Chapter 72 Pressing down on his waist
Jiang Ru used a lot of force, and Pei Wu only felt a dull pain in his chest. This pain was nothing to him, but what was more serious was Jiang Ru sitting on him.
Jiang Ru carried a sweet fragrance that lingered around Pei Wu, along with her leg pressed against his waist. Nothing could keep Pei Wu from resisting; it was too intimate, too inappropriate. Pei Wu bit his lower lip, somewhat embarrassed: "You…"
Before he could finish speaking, another heavy punch landed on his chest, accompanied by Jiang Ru's furious roar: "Pei Wu, you lunatic!"
I don't understand what "mentally ill" means. Judging from Jiang Ru's tone, it's probably not a nice word.
Jiang Ru was thin, with little flesh on the back of her hands. When she hit him, the bones of her hands pressed against Pei Wu's chest, causing him pain. Her fists rained down on him, and Pei Wu, unable to resist, raised his misty eyes and silently gazed at Jiang Ru.
For a moment, Jiang Ru thought he had been beaten to tears.
This position wasn't ideal for hitting someone, so Jiang Ru subconsciously moved back a bit, her skirt swaying backward. However, a pair of large hands caught her waist.
In fact, Pei Wu could have pushed her away, but he was in the wrong, and with some inexplicable thoughts, he couldn't resist, and there was still a lingering pain in his chest.
Jiang Ru belatedly realized she felt uneasy, so she stopped moving.
Even though she didn't move, she still sat on Pei Wu's waist to prevent him from getting up. Pei Wu's waist and abdomen were very hard, and his body was tense. He looked pitiful being bullied by her, with a flustered, helpless, and innocent expression on his face.
In reality, he was extremely malicious, secretly arranging blind dates for Jiang Ru, hoping to marry her off.
There was nothing she could do; she was still angry even after beating him up. Jiang Ru bent down, the strands of hair at the end of her bun brushing against Pei Wu's cheek and falling into his neck. Her long, black hair was very well-maintained and carried a faint fragrance, which made Pei Wu feel a little itchy.
Pei Wu's official hat had already fallen to the side during the earlier movements, and his hair, which was neatly tied up, was now disheveled.
Pei Wu felt uncomfortable as his hair brushed against him. He wanted to raise his hand to brush away the strands of hair that were hanging down his face, lips, and neck, but just as he was about to raise his hand, Jiang Ru glared at him.
The two looked at each other, but Pei Wu's eyes darted away. No matter what he was looking at, he never looked at Jiang Ru's face. Jiang Ru's eyes, however, were fixed on Pei Wu's face. Pei Wu had long eyelashes, and when he covered his eyes and didn't look at people, he easily gave off a pitiful look that made people feel sorry for him.
Jiang Ru was almost fooled by his expression, but she steeled herself, grabbed Pei Wu's collar, and forced him to look her in the eye.
Even with his collar grabbed, Pei Wu still refused to look at her. Jiang Ru said fiercely, "Do you know how terribly wrong you are?"
Pei Wu retorted, "I did nothing wrong."
Even in death, people are still stubborn. Jiang Ru laughed in exasperation: "Tomorrow I'll send you to the embroidered tower to throw the embroidered ball. You stand there, and whoever catches it, you'll marry. Anyway, you're seventeen now, it's time to get married."
Upon hearing this, Pei Wu finally turned his gaze back, his eyes widening slightly: "How can this be?"
“Why not?” Jiang Ru sneered. “You can find me a husband, and I can find you a wife.”
Completely different, Pei Wu struggled slightly: "I don't want to."
"Then I don't want it either," Jiang Ru repeated.
Another stalemate ensued, with neither willing to back down. Jiang Ru gripped Pei Wu's collar, feeling his Adam's apple bobbing against the back of her hand. He said, "You're different from me."
"What's different?" Jiang Ru pressed.
As she spoke, her hand got stuck on Pei Wu's collar, which felt a bit off, but she couldn't back down now, so Jiang Ru held on tightly to his collar and wouldn't let go.
Pei Wu also gave up resisting, lay on the ground, and said something ambiguous: "I can choose not to marry, but you can't."
Completely baffled by his thought process, Jiang Ru wanted to tell him that she hadn't married in her previous life and had still lived a good life.
She was at her wits' end with Pei Wu. She stared at him for a long time before finally releasing his collar and looking at him coldly: "You'd better give me a good reason, or I won't get up."
Pei Wu also gave up and looked away, refusing to look at her.
Unable to reason with her, Jiang Ru sighed, "Your thinking is wrong. If I marry someone else, like a corrupt official like Chen Ming, how can I have a good life? What if he commits a crime and his family is raided? I'll die with him."
I don't understand why Pei Wu thinks Jiang Ru would be safer staying with someone else. Pei Wu is clearly more reliable. Of course, aside from the fact that his entire family was executed in his previous life, Pei Wu can be considered an honest official. What could possibly happen if he stayed with him?
He doesn't trust himself, but instead trusts another man. Isn't that just pushing Jiang Ru into a fire pit?
Pei Wu paused for a moment, seemingly pondering Jiang Ru's words. Seeing that he was starting to soften, Jiang Ru continued, "Following you might at most result in being resented, but following someone else is truly dangerous. If he's indulging in debauchery and frequenting brothels every day, how will your cousin manage?"
Pei Wu moved his lips, and he said in a low voice, "The person chosen by Prime Minister Song should not be..."
The words, “You really believe that the people he chose are as good as you?” finally pulled Pei Wu back from his misconception. Yes, even if Song Pingzhang chose people, they might not be agreeable in every way. What if Jiang Ru suffers a lot of grievances after she goes there?
At least Pei Wu wouldn't let Jiang Ru suffer any injustice.
Pei Wu was truly convinced by Jiang Ru this time, but he was still conflicted: "But if we don't get married soon, what will happen when you grow up..."
Jiang Ru covered his mouth, seemingly helpless: "I'm only seventeen. Don't make me sound like I'm seventy or eighty. You don't think about yourself, but you're forcing me to get married. Don't you think that's outrageous?"
Pei Wu didn't not want to get married. The person he wanted to marry was right in front of him, and there was absolutely no possibility of it. He felt that he would never have the chance to get married in his life. His heart felt like it had been hit by a dull pounding, and he couldn't say a word.
Discussing marriage with an ancient person is difficult. Taking advantage of his deep thought, Jiang Ru sighed softly, "Think it over carefully, my cousin. If you do this again, I really will slap you without hesitation."
After finishing speaking, Jiang Ru felt exhausted and didn't want to discuss the matter with Pei Wu anymore. She supported herself on Pei Wu's chest for leverage to stand up. Her legs were sore from sitting for too long, and Jiang Ru had to hold onto the table to steady herself.
Then, she looked down at Pei Wu, who was still lying on the ground, and said, "You'd better remember what I just said, or I'll beat you up again."
Her clothes were covered in dust, and Jiang Ru wanted to brush them off, but then she glanced at Pei Wu on the ground and said, "Get up yourself, I'm not going to help you."
After saying that, Jiang Ru turned and left without any hesitation. She only dusted herself off when she was a little away from the pavilion. As she dusted herself off, she touched the sachet at her waist. She turned around and went back.
Pei Wu was no longer lying down. He sat up straight, still sitting on the ground, seemingly lost in thought, and did not stand up.
His clothes were all wrinkled and crumpled, as if he had been robbed. Pei Wu had probably never been so disheveled or beaten like this before. His eyes were blank.
Jiang Ru walked over, picked up a few scraps of cloth from the table, and threw them at Pei Wu. Pei Wu reached out and rummaged around in confusion. Jiang Ru raised her chin and said, "These were the sachets I was going to give you, but now they're gone."
It was hard to tell that this was originally a sachet. Pei Wu was probably stunned, staring at the light-colored rags on his body for a long time.
He lowered his head and almost futilely picked up the bits of cloth stuck to his body, holding them in his hands. Jiang Ru seemed to vaguely sense that a dark cloud was hanging over him.
This is what Pei Wu deserves.
But when he sat on the ground and picked up all the remains of the sachet, staring motionlessly at the crumbs in his palm, Jiang Ru suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
She still couldn't bring herself to do it, so she stood a few steps away and called to Pei Wu, "Once you realize your mistake, I'll make one for you again." She hoped to salvage Pei Wu's heart, which was on the verge of breaking.
However, Pei Wu still held the scraps of cloth carefully in his hands. He seemed regretful and sad. He hadn't acted like this when Jiang Ru hit him earlier. Jiang Ru's heart sank: "What's wrong with you?"
She walked over and nudged Pei Wu: "It's just a sachet, don't be like this, I'll make you a new one."
They just said they would only do it if Pei Wu admitted his mistake, but now they've compromised so quickly.
Pei Wu continued staring at the fragments of the sachet. He looked up and said seriously, "Cousin, you can hit me."
He only said half of what he meant; the second half was supposed to be, "Don't take your anger out on the sachet." Jiang Ru shuddered at the thought: "I know, I'll beat you up next time."
Then he muttered, "You've gotten addicted to getting beaten up."
Pei Wu didn't speak. He clutched the sachet in his hand. Jiang Ru couldn't bear to watch: "Alright, stop mourning here. I'll make you a new one."
This time, there were no conditions. Jiang Ru felt she had done her job of coaxing him, and she hadn't forgiven Pei Wu yet, nor had Pei Wu admitted his mistake. Jiang Ru was already being very magnanimous. After saying that one sentence, Jiang Ru finally turned and left with a heavy heart.
After she left, the few people hiding in the shadows came forward one after another. Xiao Fang and Xiao Chen helped Pei Wu, while Xiao Xia and Xiao Zhu went to comfort Jiang Ru.
Qi Li helped Pei Wu up from the ground, but Pei Wu was still clutching the rag in his hand. Xiao Fang added insult to injury at the right moment: "Sir, why are you still holding onto this? Throw it away. The young lady tore it for a long time today. It's no good."
Xiao Fang's mouth was forcibly covered by Xiao Chen because he was being cheeky.
Holding the fragments of the sachet, Pei Wu moved with difficulty toward his bedroom. His clothes were covered in dust and he needed to change.
After returning to his room, he placed the shards on the table, thought for a while, then found a piece of cloth to wrap them in and carefully placed them away.
He was still very disappointed. Jiang Ru had ruined the gift she was going to give him, and he was the one who was to blame. Pei Wu changed his clothes with a heavy heart. While changing his clothes, he glanced at his chest and saw that Jiang Ru had punched him a lot, leaving his chest red.
It hurts a bit, but Jiang Ru's hand might hurt too. He should punch himself a few times instead of letting Jiang Ru do it.
After changing his clothes and tidying up his messy hair, Pei Wu left the room.
Dinner was ready. Jiang Ru sat down at the table before him. When Pei Wu walked over, Jiang Ru almost subconsciously looked at him to see if he was sad or if he had been beaten up.
The concern in her gaze wasn't obvious, but Pei Wu knew her so well that he could easily discern her thoughts.
Pei Wu walked over, wanting to try to say something to break the ice. Jiang Ru ignoring him or disliking him would make Pei Wu very sad. However, as soon as he got close, Jiang Ru quickly turned her head away, leaving Pei Wu with only her stubborn profile.
She was still angry, and Pei Wu's heart sank, his mood also dropping.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Along with the slap came my cousin's fragrance [starry eyes]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com