After hearing these words, Sang Zhi’s slender, pale neck and even her earlobes flushed so deeply they seemed about to drip blood.
To make matters worse, the Jia Zhu was still questioning her, as if he truly didn’t know the details of the matter.
Sang Zhi was already not good with words, and now, being pressed like this, her lips parted several times, yet not a single word came out.
Even the dimples on her cheeks sank faintly, and the small, slightly red mole became faintly visible.
Like the trembling wings of a butterfly on a branch.
She was so flustered it seemed she might burrow into the ground at any moment.
It took a long while before she timidly spoke: “No… there wasn’t.”
After saying this, Sang Zhi felt the heat still swirling above her head.
To make matters worse, the tall, imposing figure loomed over her, unmoving for a long time.
As if unsatisfied with this answer.
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and thought carefully. It was only natural for someone like the Jia Zhu to be angry after being talked about behind his back.
But did he come back so late to settle accounts with her?
But… but she had already explained.
Yet, putting herself in his shoes, Sang Zhi thought: if she had kindly invited someone who was overlooked and tainted by rumors to dine together, only to be talked about like this behind her back…
It seemed… she would be quite angry too.
“Jia Zhu, maybe I… I’ll go and explain next time.”
Sang Zhi timidly lifted her eyelids, cautiously observing the expression of the person before her like a young deer.
But the Jia Zhu’s face remained completely still, leaving her unsure whether he was satisfied or not.
“Otherwise, Jia Zhu, you… you can punish me.”
Copying texts or household discipline—anything would do, as long as the Jia Zhu’s anger subsided.
“Sang Zhi, who are you talking to!”
Pei Xiyue’s sudden voice startled Sang Zhi, causing her to instinctively take a few steps back, putting distance between herself and the Jia Zhu.
Lowering her head, she whispered, “It’s the Jia Zhu.”
Pei Xiyue had been growing angrier the more he thought about it in his room and couldn’t help but step outside, only to find that she wasn’t even there!
Looking up, he noticed she was chatting with someone.
From his angle, due to the line of sight, the two of them appeared almost pressed together.
Sang Zhi hurriedly exchanged a few words with the Jia Zhu before jogging toward Pei Xiyue.
Carefully stepping forward to support Pei Xiyue, she whispered, “Your injury… isn’t healed yet. If you need something, just call for me.”
Pei Xiyue glanced at her, raising his voice to pick a fight: “I called for you inside until my voice went hoarse, and here you are outside chatting happily with my A Xiong. Why don’t you go serve him instead, so you won’t be delayed!”
After saying this, Pei Xiyue only grew angrier himself, abruptly pushing Sang Zhi away and storming back into the room on his own.
He didn’t even have time to greet his A Xiong.
Sang Zhi staggered from the push, but seeing Pei Xiyue’s anger, she quickly jogged into the room after him.
The night was pitch black, hiding everything visible and invisible.
Pei He’an, concealed in the darkness, gazed with indifferent, deep eyes at the now-empty corridor.
His thin lips curled into a cold smile.
They truly seemed like a loving couple.
He lifted his steps and left quietly.
However, the Linfeng Courtyard and Qingfeng Courtyard were separated only by a wall, and the intimate conversations of the loving couple could not be fully contained, leaking through.
Unfortunately, Pei He’an had exceptionally sharp hearing, and even the faintest sounds reached his ears.
“Lang Jun, have you changed your dressing today? Should I… reapply the medicine for you?”
After speaking, Sang Zhi deliberately tried to please him by placing the freshly brewed tea cup in front of Lang Jun.
Clumsily attempting to ease Lang Jun's anger.
"You commanded Sha Qiu, and now you come to interrogate me?"
Sang Zhi quickly waved her hands in denial, saying, "I, I wasn't, I was just, worried."
"Do you really think of yourself as my wife now? Worried? Are you even worthy?"
"What dirty tricks you used to climb into my bed back then, you know it yourself. If it weren't for… do you think you could have entered my Pei family's door?"
"You, a stutterer, can't even speak clearly, and your personality is unlikable. What do you have to show for yourself that you dare worry about me here!"
Sang Zhi stood pale in place, listening to each reprimand, her head lowering even further.
She clenched her lower lip tightly, even tasting a faint metallic tang of blood in her mouth.
Yet she could only respond softly, hoping to dissipate Lang Jun's anger.
She whispered an apology, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, I won't, do it again."
After Pei Xiyue finished speaking, a faint sense of regret suddenly stirred in his heart.
After all, Sang Zhi's actions were ultimately born of concern. He hadn't intended to humiliate her; it was just that the words had escalated to this point.
It was a bit harsh.
But Pei Xiyue had never been one to apologize, especially upon seeing that Sang Zhi, upon hearing these words, not only didn't defend herself but instead went along and admitted her fault.
The slight regret and annoyance in his heart instantly vanished.
He cleared his throat and said, "As long as you know you were wrong, that's fine. If you do this again, don't blame me for telling A Mu."
Hearing this, Sang Zhi trembled slightly.
A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes as she quickly looked up to plead, "I won't, ever again, can you, not tell?"
To be fair, Sang Zhi was certainly not ugly. It was just that she usually kept her head down and spoke with timidity.
She exuded an air of pettiness from head to toe.
Making people glance at her once and not want to look again.
Thus, few paid attention to what she actually looked like.
Now, out of fear, Sang Zhi rarely raised her head.
Her dark, glossy hair cascaded down her back, revealing her delicate, fair, and gentle face.
Her panicked, moist eyes fixed intently on Pei Xiyue, her long, curled lashes trembling uneasily along with them.
Her moist, flushed lips were half-bitten beneath her pearly teeth, and as she tilted her head, a slender, pale neck was exposed.
The dim candlelight danced upon that slender, pale neck.
Pei Xiyue stared at the person before him, momentarily lost in thought, his throat unconsciously moving.
Then, as if scalded, he abruptly averted his gaze and turned away.
But Sang Zhi, seeing Lang Jun like this, thought he wouldn't agree.
Anxious in her heart, she knew that Lang Jun usually only scolded her, but if Mother Pei were to punish her…
Though nothing might show on the surface, it would bring an indescribable torment and suffering.
She would rather be scolded by Lang Jun.
"Lang Jun, can you, not tell, A Mu."
Seeing Sang Zhi hurriedly follow him and plead incessantly, Pei Xiyue's anger had already shifted into something else.
His gaze darkened as it fell upon Sang Zhi's face. She was his person, after all; why should he hold back?
"Fine."
Pei Xiyue's palm suddenly landed on Sang Zhi's shoulder, his broad hand completely enveloping her rounded shoulder.
A scorching warmth slowly seeped through.
When Sang Zhi's gaze met the desire in Lang Jun's eyes, she couldn't help but flinch for a moment.
Her entire body stiffened unnaturally.
The night grew deeper.
Pei He'an heard faint sobbing carried on the wind, intermittent yet persistent, refusing to cease for a long while.
His gaze fell upon the lit candle, which had burned for so long without anyone trimming its wick.
Suddenly, it flared up in the room, tiny sparks bursting into the air.
But they vanished in an instant, leaving only an unexpected dimness in the room.
After a long while, the soft weeping drifting through the air gradually subsided.
…
In the room just a wall away, desire surged relentlessly.
Sang Zhi lay sprawled on the bed, and when Lang Jun rose, she had no choice but to follow.
Having been held in one position for so long, her legs still trembled weakly as she climbed down from the bed.
The bedding was now unsleepable, but the attendant who usually served Lang Jun had been beaten with a plank and had yet to fully recover.
This task fell to her alone.
Enduring the soreness in her body, she removed the soiled bedding from the bed and replaced it with fresh, clean sheets.
Then, quite dutifully, she rose to leave.
Just as Pei Xiyue finished washing up, he saw her heading toward the door and couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you going?”
Sang Zhi lowered her head and whispered, “To the side room.”
Pei Xiyue never allowed her to sleep beside him, not even… not even after each time they were together. She had to leave.
Sang Zhi remembered once when she was too exhausted and couldn’t help but fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, Pei Xiyue kicked her off the bed.
With weary eyes, he said, “I’m used to sleeping alone. I told you that from the start.”
But by then, the night was already deep. Afraid of disturbing others, Sang Zhi curled up on the chaise longue in the room for the rest of the night.
From then on, she remembered.
No matter how tired or late it was, she would always follow the rule.
A flicker of satisfaction passed through Pei Xiyue’s eyes, and in a rare good mood, he said, “You can stay today.”
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and gently declined, “It’s better not to. You said you’re not used to it.”
Rejected, Pei Xiyue’s expression instantly darkened. He angrily threw the fine soft pillow onto the floor.
With fury in his voice, he said, “Stay or don’t, I don’t care. Get out.”
Sang Zhi didn’t understand why Lang Jun was angry. She thought about it but remained puzzled.
Her body was utterly weary, so she quietly extinguished the candle in the room and left.
Though called a side room, to Sang Zhi, it was far better and much larger than the room she had in the Sang household.
Lying in bed, Sang Zhi still felt a dull ache in her body and had to get up to light a small candle.
She retrieved the ointment from the drawer.
Parting the hastily fastened collar of her clothes, she applied the ointment.
But she couldn’t see the spots clearly, and unwilling to spend too much time on it, she haphazardly smeared some on before extinguishing the light.
Only after putting out the candle did she realize she hadn’t put the ointment away.
Too lazy to relight the candle, she fumbled in the dark to return it to the drawer.
But the night was pitch black, and she was terribly sleepy. As she closed the drawer, she accidentally pinched her fingertip for a moment.
She hissed softly, blew on it without much thought, and then lay down to sleep in a daze.
But while she slept, Pei He'an, just a wall away, opened his eyes.
He couldn’t help but rub his temples and sit up lightly.
How could it be such a coincidence?
He had thought leaving the bedroom would be enough, never expecting she would stay in the side room of Sanlang’s courtyard.
Even more coincidentally, this side room was separated from his study by only a single wall.
Moreover, the wall in between was built later, and whether it was due to the workers cutting corners, the soundproofing was even worse.
He could even hear some of the rustling sounds of clothes being removed from next door.
Pei He'an's sleep had always been light, and now, being startled awake repeatedly, his drowsiness had grown faint.
Sang Zhi, of course, knew nothing of this. As the sky began to brighten at dawn, she habitually opened her eyes. Just as she was about to get up, she realized her entire body ached, and she couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
Thinking there was no one in the room, she muttered quietly to herself for a while before finally rising from the bed.
But just as she finished washing up, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Sang Zhi opened the door with curiosity and saw Mother Pei's attendant, Auntie Li, as soon as it swung open.
Auntie Li pushed the door open and walked in, followed by a maid holding a bowl of dark brown liquid that emitted a strong medicinal smell.
"This is for nourishing the pregnancy. Drink it quickly, Daniangzi."
Though it was called a pregnancy-nourishing tonic, Sang Zhi had long known it was actually a contraceptive brew.
However, since she didn’t want to conceive a child either, she stepped forward, took the bowl, and drank it in one go.
Only the bitterness lingered on her lips, seeping subtly into her mouth.
Seeing her drink it so readily, Auntie Li regarded her with a bit more respect.
But then…
"Daniangzi said that since Sanlang Jun’s health is still not fully recovered, no matter how much you desire it, you must not indulge Lang Jun. If anything happens to Sanlang Jun’s health, you will bear the blame, even if it costs you your life. I hope you understand."
Author's Note:
Next chapter will be updated on Monday at 6 PM, mwah! [kiss]