Chapter 103: Call Me Brother

Soon, however, Bao Ning regretted it. She had truly incensed Pei Yuan.

The sound of him kicking the door was so loud the entire manor could hear it. Even the neighbor’s dog three li away began to bark. Through the door, Bao Ning heard Pei Yuan gritting his teeth as he questioned her: “Ji Bao Ning, are you trying to murder your own husband? Are you trying to suffocate me?”

Bao Ning didn’t dare speak. She watched the door frame shudder under his kicks, knowing she couldn’t escape tonight. If she didn’t open up, Pei Yuan would likely tear the roof beams down.

True to form, Pei Yuan let out a cold laugh, paced around the corner, and grabbed a flower hoe. He returned to the window and threatened coldly, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t open this door, your window is as good as gone. If you push me too far, I’ll toss your dog’s kennel over the wall too!”

“Three!”

“Two!”

Bao Ning gritted her teeth, ran over to pick up the small porcelain vial that had fallen on the floor, and clutched it in her palm. The moment “One” left Pei Yuan’s lips, she yanked the door open.

Looking pitiful, she pleaded with him, “A-Yuan, let’s… let’s use a bit more of this ointment first.”

“Pointless stalling! If you were going to do this anyway, why the hell did you lock me out!” Pei Yuan tossed the hoe aside and strode into the room, grabbing Bao Ning’s wrist and pulling her inside. “You just wait. If I don’t give you a lesson tonight, you’ll forget your name is Madame Pei. If you suffer a bit, don’t blame me. You reap what you sow!”

Bao Ning clung to his arm, apologizing repeatedly, “I was wrong, I was wrong…”

Pei Yuan shot her a glance, grabbed a soft pillow from the couch, and threw it onto the bed. He then tossed Bao Ning onto the mattress, kicked off his shoes, and wedged the soft pillow under her waist.

Under his maneuvering, Bao Ning was arched like a bridge. Pei Yuan sat at the foot of the “bridge,” legs apart. He unscrewed the cap of the vial, scooped out a large dollop of the emerald-green paste, and tilted his chin at her. “Part them yourself.”

With a crimson face, Bao Ning held her knees. Pei Yuan corrected her: “Not your legs. Part it there .”

Bao Ning gasped. “How can you touch that place!”

“Then I’ll just go in force, and don’t cry when it hurts.” Pei Yuan looked at her face, which was on the verge of tears, his lips curling into a smirk as he teased her.

Normally, a few tears from her would make his heart ache terribly. But this wasn’t a normal time. The more Bao Ning cried, the more his heart itched. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her long eyelashes were damp with trembling droplets. She looked like a delicate flower waiting to be plucked. Pei Yuan felt his own discomfort grow several degrees sharper.

Reluctantly, Bao Ning moved her fingers further down. Pei Yuan watched as the pink blossom opened before his eyes, revealing its core.

His gaze darkened. He smeared the ointment on, then took another scoop, gently probing his fingertip deeper inside to lubricate the interior.

Bao Ning closed her eyes, not daring to look at him. His fingertips, calloused from years of handling weapons, caused a scratchy, itchy sensation that sent tremors through her. She tried her best to remain composed, feeling she was being far too forward.

Pei Yuan whispered, “How does it feel? Is it cold?”

Bao Ning remained silent.

Pei Yuan laughed. “It’s fine if it’s cold. It’ll get hot in a moment.”

He toyed with her, whispering, “How beautiful. It’s a pity you can’t get a good look at it. Wait a moment, I’ll fetch a mirror for you…”

Terrified that he would actually get a mirror, Bao Ning snapped her eyes open and cried out in alarm, “I don’t want it! No!”

Pei Yuan gave her a malicious little pinch. “Fine then. Call me ‘Brother’.”

Bao Ning stammered, “Brother… Brother…”

Her tone was piteous, and her eyes were red. “I don’t want to see…”

A fire surged in Pei Yuan’s chest; he felt his self-control reach its limit. Looking down, the purple-red length was swollen to the point of pain.

Gritting his teeth, he took another pillow and stuffed it under Bao Ning’s waist.

Bao Ning squirmed and struggled. “Don’t, it’s uncomfortable.”

“Bear with it.” Pei Yuan steadied himself, his voice raspy. “Didn’t you want a child? This way, the ‘stuff’ can stay in your belly a bit longer.”

Bao Ning fell silent, her eyelids fluttering as she waited for the final moment.

Pei Yuan let out a soft breath, trying his best to hold back so as not to hurt her, before thrusting inside with force.

Outside, a gale had picked up at some point. Dazed and adrift, Bao Ning heard the whistling of the wind through the window cracks, mingled with Pei Yuan’s heavy breathing.

Some of the candles had burned out, and the room grew dim. After a while, Bao Ning felt the place where Pei Yuan was pressed against her begin to tremble, followed by a spray of hot liquid. She clutched the bedsheets as she endured it, tears flowing. It was the third time.

She was exhausted. At first, she had the strength to whimper, but now she just felt sore, wishing she could simply faint.

Pei Yuan finally withdrew, satisfied.

He rolled over and lay beside Bao Ning, covered in sweat. Too lazy to pull up the covers, he kept his eyes half-closed.

After a moment, he propped himself up on one arm, pulled Bao Ning toward his shoulder, and gave her sweat-dampened cheek a resounding kiss. Feeling it wasn’t enough, he took two playful bites and rumbled in a low voice, “So tight. Still so tight the third time. You won’t let go; it’s enough to kill a man.”

Bao Ning remained in the same position, her waist propped high by the cushions. She was both ashamed and annoyed, wanting to curse Pei Yuan’s shamelessness, but she had no strength left.

She shifted her hips, trying to move off the soft pillow, but Pei Yuan held her down. “Keep it there a while longer.”

Silence followed. Pei Yuan estimated the time—it was likely past the third watch. Outside, the wind howled; it was not good weather.

Pei Yuan remarked, “I’m afraid it’s going to rain tomorrow.”

At the mention of rain, the string of exhaustion in Bao Ning’s mind snapped taut. She was deathly afraid of rainy days. Although the leeches had temporarily neutralized the fatal poison in Pei Yuan’s body, the price had been steep. On every rainy day, even if Pei Yuan didn’t cry out in pain, Bao Ning knew he was suffering immensely.

Bao Ning turned her head to scan Pei Yuan’s face and asked softly, “Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Pei Yuan leaned in suggestively and bit her ear. “How do you still have the mind to think about that? It’s my fault—I wasn’t brave or fierce enough, making you doubt me.”

He was being indecent again. How lewd!

Bao Ning shut her mouth tight and ignored him, but secretly, she pulled the corner of the quilt over his legs. She told herself she wasn’t worried about his health; she was just looking out for her own future happiness—she didn’t want to be a young widow.

Pei Yuan laughed and kissed her cheek. “I knew you cared for me.”

Bao Ning glared at him.

“Go to sleep.” Pei Yuan removed the cushions from under her waist, tucked her in, and patted her back gently. “It’s too late. Sleep first, we’ll bathe in the morning.”

Bao Ning was truly spent. Pei Yuan held her in his arms like a warm furnace, humming a tune to her. It was the first time she had heard him sing, and she was surprised to find he had a very good voice. As she listened, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, she felt a cool sensation below. Opening her eyes, she saw Pei Yuan wiping her clean and applying medicine.

Seeing her wake, he gave her bottom a silent pat, gesturing for her to keep sleeping. Bao Ning fell back into a long, restorative slumber.

The next day, she was woken by a commotion in the courtyard.

Mama Liu was trying to block someone. Jixiang and Ah-Huang were barking at the top of their lungs, and Wei Meng was shouting too, his voice booming like a bell: “Little General! You’re really something else! Didn’t we agree last night to come to my room to finalize the strategy? I waited for you the whole damn night! Seeing the bad weather, I even prepared hot water and tea. I was just short of finding you a maid to wash your feet! Where the hell did you go? I waited until dawn and you never showed. You can’t be this unreliable!”

Mama Liu pleaded urgently, “General Wei, please wait a moment. His Highness and the Madame haven’t risen yet. Please stop shouting.”

Wei Meng slapped his thigh. “Mama, I’m aggrieved! I thought His Highness was delayed by business and would come later. Afraid of missing him, I didn’t dare sleep all night. It wasn’t until the rooster crowed that I realized I was the only one in a hurry! What on earth was he doing?”

Mama Liu’s face turned red. “That was, naturally… very important business.”

“What important business could be more important than discussing strategy with me?” Wei Meng hiked up his robe and sat directly on the steps. “I’m waiting for him to come out. I’m not leaving!”

Bao Ning was nearly numb to the concept of shyness. Sitting on the bed listening to Wei Meng roar outside, she actually felt it wasn’t that big a deal. It wasn’t too embarrassing; it was bearable.

She slowly got dressed, but yesterday’s clothes were dirty. Unable to find fresh ones, she nudged Pei Yuan, who got up naked to search for them.

Once dressed, they finally let Mama Liu lead people in with water and clean cotton towels.

Only after everything was settled did Pei Yuan step out. He knew he was in the wrong; he had indeed made an appointment with Wei Meng but had inadvertently forgotten it entirely. Pei Yuan was in a great mood. He didn’t mind Wei Meng’s rude shouting and offered a polite apology: “Last night was indeed my fault. Something urgent came up, and I forgot to come over.”

Hearing Pei Yuan speak so pleasantly made Wei Meng’s skin crawl with goosebumps. This was not what he expected.

He had expected Pei Yuan to come out angrily and rebuke him for disturbing his sleep, to which Wei Meng would have retorted furiously. They would have come to blows, had a good fight, and then the anger would have dissipated.

But this? With no way to vent his frustration, Wei Meng felt even more stifled.

Pei Yuan said, “I’m going to have breakfast with my wife first. Suit yourself; we’ll meet in fifteen minutes.”

“…”

Without waiting for a response, Pei Yuan gestured for Mama Liu to take Wei Meng to the kitchen for a meal, then returned to the room.

“What time is it and he’s still eating? Eat my foot! Go eat hell!” Wei Meng fumed. “Beauty ruins nations, women ruin business! Love and romance—destroyers of men!”

Mama Liu ladled soup for him from the pot and advised, “General Wei, say a few words less.”

“Is anything I said wrong?” Wei Meng turned to her. Mama Liu shook her head and handed him the food without replying.

A moment later, Wei Meng remarked, “The food from your kitchen is actually quite good.”

“Another bowl of soup, please.”

Fifteen minutes later, Pei Yuan came out exactly on time, followed by Bao Ning.

The weather was poor today. Fearing Pei Yuan would feel unwell, Bao Ning didn’t want him to walk all the way to the study, so they talked in the courtyard. The small table under the grapevines had been wiped clean, pens and paper were set out, and the servants had been dismissed. They invited Wei Meng over.

Wei Meng possessed the typical arrogance of traditional men, which manifested as a slight disdain for women. Regarding Bao Ning, he didn’t strictly look down on her, but he only accorded her superficial respect because she was Pei Yuan’s consort. Because Pei Yuan loved her, he “loved the house and its crows.” Later, during the matter of winning over Ji Xiangzhen, Bao Ning had contributed much, which improved Wei Meng’s impression of her, earning her a bit more respect in his heart.

But after the events of last night and this morning, seeing Pei Yuan seemingly under a spell, ignoring official business to dive into a “land of tenderness,” he instinctively categorized Bao Ning back into the group of “troublemakers and distractions.”

Consequently, the look Wei Meng gave Bao Ning wasn’t as friendly as before. He thought to himself: How can this woman be so oblivious? She has no self-awareness.

Pei Yuan was waiting for him. Bao Ning offered a gentle smile and invited him to take a seat. Wei Meng gave her a perfunctory bow and walked past.

As they brushed past each other, Bao Ning clearly heard Wei Meng roll his eyes at her and let out a heavy, disdainful “Hmph!”

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