Chapter 16: Drunkeness

Bao Ning was wrapped in a quilt by Pei Yuan and was pushed all the way back to the west wing.

Startled and frightened, she was already sick—previously holding up with sheer willpower—but now that will was gone. Her illness surged up, and soon she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her clothes felt drafty, and cold seeped through her body.

Pei Yuan laid out the quilt, settled her down, and turned to start a fire.

His leg injury was mostly healed, no longer painful when squatting, though still weak. He forced himself to build up the fire.

As the heated brick bed slowly warmed, Bao Ning still felt terrible. She curled tighter in the quilt, aching all over. She couldn’t fall asleep, and her head began to pound. She felt so miserable she wanted to cry.

Pei Yuan came to check on her and sat beside the bed, asking, “Still cold?”

Bao Ning nodded.

Pei Yuan looked around and asked, “Do we have any medicine at home?”

Bao Ning shook her head.

“We need medicine. We have to break the fever.” Pei Yuan thought for a moment, then told her, “Stay put and rest. I’ll be right back.”

He went to the east wing and fetched a jar of wine. Ah Huang had been circling Bao Ning’s side barking, so Pei Yuan, annoyed, dragged it to the east wing and locked it in the room.

Bao Ning watched as Pei Yuan heated the wine, poured a bowl, and asked, puzzled, “What are you doing?”

Pei Yuan gave her a glance. “It’s for you to drink.”

His broad palm made the wine bowl look tiny. He held it steadily with one hand and supported her back with the other to help her sit up. “Be good. Drink a few sips—it’ll warm you up. Then I’ll wipe you down, make you some thin porridge. Sleep it off, and you’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Hearing she had to drink wine, Bao Ning already resisted, and when he mentioned wiping her down, she turned pale and pushed his hand away. “I don’t want it!”

“Don’t move! You’ll spill it.” Pei Yuan frowned, pushing the bowl to her lips, giving a short command: “Drink.”

Bao Ning shook her head and leaned back, but Pei Yuan caught her neck from behind. “It’s medicinal wine—not strong. Just a bit of alcohol. Smell it if you don’t believe me.”

Bao Ning sniffed and found it didn’t smell much like alcohol—more like ephedra, probably meant to induce sweating.

But she still didn’t want to drink. She couldn’t hold her liquor and feared doing something embarrassing if she got drunk.

Seeing her uncooperative, Pei Yuan coaxed her a few times, but his patience ran out. He said harshly, “Are you drinking or not?”

“I don’t want…” Before Bao Ning could finish, Pei Yuan pinched her chin and forced a mouthful down.

Afraid she’d choke, Pei Yuan patted her back while coaxing, “Tastes okay, doesn’t it?”

It was bitter and spicy. Bao Ning gagged, nearly throwing it up, but Pei Yuan pinched her nose and pushed the bowl in front of her: “Drink it yourself. I won’t force you.”

Left with no choice, Bao Ning shut her eyes and drank the whole bowl. Pei Yuan seemed satisfied.

“You’ll feel better after you sweat it out.” Saying this, he grabbed a cloth, soaked it in warm water, and pulled off her quilt. “Turn over, lift your clothes—I’ll wipe you down to bring the fever down.”

“No, I really don’t want to.” Bao Ning shrank back, almost pleading, “Pei Yuan, stay away from me. Don’t touch me.”

Pei Yuan pulled her wrist back. “You’re sick, so I’m treating you. Don’t overthink it.”

“I don’t want to be treated…” Bao Ning hugged herself and was on the verge of tears. “Can you just go out?”

She truly didn’t want it. Pei Yuan couldn’t force her to undress. After a brief standoff, he compromised: “Fine. I’ll just wipe your face.”

Bao Ning had no more strength to argue and lay down as he said. Though Pei Yuan was trying to be gentle, he was still a man, and his hands were heavy. After two rubs, her face hurt and she whimpered, so he moved to her neck, then wiped her hands with the cloth.

He rubbed every part exposed outside her clothes several times, and her skin finally didn’t feel as hot. Then he reached into her clothes to pull off her silk socks and rubbed her feet.

Bao Ning curled her legs in fear, her tear-filled eyes wide like a deer. “What are you doing?”

Pei Yuan really hadn’t meant anything else.

Besides, she was still dressed. Even if he wanted to think about something else, there was nothing to look at.

Running back and forth to care for her with an injured leg had worn him out. Seeing Bao Ning like this made him scowl. “Straighten your legs. Don’t make me say it twice.”

“I don’t want to…” Bao Ning whispered.

Pei Yuan finally noticed something was off. She’d pulled the quilt up to her nose, eyes glassy and shiny. Her cheeks were flushed.

Pei Yuan blinked. “Are you… drunk?”

He didn’t know what to feel. “Just two sips of medicinal wine and you’re drunk?”

Bao Ning said, “I want to go home.”

Pei Yuan frowned. “Why?”

“I want to see Aunt Ming,” Bao Ning mumbled under the quilt. “She’s really good. When I almost drowned as a child, Aunt Ming gave me one dose of medicine and I got better. If she treated me now, I’d be fine. And your leg too…”

“I don’t need your Aunt Ming. I can treat you myself,” Pei Yuan interrupted before she could finish, tugging at her quilt. “Lower it a bit, or you’ll suffocate.”

“I won’t suffocate,” Bao Ning swatted his hand. “Don’t touch me. I like it this way. It’s warm.”

“Still cold?” Pei Yuan reached under the quilt to check her temperature. “You’re pretty warm—still feverish?” He tried touching her forehead, but she dodged.

Pei Yuan’s face darkened, about to scold her, but then Bao Ning said, “Stop moving. Just listen to me.”

…Alcohol really does make people bolder. Usually she was so obedient, but now she dared to lecture him.

Pei Yuan pressed his lips together, tone cold: “Speak.”

Bao Ning blinked at him. “Your attitude sucks.”

Pei Yuan was so mad he laughed. He grabbed her neck gently through the quilt and teased, “Maybe I should just strangle you.”

Bao Ning took it seriously. Her mind was fuzzy and couldn’t tell jokes from truth. She froze, eyes filling with tears. “You can’t.”

Pei Yuan panicked. He couldn’t follow her train of thought and didn’t understand what she meant, only seeing her about to cry. “What’s wrong? Can’t what?”

Bao Ning didn’t answer—just started crying harder.

Pei Yuan cursed under his breath and wiped her tears with the back of his hand. “Enough already. You cry all the damn time. For what?”

“You can’t…” Bao Ning sobbed under the covers, “You can’t strangle me… That’s illegal.”

Pei Yuan took a deep breath. “Did I say that?”

“You did.”

Pei Yuan thought hard… and realized he had.

“I was joking! I won’t strangle you.” He ground his teeth and said, “If I ever die, it’ll be because you drove me insane. Enough already. You’re getting snot all over me.”

She followed his change of topic and looked at his hand. It was shiny, though whether it was water or something else, who could say.

She scooted down and buried her face in the quilt, leaving just a tuft of hair showing. “I don’t know. It’s not my snot.”

Pei Yuan played along. “Mm, not yours. It’s the dog’s.”

“Don’t insult me,” Bao Ning popped back out, serious again. “It’s mine.”

“You’re insane,” Pei Yuan muttered, dizzy from her antics. He stopped being gentle, yanked the quilt down, and barked, “Stick your head out. Don’t move again or I’ll throw you outside. There are wolves out there. They’ll eat you, got it?”

Bao Ning stared at him in shock, upset by his tone.

Her lips quivered, and she was about to cry again.

Pei Yuan glared. “Hold it in!”

Bao Ning whimpered, “…Okay.”

…If only I’d done this earlier, Pei Yuan thought. You can’t coax a mule—you have to scold it. Yelling works better than anything else.

Not long after, Bao Ning fell asleep. Pei Yuan took advantage of the free time to cook a bowl of porridge, let it cool a bit, then returned to wake her up to eat.

She was still groggy, the alcohol hadn’t worn off, and after just two bites, she refused more. Pei Yuan tried to feed her another spoonful, and when she really wouldn’t eat, he just shoved it into his own mouth.

After eating, Bao Ning looked a bit better and said, “In a few days, I want to go home for a visit. Will you come with me?”

Pei Yuan sighed helplessly, “What for?”

Bao Ning said, “Aunt Ming is amazing. She knows lots of ancient and folk remedies, all very effective. The second sister born from her married the third young master of the Marquis of Chongyuan’s household and had a son the next year. But the eldest sister, born of the main wife, married the heir of that household. It’s been three years, and still no children. I heard from the servants that she can’t hold her head up in that household anymore.”

She didn’t notice how far the topic had strayed and seriously pondered what she just said. Then she asked, “Is having a son really that important?”

Pei Yuan said, “The heir of the Marquis wants a son, not your eldest sister, so yes, a son is very important.”

“Oh.” Bao Ning didn’t quite understand, but she nodded anyway, pretending that she did.

Pei Yuan asked, “Any more questions?”

Bao Ning remembered something: “I want to go home.”

Pei Yuan felt a headache coming on and rubbed his temples. “Okay, how are you going to get there?”

Bao Ning thought for a moment. “By carriage.”

Pei Yuan asked, “Where’s the carriage?”

Bao Ning was stumped. She furrowed her brows and seriously considered it: “I’ll write to Ji Yun and ask him to drive the carriage here.”

Pei Yuan asked, “And how will you send the letter?”

“Oh my god.” Bao Ning looked at him, cheeks flushed.

“How are you so clever?”

She puckered her lips. “But I’m a bit cleverer—I can send the letter with a pigeon.”

Pei Yuan felt a flame rise inside him, but kept it down.

“Where’s the pigeon?”

“I don’t have one,” Bao Ning shook her head. She looked up at him and tugged on his sleeve, whispering, “Pei Yuan, can I raise pigeons in the future?”

“Shut up!”

Veins were visibly throbbing on Pei Yuan’s forehead. He pinched her cheeks between two fingers and growled, “I really regret it—must’ve had my brain smashed in to give you that alcohol! Already stupid, and with alcohol you’re saying nothing but nonsense. Ji Bao Ning, listen up: from now on, keep your mouth shut, or else…”

He leaned in and threatened viciously in her ear, “I’ll throw your Ah Huang outside.”

Bao Ning was scared. She quickly shut her eyes tightly.

The light from the lamp was bright and hurting her eyes, so she peeked at him.

Pei Yuan was staring at her.

“You want me to blow out the lamp?”

Bao Ning nodded.

With a whoosh, Pei Yuan blew out the lamp and lay down without changing clothes. “Sleep!”

He thought for a second and added a warning as he turned around, “No more talking…” Before he finished, he heard the soft, rhythmic breathing beside him—she was already asleep.

Pei Yuan stared at the ceiling and let out a long breath, feeling completely suffocated from the night.

But when he turned to look at the small figure curled up under the embroidered quilt beside him, he felt… maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

The next morning, Pei Yuan woke up to broad daylight. Bao Ning was still asleep, curled up like a shrimp right next to him.

Her long hair was tickling him. Pei Yuan, eyes still closed, reached over to ruffle her hair and gently pushed her away.

Then a soft, slightly aggrieved voice of a young man suddenly sounded by his ear:

“Fourth Brother, you’ve never held me like that.”

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