“Second Sister-in-law is amazing!” Pei Heng gazed at Jiang Zhaoyue with admiration as she kicked the rattan ball.
Was it all because of this exclamation?
Children will be children.
They haven’t seen much of the world.
Still, it was good that Pei Heng wasn’t injured or frightened.
Pei Jingzhou turned his gaze toward the figure in red beside Pei Heng.
He saw her kicking the rattan ball as if it were a shuttlecock.
Alternating kicks.
Side kicks.
Knee bumps.
Suspended kicks.
Her movements were agile and graceful, flowing and supple like a red silk ribbon.
She really did kick well.
No wonder Pei Heng kept exclaiming in awe.
“Second Master has returned,” the maids in Linhua Courtyard greeted him.
Pei Jingzhou snapped back to attention and led Sun Momo and the others into Linhua Courtyard.
After warming up, Jiang Zhaoyue kicked the rattan ball to Pei Heng.
Pei Heng happily rushed forward and kicked the ball back to Jiang Zhaoyue.
Jiang Zhaoyue caught it steadily: “Oh, not bad.”
Pei Heng said excitedly, “Second Sister-in-law, kick it again, kick it over here.”
“Here it comes.” Jiang Zhaoyue passed the rattan ball to Pei Heng once more.
The two of them, one big and one small, happily kicked the ball back and forth.
Sun Momo approached at that moment and said, “Second Mistress, lunch is ready.”
Jiang Zhaoyue stopped.
Pei Heng protested, “No, I want to keep playing.”
Jiang Zhaoyue covered her stomach and said, “But I’m a little hungry. What should we do?”
Pei Heng immediately replied, “Then I’ll eat with you.”
“Let’s go.” Jiang Zhaoyue said generously.
Pei Heng promptly took Jiang Zhaoyue’s hand and happily led her into Linhua Courtyard.
Pei Jingzhou happened to walk out of the study just as the two entered.
“Second Brother, I’m having lunch with Second Sister-in-law,” Pei Heng announced.
“Don’t cause any trouble,” Pei Jingzhou instructed.
“I won’t. After lunch, I’m going to kick the rattan ball with Second Sister-in-law again.”
Pei Jingzhou said nothing and sat down at the dining table.
Pei Heng followed Jiang Zhaoyue and sat down. As soon as he saw the food, he said, “There’s no braised pork.”
Just as Pei Jingzhou was about to say something, he heard Jiang Zhaoyue say decisively, “Mm, there isn’t.”
Pei Heng pushed his bowl and chopsticks forward: “Then I won’t eat.”
“Then you’ll just go hungry.”
Pei Heng called out unhappily, “Second Sister-in-law!”
Jiang Zhaoyue ignored him, picked up a shredded pork strip, chewed it twice, and said to Pei Jingzhou, “Second Master, this shredded pork is delicious.”
Pei Jingzhou understood Jiang Zhaoyue’s intention and picked up a strip to taste: “Mm, it is delicious.”
Pei Heng’s curiosity was piqued: “Really? Let me try too.”
Neither Jiang Zhaoyue nor Pei Jingzhou responded.
Pei Heng turned and said, “Who’s going to serve me some?”
“Get it yourself,” Jiang Zhaoyue didn’t indulge him.
“I can’t reach.” Pei Heng stretched out his short arm.
Jiang Zhaoyue directly placed the stir-fried lotus root strips with shredded pork in front of him.
Pei Heng picked up a shredded pork strip with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth: “Wow, it really is delicious.”
“I think the lotus root strips are good too. Try them,” Jiang Zhaoyue said.
“Mm-hmm.” Pei Heng ate everything Jiang Zhaoyue said was delicious, not even sparing the vegetables he usually disliked.
Pei Jingzhou looked at Jiang Zhaoyue and couldn’t help asking, “Why does he listen to you so much?”
“Because I’m good at kicking the rattan ball.”
“There are people in the mansion who are also very good at kicking the rattan ball.”
In her previous life, Jiang Zhaoyue’s grandfather worked at a welfare home, and her grandmother worked at a kindergarten.
She had been exposed to and understood all kinds of children from a young age. With one glance, she could tell what kind of mischievous child Pei Heng was.
She tailored her approach accordingly, naturally able to handle Pei Heng with ease and without fear of everyone in Guogong Mansion finding out.
However, she couldn’t tell Pei Jingzhou the truth, so she made up a more plausible excuse: “Perhaps they weren’t as good-looking as me.”
“…Just focus on your meal.” Pei Jingzhou shouldn’t have held any expectations for Jiang Zhaoyue.
Jiang Zhaoyue soon finished eating. Instead of taking a midday rest, she kept her promise and took Pei Heng out for half an hour to walk off the meal, continuing to play rattan ball with him.
They played until the sun was nearly setting.
Exhausted, Jiang Zhaoyue stopped on her own: “No more playing. I need to go back and rest.”
“I’ll go back with you.” A five-year-old child, full of energy, picked up the rattan ball and walked toward Jiang Zhaoyue.
“Don’t.” Jiang Zhaoyue raised a hand to stop him. “If you’re there, I won’t be able to rest properly. You go back first.”
Pei Heng felt a bit disappointed, but thinking that his second sister-in-law was delicate and had already spent most of the day playing with him, she indeed needed proper rest. So he said, “Then I’ll come find you to play rattan ball again tomorrow.”
Promises made to children must be kept, but Jiang Zhaoyue wasn’t sure if she could do it tomorrow, so she replied, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Since he would see his second sister-in-law tomorrow anyway, Pei Heng said, “Alright then, I’ll head back now.”
Dragging her weary body back to Linhua Courtyard, Jiang Zhaoyue lay down on the soft couch in the east room for a while until it was time for dinner.
Having exerted herself so much, she was starving and ate a great deal at the table without saying a word.
Pei Jingzhou lifted his eyelids to glance at her but said nothing, then went to his study to work.
Unnoticed by her, Jiang Zhaoyue got up to walk off the meal, then bathed and freshened up with Xiang Qiao’s assistance before lying down on the soft bed, feeling utterly comfortable all over.
She couldn’t help but roll around on the bed.
Just then, Pei Jingzhou walked in.
Jiang Zhaoyue hurriedly pulled a quilt over herself, lying flat like a corpse.
“I’m going to bathe,” Pei Jingzhou said.
“Alright,” Jiang Zhaoyue replied.
Pei Jingzhou entered the inner chamber, but no maids followed.
Jiang Zhaoyue leaned over the edge of the bed, peering toward the inner chamber.
There was no frosted glass in this era, so naturally, she couldn’t see Pei Jingzhou’s figure, but she could hear faint sounds of water.
Thinking that she would soon be consummating the marriage with him, she felt a little flutter of excitement.
She lay back down on the bed to wait.
Wait.
Wait.
…
Why was Pei Jingzhou taking longer to bathe than she did?
Just as she was about to fall asleep, he finally appeared in his inner garments, his black hair slightly damp, his handsome face clear, with his sword-like brows and long eyelashes carrying a hint of moisture, adding a touch of alluring sensuality to his restrained demeanor.
She perked up instantly.
“You’re sleeping on the inside?” Pei Jingzhou walked over and asked.
Huh?
In the Da Jin Dynasty, many women slept on the outer side of the bed after marriage to make it easier to serve their husbands with water, meals, and such during the night.
Jiang Zhaoyue had momentarily forgotten and had gone straight to the inner side of the bed.
Pei Jingzhou lifted the corner of the quilt and lay down on the outer side.
With each of them under their own quilt, Jiang Zhaoyue spoke up: “Um…”
Pei Jingzhou turned his head.
“Aren’t you sleeping on the inside?” Jiang Zhaoyue asked.
“Sleeping on the outside is fine too,” Pei Jingzhou replied.
The male supporting character was indeed just that—though disciplined, reserved, and unsmiling, his heart was warm. Delighted, she inched closer to Pei Jingzhou.
Thinking he was crowding her, Pei Jingzhou instinctively shifted toward the edge of the bed.
Jiang Zhaoyue moved closer to Pei Jingzhou again.
Pei Jingzhou shifted further toward the edge.
She moved closer once more.
He shifted again.
She kept moving closer.
Pei Jingzhou was now at the very edge of the bed. Frowning, he turned his head: “What are you trying to do?”
Jiang Zhaoyue said shyly, “Um… I’m willing to consummate the marriage with you.”
Pei Jingzhou was stunned.
Seeing him motionless, Jiang Zhaoyue leaned forward, pressing herself onto Pei Jingzhou, and kissed his lips.
Wow!
So soft!
So smooth!
Such a wonderful texture!
She couldn’t help but suck harder.
Pei Jingzhou snapped back to reality and was instantly horrified. Losing his balance, he tumbled heavily off the bed.
Jiang Zhaoyue followed him down, landing with a “thud” right on top of Pei Jingzhou.