“This rustic village girl has the face of a seductress—she’s managed to bewitch your brother into such a state!” Xu Qingyue said with displeasure.
She had originally thought that someone like Pei Jingchuan would be furious upon learning that the bride had been switched, but she never expected that it wouldn’t affect his consummation with Xu Qingyan at all. It must be that face of Xu Qingyan’s causing all the trouble.
She knew full well that although she was decent-looking, Xu Qingyan was a cut above her. It was just that the previous Xu Qingyan had been too poor and never bothered to dress herself up, which made her appear slightly inferior.
At yesterday’s wedding, everything had been meticulously prepared—the phoenix coronet and elaborate gown. Naturally, Xu Qingyan’s beauty had been on full display.
“It seems the things we prepared beforehand will come in handy after all,” Pei Jingyuan said with a gloomy expression.
After returning from his mother’s place, Pei Jingchuan went straight back to his room. Pushing open the door, he saw Xu Qingyan sitting at the table, happily eating pastries.
“Young Lord, why have you come? Didn’t we agree that tonight you’d stay in the study and not come back?” Xu Qingyan looked at him in surprise as he entered.
Pei Jingchuan looked at her startled expression, with crumbs from the pastry still clinging to the corners of her mouth, and found it rather endearing.
He smiled slightly and said, “It’s still daytime, isn’t it? My lady, it seems you’re not exactly welcoming of my arrival?”
“No, no—Young Lord misunderstands. I’m not unwelcoming, not at all…” Xu Qingyan quickly waved her hands in denial upon hearing this.
[Right now, you’re my greatest support in this Duke’s Estate—how would I dare not welcome you! Besides, I’m a girl with no father’s love and no mother. Once married, isn’t it only natural to rely on my husband in my new home?]
Xu Qingyan’s eyes rolled around mischievously. [I’m just afraid you’ll torment me again. After all, who would’ve thought that although you’re short-lived, you’re astonishingly vigorous in that department! This little waist of mine, these little arms and legs—if you go at it like last night again, I won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow!]
Upon hearing this, Pei Jingchuan thought to himself: In the end, she’s blaming him for being too rough last night?
He couldn’t help but look slightly embarrassed as he said, “I just came to tell you that I’ll be busy these next couple of days and may need to stay in the study. You should get some proper rest during this time.”
He wasn’t an inconsiderate man, after all—he’d give her two days to recover. For now, he couldn’t share a room with her, or else he was afraid he truly wouldn’t be able to control himself.
[Wow! Excellent! Young Lord is really quite considerate! Once I’ve rested up, I’ll be sure to properly shower you with affection!] Xu Qingyan cheered inwardly. She was the type to be all talk and no game—clearly terrified of the pain, yet now that she was happy, she forgot all about it.
A hint of shyness quickly flashed across Pei Jingchuan’s face. This was the first time a woman had said she would “shower him with affection”—it felt rather strange.
“Young Lord, your medicine has arrived.” At that moment, a servant’s voice came from outside the door.
“Mm! Bring it in.” Pei Jingchuan responded indifferently.
A young servant with an honest-looking face entered from outside, carrying a tray upon which sat a bowl of dark, murky medicine.
For the past two years, Pei Jingchuan had been drinking these tonic medicines every day to regulate his health. Though the results were minimal, he had never stopped taking them.
[Oh dear! Please don’t drink it! There’s something else mixed into that medicine! If you drink it, even if I let you have your way with me every single day in the future, you won’t have the strength to do anything about it. You’ll never be able to have children of your own for the rest of your life!] Xu Qingyan screamed inwardly as she looked at that bowl of dark medicine.
The book had written that on the day after the heir’s wedding, the male lead had someone administer this sterilization drug to the heir—all to ensure he wouldn’t have the ability to touch women.
Pei Jingchuan’s hand beneath his sleeve trembled slightly, and a subtle flicker passed through his eyes. The moment he heard “sterilization drug,” he was shocked. Who could be so vicious as to dare administer a sterilization drug to him?!
“Young Lord, please drink it while it’s hot. The physician said the medicine works best when taken hot.” Seeing that Pei Jingchuan hadn’t yet reached for the medicine, the servant standing nearby began to urge him.
The Second Young Master had said he must personally watch the heir drink every last drop—he didn’t dare disobey.
“Set the medicine down and leave. I’ll have someone come to clear it away later.” Pei Jingchuan ordered coldly.
“Young Lord, this servant would rather wait until you’ve finished drinking and take the bowl down directly—no need to trouble anyone else.” The servant refused to leave even after hearing Pei Jingchuan’s words, speaking earnestly.
Hearing this, Pei Jingchuan grew even more suspicious—there was definitely something wrong with this medicine. Just as he was about to lose his temper and teach this insolent servant a lesson, he unexpectedly heard Xu Qingyan’s voice again.
“You driving him away won’t do any good. If you don’t drink the medicine in front of him today, then the master behind him will still find a way to drug you again. Actually, you could be clever about it and fake drinking it. The moment this servant leaves, just stick your finger down your throat and vomit the medicine right back up. That way, nothing will happen to you—after all, this poison doesn’t take effect immediately.”
Pei Jingchuan listened and thought it over carefully. What she said made perfect sense. The enemy was hidden while he was exposed. Even if he avoided it today, what about tomorrow? He couldn’t be by Xu Qingyan’s side every moment. If he lost the ability to hear her thoughts and someone poisoned him again, what would he do then?
With that in mind, he picked up the bowl and quickly drank the medicine down. He could clearly sense the servant boy let out a sigh of relief before respectfully taking the empty bowl and withdrawing.
“Ugh…” As soon as the door closed, Pei Jingchuan immediately pretended to feel unwell and rushed to the spittoon to vomit.
[This Young Lord is so lucky! He just drank poison and immediately got sick and threw it all up. Now I don’t have to worry about him being unable to protect me later! But… ah, he’ll still have to drink those medicines every day. Even though they won’t be poisoned like today’s, those medicines still have problems. If he keeps drinking them, his body will continue to deteriorate day by day. How can I make him understand that he shouldn’t drink that medicine?] After a brief moment of joy, Xu Qingyan fell back into worry.
In the unseen corner, Pei Jingchuan’s brows furrowed tightly. He had thought that avoiding today would be enough! He never imagined that the medicine he was currently drinking had already been problematic all along. No wonder his body had been declining day by day. It seemed he needed to find a way to deal with this medicine.
“Young Lord, are you alright?” Xu Qingyan looked at Pei Jingchuan with concern, deciding she needed to find some way to warn him.
“Is it that the medicine made you uncomfortable after drinking it? If it makes you feel unwell, you shouldn’t drink it anymore. I’ve heard people say before that some medicines, even if they’re meant to cure illness, can harm the body if taken for too long.”
“Mm, it does make me somewhat uncomfortable. I’ve been drinking this medicine for over a year now, and not only has it had no effect, it’s actually made me feel worse and worse. Recently, I happened to hear that there’s a very skilled Mystic Divine Physician in the martial world. I originally wanted to find him to take a look at me, but I’ve searched for a long time without any news of him.”
Pei Jingchuan sighed along with Xu Qingyan’s words, wanting to see if he could continue to extract any useful clues about this Mystic Divine Physician from her.
[The Mystic Divine Physician! Of course he can cure your illness. As long as you can find him, you definitely won’t die. It’s just that the Mystic Divine Physician won’t appear until later in the story. Right now, I don’t know where he is either! Sigh! But… I think I remember now. The book mentioned that this Mystic Divine Physician loves fishing. Before he met Xu Qingyue, he was always fishing everywhere.]
Pei Jingchuan silently noted this upon hearing it. Although he didn’t know the specific location, with this clue, following it up wouldn’t be without hope.