Chapter 20

 Ji Jiaying seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time, smilingly saying, "Fifth sister, how come you didn't inform us in advance when you returned home? Standing at the door for so long, if others didn't know, they might think we kicked you out. It wouldn't sound good."

Bao Ning looked behind her and found that everyone from the family was actually there.

The Duke of Rong Guo stood behind Ji Jiaying with an embarrassed smile on his face. Tao Shi was supported by a maid, her hand resting on her belly, looking radiant and happy.

Ji Yun anxiously stood beside Xu Shi, wanting to step forward when he saw Bao Ning, but was pulled back by Xu Shi.

There were also several eunuchs from the Ministry of Works, dressed in festive clothes, resembling those who had brought betrothal gifts when she got married.

The Duke of Rongguo frowned lightly and scolded, "Ying'er, don't talk nonsense." No matter how much more he had to say, he didn't dare to say anymore. In this mansion, although he was the male head, he didn't have much status. Now that Ji Jiaying had married into the powerful family of Tao Shi's brother, he had even less say.

The eunuchs didn't seem surprised and politely bowed to everyone before bypassing Bao Ning and Pei Yuan and heading out.It seemed they either didn't recognize them or simply wanted to ignore them.

Ji Jiaying's lips curved, about to turn around and leave, when Ji Yun suddenly stepped forward and loudly exclaimed, "Greetings to the Fourth Prince!" After speaking, he bowed respectfully.

The footsteps of the eunuchs stopped, unsure whether to leave or stay, looking at each other awkwardly. But they still had to save face. The leader among them coughed twice and hastily knelt down, "This servant was blind and didn't recognize the Fourth Prince. Please forgive me!"

After he finished, the Duke of Rongguo quickly spoke up, "The Fourth Prince has graced us with his presence. Please come in, please come in!"

The Duke of Rongguo didn't intentionally leave Bao Ning and Pei Yuan standing there; he just didn't dare to go against Xu Shi's wishes. Xu Shi, who had no children of her own and disliked Bao Ning's birth mother Xu Shi, naturally also disliked Bao Ning.

And Pei Yuan, despite his royal title, had no power or influence, so anyone dared to offend him. Xu Shi's power naturally looked down on him.

Bao Ning's heart was originally tense, but luckily Ji Yun's exclamation relieved her.

Pei Yuan nodded and whispered, "Father-in-law, no need for such formalities." He gave a way out, and the Duke of Rongguo was very happy. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, waved his hand to signal the maids standing by to help, and took over Bao Ning's duty, pushing Pei Yuan into the house.

Ji Jiaying frowned. She wasn't satisfied. Her eyes swept over the head eunuch of the Ministry of Works, mouthing, "Leave." The eunuch understood and pretended to stumble forward, saying "Oops" and falling forward, directly onto Pei Yuan's wheelchair.

The maid was just about to take over from Bao Ning, but she let go of the wheelchair because of the force of the collision. The wheelchair lost control and slid forward rapidly, almost crashing into the wall of the gate.

Bao Ning exclaimed in panic, wanting to reach out to stop it, but she couldn't catch it.There were cries of shock all around the courtyard, fearing that Pei Yuan would be thrown out or crash into the wall. Bao Ning was anxious and forgot about etiquette, running to catch up.

Ji Jiaying tugged at the corner of her mouth, whispered, "Just a disgraced prince, acting so high and mighty." Seeing Bao Ning running over, Ji Jiaying gently lifted her skirt to block her raised ankle, wanting to secretly trip her.

But she didn't expect Pei Yuan, who had already slipped away, to suddenly change direction and come straight at her. Ji Jiaying's eyes widened, not understanding what was going on, and quickly withdrew her foot, staggering back a few steps under the support of the maid.

Tao Shi stood beside her, affected by the commotion, almost stumbling, and quickly grabbed the clothes of the old woman next to her, "My stomach, protect my stomach!"

The Duke of Rongguo stood aside, not knowing whether to help this one or that one, getting confused.Pei Yuan held the wheels firmly and stopped steadily in front of Bao Ning, his eyes narrowed, looking at the commotion over there.Bao Ning was scared, her heart almost stopping, squatting down to touch Pei Yuan's legs, anxiously asking, "Are you okay? If it hurts, you tell me."

Pei Yuan grabbed her hand and pulled her up, "I'm fine."

"Why did you slide out like that? This is a big deal." Xu Shi also hurried over, worried about Bao Ning. She turned her head to look at the already dumbfounded head eunuch and sternly said, "Is this how the people of the Ministry of Works behave? You've bumped into the Fourth Prince. Hurry up and apologize!"

The head eunuch hadn't expected things to turn out like this. He was one of the people under Tao Maobing, Xu Shi's brother, selected to handle Ji Jiaying's marriage. Naturally, he followed her orders.

And he had heard about Pei Yuan's situation earlier. Rumor had it that the Fourth Prince had been deposed, unable to move, lying in bed all day, and even the Emperor didn't like him. He wasn't afraid at first, thinking it would be easy to bully someone in such a state, and if he pleased Ji Jiaying, he might get more rewards.

Now he realized how wrong he was. After all, a prince was still a prince, even if he had fallen, he couldn't be oppressed by a slave like him. Why did he have to provoke such a bad situation?"

Fourth Prince, this servant was clumsy and startled you, please forgive me!" The head eunuch bowed his head, tears streaming down, begging for forgiveness.

Bao Ning was angry. She had a good temper, but she wasn't blind. She saw Ji Jiaying's little actions, targeting her even before she got married, and now it continued, even involving Pei Yuan.

Bao Ning felt guilty. Today's events had caused Pei Yuan a lot of grievances, all because she was accompanying her."

Let's ignore them and I'll take you back to the courtyard." Bao Ning adjusted the blanket on Pei Yuan's legs and pushed him towards Xu Shi's courtyard.

With things as they were, what was the point of being accommodating? Ji Jiaying and Tao Shi wouldn't remember her kindness, and now that she had married the Fourth Prince, what harm could she do by being a little tougher?

Thinking like this, Bao Ning straightened her back a bit more, and Xu Shi and Ji Yun followed suit. Ming Aunt looked on coldly for a while, then patted her sleeves and left.

Only Sixth Sister Ji Liuxiang and Auntie Ye, who was always weak and submissive, stood awkward Bao Ning was stunned.

Xu Shi patted her hand, "You're married now, so you don't need to worry about things at home anymore. If there's nothing urgent, don't come back often. Just quietly enjoy your own little life."

Bao Ning felt uncomfortable hearing this.Xu Shi also felt a bit bitter, "Ah, it's also because Auntie was incompetent and couldn't protect you, that's why she let you... But you don't need to worry about Auntie. With Ji Yun accompanying me, I won't be wronged."

Speaking of this, Xu Shi suddenly remembered that Pei Yuan was still there. She raised her head abruptly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Pei Yuan seemed not to have heard, his gaze falling outside the window. Xu Shi suppressed her heartbeat and changed the subject, "Bao Ning, why did you come back on this day? You didn't inform us in advance. Whether you're hungry or not, Auntie will have the kitchen prepare some food for you."

"I didn't choose the day," Bao Ning said, "It's not very convenient to travel from far away. I just happened to encounter a carriage yesterday, so I came along." Listening to Pei Yuan, who mentioned that Pei Yang had secretly run away, Bao Ning didn't dare to expose him.

Xu Shi smiled, "That's really good. Auntie misses you. You don't need the kitchen to cook. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll personally make it for you."

"We just ate not long ago, so we're not hungry," Bao Ning obediently replied, but her mind was spinning. She wanted to find Auntie Ming now, but Pei Yuan was here, and so was Xu Shi. She didn't know how to bring it up.

Pei Yuan must not want to expose his scars, nor did he want anyone to mention them. Bao Ning hesitated for a moment, not yet thinking of a solution, when she heard the maid enter and announce, "Auntie Ming is here."

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