Chapter 10

 When Bao Ning brought the porridge over, Pei Yuan was already sleeping like a log. He reluctantly woke up to drink the porridge, still looking unhappy.

Bao Ning was irritated and quietly pinched his arm.

After feeding him the porridge, she wiped his face and hands, changed the bandages on his legs, and then went back to her room.

The little puppy curled up in the blanket, tilting its head to wait for her. Bao Ning smiled and rubbed its head.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, Bao Ning couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the wounds on Pei Yuan's leg.

Actually, from the beginning, she found it strange how Pei Yuan ended up like that. It shouldn't be an illness; if it were, his leg would be paralyzed, and he wouldn't feel any pain. There were many cuts on his leg, but they wouldn't cause his entire right leg to be immobile. Cuts hurt, but they wouldn't render his leg completely useless.

Bao Ning couldn't figure it out.

Deep down, Bao Ning had some fantasies. What if Pei Yuan's leg could be healed in the future?

She had learned some medical skills from Aunt Ming in the mansion since she was a child. She knew that Aunt Ming's father used to run a clinic and treated such illnesses.

Some elderly people, when they suffered a stroke, would become paralyzed, unable to pick up things or walk. Aunt Ming said that many times such illnesses could be corrected: internal medicine, external application of medicine to the affected limb, regular massage, walking with them. Some patients with mild symptoms could recover up to 70-80%, and even severe cases could recover 20-30%.

Pei Yuan was still young, and his physical condition was also good. If he persisted in treatment, it should be effective.

But he definitely wouldn't agree. Bao Ning could imagine that if she went to Pei Yuan and said she wanted to treat him using the methods used for those stroke-stricken old people, he would definitely be angry, his face would darken, and he might even scold her and kick her out.

His face was very fickle, like the weather in June; it could change at any moment. He might be smiling at you now, but the next moment he might turn hostile.

Bao Ning didn't dare to touch such a sore spot.

Moreover, treating the illness required targeted medication, but since Pei Yuan refused to say how his leg ended up like that, she couldn't prescribe the right medicine.

Bao Ning sighed and thought that she would wait for some time, try to get closer to Pei Yuan, and persuade him. The most urgent thing now was to take good care of his diet, change the bandages daily, and let his wounds heal first.

And he needed to quit drinking!

The little puppy didn't know what Bao Ning was thinking as she sat there. Unable to stand the loneliness, it came over and bit her finger.

It was teething, its mouth itching, and it held onto Bao Ning's wrist with both paws, wrapping its mouth around her finger, its tiny tongue scratching her skin.

"I haven't given you a name yet, have I?" Bao Ning scratched its chin, pondering for a moment. "Since you like licking people so much, let's call you Sweet."

The puppy blinked at her, and Bao Ning kissed it, asking with a smile, "Sweet, do you like this name?"

The puppy blinked at her again.

Bao Ning felt her heart melting. She held its little head and rubbed it, then put it in her arms and blew out the lamp. "Time to sleep."

...

The next day, Bao Ning was awakened by pain. Her neck and wrists were burning with pain, and when she opened her eyes, she found that the bruise on her wrist had turned purple.

It was from being squeezed by Pei Yuan yesterday.

Bao Ning was shocked and quickly went to find a mirror. The neck wasn't as serious as the wrist; it was just slightly red, but her fair complexion made it look alarming at first glance.

Bao Ning applied some powder on her neck and wrapped a scarf around it to cover it up.

There was nothing she could do about her wrist; she could only pull her sleeve down as much as possible to cover the purple ring.

This guy... he's really... thoughtless.

Bao Ning dared not get close to him anymore. She thought to herself that she would definitely keep her distance from Pei Yuan in the future, whether he was awake or asleep, to prevent him from going crazy again.

Her wrist still hurt even after applying the medicine. Perhaps she had injured a tendon and couldn't make big movements.

Breakfast was simple. She made spinach meatball soup using the leftover meatballs from yesterday, which was simple, convenient, soft, and refreshing, and very delicious.

She also made some scallion pancakes, which made the meal even more fragrant.

While the soup was cooking, the things she bought yesterday were delivered.

Two sets of brand-new pear wood furniture, several pieces of cloth, various vegetable seeds, as well as rice, flour, oil, dried pork legs, and most importantly, a litter of puppies.

Ji Yun had given her enough money, and the attitude of the delivery men was very friendly. They helped Bao Ning move everything into the courtyard and chatted with her. "Madam, the place you live in is so simple. When Young Master and I delivered the goods here yesterday, I thought I had misheard."

Suddenly being called "Madam," Bao Ning was stunned for a moment, not knowing who he was referring to.

The other person said, "What do you know? Nowadays, rich people like this kind of quiet place. This is called returning to simplicity."

Bao Ning felt embarrassed hearing this.

She thanked them and saw the delivery men off. As she walked back, she was still thinking about the term "Madam," feeling that this title was a bit shy and a bit unfamiliar.

She had been living with Pei Yuan for several days, treating him as a companion, but she had almost forgotten that there was still such a relationship between them.

In theory, Pei Yuan was her husband, and she was Pei Yuan's wife, but their relationship was actually quite special. Bao Ning thought that not only her, but Pei Yuan probably hadn't thought about it in that way either.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven her away a few days ago, and he wouldn't have been so violent towards her last night.

But, like this, it's not bad either, peaceful. She cooked, he ate. As long as Pei Yuan didn't lose his temper again, everything would be fine.

Lost in her thoughts, Bao Ning realized halfway that the pot was still cooking. She hurried back.

Fortunately, it didn't burn. Bao Ning added some water and stirred it a few times before going to see the litter of puppies she bought yesterday.

There were ten chickens, five ducks, and two geese.

They were all palm-sized chicks, fluffy like little yellow balls. They were clearly divided into three groups, sleeping together with their own kind.

Some of them were very lively, awake with shiny black eyes, occasionally making soft chirping sounds.

Bao Ning imagined how these little ones would look when they grew up in a month, running around the courtyard lively, even laying eggs, which would be really nice.

The little ones were all packed in a big basket, placed on the warm kang, with dry grass and cotton scattered inside, very soft. Sweet lay on the edge of the basket, nibbling on wood while staring at those fluffy little balls. Perhaps it was the nature of dogs, but Bao Ning always felt that its eyes were not kind, carrying a hint of fierceness.

She had to go cook and couldn't keep watching. Worried, she admonished it, "Sweet, you have to be good, no biting, understand?"

The puppy ignored her, furrowing her brows, Bao Ning hurried to do her work, worried it might cause trouble.

After some thought, she placed Sweet in the kang, away from the basket, and put a blanket in between, feeling relieved only then. The dough was already prepared, rolled into pieces, smeared with oil, sprinkled with spices, sprinkled with chopped scallions, rolled up, then cut into sections.

With a press and a twist of the chopsticks, a scallion pancake was made. Bao Ning focused on what she was doing, not looking towards the kang until she heard the continuous cries from that direction, realizing something was wrong. Looking over, she saw Sweet somehow crawling over and sitting in the middle of the little ones, posing like a king, holding the neck of a small goose in its mouth, shaking its head back and forth.

"What are you doing?" Bao Ning's heart raced, not caring about the flour on her hands.

She hurried over to rescue the gosling. Sweet didn't have many teeth, the gosling was unharmed, just scared, huddling to the side trembling.

Bao Ning, angry, gave Sweet a few smacks on the butt, but the puppy seemed oblivious to any wrongdoing, tilting its neck to look at her, unapologetic.

Bao Ning suddenly felt that its appearance was very much like Pei Yuan from last night." You think I can't handle you?"

Bao Ning pinched its ear, "I'll take you to find someone who can tame you, let's see who can outgrow whom!"

In the east wing, Pei Yuan was still sleeping. Bao Ning quietly placed Sweet next to his pillow and nudged the puppy's butt.

Sweet was very smart and obediently climbed onto Pei Yuan's face. Its soft fur rubbed against Pei Yuan's cheek, its little butt swaying back and forth.

Pei Yuan felt an itch on his face as if there was something there. He reached out to grab it, but it clung tightly to him, unable to shake it off.

Pei Yuan angrily opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a dog face about to stick out its tongue and nibble on his nose.

"What the hell!" Pei Yuan shook his hand.

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