Zhao Zhixue did not return until the third quarter of the hour of Xu (around 7:45 PM). Jiang Ningsui put the noodles into the pot, and after the couple had eaten dinner and washed up, they returned to their room.
The small room next door still had its kerosene lamp lit, showing that Pei Duo had not yet retired.
Jiang Ningsui sat on the edge of the bed, kneading Zhao Zhixue's shoulders to ease his fatigue. "Husband, why are you back so late tonight?"
Zhao Zhixue replied, "There were some things I didn't quite understand, so I stayed to talk with the teacher a bit longer."
The Qiūwéi next August was less than a year away. He had to study diligently—when the Xiangshi came next year, he would win the Jiěyuán in one go, and then he could go to the capital to take the Huìshì. This was a critical period, and he could not afford the slightest slack. Since he couldn't match Pei Duo in natural talent, he would make up for it with hard work.
He believed that diligence could compensate for lack of ability.
The two lay down in the bedding, and Zhao Zhixue's hand crept onto Jiang Ningsui's waist.
Her waist was slender and soft—one palm of his could nearly encircle half of it. Zhao Zhixue thought of what Liang Wentao had said in the study today, and he felt that his wife's waist was even slimmer and softer than anyone else's. No one could compare.
Zhao Zhixue told Jiang Ningsui about what had happened that day. Jiang Ningsui froze, then sat up, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders and falling onto her pale hands resting on the mattress.
Jiang Ningsui's shoulders tensed. "Are you saying that Brother Pei hit that man today?"
Zhao Zhixue didn't understand why she reacted so strongly. He grasped her tense shoulders. "Lie down quickly—it's cold now, don't catch a chill." Then he asked, "Wife, why are you so worked up?"
Jiang Ningsui rested her head in the crook of Zhao Zhixue's arm, pressing her lips tightly together without speaking.
She remembered how Brother Pei had inexplicably asked her at dinner whether she had gone to the street with Sister-in-law Mu.
So—he had already figured it out back at the study?
Jiang Ningsui couldn't quite describe what she felt in her heart, only that her chest felt sour and full.
From childhood to now, she had only ever endured and submitted. No one had ever stood up for her. At home, her parents thought she was a burden and beat or scolded her at every turn. Her younger brother, relying on their parents' favoritism, had made things difficult for her in every way.
Later, after marrying into her husband's family, she often suffered cold looks from her father-in-law and sharp remarks from her mother-in-law.
Her husband was immersed in his books every day and knew nothing of these matters.
This was the first time someone had stood up for her, getting into a physical altercation on her behalf.
A slight pain at her waist—Zhao Zhixue had pinched the soft flesh there.
Jiang Ningsui snapped back to attention and shot him a reproachful look. "Why did you pinch me?"
Zhao Zhixue gave a helpless chuckle. "I've been talking to you for ages and you haven't paid me any mind. What's wrong with you?"
Jiang Ningsui hesitated for a moment, but still didn't tell him that the young woman Liang Wentao had mentioned was her.
First, Liang Wentao had already received his lesson.
Second, if her husband found out and then got into another conflict with Liang Wentao, and her mother-in-law learned of it, she would skin her alive.
Jiang Ningsui gently shook her head. "It's nothing. I was just surprised. You've said before that Brother Pei is not one to meddle in others' affairs—I never expected him to lay hands on Liang Wentao today."
Zhao Zhixue didn't want his wife's thoughts to dwell too much on Pei Duo.
He turned over and pressed himself on top of Jiang Ningsui. Startled, she pushed against his shoulders with both hands, her cheeks flushing red and her heart leaping into her throat. "Husband, get off."
Zhao Zhixue sought out her lips. "I won't. Who can stop me from kissing my own wife? Even my parents can't."
Jiang Ningsui couldn't push Zhao Zhixue away—instead, he caught her hands and pinned them above her head.
The two rooms were separated by only a single wall, and the bed frame was far from sturdy, creaking loudly with each movement. Jiang Ningsui bit her lower lip tightly, her fingers clutching the mattress beneath her, her cheeks burning like clouds of fire. She tried to calm herself, but the shameful sounds continued unabated.
Zhao Zhixue leaned close to her ear, his breath ragged as he coaxed her, "Wife, don't bite your lip. Open your mouth."
Jiang Ningsui refused, her porcelain-white skin blooming with patches of red like plum blossoms fallen on winter snow.
In the adjacent room.
Pei Duo stood before the desk, the wolf-hair brush in his hand pausing on the rice paper, a dark blot of ink spreading across the page.
Even with both doors and windows shut tight, the intimate sounds of a married couple's private affairs reached Pei Duo's ears with perfect clarity. The young man cast down his brush, the tip striking the paper and splattering a blot of ink.
He opened the door and strode straight out of the courtyard, stepping into the dark, shadowed alley.
It seemed finding another small courtyard would need to be moved up on his agenda.
The moment Pei Duo opened his door, Jiang Ningsui heard the faint creak in the silent night. Her body instantly tensed, her lower lip bearing several teeth marks from the pressure. Zhao Zhixue let out a muffled grunt, holding Jiang Ningsui as he breathed heavily.
In the dead of night, Zhao Zhixue fell asleep shortly after cleaning up.
But Jiang Ningsui tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
She knew Pei Duo must have heard everything—what could a single wall really block?
Though what she and her husband did was within the bounds of marriage, there was still an outsider present. Having someone listen in made Jiang Ningsui feel no different from being stripped naked and thrown onto the street for all to see.
She opened the window and sat on the chair by the desk, gazing blankly at the cold moonlight.
The closed courtyard gate suddenly pushed open from outside, the creak clearly audible.
Jiang Ningsui snapped back to attention and looked toward the courtyard gate. A figure in a jade-white robe, bathed in a layer of cold moonlight, came into view. The young man's handsome, refined features burst into Jiang Ningsui's line of sight without warning. He seemed to notice her as well, lifting his eyelids to look at her.
The window was wide open, and the woman inside wore a lotus-pink garment. Her hair, usually pinned up with a wooden hairpin, now cascaded loosely over her shoulders, with stray strands at her temples pressed against her brows by the wind.
Her eyes still held the lingering allure and tenderness of a woman who had just been intimate.
Like a flower bud wrapped in petals, touched lightly by a wolf-hair brush, it unconsciously curled around that cold, hard tip.
Pei Duo hadn't expected her to be there. He gave a slight nod, turned to close the courtyard gate, and went straight back to his own room.
Jiang Ningsui snapped back to reality, her cheeks suddenly burning with heat.
She quickly shut the window, feeling both embarrassed and mortified, even humiliated.
She lay back on the bed, looking at the already sleeping Zhao Zhixue, and decided to discuss it with him tomorrow—their intimate moments needed to be restrained and kept away from Pei Duo.
The next morning, Jiang Ningsui brought up the matter with Zhao Zhixue.
Zhao Zhixue paused mid-motion as he fastened his clothes. "Fine, for now I'll do as you say."
After what happened last night, Jiang Ningsui avoided Pei Duo for several days, not daring to meet his eyes. Even when eating at the same table, she kept her head down and stayed silent. Pei Duo, however, noticed that these past few days there was more oil in his bowl, and the meat slices pressed beneath the rice were more numerous than Zhao Zhixue's, while Jiang Ningsui's bowl had no meat at all.
It seemed she had been giving him the meat from her own bowl.
He had heard her and Zhao Zhixue talking in their room that night about what happened between him and Liang Wentao at the academy.
She was repaying him with the meager means she had, in her own clumsy way.
At noon today, Jiang Ningsui made noodle soup as usual. Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo entered one after another. Zhao Zhixue placed three bowls of noodles on the table. He had just sat down when he saw Pei Duo swap his own bowl with Jiang Ningsui's.
Zhao Zhixue looked up, puzzled. "Brother Pei, what are you doing?"
Jiang Ningsui added some water to the pot, turned around, and sat down on a chair, only to see a large bowl of noodles piled high in front of her.
She froze, staring in surprise at Pei Duo across from her.
The young man picked up his chopsticks and stirred the noodles in his bowl. "I don't have much of an appetite today. I can't eat that much."
"Master Pei…"
Jiang Ningsui wanted to swap the bowls back, but the young man had already started eating. Now she had no choice but to eat the bowl in front of her.
Only she knew that several slices of meat were hidden beneath the noodles.
Jiang Ningsui had no way out, so she could only steel herself and eat.
Zhao Zhixue ate quickly. When he finished, he went into the room to pack his book bag, leaving only Jiang Ningsui and Pei Duo in the kitchen.
Pei Duo set down his chopsticks and looked up at Jiang Ningsui, who was chewing slowly with her head lowered.
He called out to her, "Sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui didn't look up, only hummed in acknowledgment.
Pei Duo saw that her head was almost buried in the bowl, knowing she was thin-skinned, and spoke in a low voice. "The matter with Liang Wentao is over. I appreciate your care these past few days, sister-in-law, but there's no need to do this anymore."
Jiang Ningsui hadn't expected Pei Duo to see through her.
She still didn't look up, but she nodded her head.
Pei Duo noticed that the tips of her ears seemed much redder than before. His handsome brows lifted slightly.
After lunch, Zhao Zhixue and Pei Duo went to the academy.
In the afternoon, Mu Hua brought her child to the courtyard to chat with Jiang Ningsui and keep her company. She stayed until nearly dinner time before leaving. Jiang Ningsui prepared the evening meal, and as the sky gradually darkened, she waited and waited but saw no sign of her husband or Master Pei. She picked up the kerosene lamp and waited outside the courtyard, staring blankly into the narrow, deep alley.
From the academy to the small courtyard, one had to go around two streets.
Pei Duo returned first. When he reached the corner of the alley, a cold, mocking chill seeped into his cool brows and eyes. He stepped into the alley, and the dim twilight gradually swallowed the young man's tall, straight figure.
In an instant, his tall silhouette merged with the darkness.
Three sets of footsteps approached from behind. Two men carried a large burlap sack with clubs tucked at their waists, while a third raised a club, advancing cautiously step by step toward the young man ahead.
If the young man discovered them first, he would take the chance to strike him on the head with the club.
"Bag him!"
One man shouted in a low voice, and the two others raised the burlap sack high, about to drop it over Pei Duo's head.
But the young man's tall figure suddenly shifted to the side. His palm struck like a blade, hitting them twice. The two men clutching the sack screamed in agony, clutching their shoulders and necks.
After those two strikes, they felt as if their shoulder bones had shattered, and their right arms seemed useless, unable to lift.
Seeing this, the man with the club gritted his teeth and swung it down at Pei Duo's head.
"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death!"
Before he could get close, the young man spun on his heel, and a small stone struck the man's hand with tremendous force. The stone embedded itself directly into his flesh and bone. The man's eyes widened in shock, and the pain hit him a moment later, his screams echoing through the alley.
In the distance, Jiang Ningsui vaguely heard the wailing.
Her heart jumped. Her husband and Master Pei hadn't returned at this hour—could something have happened?
Worried and anxious, Jiang Ningsui raised the kerosene lamp and stepped forward to look.
A light, soft patter of footsteps echoed through the narrow, deep alley. Jiang Ningsui had been in town for over ten days now, and Pei Duo had long since memorized the sound of her steps.
The young man lowered his gaze, his eyes cold and indifferent as they rested on the three men who were still screaming. His clear, defined brows furrowed slightly.
"Noisy."
With a single kick, he sent the man by the wall crashing into the other two. The three grown men slammed into one another and passed out without even a single cry.
Pei Duo stepped into the alley, and a slender, delicate figure reflected in his dark, ink-black pupils.
"Pei-gongzi?"
Jiang Ningsui raised the kerosene lamp a little higher, using the faint glow to make out the person a few steps away.
The young man had a book satchel slung over his shoulder. Cool, clear moonlight spilled across half his body, carving his handsome features into a stark contrast of light and shadow. On the side swallowed by darkness, his gaze was deep and unreadable, his facial lines sharp as a blade. On the side favored by the moonlight, his brows and eyes were cool and gentle.
Pei Duo's gaze fixed on Jiang Ningsui, his voice as clear and indifferent as ever: "Sister-in-law, why have you come?"
Jiang Ningsui: "I heard a commotion over here, and when you and my husband were late in returning, I worried something might have happened, so I came out to check."
Pei Duo stepped forward a few paces, his tall, upright figure bathed in the lamplight, revealing a bearing as clear as the wind and bright as the moon. He said, "It was just three drunkards brawling. Brother Zhao is consulting with the master about a question and will be back in about two quarters of an hour."
Jiang Ningsui let out a sigh of relief.
As long as nothing was wrong.
She had been afraid that her husband or Pei-gongzi had run into trouble.
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There's a red envelope in this chapter, and another update at 7 PM~
Pei Duo: Don't frighten sister-in-law.
The three men: So that's the reason you kicked us unconscious??