Chapter 55: Coaxing

“Have you been awake for a while?” Bao Ning pushed Ah Huang off the bed. After a good sleep, the hem of her pants had slid up to the bend of her knee, and she tugged it down slowly.

“It’s already daylight,” Bao Ning yawned as she climbed over Pei Yuan’s leg. “What do you want to eat for breakfast?”

“Didn’t you say you’d make a bowl of dumplings?” Pei Yuan blinked his sore eyes and sat up too.

“Give me some of that goat milk of yours too. No sugar. I want to drink it as well.”

“You’re really childish,” Bao Ning laughed as she sat down in front of the vanity, gently combing out her tangled hair. “Snatching food from Ah Mian like a kid.”

Pei Yuan leaned against the wall, half-lidded eyes watching her. Behind the vanity was a small window, and the morning light streamed in, casting a golden glow around Bao Ning. She looked down as she smoothed the ends of her hair, her posture soft and graceful.

Pei Yuan’s heart softened, and he smiled. “Who’s Ah Mian?”

“The little lamb,” she replied. “It never had a name. While I was waiting for you last night, I gave it one.” Bao Ning blinked and mimicked the lamb’s bleating. “Baa—”

“You’re the childish one,” Pei Yuan retorted. “Bleating like a sheep first thing in the morning. Like a little kid.”

“What do you know? You’re no fun.” Bao Ning ignored him, went to the cabinet to get a dress, and changed behind the screen.

She was in a great mood, even humming a little tune as she changed—soft, melodic, probably from The Peony Pavilion.

After a whole night of thinking, she had found an answer. Pei Yuan was essentially faced with two options: he had foreseen that Ji Jiaying might be in danger, and now he had to choose between saving her or gaining profit. He leaned toward the latter but feared Bao Ning would disapprove, as the decision lacked compassion.

Pei Yuan thought: rather than argue over the result afterward, it would be better to tell Bao Ning everything in advance and ask her opinion.

Bao Ning emerged from behind the screen. As she adjusted her collar in the mirror, she noticed Pei Yuan watching her.

“Are you really hungry?” Bao Ning turned and smiled at him. “But you’ll have to wait a bit—I haven’t done my hair yet. Once I’m done, we can go out.”

She prattled on absentmindedly, “Even cooking, I should still look pretty. Let those old aunties in the kitchen compliment me behind my back—how satisfying would that be? Should I make extra dumplings to share with them? But being praised for nothing feels kind of awkward…”

Pei Yuan suddenly felt he was being too cruel.

Bao Ning was like a blank sheet of paper, yet he was dragging her into his messy world—full of dirt and conflict. She could have stayed far away from it all, but because of him, she was being pulled in.

Pei Yuan hardened his heart. They were husband and wife, sharing honor and disgrace. Some things, Bao Ning couldn’t avoid.

“Ningning,” Pei Yuan sat upright and called her name seriously. “I have something to tell you.”

“You sound so serious,” Bao Ning was startled. She slid the hairpin into her hair and smiled.

“Actually, I have something to tell you too.”

“It’s about your sister.” Pei Yuan beckoned her over and, after a brief pause, told her everything—his suspicions and the context behind it.

Bao Ning’s smile slowly faded. Her fingers on her lap gradually curled into a tight fist. Pei Yuan could feel her inner turmoil.

“I didn’t want to hide this from you,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it gently.

Bao Ning stared at him blankly. She had always been curious about Pei Yuan, wanting to know his world. But now that she finally did, she regretted it.

Back at the Duke’s mansion, her stepmother had told her: the court was full of filth, every page of history soaked in blood. Hearing it was one thing, but now it had landed on her—she realized how hard every decision truly was.

“What do you want me to do?” Bao Ning’s voice was hoarse, on the verge of tears. “Aren’t you putting me in a tough spot?”

She was still dazed. Her daily life consisted of tending flowers and growing vegetables—how did it suddenly become a matter of life and death for Ji Jiaying, of the Crown Prince, of someone named Lu Yun? What did any of this have to do with her? She didn’t want any part of it, but Pei Yuan forced her to choose.

Instinctively, Bao Ning chose to escape. She cried and threw a tantrum. Pei Yuan, heart aching, held her in his arms and patted her back to comfort her.

Pei Yuan thought maybe he should just drop the whole thing. Why force her like this? Whatever the outcome, he would bear it alone. If Bao Ning was mad, she could hit him—it was better than making her cry in agony right now.

But then he thought again—this wouldn’t work. All of this turmoil was only beginning. Bao Ning had to grow up eventually. She didn’t need to become ruthless or shoulder the world alone. She could still be her soft, gentle self—but she had to learn to accept him. To accept that he wasn’t a man of simple black-and-white choices. That he could take lives. They had to stand together.

Pei Yuan kissed her cheek.

It took a long time before Bao Ning’s emotions settled. She lay on his shoulder, crying softly.

“Whatever it was you planned to do,” she murmured, “just do it. Don’t worry about me. I’ll pretend I never heard any of this.”

Her words surprised Pei Yuan. In his heart, Bao Ning valued relationships the most. He had even prepared to give up this plan, no matter how much he hated to.

“She never treated me well. She’s not worth it,” Bao Ning wiped her eyes. Pei Yuan understood—she was talking about Ji Jiaying.

“When she asked me to take her place in marriage, she never thought about how I’d feel. She thought it was a pit, and she just pushed me in…” Bao Ning glanced at Pei Yuan. As expected, his face darkened. She ignored his displeasure and continued, “She didn’t treat me like a sister, so how can I treat her like one?”

Her eyes were swollen. “Actually, I do care about her… but it’s like a scale. Her weight on it is too light. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s her. I’m petty—I held a grudge, and now that it matters, I don’t want to help her.”

Pei Yuan understood what she meant—he weighed more in her heart.

That realization made him smile.

“I feel like I’m a bad person,” Bao Ning covered her face, crying again.

After a while, she blew her nose and nodded firmly. “But what I did was right.”

“Maybe it wasn’t right, but I think it is.”

“Ningning…” Pei Yuan sighed with a smile, tousling the hair bun Bao Ning had just tied up into a mess, then kissed the corner of her mouth.

“But you’re not right! You know I don’t like these things!” Pei Yuan’s mood was finally clearing up, but Bao Ning redirected her anger at him.

Bao Ning recalled how Pei Yuan had once said she could hit or scold him however she wanted. She took a step back and kicked him in the stomach. “Whatever you want to do is your business. If you want to kill someone, go do it yourself. Why drag me into it? I don’t want that kind of life. I’ve told you so many times—I don’t like it! I have no big ambitions, no abilities, no long-term vision. I just want to live a peaceful life, and you keep pulling me in!”

As she spoke, she started crying again.

Her kicks didn’t hurt Pei Yuan at all—they were like tickles. He grabbed her foot and pressed it against his belly. “Kick me, go ahead. As long as it makes you feel better. Just don’t cry.”

Bao Ning gave him a hard kick. She tried to pull her foot back, but Pei Yuan held on. He smiled to please her and even kissed the top of her foot. Bao Ning panicked and scratched his face.

This time, Pei Yuan really didn’t fight back. Bao Ning scratched a red mark across his neck, but he just sat there calmly, not even frowning.

“You’re driving me crazy!” Bao Ning shouted, jumping off him. Her shoe had fallen off earlier, and she wasn’t wearing socks, so she walked barefoot across the floor by the vanity.

Pei Yuan grabbed her waist and pulled her back, put on her thin silk socks and shoes, smoothed out her skirt so it had no wrinkles, and said, “You haven’t done your hair? Let me help you.”

Bao Ning, eyes red, snatched her hair away. “I don’t need you to.”

“I know how. Let me do it.” Pei Yuan rubbed his cheek against hers and coaxed her gently. He undid her bun and clumsily braided her hair into a single plait, tied it with a red ribbon, and carefully selected a butterfly hairpin from the vanity box to pin it in place. His fingers were rough and clumsy, and it took him several tries to get it right.

Bao Ning watched his careful, eager face in the mirror. Though she still felt wronged, her heart softened a little.

Pei Yuan crouched down and praised her, “Our Ningning is the prettiest, like a little fairy who fell from heaven.”

“Are you complimenting me or insulting me?” Bao Ning stepped on his foot and rubbed her eyes. A smile appeared briefly on her face—but she quickly hid it again.

“Come on, smile. Just smile for me.” Pei Yuan hooked her chin with his finger, trying to tease her. Bao Ning turned her head away, ignoring him. Pei Yuan went to pick up the little lamb.

The lamb curled timidly in his arms. He held its hooves and made it “dance” in front of Bao Ning, saying, “Look at it, it’s trying to cheer you up.”

Bao Ning kept her stern face. Pei Yuan, helpless, put the lamb down and went for Ah Huang the dog instead.

Ah Huang had already seen what was coming and backed away in fear. With a bark, he darted out the door and ran off.

Pei Yuan simply sat on the floor, grabbed Bao Ning’s calf and measured it against himself. “How about you kick me again?”

Bao Ning really did kick him. Pei Yuan shouted “Ah!” and flopped over dramatically. After a moment, he sat up again. “See? I’m like a roly-poly doll.”

“What is wrong with you?” Bao Ning burst out laughing through her tears. She wiped her eyes and stood up. “I’m not playing with you anymore. I’m starving. I’m going to eat.”

“I’ll go with you,” Pei Yuan got up too, following behind her.

Bao Ning found his clingy behavior incredibly annoying. “I’m not making dumplings anymore. If you want some, go buy them from the street. Stop following me.”

“It’s not about the food,” Pei Yuan said as he opened the door for her, holding her arm like a respectful servant. “Or how about you stay here in the room, and I’ll go find Madam Liu to bring your breakfast to your bed?”

Bao Ning lowered her head to step over the threshold. She was just about to scold him when she looked up—and saw Madam Liu and Qiu Lingyan standing by the courtyard gate.

They seemed to have been there for a while, their expressions slightly awkward and embarrassed. Bao Ning figured their earlier quarrel must’ve been overheard.

She shifted her arm, wanting to pull away from Pei Yuan’s grip, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he

insisted on linking arms with her and even helped smooth her wrinkled sleeves.

Qiu Lingyan’s eyes fell on Pei Yuan’s hand. She bit her lip, clearly deep in thought.

“Madam, the Seventh Young Miss came early this morning,” Madam Liu said with a polite smile. “She said she missed you. I thought since the Fourth Prince was here, it might not be a good time, so I was just trying to persuade her to leave.”

Bao Ning liked this young girl and smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Since she’s already here, she can stay for a while—it’s not a bother. Let’s have breakfast together?”

Qiu Lingyan clutched the hem of her clothes and softly replied, “Okay.”

Bao Ning looked at her reserved demeanor and thought to herself: This girl is acting so strangely today. Is Pei Yuan’s presence making her nervous?

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