Chapter 99

 "Fifth Sister went to Second Sister’s place," Ji Xiangzhen said with a smile, looking at Jia Ling. "She just left."

"Oh, what a pity. I brought some gifts for her—just little trinkets girls like. I’ll leave them here for her to take when she returns," Jia Ling smiled back at Ji Xiangzhen. It had been a long time since they had spoken so kindly to each other. Jia Ling assumed that after seeing her sister, Ji Xiangzhen had been persuaded and finally thought things through. He was quite pleased.

Jia Ling lifted his hand to embrace Ji Xiangzhen’s shoulder, gently guiding her into the room while asking, "Feeling any better?"

Ji Xiangzhen tightly gripped the small bottle of sedative in her hand, a shadow flickering in her eyes. That arm he was wrapping around her—how many women had it embraced before? They say prostitutes have arms that are pillows for thousands, but how was Jia Ling any better? Wasn’t he the same, offering his arm to all? Ji Xiangzhen suddenly felt nauseous.

She forced a smile and replied softly, "Much better."

Under her sleeve, she quietly opened the stopper of the sedative bottle and sprinkled the fine powder, light as smoke, onto a handkerchief. Halfway through, Jia Ling suddenly tugged at her, startling her into spilling half the bottle’s contents. She immediately held her breath.

Jia Ling sat down beside the bed, still holding her, and asked gently, "Xiangzhen, have you thought things through about Xue Fu?"

He paused, then continued, "You must believe me—I only wanted a child. In my eyes, she’s no different from a pig or a lamb. My one true love has always been you."

Ji Xiangzhen looked away, suppressing her disgust as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Don’t worry. I’ve already figured things out."

Jia Ling smiled. He was a handsome man, with deep dimples on his cheeks. "That’s wonderful."

"It’s been a long time since we’ve been close," Jia Ling stood, bolted the door from inside, returned to Ji Xiangzhen, took off his outer robe, and embraced her again. "Xiangzhen, I’ve missed you. Have you missed me?"

The scent of a man overwhelmed her, and Ji Xiangzhen furrowed her brows. She rubbed the handkerchief with the sedative powder in her hand, bit her lip, and wrapped her arms around Jia Ling’s waist. "I missed you too."

"Good," Jia Ling said. "Let’s go to the bed."

He started to take off his inner clothing, but Ji Xiangzhen stopped him.

"No need. I’ll help you undress later," she said with a soft smile. "Close your eyes first…"

Jia Ling laughed heartily, "Alright." He leaned over, hugged Ji Xiangzhen, pushed her onto the bed, and kissed her with his eyes closed.

…

Bao Ning was hiding in a narrow, pitch-dark wardrobe. Clothes and bedding filled most of the space, so she could only curl up in Pei Yuan’s arms, blushing furiously as she listened to the sounds from outside.

"A’Yuan, A’Yuan, let’s leave," Bao Ning was so embarrassed that even her toes curled. "We shouldn’t be eavesdropping like this. How will I ever face Eldest Sister again? I’ll die of shame!"

"They’re both outside. Where would you go?" Pei Yuan leaned lazily against the wardrobe wall, one long arm wrapped around Bao Ning, lifting her chin with his fingers. He chuckled, "Or how about we join in? Then you’ll both be even."

Bao Ning pinched him lightly, "Shameless!"

"You think I’m joking?" Pei Yuan lowered his voice. "Do I look like I’m joking with you?"

The wardrobe was so dark Bao Ning couldn’t see his face—only his eyes, dark and gleaming. She knew Pei Yuan’s nature. He was unpredictable, without boundaries. If he had such thoughts, he might very well act on them.

"Don’t mess around…"

She tried to retreat but stumbled over something, nearly falling as her legs gave way.

"You stepped on my foot!" Pei Yuan hissed, holding her waist tightly.

Bao Ning pursed her lips, then burst out laughing.

"You’re still stepping on it! Let go!" Pei Yuan complained.

Bao Ning giggled and threw herself back into his arms, hugging his waist and whispering, "I didn’t know your foot was there. I’m sorry, it wasn’t on purpose."

"Is the Marquis of Chongyuan’s household really this poor?" Pei Yuan grumbled. "This tiny space? I can’t even stretch my legs." He pulled her arm to bring her closer, brushing off his sleeve disdainfully. "And stop nibbling me when you laugh—now my sleeve’s all wet. I don’t have many good robes to begin with..."

Outside, who knew what Ji Xiangzhen and Jia Ling were doing. Bao Ning leaned against Pei Yuan, tugging his hair as she chatted while listening in.

"Listen to you—so dramatic. Do I mistreat you? Don’t I feed and clothe you? What do you mean you don’t have good clothes?"

"Half the wardrobe is your skirts. My clothes are all crammed into a corner, not even as high as one of your fingers. You call that generous?" Pei Yuan pinched her hand. "Behave—stop pulling my hair."

Bao Ning put her hands behind her back, defending herself, "I did prepare many for you, but you wouldn’t wear them. They got moldy eventually."

"What about my old clothes?" Pei Yuan asked.

"I had Granny Liu cut them up to use in the kitchen as rags. She said your fabrics were great—very absorbent and oily. The kitchen staff were fighting over them..." Seeing Pei Yuan’s increasingly dark expression, she stopped and mouthed, "What’s wrong?"

"You turned my old clothes into rags?" Pei Yuan growled.

"Yes, why?" Bao Ning asked.

"And my old boots?"

"I burned them," Bao Ning replied. "I asked Uncle Zhang in the stables if they could be used for horseshoes. He said no—they have to be made of iron. So I threw them in the firewood pile as kindling. One of the kitchen workers even said your boots were the best fire starters—burned hot and long..."

"And your old clothes?" Pei Yuan asked.

"Of course, I kept them in a big chest," Bao Ning said. "My dresses are beautiful. They’re out of style now, but in a few years, they might come back. I kept them for the patterns and designs."

"Oh." Pei Yuan squinted at her. "So my clothes weren’t nice?"

Bao Ning was surprised. "Men’s clothes all look the same—just different colors. What’s nice or not?"

Realizing he was sulking, she dug around in her pouch for candy. "Alright, alright, here—have some sweets. I’ll give you some money tomorrow. Buy what you like. Let’s not fight, okay?"

She pulled out two plum candies, unwrapped one and put it in Pei Yuan’s mouth, took one herself, and asked, "You’ve been standing so long—do your legs hurt?"

"I can manage," Pei Yuan mumbled. "I can bear it."

"Lean your head on my shoulder," Bao Ning said, wrapping her arm around him. "I’ll help take some of the weight. It’ll be easier."

She pinched his cheek with a smile, "Be good, A’Yuan. When we go home tomorrow, I’ll cook something nice for you. You’ve worked hard today."

Pei Yuan looked at her oddly, feeling a bit out of place. Out there, he was a figure of power, used to giving orders. Countless people depended on him. But with Bao Ning, he felt like a child being coaxed and comforted.

Still, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

No matter what he was doing—whether it was hard, exhausting, or stressful—with Bao Ning, he could always find a sense of ease and peace.

…

Zhao Qian had followed the carriage to the back stables of the Chongyuan Marquis’ residence.

The horse was tied to a column, and Zhao Qian, hidden under the carriage, had to watch it flick its tail and defecate right in front of him. Already sick and dizzy from the bumpy ride, he almost vomited bile from the stench.

He waited for the driver to go relieve himself, then quickly untied the ropes binding him and crawled out from under the carriage.

The stench hit him in the face, and Zhao Qian bent over by the wheel, gasping for air.

But at least it hadn’t been for nothing. During the first half of the ride, he overheard a lot of useful information. He had passed out midway from the discomfort and only came to after they entered the city.

Wiping his face, Zhao Qian forced his weak legs to move, limped away to avoid being seen, and slipped out through a back gate.

He had to tell Pei Xiao quickly.

He needed to write a letter!

With no paper, Zhao Qian tore a piece off his white inner garment, found a chunk of charcoal near a kitchen door, sharpened it, and wrote down everything he remembered from the carriage.

Folding the cloth, he went to a street corner and handed it to a beggar child, giving him five qian of silver. "Kid, go to the Crown Prince’s residence. Act like you’re begging, find someone named Chang Xi, and give this to him. Got it?"

He crouched down and threatened the boy, "If you do it right and come back, I’ll give you five more. If not, I’ll kill you."

Frightened by Zhao Qian’s dirty and fierce look, the boy ran off without question.

Zhao Qian sighed in relief, lay down on the boy’s mat, not caring about the filth, took a bite of a crusty bun, found it sour, and spat it out. Squinting at the boy’s retreating figure, he thought to himself: Once this is done, maybe I’ll finally be someone.

…

Around the street corner ahead, Wei Meng had been following him for a long time.

With one more person in the carriage, the movement, the sound, and the tracks left behind would all be different. Pei Yuan noticed from the start and told him to stay alert—he was right. Barely two moments after arriving at the Chongyuan Marquis’ residence, a filthy monkey crawled out from under the carriage.

This Zhao Qian was interesting. With such persistence, why not try for the civil service exam instead of doing something as dirty as hiding under a carriage?

Wei Meng shook his head. He could already foresee Zhao Qian’s miserable fate. Pei Yuan would never let him go easily.

Wei Meng stuck out a leg to stop the beggar child, gave him two taels of silver, and tricked the secret message out of his hands. He gave him another two taels and coaxed, "In a bit, go walk around outside the Crown Prince’s residence, then go back and tell that man you delivered the message."

The boy, overjoyed, nodded eagerly. "Thank you, sir!"

…

Back in the wardrobe, Bao Ning had already eaten two candies. Cuddled up with Pei Yuan, she was drowsy and nearly asleep.

Pei Yuan asked, "What flavor is your candy?"

"Peanut," she replied.

"I’ve never had that one," Pei Yuan said, pinching her cheek and forcing her to open her mouth. "Spit it out and let me taste."

Bao Ning pushed the candy to the edge of her lips with her tongue. Pei Yuan leaned in to kiss her and take it. Just then, Ji Xiangzhen suddenly opened the wardrobe.

Her hair was a bit messy, but her clothes were still neat. "I’ve already knocked him out. Hurry and come out!"

She paused at the scene inside. "Or… do you still need more time?"

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