Chapter 39. Pei Duo drank the aphrodisiac wine his sister-in-law brought him.
Jiang Ninghui was restless when she got home.
She returned and waited outside the courtyard, looking towards the end of the alley, hoping to see Young Master Pei return as soon as possible.
They waited from late afternoon until a quarter past late afternoon until they finally saw Young Master Pei.
As soon as Young Master Pei entered, Jiang Ninghui eagerly asked, "Young Master Pei, have you found out any information?"
Pei Duo lowered his gaze to the woman's moist almond-shaped eyes. Her eyelashes were glistening with tears, and the tip of her nose was flushed. She looked at him eagerly.
With her chin tilted back, her snow-white neck formed a beautiful and alluring curve.
Both fragile and pitiful.
Pei Duo: "It's not a big deal for the prefect to be looking for his sister-in-law. He learned from me that she makes delicious meat soup dumplings, so he sent a servant to fetch her over to make him a bowl of meat soup dumplings to try."
Jiang Ninghui was stunned and couldn't come to her senses for a long time.
She never expected that the prefect would summon her simply because he wanted to try some meat soup dumplings.
She was terrified!
I was terrified!
My heart, which had been filled with fear and anxiety, finally settled down.
The young man listened to the woman's rapidly beating heart, each beat reverberating against her delicate chest.
—It sounds wonderful.
Pei Duo: "I wonder if you have anything else to do right now, sister-in-law?"
Jiang Ninghui: "It's not time to prepare dinner yet, so there's no rush."
Pei Duo: "Could you please help me grind the ink, sister-in-law?"
Jiang Ninghui was naturally willing.
But she didn't know how to grind ink; her husband had never taught her to do such a thing.
Pei Duo noticed Jiang Ninghui's troubled expression and seemed to sense something: "Sister-in-law, you don't know how to grind ink?"
Jiang Ninghui lowered her head in embarrassment: "Mm."
A faint smile appeared on the young man's handsome face: "It's alright, I'll teach my sister-in-law."
Charcoal was still burning in Young Master Pei's room.
He said that the weather was still a bit cold, and he preferred it to be warmer inside.
Jiang Ninghui stood in front of the pear blossom table, clumsily holding the pestle and gently grinding ink in circles.
Pei Duo spread out the Xuan paper and said calmly, "Sister-in-law, relax a bit. Don't squeeze too tightly or grind too fast."
Jiang Ninghui nodded gently: "I understand."
The young man stood before the pear blossom table, his narrow, cold eyes lowered, glancing at Jiang Ninghui, who was diligently grinding ink beside him.
My sister-in-law is really well-behaved.
Very obedient.
When asked to do something, he does it with utmost concentration.
Such a well-behaved sister-in-law, she almost got scammed.
Pei Duo picked up his pen.
Jiang Ninghui raised her eyebrows slightly and glanced at the words that Young Master Pei had written on the Xuan paper.
It is vigorous and sharp, with a hidden edge at the tail.
She was illiterate and didn't know what he had written.
I just thought that Young Master Pei's handwriting was very beautiful.
Jiang Ninghui suddenly remembered that Young Master Pei had stopped the carriage earlier that day, and was certain that she was inside.
Out of curiosity, she asked in a low voice, "How did Young Master Pei know I was in the carriage today?"
The young man continued writing: "I told my sister-in-law that I have excellent hearing."
Jiang Ninghui's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the ink from the inkstone.
The young man continued, "Having spent about half a year with my sister-in-law, I'm quite familiar with the sound of her breathing—"
A wicked smile twisted in his dark pupils: "It feels very familiar."
Suddenly, Jiang Ninghui felt as if she were being burned by flames, her whole body burning hot and her cheeks flushed red.
Her head drooped even lower, her face filled with unconcealed shame and embarrassment.
She recalled those nights with her husband, when even though she bit her lip, soft breaths would still escape her lips.
And those embarrassing things her husband whispered in her ear, Pei Gongzi probably heard them all.
Young Master Pei didn't make anything clear.
But perhaps because she felt guilty, she always felt that Young Master Pei was implying something.
Jiang Ninghui couldn't stay any longer and wanted to find an excuse to leave.
Before she could speak, Young Master Pei asked, "On the night of the Lantern Festival, I woke up and heard my sister-in-law crying."
The young man paused, then looked up at her: "I wonder what you dreamt about, sister-in-law? Why are you crying so hard? Did some scoundrel bully you in your dream, causing you to cry?"
The memories that had been so hard to forget were brought up again by Young Master Pei, and they resurfaced clearly in his mind.
The scent of cedarwood from Young Master Pei's room filled her nostrils, gradually merging with the scent that had enveloped her that night.
In her dream, the white jade fingers that held the pen gripped her wrists and pressed them above her head, while the tall, strong figure of the young man covered her.
Even now, she can still feel the taut muscles on Young Master Pei's body in her dream.
Powerful.
Scorching hot.
He moved closer to her, his teeth nibbling at the tip of her ear.
Tell her.
She's a bad woman, he's a born bad guy, they're a match made in heaven.
Jiang Ninghui's breathing tightened, and her snow-white neck skin clung tightly to her neck bone.
She could not allow herself to tarnish Young Master Pei's reputation any longer.
She must not let Young Master Pei know that she had humiliated him in her dream.
Jiang Ninghui couldn't stand it any longer. She made up an excuse to make meat soup dumplings, put down the pestle and turned to run away.
However, because she turned too quickly, her sleeve bumped into a painting box on the edge of the table, causing the box to fall to the ground. The six scrolls inside rolled out, and two of them slowly rolled open, revealing two identical portraits of beautiful women.
Pei Duo lifted his eyelids and glanced at Jiang Ninghui, who had already run out of the house.
pity.
The person in the painting ran too fast and didn't get to appreciate his masterpiece.
The young man continued writing, his suspicions now largely confirmed.
It seems that the scoundrel who bullied his sister-in-law in his dream that night was indeed him.
Pei Duo put down his pen, his handsome thin lips curving into a dazzling arc.
Jiang Ninghui went back inside for a while, then took the money and hurried out to the street to buy meat.
After what happened today, Jiang Ninghui acted as if she had done something wrong for the next few days, not daring to look Pei Gongzi in the eye, for fear that Pei Gongzi would see the filth she had tried so hard to hide that night.
As spring's chill fades and warmth returns, a spring rain causes the pear trees in the courtyard to sprout new buds.
In five months, it will be the autumn imperial examination.
Since going to school after the New Year, the young master has been returning home almost every night two to three quarters of an hour later than young master Pei.
As the autumn imperial examinations drew closer, Jiang Ninghui grew increasingly uneasy.
Her situation five months from now depends entirely on whether her husband passes the imperial examination.
That morning, after breakfast, Pei Duo told Zhao Zhixue not to wait for him, as he would leave in a quarter of an hour later.
After Zhao Zhixue left, the young man walked to the kitchen door and looked at the woman who had finished cleaning the kitchen.
Jiang Ninghui turned around and saw Young Master Pei standing outside the door. His tall and imposing figure blocked the sunlight coming in from outside, and the young man's handsome face was hidden in the shadows, his deep, pool-like eyes staring at her.
He said, "Sister-in-law, come inside with me. I have something to tell you."
Jiang Ninghui was puzzled, but followed along as instructed.
After entering the room, Pei Duo handed her a small bamboo-green bundle on the table: "Sister-in-law, it's the same host as last time. This time they need four hundred tassels. The host has given us plenty of time; we can deliver them within two months. There are three hundred coins in the bundle. Two hundred coins are a deposit, and one hundred coins are a reward. Once the four hundred tassels are woven and delivered to the host, they will pay the remaining two hundred coins."
Jiang Ninghui couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She never expected that the master would ask her to weave tassels and even give her a reward of one hundred coins!
Jiang Ninghui carefully hugged the bundle and nodded earnestly: "I've got it."
This was introduced to her by Young Master Pei, and she absolutely could not let Young Master Pei and her family, who trusted her, down.
This was the third time Jiang Ninghui had earned money with her own hands, and once again she was overjoyed, her bright smile captivating her.
After Young Master Pei went to the school, she told Sister Mu about it and asked her to earn the money with her.
Mu Hua held 150 coins in her hands, which Jiang Ninghui had forcefully stuffed into her hands.
"Sister Mu helped me out back then and helped me make money. I can't be ungrateful. Sister Mu treated me sincerely and helped me in every way. How could I keep good things to myself?"
Mu Hua felt unworthy to receive such an honor.
She had only earned ten coins by having Jiang Niangzi wash her clothes before, but Jiang Niangzi had earned her several hundred coins on these two occasions. She never dared to imagine that she would earn so much money one day.
Mu Hua now wishes she could lift Jiang Ninghui up, feeling that no matter how good she was to her, it couldn't compare to the kindness she showed in helping her earn this money.
Jiang Ninghui couldn't let her husband know about her money-making scheme, so she spent both mornings and afternoons weaving tassels at Sister Mu's house.
That day, Sister Mu went to the market to buy meat and came back to tell Jiang Ninghui a piece of news that had been circulating in Longchang County.
The brother-in-law of the prefect of Longchang died. It is said that he contracted an epidemic and lay in his house for a month without getting better. Yesterday, someone saw a funeral procession coming out of the prefect's back gate. Upon inquiring, they learned that the prefect's brother-in-law had passed away.
Jiang Ninghui recalled the young man who had been with the servants of the government office a month ago; he seemed to be the master of the household.
Could it be that person?
However, this was a family matter of the prefect, and had nothing to do with them, commoners. After mentioning it briefly, Sister Mu changed the subject.
As dinner time approached, Mu Hua slipped a flask of wine into Jiang Ninghui's hand as she left, giving her a wink: "Madam Jiang, this is a good thing my husband brought back from the ship. Have your husband drink a cup tonight, and I guarantee he'll feel refreshed, invigorated, and have an unforgettable experience. But remember, he should drink this wine before dinner."
Jiang Ninghui didn't understand the wink Mu was giving her.
She glanced at the black wine pot, which contained about four or five ounces of liquor.
She didn't know much about wine, nor did she know what kind of wine it was, but according to Sister Mu, it was excellent.
Dusk is approaching.
Dinner is ready.
Jiang Ninghui waited outside the courtyard with a kerosene lamp in hand, when a person walked out from the depths of the narrow, secluded alley.
Today, Young Master Pei was dressed in a light blue cross-collar brocade robe, his hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and a book bag was hanging on his shoulder. The young man had clear and bright eyes, a handsome face, and an extremely tall figure. Jiang Ninghui suddenly realized that Young Master Pei seemed to have grown taller than when she saw him last September.
In four months, it will be Young Master Pei's eighteenth birthday.
Speaking of which, Young Master Pei is the youngest scholar in Qingping Town.
As the person entered, Jiang Ninghui asked, "Is it 45 minutes past midnight tonight, my lord?"
Pei Duo nodded: "Mm."
He lowered his eyes to glance at the woman's beautiful and delicate face, and followed her into the courtyard.
The shadow of the young woman cast on the ground by the moonlight gradually shifted, climbing up her ankles inch by inch.
It gradually swallowed up her shadow.
Jiang Ninghui walked towards the kitchen: "Young Master Pei, you eat first. I'll heat it up for my husband when he returns."
The young man stared at her retreating figure: "No rush, wait for Brother Zhao to return."
Jiang Ninghui: "Okay."
She carried the kerosene lamp into the kitchen and saw the wine pot on the stove. She remembered that Sister Mu had said that this wine was refreshing and made her feel good all over.
Since this wine is so good, how can I keep it to myself and only give it to my husband?
Thinking of this, Jiang Ninghui poured a cup and took it to Young Master Pei's room.
The windows of the room were open, and a fire was lit on the pear blossom table.
Pei Duo put down his book bag, raised his eyes to look at his sister-in-law who was walking towards him. She was holding a cup in her hand. She walked to the window and handed it to him. Her eyes were bright and clear, and she smiled gently: "Young Master Pei, please try this wine."
The cup wasn't large, and as the young man reached out to take it, his fingertips lightly brushed against the back of the woman's fingers.
He brought the cup to his lips, about to drink it, when suddenly his sparse eyebrows lifted.
The young man's dark pupils fixed intently on Jiang Ninghui by the window: "Sister-in-law, do you know what kind of wine this is?"
Jiang Ninghui shook her head truthfully: "I don't know, but Sister Mu said that this wine is excellent. Drinking it will refresh you, make you feel comfortable all over, and leave you with a lingering aftertaste. So I thought I'd bring it over for Young Master Pei to try."
It turned out that it was given by Sister-in-law Hu.
She gave her sister-in-law this kind of wine, probably hoping that the good-for-nothing would have a moment of pleasure with her.
Aphrodisiac wine.
Very good!
Jiang Ninghui looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to finish drinking the wine and experience it.
Pei Duo brought the wine to his lips, staring intently at her: "Does my sister-in-law want me to drink this glass of wine?"
Jiang Ninghui didn't quite understand what Young Master Pei meant.
But he nodded truthfully: "I just thought that this wine has such effects, and I thought that after reading all day, Young Master Pei should be able to relieve his fatigue and refresh himself by drinking this wine. However, if Young Master Pei is not good at drinking, please do not force yourself."
After saying that, she reached out her hand to him: "I'll just pour it back into the wine pot."
The young man lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the slender, delicate hand that was being offered to him, and tilted his head back to drink the entire cup of aphrodisiac wine.
Since his sister-in-law wanted him to drink it.
Then he drank it.
As for the consequences—
Pei Duo lifted his eyelids, his deep eyes fixed on the woman outside the window.
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Author's Note: There's a red envelope in this chapter.
Sorry, everyone, I'm late. I'll update tomorrow at 6 PM, but it might be earlier.
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