Chapter 87

When I lifted the curtain again, the candle on the table had already burned more than halfway down. The room was warm, filled with a scent that sparked imagination.

Pei Yuan's voice was husky as he laughed and asked, "Does it smell good?"

Bao Ning shoved him away forcefully, covered her mouth, and leaped barefoot from the bed, spitting something into a small bowl. Embarrassed, she looked back and said, "Don't put that in my mouth next time!"

"My fault," Pei Yuan sat up, completely unashamed of his nakedness, propping himself on the edge of the bed with a low laugh. "I couldn't help myself."

He was sweaty, his light brown muscles gleaming with a sheen, looking strong and tense. Not only was his upper body bare, but his lower body too! Bao Ning thought of what had just happened and couldn't bear to look at him. She spat out the last bit from her mouth, still tasting something odd, and went to the table to rinse her mouth with tea.

"If you don't wear shoes, what will you do when you catch a cold?" Pei Yuan stood up and walked over to her, pushing her back toward the bed. "Just sit. I'll do it for you."

Bao Ning covered her eyes. "Can't you put on some pants?"

Pei Yuan was in a good mood, slowly pouring half a cup of tea and bringing it to her lips with a teasing smile. "You've already had it in your mouth; are you still afraid to look?"

Embarrassed and indignant, Bao Ning didn’t know how to argue, so she turned her face away and gulped down the tea. Pei Yuan brought over the small bowl for her to spit into, watching her rinse repeatedly with a disgusted expression. He squatted beside her, laughing.

Bao Ning kicked him in the shoulder. "What are you laughing at?"

"Bao'er, that's a good thing," Pei Yuan wiped the water from her lips with the back of his hand. "Let's agree, next time, don't waste it."

"I don't want it! I'm never helping you again!" Bao Ning pulled the blanket tightly around herself, glaring at Pei Yuan with vigilance. "This time you tricked me, but don't push your luck!"

Her hair was disheveled, and her cheeks still flushed. Pei Yuan watched her small mouth open and close, remembering the wonderful moments from earlier. Her shyness was endearing—awkward movements, timid eyes—but that very shyness only stoked the flames of desire.

"You ungrateful little thing," Pei Yuan’s gaze darkened. "Didn't I make you feel good?"

He deliberately touched her cheek with the fingers he had used earlier. "I wanted to do the same for you, but you were too shy, unwilling to let me. Such a waste of my good tongue. Who doesn’t love something so sweet? I gave you mine, generously, but you refused. What does that make you if not ungrateful?"

Bao Ning shrieked and threw a pillow at him. "How can you still talk about it!"

Pei Yuan caught her hand and kissed the back of it, laughing heartily.

The earlier gloom and frustration he had felt were swept away. Now, looking at Bao Ning, he liked her more and more, wishing he could devour her whole and never leave her side.

As for Pei Xiao and the others, he wasn’t afraid of them, but when it came to Bao Ning, he couldn't help but overthink things.

Pei Yuan thought there must be something wrong with him. More than once, he had imagined how wonderful it would be if Bao Ning stayed in this room forever, never leaving. He envisioned a chain, forged from the finest treasures, locked around her delicate ankle and tied to the bedpost. He would bring her everything she liked, shower her with affection, as long as she never saw anyone else, never did anything but focus on him, like a bird in a cage, with eyes and heart only for him.

If he loved Bao Ning any less, Pei Yuan thought, he might have actually done it.

But now he couldn't. More than his own satisfaction, he wanted Bao Ning to be happy. Restraining and controlling her was in his nature, but for Bao Ning’s sake, he was willing to learn to let go.

Still, he didn’t know how much Bao Ning truly loved him. Was her care and attention because he was her husband, or just because he was Pei Yuan?

…

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Bao Ning had been watching Pei Yuan for a while. He was squatting there, laughing earlier, but now his eyes looked vacant.

Worried, Bao Ning pulled him up to check his knees. "Have you been crouching too long? Are you in pain?"

"Lie down, I'll give you a massage," Bao Ning patted the spot beside her, frowning. "Does it hurt a lot? Should I get some hot water to help?"

Pei Yuan snapped out of his thoughts, looking into Bao Ning’s eyes, feeling her genuine concern, and his heart softened. He thought again, why Bao Ning stayed by his side might not matter so much after all. As long as she stayed, that was enough. Their fates were bound together, ever since the day she chose to stay. That outcome could never be changed.

"No pain, don’t bother," Pei Yuan stopped her from getting up.

He licked his lips and asked flirtatiously, "Want some candy? The long kind."

At first, Bao Ning didn’t get it. But when she met Pei Yuan’s mischievous gaze, her heart skipped a beat. "No more!"

Pei Yuan replied, "Then let me have yours. The pink bean candy."

Before Bao Ning could run, Pei Yuan had already pinned her to the pillow. He leaned in, speaking softly, "Ning Ning, don’t hide from me. Come closer, I feel better when we’re close."

…

By the time he was finally satisfied, it was already the next evening. They had eaten two meals in bed throughout the day, meals that Liu Mama delivered to the door, which Pei Yuan fetched.

Bao Ning spent half the day in a daze, not understanding how Pei Yuan had so many tricks up his sleeve. He clung to her endlessly, not letting go, which became quite tiresome. Eventually, she was too exhausted to move, but Pei Yuan still enjoyed himself, nibbling and licking as if she were a feast. Eating, sleeping, and eating again—the day passed in a blur.

Bao Ning thought, from now on, she’d never accept anything from anyone again. The aftermath of Pei Yuan's advances was too much for her to handle.

After sleeping the whole day, she felt wide awake once the sun set, and her stomach growled with hunger. She got dressed and went to the kitchen to cook some tangyuan.

Pei Yuan stoked the fire nearby.

"What time is it now?" Bao Ning asked.

Pei Yuan stepped outside to look at the moon. "Around the hour of the dog."

"Not too late," Bao Ning said, handing him the task of watching the pot to prevent the tangyuan from sticking together, while she went to slice some vegetables on the side. "Should we set a bowl aside for Yuanzi? He might still be awake."

"He usually goes to bed early," Pei Yuan said, tossing a log into the stove. "Kids shouldn’t eat sticky things at night; it’ll give them a stomachache, and they’ll cry and make a racket."

Bao Ning glanced at Pei Yuan with a smile. "You sound like you care about him."

"Care my ass," Pei Yuan scoffed, shoving more firewood into the stove. "I’m not raising my enemy’s child."

Bao Ning thought to herself, Keep pretending.

The tangyuan were soon ready, soft and round, served with some light side dishes, making a tasty meal. Too lazy to bring the food back inside, they ate it in the kitchen. The candlelight attracted mosquitoes that refused to leave, so Pei Yuan blew out the candle. The two of them sat by the door, eating under the bright moonlight.

The night was peaceful, and the stars were shining brightly. Bao Ning, not wanting to disturb the tranquility, spoke softly to Pei Yuan.

In the stillness, the creak of the door opening sounded particularly loud.

Bao Ning turned toward the noise and saw Yuanzi sneaking out of the side room, carefully closing the door behind him. He first tiptoed to the main house to check if the lights were out, and once reassured, he ran to the willow tree by the courtyard gate, tilting his head up and making strange cooing sounds.

"What’s Yuanzi doing?" Bao Ning asked Pei Yuan in surprise. "Is he sleepwalking?"

She set the bowl down and said, "I'll go check it out."

"Wait a moment," Pei Yuan stopped her, lowering his voice, "Let's observe a little longer. This child has always been acting strange. Let's see what he's trying to do this time."

Yuanzi kept his head tilted back for nearly a full minute, muttering, "Why isn’t she here yet? Am I too early?"

Pei Yuan quietly led Bao Ning behind Yuanzi. After watching him for a while, Pei Yuan asked, "Who are you waiting for?"

"Ah!" Yuanzi jumped in surprise.

When he saw who was in front of him, Yuanzi patted his chest in relief, still a bit shaken. "Auntie, you scared me. You didn’t make any sound."

"Who are you waiting for, Yuanzi?" Bao Ning walked forward, ruffling his hair and glancing up at the tree with him. The dense green leaves rustled, but there was only the sound of cicadas. No sign of anyone.

Yuanzi hesitated and said, "I don’t know who I’m waiting for. She... she said I can’t tell anyone."

"Are you sure you won’t say anything?" Pei Yuan grabbed him by the back of the neck in a mock-threatening manner, whispering, "I’ll give you one more chance. If you keep stalling, I’ll think you’re a bad child. Snap—your neck will break."

Yuanzi wasn’t easily frightened, and he trusted Pei Yuan. He believed Pei Yuan wouldn’t hurt him, but he was also anxious that the person he was waiting for wouldn’t be able to find him. Desperate, Yuanzi decided to confide in Pei Yuan.

Clenching his small fists, Yuanzi said to Pei Yuan, "When I was at my old home, every month at the end of the month, if I waited under the tree at night, candy would fall down from the branches!"

Pei Yuan exchanged a bewildered look with Bao Ning and asked, "Did you dream this?"

"No! It really happens! Only at the end of the month, at night, when no one is around. That’s when the candy falls!" Yuanzi looked up at the tree. "Once, I saw a shadow of a person up there. She looked like a really thin auntie, wearing a black veil. She’s the one who gave me the candy."

Bao Ning found Yuanzi’s words too far-fetched to believe and began to suspect that the child was sleep-talking. It wasn’t uncommon for children to speak nonsense when they were half asleep.

"This time, I moved to a new house, and I’m worried she won’t be able to find me, so I came early to wait," Yuanzi said disappointedly. "Did I lose her?"

Bao Ning sighed, "Yuanzi, go back to bed."

Yuanzi asked, "Auntie, don’t you believe me?"

"Here’s the deal," Pei Yuan said, trying to appease him, "You go back to sleep, and I’ll wait here for you. If someone really drops candy from the tree, I’ll wake you up so you can come pick it up."

Yuanzi replied, "No one else is supposed to see. The auntie told me it has to be secret."

Pei Yuan nodded, "I get it. I’ll have Ah Huang and Jixiang guard the tree. You can go to bed without worry."

Yuanzi believed him. Bao Ning led him back to the house, and after lying down, he held Bao Ning’s hand. "Auntie, you must wait for the candy-dropping auntie and wake me up!"

Bao Ning agreed, and Yuanzi quickly fell into a deep sleep. She waited a little while longer to make sure he was truly asleep, then left the room.

Outside, Wei Meng had arrived at some point and was talking with Pei Yuan at the front door.

"General, we’ve received word from the spies in the Marquis of Chongyuan’s residence. They said the heir’s wife had a major fight with him and cried to the marquis' wife. She left this morning to stay by Lake Li for some peace. She’s currently staying at the Jia family estate, about ten miles from here."

Pei Yuan asked, "Did Jia Ling go with her?"

"No way," Wei Meng waved his hand dismissively. "Jia Ling spends all his time visiting his pregnant mistress at Qingluo Street. He doesn’t have time to care about his wife."

It seemed they were discussing something important. Bao Ning hesitated, unsure whether to approach them. Pei Yuan gestured for her to come over.

Wei Meng, knowing that Pei Yuan and Bao Ning were already on the same page regarding the situation, happily repeated the news about Ji Xiangzhen’s arrival to Bao Ning. "Madam, we’ll be counting on you for this!"

Bao Ning asked, "What should I do? Should I visit my sister’s estate directly and leave a calling card?"

"That would be too obvious. It won’t work," Pei Yuan shook his head. "You can’t visit her outright. Jia Ling will surely have people watching her. He’s suspicious by nature. If you visit, he’ll definitely question your motives and suspect you of investigating him. We need to make sure the heir’s wife comes to us."

This matter was tricky. The three fell silent for a moment until Bao Ning suddenly had an idea. "The Ruyi Pavilion! My sister longs for a child, and Ruyi Pavilion is a shop for children. It’s opening in a few days. If we spread the news widely enough, my sister might come."

Pei Yuan’s eyes lit up, thinking it was a good idea, but then hesitated. "But what if she’s too upset and avoids it?"

"Then..." Bao Ning thought for a moment before suggesting, "I’ve heard that in the past, during bridal selection, girls would throw embroidered balls from a pavilion, and the man who caught it would become their groom. What if we do something similar? Have a lucky woman throw a ball, and whoever catches it receives a blessed Guanyin statue for childbirth, consecrated by a monk. It would bring good fortune for children. My sister might be tempted! If she still doesn’t come, we can think of something else."

Wei Meng clapped his hands. "Brilliant idea!"

Pei Yuan also looked impressed, nodding. "Let’s go with that. We’ll open in three days."

Bao Ning smiled, feeling proud. The sense of accomplishment was better than receiving compliments for cooking a delicious dish.

After a brief discussion, Wei Meng prepared to leave but then stopped, recalling something. With a grin, he said, "Speaking of monks, I remembered something equally mysterious. Yesterday, when we talked about Yuanzi being Pei Xiao’s son, I got curious and did some digging into Pei Xiao’s concubine. I wanted to know what kind of favor she received to get pregnant and bear a child. And guess what? The concubine died the day she gave birth—she died in childbirth. A real pity."

At the mention of childbirth, Pei Yuan instinctively glanced at Bao Ning, his heart skipping a beat. Even though nothing had happened yet, the thought filled him with a vague fear.

Bao Ning didn’t catch on to this and focused on Wei Meng’s words, nodding. "That is unfortunate. But how is this mysterious?"

"She was just a concubine, with no official status, so she couldn’t be buried with her husband. Pei Xiao chose a nice secluded grave with good feng shui and had her buried quietly," Wei Meng stroked his chin. "There’s a rumor that grave robbers thought she must have been buried with valuable items due to Pei Xiao’s favor, so they dug up her grave. But when they opened the tomb, there was no one inside, no remains. It’s as if the concubine ran away on her own."

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