Chapter 100

 In her nervousness, Bao Ning bit Pei Yuan’s lower lip. The taste of blood filled her mouth. Pei Yuan let out a hiss but didn’t forget to roll the candy into his mouth.

Bao Ning was mortified with shame. She forced herself to stay calm and said to Ji Xiangzhen, “Elder sister, he just said he had a toothache, so I…”

Ji Xiangzhen asked, “Toothache, and you still give him candy?”

“Yes… when your teeth hurt, you eat a bit of candy. The more you eat, the more it hurts, and after a while, you get used to the pain.” Bao Ning clambered out of the cabinet as she explained. Her words were jumbled and made things worse the more she tried to explain, so she simply shut up.

Pei Yuan followed behind her, a large gash torn into his lip. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, thinking, This little coward is really ruthless. That row of little white teeth is sharper than a dog's.

Luckily, Ji Xiangzhen didn’t press the matter. She pointed toward the inner room and whispered to Bao Ning, “I used more than half the bottle of sleep incense—there’s only a little left. I don’t know if it’ll keep him asleep for two full hours. I’m going to the study to find the secret letter. You stay in the courtyard and watch him. If he wakes up, stall him.”

Bao Ning replied, “I understand.”

Ji Xiangzhen adjusted her makeup briefly in front of the mirror, then hurried out.

It was the end of the first phase of summer heat—hot, but still bearable. Bao Ning found a clean, large palm fan in the small kitchen and sat under a big tree to cool off with Pei Yuan. There were quite a few maidservants in Ji Xiangzhen’s courtyard, but they were all well-trained. They neither looked around curiously nor gossiped, quietly minding their own tasks.

Now that Bao Ning was a prince’s consort and Pei Yuan was playing her guard, she sat while he stood behind her, slowly fanning her.

In the yard was a one-foot-high planter filled with messy, non-blooming plants. A few white butterflies fluttered around. Bao Ning stared at them for a while before suddenly asking, “Do you miss Yuanzi?”

“Huh?” Pei Yuan had been mulling over the coming days and didn’t catch what she said.

Bao Ning said, “I miss him. I don’t even know if he’s doing well with Pei Xiao. If he could come live with us, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“Wonderful, my ass.” Pei Yuan changed his stance and continued fanning her. “Why raise a child for someone else—especially Pei Xiao? Actually, it’s no good raising anyone’s kid. Let’s just have our own.”

Bao Ning asked, “Did they ever find the person who threw the candy to him from the tree?”

Pei Yuan replied, “Still investigating.”

Bao Ning murmured in acknowledgment. The courtyard was quiet, sunlight shining bright white onto the ground. Her heart felt calm, and her thoughts turned to the days ahead.

She had a vague idea of what was about to happen: Pei Xiao plotting rebellion, Pei Yuan confronting him. Pei Xiao wanted to be emperor; Pei Yuan wanted to protect his father and restore his favor. But whether Pei Yuan would succeed, and what would happen afterward—Bao Ning didn’t know. Would Pei Xiao be executed? Probably not. With so few royal offspring, the Emperor cherished each one. Even with solid evidence, he likely wouldn’t kill Pei Xiao. Then, would Pei Yuan become crown prince? Would he even become emperor one day?

Maybe Bao Ning was thinking too much, too far ahead, but she truly didn’t want Pei Yuan in such a high position. She was selfish, and a bit insecure—afraid.

She had grown used to these peaceful days. She didn’t want social obligations, didn’t want Pei Yuan’s attention split. She didn’t even want to return to the capital. She was a simple person who liked having money, liked the feeling of being respected. But she feared being dragged into worldly struggles and losing the happiness she already had. Bao Ning feared becoming greedy, jealous, worldly—she hated that thought. She also feared Pei Yuan becoming a man obsessed with power, with many wives and concubines.

If time could freeze at this moment, if they could live like this on their estate by Lake Li, in wealth and peace, cherishing each other—how wonderful that would be.

The future might be better, but she was timid and didn’t dare look ahead—afraid things might turn worse.

Pei Yuan stood behind Bao Ning and, seeing her motionless for a while, thought she had fallen asleep. He pinched the back of her neck and said, “There’s a breeze—don’t fall asleep. You’ll wake up with a crooked mouth and eyes. I’ll have to stick needles in you to fix it.”

Bao Ning laughed and turned to ask, “Have you had that happen? How do you know all this?”

Pei Yuan said, “Not me—Wei Meng had it. Tsk, he looked so pitiful.”

Bao Ning propped her chin and looked at him with gentle eyes. She had beautiful eyes. Pei Yuan looked back, unwittingly drawn in and enchanted.

He squatted down and spoke gently, dotingly, “What’s wrong, Ning Ning?”

Suddenly, Bao Ning said, “Ah Yuan, am I worthy?”

There was a moment of blankness in her eyes as she frowned and said, “I’m just a concubine’s daughter—my background is awful. Marrying you was pure luck…”

Pei Yuan’s expression darkened. He didn’t know what prompted Bao Ning to say this and interrupted, “Have I not made you feel secure?”

Bao Ning had wanted to say, We haven’t even had a proper wedding ceremony. Am I really your wife?

But she thought that saying this now would be too dramatic and might hurt his feelings, so she swallowed her words.

The truth was, Pei Yuan had made her feel secure. But sometimes, she couldn’t help overthinking—like when Tao-shi said she was marrying above her station, that she was just lucky to have landed him. At first, Bao Ning didn’t think that way. Pei Yuan had lived in a rundown little house, was in poor health—she had genuinely cared for him, and when he returned that care, she was happy and didn’t feel lowly.

But now, she realized Pei Yuan was like a coiled dragon—if he wished, he could soar sky-high someday.

And when that happened, could she still stand beside him?

“Tired?” Pei Yuan couldn’t bear seeing her so down and regretted his earlier tone. He softened his voice. “Let’s find an inn later so you can rest for a bit.”

“I’m not tired…” Bao Ning shook her head, just as they were interrupted by a noise at the gate.

Pei Yuan straightened up and looked over. Jia Ling happened to look over too, stretching lazily. Before their eyes met, Pei Yuan quickly lowered his head.

Jia Ling’s eyes were misty with tears and didn’t clearly see Pei Yuan’s face. He just spotted a little beauty sitting under the tree. He didn’t know how he’d fallen asleep and barely remembered what happened. After a while, he figured it out and let out a long “Ohhh—” as he walked over to Bao Ning and said, “Fifth sister, isn’t it?”

He patted his head and chuckled. “Look at me—so rude. You’re still here and I slept straight through! I’ve just been too tired lately. You came back from your second sister’s? Eh, where’s your eldest sister?” He looked around.

By rights, he should’ve addressed her as “Fourth Prince’s Consort,” but he never thought much of Pei Yuan and ignored the title, calling her by her relation to Ji Xiangzhen.

Bao Ning cursed inwardly. Why did he wake up so fast? Then she remembered Jia Ling was trained in martial arts and had followed Marquis Chongyuan into battle—he had a strong constitution, so it wasn’t surprising. But her elder sister hadn’t returned yet… Bao Ning said, “She said her stomach hurt and went out.”

Jia Ling believed her. He rubbed his forehead and looked at Pei Yuan behind her. “This your bodyguard?”

“Yes.” Bao Ning replied, anxious for Jia Ling to just go back inside.

“He’s got quite the physique. Didn’t think you’d find such talent.” Jia Ling smiled. “But why is he always looking down? Lift your head—I want to see what you look like.”

Sweat soaked Bao Ning’s palms. She couldn’t let Jia Ling see Pei Yuan’s face. Thinking fast, she looked up and exclaimed, “Brother-in-law! What’s that in the sky?”

Still groggy from the sedative, Jia Ling followed her gaze up. Bao Ning discreetly nudged Pei Yuan’s arm. He got the hint and picked up a rock, flicking it at the largest gardenia flower above Jia Ling’s head. The big blossom smacked Jia Ling’s face. Pollen flew into his nose, and he doubled over, sneezing repeatedly.

Bao Ning said, “Brother-in-law, are you sick all of a sudden? Did you catch a chill?”

She called for the maidservants: “Quick, help your master inside to rest!”

Jia Ling picked up the flower, holding his nose and wondering, This flower hasn’t even fully bloomed. Why did it fall? But his mind was foggy, and he couldn’t think further. He apologized to Bao Ning and was helped away.

Bao Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Not long after, Ji Xiangzhen returned, rushing in to Bao Ning and saying, “It’s done!”

She added, “I looked forever in the secret compartment and was about to give up when I found it—Jia Ling just stuck it between a stack of letters, right on the desk. So bold, hiding in plain sight... The letter says the Emperor will set out from the East Gate the day after tomorrow, arriving at Yandang Gorge around a quarter to noon. He’ll be in the third escort carriage. The note said ‘a total of three vehicles’—I added two strokes to ‘three’ to change it to ‘thirteen.’ Pei Xiao will think he’s in the thirteenth carriage.”

Bao Ning exchanged a glance with Pei Yuan and softly said, “Thank you, elder sister.”

“What’s there to thank me for? I did it for myself too—for a better life.” Ji Xiangzhen glanced toward the house. “Alright, you two go. I’ll stay and keep Jia Ling from getting suspicious.”

…

It was already late, the sky gray with impending rain—not ideal for mountain travel. And Pei Yuan’s health wasn’t great, so they decided to stay at an inn for the night and leave in the morning.

They called for hot water. Bao Ning sat at the table, shelling and eating fragrant melon seeds from the inn. Pei Yuan watched her.

Soon there was a little pile of seed shells. Pei Yuan tapped the back of her hand. “Stop. You’ll get a sore throat from eating too many.”

Bao Ning paused. Feeling hungry, she reached for some peanuts. Pei Yuan grabbed her hand. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Nope.” Bao Ning looked at him, confused. After a moment, she realized he was referring to the thoughts she’d had back at the Marquis’s residence.

She didn’t want to think about it anymore. Those feelings came and went, but most of the time, she was happy in the present. Thinking back, she felt embarrassed by what she’d said—melodramatic and cringey. She tried to cover it up, grabbed some peanuts and asked, “Want some? I’ll shell them for you.”

Pei Yuan said, “You eat them yourself.”

Bao Ning pulled her hand back.

Pei Yuan gritted his teeth. He really wanted to pry open her head to see what she thought all day. She’d randomly said those things, and now acted like nothing happened—leaving him to overthink. He knew her—knew her insecurity and sensitivity. He’d tried hard to make her feel safe. He thought he had, but clearly, it wasn’t enough.

Pei Yuan remembered her talking about Yuanzi.

Does she need a child to truly feel secure? To bind her to him with a child?

Pei Yuan rubbed his fingers and was about to reach for her sash when he remembered—no, there was still something unfinished. Someone he hadn’t dealt with yet.

A repulsive man pretending to be a woman, playing tricks and deceiving others…

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