Chapter 65

 Bao Ning spent two hours packing all her personal belongings and gifts, then set off for the Zhuangzi in Li Lake with a sheep, a dog, and Liu Mama.

Liu Mama's indenture was in her hands. Bao Ning initially didn't want to bring her along, but considering the long journey and the danger of traveling alone, she decided it was safer to have more people with her.

Bao Ning didn't call for the carriage from the General's Mansion. At dawn, they slipped out through the back door quietly with a familiar coachman arranged by Liu Mama. No one noticed their departure.

---

Meanwhile, Pei Yuan spent that night sleeping at Wei Meng's place.

Two grown men squeezed onto a small bed, unable to spread out. Pei Yuan already had a lot on his mind and found it hard to sleep, especially with Wei Meng snoring loudly. He tossed and turned all night, eventually kicking Wei Meng off the bed.

"Enemy attack!" Wei Meng immediately woke up, grabbing the sword under his pillow and scanning the surroundings alertly.

Pei Yuan stared at him with a heavy gaze. After a while, Wei Meng realized what had just happened. He yawned, wanting to complain, but seeing Pei Yuan's irritable expression, he didn't dare speak and sullenly lay down on the floor with his blanket. "Just go to sleep, it'll be light soon."

"I can't sleep," Pei Yuan said.

Wei Meng, feeling sleepy, casually suggested, "Then drink a bit more wine; it helps with sleep."

Pei Yuan's expression darkened.

Suddenly, Wei Meng remembered. Pei Yuan had returned home drunk, then been kicked out by someone before sleeping with him.

Wei Meng sighed and sat up. "So, what exactly happened?"

Pei Yuan also sat up, clenching his fists on his knees. "I can't say."

How could he explain? That he saw his wife meeting someone else secretly, confronted her, and got slapped in return? It was too humiliating!

The more Pei Yuan thought about it, the angrier he got. He jumped up suddenly, grabbed Wei Meng's sword, and headed out. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Young General, it's the middle of the night! Who are you going to kill?" Wei Meng panicked and quickly grabbed Pei Yuan around the waist. "Calm down!"

Pei Yuan's eyes flashed with anger. "Calm down? How can I calm down? I damn well have to kill that bastard tonight!"

"Alright, alright, what exactly happened?" Wei Meng sighed, knowing they wouldn't get any sleep tonight. He pulled Pei Yuan down to sit on the ground and fetched two jars of wine. "Can you at least talk to me? Let your brother give you some advice."

Pei Yuan sat there with a grim expression, clenching his teeth and remaining silent.

Wei Meng muttered under his breath, "It's like trying to pull out a tooth from a stubborn donkey. I don't know how your wife puts up with you; she probably wanted to slap you a long time ago."

Pei Yuan listened carefully, his head snapping towards Wei Meng with an icy gaze.

Wei Meng shuddered, feeling that if he said one more word, Pei Yuan might rush over and tear him apart.

Sighing, Wei Meng was about to say something when he suddenly noticed the injuries on Pei Yuan's face in the moonlight. It was swollen and marked with scratches, clearly from Bao Ning's slap. The swelling was quite severe.

Wei Meng took in a sharp breath. "Did your wife really hit you?"

Recalling Bao Ning's delicate appearance, she seemed so fragile and gentle. Why would she hit him so hard?

Unable to contain himself any longer, Pei Yuan slammed his fist into the bedpost, shaking the entire bed. He shouted, "Such humiliation!"

He poured out the events of the day to Wei Meng, glossing over the part where Bao Ning had hit him.

"...I stormed out, I swear, unless she comes to beg me, I won't step into her door again!"

"I can't understand it. I treated her so well. After this incident, it's all because of her. If it were anyone else, who knows how many times they would have died! But she doesn't appreciate my kindness at all. Even if she shed a few tears and begged me, I wouldn't have reacted like this. She means so much to me, I've made that clear. No matter what she does, I wouldn't treat her like this. But she's so stubborn..."

Pei Yuan, still intoxicated, rambled on. He couldn't stop himself, and he spoke more tonight than he usually did in a month to Wei Meng.

Wei Meng couldn't listen any longer and interrupted, "Young General, let me ask you one thing. How are you so sure that Madam Pei did what you think she did?"

Pei Yuan froze.

Wei Meng continued, "I've lived almost thirty years, seen countless people. From what I've observed of Madam Pei, she wouldn't do it. Are you perhaps misunderstanding something? Have you asked her about it?"

Pei Yuan clenched his lips tightly.

He hadn't asked. He didn't dare. He was afraid of hearing something he didn't want to hear from Bao Ning. In fact, since the incident started, he had never thought to ask Bao Ning what had really happened.

It was as if he was deliberately avoiding it, or perhaps he was too confident in his own eyes and judgment.

Or maybe, he lacked confidence, not in Bao Ning, but in himself.

Sometimes he wondered, why would Bao Ning choose him? She was so good, and what did he have to offer her? She had married him under such dubious circumstances, forced into it. So if one day she no longer wanted this, if she wanted to leave, what would he do?

Meng Fan's appearance had hit Pei Yuan's vulnerable spot perfectly, just one image was enough to throw his mind into chaos and disarray.

It wasn't until Wei Meng spoke that Pei Yuan felt a moment of enlightenment. Suddenly, he thought, what if Bao Ning hadn't done anything wrong all along? What if he had been wrong all this time, unfairly accusing her?

Pei Yuan felt like he was going crazy.

Wei Meng took a sip of wine and patted Pei Yuan's shoulder. "I think Madam Pei is right. Between husband and wife, honesty is key. Just talk it out. Young General, you've always been decisive and resolute. How did things get to this point? You're a mess, causing a scene in front of others."

Pei Yuan's gaze fell on Wei Meng's wine bowl. Wei Meng felt uneasy under his stare and offered the bowl to his lips. "Want a sip?"

Pei Yuan remained dazed for a moment before blurting out, "I regret it."

"You regret what?"

"That night, when I saw that hairpin, I should have just asked her directly," Pei Yuan muttered to himself. "I was overly suspicious. Bao Ning was right. I'm petty and narrow-minded, unable to see past trivial matters..."

Wei Meng almost choked on his wine. "Madam Pei said you couldn't see past trivial matters?"

He clicked his tongue. "That's impossible. Madam Pei seems educated; how could she say such vulgar things?"

Pei Yuan snatched the wine jar beside him and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

After finishing, he wiped his mouth, his eyes clearer now. He repeated, "I should have just asked her! No, I shouldn't have doubted her. What kind of person is Bao Ning? I should have known better. There was nothing to suspect, just a simple, shameful trick that has thrown us into chaos! Overthinking led to chaos. I should have figured it out long ago!"

"That's right!" Wei Meng slapped his thigh. "Now that you've figured it out."

He glanced at the sky outside, already brightening with the rising sun.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Wei Meng wanted to send Pei Yuan home quickly so he could catch up on sleep. Pointing to the door, he said, "Young General, go home quickly. Have a good talk with Madam Pei. Apologize to her. Madam Pei has a good temper. If you coax her, make her happy, she'll forgive you immediately."

Pei Yuan tossed the empty jar aside, stood up excitedly, and was about to stride away when he suddenly remembered the nonsense he had said to Bao Ning.

What did he say again? That they were like dogs, wild men? Later, he had gotten drunk and shamelessly talked about taking a concubine in front of Bao Ning.

Pei Yuan felt like dying.

Seeing him standing there for a while without moving towards the door, Wei Meng lay back down on the bed.

Wei Meng was shocked. "Why haven't you left yet?"

"I drank too much, my brain's gone blank. Let me sleep a bit," Pei Yuan lay back on the bed, closing his eyes.

He wouldn't tell Wei Meng that he was too embarrassed to go back. Bao Ning was usually easygoing, but when angered, even Pei Yuan was afraid. Just thinking about the slap made his heart ache. What about those ridiculous words he had said? How could he face her again?

Would he be slapped again?

Did he say something about himself being a dog if he went back to her?

Pei Yuan recoiled. He pondered how he could salvage even a shred of dignity in front of Bao Ning.

Now he believed it was all a misunderstanding, but could Bao Ning prove it wasn't? Maybe he could make a gesture, show some tolerance, go to Bao Ning, say some magnanimous words, and pledge his loyalty. What exactly would he say? Even if you can't prove you didn't do this, I'll still choose to believe you.

Wouldn't Bao Ning be moved? She was so tender-hearted.

Pei Yuan's mind raced with self-soothing thoughts.

Little did he know, during this moment of hesitation, Bao Ning had already left the General's residence with her belongings, heading somewhere else.

...

The two men drank through the night, and the next morning, they were rudely awakened by loud knocking on the door, the sun already high in the sky.

A faint and delicate female voice called from outside, "Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince, are you inside?"

Pei Yuan rubbed his swollen forehead and kicked Wei Meng to go open the door.

Wei Meng muttered under his breath, staggering towards the door and pulling the handle back. Qiu Lingyan suddenly saw a vigorous figure in front of her eyes, startling her so much that she took a step back and nearly fell.

"Seventh Miss?" Wei Meng looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Qiu Lingyan had no intention of explaining to him. She tiptoed to look inside the room and saw Pei Yuan sleeping with his back turned. Without hesitation, she pushed past Wei Meng and ran over, dropping to her knees with a thud.

"Fourth Prince, I know I was wrong. Please go and find Sister!"

Pei Yuan was startled by her desperate tone, jerking awake and looking puzzled at this girl he had only met once. "What do you mean?"

Qiu Lingyan cried as she recounted yesterday's events to Pei Yuan, admitting her guilt. She covered her face and said, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have done such a wrong thing, causing all of you to end up like this. I thought about it all night. I'm scared. If you and Sister really have a rift because of this, what should I do? I'm sorry, Bao Ning Sister..."

Pei Yuan had slept in his clothes last night, now only slightly disheveled. He patiently listened to Qiu Lingyan's words, increasingly feeling yesterday's actions were absurdly foolish, unforgivable. How could he have been deceived by such trivial tricks from two women, neither of whom were particularly cunning? And he had said so many hurtful things to Bao Ning!

Qiu Lingyan sobbed on the ground. Pei Yuan stood up, bypassed her, and hurried outside. "I'm going to find her now."

"But Sister has already left!" Qiu Lingyan turned and grabbed his trouser leg. "The house is empty. Ah Huang and Ah Mian are gone too. Everything's gone, even the flowers under the window... She took everything."

Pei Yuan was shocked. "What?!"

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