Jiang Ningsui wanted to go back not only because she was embarrassed and wanted to avoid Pei Duo after he had inadvertently seen her body.
There was another important reason.
Her parents, in order to raise money for her younger brother to marry a wife, had bribed a fortune-teller to deceive her in-laws, claiming that her birth chart was auspicious for her husband, and that she could help him pass the examinations with top honors all the way.
But all of that was false.
Jiang Ningsui felt guilty and afraid. If her husband failed the Xiangshi next year, the Zhao family would surely place all the blame on her. At that point, she dared not even imagine how miserable her situation would be.
If she went back now and avoided spending every day with her husband, then if he failed the Xiangshi next year, she could at least defend herself with some excuse.
The last rays of crimson sunset spilled onto the door. Jiang Ningsui glanced at the sky—her husband would be returning soon.
She set aside these thoughts and went to the kitchen to prepare his evening meal.
As she walked out of the room, she instinctively glanced at the tightly shut door on the north side.
Thinking of what had just happened, Jiang Ningsui's face burned again.
The kitchen was on the west side, next to the pear tree. Her husband had been in town for some time now, but judging by the cold, unused kitchen, it seemed the two of them had never cooked a meal here.
Jiang Ningsui drew a bucket of water from the well in the courtyard and cleaned the kitchen. The sound of footsteps coming and going in the yard and the splashing of water drifted in through the half-open window.
Beneath the window sat a long table, on which were placed books, brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
Pei Duo stood before the long table, flipping through several books. His handsome brows were lightly furrowed, as if searching for something.
After a moment, the young man found a thin sheet of letter paper from beneath the bottommost book. Before he could unfold it, a knock came at the tightly shut door, and a woman's soft voice filtered through: "Young Master Pei, I left my bundle in your room. Would you be so kind as to hand it to me?"
Pei Duo lifted his eyes and, through the half-open window, glanced at the shadow stretching across the ground outside.
The woman's figure was slender and delicate—even the shadow cast on the ground looked frail enough to break.
Pei Duo pressed the letter beneath the books and turned his head to look at the bed on the other side.
The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, showing no trace of the earlier intimate chaos. Only the faint fragrance of a woman lingering in the room hinted at what had happened here before.
The young man's brows turned cold again, his sharply defined jawline taut. He glanced at the dark blue bundle abandoned in the corner at the foot of the bed, walked over to pick it up, and went to the door. He drew back the bolt and opened the door.
Jiang Ningsui unexpectedly met Pei Duo's gaze as he stood in the doorway.
The young man was very tall, his long, well-formed left hand resting loosely on the door. His handsome face was so cold it seemed devoid of any warmth. He extended his right hand forward, holding the dark blue bundle by its clean fingers.
"Is this it?"
Jiang Ningsui truly had no face to meet Pei Duo.
She hurriedly lowered her head and answered in a low voice: "Yes, thank you, Young Master Pei."
Jiang Ningsui was already a married woman, her hair pinned up with a simple wooden hairpin. The two stood only a step apart. Pei Duo lowered his gaze slightly and caught sight of the small bone protruding beneath the nape of Jiang Ningsui's neck. Her neck was slender and fair, as thin and fragile as the wrist she raised.
Like the wild goose he had hunted on the mountain last year—its neck would snap with a single, easy twist.
Jiang Ningsui carefully avoided Pei Duo's hand and took the bundle, which felt heavy to her, with both hands.
The bundle was large and packed with many things—her change of clothes and shoes, and heavier still, the vegetables and pickled vegetables her mother-in-law had just picked from the fields for her husband, along with half a sack of fine flour, corn and sweet potato flour, and a strip of cured meat her mother-in-law had salted.
For Jiang Ningsui, who lived in the impoverished Hongshan Cun, the half-day's walk from Xiping Cun to the town was not particularly tiring; what was tiring was carrying all these heavy things.
Jiang Ningsui turned and headed toward the kitchen, lugging the heavy bundle.
After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and looked back at Pei Duo, who was about to close the door.
Through the narrow gap of the door, the young man lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at her coldly. "Does Sister-in-law have something else?"
Jiang Ningsui steeled herself and asked, "I'm about to make the evening meal. Would Pei-gongzi like to have some?"
After all, he and her husband shared the same roof, and she and her husband had been in Pei-gongzi's room that afternoon…
Jiang Ningsui dared not think further. The heat on her face had not yet subsided before another wave of warmth rolled over it.
Pei Duo nodded. "Then I'll trouble Sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui shook her head. "No… no trouble."
She hurried into the kitchen. While the last rays of dusk had not yet been swallowed by the eaves, she poured water and kneaded the dough by the remaining light. It was a bit late today, so she could only make some sliced noodle soup. She thought her husband should be back soon, but he did not return until after the vegetables were stir-fried and the broth in the pot was rolling and boiling.
Dusk was approaching, and a kerosene lamp glowed in the kitchen.
Orange-red firelight flickered from the stove mouth, and crackling sounds occasionally rang through the quiet kitchen.
Zhao Zhixue carried a book satchel over his shoulder, wore a gray-blue cross-collared robe, and had his long hair tied up with a gray ribbon. He looked every bit a handsome young scholar.
He stepped into the small courtyard and immediately spotted Jiang Ningsui busy in the kitchen. He glanced at the small room to the south, where a lamp was lit—it seemed Pei-di had returned before him.
Zhao Zhixue walked to the kitchen and saw Jiang Ningsui pulling noodles by the pot. He softened his steps, went over, and hugged her from behind. Startled, Jiang Ningsui turned pale, and even the long strip of noodle in her hand dropped into the boiling pot.
Zhao Zhixue laughed. "Suisui, I'm back."
Jiang Ningsui tried to squirm out of Zhao Zhixue's embrace. Though she was already a married woman, she truly could not bring herself to be overly intimate with her husband with the door wide open. Besides, they were not the only ones in the courtyard—Pei-gongzi was also there.
Thinking of how her husband had taken her into Pei-gongzi's room to do such things today, Jiang Ningsui felt both absurd and angry.
She was about to ask her husband when a clear, low voice suddenly came from outside the kitchen.
"Zhao-xiong, come to my room for a moment. I have something to say to you."
Jiang Ningsui turned her head and saw Pei Duo standing outside. The young man's pitch-black pupils glanced at them with extreme coldness before he turned and went back to his room. Seeing this, Jiang Ningsui quickly stepped back from Zhao Zhixue's embrace.
She had a faint feeling.
What Pei Duo wanted to say to her husband should be related to what happened this afternoon.
A deep worry rose in Jiang Ningsui's heart. Although Pei-gongzi had promised her he would not tell her husband about the afternoon, she was still somewhat afraid, after all, she was not familiar with Pei-gongzi.
Zhao Zhixue said, "Suisui, I'll go over for a bit and come find you later."
Jiang Ningsui absentmindedly hummed in acknowledgment.
She pulled the remaining noodles into the pot. When the noodles came to a boil, the two men who had been talking inside the house came out one after the other. Jiang Ningsui stole a glance at Zhao Zhixue's expression, saw that he looked as usual, then cautiously glanced at Pei Duo walking beside him.
Unexpectedly, the young man suddenly lifted his eyelids, and Jiang Ningsui, caught off guard, met his pitch-black pupils.
She hastily looked away, fixing her gaze on the boiling pot and stirring the noodle soup with a ladle.
Zhao Zhixue came in and walked over to her side. He glanced at the rich, fragrant pot of noodle soup, and his stomach immediately began to crave it. "Suisui, you have no idea how the food at our academy is—so bland and greaseless. If you go late, you can't even get a decent meal. These past days, I haven't had a single hot, proper meal."
Jiang Ningsui hadn't expected the food at the town's academy to be so poor.
She suddenly felt that her husband probably wouldn't agree to let her return to the village.
Torn between worrying whether Pei Duo had told her husband about this afternoon's events and fearing that if her husband failed the Xiangshi next year, she'd be in trouble, Jiang Ningsui absentmindedly served the food. Zhao Zhixue, who had been complaining about the academy's shortcomings ever since stepping into the kitchen, didn't notice anything amiss with her.
Zhao Zhixue took the large bowl of noodle soup Jiang Ningsui handed him and said with a smile, "Let me carry it. You go sit and eat first."
Jiang Ningsui gently shook her head. "I'm fine. You eat first."
Zhao Zhixue didn't stand on ceremony and took the bowl away.
Jiang Ningsui filled another large bowl and was about to bring it to Pei Duo at the table when a fair, slender hand reached out first to take the bowl from her. The young man's fingers carefully avoided touching hers where they rested on the rim of the bowl, and his voice was clear and smooth as pearls: "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui didn't dare raise her head. "It's nothing."
By the window stood a square table. Zhao Zhixue sat in the middle, and Jiang Ningsui sat across from Pei Duo. She kept her head down, eating quietly, listening to her husband and Pei Duo talk about today's events at the academy. Most of the talking was done by her husband, with Pei Duo occasionally responding with a word or two.
After a moment, Zhao Zhixue said, "Brother Pei, what do you think of your sister-in-law's cooking?"
Pei Duo replied succinctly, "It's good."
Zhao Zhixue said, "In that case, how about this—each month, you contribute your share of grain to the kitchen, and have your sister-in-law cook your meals along with ours?"
Jiang Ningsui's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she chewed her noodle slice quietly without saying anything.
She heard Pei Duo's voice from across the table: "Then I'll trouble my sister-in-law from now on."
Jiang Ningsui didn't look up, still giving the same three words: "No trouble."
It seemed she had nothing else to say besides those three words.
After the meal, Jiang Ningsui cleaned up the kitchen. Feeling pent-up frustration, she wanted to talk to her husband about this afternoon's events. She quickly finished the last bit of work in the kitchen, then picked up the kerosene lamp and was about to head out when a tall, slender black shadow pressed directly toward her.
Jiang Ningsui was almost entirely enveloped in Pei Duo's shadow.
The young man carried a white porcelain kettle in his hand, his cold, indifferent gaze resting on her.
He gave a slight nod and said calmly, "Sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui's scalp tightened. She nodded hastily and asked, "Are you getting hot water?"
Pei Duo: "Mm."
Jiang Ningsui pointed at the stove. "There's boiled hot water in the pot."
Pei Duo: "Thank you."
Jiang Ningsui mumbled a vague response, hesitated, and took a small step forward, when she heard Pei Duo's question from beside her: "Sister-in-law, is there something you wish to say to me?"
Jiang Ningsui looked up, startled, surprised that Pei Duo had once again guessed what was on her mind.
The young man stood tall and graceful before her, the clear moonlight casting a thin, cold sheen over him. His dark blue sleeves were stirred by the night breeze, the fabric lightly brushing against the sash at his waist.
Beneath the sash was his lean, taut waist, from which hung a fine white jade pendant of excellent quality, with a pale purple silk tassel dangling below it.
Jiang Ningsui lowered her head and bit her lower lip. The question that lingered on her lips was swallowed back down when she caught sight of Pei Duo's handsome yet indifferent features.
She paused for a long moment before saying, "It's nothing. I'll head back to my room first."
She took two steps with the kerosene lamp in hand, then heard Pei Duo's deliberately lowered, clear voice from behind: "Sister-in-law need not worry. Since I have made you a promise, I will not go back on my word."
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This chapter has red packets, updated daily at noon~
Pei Duo: Sister-in-law, whether I'll keep my word later is another matter.
Jiang Ningsui: ……