Chapter 4: Pei Yuan

The first thing that caught his eye was a clear and beautiful face — willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, skin as fair as snow. She looked young, not fully grown yet, but already exceptionally striking and eye-catching. It wasn’t a stunning or seductive kind of beauty; on the contrary, she gave off a very comfortable, harmless impression, with a pair of faint dimples at the corners of her lips.

She didn’t look like she came looking for trouble.

After making this judgment, the tension in Pei Yuan’s mind eased a little, and the palm that had already used three parts of internal strength relaxed.

Until his eyes scanned downward and saw Bao Ning’s bright red wedding dress, Pei Yuan’s pupils suddenly contracted. He abruptly recalled what Cuifu had said this morning — that today was his wedding day, and the bride would probably arrive around noon. Then she would return to the capital, and his imperial consort would continue to take care of him.

When Cuifu said that, there was a hint of pity: “I heard your imperial consort is a childhood betrothal, a daughter from the Rongguo Duke’s family? Such a noble young lady, how could she willingly fall to a place like this? Later on, who knows how she’ll treat you? Truly pitiful.”

Pei Yuan didn’t know whom Cuifu was pitying — was it him, or the imperial consort who was to come?

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan showed a faint, sarcastic smile. She was right. Given his current situation, he was a useless wretch. Who would bother to serve him? Everyone probably hoped he’d die quickly. Even the maids sent by the Directorate of the Palace Household dared boss him around, let alone some imperial consort. It was obvious she must be an unlucky illegitimate daughter forced into this marriage, likely having cried many times on the way here. Maybe she was even scheming in her heart to escape, so she came first to his room to gather information.

She should be very happy — seeing him half-dead, whenever he finally passed away, she would be a free woman.

…

Pei Yuan was stunned as he looked at her skirt. Bao Ning didn’t know what he was thinking to be so dazed; she didn’t even notice the quilt slipping off.

Afraid Pei Yuan would catch a cold and get sicker, she reached out and pulled the quilt back up, wrapping it around his neck. Then she asked again, “Are you very thirsty? If you can still bear it, wait a little while. Drinking cold water isn’t good. Tell me where I can get water, and I’ll boil some hot water for you to drink.”

What a great actor.

Pei Yuan came to his senses, frowned in disgust, turned sideways to avoid Bao Ning’s hand, and drank all the water from the teapot.

Perhaps his hand was trembling badly — at first, the spout wasn’t aligned properly, and a lot of cold water spilled, soaking his neck. Pei Yuan seemed not to notice, threw the teapot back onto the table casually, wiped his mouth, and burrowed back under the quilt.

Having been ignored all along, Bao Ning felt a little embarrassed and touched her nose.

After standing for a while, she felt this stalemate was not a solution. It was better to start talking and build a good relationship.

Bao Ning squatted down to get her eyes level with the lying Pei Yuan and spoke in as gentle a voice as possible, “Fourth Prince, I am your…”

Before she finished, Pei Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and impatiently said, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Bao Ning was stunned by the scolding and felt a bit wronged.

She pressed her lips together but quickly adjusted her mood.

She had known Pei Yuan’s temper for a long time, and now that he had fallen into such a pitiful state, it was normal for him to be in a bad mood. She would accommodate him a bit — no need to get angry over this.

Having figured that out, Bao Ning smiled brightly again and introduced herself: “My surname is Ji, and my name is Bao Ning. Have you heard of me? Ji Bao Ning.”

Pei Yuan looked at her oddly, his eyes complicated.

As expected, no response.

Bao Ning thought Pei Yuan probably didn’t know her. As the Fourth Prince, such a noble person, with a flamboyant and arrogant personality, he usually associated with other rich, frivolous nobles, always busy with horseback riding and archery. He probably didn’t even know Ji Jiaying, so how could he have heard of her?

But that didn’t matter. The past was gone — what mattered was living well from now on.

“From now on, we will live together,” Bao Ning tucked the quilt around Pei Yuan and propped her chin on her hand, her eyes curved in a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you. What do you want to eat later? I’ll make it for you.”

Pei Yuan sneered coldly, closed his eyes, and no longer looked at her.

His left leg was injured. Because it had not been properly cleaned or treated, the wound, deep to the bone, was somewhat infected and painful to touch. So Pei Yuan usually slept lying on his right side, facing Bao Ning’s position, unable to avoid her.

He was too lazy to pay attention to her — out of sight, out of mind.

After a while, Bao Ning sighed and stood up to leave. Pei Yuan heard the door close and finally opened his eyes, a flash of sarcasm crossing his gaze.

This woman was quite skilled — those fake, insincere words, did she really think he would be moved to tears?

Thinking so, the hunger in his stomach was aroused. Pei Yuan reached behind and pulled out a package wrapped in oiled paper, unwrapped it to reveal half a scallion pancake. It had been left too long, and the winter cold had solidified the oil on the pancake, making it look greasy and unappetizing.

Cuifu didn’t care about him, and since there were few ingredients here, and her cooking was bad anyway, she only made corn gruel every day, mixed with some bitter salt — barely enough for a meal. Pei Yuan couldn’t swallow it, so he relied on his fifth brother Pei Yang to send snacks and meals every few days to fill his hunger.

Pei Yang was his fifth younger brother, thirteen years old this year, and the emperor’s youngest son, greatly favored from birth.

Pei Yuan had always been kind to this brother. Pei Yang’s boxing and swordsmanship were taught by him personally, and Pei Yang was very close to him. Later, when he got into trouble, his former drinking buddies disappeared without a trace, eager to disassociate from him. Only Pei Yang still cared about him and came to visit every three to five days, bringing some things.

Come to think of it, Pei Yang hadn’t come for five days. The heavy snow blocked the roads, and this place was remote — it was difficult for him to make the trip.

Pei Yuan bit into the scallion pancake, pondering to himself that he would cook some food later to save for tomorrow.

As for that woman just now, he didn’t believe her and didn’t expect anything from her. She talked nicely, but just wait — within three days, she’d be crying and begging to leave.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan’s eyes grew colder. Better leave quickly, so as not to disturb his peace.

…

Bao Ning pulled the dowry trunks from outside the courtyard back into the room. Her dowry was not rich — at most two large trunks, one of which had been purchased by Xu Shi, who pitied her and spent her private money to prepare it. Besides that, Bao Ning also brought a small box of her own.

That day, after seeing the betrothal gifts prepared by the Household Supervisor for Pei Yuan, Bao Ning had an idea of his current situation. She feared that there might not even be basic necessities for living there, so she brought some supplies: several pounds of pork, a bag of white flour, a bag of refined rice, and some miscellaneous vegetables and medicine. Because of these things, she was laughed at quite a lot by Ji Jiaying and Ji Liuxiang.

Bao Ning originally thought she was overthinking, but now she felt relieved she had been careful. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even know what to eat tonight.

The wedding dress was too cumbersome, so Bao Ning took out a set of casual clothes from the box and changed into them, instantly feeling much more comfortable.

After thinking for a while, she pulled out a piece of cloth and went to cover the hole in Pei Yuan’s window.

This man was short-tempered and reckless; if he got angry, he’d get angry, but smashing the window? If he broke it, it would only be him who suffered from the cold.

Bao Ning shook her head and turned to continue searching for a water source. No matter how bad her mood was, there was still food to prepare.

In a blink, Bao Ning suddenly noticed a narrow passage, about a foot wide, between Pei Yuan’s hut and the fence on the east side. She went over to look and was pleasantly surprised to find a small courtyard there. Bao Ning lifted her skirt and squeezed through, seeing a well right in the middle of the yard. On the east side of the well was something like a root cellar entrance, covered with wooden boards. On the west side was a piece of cultivated vegetable field, but there were no vegetables left—only rows of furrows.

Only then did Bao Ning realize that the courtyard had a “日” (sun-shaped) structure: the fence enclosed a large courtyard, with two small huts in the center, leaving passageways on the left and right leading to the smaller courtyard behind. There was a well, a root cellar, and vegetable fields. When spring arrived, life would be much easier.

Bao Ning quickly forgot the slight displeasure she felt when Pei Yuan had snapped at her earlier and went to the west wing to get a candle, lighting it and heading to the root cellar to see how much stored food there was.

Lifting the wooden board, a damp, dark smell hit her nose, mixed with the distinct scent of cabbage and radish. It wasn’t unpleasant.

She tied her skirt at the waist and carefully climbed down the ladder holding the candle. The candle never went out, which reassured her. When she reached the bottom, Bao Ning looked hopefully around but only saw a few large cabbages in the corner and one big red carrot cut in half. A few rotten vegetables lay lonely nearby. The abundant stores of dried meat and vegetables she had imagined were nowhere to be found.

Bao Ning was a little disappointed and sighed, but then thought that at least there were a few cabbages, which was good. She planned to make dumpling soup tonight — thick and warm, that would be nice.

She had always been good at comforting herself, finding joy in hardship. No matter what upset her, she could forget it quickly. Tao Shi said she had no ambition, but Bao Ning didn’t know what ambition meant. She only felt that her way of living was fine — happy and full of flavor.

Bao Ning picked up a large cabbage, blew out the candle, and climbed back up. The kitchen was small and right next to her bed, so washing vegetables there wasn’t convenient. Bao Ning decided to fetch water and wash them by the well.

It was late winter, early spring, and the chill still bit sharply. The well water was cold to the bone. Bao Ning’s hands turned bright red from the cold. After washing for a while, she felt too cold and shook the water off, rubbing her hands against her belly to warm them while looking around the small courtyard, thinking about what vegetables she would plant when the frozen ground thawed in half a month. Definitely green onions, chives (which were delicious with scrambled eggs), cabbage, small chili peppers, fennel, and cucumbers — good for summer thirst. Speaking of thirst, grapes could also be planted, to make a grape arbor for shade…

…

By mid-February, dusk came early. Before the Shen hour had passed, the sky was already a bit dark.

Pei Yuan grabbed an outer garment to drape over his shoulders and struggled to stand, intending to go to the kitchen to make some food.

Because of that accident, Pei Yuan’s left leg was paralyzed, painful, and completely powerless. To stand, he had to lean on a wooden stick, walking with great difficulty. The few steps from the east wing to the west wing’s door left him drenched in sweat. Probably due to overexertion, the freshly healed wounds seemed to reopen, sending sharp pain climbing up his spine. Pei Yuan lowered his head and stared at his legs with disgust and gloom.

This crippled and useless self, even he hated himself — who else could like him?

Before pushing open the west wing door, Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment. He wondered if she hadn’t left and was still inside.

He stood at the door for a while, and seeing no movement inside, he pushed the door open. Sure enough, the room was empty.

Pei Yuan smiled self-mockingly. He really had overthought it.

The flint was on the table. Pei Yuan picked it up, grasping it in his hand, and struggled to squat down to light the stove.

Squatting, a seemingly simple action, was extremely difficult for Pei Yuan. His leg was injured and numb, and bending it was painful. To squat, he had to grip the stick tightly to maintain balance, so he wouldn’t topple over. The stick was just a thick piece of dry wood, not sturdy. Under his weight, it seemed ready to break at any moment. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He gasped, dropped the stick, and tried to lean on the stove, but his arm gave out and he fell to the ground.

The wound completely reopened, and the intense pain made his vision darken. He tilted his head back, letting out a muffled groan.

…

When Bao Ning pushed the door open carrying washed vegetables, Pei Yuan was struggling to stand.

Hearing the noise behind him, Pei Yuan was startled and quickly turned around.

Bao Ning looked surprised as well. “Fourth Prince, why are you out…?”

Her eyes dropped to Pei Yuan’s limp left leg, which was bent at a strange, awkward angle.

Pei Yuan wasn’t happy to see her but was angered by her gaze on his leg. His face darkened sharply.

He clenched the stick so tightly his fingertips turned white and, with red eyes, shouted, “Look again and I’ll gouge out your eyes!”

Author’s note: A hot, melancholic, pitiful little wolf dog?

Sansukini: And a very optimistic wife. What a pair!