Chapter 60 How can this not be considered his sister-in-law bringing him good fortune?
Pei Duo did not answer Jiang Ninghui's question.
He carefully applied the ointment to her wound and asked someone nearby, "Does your sister-in-law hate them?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ninghui subconsciously looked up at Pei Duo.
The young man's deep, dark eyes stared at her intently, as if he were eagerly awaiting her answer.
Do you hate it?
Jiang Ninghui couldn't help but ask herself this question.
Before Pei Duo asked that question, she seemed to have never thought of the word 'hate'.
Perhaps she doesn't hate him anymore, or maybe she's just gotten used to it.
Actually, life in the Zhao family was much better than in the Jiang family. Although her in-laws treated her coldly and made things difficult for her, her life was still quite good when her husband was home. Unlike in the Jiang family, where she was constantly bullied and beaten by her younger brother, her father would kick and punch her if he was unhappy, and her mother would often point at her nose and speak ill of her.
In the Jiang family, she was always hungry and cold, and there was never enough work to do.
For her, winter was the hardest time. Without thick cotton clothes to keep warm, her clothes were always in short supply, and she spent most of her days in the most dilapidated little room in the house.
After marrying into the Zhao family, she had warm clothes to wear, plenty of food to eat, and a husband who doted on her. Although her in-laws treated her harshly and difficult, she could endure it. She felt that her current life was already much better than what she had experienced before.
Jiang Ninghui also did not answer Pei Duo's question about whether he hated her or not.
She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze that seemed to see into her heart, and murmured, "Young Master Pei, I feel that I am doing quite well now."
"Oh?" The young man's tone was light and cheerful. He reached out and pinched Jiang Ninghui's chin, lifting it up so that she would look directly at him. "Does sister-in-law really think things are fine right now?"
Jiang Ninghui looked into Pei Duo's dark eyes and said firmly, "Yes!"
The young man suddenly sneered.
Then, the laughter turned mocking and ridiculous.
Finally, his laughter exuded a chilling malice, carrying a terrifying, eerie atmosphere in the dark, enclosed room.
The young man's smile vanished abruptly, his dark eyes fixing on her: "If I hadn't helped your husband pass the imperial examination this time, and he had failed, would you still think things are going well, sister-in-law?"
Jiang Ninghui's breath hitched, and she silently pursed her lips.
Her mother-in-law's words from that day still echoed in her ears—if her husband failed the exam this time, she would be sold to a servant boy.
If Pei Duo hadn't helped her husband this time, she probably would have already been sold off by her mother-in-law.
Jiang Ninghui dared not think any further, but then she heard Pei Duo say, "I heard your sister-in-law and your brother's conversation at the ferry that day."
Jiang Ninghui's pupils suddenly contracted, and her chest, covered by her inner garment, began to heave violently.
She bit her lip, looking at Pei Duo with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.
The young man gently stroked the skin on her chin with his fingertips.
His voice was very gentle.
Her gentleness sends chills down your spine.
"The Jiang family used a fortune teller to deceive the Zhao family, saying that the sister-in-law's birth chart was auspicious for Brother Zhao and could help him have a smooth path in the imperial examinations. Therefore, the Zhao family was willing to spend five taels of silver to marry the sister-in-law. If Brother Zhao fails the examinations in the future, what awaits the sister-in-law will be a hardship that you cannot bear."
Jiang Ninghui clenched her fingers tightly, pressing her fingertips against the wound on her palm, yet she felt no pain.
She never imagined that Pei Duo had overheard everything that day!
But why did he lie to her back then?
The young man released her chin, grasped her hand, and gently pried open her clenched fingers: "We just applied the medicine, you can't get hurt again."
Jiang Ninghui felt her fingertips were icy cold, and the chill spread from her wrist to her entire body.
I was shivering from the cold.
Pei Duo gently blew on the wound on Jiang Ninghui's palm, showing her the utmost care.
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Zhao Zhixue, who was lying unconscious at the foot of the bed. "Sister-in-law, look at your good husband. Ask yourself honestly, didn't he marry you because of what the fortune teller said? If he fails the exam next year and your in-laws make things difficult for you, will your good husband protect you?"
Jiang Ninghui pursed her lips tightly, unable to utter a single word.
She didn't know if her husband would protect her.
She didn't dare to have even the slightest hope in her heart.
She knew that her husband attached great importance to studying and taking the imperial examinations. He had studied for more than ten years and could forget to eat and sleep for his studies. He was willing to do anything to pass the exams. If he failed the exams, he might not be able to bear the huge failure.
At that time, whether she lives or dies will be unknown.
Looking at the woman's pale, dazed face, Pei Duo continued to press, "So, sister-in-law, tell me, do you hate them?"
"Neither the Jiang family nor the Zhao family treats you sincerely."
“They bullied you, beat you, and never treated you as one of their own. In the eyes of the Jiang family, you were an object that could be sold for money at will. In the eyes of the Zhao family, they only regarded you as a lucky charm to bring good fortune to Zhao Zhixue. If they knew that you, this lucky charm, were fake, they would tear you apart with their own hands.”
"None of them are sincere towards you; they are all using you."
Pei Duo's words were like cold nails driven into Jiang Ninghui's trembling body.
She had never thought about these things before, but tonight, Pei Duo's words pierced her heart.
He forced her to see the path beneath her feet.
Jiang Ninghui was lost in thought and speechless.
Her eyelashes were lowered, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. A strong sense of loneliness and helplessness overwhelmed her, causing a dull ache in her chest.
Pei Duo stared at the woman's pitiful appearance as she silently shed tears.
Each teardrop felt like a spark of fire splashing onto flesh, the burning sensation traveling all the way to the heart.
A dull, aching pain.
It felt both familiar and strange.
He loathed the uncontrollable pain, and he hated even more his sister-in-law's tears.
Even though he was the one who made her cry.
But he doesn't regret it.
My sister-in-law stays in her shell all day, content with the status quo and only thinking about keeping her useless husband.
So, he broke through her shell, forcing her to face reality. How wonderful!
Pei Duo raised his hand to wipe away her tears: "However, I think that fortune teller's prediction wasn't wrong."
Jiang Ninghui looked up, her bright, watery eyes filled with confusion as she gazed at him.
It's damp and moist.
She was unaware of how alluring she was at that moment.
The young man's prominent Adam's apple bobbed twice.
His fingertips glided across her eyelids, cheeks, and finally rested on her lips.
He said, "I love you, sister-in-law, and I feel sorry for you. I can't bear to see you suffer. That's why I helped your husband pass the imperial examination. How can this not be considered that you brought him good fortune? If it weren't for you, sister-in-law, why would I have helped him?"
Pei Duo gently brushed his fingertips against Jiang Ninghui's lips.
It depicts something greedily and excessively.
The young man's tall shoulders bent down, his dark eyes staring intently at her, tempting her: "Sister-in-law, I truly love you and care about you. I'm the only one who won't take advantage of you or hurt you. I will pave the way for you, help your husband achieve academic success, and help you overcome this ordeal."
"I only ask that you, sister-in-law, never push me away again, and never say those words of rejection to me again."
"I promise you, sister-in-law, that I will leave once your husband passes the imperial examination and you have overcome this ordeal. Is that alright?"
Jiang Ninghui lowered her eyes and remained silent.
She knew that even if she didn't agree, Pei Duo would choose to ignore her, just like every time he had forced her into his house and done those transgressions to her before, he had never listened to her once.
He always does things according to his own whims.
I did it because I wanted to.
Even if she refuses today, he won't listen.
In fact, what he said today was no different from what he said that day; he simply wanted her to stay with him until the end of the palace examination.
But this time, every word he uttered was for her sake.
Jiang Ninghui thought back carefully and realized that from childhood to adulthood, no one had ever cared about her or felt sorry for her. All she received was insults and bullying. Only Pei Duo, since they met, had helped her, rescued her, and helped her make money. He had always given her warmth and assistance.
Of course, there was also excessive 'bullying'.
Jiang Ninghui remained silent for a long time.
Pei Duo waited patiently and did not urge him.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Ninghui finally spoke: "I can agree to your request, but could Young Master Pei also grant me a request?"
Pei Duo: "Go ahead."
Jiang Ninghui: "Young Master Pei helped my husband pass the imperial examination and helped me through this ordeal. I am extremely grateful, but I cannot agree to do anything that would betray my husband. I hope Young Master Pei will not force me and will not treat me as he did before. But as for other matters, whatever Young Master Pei asks me to do, I will do my best and will never refuse."
Pei Duo gazed intently at the woman's trembling eyelashes and asked, "As long as you don't do anything to betray your husband, sister-in-law will never refuse anything, no matter what it is?"
Jiang Ninghui nodded gently.
A cryptic smile flickered in the young man's dark eyes.
He gently rubbed Jiang Ninghui's pink lips, a captivating smile playing on his handsome thin lips: "Okay, I promise you, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ninghui was stunned for a moment because she didn't expect Pei Duo to agree so readily this time.
The young man then said, "There is something I need you to do now, and I ask you to keep your word, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ninghui felt a little uneasy: "What is it?"
Pei Duo: "After I leave, you must not go out to see your parents-in-law. Just stay in your room. You will know how they are tomorrow, okay?"
Jiang Ninghui hesitated, but then heard him say, "Don't worry, they won't die."
Upon hearing the word 'death,' Jiang Ninghui's expression changed slightly, but she ultimately nodded in agreement.
Pei Duo: "If Brother Zhao asks about it tomorrow, my sister-in-law will say that she was sleeping too soundly and did not hear any noise."
Jiang Ninghui: "Understood."
Pei Duo's fingertip brushed against Jiang Ninghui's lips again, suppressing the urge to penetrate and entwine with the fleshy walls of her tongue.
What an obedient and easily fooled sister-in-law.
I really like it very much.
He placed a small porcelain bottle in Jiang Ninghui's hand and instructed her to apply it once in the morning and once at night, and that she would be better in two days.
After Pei Duo left, Jiang Ninghui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked to the door and heard noises coming from her in-laws' room. After hesitating and struggling for a long time, she finally kept her promise, bolted the door and closed the bed. She looked at her husband, who was still unconscious, with unease. She wondered what Young Master Pei had done to her husband that made him sleep so soundly.
Jiang Ninghui slept fitfully all night, and was woken up early the next morning by her husband.
The young man asked her to go to the village entrance and fetch a doctor, because her parents had been bitten by snakes.
Jiang Ninghui broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly dressed before going out to fetch the doctor to take her home.
She thought it might be a small snake, or perhaps a snake with weak venom, but when she saw the large and small teeth marks on the two elderly people who had not yet recovered from their fear, and the deep blood holes, it was extremely horrifying.
Zhao Zhixue and Jiang Ninghui learned from the doctor that, judging from the teeth marks, the snake that bit them was as thick as an adult man's arm. The Zhao couple were so frightened that they couldn't speak, and could only nod repeatedly in agreement with the doctor's words.
Li held up two fingers, and the doctor frowned: "There are two snakes?"
Li nodded repeatedly.
Last night, she and Lao Zhao were sleeping soundly when two large snakes suddenly appeared out of nowhere, coiled around them, and bit them, leaving their bodies covered in teeth marks. The two of them were so frightened that they fainted. When they woke up, it was already dawn, and they had no idea where the two snakes had gone.
The doctor said, "It's summer now, so it's normal for snakes and insects to be out in the air. You're lucky that the two snakes that came were non-venomous; otherwise, you two might have been dead by last night."
The doctor then instructed Zhao Zhixue to buy more realgar powder and sprinkle it around the yard to prevent snakes and insects from entering.
The news that the Zhao couple had been bitten by a large snake at night quickly spread throughout Xiping Village.
Almost overnight, every household in Xiping Village went to town to buy a lot of realgar powder and sprinkled it around their yards.
The Zhao couple were so terrified by the snake that they were seeing snakes everywhere. They would see firewood as snakes when they went to the kitchen to fetch water, and ropes as snakes when they went to the well to draw water. They would even think that any rustling sound they heard in the house was a snake.
During this time, Pei's father and Xie came to visit the Zhao couple.
Seeing how frightened the two of them were, Xie was still somewhat shaken when she returned to the courtyard with Pei's father: "Dazhao, do you think the realgar powder we sprinkled inside and outside the courtyard will work?"
Pei's father pulled his wife into his arms, gently massaging her tense shoulders with his large hands, and comforted her, "Wife, have you forgotten that I am a hunter? What's there to be afraid of in the mountains? I know better than that barefoot doctor. Besides, with me here, how could I let them get close to my wife?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Xie smiled and said, "Now that you say that, I am relieved."
After comforting his wife, Pei's father glanced at the Zhao family next door as he carried the bucket out.
Two non-venomous snakes, as thick as an adult man's arm, suddenly entered the house in the middle of the night. They coiled around and bit the couple. This was very strange no matter how you looked at it. It was likely that the snakes did not come on their own, but were secretly put in by someone else to deliberately harm Brother Zhao and his wife.
Pei's father guessed that it might be related to his son's success in the imperial examination.
Is it possible that someone is jealous and envious, and is using the snake to harass the Zhao family to vent their anger?
They didn't dare come to the Pei family, perhaps because they knew he was a hunter?
Pei's father went next door and raised his hand to knock on the door.
A cool, indifferent voice came from inside the room: "Come in."
Pei's father pushed open the door and entered. He glanced at Pei Duo, who was reading at the table, and asked with a smile, "Duo-ge'er, what would you like to eat tonight? Dad will make it for you."
Pei Duo didn't look up: "Either is fine."
Pei's father: "Duo'er, your hearing has always been excellent. On the night the Zhao family brought in the snake, did you hear anything?"
The young man turned a page, his handsome features not even lifting, and replied indifferently, "I was fast asleep and didn't hear you."
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Author's note: Update before 10 PM tomorrow night~
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