Chapter 40

 Qiu Mingshan left in the evening. Baoning didn't know what he and Pei Yuan had talked about. They talked for so long that it was getting late, and Baoning wanted to invite him to stay for dinner, but Qiu Mingshan politely declined.

Pei Yuan's expression remained indifferent throughout.

By the time the lamps were lit, Baoning's dinner had long been prepared, simmering in the pot with vegetables washed and chopped, ready to be stir-fried.

Yellow followed her around, knocking over the plate of scallions. Baoning lightly tapped its backside and went to the backyard to pick some green onions. When she returned, she saw Pei Yuan sitting on the kang, playing with a box.

The box was locked, and he was twisting a small key, poking and prodding at it, refusing to open it.

Baoning hadn't planned to interfere. She washed her hands and chopped the scallions. The sound of knife against cutting board echoed in the room. Pei Yuan glanced at her, set down what he was holding, and walked toward her.

Baoning stepped aside preemptively. "Ah, don't touch me, I'm afraid of getting cut."

"Let me just smell." Pei Yuan took the knife from her hand and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing his nose against her neck and taking a deep sniff.

Baoning chuckled and struggled. "It tickles... let go."

Pei Yuan chuckled softly. Baoning turned around and put her fingers under his nose. "Smell this."

Pei Yuan frowned and turned his head. "It smells like onions, really pungent."

"Then you should hurry up and leave." Baoning pulled her hand back, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed.

Although Baoning and Pei Yuan were already familiar with each other, Baoning still felt uncomfortable with such intimate physical contact.

She waved a small shovel at him. "If you keep annoying me here, you won't have dinner tonight."

"Do you like it here?" Pei Yuan suddenly changed the subject. "This place is quite remote, in the wilderness, hardly anyone around, plenty of snakes and insects. Did you hear the rats running across the rafters last night?"

Baoning shivered. "It's time for dinner. Why are you talking about these things? It's unsettling."

Pei Yuan said seriously, "I just feel that this place isn't very suitable for living."

"We've been living here just fine these past few months..." Baoning realized there was more to his words. "Do you want to move?"

"Yeah," Pei Yuan nodded. "Actually, when I first came here, I wasn't very satisfied with this place. But at that time, I was disheartened and thought I'd just make do. Now, I can't do it anymore. I'm much better, and we can afford to live in a better place. Why should we endure here?"

Pei Yuan played the caring card, rubbing his nose against her forehead. "I'll take you to a better place, to enjoy comfort."

Baoning placed her hands on his shoulders, creating some distance. "I don't feel wronged here. We've been doing just fine, haven't we? We lack nothing here, and we have everything... Why suddenly talk about moving? Pei Yuan, are you not telling me the truth, or did General Qiu say something to you?"

Pei Yuan said, "This place isn't safe."

Baoning frowned briefly. She remembered the people she had encountered before: Xu Guang, Feng Yongjia, Pei Xiao. Reluctantly, Baoning had to admit that this place was indeed dangerous. If something happened, there would be no one to help them.

Looking into Pei Yuan's eyes, Baoning still harbored a glimmer of hope. She had actually wanted to speak up long ago. They could leave the capital together, go to a remote village, live as an ordinary couple. Work from sunrise to sunset, not thinking about power struggles, living a peaceful and comfortable life.

It was her wish, one she hadn't told Pei Yuan about for fear of his reluctance. Pei Yuan came from a noble background and was accustomed to a life of luxury. Asking him to give up everything and accompany her was asking too much. Baoning had been waiting for an opportunity.

It seemed like that opportunity had finally arrived.

Baoning cautiously asked, "Where do you want to move to?"

"To the General's Mansion," Pei Yuan replied.

Baoning's face turned pale. "We have our own home. Why do we have to live as guests in someone else's mansion? It's too absurd!"

The gap between expectation and reality was too great. Baoning's heart raced. She lowered her eyelids to suppress her displeasure. "I don't like it."

Pei Yuan patted her back reassuringly. "It's just temporary. Once the situation stabilizes, we'll leave."

"Pei Yuan... what are you trying to do?" Baoning was getting anxious. "Why do we have to go to the General's Mansion? Isn't it better to leave the capital? There are many places to settle down. Why involve ourselves with the General's Mansion? You know better than me, you're rushing into a fire... Pei Yuan."

Baoning stared at him blankly. "Do you want that position?"

"No," Pei Yuan answered firmly. Baoning relaxed slightly.

Seeing her distress, Pei Yuan sighed, holding Baoning's head against his chest. "But some things must be resolved. I can't just take you away like this. There will be endless troubles."

Baoning's eyes reddened. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to live in someone else's home. What about my vegetable garden, my chickens and ducks, and my dog?"

"We'll come back," Pei Yuan cupped her face. "And it's just a change of place. You can think of it as taking a stroll into the city. Don't worry about anything. Eat, drink, and be merry. At most, half a year, wherever you want to go, I'll accompany you."

Bao Ning said, "I want to see snow, heavy snow like goose feathers. They say it snows heavily in the northwest, knee-deep."

"The northern frontier, I'm familiar with it. We'll settle there in the future. I'll take you snowballing, how about that?" Pei Yuan coaxed her, his voice soft. "If you like, we can raise deer in the backyard. They're quite silly. Let it play with you, jumping around stupidly." Pei Yuan pressed his face against hers. "Just like you."

"I'm not like that," Baoning laughed through tears.

She still felt a bit uncomfortable, but she accepted Pei Yuan's proposal. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Pei Yuan straightened up.

"So soon..." Baoning murmured softly.

The dinner was eaten without much taste. After washing the dishes, Baoning checked the chicken coop fence, added more grass to Sai Feng's bedding, and carried Yellow back into the house to check on her jar of medicinal leeches.

The color of the leech egg sacs remained normal. Baoning sighed, feeling worried about leaving this small courtyard in the future. Without the little river, where would she dig for pond mud and catch snails?

Although the courtyard was small, she had painstakingly cultivated it. Suddenly leaving was quite hard for her.

Seeing her listless, Pei Yuan tried to cheer her up with jokes, but they weren't funny, and Baoning didn't understand them. She sat aside, cracking melon seeds. Seeing her uninterested, Pei Yuan stopped trying and sat with her by the lamp.

By the time they finished nearly two pounds of melon seeds, with three piles of husks, Baoning put on her shoes and threw the husks into the stove.

Watching the flames flicker up, Baoning clapped her hands, feeling much more at ease.

Pei Yuan smiled at her. "You have such quirky habits."

Baoning replied, "I roasted these myself, but it's embarrassing to carry around a big handful of melon seeds. I didn't want to waste them, so I ate them all today."

"Wait a few days and your teeth might ache," Pei Yuan teased as he pulled her up by the hand, blowing out the lamp. "Alright, let's go to sleep."

---

The next day, Qiu Mingshan sent someone early to pick them up.

Baoning packed up the house. They couldn't take the larger items, and the smaller ones weren't necessary. It seemed like they had everything there. In the end, Baoning only took a few pieces of clothing, her leech jar, and a dog.

Baoning suddenly remembered that when she had married Pei Yuan, she had been almost alone like this.

Sitting in the carriage, Baoning looked at Pei Yuan, looking despondent. "My little persimmons will rot in the ground, and what about my chickens? Who will eat them?"

"No one will," Pei Yuan reassured her. "I've had someone take your chickens away and take good care of them. They won't be eaten. They'll live out their days in comfort." Pei Yuan rubbed her fingertips. "If you want to see them, you can go anytime."

Baoning paused. "It's not that serious..."

She lifted the curtain to look at the scenery outside. The journey had been through pure mountain scenery. Baoning looked longingly. She remembered Pei Yuan's promise to her: within half a year, he would resolve things here and take her to the northern frontier to see snow.

Not wanting to attract too much attention, they entered through a small gate behind the General's Mansion. With many children of Qiu Mingshan, the mansion was large with many vacant residences. Baoning chose a secluded courtyard named "Fragrant Pavilion". To take care of her, Pei Yuan found an elderly servant named Mrs. Liu, whom Baoning addressed as Liu Mama.

In the center of Fragrant Pavilion stood a large pomegranate tree in full bloom, with little traffic and very quiet surroundings.

Living here also had its advantages. It was close to her parents' home, although it was difficult to see her aunt often, she could frequently visit Jiyun.

Life in the General's Mansion wasn't bad. Everything they needed was at their fingertips, and it was peaceful. However, they also lost many joys.

Pei Yuan suddenly became busy, and Baoning didn't know what he was busy with. He refused to say, and she didn't press him. Baoning worried about his health, but Pei Yuan couldn't stop. Watching the dark circles under his eyes deepen, Baoning fretted, but their time to talk grew shorter. The brief tenderness of the past few days seemed to have become a thing of the past, and life became dull.

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