After Pei Zheng left, Lu Nong threw a small pile of ginkgo nuts under the firewood and ate them all by himself with a clear conscience.

"Is the first and last one today?" Pei Jinan walked to Lu Nong's side and sat on the ground. Seeing this, Mother Wu and Xiao Zhou were very understanding. They quietly went into the house, leaving Pei Jinan and Lu Nong alone in the garden.

"No way?" Lu Nong asked fiercely.

Pei Ji'an shook his head, took the fire stick from Lu Nong's hand and watched the fire for her. Lu Nong bent his legs, held up his chin with his hands, turned to look at Pei Ji'an, and saw that his expression was calm and steady. He did not show any joy or excitement for dealing with the Shen family. It was obvious that he had avenged his great hatred and trampled his former enemy under his feet.

How come he is always so calm?

"Wang Hongmian came to see me." Lu Nong said cautiously.

Pei Jinan paused and just said "hmm" before continuing with his work, as if Wang Hongmian's matter was not as important as roasting ginkgo nuts.

Lu Nong glanced at Pei Ji'an and said, "She begged me to stop."

"And then?" Seeing that Lu Nong insisted on talking about this matter, Pei Ji'an had no choice but to continue asking according to her words, his tone as if he was coaxing a naughty child.

Lu Nong was dissatisfied. She was not a child. She snorted, "She has a point. If I agree, will you listen to me?"

"No." Pei Jinan answered casually, fiddling with the roasted ginkgo nuts, turning them over and continuing to roast them.

Lu Nong choked up and decided to be really unreasonable: "I don't care, I have already promised her. If you don't give in to her temptation, I will be so embarrassed."

"Pillow talk..." Pei Ji'an glanced at Lu Nong, "Are you sure?"

Lu Nong: “…” This sounds wrong. It’s dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. Let’s end the topic quickly.

"Hey," Lu Nong changed the subject abruptly, "Are the ginkgo nuts ready? I want some."

Pei Ji'an chuckled, "Little liar."

Obviously, he didn't believe that Lu Nong agreed to Wang Hongmian's plea. Lu Nong pretended not to hear it. Who is the little liar? Who is the little liar? Anyway, it's not me.

"Don't worry about her. She is probably here to beg for mercy without telling Shen Yiming. Shen Yiming has no debts, so nothing serious will happen to him. At most, he will be implicated by Shen Congnian, and his career will be affected." The so-called impact means that it will be difficult for him to get promoted in this life. If he does not make any major contributions, Shen Yiming's life will be over. For a young and strong soldier, this is a huge blow.

"If he is smart, he will ask to be transferred out of Beijing to avoid the limelight, and then he won't have to deal with the Shen family anymore."

The ginkgo nuts cracked open one by one, and Pei Jinan picked and chose them, taking the ripe ginkgo nuts out of the fire. His words were as slow and steady as the movements of his hands.

Lu Nong's mouth opened like "Oh". It was as if he heard the conversation between her and Wang Hongmian, and he guessed Wang Hongmian's purpose accurately, and even made predictions about the Shen family's next move.

For the first time, Lu Nong felt the pressure that Pei Zheng and others felt when facing Pei Ji'an. He was seen through and predicted. He was a dangerous man, but also very charming.

"Don't you want to eat?" Pei Jinan saw Lu Nong just staring at him in a daze, so he picked the fruits one by one and handed them to her.

"…Not hot?"

Pei Jinan squeezed the ginkgo nuts just taken out of the fire with his bare hands. Lu Nong quickly turned over his hands to check. They were obviously a pair of slender and beautiful hands, but there were many old wrinkles on the palms.

Thinking of the feeling of his hands sliding across his skin, Lu Nong let go of him uncomfortably, took the ginkgo nuts, put them on the porcelain plate and started eating.

"Bake some more. We still have two sons."

It was very happy to eat alone, but the big enemy Pei Zheng was staring at her with a deathly gaze from the second-floor window, and the little enemies Gu Xiaohuai and Xiaobai were lying on their brother's shoulders and waving at her. They were so cute that Lu Nong actually felt a little guilty.

Pei Ji'an claimed that he was not a stupid man, but now he was a little confused about his young wife. She was looking at him with horror in the last second, and ordered him to do things with a righteous attitude in the next second. It was really laughable.

He had no choice but to obediently accept his wife's assignment and roast another plate of ginkgo nuts for his son.

During the meal, Lu Nong placed the plate of ginkgo nuts in front of his son, "Here, Pei Xiaozheng, don't accuse me of eating alone. I left it for you and Xiaohuai."

Pei Zheng curled his lips, "Who cares?"

Gu Xiaohuai was very smart in this regard. When he saw his mother bringing him some delicious food, he said obediently, "Thank you, Mom."

"You're welcome," Lu Nong rubbed the boy's head, glanced at Pei Zheng, and said, "You don't want it? Great, I haven't eaten enough, bring it here and Xiao Huai and I will share it."

Pei Zheng: "! No!"

"How can we take them back after giving them to others?" Pei Zheng quickly put the ginkgo nuts into his and Xiao Huai's pockets, intending to eat them as snacks.

Lu Nong warned him, "Don't let Xiao Huai eat too much, or he'll get irritated."

"I know, I know." Pei Zheng has always remembered this aspect more clearly than Lu Nong.

In the evening, after Lu Nong finished her body care, she saw that it was still early, so she took a book and lay on the bed to read. Pei Ji'an was originally sitting on a rattan chair by the window, reading a book and waiting for Lu Nong. Seeing this, he walked to the bed and held the lying Lu Nong in his arms.

Lu Nong's breath was caught in her throat. Pei Jinan had been well behaved for several days since her period passed. Would she not be like that today?

"You mentioned before that we can't waste Xiao Huai's talent," Lu Nong said, making small talk. "Should we see what he's interested in and then guide him to support it?"

"You can try." Pei Jinan hugged Lu Nong, helped her straighten her reading posture, and then picked up the unfinished book and continued reading.

Lu Nong breathed a sigh of relief, it turned out that he was just holding her and reading a book.

The two of them looked at each other. Perhaps it was because Pei Jinan's scent was too familiar, Lu Nong gradually felt sleepy in his arms and dozed off unknowingly. When she woke up, she found Pei Jinan was still holding her.

Seeing that she was awake, Pei Ji'an put down the book in his hand, kissed her ear, and said in a deep voice, "Are you awake? Go back to sleep."

"Okay." Lu Nong stretched his waist and sat up from Pei Jinan's arms, but Pei Jinan held his head and covered her with his lips and teeth. Soon, the sound of "tsk tsk" was heard in the room. Lu Nong blushed and her heart beat fast from the kiss.

Until the pajamas were untied and half hung on the elbows, it seemed that they were about to get out of control. Lu Nong pressed against Pei Jinan's chest with difficulty, "Aren't you... sleeping?"

Pei Ji'an didn't stop, he lifted up Lu Nong's legs and chuckled, "Don't you want to blow in my ear? Try it."

Lu Nong: “…”Isn’t this outrageous?

There was no time to stop him, Pei Ji'an had already come in, Lu Nong said with an unsteady breath, "At most, at most once... Proper arrangement of sex life is good for health."

"It doesn't work if you whisper in someone's ear once."

Pei Ji'an only said this and started working hard.

Lu Nong: “…”

Lu Nong went through a lot that night, and finally realized how wrong he was. Pei Jinan who drank the deer blood was unbearable, and Pei Jinan who didn't drink the deer blood was also not something Lu Nong could resist. Why did he need to drink the tonic soup?

If he hadn't had just enough strength to moan, Lu Nong would have shouted: Fuck me!

I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have doubted Pei Jinan's personal ability from the beginning. If I didn't doubt Pei Jinan's personal ability, he wouldn't have done it again and again to prove himself, and he wouldn't have been sobbing all night long.

At the last moment, Lu Nong, who was still conscious, pushed Pei Ji'an and said, "No, don't be in there. I don't want to get pregnant."

Pei Ji calmed down and only released himself after pulling it out forcefully.

The next morning, Lu Nong almost couldn't get out of bed. I say almost because she was strong-willed all her life and would never allow herself to skip classes. She got up and went to school despite her body aching and her legs shaking.

Even Lu Nong admires himself.

When she went out to wait for the bus, people would stare at her from time to time. After one night, Lu Nong had a fatal attraction. Her eyes were full of spring, lazy and moist, like a hibiscus flower that had been drenched by rain, alluring and captivating, making people inexplicably dry-mouthed.

Pei Zheng's face turned black as he stood in front of Lu Nong, blocking the view of passers-by.

After arriving at school, Pei Zheng had just separated from Lu Nong when a young man stopped Lu Nong and said he wanted to get to know her.

"Classmate, let me introduce myself. My name is Yang Huai, and I am a student of the Department of Literature. May I know your name?"

Lu Nong wanted to reject him directly, but after hearing his name was "Yang Huai", he asked: "Your name is Yang Huai? Which character is Huai?"

Yang Huai explained happily: "It is the Huai of 'I sing and the moon lingers, I dance and my shadow is scattered'; the Huai of 'The bright moon shines on the tall building, the flowing light is lingering'; the Huai of 'The flowers are falling helplessly, the swallows are returning as if they were there before, I am wandering alone in the fragrant path of the small garden'."

Lu Nong was disappointed. It turned out that the "Huai" in "Wangling" was not the same character as the "Huai" in "Xiao Huai". She was just about to reject Yang Huai's request to get to know him.

Pei Zheng, who had not walked far away, saw Lu Nong talking and laughing with a male student, and the alarm was sounded. Although his father was reluctant to him, he was a filial son and decided to protect the old man's love to the death and not let his stepmother have the opportunity to find a gigolo to start a second spring.

So he sneaked back, stood behind Yang Hui and gave Lu Nong a threatening look: Reject it quickly!

Hey, young man, you dare to threaten your stepmother. I will let you see how dangerous this world is.

Lu Nong changed his mind instantly and smiled at Pei Zheng. Since Yang Huai was standing in front of Pei Zheng, Yang Huai thought Lu Nong's smile to Pei Zheng was a smile to him. He was so distracted that he didn't come back to his senses until Lu Nong spoke.

Lu Nong: "Student Yang, my brother doesn't allow me to casually greet men. If you want to get to know me, you have to get past him first."

Yang Huai was furious: "Damn it! How could there be such a brother? What's his name? I want to have a talk with him!"

"Yeah."

"ah?"

"Oh, what I mean is great, look, he is behind you." Lu Nong pointed at Pei Zheng behind Yang Huai and said.

Yang Hui: "..."

Pei Zheng: “…”

Yang Huai was the first to speak out: "Why don't you let your sister date men? This is restricting her personal freedom! This is feudal patriarchal thinking. She is just your sister, not your exclusive property. She has the right to date male classmates, boyfriends, and even...free love!"

Pei Zheng's face turned pale. He glanced at Lu Nong who was gloating over the misfortune, then looked at the young man. He took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Because she's already married, there's no point in her having a free love relationship."

Yang Hui: "..."

Yang Huai turned to look at Lu Nong in shock, and Lu Nong nodded innocently, "Yes, I just forgot to tell you, I'm married."

Yang Hui's face changed drastically. He thought about it again and again, and finally said to Lu Nong after learning from his mistakes: "Classmate, was your marriage arranged by your parents? Now is a new society. You can resist arranged marriages. As long as you can be firm in yourself, get a divorce bravely, and get rid of the shackles of your family, you will have a happier life!"

Lu Nong: “…”

Pei Zheng: “…”

Lu Nong: "Haha, that's not necessary, classmate. In fact, my marriage is quite happy. I even have a son named Xiao Huai, who has the same name as you."

Student Yang's face became more and more ugly. No wonder Lu Nong asked him which "恢" character he was just now. He thought Lu Nong was interested in him.

The girl he wanted to chat up was not only married, but also had a son with the same name as him. Student Yang could no longer bear it, and with the last bit of composure he managed to maintain, he said goodbye and left.

After classmate Yang left, Lu Nong smiled softly at Pei Zheng. Seeing this devilish smile, unspeakable painful past events flooded into his mind. Pei Zheng shuddered and immediately slid to his knees: "I was wrong!"

"What's wrong?" Lu Nong asked.

Pei Zheng was stuck, how could he know what went wrong!

Lu Nong: “Heh.”

So on this day, every once in a while, a male classmate would come to Pei Zheng and ask him: Why do you stop your sister from dating a man? Is it feudal patriarchal thinking to keep such a strict eye on your sister?

Pei Zheng: “…” Good fellow, it turns out that when he wasn’t looking, so many people wanted to poach the old man.

At first, Pei Zheng told them in a nice tone that Lu Nong was already married. Later, Pei Zheng got tired and became more angry. He took advantage of the lunch break to go home and bring Gu Huai to school.

Whenever a man came over, he would point at Gu Huai who was having fun and say, "Look, her son."

“…”

The men left one after another.

Pei Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief. The sky became blue, the water became clear, and everything became beautiful.

Gu Xiaohuai's arrival was warmly welcomed by students in the law department, especially the female students. They wanted to steal the cute Gu Xiaohuai away. He was so well-behaved that he didn't cry or make a fuss in class. He sat obediently in his brother's arms and listened to the professor's lecture seriously, as if he could understand it.

Everyone privately evaluates the scenery of the Law School today: the cold-faced handsome Pei Zheng and his super cute and soft younger brother.

Even the professors who taught Pei Zheng smiled knowingly, "Our classmate Pei Zheng is indeed the most hardworking genius in the court. Look, even his little brother is so eager to learn. If he can understand what I'm saying, he'll be another little genius."

The other students burst into laughter, thinking that the teacher was telling a joke to liven up the atmosphere. Only Pei Zheng disdained to snort. Everyone else was drunk, but I was thinking, my younger brother has a photographic memory and is a genius.

On his way home in the evening, Pei Zheng was waiting for Lu Nong at the intersection holding Gu Huai. When he saw Lu Nong coming, he couldn't wait to show off that he had cracked Lu Nong's conspiracy: he brought Gu Xiaohuai here, and those male classmates who came to cause trouble avoided him after seeing Gu Xiaohuai.

"What? Are you stupid? You lost!" Pei Zheng let out a breath of anger. He finally defeated his stepmother and felt so happy.

Lu Nong had a strange look on her face. She had asked those people who came to chat her up to go find Pei Zheng because she thought it was troublesome and she didn't want them to disturb her studies. As long as Pei Zheng sent that group of people away and stopped bothering her, her goal would be achieved.

As a result, Pei Zheng came up with a bad idea and brought Xiao Huai to school. Looking at this matter from another angle, it is actually like this - Pei Zheng not only helped her get rid of her suitors, but also helped her take care of her son.

She didn't lose anything.

Lu Nong: “…” The question now is, should I tell this to my silly son?

The author has something to say:

Lu Nong: I am moved. I am really moved.

Pei Zheng burst into tears after knowing the truth: I lost in the end.

Note: I can’t help but see the flowers fall, and the familiar swallows return. I wander alone along the fragrant path in the small garden. ——Huanxisha by Yan Shu

I sing and the moon lingers; I dance and my shadow is scattered. ——From Li Bai's "Drinking Alone Under the Moon"

The bright moon shines on the tall building, and the flowing light is lingering. ——From "The Bright Moon on the Tall Building" by Cao Zhi