Chapter 115: The Concubines

The old eunuch, Manager Miao, certainly couldn’t be refused. As for those five girls… with Pei Yuan present and the Emperor’s man watching, Bao Ning couldn’t make a unilateral decision.

She desperately wanted to send them away immediately, but she had to ask for Pei Yuan’s opinion first.

Bao Ning nudged Pei Yuan, her heart racing. She was fairly certain he wouldn’t keep these girls in the manor, yet a flicker of worry remained. Lust was a common vice in men; these girls were all young and beautiful, and Pei Yuan was currently incoherent with drink. If he lost his wits and agreed on impulse, what then?

She pinched his arm again, using a sharp twist this time. Pei Yuan let out a pained hiss. Bao Ning asked, “Are you awake now?”

Pei Yuan frowned. “Why aren’t we going inside?”

“The Crown Prince sent some servants.” Bao Ning lifted the carriage curtain and pointed them out to him, her voice as calm and gentle as possible. “He saw that your manor is short-handed and thoughtfully provided these for you. Do you want to take them into your quarters?”

Bao Ning smiled thinly. “There are plenty of empty rooms in the manor.”

Pei Yuan studied her expression suspiciously. “Why aren’t you angry? Are you being serious?”

Bao Ning really wanted to grab his ear and give it a good twist. Where had his usual decisiveness gone? He was being so wishy-washy and clingy—who cared if she was serious or not! She was obviously pretending to be magnanimous; was she supposed to throw a tantrum and drive them out right there? She had fed him and looked after him, even detoured across the city to buy him that roast chicken, and now that she needed him, all he had to do was say one word to dismiss them. Instead, he hesitated and asked why she wasn’t angry!

Bao Ning asked, “These women—are you keeping them or not? If you keep them, they’ll be your ‘room-waiting’ maids.” She emphasized the last words heavily.

Pei Yuan asked, “Can we afford to feed them?”

“…” Bao Ning gritted her teeth. “The Prince must be joking. Of course we can afford it. Are you keeping them or not?”

Pei Yuan asked, “Where is my roast chicken?”

Bao Ning froze. How is he still thinking about roast chicken at a time like this?

Outside, the five women looked at each other, waiting for an answer. Bao Ning stepped on Pei Yuan’s foot under the seat and glared at him. “Keeping them?”

Pei Yuan looked exhausted. The alcohol was hitting his head, causing a dull ache and a dry throat. He felt nauseous. Bracing himself against the carriage wall, he struggled to stand and hurried outside.

Bao Ning asked in alarm, “Where are you going?”

Pei Yuan jumped off the carriage. Bao Ning, still clutching the chicken, followed quickly to support him. “What’s wrong?”

The girls and Manager Miao saw him emerge and hurriedly knelt in a row. Pei Yuan gripped the carriage handle with one hand and pointed at the girls with the other, mumbling incoherently, “Keep, keep, keep…” Keep my ass!

He didn’t get the last words out. His stomach churned, and with a loud retch, Pei Yuan bent over and vomited.

Chen Jia was dumbfounded. “He’s really keeping them?”

Bao Ning felt a thousand bitter emotions. Looking at Pei Yuan vomiting his guts out, she really wanted to leave him there for those maids to look after. Seeing the girls’ delight as they bowed in gratitude, Bao Ning’s eyes stung. What is this!

She tried to defend him in her heart, telling herself he was drunk and didn’t mean it, but wasn’t there truth in wine? Had he really been planning to take concubines all along?

Despite the grievance in her heart, she couldn’t lose her composure. Bao Ning said coldly, “Since you’ve heard the Prince’s command, go ahead. Tidy up a few rooms in the West Courtyard for the ladies to stay in. They can pay their respects to the Prince tomorrow morning.”

She then turned to the old eunuch. “Manager Miao?”

The old eunuch quickly complied. Bao Ning said, “Manager Miao, please bear with it for tonight and stay in a spare room in the East Courtyard. We’ll move you tomorrow. It’s very late; everyone should go rest.”

The group bowed and left. After finishing his business, Pei Yuan felt much clearer. He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “Wasn’t there a crowd just now? Where did everyone go?”

Bao Ning wiped her eyes with her sleeve, ignored him, and walked straight into the manor.

Pei Yuan asked Chen Jia, “What’s wrong with her?”

Chen Jia watched Bao Ning’s retreating back, knowing a disaster was brewing, but as a mere guard, he couldn’t say much. Bao Ning was his mistress, and Pei Yuan was half his master. After some thought, Chen Jia asked with concern, “Your Highness, have you ever slept on the floor?”

Pei Yuan said, “No.”

“Then this will be difficult…” Chen Jia thought for a moment and asked again, “Otherwise, would you like to squeeze in with Ah-Huang and Jixiang?”

“Bullshit! Are you out of your mind?” Pei Yuan cursed him. “You go sleep with the dogs! Why don’t you go sleep with the dogs?”

Having said that, he staggered off to chase after Bao Ning. “Why are you walking so fast? Where’s the roast chicken?”

Bao Ning didn’t even want to look at him. Her anger was burning bright; at the thought of those girls, she felt Pei Yuan was truly a scoundrel. She rarely cursed, but she wanted to curse now: Pei Yuan was a piece of work. He spoke so sweetly, but in reality, he was just like every other man—dreaming of beauties on either side. When they were living simply, his true colors hadn’t shown, but now that his status was elevated, he wasn’t the same man anymore. “Keep, keep, keep…” Looking at how eager he was, his eyes practically fell out of his head!

Pei Yuan chased after her, but Bao Ning was walking briskly. He couldn’t walk in a straight line, zigzagging so much that he actually couldn’t catch up.

When she was three steps from the bedroom door, Bao Ning slammed it shut right in his face.

Pei Yuan was stunned, and then his temper flared. He stepped forward and banged on the door. “Ji Bao Ning! You’ve locked me out again! How many times is this? Give you an inch and you take a mile? Open the door!”

Bao Ning slid the bolt into place. Only then did she remember the roast chicken in her hand. She walked to the window, pushed it open, and said to Pei Yuan, “Don’t shout in front of my door. If you shout one more time, I’m going back to the Duke’s Manor tomorrow!”

Pei Yuan was about to roar again, but hearing the second half of her sentence, he fell silent.

Still, his expression remained surly. He marched over to the window and whispered angrily, “You again…”

Bao Ning slammed the roast chicken he had been obsessing over against his chest. “Take your chicken and go find your little birds and blossoms! Get lost!”

The roast chicken left a large grease stain on his front before rolling onto the ground. Bao Ning slammed the window shut. Pei Yuan dazedley picked up the chicken. He watched the light inside the room flicker on for a moment and then go out. There was no further sound. Pei Yuan was fuming and wanted to knock on the window again, but remembering Bao Ning’s threat to “go back to the Duke’s Manor,” he lost his nerve.

She was the type who would actually do it; Pei Yuan didn’t dare risk it.

But now… Pei Yuan looked up at the sky. It was past the second watch. How was he going to survive the night?

As he stood there in a daze, a chirping bird-call came from the courtyard gate. Pei Yuan turned around to meet Chen Jia’s eyes. Although Chen Jia wasn’t handsome and was a bit dull, he was a warm-hearted guard. He whistled to get Pei Yuan’s attention and said enthusiastically, “Your Highness, there’s an empty room in Jixiang’s courtyard. I’ve tidied it up for you…”

Pei Yuan clutched the dirty roast chicken, the veins on his forehead throbbing. “Is there really nowhere else to stay?”

“Nowhere…” Chen Jia said. “The people sent by the Crown Prince are in the West Courtyard, and the manager sent by the Emperor is in the East Courtyard—we can’t disturb them. Only Jixiang’s place is left.”

Chen Jia consoled him, “Your Highness, they are on good terms with you; they won’t drive you away. Besides, you brought a gift. If Jixiang takes a dislike to you and tries to bite, just offer this roast chicken… and things will surely work out…”

The people sent by the Crown Prince—what people? Pei Yuan was confused for a moment, but his attention was quickly drawn to the latter half of Chen Jia’s sentence. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He kicked Chen Jia’s backside several times. “Get out, get out, get out!”

Then, with a belly full of indignation, he squeezed into the dog’s quarters for the night.

…

The next morning, he was woken up by Nanny Liu. “Your Highness, why are you here?”

Pei Yuan opened his eyes on the small bed, rubbed his throbbing forehead, and asked hoarsely, “What time is it? Is the Princess Consort still angry?”

Nanny Liu said worriedly, “Those concubines went to the Princess Consort’s room to pay their respects. She asked for you to come over as well.”

Pei Yuan was shocked. “Concubines? What concubines?”

“Just yesterday…” Nanny Liu explained the situation to him in detail, then asked in surprise, “Did you really not know?”

“I blacked out!” Pei Yuan cursed under his breath. Only then did he understand why Bao Ning had been so angry and kicked him out last night. He sprang up, brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes, and hurried toward the main courtyard. Stepping over the threshold of the main room, he saw Bao Ning sitting in the seat of honor drinking tea with a neutral expression. Below her stood five carefully dressed women. Seeing him enter, they all bowed their heads, looking shy.

Pei Yuan’s head felt like it was going to explode. Frowning with his hands behind his back, he said, “Everyone out.”

Bao Ning set down her teacup. The women looked at each other; not daring to disobey, they filed out.

Pei Yuan’s brow relaxed. He stood still for a moment, then cautiously walked over and sat opposite Bao Ning. He stole a careful glance at her and poured some tea. “…If I say I knew nothing about yesterday, would you believe me?”

Bao Ning looked at the stray short hairs on his clothes and asked with a frown, “Where did you sleep last night?”

Pei Yuan said, “The doghouse.”

Bao Ning was so startled she nearly choked on her tea. She swallowed with effort, scrutinized his expression, and asked, “You really don’t remember anything from last night?”

Pei Yuan said regretfully, “I was drunk. I remember throwing up, but I have no memory of those women at all, and I certainly had no intention of keeping them!”

Bao Ning said, “That’s not what you said last night. You said ‘keep, keep, keep,’ as if you were in a desperate hurry.”

Pei Yuan slapped his thigh. “I’ve got it! I said ‘Keep, keep, keep… keep my ass!’ You only heard the first half, not the second!”

Bao Ning was half-skeptical. “Really?”

Pei Yuan said urgently, “Do you want me to prove my innocence with my life?”

“If you die, who’s going to clean up this mess?” Bao Ning glanced outside, where the shadows of the maids were visible. “You said ‘keep’ while drunk last night. If you drive them away today, word will get out that I forced you to do it. They’ll say I’m jealous and made a scene. Your reputation won’t be good either—they’ll say you’re henpecked.”

Pei Yuan was furious at Pei Xiao, that meddlesome villain.

After a moment, Pei Yuan said, “I have a way.”

He noticed Bao Ning’s eyes; she must have cried last night, as her eyelids were still red and swollen. Pei Yuan felt a pang in his heart. He hurried to her side, knelt down, and took her hand. “What’s this? Why are your eyes so swollen? It’s such a small matter—it was fine for you to kick me out and lock the door, but why did you cry?”

“You make it sound so simple.” Bao Ning gave him a shove, the grievances of the previous night resurfacing. “You know exactly how I feel. My biggest fear is that you’ll turn bad once you have money, like those men who fill their manors with women. I’ve told you so many times, both directly and indirectly—did you ever listen? Last night you said ‘keep, keep, keep,’ and I really wanted to shove you into that roast chicken shop and burn you along with it.”

Pei Yuan kissed her fingers. “Didn’t I give you a dagger? If I ever take a concubine, you can use it to slit my throat.”

Bao Ning pulled her hand back, his saliva now on her skin. “That’s murder, not killing a chicken or a duck! If I kill you, I’ll go to prison!”

Seeing her smile slightly and no longer look cold, Pei Yuan felt more at ease. “Bao Bao, I never got to eat that roast chicken last night; it went to your dogs. What should I do?”

Bao Ning said, “I’ll buy you another one.”

Pei Yuan said, “I want to eat one you cooked.”

Bao Ning huffed. “Give you an inch and you take a mile.”

Pei Yuan simply sat on the floor and refused to let go of her wrist; his skills at being a shameless rogue were top-tier.

Bao Ning had no choice but to say, “Fine. Go settle those women now and find a way to make sure no one sends more maids to the manor, and I’ll cook for you.”

Pei Yuan said “alright,” stood up, and walked out.

Bao Ning called after him, “Change your clothes first…”

…

By noon, Pei Yuan had not returned. It was sweltering outside. Bao Ning sat in the room by a basin of ice, reading a book. She hadn’t managed to read much, as she kept wondering what kind of plan Pei Yuan had come up with.

A-Mian was playing with a small ball nearby. When it had had enough, it came over to nibble on her finger. Bao Ning laughed and pushed it away. Then Nanny Liu hurried in, her expression complicated.

“Madam, the Prince has sent all the maids the Crown Prince provided to clean the latrines and scrub the chamber pots. He said he misheard last night due to the wine and thought they were sent for heavy labor, so he accepted them. However, out of consideration for their feelings, he said they can stay if they’re willing to do the work, or leave if they aren’t, and he’ll change their status from bondservants.”

“This method,” Bao Ning hesitated, “is actually quite good.”

Nanny Liu said, “But the Prince also posted a notice on the manor gate. It says…”

She sighed. “Madam should go see for herself.”

Bao Ning saw the look on her face and felt a jolt of worry. She hurriedly got up to go look.

When she arrived, a crowd had already gathered at the gate—some were locals, some were manor servants. Manager Miao was also standing there with a peculiar expression.

Chen Jia cleared the crowd. When Bao Ning reached the gate and saw the notice, she was momentarily speechless. There were two lines of text.

The first line in black ink: Those bringing gifts, please use the side gate to avoid attention. No favors will be granted after the gift is accepted. Please consider carefully.

The second line in large, bright red characters: NO WOMEN ACCEPTED.

Sansukini: Pei Yuan knows how to redeem himself in the best possible way, also in a childish way.

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