Tiger and Wolf Words
In the original book of Locking the Hairpin and Ring, Cheng Yayin wrote a story about Yao Wanniang secretly escaping back home.
In the original novel, Yang Zhilan, unable to bear the humiliation his sister-in-law endured within the family compound, secretly arranged for carriages and luggage to be sent home. After many setbacks, Yao Wanniang finally returned home, only to be unexpectedly sent back to the Yang family by her own hands. This failed escape further escalated Yao Wanniang's situation within the Yang family, and she realized she had no one to turn to. Like a drowning man grasping for driftwood, she grasped for Yang Zhilan, the only person in the Yang family who offered her warmth. The two cast aside all restraints of etiquette and comforted each other within the inhospitable compound.
But Cheng Yayin estimated that Pei Songsheng's condition should have recovered before they reached this point. It seemed that she had played too much pity last night and irritated him.
She clung to the door frame and wailed, "No, I don't want to leave here!"
Pei Songsheng misunderstood her refusal as cowardice and anxiously advised: "Sister-in-law, you were forced into marriage. It is the Yang family that has wronged you, and you have no obligation to serve them. Don't be afraid, just go with peace of mind."
These words sounded like advice to a wandering ghost clinging to the mortal world to reincarnate quickly. Cheng Yayin was so frightened that she kept saying, "No, no, I can't leave. I... I was sold here by my parents to pay off a debt. If I go back, they will have to send me back. Then it will be even more difficult for me to stay in the Yang family."
Pei Songsheng paused mid-stride, his hand about to reach for hers, a thoughtful expression on his face. Cheng Yayin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was going to let her go. Suddenly, with a determined look in his eyes, he pulled up his sleeve and walked out, saying, "You're right. I wasn't thoughtful enough. My sister-in-law and I will go back and try to persuade the two elders. I believe they are both sensible elders and won't let their daughter suffer."
Cheng Yayin was in tears, not knowing whether to scold Pei Songsheng, Yang Zhilan, or herself for writing such a stupid character.
Pei Songsheng looked thin, but he was very strong. He made up his mind and pulled Cheng Yayin out. Just as they were about to step over the threshold, Cheng Yayin's instinct for survival gave her a burst of strength. She stopped where she was and shouted, "I won't go!"
Pei Songsheng looked back at her in surprise. Just as he was about to say something, Cheng Yayin spoke first, "I want to stay here, not to pay off my parents' debts, nor for my sick husband. I am..." She twirled her arm, and her sleeve slipped out of Pei Songsheng's hand like water. The hand that broke free grasped his wrist, held it tightly, and said earnestly,
"I did this for you, Jiro!"
The hand on his wrist was as cool and smooth as jade, but it ignited a scorching heat the moment it touched his skin. Pei Songsheng was dizzy from the heat and murmured, "For me?"
"Yes." Cheng Yayin spoke with all her might, wrapping both hands around Pei Songsheng's wrists. She took a step forward and said, "Actually, I know you fell in love with me the first time you saw me at the wedding ceremony. I also know that ever since I entered the Pei family, you've been thinking about me day and night, and even resented my sick brother because he could justify his position without doing anything, while you could only hide in the dark, racking your brains to figure out how to say a word to me."
The night was deep, the moonlight was faint, and the octagonal lanterns under the eaves burned until midnight. The candlelight had dimmed, but Cheng Yayin could still clearly see that Pei Songsheng's neck and face were quickly covered with a layer of red. He seemed unable to think, stammering "you" and "I" for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.
There are some sentimental words. Writing them down is one thing, speaking them out loud is another. Cheng Yayin felt her ears burning, but she could only ignore them and continued to speak tenderly, "Erlang, don't be shy. Love comes from the heart, and so do I. But I didn't dare to let Erlang know my feelings before. If I don't tell you now, I'm afraid I'll miss you."
When she said that, Pei Songsheng's face turned even redder, his chest heaving, and his heartbeat so loud that it was especially noticeable in the quiet night. She was a little worried that she had said too much and that he might be so excited that he would faint.
But no one knew what was going on in Pei Songsheng's heart. He only saw his expression change several times, and suddenly his expression became serious. He turned and shook Cheng Yayin's hand, and said solemnly: "Sister-in-law, I will not let you down. Today's arrangements were hasty, so I will not leave."
Cheng Yayin, who was almost exiled to the frontier by her own husband, breathed a sigh of relief. However, the heavy stone in her heart had not yet settled down, and Pei Songsheng's words lifted it up again.
He said, "I will go back immediately and write a letter to tell my parents about our plans. Tomorrow morning, I will go home with you. No matter what accusations and insults you receive, I will face them with you."
He spoke affectionately, but Cheng Yayin closed her eyes in despair.
Well, we still have to send her away.
This man was a blockhead and couldn't be reasoned with. Cheng Yayin simply threw in the towel and shook her head, saying, "Wouldn't that mean we're eloping? It would be embarrassing if the news got out."
"Actually, if we want to be together, why bother with so much trouble? Why not just stay here? We just need to avoid people."
Pei Songsheng's expression froze: "Sister-in-law means..."
"That's right." Cheng Yayin raised her head and looked at him with burning eyes, "I want to have an affair with you."
These two words came out of her mouth lightly, which was no less than a thunderclap on the head. Pei Songsheng was shocked and ashamed, unable to speak or even think. Having an affair was no better than eloping.
After a long while, he regained his composure and said with a flushed face, "How could I be so disrespectful to my sister-in-law? Actually, there's no need to be like this. As long as you're willing, we can leave here and not return to Lihe. We can find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, where no one knows us..."
"What's the point of that?" Cheng Yayin interrupted him. "You don't understand. The essence of this kind of thing lies in the word 'stealing'. It has to happen right under the noses of your parents-in-law, at your brother's bedside, out of the sight of everyone else. Only when you and I are in love can we show our true feelings and our inability to control ourselves."
Pei Songsheng was completely stunned by her earth-shattering words.
Cheng Yayin looked calm, but she was wailing in her heart - what vicious words was she saying!
When Pei Songsheng regained consciousness and thought about what she had said tonight, how would he view her? The elegant and polite image she had always maintained in front of him had been shattered by him. How would she behave in front of him in the future?
On second thought, it's not like he hasn't read what he wrote, and he's already seen through what kind of person she is. Besides, when he comes to his senses, the first thing he'll do is divorce her, and he won't have to bother maintaining his image.
Having said that, after finally persuading Pei Songsheng to go back that night, Cheng Yayin threw herself onto the quilt as soon as she returned to her room. The two maids didn't know what had happened and thought she was awakened by being alone around the house at night. They were so anxious that they almost wanted to go find a doctor.
Cheng Yayin weakly waved the two away and stared at the curtains above the bed in deep thought.
Tonight, it would be more accurate to say that Pei Songsheng was completely stupefied rather than coaxed into submission.
She was also dumbfounded. The most urgent thing right now wasn't how to face Pei Songsheng after he woke up, but how to face him tomorrow. After all, she was the one who said she wanted to do that with him. Thinking of her description of the secret love affair between Yao and Yang in "The Locking Hairpin and Ring", she immediately turned over and covered her burning face with the quilt.
Pei Songsheng's condition had lasted ten days. Doctor Fang had said it would take at most ten days, at most a month. If it really dragged on for a month, Cheng Yayin didn't know what outrageous things she would do to keep him calm.
We still have to find a way to make him wake up as soon as possible. Thinking of what Xia Changhuan said, Cheng Yayin suddenly had an idea.
She didn't understand Pei Songsheng, but his mother must have understood.
The next morning, Cheng Yayin went out while Pei Songsheng was still asleep, strolled around the market, and bought some cakes that Madam Pei liked. Seeing that it was almost time and confirming that Taifu Pei was still in the court, she went to the Taifu Mansion.
Mrs. Pei has always been worried about her son's health, and it is difficult to disturb him because he is still ill. She is anxious at this time. When she sees her daughter-in-law coming to her house, she naturally wants to ask about her life.
Cheng Yayin said that thanks to the effectiveness of the talisman given by her mother-in-law, Pei Songsheng has gotten much better after two days of circumambulating the house.
The old man smiled happily upon hearing this. Cheng Yayin changed the subject again, saying with melancholy that although the man had woken up, he was not in good spirits, perhaps because his soul had not yet returned to him. He looked unhappy and depressed. She wanted to cheer him up, but after three years of marriage, she had not been a very devoted wife. She had no idea what her husband liked and could not even find a way to please him, so she could only ask her mother-in-law for advice.
Upon hearing this, Madam Pei's smile faded. She sighed and said, "It's not that you're not dedicated enough. It's that the child has been disciplined too strictly since childhood. His father forbade him from anything other than studying hard and pursuing literature. That's why he has become so indifferent."
Cheng Yayin said, "But people aren't born like this. Since you were little, don't you have any hobbies other than reading?"
Mrs. Pei thought for a moment and said, "When Moxing was a child, he was quite interested in wood carving."
"Woodcut?"
"Yes." Mrs. Pei smiled as she recalled the past. "When Moxing was still young, even though he couldn't hold a pen properly, he loved carving with a small carving knife. I don't know who this kid got his talent from, but he's quite talented at this. The little ducks and birds he carved are all lifelike."
Cheng Yayin couldn't help but smile when she thought of Pei Songsheng, who is now very serious and stern. When he was a child, he was also a child who would use a carving knife to concentrate on carving little ducks.
Mrs. Pei said, "When he was ten, he carved a wooden house. You have no idea how intricately it was carved. Not only were the eaves and arches meticulously detailed, but the mechanisms were flexible, and the doors and windows opened and closed effortlessly. There was even a lifelike little waterwheel outside. When you poured water on it, it would squeak and turn."
Cheng Yayin was surprised: "It's so exquisite, and he made it when he was only ten years old?"
"Yes." Mrs. Pei's eyes dimmed again as she recalled the past. "It's a pity that his father didn't like him spending so much time and effort on wood carving. Seeing his ecstasy after carving the cabin, he thought he was wasting his time. It just so happened that the housekeeper had to go to the farm south of the city to do some work, so the master asked him to take the cabin with him and find a place to abandon it along the way. When Moxing returned home from school, he learned about this and immediately searched along the way, but unfortunately, he couldn't find it. When he returned, he was severely scolded by his father and was punished to kneel all night. From then on, he never touched the carving knife again."
The atmosphere was a little solemn for a moment. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat on either side, and no one spoke.
She had come here originally to find out Pei Songsheng's preferences, but she didn't expect to find out such a heavy past. Thinking of the ten-year-old child who was forced to give up his interests under the ruthless pressure of his father, Cheng Yayin felt as if something was blocking her heart, and she felt depressed and uncomfortable.
However, thinking back to what Mrs. Pei had just said, he felt that some parts of it were particularly familiar.
The carvings are exquisite, the doors and windows are complete, and there is a waterwheel outside that rotates to water...
An idea suddenly flashed through her mind, and she immediately asked, "Do you still remember the exact location where the wooden house was abandoned?"
Mrs. Pei didn't understand her intention. After a brief pause, she replied, "I remember the housekeeper said it was thrown outside the South City Gate, halfway to the manor, next to an elm forest. I quickly sent people to look for it, but found nothing. I guess someone picked it up..."
Before she finished speaking, Cheng Yayin's eyes lit up and she stood up and said, "Thank you for your advice, mother-in-law. I have benefited a lot from it. I will go back now."
She seemed to have something urgent to do, and she hurriedly excused herself and left. Mrs. Pei looked at her hurried back and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with this child? I've never seen her so reckless before."
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