The coachman waited outside, leaving only Jiang Ningsui and Pei Duo in the small courtyard.
The young man's tall shadow loomed over Jiang Ningsui, swallowing her petite figure and the shadow cast behind her into a single dark silhouette. A faint scent of cedarwood drifted into Jiang Ningsui's nose, reminding her once again of the awkward scene when she had first come to the courtyard and run into Pei Duo.
Jiang Ningsui's heart suddenly leaped, and she lowered her gaze to avoid the young man's pitch-black pupils.
Pei Duo said, "Please convey my regards to my parents on my behalf, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui nodded vigorously like a pestle pounding garlic: "I've got it."
With that, she turned and hurriedly climbed into the carriage.
Watching her nearly fleeing figure, Pei Duo raised an eyebrow slightly, quietly observing her duck into the carriage and watching the heavy curtain sway for a few moments.
The young man's ink-black eyes narrowed for a brief instant.
She seemed to be avoiding him.
What was she avoiding?
He didn't seem to have provoked her.
The alley was very narrow, just wide enough to accommodate a single carriage. The carriage couldn't turn around and had to follow the road to its end. Jiang Ningsui sat inside the carriage, her heart still pounding violently.
That scent of cedarwood kept reminding her of the first day she came to the courtyard, the embarrassing encounter when she and Pei Duo had met.
Jiang Ningsui wished she could dig into her own brain and carve out that memory that filled her with shame and embarrassment.
The carriage exited the alley and headed out of Qingping Zhen.
Jiang Ningsui took a moment to calm herself before beginning to examine the carriage she was in. It was clean and spacious, with a layer of paper pasted over the window, letting bright light filter through and adding a bit of illumination to the interior.
This was the first time in her life she had ridden in a carriage, and it was truly a novel and fresh experience.
A carriage was indeed faster than walking—a journey that would take most of a day on foot took only an hour by carriage. It was still only around 8:30 in the morning.
Jiang Ningsui directed the coachman to stop outside the Pei family home.
The Pei and Zhao families were adjacent to each other. At this moment, both gates were wide open. Father Pei was splitting firewood in the courtyard. Despite the cold weather, Father Pei wore only a thin outer garment, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Father Pei was tall and burly, with a scar at his temple that ran through his left eye and extended to the tip of his nose.
Father Pei had handsome features, but the scar on his face diminished some of his handsomeness, adding a measure of intimidating coldness. When he wasn't smiling, he looked rather frightening.
"Is that Duo'er back?"
Father Pei drove the axe into a wooden stump and came over. Inside the house, Mrs. Xie heard Father Pei's voice and lifted the curtain to step out: "Today isn't a rest day either—why has Duo'er come back?"
Father Pei: "I don't know."
The couple came out together and happened to run into Jiang Ningsui, who was just getting down from the carriage.
Jiang Ningsui looked at Father Pei, startled by the frightening scar on his face, and quickly averted her eyes before turning to look at Mrs. Xie beside him. Mrs. Xie wore a light pink dress that made her already beautiful and elegant features even more striking.
"It's Suisui."
Seeing Jiang Ningsui, Mrs. Xie's expression grew even gentler.
Father Pei laughed: "I thought it was Duo'er who had come back."
It wasn't surprising that the couple had mistaken her—there was no one else in Xiping Cun besides Pei Duo who would return by carriage.
The couple glanced at Jiang Ningsui but didn't ask why she had come back by carriage. However, they both tacitly looked toward the Zhao family next door. If the Zhao couple were to find out, their daughter-in-law would likely be in for a scolding.
Jiang Ningsui took an envelope from her sleeve and handed it to Father Pei. "Uncle Pei, I came back this time to pick up my winter clothes and bedding. The carriage was hired by Young Master Pei. He said I had quite a lot of things to bring back, so he hired a carriage for me. He also told me to give this letter to you, Uncle, saying that once you read it, you'd know what he needs."
Father Pei understood. He'd known that Jiang Ningsui wouldn't have hired a carriage on her own, given her nature.
Jiang Ningsui continued, "Uncle, Auntie, Young Master Pei asked me to pass along his regards."
Mrs. Xie smiled. "At least the boy has some heart, remembering his father and me."
Beside her, Father Pei opened the letter and read it. His brows rose. "Suisui, is Duo'er living with you all?"
Jiang Ningsui nodded. "Yes. My husband said the accommodations at the academy were inconvenient, so he and Young Master Pei discussed it and rented a small courtyard near the academy."
Father Pei said, "Alright. Suisui, when do you leave?"
Jiang Ningsui: "No later than the end of the si hour. That way I'll arrive home just before noon and have time to make lunch for my husband and Young Master Pei."
Father Pei: "Good, I understand."
Father Pei went inside to gather the things Pei Duo needed. Mrs. Xie asked with a smile, "Suisui, so you cook three meals a day for Duo'er too? Has Duo'er been paying you for his food? Don't let him take advantage of you."
Jiang Ningsui quickly replied, "Young Master Pei has paid."
After chatting with Mrs. Xie for a moment, Jiang Ningsui turned and went back to the Zhao house. Father Zhao was sitting in the main room brewing tea. Jiang Ningsui obediently called out, "Father." Father Zhao only gave a cold snort and continued brewing his tea with a stern face.
Jiang Ningsui had been married into the Zhao family for four months now, and she was already used to her father-in-law's expression.
She pressed her lips together and went out, running into Mrs. Li coming out of the house.
Mrs. Li immediately asked about Zhao Zhixue, going on and on about the boy—asking whether he was cold, whether he was freezing, whether he was hungry—without asking a single question about how Jiang Ningsui was doing.
Having grown up accustomed to being unnoticed by everyone, Jiang Ningsui smiled and recounted everything about Zhao Zhixue over the past month in detail, including how she'd spent the forty wen.
Mrs. Li listened with satisfaction. Knowing she'd come back to pack her winter clothes and bedding, she urged her to hurry up and pack, then get back early so she wouldn't miss making lunch and let the boy go hungry.
Jiang Ningsui followed her mother-in-law inside. After the two women finished packing, Mrs. Li turned and handed Jiang Ningsui twenty wen. "You still have ten wen on you. With this twenty, that should be enough. Your father and I bought some charcoal a few days ago—carry it back with you. Don't burn the charcoal until Zhixue comes home from the academy. During the day when he's not home, don't burn it."
Jiang Ningsui carefully tucked away the twenty wen and said with lowered eyes, "I'll remember that, Mother."
They packed a large bundle. When Mrs. Li saw Jiang Ningsui carrying the things outside, she finally noticed the carriage parked at the door.
Mrs. Li's eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to start scolding Jiang Ningsui, but before the words could come out, she saw Mrs. Xie emerge with a bundle in hand, smiling, and greet her: "Sister Jinhua."
Mrs. Li's scolding caught in her throat, her face stiffening into a rather comical expression.
Mrs. Li returned the greeting with a smile of her own.
Their families had always been on good terms with the Pei family. Old Pei was a hunter who bagged large game several times a year, and their family always got a share. Mrs. Xie was literate, and when Zhixue was young, she'd taught him quite a few characters.
Mrs. Xie placed the bundle on the cart and said to Mrs. Li, "Our Duo'er asked Suisui to bring quite a lot of things, so we hired a cart to haul them back."
Mrs. Li was taken aback. She had been thinking that Jiang Ningsui, with her temperament, would never dare spend a large sum to hire a cart. She had been so angry earlier that she had momentarily forgotten Jiang Ningsui didn't have the money for one.
Mrs. Li smiled and said, "Well then, our Suisui is benefiting from your Duo'er's generosity—she won't have to walk back."
Mrs. Xie replied, "If anything, it's our Duo'er who's benefiting from your Suisui. I heard from Suisui that the food at the academy isn't good, so Duo'er relies on your Xue'er and Suisui to get a warm, proper meal."
Father Pei came out carrying two large bundles. Mrs. Li glanced at them—one was bedding and clothes, and the other was a full sack of charcoal.
Truly, comparing one person to another can be infuriating.
Father Pei loaded the bundles onto the cart, then jumped down and said, "Suisui, Duo'er's things are all packed."
Mrs. Xie smiled at Jiang Ningsui. "Alright, time is tight. Get on the cart and go."
Jiang Ningsui nodded. "Mm."
She greeted her mother-in-law, then said goodbye to the Pei couple, before turning and climbing into the cart. When she had arrived, the cart had been empty; now, with so many things loaded in, it suddenly felt cramped and narrow.
Jiang Ningsui was inwardly grateful that Young Master Pei had hired a cart—otherwise, she could never have carried all these things on her own.
She urged the driver to go as fast as possible, and they arrived outside the small courtyard just before the end of the noon hour.
As luck would have it, her husband and Young Master Pei had also returned.
The two men carried the things from the cart into the house. When Zhao Zhixue saw the full sack of charcoal, he was genuinely startled, and after glancing at the small sack of charcoal in his own home, he knew there was no comparison.
Jiang Ningsui hurried to the kitchen as soon as she returned to prepare the midday meal.
Because she was pressed for time, she planned to make something simple and didn't even have a moment to boil hot water.
She ladled a scoop of cold water into the basin, washed the vegetables, and set them on the cutting board. Her fingers touched the cold water, and she rubbed her hands together to warm them before continuing to chop.
Pei Duo stood at the kitchen entrance, watching Jiang Ningsui, who was half-turned toward the door.
The woman's shoulders shrank from the cold, her fingertips reddened from the chill, and faint wisps of white breath escaped her lips.
Jiang Ningsui finished chopping the vegetables and hurried to light the stove. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the kitchen doorway darken for a moment. She looked up to see Pei Duo walking in carrying a bundle. The young man set the black bundle on the table and said, "Sister-in-law, these are some cured meats my father brought. Add some to your cooking. These past days, I've been eating your family's meat, so please don't stand on ceremony with me."
His last sentence caught the words Jiang Ningsui had been about to say, lodging them in her throat.
She could only lower her head and reply, "Alright."
Pei Duo lowered his gaze, his eyes brushing over Jiang Ningsui's reddened fingertips. "There's one more thing I need to trouble you with, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui stood up. "Just say it—no need to be polite with me."
Pei Duo said, "In winter, I prefer my room to be as warm as in summer. So, I'd ask you to come by my room a few extra times each day to add more charcoal to the brazier and keep the room warm. Don't worry about saving the charcoal on my account."
Jiang Ningsui thought of the large sack of charcoal Father Pei had brought for Pei Duo.
Clearly, Father Pei knew his son's habits.
But with no one even in the room, keeping it so warm made Jiang Ningsui feel a pang of pity for the charcoal. She nodded gently. "Alright."
The young man's brow was relaxed and indifferent. "I'll be in your care, sister-in-law."
Jiang Ningsui cooked quickly, and before long, lunch was ready. Zhao Zhixue set down his books and followed Pei Duo into the kitchen one after the other. Today, while eating, Zhao Zhixue was still pondering the key points the master had taught that morning. After the meal, he and Pei Duo headed to the dining hall.
Jiang Ningsui finished tidying the kitchen, then carried the brazier into Pei Duo's room.
This was her third time entering Pei Duo's room.
The first time, she had been brought in by her husband, and on Pei Gongzi's couch, she had lain with her husband.
The second time, she had folded the freshly washed bedding for her husband.
Now was the third time.
The room was bone-chillingly cold, just like hers and her husband's room, with not a trace of warmth.
That faint scent of cedarwood clung to her skin like frost and snow, caught in her hair, and even filled her breath with its fragrance, giving Jiang Ningsui a fleeting illusion.
It was as if Pei Duo stood behind her, with invisible arms encircling her in that cedarwood scent, leaving his presence upon her from head to toe.
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This chapter has a red envelope, and there will be another update at 7 PM~