Chapter 20: The Wheelchair

Ji Jiaying seemed to have been waiting for her. She looked at her with a beaming smile and said, “Fifth Sister, how could you return home without informing us in advance? You stood at the door for so long—anyone who didn’t know would think we kicked you out. How terrible that would sound if that news spread.”

Bao Ning looked past her and was surprised to find the whole family was there.

Duke Rong stood behind Ji Jiaying, wearing an awkward smile. Madam Tao, supported by a maid and cradling her belly, was glowing and looked quite happy.

Ji Yun stood anxiously beside Lady Xu. When he saw Bao Ning, he tried to step forward but was pulled back by Lady Xu.

There were also a few eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, dressed in festive clothes—much like when they had brought the betrothal gifts during her wedding.

Duke Rong felt ashamed by his daughter’s behavior and furrowed his brows, lightly scolding, “Ying’er, don’t speak nonsense.”

He didn’t dare say more. Though he was the male head of the household, he held little real authority. Now that Ji Jiaying had married well thanks to her connection with Madam Tao’s brother, he had even less say.

The eunuchs, unfazed, bowed to the group and started to walk past Bao Ning and Pei Yuan as if they hadn’t seen them—or perhaps deliberately ignored them.

Ji Jiaying’s lips curved as she turned to walk away, but just then Ji Yun stepped forward and called loudly, “Greetings to the Fourth Prince!” After that, he bowed with clasped hands.

The eunuchs suddenly froze, unsure whether to continue or stop, awkwardly glancing at each other.

But they had to save face. The lead eunuch cleared his throat, then hastily knelt and said, “This lowly one failed to recognize Your Highness. I beg your pardon!”

Right after, Duke Rong quickly chimed in, “We are honored by Your Highness’s visit. Forgive us for not welcoming you sooner—please, come in!”

He hadn’t meant to leave Bao Ning and Pei Yuan standing there. He simply dared not disobey Madam Tao’s wishes. Tao had no children of her own and disliked Bao Ning’s mother, Lady Xu—so by extension, she disliked Bao Ning as well.

As for Pei Yuan, he may have held the title of prince, but he had no real power. He was easy to offend, and Madam Tao’s faction clearly looked down on him.

Bao Ning had been nervous, but Ji Yun’s shout had thankfully defused the situation.

Pei Yuan nodded and said quietly, “No need for such formality, Father-in-law.”

He gave Duke Rong a way out. The duke gratefully wiped the sweat from his brow and waved to a nearby servant woman to help, taking over from Bao Ning to push Pei Yuan inside.

Ji Jiaying frowned, unwilling to let things go. She shot a look at the lead eunuch, mouthing, “Go.”

The eunuch understood. Pretending to lose his balance, he shouted “Ay-yo!” and fell forward—landing directly on Pei Yuan’s wheelchair.

The servant woman was just about to take over, and Bao Ning had just let go. Without anyone holding it steady, the wheelchair was violently jolted and began speeding forward—heading straight for the courtyard’s shadow wall.

Bao Ning cried out in alarm and reached out to stop it, but couldn’t grab hold in time.

Gasps and screams echoed throughout the courtyard. Everyone feared Pei Yuan would be thrown out of the chair or crash into the wall.

Bao Ning panicked, tossed etiquette aside, and ran after him.

Ji Jiaying smirked and, seeing Bao Ning run by, subtly lifted her skirt to block her—trying to trip her.

But unexpectedly, the wheelchair suddenly turned direction and charged straight toward Ji Jiaying. Her eyes widened in shock. Before she could react, she quickly withdrew her foot and, supported by maids, stumbled backward a few steps.

Madam Tao, standing beside her, was affected by the commotion. Losing her balance, she nearly fell and quickly grabbed a maid’s sleeve. “My belly! Protect my belly!”

Duke Rong stood nearby, not knowing whom to support, flailing in confusion.

Pei Yuan firmly gripped the wheels and came to a smooth stop in front of Bao Ning. He squinted at the chaotic scene behind them.

Bao Ning was nearly scared to death. She crouched to check his legs and anxiously asked, “Are you okay? Tell me if it hurts.”

Pei Yuan took her hand and helped her up. “I’m fine.”

“How did it slip like that? This is such a mess,” Lady Xu exclaimed as she rushed over.

Distressed, she turned and scolded the stunned eunuch harshly, “Is this how the Imperial Household Department handles things? You bumped into the Fourth Prince—aren’t you going to apologize?!”

The eunuch hadn’t expected things to go so wrong.

He worked under Tao Maobing, Madam Tao’s brother, and had been assigned to help manage Ji Jiaying’s marriage arrangements—so naturally, he took her orders.

He had heard of Pei Yuan: rumors said the Fourth Prince was crippled, bedridden, unloved by the emperor. So the eunuch hadn’t been worried. He figured a little “accident” would please Ji Jiaying and earn him a hefty reward.

But now—Pei Yuan didn’t seem like a cripple at all. He had calmly and precisely controlled the wheels, even adjusting direction at high speed. Not even a strong, trained man could do that so well.

Back when Pei Yuan was near death, barely human, the eunuch dared insult him because he knew Pei Yuan couldn’t fight back. But now…

The eunuch deeply regretted it. A prince was still a prince—even if fallen. Who was he, a mere servant, to pick a fight? Why did he bring such bad luck on himself?

“Your Highness, I didn’t kneel properly and startled you. Please forgive me!” the eunuch cried, kowtowing with tears streaming down his face.

Bao Ning was furious. She was usually patient, but she wasn’t blind—she had seen all of Ji Jiaying’s little schemes. Even before Bao Ning married, Ji Jiaying had targeted her. Now she still was—this time dragging Pei Yuan into it.

Bao Ning felt guilty. All this had happened because of her. Pei Yuan had suffered, all for her sake.

“Let’s just ignore them. I’ll take you back to the courtyard.” She adjusted the small blanket over Pei Yuan’s legs and began pushing him toward Lady Xu’s quarters.

At this point, what was the use in staying quiet? Ji Jiaying and Madam Tao would never appreciate it anyway. Besides, she had married the Fourth Prince—why shouldn’t she act with a bit of pride?

With that thought, Bao Ning stood up straighter. Lady Xu and Ji Yun followed her. Concubine Ming watched Madam Tao nearly faint, scoffed, dusted off her sleeves, and left too.

Only Sixth Miss Ji Liuxiang and her meek, eager-to-please mother, Concubine Ye, were left standing awkwardly in place.

Inside the house, Lady Xu explained the whole story to Bao Ning:

“…A few days ago, the Third Prince Pei Xiao came to propose marriage. Today, the Imperial Household Department delivered the betrothal gifts—it’s for the position of crown prince’s consort. Just now, they were seeing the eunuchs out and chatting by the shadow wall when the gatekeeper whispered something to Madam Tao. She then passed it along to Fourth Miss. I didn’t know what they were whispering about at the time, but now I realize—it must’ve been a message saying you two had returned.”

Without Madam Xu saying it, Bao Ning could already guess what had happened.

Ji Jiaying had always been like this. Outside the residence, she played the part of the gentle and dignified Fourth Lady of the Marquis household, but at home, she was an entirely different person—domineering and cunning, unable to stand seeing Bao Ning’s family doing well.

Bao Ning wasn’t sure if sisters in other noble households also schemed against each other like this, but she was already weary of such a life. That was why she had so longed to leave the residence and get married.

Suddenly, she remembered how tightly Madam Tao had been guarding her belly and asked, “What’s going on with the Madam?”

Madam Xu replied, “She’s pregnant.”

Bao Ning froze.

Madam Xu patted her hand. “Now that you’re married, you don’t need to worry about the affairs of the household anymore. As long as there’s nothing urgent, don’t come back too often. Just live your own peaceful days.”

Bao Ning felt a wave of sadness.

Madam Xu also felt a sour ache in her chest. “Ah, it’s my own incompetence that I couldn’t protect you, that things ended up like this… But you don’t need to worry about me. With Jiyun by my side, I won’t be bullied.”

As she said this, she suddenly remembered that Pei Yuan was sitting nearby. She quickly looked up, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Pei Yuan acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, his gaze resting on the view outside the window. Madam Xu quietly suppressed the pounding of her heart and changed the subject. “Bao Ning, why did you choose today to come back? You didn’t even send word ahead. Are you hungry? I’ll have the small kitchen make something for you.”

“I didn’t choose the day.” Bao Ning answered, “We live far away, and it’s not convenient to travel. We happened to run into a carriage yesterday, so we came along with it.” She remembered how Pei Yang had snuck out, and dared not expose him.

Madam Xu smiled. “That’s wonderful. I’ve been missing you. No need for the kitchen, just tell me what you want to eat—I’ll cook it for you myself.”

“We just ate not long ago, we’re not hungry yet,” Bao Ning replied sweetly, though her heart was filled with a tangle of emotions. She wanted to find Ming Yiniang now, but with both Pei Yuan and Madam Xu here, she didn’t know how to bring it up.

Pei Yuan definitely wouldn’t want to expose old wounds, nor have anyone talk about them. Bao Ning hesitated for a while, still unsure of how to proceed, when a maid entered to announce: “Ming Yiniang has arrived.”

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