Chapter 4

The first thing that caught his eye was a beautiful and delicate face, with willow leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and snow-white complexion. She looked young, not yet fully grown, but already possessed an exceptionally striking appearance. It wasn't the kind of stunning or captivating beauty; on the contrary, she gave off a very comfortable feeling, with a non-threatening appearance. There was a shallow dimple at the corner of her lips.

She didn't seem like she was looking for trouble.

Having reached this conclusion, Pei Yuan's tense mind relaxed slightly, and the hand that had been exerting three-tenths of his inner strength also eased.

It wasn't until his gaze swept down and he saw Bao Ning's bright red wedding dress that Pei Yuan's pupils contracted. Suddenly, he remembered what Cuifu had said in the morning, that today was his wedding day, and the bride would arrive around noon. By then, she would return to the capital, leaving his princess consort to continue serving him.

Cuifu said those words with a hint of pity: "I heard your princess consort is a marriage of convenience, the daughter of the Rongguo Duke's family, right? Such a noble young lady, how could she willingly fall to such a place? And who knows how she'll treat you in the future, it's really pitiful to see."

Pei Yuan didn't know whom Cuifu was pitying, whether it was him or the princess consort who was about to marry him.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan revealed a hint of irony. What she said was true. With his current situation, he was just a useless waste. Who would be foolish enough to serve him? Everyone was probably hoping he would die soon, right? Even the maids sent by the Ministry of Works dared to boss him around. Let alone a princess consort, anyone could tell she must be a hapless illegitimate daughter forced to marry, crying countless times on the way here, probably calculating how to escape now and coming to his room to gather information.

She should be very happy, right? Looking at him half-dead like this, once he breathes his last, she'll be a free woman.

...

Pei Yuan was stunned as he looked at her skirt. Bao Ning didn't know what he was thinking, so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the quilt slipping off.

Worried that Pei Yuan might catch a worse cold, she reached out and pulled the quilt back, wrapping it around his neck, and asked again, "Are you very thirsty? If you can bear it for a while, drinking cold water isn't good. Tell me where I can fetch water, and I'll heat it up for you to drink."

Quite the actress.

Pei Yuan snapped out of his thoughts, furrowing his brow disdainfully, and sidestepped to avoid Bao Ning's hand, tilting his head back to gulp down the water from the teapot.

Perhaps due to his trembling hand, at first, the spout of the teapot wasn't aligned properly, and some cold water spilled out, splashing onto his neck. Pei Yuan seemed not to feel it. He tossed the teapot back onto the table carelessly, wiped his mouth casually, and burrowed back into the quilt.

Being ignored from start to finish, Bao Ning felt a bit embarrassed. She touched her nose awkwardly.

After standing for a while, she felt that this standoff couldn't go on. It was better to start a conversation and improve their relationship.

Bao Ning squatted down, aligning her gaze with Pei Yuan's lying figure as much as possible, and spoke in the gentlest voice she could muster, "Fourth Prince, I am your..."

Before she could finish her words, Pei Yuan abruptly opened his eyes, impatiently saying, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Bao Ning was taken aback by his scolding, feeling a bit aggrieved.

She pursed her lips and quickly adjusted her mood.

She had known about Pei Yuan's temperament for a long time. Now that he had fallen into such a predicament, feeling a bit upset was normal. She would accommodate him, there was no need to get angry because of this.

Once she figured it out, Bao Ning smiled again and introduced herself, "My surname is Ji, and my name is Bao Ning. Have you heard of me? Ji Bao Ning."

Pei Yuan looked at her strangely, his gaze complex.

As expected, he didn't get a response as expected.

Bao Ning thought that Pei Yuan probably didn't recognize her. He was the Fourth Prince, such a noble figure, with a personality that was always flamboyant. He usually associated with dandies, spending his days riding and archery. Perhaps he didn't even know Ji Jia Ying, let alone her, Bao Ning.

But that didn't matter. The past was over. What mattered now was to live well in the future.

"From now on, we'll be living together," Bao Ning tucked the quilt around Pei Yuan and rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with curved eyes, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. What would you like to eat later? I'll make it for you."

Pei Yuan sneered, closed his eyes, and ignored her.

His left leg was injured, and because he hadn't properly cleaned and treated the wound, the deep, festering wound was painful. Pei Yuan usually slept on his right side to avoid the pain, and his face happened to face Bao Ning's position. There was no escaping it.

He couldn't be bothered to deal with her, so he simply closed his eyes and ignored her.

After a while, Bao Ning sighed and got up to leave.

Pei Yuan heard the sound of the door closing and finally opened his eyes, a hint of sarcasm flashing in them.

This woman's acting skills were quite high. Did she think he would be touched by her false words?

Thinking like this, his hunger was suddenly awakened.

Pei Yuan reached behind him and felt around, pulling out a wax paper package. When he opened it, there was half a scallion pancake inside. It had been left for too long, and with the cold winter, the oil on the scallion pancake had solidified, making it look greasy.

Cuifu wasn't attentive to him, and there weren't many ingredients here. Her cooking skills were also bad, she only made corn porridge every day, with a little bitter salt mixed in, just enough to make a meal. Pei Yuan couldn't swallow it, so he relied on the snacks and meals sent by Pei Yang every few days to fill his hunger.

Pei Yang was his fifth brother, thirteen years old this year, the youngest son of the emperor, and had always been favored.

Pei Yuan had always been good to this younger brother, personally teaching him martial arts and swordsmanship. Pei Yang was also very close to him. After he had his accident, his former drinking buddies disappeared without a trace, eager to distance themselves from him, only Pei Yang remembered him and would come to visit every three or five days, bringing some things with him.

It had been about five days since Pei Yang last came. With the roads blocked by heavy snow and this remote location, it was very difficult for him to make the trip.

Pei Yuan took a bite of the scallion pancake, thinking to himself that he would cook some food later to save for tomorrow.

As for the woman just now, he didn't believe in her and didn't expect anything from her. It sounded nice, but just wait, in less than three days, she would be crying and begging to go back.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan's eyes grew colder.

Hurry up and leave, so as not to disturb his peace.

Bao Ning pulled the dowry box from outside into the house. Her dowry was not rich; at most, there were two large boxes, one of which was bought with Xushi's private money out of pity for her. In addition, Bao Ning brought a small box herself.

The day she saw the betrothal gifts prepared by the Ministry of Household for Pei Yuan, Bao Ning had an idea of his current situation. Afraid that there might not even be necessities for living here, she brought some supplies. A few pounds of pork, a bag of flour, a bag of fine rice, and some miscellaneous vegetables and medicine. Because of these things, she was mocked by Jia Jia Ying and Jia Liu Xiang.

Bao Ning originally thought she was overly sensitive. Now it seemed fortunate that she had thought ahead; otherwise, she wouldn't know what to eat tonight.

The wedding dress was too cumbersome. Bao Ning took out a set of casual clothes from the box and changed into them, instantly feeling much more relaxed.

She thought for a moment, then took out a piece of cloth and used it to block the hole in Pei Yuan's window.

This person had a bad temper and didn't care about the consequences. If he wanted to get angry, let him. What's the point of breaking the window? If it breaks, he'll freeze himself.

Bao Ning shook her head, turned around, and continued to look for a water source. No matter how bad her mood was, she still needed to eat.

As she turned around, Bao Ning suddenly discovered a narrow passage between the house and the fence on the east side of Pei Yuan's thatched cottage. It was about a foot wide. She walked over and saw that there was also a small courtyard on that side. Bao Ning was pleasantly surprised. She lifted her skirt and squeezed over. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a well, and on the east side of the well, there was something that looked like a vegetable cellar entrance blocked by wooden boards. On the west side was a cultivated vegetable field, but now there were no vegetables left, just rows of ridges.

Bao Ning only now realized that this courtyard had a structure like a "sun" character, with a fence surrounding a large courtyard, two small thatched cottages blocking the middle, and passages left on the left and right to the backyard.

There was a well, a vegetable cellar, and a vegetable field. When spring arrived, life would be much better.

Bao Ning soon forgot about the annoyance she felt when Pei Yuan had yelled at her earlier. She went back to the west wing, lit a candle, and went to check how much food was stored in the vegetable cellar.

When she lifted the wooden boards, a musty and damp smell mixed with the peculiar aroma of cabbage and radishes wafted out. It wasn't too unpleasant.

Bao Ning tied her skirt around her waist, took the candle, and carefully climbed down the ladder. Since the candle hadn't gone out, she felt relieved. When she reached the bottom, Bao Ning turned her head hopefully, only to see a few large cabbages in the corner, with a half-cut red radish beside them. A few rotten vegetables lay lonely nearby. There was nothing like the imagined abundance of food or dried meat.

Bao Ning felt a little disappointed. She sighed, but then thought to herself that at least there were a few cabbages. It was still good. She could make dumpling soup tonight, thick and hot, which would be nice.

She had always been good at comforting herself since she was young. She could find joy in hardship, and whatever unpleasant things happened, she would forget them in the blink of an eye. Tao Shi said she was worthless, but Bao Ning didn't know what it meant to be worthy. She just felt that she was fine the way she was. Her mood was always cheerful, and life was always full of flavor.

Bao Ning picked up a large cabbage and blew out the candle. Then she climbed back up the ladder.

The kitchen was too small and was adjacent to her bed. It was inconvenient to wash vegetables there, so Bao Ning brought up water from the well.

It was late winter and early spring, and the water from the well was bone-chillingly cold. Bao Ning's hands turned red from the cold. After washing for a while, she felt cold, so she shook the water off her hands. Her hands were tucked under her abdomen to keep warm as she surveyed the small courtyard, pondering what vegetables to plant in half a month when the winter frost thawed. She was definitely going to plant onions and garlic chives; they were delicious when stir-fried with eggs. She also wanted to plant cabbage, chili peppers, and coriander. Oh yes, she should plant some cucumbers too; they were refreshing in the summer. Speaking of refreshment, she could also plant grapes. They could be trained to grow on a trellis, which would be nice and cool...

In mid-February, the sky darkened early, and it was already getting dim even before the hour of Shen had passed.

Pei Yuan reached for a coat and draped it over his shoulders, struggling to stand up, intending to go to the kitchen to make some food.

Due to the accident, Pei Yuan's left leg was paralyzed. Although he felt pain, he couldn't use any strength at all. In order to stand up, he had to rely on a wooden stick, making walking difficult. Just a few steps from the east wing to the west wing's doorway, Pei Yuan was already sweating profusely. Perhaps due to exertion, he could feel that the tiny wounds that had just healed seemed to have reopened, and strands of pain crawled up his spine. Pei Yuan lowered his head, glaring hatefully at his own legs, his eyes filled with gloom.

Being so disabled and useless, even he himself detested it. Who else could possibly like him?

Before pushing open the door to the west wing, Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment. He thought, what if she hadn't left and was still inside?

Pei Yuan stood at the doorway for a while, seeing that there was still no movement inside, he reached out and pushed the door open.

Indeed, there was no one inside.

Pei Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. He was indeed overthinking things.

The firestone was placed on the table. Pei Yuan picked it up and held it in his hand, then crouched down with difficulty, intending to start the stove.

Squatting down, a seemingly simple action, was extremely difficult for Pei Yuan. His leg was injured, and his left leg was numb. Even bending it was difficult. In order to squat down, he had to tightly grip the stick to maintain balance, so as not to tilt and fall down. The stick was just a thicker piece of firewood, not sturdy at all. Under the weight, it seemed like it could split at any moment. Pei Yuan's forehead was covered in fine sweat, and he gasped for breath, then threw the stick aside and instead propped himself up on the stove. However, his arm was strained, his hand slipped, and he fell to the ground again.

The wound completely reopened, and the intense pain made Pei Yuan's vision darken. He raised his head, a muffled groan escaping his throat.

---

When Bao Ning pushed open the door with the washed vegetables, Pei Yuan was struggling to stand up.

Hearing the noise behind him, Pei Yuan was startled and immediately turned to look.

Bao Ning also looked at him in surprise and said, "Fourth Prince, why are you out..."

Her gaze slid down and fell on Pei Yuan's weak left leg, which was limp and twisted into a rather grotesque position.

Pei Yuan didn't have time to feel happy about her appearance. Seeing where her gaze fell, his expression suddenly darkened.

With the tips of his fingers gripping the stick turning pale, his eyes red, he snapped, "Keep staring, and I'll gouge out your eyes!"

Author's note: Poor little wolf dog in distress?

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