【Chapter 10: Can He Let Her Go?】
The carriage soon arrived before her. Jiang Mei did not want to face it, yet she had no choice but to brace herself and step forward.
Earlier in the bamboo cottage, she had been quite intimate with Zhou Hongyuan. Pei Jingchuan had deliberately waited here, and he was unlikely to let the matter go easily.
As soon as she boarded the carriage, Pei Jingchuan caught the scent of alcohol on Jiang Mei. While she was still pondering how to respond, he reached out and pinched her chin.
"Listing your name on the golden board, having two children in three years—is this how you planned it?"
Pei Jingchuan had heard every word Zhou Hongyuan and the others said earlier, and his tone carried danger with each syllable.
Jiang Mei was terrified. Softening her voice, she said, "They were just teasing and talking nonsense. As soon as the Spring Imperial Examination is over, I will immediately request to leave the household and will have no further involvement with him."
Afraid Pei Jingchuan wouldn’t believe her, Jiang Mei raised three fingers, ready to swear an oath on the spot.
Pei Jingchuan’s expression softened slightly. Smelling the alcohol on her breath, he asked, "How much did you drink?"
Still extremely tense, Jiang Mei didn’t notice that Pei Jingchuan’s voice had softened considerably. She answered cautiously, "Just a little."
"He let you go home alone after drinking?"
It was midday, and the carriage wasn’t too dark. Jiang Mei could clearly see Pei Jingchuan’s face.
He was never one to smile often, and since their reunion, he had always worn a stern expression, exuding an intimidating aura that kept others at a distance.
At this moment, Pei Jingchuan’s face was expressionless. Jiang Mei couldn’t gauge his meaning and cautiously defended Zhou Hongyuan: "Although Qizhou is remote, public safety is quite good. In broad daylight, walking alone shouldn’t pose any danger."
Besides, given her current appearance, she was quite safe.
"You really are gentle and considerate," he said with a hint of sarcasm. Jiang Mei couldn’t help but look up at him. Pei Jingchuan continued, "No betrothal gifts, no wedding feast, and you have to earn money to support the family—is this the life you schemed so hard to have?"
The words were harsh, but they were the truth. If her wretchedness could lessen Pei Jingchuan’s anger, it would be a good thing for her.
Jiang Mei went along with Pei Jingchuan’s words: "This life was something I deceived my way into. Suffering is my retribution."
Jiang Mei had a pair of beautiful eyes. In the past, Pei Jingchuan loved to make her cry and then kiss the tears at the corners of her eyes.
Though her face had weathered some hardship, her eyes remained bright and clear. After drinking, they were even more moist, as if on the verge of tears.
Pei Jingchuan’s heart suddenly twinged, and he realized Jiang Mei was sitting quite far from him.
"Why sit so far away? Am I going to eat you?"
Pei Jingchuan changed the subject, reaching out to pull Jiang Mei onto his lap.
The position was truly dangerous, and Jiang Mei’s entire body tensed up.
Today, she was wearing the clothes she had married Zhou Hongyuan in, and she couldn’t bear to dirty them.
"Not today—I’m having my monthly cycle!"
Jiang Mei blurted out urgently. Pei Jingchuan immediately frowned, his expression turning cold and stern. A chilling, murderous aura enveloped Jiang Mei, making her heart pound like thunder.
If Pei Jingchuan disregarded her words and insisted on intimacy, he would discover she was lying. Repeated deceit exposed—Jiang Mei dared not imagine what her fate would be.
It felt like a century had passed before Pei Jingchuan finally spoke: "You dared to go out drinking while unwell?"
Did he believe her?
Jiang Mei secretly rejoiced but didn’t dare relax. She answered carefully, "It just started. My health isn’t good, and my cycle has always been irregular."
Pei Jingchuan's expression grew colder the more he listened, directly ordering Bai Yi to go to the medical clinic.
Jiang Mei's eyelids twitched as she flusteredly refused, "There's no need to go to the clinic. I'll be fine if I just go home and rest."
The medical clinic was bustling with people, and Pei Jingchuan was so conspicuous. It wouldn't be good if they were seen, and the doctor would expose her lie as soon as he took her pulse…
Jiang Mei still wanted to refuse, but Pei Jingchuan glanced at her and coolly said, "If you don't go to the clinic, do you want to die of pain in my carriage?"
Jiang Mei's lips trembled, suddenly falling silent.
Pei Jingchuan still remembered she suffered from dysmenorrhea.
The Contraceptive Decoction harmed the body. The girls in the Flower House endured agony every time their menstruation came, and Jiang Mei was no exception. Back then, to avoid dampening Pei Jingchuan's mood, she would try to make her period come earlier or later. Even so, Pei Jingchuan had still encountered it once.
That time, Pei Jingchuan had warmed her abdomen with his hands all night, and later had Bai Yi fetch medicine from the clinic to help regulate her body.
He clearly hated her, yet he still remembered such trivial matters.
Her heart swelled with an indescribable ache, sour and tight. Afraid Pei Jingchuan would notice her distress, Jiang Mei quickly lowered her head.
The hand resting at her waist naturally moved to her lower abdomen, gently massaging it. After a while, Pei Jingchuan asked, "Does your husband not know you suffer from pain?"
"This month it came early; I didn't expect it either. Besides, all his energy is spent on studying. How could he have the energy to care about such things?"
Jiang Mei dared not speak of Zhou Hongyuan's kindness toward her in front of Pei Jingchuan. She only wanted him to think she had married the wrong person, that she was already suffering retribution without him needing to expend effort on revenge.
What Pei Jingchuan thought of, however, was his earlier conversation with Su Huaixiu.
If she and Zhou Hongyuan had not yet consummated their marriage, such private matters naturally would not be known to Zhou Hongyuan.
Thinking of this, Pei Jingchuan's expression softened further.
The carriage soon stopped in front of the medical clinic. Pei Jingchuan wanted to carry Jiang Mei out, but she clutched his lapel and pleaded softly, "Aunt Liu next door saw us in the alley last time. Though she didn't see my face clearly, it gave me nightmares for a long time. I'm scared."
Jiang Mei was truly frightened, her eyes brimming with tears, her lashes trembling with panic.
On the night she was forced to receive clients, Jiang Mei had appeared before Pei Jingchuan in just such a state.
She was so fragile and innocent, like a budding lotus, plucked and placed in filthy, wretched mud.
The memory of that night surged forth.
Pei Jingchuan's Adam's apple bobbed. In the end, he yielded to Jiang Mei's wishes and did not make her get out of the carriage, only sending Bai Yi into the clinic to fetch medicine.
Soon, Bai Yi returned with a steaming bowl of medicinal soup. "The doctor said to drink this first to see the effect, so he can determine what prescription to prescribe."
The medicine was still somewhat hot. Jiang Mei held it in her hands, her vision blurred by the rising steam. After a moment, she couldn't help but speak, "Pei Jingchuan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have deceived you like that back then."
Jiang Mei's voice was muffled, nasal, as if she were about to cry.
Pei Jingchuan stared at her profile for a while, resisting the urge to ruffle her hair. He pinched his fingertips and said, "It's good that you know you were wrong."
Not expecting him to respond, Jiang Mei suddenly looked up at him, hope rising in her eyes. She cautiously asked, "I'm sincerely apologizing to you. In the future, can you let me go?"
Pei Jingchuan's tone was resolute, the slight warmth that had just softened his gaze turning cold again.
Though he hadn't yet spoken, Jiang Mei already realized her own foolishness.
Indeed, she was the first one who dared to deceive him like that—how could he possibly let her off?
Sure enough, the next moment, she heard Pei Jingchuan say, "If by 'letting you off' you mean allowing you to go far away, marry another man, and have children, then don't even think about it for the rest of your life!"