Chapter 82 The Wedding Night
When Jiang Ninghui saw Pei Duo, her lonely and helpless heart seemed to find an outlet.
He held her tightly in his arms.
Her face was buried in his chest, her body trembling as she cried, sobbing uncontrollably.
Before Pei Duo appeared, she didn't know where to go or what to do. After he appeared, her heart calmed down inexplicably. Especially when she smelled the faint scent of cedar on the young man, she felt even more at ease.
Jiang Ninghui was so dizzy from crying that all she could hear was a ringing in her ears.
She couldn't even hear what Pei Duo whispered in her ear.
Jiang Ninghui cried until she had vented all her grievances. She was exhausted from crying, and her tears soaked the fabric on the young man's chest, clinging to her cheeks, still feeling a bit cool in the April weather.
After calming down, Jiang Ninghui realized that she was being held in Pei Duo's arms on the street.
Even without looking, she could feel the gazes directed at the two of them from all around.
Jiang Ninghui blushed instantly, burying herself in Pei Duo's arms in embarrassment and shame, not daring to look up.
Pei Duo knew she was shy and timid; if he took her away now, she might never have the face to show her face again.
The young man lifted his thin eyelids and glanced at the distance. Before long, a carriage slowly drove up.
He whispered in her ear, "Sui Sui, I'm taking you home."
The word "go home" struck Jiang Ninghui's heart twice.
It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing her heart tightly, and a fine, throbbing pain rose in her chest with every breath.
go home……
But she had no home anymore.
The Jiang family was no longer her home, nor was the Zhao family.
The home Pei Duo spoke of was not the home where she would stay.
Jiang Ninghui kept her face buried in his chest, letting him pick her up and take her into the carriage.
The carriage was dimly lit. Jiang Ninghui sat in Pei Duo's lap, her two slender legs, encased in trousers, dangling in mid-air, unable to touch the ground. She rested her hands uneasily on her legs and had kept her head down since boarding the carriage.
Pei Duo could only see the woman's hairpin that she was wearing.
She wished she could droop her head to the ground.
“Sui Sui”.
He called her.
Hearing him call her by her name repeatedly, especially the affectionate "Sui Sui," Jiang Ning Sui felt very uncomfortable and her ears turned red with embarrassment. She wanted to correct him and make him call her sister-in-law, but then she remembered that she and Zhao Zhixue were no longer husband and wife, so she gave up the idea of correcting him.
That's all.
Let him shout if he wants.
“Sui Sui”.
When Pei Duo saw that she didn't respond, he called out again.
He then stared at the woman's flushed earlobes, watching the alluring blush spread to her cheeks and snow-white neck. The young man smiled and pressed his lips to her ear: "Sui Sui, Sui Sui, Sui Sui, Sui Sui..."
Jiang Ninghui couldn't hold back any longer and quickly raised her hand to cover his lips, her beautiful cheeks flushed red: "Don't shout anymore!"
The woman's hands were warm and soft, pressing against his lips; they were soft and carried a faint scent of soap.
Pei Duo took a deep sniff and then licked the woman's palm with the tip of his tongue.
A tingling sensation suddenly rose in Jiang Ninghui's palm, and her scalp tingled. She quickly withdrew her hand, hiding it in her sleeve and curling up. Her pair of red, watery eyes, red from crying, stared at him with shame.
How could he do this!
Why do you always like to lick her like this?
Whether it's the hands, the fingertips, the neck, or even... there...
Jiang Ninghui felt even more ashamed and embarrassed when she recalled how his tongue had probed inside her and how he had shamelessly claimed that he hadn't actually penetrated her.
Pei Duo pinched her cheeks and gently kissed her eyelids.
Jiang Ninghui had no choice but to close her eyes.
She felt his lips slowly descend from her eyelids to her lips.
The young man took her lower lip into his mouth and gently bit, licked, and sucked it.
His tongue plunged deep inside, scraping against her teeth, hooking around her tongue, and greedily swirling around it.
Jiang Ninghui was forced to tilt her head back and endure his kisses all the way.
Pei Duo hugged her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck and panting, "I really want to eat Sui Sui."
Jiang Ninghui bit her lip, too ashamed to listen to his shameless words any longer.
Because of Pei Duo's appearance, Jiang Ninghui's sad, helpless, and lonely heart was inexplicably calmed.
She nestled quietly in his arms, inhaling the faint scent of cedar emanating from him, and couldn't help but wonder what she should do next.
It is certainly not advisable to go back with Pei Duo and stay at his house.
Regardless of what others might think of her and Pei Duo, if Uncle Pei and Aunt Xie knew, they would certainly be displeased.
She and Pei Duo were never the same kind of people.
He comes from a good family, is exceptionally talented, and is also this year's top scholar in the imperial examination.
And her?
Homeless, a divorced and mediocre woman, and more than a year older than Pei Duo, the two seemed completely mismatched.
Jiang Ninghui didn't know where the carriage was going, only that it had been traveling for almost half an hour before it stopped.
A respectful voice came from outside: "Master, we have arrived."
Having lived in the countryside since childhood, this was the first time Jiang Ninghui had heard someone around her being addressed as "master" by others. At first, she was a little taken aback.
When Pei Duo was about to carry her off the carriage, Jiang Ninghui hurriedly struggled to get out of his arms: "I... I can walk by myself, I don't need you to carry me."
The young man didn't force himself on her. He took the shabby bundle from her arms and held it in his own hand, then took her hand in his other hand and asked, "May I hold your hand?"
Although it was a question, his five fingers squeezed between hers, forcing her to intertwine with his.
Jiang Ninghui lowered her head, completely at a loss with him, and simply said, "Whatever."
Pei Duo led her down from the carriage, where they stopped in front of a magnificent mansion.
Jiang Ninghui stared in shock at the magnificent mansion before her, momentarily stunned.
The largest mansion she had ever seen was the Longchang Prefectural Government Office, but this mansion was far superior to it. Above the mansion hung a plaque that read "Pei Mansion". Jiang Ninghui was led inside by Pei Duo. There were servants in the mansion, and wherever the two of them went, the servants stopped what they were doing and respectfully greeted, "Young Master Pei, Madam Jiang".
Jiang Ninghui was very uneasy.
She was very uncomfortable with people bowing to her so respectfully, just as she had been at the Longchang residence.
Only after Pei Duo led her into a bright and beautifully furnished room did she whisper, "How come you have such a large house? Is it a reward from the Emperor for you becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination?"
Pei Duo pulled her to sit down and poured her a cup of fruit tea: "Sui Sui, try this first."
Jiang Ninghui held the teacup in both hands, looked at the dark red fruit tea in the cup, hesitated for a moment, then took a small sip. A light, sweet taste filled her mouth and slid down her throat into her stomach.
Pei Duo: "Do you like it?"
Jiang Ninghui nodded slightly.
The young man smiled, stood up, and lifted the woman onto his lap. Jiang Ninghui couldn't stand his constant hugging and kissing. She couldn't break free and could only be forcefully pressed onto his lap as he said, "This house belongs to my father."
Jiang Ninghui suddenly opened her almond-shaped eyes wide and looked up at Pei Duo, who was standing close to her.
Before she could ask, he continued, “My father was a general under the late emperor. After marrying my mother, he resigned from his post and took her to settle in Xiping Village. This house is where he used to live. It has been empty all these years since he left.”
Jiang Ninghui took a long time to come to her senses.
It turns out that Uncle Pei was not a bodyguard, but a general who served the late emperor.
This explains why Aunt Xie, who was of noble birth, married Uncle Pei.
Jiang Ninghui increasingly realized that Pei Duo's family background was more powerful than she could have imagined.
To this day, she still doesn't know what official position Pei Duo's uncle holds, or how high his rank is. Is he as high-ranking as the Minister of Rites?
Pei Duo held Jiang Ninghui's hands, which were holding the teacup, in one hand, his dark eyes staring intently at her: "Suihui, I'm going to ride a horse through the streets in three days. Will you come to see me?"
Jiang Ninghui felt extremely embarrassed by his gaze.
She lowered her head to avoid his gaze, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Okay."
A smile appeared in the young man's eyes.
It's good that Sui Sui agreed.
Therefore, it will be best to take her to see a good show three days later.
Pei Duo recalled something: "You just said that your silver was stolen. When did you find out?"
The mere mention of money caused Jiang Ninghui heartache and unbearable pain.
She shook her head in confusion: "I don't know. I only discovered that the money was missing when I was packing my things today."
Pei Duo lovingly rubbed the woman's soft fingertips against her skin, while his hand, which was wrapped around her slender waist, restlessly kneaded it.
Which bastard with a death wish stole money from Sui Sui? He knew perfectly well what that money meant to her.
She refused the money he offered, so he subtly helped her earn money.
She embroidered this stitch by stitch.
It was her personal savings, accumulated little by little.
When Pei Duo recalled Jiang Ninghui crying and telling him on the street that her money had been stolen, he wished he could personally slice the thief to pieces.
This made Sui Sui cry so sadly.
Damn it.
Pei Duo promised her that he would find her money.
Jiang Ninghui: "Is it really possible to find it?"
The young man pecked her lips: "Of course."
Jiang Ninghui couldn't stand Pei Duo's constant attempts to take advantage of her, so she insisted on getting out of his arms. She finally managed to escape and went around the table to sit on a chair some distance away from him.
Pei Duo lowered his eyes and watched the woman holding a teacup, her bright eyes gazing curiously at the room's furnishings and decorations.
Such a well-behaved Sui Sui.
I want to kiss you again.
Unfortunately, Sui Sui wouldn't let him kiss her.
But there's no rush, there's plenty of time.
She broke up with that good-for-nothing, and from then on, he was finally able to be close to her openly.
After finishing a cup of fragrant and sweet fruit tea, Jiang Ninghui couldn't help but savor the lingering aroma on her lips and teeth.
Just as she was about to put down her teacup, she heard Pei Duo ask, "Would you like some more?"
Jiang Ninghui lowered her head shyly and whispered, "Have another drink."
Pei Duo smiled indulgently and stood up to pour her tea himself.
As dusk approached, lanterns lit up everywhere in the Pei residence, illuminating the surroundings, unlike that small courtyard where it was pitch black at night.
Dinner was not at the mansion. Pei Duo prepared many fashionable clothes from the capital for Jiang Ninghui and had the servants help her change. Afterward, he took her to Yunxiang Restaurant.
Jiang Ninghui really wasn't used to this kind of life.
Pei Duo led her down from the carriage, and she lowered her head as he led her into the restaurant.
She heard someone talking to Pei Duo, but instead of calling him the top scholar, they all called him Young Master Pei. When they reached the second floor, two middle-aged men bowed to Pei Duo, their tone respectful: "Young Master Pei, Madam Jiang."
Jiang Ninghui was taken aback, wondering how these two people knew her.
She suddenly remembered that when she went to Pei's residence with Pei Duo that afternoon, the servants there seemed to recognize her.
After Pei Duo led her into the private room, she finally asked the question that had been bothering her: "How do they know me? And the servants in the manor, they have never seen me before."
Pei Duo embraced her, burying his face in her neck and inhaling her scent.
It smells so good.
If it weren't for Sui Sui's unwillingness.
He wanted to have their wedding night earlier than planned tonight.
He said, "They have all seen your portrait."
Jiang Ninghui recalled the explicit portraits Pei Duo had painted of her.
As if knowing what she was thinking, the young man gently bit the soft flesh on the side of her neck: "Besides you and me, no one else could see a glimpse of those portraits. The one I showed them was a portrait of Sui Sui with a neat and tidy appearance."
Jiang Ninghui's body went limp from his licking and biting, and her almond-shaped eyes welled up with tears.
She pushed him, saying, "Let go of me."
Pei Duo: "I won't let go."
"Why don't you ask me why I let others see your portrait, instead of asking me what I said to those people?"
Jiang Ninghui was forced to tilt her head back as he kissed her, her two fair and soft hands helplessly resting on his shoulders.
The young man wrapped his arms around her waist, his tall, straight shoulders pressing down, his dark head rubbing against her chin and neck.
She bit her lip, unable to utter a single word, feeling bullied.
He said to himself, “I have told everyone who has seen the portrait that the woman in the portrait is my future wife. If you see her in the future, call her Madam Jiang.”
Jiang Ninghui thought he had really gone mad.
How could he introduce her to others like that?
At that time, she was still Zhao Zhixue's wife.
Jiang Ninghui was suddenly lifted up and placed on the table by the young man.
The young man's lean waist nestled between her knees, his strong, powerful fingers cupped her cheeks, and his wet tongue lingered on her face.
"The ears of rice smell so good."
"I want to eat Sui Sui right now."
"Sui Sui—open your mouth."
.
After eating while sitting on Pei Duo's lap at the Zizai Longchang residence, this never happened again.
Three months later, Jiang Ninghui sat on Pei Duo's lap once again, eating the exquisite dishes he fed her with chopsticks.
They were absolutely stuffed.
Pei Duo fed her until she was full, then led her to the window so she could admire the lake view behind the restaurant.
Jiang Ninghui stood by the window. She no longer had to fear being seen by her husband with Pei Duo, nor did she have to fear being alone in a room with another man despite being a married woman.
She was divorced.
She was divorced by Zhao Zhixue under the pretext of having an affair with another man.
If it weren't for Pei Duo, she would probably still be homeless on the streets with nowhere to turn.
The two returned close to midnight. After washing up, Jiang Ninghui lay on the spacious couch, with a fine mattress beneath her and a soft, close-fitting quilt covering her, completely different from the quilts she had used in the first twenty years of her life.
Jiang Ninghui knew she was not worthy of such a life of luxury and ease.
Because there was absolutely no possibility between her and Pei Duo.
If one day others find out that the woman the top scholar loves is the woman the third-ranked scholar divorced, and that she was divorced for having an affair with another man, what will others think of Pei Duo? How could Pei Duo's uncle and aunt Xie bear to see him implicated by her?
Even though it was already past midnight, Jiang Ninghui was wide awake.
She rolled over.
Not long after, it turned over again.
Pei Duo's room was right next to Jiang Ninghui's.
Every time she turned over, every time she sighed, it reached Pei Duo's ears.
The young man stood tall and elegant by the window, his sparse eyebrows slightly raised.
Sui Sui turned things around again.
He sighed again.
There was a knock on the door. Pei Duo lifted his eyes, his deep gaze sweeping coldly over the person who entered.
The man respectfully reported, "Master, this servant has found out. Four days ago, on the day the list of candidates for the palace examination was released, Master and Lady Jiang left the courtyard. This servant and I followed them at a distance, so there was no one guarding that courtyard. It was on that day that the thieves took advantage of the situation."
Pei Duo: "Who ordered that thief?"
The guard lowered his head and reported, "We were not instructed by anyone. That area is relatively remote, and most of the people who rent the courtyards are candidates who have come from all over the country. They waited for the list of candidates to be announced, and then sneaked into the houses to steal money while the candidates were looking at the list."
"The thieves said that those who passed the exam didn't care about the money they lost, while those who didn't pass were already distraught and didn't want to stay long even if they knew they had lost their money. Even if a few individuals reported it to the authorities and caused a scene, the government couldn't find them. Therefore, this group of thieves had been living in that area with impunity for more than ten years."
Pei Duo's dark eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, his handsome face filled with a cold and menacing aura.
Sui Sui's purse was hidden in the wardrobe.
The thieves must have touched her underwear when they opened her wardrobe.
What a bunch of reckless fools!
Pei Duo said in a deep voice, "Take him to the jail."
He wanted to gouge out the eyes of anyone who touched Sui Sui's clothes!
I skinned him alive with my own hands!
The guards left first, but Pei Duo did not.
He was waiting, waiting until Jiang Ninghui was fast asleep before leaving.
It wasn't until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) that even, long breaths could be heard from next door.
It seems to be fast asleep.
At the second quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), a carriage stopped outside the Ministry of Justice prison.
Kneeling in the torture chamber was a middle-aged man with a full beard. He was trembling violently from extreme fear, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. The various instruments of torture in the chamber sent chills down his spine, and the strong smell of blood made him feel nauseous. Hearing the door open, the bearded man looked up and saw a young man in a dark blue cross-collar robe walk in.
The young man was very handsome.
His eyes and brows were cold and terrifying; just one glance at them would send shivers down your spine.
Pei Duo lowered his eyes, his dark pupils fixed on him: "Did you steal the tenth courtyard in North Street Lane?"
The bearded man nodded tremblingly, "Yes...yes."
The young man shrugged, and the guard, at his behest, drew a longsword from its sheath at his waist and handed it over with both hands.
The bearded man was so frightened that he begged for mercy repeatedly, his face turning deathly pale.
The young man walked over, holding a long sword.
"You went through her closet?"
The bearded man shook his head repeatedly.
"Does your filthy nature allow you to rummage through her wardrobe?"
"You touched her underwear?"
"whether?"
Pei Duo asked a question, and the bearded man was taken aback, surprised that he knew so much about it.
He touched and looked at it, but after touching and looking at it, he put it away properly. People in their line of work steal money from their masters and cannot touch other things, so as not to arouse the master's suspicion too early. That is why they were able to stay in that area for so many years.
To everyone's surprise, this time they actually failed.
The key issue is that none of them know how they planted it.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have stolen that family's money; now he's even going to lose his life.
The bearded man tried to argue, but the young man said, "No need to answer, I already know."
"ah--"
Before the bearded man could speak, a flash of sword light appeared before his eyes. The excruciating pain that penetrated to the bone made the bearded man scream in agony. He covered his eyes, and blood gushed out between his fingers. In addition to the intense pain, his eyes were completely dark.
"Those who have seen what they shouldn't have seen should have their images cut off."
The young man's voice was extremely cold, like a frozen pool in deep winter, chilling to the bone.
In the flash of the sword, the bearded man's hands and arms were severed from head to toe.
"If you touch something you shouldn't, you should be chopped off."
The bearded man, his arms gone, lay sprawled on the ground like a rag doll, howling and screaming in agony.
The young man lowered his eyes, his cold gaze as if looking at a dead man: "He stole what he shouldn't have stolen; he deserves to die."
The torture chamber door was wide open, and the scene inside was seen by those outside.
The Zhao couple stared wide-eyed in horror, collapsing to the ground, still unable to believe that the man who looked like a demon was Pei Duo, the son of the Pei family next door to the Zhao family in Xiping Village!
How could it be him?!
Could it be that he helped the couple and even imprisoned them in the Ministry of Justice's jail in the capital?
The couple watched in horror as the bearded man's body was soaked and stained crimson with blood, and as he stared at them with his dark, hollow eyes. They screamed in terror.
Pei Duo handed over the sword, which the guard accepted with both hands.
Another person handed Pei Duo a silk handkerchief, which the young man took and carefully wiped each of his fingers.
He turned and walked out of the torture chamber, looking down at the still-terrified Zhao couple.
He said, "Your son, on whom you have always placed high hopes, has become the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination."
The Zhao couple were shocked; the earth-shattering news made them forget their current fear.
The young man added, "Unfortunately, he won the third place by cheating."
The Zhao couple's expressions changed; having lost their tongues, they were unable to speak.
Pei Duo sneered: "I'll keep you here for a few more days. In three days, I'll show you a good show."
The Zhao couple opened their mouths and howled, trying to get up, but the jailers pressed their shoulders down.
Pei Duo glanced at Zhao's father: "Do you know why your eye was gouged out?"
Zhao's father stared blankly at Pei Duo with his only remaining eye, not understanding the meaning behind his words for a moment.
Even Li was stunned; her mind was completely blank for a moment.
Pei Duo's voice was extremely cold: "You are just like that dead man, you saw what you shouldn't have seen. Your tongues were cut out because you cursed the wrong people."
The young man parted his lips, revealing an extremely cold smile: "My Sui Sui suffered terribly in your Zhao family. I will repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold, for the humiliation and suffering she endured."
The Zhao couple watched in shock as Pei Duo left.
What did he say?
Sui Sui?
Is he referring to Jiang Ninghui, the daughter-in-law of the Zhao family?!
The Zhao couple suddenly understood Pei Duo's words. Their encounter with the bandits was not an accident, but Pei Duo's doing!
The Zhao couple looked at the corpse being dragged out by the jailer. They were so frightened that they scrambled backward on their hands and feet. The corpse was dragged out of the torture chamber, leaving a long, glaring trail of blood on the ground. Zhao's father stared in horror at the dark, hollow eye sockets of the bearded man, and suddenly remembered how he had rummaged through Jiang Ninghui's wardrobe and thrown her clothes all over the floor.
On that same day, the couple encountered bandits on their way home.
He had one eye gouged out, and both of them had their tongues cut out.
It's Jiang Ninghui—
It must be her!
She ruined the Zhao family!
Who exactly is Pei Duo?! Where does he get such power to command so many people?!
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Author's Note: Update before 7 PM tomorrow night. The foreshadowing of the male lead overhearing the female lead counting silver that night will be revealed in the next chapter~
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