Chapter Twenty-Five (Part 1)
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning slept through the rest of the night .
The following morning Yan s.h.i.+ Ning woke up and didn't see Pei Jin . She asked a maid to prepare a water basin for her to wash her face then she changed into a dress .
After Yan s.h.i.+ Ning washed and dressed, she slowly walked toward the gardens . It was still painful between her legs, but she didn't want the maids to know what happened and forced herself to straighten her back .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning circled the gardens and returned to her chamber but she didn't see Pei Jin .
'Where's ninth prince?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked a maid .
'Mistress, ninth prince is visiting Gentleman Bei,' the maid said .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning nodded her head and she remembered the physician Bei Dou who wore black clothes and a stiff expression on his face .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning felt that Bei Dou had a cold aura . She thought that even someone cold would have a face that at least occasionally changed expressions . But each time she met him, his face stayed the same stiff expression . It made her curious about his real ident.i.ty and why Pei Jin treated him sincerely .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning didn't ask Pei Jin about Bei Dou . She knew Pei Jin had many secrets . But she was happy to be Pei Jin's wife who ate and slept . Suddenly she felt hungry and was about to ask a maid to bring her food from the kitchen but Pei Jin entered their chamber with a platter of food .
'Wife, why aren't you sleeping?' Pei Jin asked and put the bowl of beef congee and the bowl of cong you bings on a table .
The delicious fragrance brightened Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's eyes . After the maids left the chamber, she tucked a cong you bing in her mouth . While she was chewing, the pain between her legs increased and she took deep breaths .
Pei Jin saw Yan s.h.i.+ Ning frowned . 'Wife, what's wrong?'
'It hurts!' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said and looked at Pei Jin accusingly .
Pei Jin laughed and carried Yan s.h.i.+ Ning onto the bed .
'What do you want to do?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked wearily .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning swallowed the cong you bing in her mouth and looked at Pei Jin suspiciously . Outside the window the sky was still bright, she didn't know how he could shamelessly want to eat her .
Pei Jin lifted Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's dress and took off her pants and undergarments while smiling shadily at her .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning pulled down her dress and she scrunched her face like an angry bore . 'You… you… it's still morning . '
'Wife, does that mean… if it isn't morning then it's alright?' Pei Jin asked .
Pei Jin took out a jade bottle from his pouch and poured some of the herbal remedy on his fingers .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning remembered Pei Jin's fingers teased her body last night and she wanted to hit him . Then she was curious about the sweet scent from the herbal remedy on his fingers . 'What is that?'
'It's good,' Pei Jin said .
Pei Jin pulled Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's hands away from her dress and inserted his fingers between her legs .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's whole body stiffened the moment she felt his fingers inside her .
'Wife, you don't need to be nervous,' Pei Jin said . 'I'm only rubbing the herbal remedy inside to soothe the pain . '
Pei Jin wanted to continue teasing Yan s.h.i.+ Ning, but he saw her anxiously bit her lower lip and decided to be honest .
Pei Jin remembered Yan s.h.i.+ Ning cried out in pain throughout the night so earlier in the morning he woke Bei Dou up . He ignored Bei Dou's resentment for being woken up too early and asked Bei Dou for a herbal remedy . Bei Dou didn't ask him what kind of herbal remedy he wanted instead Bei Dou's forehead to the neck turned red . Then Bei Dou wrote the name of the herbal remedy on a paper and told him to go buy it .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's body relaxed after Pei Jin explained the purpose of the herbal remedy . But she felt a strange sensation having his fingers gently stroked inside her and her body stiffened again .
'I… I… can do it myself,' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning stuttered .
'Wife, can you see where the sore spots are?' Pei Jin asked .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning bit her lower lip . She did feel shy about inserting her fingers inside herself . But it was better than having his fingers inside her .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning held onto Pei Jin's arms . 'I can do it myself . '
'Alright, you can do it yourself,' Pei Jin said . His fingers circled inside her one more time and withdrew . 'But I finished putting it on the sore spots . '
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning glared at Pei Jin's rotten smile .
Pei Jin pulled out a handkerchief and consoled Yan s.h.i.+ Ning while he wiped his fingers . 'Wife, don't be sad . We can't this time, but there'll be a next time soon . '
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's heart cursed Pei Jin, 'Sad your sister!'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning put on her undergarments and pants then she kicked Pei Jin off the bed .
Pei Jin pulled Yan s.h.i.+ Ning off the bed with him . She fell on top of him . Then he rolled her under him and she opened her mouth but his mouth swallowed her curse .
Earlier Pei Jin felt frustrated while his fingers were inside Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's body . He thought it wasn't right that a delicious meat was in front of him but he had to endure . He wondered when he could eat to his satisfaction .
Pei Jin thought one day soon he needed to be a bandit and pluck Yan s.h.i.+ Ning otherwise he feared he would die from starving himself .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning felt Pei Jin kissed her long enough to make her forget to breathe . She noticed the bowl of congee on the table and pushed him off her .
'The congee will be cold soon,' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said .
Pei Jin knew if he continued kissing Yan s.h.i.+ Ning, it would be hard for him to stop so he let her push him off her .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning happily ate the bowl of delicious beef congee and occasionally bit a cong you bing .
'Did you change the head cook of your manor?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked . 'Why does the food taste better than usual?'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning finished eating the whole bowl of beef congee . Then she remembered since she arrived at Pei Jin's manor, the cooks' food weren't as delicious as the cooks' food at the Yan Manor . It wasn't a surprise because Princess Kang Hua and Yan s.h.i.+ Ting used a lot of money to hire a cook from a famous restaurant in the imperial city . But she was surprised the food Pei Jin bought earlier tasted better than the cooks' food at the Yan Manor .
Pei Jin was happy Yan s.h.i.+ Ning liked the food he bought for her . But he knocked her forehead after he heard her said 'your manor . '
'Wife, what is the head cook of your manor?' Pei Jin asked . 'Do you still see yourself as an outsider?'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning rubbed her sore forehead and glared at Pei Jin . But she admitted she wasn't used to thinking of herself as the mistress of Pei Jin's manor .
'The cooks in our home didn't make these dishes,' Pei Jin said . 'I bought it at Fu Qing on the way to buy the herbal remedy . '
The mention of 'Fu Qing' brightened Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's eyes . Before she arrived at the imperial city, she heard of Fu Qing, the best restaurant in the imperial city . After she lived in the Yan Manor, she never had the opportunity to eat at Fu Qing . She was happy she got to wear clothes from Su's dressmakers and eat food from Fu Qing .
Pei Jin saw the excitement on Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's face and he rubbed his chin . 'Wife, do you want to go there?'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning looked suspiciously at Pei Jin . 'Can we actually go there?'
'Wife, do you want to see the singers and musicians perform?' Pei Jin asked .
'Yes,' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning said .
'Alright, then we can go,' Pei Jin said .
On the way to Fu Qing, Yan s.h.i.+ Ning thought about a childhood memory inside the horse carriage . That year a group of singers and musicians visited Xuan Qing to perform . Other children her age had their mothers take them to see the singers and musicians perform . She wanted to go too but her mother didn't have enough money and her precious pouch was light as a cat's whisker . In her sad state, Pei Jin stood in front of her and asked, 'Do you want to see the singers and musicians perform?'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning couldn't ignore Pei Jin after she heard his question and she foolishly nodded her head . Afterward he actually did take her to see the singers and musicians perform . But they didn't buy tickets at the entrance like other people… they climbed a wall .
That night was cold but Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's heart was warm . She sat on the wall and saw the singers and musicians perform on a platform while she ate dried dates . That day she thought life was beautiful… of course if that thief didn't steal a copper coin from her precious pouch to buy the dried dates then life would have been more beautiful .
'Little sister, I took you to see the singers and musicians perform,' that thief said . 'But why haven't you thanked me?'
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's childhood memory from that year reminded her to be weary of Pei Jin .
'Did you bring enough money?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was worried Pei Jin was taking her to climb another wall .
Pei Jin looked at the Yan s.h.i.+ Ning dressed in a man's clothes and wanted to laugh because she couldn't disguise her feminine beauty . He pulled out a paper note worth one thousand silver taels and put it inside her inner robe . 'I don't have silver taels . Wife, you'll be the host . '
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was shocked to see the paper note… how rich was Pei Jin?
End of Chapter Twenty-Five (Part 1)
Chapter Twenty-Five (Part 2 of 2)The streets were crowded with people, there were many sights to see and food to taste . Yan s.h.i.+ Ning thought she could relax after leaving the manor with Pei Jin . But two of Pei Jin's guards followed them around the imperial city so she was forced to act like a gentleman in her disguise .
Pei Jin noticed Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's reluctance to move around freely .
'Guards, you don't need to follow us,' Pei Jin said to his guards . 'You can go find a place to drink wine . '
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning began to worry a little after the guards left . 'Is it safe? What if there are a.s.sa.s.sins?'
Before Yan s.h.i.+ Ning left the manor, she hesitated to leave because of the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt in the palace . But Pei Jin rea.s.sured her and brought guards with them outside the manor .
Pei Jin didn't know what to explain to Yan s.h.i.+ Ning to rea.s.sure her . What was he supposed to say? Wife, don't worry two of those a.s.sa.s.sins were sent by your husband?
After thinking for a while Pei Jin chose the most tactful explanation to rea.s.sure Yan s.h.i.+ Ning . 'Wife, don't worry there are guards secretly following us . '
Half of Yan s.h.i.+ Ning believed and the half of her suspected Pei Jin's explanation . But if there were guards secretly following them then she could continue to play on the streets .
Pei Jin and Yan s.h.i.+ Ning continued sightseeing until she noticed someone familiar . She held onto his arm to stop him .
'Who does that person look like?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked .
Pei Jin's eyes followed Yan s.h.i.+ Ning's gaze . He saw a familiar woman walk out of a medicine shop and the woman held a bundle .
'Widow Li?' Pei Jin asked .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was happy Pei Jin recognised widow Li too and that her eyes weren't mistaken .
Pei Jin was happy Yan s.h.i.+ Ning was holding his arm . She was pulling him in the direction of widow Li .
After Widow Li bought the medicine, she began walking home with a heavy conscience . Her conscience became heavier the moment she saw who stood in front of her and her face paled .
'Mistress Yan,' widow Li said .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning looked happy to see widow Li . But Pei Jin didn't understand why widow Li looked scared to see Yan s.h.i.+ Ning .
'Widow Li, didn't you say you were travelling south?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked . 'Why are you in the imperial city?'
Widow Li pretended to fix her hair to think of a reasonable explanation . 'I… I was planning to visit my older cousin in the south . But he said he wanted to be a merchant in the imperial city so I came here with him . '
'If you're in the imperial city why didn't you look for me?' Yan s.h.i.+ Ning asked .
'I… I can't be that shameless to look for you,' widow Li said .
'Let's find a place to sit and talk,' Pei Jin said .
'Uh, no I have somewhere I need to be,' widow Li declined .
Pei Jin glanced at the bulky bundle of medicine widow Li was carrying .
'Widow Li, why did you need to buy a lot of medicine?' Pei Jin asked .
Widow Li sighed sadly . 'My older cousin is ill . Mistress Yan, ninth prince, I'll leave first . I need to prepare the medicine for him . '
Widow Li hurriedly left without waiting for Yan s.h.i.+ Ning and Pei Jin's reply .
Yan s.h.i.+ Ning looked at widow Li's back and frowned . 'Pei Jin, do you think that widow Li has changed?'
Pei Jin was relieved Yan s.h.i.+ Ning noticed the change in widow Li's personality too .
'Perhaps something has happened,' Pei Jin said . 'I forgot, Bei Dou asked me to buy some medicine for him . Wife, wait for me here . I'll go inside to buy the medicine and I'll come out soon . '
Pei Jin walked into the shop and requested to see the shop owner .
'What medicine did the woman who came into your shop earlier buy?' Pei Jin asked .
The shop owner told Pei Jin what medicine widow Li bought and it made Pei Jin more uneasy .
Pei Jin knew the medicine widow Li bought were expensive . Widow Li was wearing ordinary clothes, he didn't understand how she could afford to buy expensive medicine . Also, the shop owner said that she was a regular customer who had been buying the same medicine for many months . He wondered where widow Li would find more than one thousand silver taels to buy the medicine frequently .
Pei Jin remembered widow Li's panicked expression the moment widow Li saw Yan s.h.i.+ Ning and his intuition warned him that something was wrong . He decided after he returned to the manor, he would ask some of his guards to wait nearby the medicine shop and secretly follow widow Li .
Pei Jin thought if widow Li was in trouble, he would help widow Li because widow Li was important to Yan s.h.i.+ Ning . But if widow Li was hiding a dangerous secret involving Yan s.h.i.+ Ning then he would be prepared to stop widow Li from harming Yan s.h.i.+ Ning .
End of Chapter Twenty-Five (Part 2)
