Chapter 79

 "What are you talking about?" Baoning hurriedly slapped his arm, "You don't tease kids like that; don't make them cry."

After being scolded, Pei Yuan didn't dare to tease Yuan Zi anymore and handed him the chives: "Here, eat."

Two dogs caught the scent and came running over. The lucky one was completely bald, and upon seeing Pei Yuan, it bared its teeth. Pei Yuan couldn't be bothered to pay it any attention, humming a little tune as he threaded the chicken wings onto the stick. Ah Huang is being clingy, rubbing against his calf. Pei Yuan has rolled his pants up to his knees, and his bare calves are getting itchy from the rubbing. He wants to give it a chicken bone to send it away.

Bao Ning quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't feed it that kind of thing; chicken bones can splinter and might hurt its throat."

"Is that so delicate?" Pei Yuan threw the chicken bone back onto the plate, took out a small piece of pork, and whistled at Ah Huang, "Come on, give me a bow."

Baoning smiled at him, feeling that this person was really childish, and shook his head.

Ah Huang twisted and turned, raising its hind legs, and indeed bowed to him twice. Pei Yuan nodded in satisfaction and tossed a piece of meat into its mouth.

Jixiang was craving food and rushed in front of Pei Yuan to shout at him. Pei Yuan replied, "Do you want to eat? Roll over."

Baoning glanced at him and ignored him.She flipped the mushrooms in her hand, sprinkled them with cumin powder, and was greeted by a fragrant aroma mixed with the unique freshness of the mushrooms.

Guessing it's about done, Baoning picked it up and blew on it, then held it up to Pei Yuan's lips: "Give it a taste, is it cooked or not?"

Pei Yuan tilted his head and bit down on something in his mouth, too hot to speak clearly, yet he insisted on challenging the dog: "Don't just stand there, roll over! Otherwise, I'll let you go hungry all night and toss you into the mountains tomorrow."

After speaking, he turned to Baoning and said, "It's done."

Baoning set aside the mushrooms sprinkled with chili, moved the ones without chili into a small bowl, and handed it to Yuanzi, smiling and saying, "Go ahead and eat."

Yuanzi obediently took it, sat down to the side, and shared it with Ah Huang, who was content after eating meat.

Over there, Jixiang finally compromised, curled up his legs, and rolled around on the ground.Pei Yuan laughed heartily as he tossed a piece of meat to it, as if he had just won a great victory: "This is your reward!"

After Jixiang took the meat and ran off, no one surrounded Pei Yuan anymore. He finally settled down and honestly bowed his head to skewer the meat.

Today the weather is nice, with a gentle evening breeze. It's the middle of the month, and the moon is as beautiful as a jade plate.In the distance, people are also eating happily, drinking and playing games, their voices carried over by the wind.

A very pleasant evening, filled with the aroma of cumin.

After finishing his work, Bao Ning rested his chin on his hand and watched Pei Yuan work.His profile is handsome, with broad shoulders, a slightly arched back, and long, strong fingers.

Bao Ning had looked enough at Pei Yuan's hands, and her gaze fell on his face again, mentally sketching his brows and eyes.The slightly upturned corners of the eyes, the pupils dark and shining, the nose high and straight; when angry, they look fierce, with a menacing brow and glare, almost like a thug.When she smiles, there's a certain tenderness to her.

Pei Yuan noticed Bao Ning's gaze and glanced over with a hint of pride: "Do you think you're quite lucky?"

"Why?" Baoning changed her position, resting her chin on her stacked hands.Perhaps it's the atmosphere; today she finds Pei Yuan particularly pleasing to the eye, and her tone is gentle and affectionate.

Pei Yuandao said, "Look at your husband, he's handsome, has a job, has money, and most importantly, he cares for you. Isn't that considered good fortune?"

Bao Ning curved his lips: "Do you care about me?"

Pei Yuan turned his entire body towards her, his brows raised, and his tone a bit fierce: "Don't I care about you?"

Baoning smiled and nodded: "You care about me."

Pei Yuan felt that they were just talking nonsense, but this nonsense made his heart feel sweet.If life could always be this peaceful, without any worries, just staying at home every day and chatting with her about nothing would be nice too.

"Just marry this one; if you don't cherish her, who will?"Pei Yuan lowered his tone and spoke softly to her.The firelight cast a red glow on Baoning's face, and Pei Yuan pressed the back of his hand against it: "Is it hot?"

Bao Ning did not respond, clinging to his words, persistently asking, "What do you mean? How many more do you want to marry?"

Here it comes again.She gets particularly chatty whenever this kind of issue comes up.Pei Yuan came up with an answer he felt quite satisfied with: "The money is in your hands, if you can't get married, then just make do with it."

"You really are annoying." Bao Ning snorted, and sure enough, he was distracted. Sitting up straight, he asked him, "Do you want to have some drinks?"

Pei Yuan naturally did not refuse: "Drink."

The wine jug was soaking in the hot water beside it, warming up little by little. Baoning rolled up his sleeves and picked it up, wiping the water off the bottom.I washed a small cup again and leisurely poured it to eight-tenths full.

Pei Yuan leaned on his knee with one hand and lazily said, "Pour half a cup of tea, fill the wine glass to the brim, and offer the full glass to others. Haven't you learned this principle?"

Baoning didn't even lift his head: "Are you my guest?"

Pei Yuan chuckled, "I'm talking about etiquette with you, why are you getting sidetracked?"

Bao Ning pretended to pour out the wine and threatened him, "Do you still want to drink?"

Pei Yuan quickly said, "Drink, drink, drink."Baoning brought it over and held it to his lips. Pei Yuan puckered his lips and slurped, finishing more than half of it. After savoring it for a moment, he said, "Fifteen-year-old daughter red, right?"

Bao Ning found him pleasing to the eye tonight; he was warm and considerate. Noticing the wine stain at the corner of his mouth, she crouched down to wipe it away with a cloth, smiling, "You've got quite the silver tongue."

Pei Yuanshun held her wrist tightly, pressing Baoning down onto his thigh, facing her as he pinched her chin and whispered, "Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to taste your daughter’s red wine."

Why did he suddenly bring this up?In the nearby stove, the charcoal is making a sizzling sound.Baoning's face slowly turned red, unsure of what to say.

"It's what I owe you." Pei Yuan pressed her face against his shoulder, eyes closed, and said, "I owe you a wedding ceremony and a proper betrothal gift. I didn't spend much money, yet I lightly tricked you into coming home with me. Isn't that quite excessive?"

Bao Ning whispered, "As long as you know."

Pei Yuan smiled silently.He held Baoning tightly in his arms, stroking her hair at the back of her head, as they swayed back and forth on the small stool. Suddenly, he asked, "What kind of betrothal gift do you want?"

Baoning was surprised: "Why are you asking me this? Shouldn't you be the one ready to present it to me with both hands?"

"Alright." Pei Yuan took a deep sniff of her hair, "Just wait for me to slowly gather it."

"Well," Baoning said with some anticipation, "what are you going to give me?"

"I am marrying the best woman in the world, so naturally I must offer the most precious betrothal gift in the world." Pei Yuan held her hand against his chest and said, "Is my heart enough for you?"

Bao Ning hurriedly shrank back, saying, "Bloody and gory? No way."

Pei Yuan laughed heartily and kissed the corner of her mouth: "No way, you have to."

Bao Ning said, "You shouldn't always be so bloody."

Pei Yuan asked, "How did it become bloody?"

"Pouring out one's heart is quite bloody."

"It's you who hasn't realized."

Baoning paused for a moment and suddenly said, "I want to eat braised duck hearts."

Pei Yuandao said, "Now that you mention it, I want to eat too."

Bao Ning said, "Let's do it tomorrow night."

……

Yuanzi stared blankly at them, and the small mushroom in his hand fell to the ground, quickly picked up by Ah Huang and swallowed.

In the memory of the round object, he had never seen his father and that so-called "mother" so intimate.His father would take good care of him, provide delicious meals, and comfortable clothes, but his voice was always cold and distant.His mother would also buy him things, but only when his father was present. When his father wasn't around, her gaze towards him was like that of someone looking at a little poisonous snake they had secretly raised.

My father and mother rarely appear together, and when they do, they don't say much to each other. They have never held hands or embraced.

So now, he looked at Pei Yuan and Bao Ning with a mix of surprise and panic.

Pei Yuan finally remembered the existence of this little brat and squinted, saying, "What are you looking at? Close your eyes and turn around!"

The round dumpling obediently turned its back.

Bao Ning shyly got off Pei Yuan and tidied her hair.

The wonderful atmosphere was disrupted. Pei Yuan pointed at the round figure's back and whispered to Bao Ning, "We need to hurry and send that little brat away tomorrow morning; it's delaying things."

"Don't say anymore," Baoning nudged him, "Hurry up and finish your meal. We can stay up a little later, but the little one needs to go to bed early."

Pei Yuandao said, "Let's have one of our own soon, so you won't be so concerned about other people's kids."

Bao Ning covered his mouth and said, "Come on, say a little less."

After another half an hour, most of the prepared food had been eaten. Baoning made some mung bean soup to cool down, and everyone, both adults and children, finished it. Then, she took Yuanzai to bed.Pei Yuan wouldn't let Bao Ning change Yuan Zi's clothes. With his clumsy hands, he took matters into his own hands, quickly stripping off the outer garment and putting on Pei Yuan's nightgown.

Just the top is enough for Yuanzi to wear, and there's still a bit of length at the bottom.Pei Yuan rolled up his extra sleeves for him.

Halfway through the task, Baoning suddenly noticed something off about Yuanz's arm.The position of the forearm has many scars, all small dark red dots, resembling the teeth of something.

"Don't move for now," Baoning stopped Pei Yuan's actions, pointing to the wound on the round object, and asked in surprise, "What happened here?"

Pei Yuan was also taken aback.He looked at the round-faced deity, his expression blank, tilting his head back and staring fixedly at the ceiling.

Pei Yuan straightened his head and asked him, "Why do you have so many scars? What bit you?"

Yuanzi nodded.

Pei Yuan tried to be patient and asked him, "Tell me, what bit you?"

Yuanzi gestured and said vaguely, "Snake, little snake."

Hearing that word, Bao Ning's hair stood on end, and she unconsciously clutched Pei Yuan's arm tightly.

Pei Yuan was also surprised, frowning as he asked, "Why is your master so careless? How could they let the child get bitten like this?"Pei Yuan lifted the little girl's arm, and even though he didn't have much affection for her, he still felt a bit of pity and regret.

He actually subconsciously feels that there’s something wrong with what Yuanzi is saying. Biting once or twice is one thing, but why has it happened so many times? Is the child foolish, or are the adults not smart?

In the quiet of the room, Yuanzi noticed he had stopped asking questions and lowered his head to bite the fingers of his other hand.

Pei Yuan swatted his hand away and thought to himself, this kid really is quite foolish.

It was getting late, and Yuanzi yawned. Baoning signaled for him to stop pressing for answers.Pei nodded, pressed the round dumpling onto the bed, and tapped his forehead, saying, "Hurry up and sleep, or else the wolf will come and bite your little bottom."

Yuanzi closed her eyes in fear.

Baoning pulled Peiyuan out the door.

Baoning closed the wooden door, and with a creak, it muffled Yuanzi's quiet words.

He looked at the ceiling and said, "Little spider, are you asleep? Come down and play.""Um... if the wolf comes, can you bite it to death?"

……

Pei Yuan was urged by Bao Ning to take a shower. She sat on the edge of the bed, warming her feet, and spoke to Pei Yuan through the screen and the sound of water.

In the foot soak water, she added the sycamore leaves picked that day, releasing a faint fragrance, and Baoning comfortably squinted her eyes.

They are talking about Su Mingyao.

Bao Ning said, "I have heard of her, the most talented daughter of the Su family, very dignified. Otherwise, with just the Su family's status, she wouldn't have been personally chosen by the Emperor to be the Crown Princess.""It's just that the background isn't very good; the Su family is unwilling to accept her, which is a pity."

Pei Yuandao said, "I don't know what happened in between; I asked Wei Meng to investigate."

Baoning looked down at the leaves in the water and said, "I'll go see her tomorrow morning. Will you come with me?"

"Together." Pei Yuan had already finished washing up and came out of the water, drying himself with a towel. "Ning Ning, when you see her, there's no need to lower your stance. Don't compromise yourself.""She's just your sister-in-law, and she lives in your house; you don't need to go out of your way to please her."

Pei Yuan is worried about the hidden sense of inferiority in Bao Ning's heart, which stems from her background; she has been cautious and careful since childhood.

After being together for a long time, this issue has improved a lot, but Pei Yuan is still afraid that Su Mingyou's arrival will make Baoning feel uncomfortable.I heard that this sister-in-law is a very strong-willed person.

Baoning replied well.

After a while, Pei Yuan came out from behind the screen.Bao Ning washed his feet, then went to pour out the water, splashing it directly outside the door. When he returned, he turned off the light and got into bed, holding Bao Ning as he fell asleep.

After a tiring day, he didn't make any more moves, and both of them fell asleep quickly.

In the middle of the night, I was awakened by Yuanzi's cries.Yuanzi was sleeping in the next room, and his cries were very piercing. Baoning was startled awake, and Peiyuan immediately sat up, hurriedly putting on a coat and running to his room.

Pushing open the door, I saw a figure standing in front of the round bed under the glow of the full moon—a woman, with a large belly.

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