going on that street, so even if Pei Duo wanted to investigate, he wouldn't be able to find out who captured you. Once I bury you in my brother's coffin, Pei Duo could search the entire Longchang County from top to bottom and still not find you."
Jiang Ninghui was stunned by Zhou Ru's words, her head spinning and her ears ringing.
She knew nothing about it.
She was completely unaware of the danger lurking around her.
Pei Duo actually had someone guard her in the alley when she went to Linzhou for the exam.
If it weren't for him, she would have been arrested by the prefect's wife back then.
And that time when the prefect's carriage came to pick her up at home, if Pei Duo hadn't stopped her, she probably would have been violated by the prefect's brother-in-law.
He never mentioned a word of what he had done for her in front of her.
If the prefect's wife hadn't spoken up today, she probably would never have known that she had narrowly escaped death that time.
Someone knocked on the door, and a deep voice came from outside: "Madam, the auspicious time is almost here."
Zhou Ru released Jiang Ninghui, stood up and stepped back: "Take her away."
Jiang Ninghui was forcibly dragged outside by two servants. It was pitch black outside, and Jiang Ninghui had no idea where she was. She was terrified, and her heart was pounding wildly.
She didn't want to die!
I don't want to be buried with a dead person.
It's that outrageous ghost marriage again!
She doesn't want to!
However, Jiang Ninghui could not break free from the servants' control and was forcibly taken onto a carriage.
Jiang Ninghui knew that Pei Duo had excellent hearing. Seizing this slim chance, she lifted the carriage curtain and desperately called out Pei Duo's name, praying that he could hear her, that he could find her, and that he could save her one more time...
She didn't know where she was.
She didn't know how far Pei Duo was from her.
She had no choice but to scream desperately.
Zhou Ru watched as Jiang Ninghui desperately called out Pei Duo's name by the window and sneered, "Go ahead and shout, he won't hear you even if you shout until your throat is hoarse. It's at least twenty miles from here to Longchang County. He's probably still searching the whole county right now and has no idea that you're in the territory of my Zhou family's ancestral graves."
Jiang Ninghui's face turned pale, and a deep sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart.
Is she really going to die here today?
She was not afraid of death.
But she was afraid that after she died, she would be buried in the same coffin as that person.
Jiang Ninghui tried to escape, but as soon as she moved, two servants held her shoulders down so she couldn't move.
Seeing that she was about to die but still wanted to escape, Zhou Ru grabbed Jiang Ninghui's neck tightly with both hands and glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"You think you can escape? Don't dream! My brother is waiting for you down there. It's your good fortune to be buried with him! I'm going to bury you alive in my brother's coffin, so you can slowly feel the pain of death. The more pain and fear you feel, the less resentment I'll feel!"
Jiang Ninghui felt a sharp pain in her neck as it was being choked, her breathing became increasingly difficult, her face turned red, and tears welled up in her almond-shaped eyes.
Just as she was on the verge of fainting from being choked, the carriage walls were suddenly shattered into pieces by an external force.
Immediately, a piercing scream echoed through the darkness.
The hands that were gripping Jiang Ninghui's neck suddenly disappeared, and a large amount of air rushed into her nose and mouth. Jiang Ninghui covered her neck and gasped for breath, coughing as she gasped. She heard two servants calling out for their mistress in a panic, and heard the prefect's wife's screams growing louder and louder.
Jiang Ninghui lay on the couch, her almond-shaped eyes, filled with damp mist, sluggishly looking at Zhou Ru, who was lying on the carriage.
A black feathered arrow was seen piercing through both of her forearms.
The arrow bound her hands together like shackles!
Jiang Ninghui opened her almond-shaped eyes wide and suddenly heard Pei Duo's voice in the pitch-black night.
"Sister-in-law, close your eyes, don't look!"
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Author's note: Update before 10 AM tomorrow.
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