Chapter 51: Tenderness

Pei Yuan shouted “I was wrong” a full hundred and fifty times. By the end of it, Bao Ning was getting annoyed and wanted to shut him up, but he seemed addicted to it and insisted on finishing.

He chanted for a full quarter of an hour.

Pei Yuan asked, “Satisfied now?”

Bao Ning ignored him and turned to walk under the bridge. Pei Yuan grabbed her. “Didn’t I count it? Exactly five hundred words, all done the way you wanted.”

Bao Ning flung his hand away in embarrassment and anger. “I really don’t know where you learned all these tricks to cheat and fool people. You can’t even say a few proper words—everything out of your mouth is a lie. Big liar.”

Pei Yuan grew serious. “But my feelings for you are real.”

Bao Ning looked at him in surprise, suddenly realizing he had really changed. Over the past few days of their quarrels, Pei Yuan had changed a lot from how he used to be. Only, instead of becoming more upright, he’d become smooth-talking, saying whatever came to his mind.

Or maybe this was his true nature—like a bandit or rogue, never serious.

Before Bao Ning could react again, Pei Yuan stepped forward and scooped her into his arms, walking toward the carriage nearby.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s go somewhere else and have some fun.”

Bao Ning was startled by his sudden move. People were watching from the side. Unlike him, she didn’t have such courage and struggled, patting his arm. “What are you doing? Put me down!”

Pei Yuan didn’t let go. “We’re a proper married couple—what’s there to be afraid of?”

They were walking on a small path, but still came across a few scattered passersby. Seeing this scene, people whispered to each other. Bao Ning couldn’t bear the shame and buried her face into Pei Yuan’s neck, not daring to show it.

Finally, they reached the carriage. The coachman opened the door, and before Pei Yuan could react, Bao Ning darted inside like a rabbit. Her cheeks were already crimson, and she glared at Pei Yuan angrily.

Pei Yuan, looking quite pleased, sat beside her, legs spread, leaning back comfortably.

Afraid of being overheard from outside, Bao Ning lowered her voice. “You’re far too bold. Doing something like this in public…”

Pei Yuan gave a low grunt in his throat but didn’t speak.

The coachman flicked the whip, and the horse started moving. Aside from the wheels grinding against the ground, the carriage was dark and silent.

Bao Ning waited for Pei Yuan to speak, but after a long while, he didn’t say anything. She turned to look at him—and only then noticed his complexion had gone pale, and his lips had lost their color.

Her heart clenched. She immediately forgot about the earlier embarrassment and pulled up his sleeve to check. As expected, the poison on his wrist had spread again. Especially the spot where the red patch had first appeared—it was now the size of a soybean, swollen and pulsing, horribly shaped, as if it had come alive.

“Don’t look,” Pei Yuan said weakly, eyes closed, pulling his sleeve down again.

Bao Ning had never seen anything like this. For a moment, it was as if Pei Yuan had gone from full of life to gravely ill. She quickly reached to feel his forehead—it was icy cold.

“What’s going on?” Bao Ning’s voice trembled, and she couldn’t help but think the worst. “Why did it suddenly flare up? It’s never been this bad before…”

She suddenly remembered something and quickly lifted the carriage curtain to look outside—she saw swallows flying low. The brilliant sunlight from just a moment ago had disappeared, covered by dark clouds. It looked like rain.

Pei Yuan chuckled weakly behind her. “This poison is really punctual.”

Bao Ning couldn’t laugh. She recalled that rainy day a few days ago—when Zhou Jiangcheng had his accident. Pei Yuan had acted perfectly fine that entire night. Why was it so different today? Could it be that the toxins had accumulated and were now suddenly erupting?

“Don’t worry.” Pei Yuan leaned over and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin against the top of her head and murmuring, “I’m strong. I’ll be fine once this passes.”

Bao Ning stayed still, facing away from him. She could feel the twitching of his meridians, like countless tiny insects crawling inside him.

Pei Yuan took a deep breath and hugged her tighter.

Bao Ning opened her mouth and whispered, “Does it hurt?”

Pei Yuan was silent for a long while. Bao Ning thought he had fallen asleep when finally, he said, “Yes.”

Her heart broke instantly, and her nose tingled.

They had been together for so long, and Pei Yuan had always been wild and careless with his body, suffering both big and small injuries, bleeding so much—but he had never once told her it hurt. This was the first time.

“We went to the wrong place,” Pei Yuan suddenly said.

Bao Ning didn’t understand. “What?”

“We shouldn’t have gone to the broken bridge. When we were standing there, I felt someone watching us—from the direction of the boats.”

Bao Ning shivered. “Who?”

“I don’t know,” Pei Yuan replied with closed eyes. “I only noticed it at the last minute. I knew you’d be scared, so I didn’t tell you. I just rushed us out.”

Bao Ning suddenly realized—that was why he had carried her away.

She froze. “You could have just taken my hand. Why go to all that trouble? You knew it would rain, and you weren’t feeling well!”

“I forgot. I acted on impulse.” Pei Yuan cupped her face, turning her toward him. His lips brushed down and kissed her eyelid. “I’m scared. You’re too beautiful, too lovable—there’s always someone trying to take you from me. That Feng guy, Xu guy, Zhou guy…”

He was clearly delirious now, muttering close to Bao Ning’s ear, “I really want to kill them.”

Bao Ning only caught the word “kill.”

She didn’t think much of it and helped reposition him, letting his head rest on her lap. She coaxed him gently, “Alright, enough. Rest now. We’re going home.”

Her hand rested on his forehead. Pei Yuan’s lips were ghostly pale. She exhaled softly and told herself not to panic.

They couldn’t wait any longer. Tonight—it had to be tonight. If the leech detoxification was going to work, this was the time to try!

…

By the time they reached the Qiu residence, the rain was pouring heavily. It was early summer, and this kind of downpour might last who knew how long.

Pei Yuan had already endured the worst of it—which, in fact, he had expected. Last time, he’d forcibly suppressed the poison. But after Zhou Jiangcheng’s outrageous act, he lost control out of anger and injured himself. This time, the poison attack was twice as painful as before.

There was an umbrella in the carriage. Bao Ning originally intended to get out first, open the umbrella, and wait for Pei Yuan. Unexpectedly, he suddenly stood up, jumped down just like he used to, and reached out his hand to help her down.

In the curtain of rain, his expression looked completely normal. If not for the trembling hand holding the umbrella, one might have thought he was in perfect health.

The coachman stood to the side, smiling warmly at them. Bao Ning knew Pei Yuan was pushing himself. First, out of pride—he didn’t want to show weakness in front of others. Second, for safety—he had to appear strong in front of everyone so no one would see him as vulnerable and try to take advantage.

Bao Ning took his hand and jumped down. The moment her feet touched the ground, Pei Yuan pulled her into a brief embrace, his lips pressing against the back of her neck—a wet, warm sensation.

Something liquid slid down her neck.

Bao Ning looked up at Pei Yuan. He wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and rested his hand casually on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Bao Ning’s heart ached terribly. She realized that this time, Pei Yuan was truly unwell—worse than ever before.

“I’ll support you,” she said, pulling his arm down and locking hers around his elbow.

Pei Yuan didn’t refuse. He tilted his head and gently pressed his cheek to hers, as if to reward and encourage her.

Bao Ning’s eyes turned red. She looked at Pei Yuan and thought he looked especially fragile at that moment. When a person is fragile, do their emotions soften as well? Just like he had now.

“Pei Yuan, hang in there,” Bao Ning murmured, eyes lowered as she pulled him forward. She stared at her own toes. “I’m not mad at you anymore. I forgive you for that fake apology letter. Just get better, okay? I’ll make you some dumplings for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Silly girl,” Pei Yuan chuckled hoarsely, still with enough strength to joke. “You should count yourself lucky it was me you met. With your level of naïveté, if you ever came across a real swindler, you’d be sold off in no time.”

It was the second time today Bao Ning had been called silly. Ji Yun had said the same thing earlier and had warned her to be more cautious—you can know a person’s face, but not their heart.

She looked up at Pei Yuan. He was holding the umbrella, his fingers as beautiful as the umbrella’s ribs—slender and clearly defined.

His eyes were smiling, but his fingertips tightened more and more until he suddenly coughed, doubling over in pain, and blood splattered onto Bao Ning’s shoulder.

Pei Yuan tried to comfort her. “Don’t be disgusted, okay? Once I’m better tomorrow, I’ll wash your clothes.”

Bao Ning suddenly began to cry. Her chest felt tight and suffocated. Wiping away tears, she dragged Pei Yuan toward the courtyard. The wind was too strong for the umbrella to be useful. She knew they both looked absolutely miserable now.

Pei Yuan, rare in his thoughtfulness, sensed her mood and told jokes along the way to make her laugh—even coughing between every few lines.

Bao Ning thought this version of Pei Yuan was even more endearing than the annoying one.

The annoying Pei Yuan made people angry. This one made people ache. She would rather be angry—than feel this pain.

…

Beneath a lush crabapple tree stood two sisters.

The older one wore a dress of rouge pink, her makeup exquisitely done—sharp-angled brows and lips red like dripping dew. Her gaze followed the direction Pei Yuan had left in, her elegant brows tightly furrowed.

“Weren’t you getting along well with that woman?” Qiu Lingjun asked her younger sister. “What’s going on with the Fourth Prince? Is he sick?”

Qiu Lingyan looked panicked and helpless. “I—I don’t know.”

“You’d better not lie to me.” Qiu Lingjun crouched down, smiling as she rubbed her sister’s plump cheeks, then suddenly changed her expression and pinched her hard. “If I hadn’t protected you, you’d have been abandoned the day you were born. Do you think you’d have lived this long? Look at that face—even ghosts would cry if they saw it. Your life is mine—I saved you. So you’d better listen to me!”

“I understand, I understand, Sister…” Qiu Lingyan cried out, not daring to raise her voice, desperately covering her mouth.

“Good girl,” Qiu Lingjun coaxed. “I’m your sister. I may harm others, but I’d never harm you. You’ll protect me too, right?”

Qiu Lingyan nodded in confusion. Qiu Lingjun returned to her tearful, pitiful expression and said gently, “Yan’er, can you really bear to let your sister marry that idiot Second Prince?”

“No…”

Qiu Lingjun continued coaxing, “Then, tell me everything you know—every single word. Don’t leave anything out. Understand?”

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