Chapter 65: Awakening

Bao Ning took two hours to pack up all her belongings and valuables. Bringing along a goat, a dog, and Madam Liu, she set out for the villa by Lihu Lake.

Madam Liu’s indenture contract was in Bao Ning’s hands. At first, Bao Ning didn’t want to take her along, but considering the long journey and the risks of traveling alone, she decided having someone with her would be safer.

She didn’t use the general’s estate’s carriage. At dawn, they quietly slipped out through the back gate. Madam Liu had arranged for a familiar coachman, and the group left silently without anyone noticing.

…

That night, Pei Yuan stayed over at Wei Meng’s place.

Two grown men squeezed onto a small bed—it was impossible to get any decent sleep. Pei Yuan was already troubled and couldn’t sleep, and Wei Meng’s snoring made it even worse. He tossed and turned for half the night until finally, he kicked Wei Meng off the bed.

“Enemy attack!” Wei Meng woke with a start, grabbing the sword hidden under his pillow and scanning the room alertly.

Pei Yuan stared at him coldly. After a while, Wei Meng finally realized what had happened. He yawned, wanting to complain, but seeing Pei Yuan’s sullen expression, he dared not. Silently, he grabbed his blanket and lay down on the floor. “Go to sleep, it’ll be daylight soon.”

Pei Yuan said, “I can’t sleep.”

Wei Meng, still drowsy, casually replied, “Then drink some more wine. It helps you sleep.”

Pei Yuan’s expression darkened.

Then it hit Wei Meng—Pei Yuan had gotten drunk, gone home, and been kicked out, which was why he ended up crashing here.

“…Tell me what happened,” Wei Meng sighed, sitting up. “At least say something.”

Pei Yuan sat up as well, fists clenched on his knees. “I can’t say it.”

How could he explain this? That he saw his wife meeting another man in secret, confronted her, and got slapped in return? Utter humiliation!

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became. Suddenly, he jumped up, grabbed Wei Meng’s sword, and stormed toward the door. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Young General! It’s the middle of the night—who are you going to kill?” Wei Meng panicked and threw his arms around Pei Yuan, restraining him. “Calm down!”

Pei Yuan’s eyes glinted with fury. “Calm down, my ass! I can’t calm down. I swear I’ll kill that bastard tonight!”

“Alright, alright—what the hell happened?” Wei Meng groaned, realizing there would be no sleep tonight. He pulled Pei Yuan back down to sit on the floor and opened two jars of wine. “Talk. Maybe I can help.”

Pei Yuan sat there with a grim face, teeth clenched, still silent.

Wei Meng muttered under his breath, “Stubborn as a mule. Damn hard to deal with. No wonder your wife slapped you—if I were her, I would’ve slapped you long ago.”

Pei Yuan caught that and shot him a cold glare, eyes full of menace.

Wei Meng shivered. He had the distinct feeling that one more wrong word, and Pei Yuan would tear him apart.

He was just about to speak again when he noticed Pei Yuan’s face under the moonlight. Only then did he see the swollen, scratched-up cheek—a clear slap mark, red and raw with fingernail scratches. A hard hit.

Wei Meng gasped. “Your wife actually hit you?”

He recalled how delicate and gentle Bao Ning looked—not the type to lash out violently.

Pei Yuan couldn’t hold it in anymore. He punched the bedpost, making the whole bed shake, and roared, “Utter humiliation!”

Screw it—he didn’t care about saving face anymore. He briefly recounted the day’s events to Wei Meng, omitting the part where Bao Ning slapped him.

“…I slammed the door and left. I swear, unless she comes to beg me, I’ll never set foot in her room again!”

“I don’t get it,” he continued, “I treated her so well. Anyone else who did what she did would be dead by now! But she doesn’t even remember the good I’ve done for her. If she had just cried a little, begged a little, I wouldn’t be like this. She means so much to me—she knows I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her no matter what. But she’s just so damn stubborn…”

Fueled by alcohol, Pei Yuan rambled on endlessly—probably saying more in one night than he usually said to Wei Meng in a whole month.

Eventually, Wei Meng couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted, “Young General, let me ask you one thing: how are you so sure your wife actually did what you think she did?”

Pei Yuan froze.

“I’m nearly thirty,” Wei Meng said. “I’ve met all kinds of people. From what I’ve seen of your wife, I don’t think she would do that. Could it be a misunderstanding? Did you even ask her?”

Pei Yuan pressed his lips tight.

He hadn’t. He hadn’t dared to. He was afraid of hearing something he didn’t want to hear. In fact, ever since it happened, it had never occurred to him to just ask Bao Ning what really happened.

He had been avoiding it—choosing to believe only his own eyes and assumptions.

Or maybe it wasn’t her he didn’t trust—it was himself.

Sometimes he wondered: why had Bao Ning chosen him? She was so good, and he—what did he have to offer? She hadn’t married him willingly; she’d been forced into it. So what if, one day, she decided she didn’t want to stay anymore?

Meng Fan’s sudden appearance had hit right at his weakest point. One image was enough to shatter him.

It wasn’t until Wei Meng brought it up that the thought finally struck Pei Yuan like lightning: What if Bao Ning really didn’t do anything? What if I’ve been wrongfully accusing her all this time?

He felt like he was going mad.

Wei Meng took another sip of wine and patted Pei Yuan’s shoulder. “Honestly, your wife was right. A marriage needs honesty. If something’s bothering you, say it. Young General, you’ve always been a straightforward guy—why are you acting like such a drama queen over this? Just ask her. Apologize. Your wife seems kind—she’ll probably forgive you right away if you talk it through.”

Pei Yuan stared at Wei Meng’s wine cup. Wei Meng, unnerved, offered it to him. “Want a sip?”

Pei Yuan stared blankly for a moment, then said, “I regret it.”

“What do you regret?”

“That night… when I saw that hairpin, I should’ve just asked her about it,” Pei Yuan muttered. “It was my paranoia. She was right—I’m petty and suspicious and bottle everything up…”

Wei Meng nearly spat out his drink. “Your wife said you bottle up your farts?”

He clicked his tongue. “No way—she looks like a well-read lady. No way she talks like that.”

Pei Yuan grabbed the wine jar and chugged it.

Wiping his mouth, his eyes grew clearer. “I should’ve asked her! No—I should’ve trusted her! I know what kind of person Bao Ning is. What’s there to suspect? One stupid misunderstanding and look what it’s done to us. I should’ve figured it out long ago!”

“There we go!” Wei Meng slapped his thigh. “Glad you finally got it.”

Outside, the sky was brightening—the sun nearly up.

Wei Meng, eyelids heavy with sleep, urged, “Young General, go home and talk it out with your wife. Apologize. She seems easygoing. Cheer her up, and she’ll forgive you.”

Pei Yuan tossed the empty wine jar aside and stood up, energized. Just as he was about to walk out the door, he suddenly remembered all the nonsense he’d said to Bao Ning.

What had he said again? Called them an adulterous couple… accused her of cheating… and later, drunk, he even told her he was going to take a concubine.

Pei Yuan suddenly felt like dying.

Wei Meng watched him freeze, then turn back and lie down on the bed again.

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

“Too drunk. My head’s fuzzy. Let me sleep it off,” Pei Yuan said, eyes closed.

He wasn’t about to admit that he was too ashamed to go home. Bao Ning was normally gentle, but when she was angry, even he was afraid. Just thinking about that slap made every organ in his body ache. And after all the crap he said… how was he supposed to fix this?

Will he get hit again?

Didn’t he also say that if he went back to find her, he’d be a dog?

Pei Yuan flinched again. In his heart, he was already scheming how to regain some ground in front of Bao Ning.

He now believed it was all a misunderstanding—but could Bao Ning prove her innocence? Not necessarily. So maybe he could take advantage of that ambiguity a little. He’d put on a generous, forgiving front, say something noble and magnanimous, and then profess his loyalty again. Something like: Even if you can’t prove you didn’t do it, I still choose to believe in you.

She’d be touched, right? She was so soft-hearted, after all.

Pei Yuan spiraled in his thoughts, reassuring himself.

What he didn’t know was that while he hesitated, Bao Ning had already packed her belongings and left the General’s Manor for good.

…

After drinking the entire night, they were hungover and only woke up when a loud knocking shook the door. The sun was already high in the sky.

A soft female voice called from outside, “Fourth Prince? Fourth Prince, are you in there?”

Pei Yuan rubbed his aching forehead and kicked Wei Meng to go open the door.

Wei Meng cursed under his breath, staggering toward the door. He pulled the handle, and as the door swung open, a tall, rugged figure appeared suddenly in front of Qiu Lingyan. Startled, she stumbled back and nearly fell.

“Seventh Lady?” Wei Meng blinked at her in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Qiu Lingyan didn’t bother explaining. She rose on her toes to peer inside, spotted Pei Yuan sleeping with his back to the door, and made a split-second decision. She pushed past Wei Meng, ran in, and dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Fourth Prince, I was wrong—please, go find my sister!”

Startled by her piercing cry, Pei Yuan jerked awake. He sat up abruptly, looking at the girl he’d only met once. “What are you talking about?”

Through sobs, Qiu Lingyan recounted everything that happened the day before. In the end, she covered her face and wept, “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have done such a terrible thing. I ruined everything between you two. I thought about it all night—I’m scared. What if you really split up because of this? What should I do? I’ve let Sister Bao Ning down…”

Pei Yuan had slept in his clothes, so they were only wrinkled now. He sat and listened to Qiu Lingyan patiently. The more he heard, the more he felt he had gone completely mad the day before—foolish, irrational, and utterly unforgivable. How could he have been deceived by a couple of women using such clumsy tricks? And he had even said all those cruel, heart-wounding things to Bao Ning!

Qiu Lingyan sobbed on the floor. Pei Yuan stood, stepped around her, and rushed out. “I’m going to find her right now!”

“She’s already gone!” Qiu Lingyan turned and grabbed the hem of his trousers.

“The house is empty. Ah Huang is gone. Ah Mian too. Everything’s gone—not even the flowers under the window are left… she took it all with her.”

Pei Yuan froze in shock. “What!”

Sansukini: Because you’re too arrogant. Glad she left, he needs to be humbled.

My first “smut” translation ended today. Please check it out. It’s a mildly erotic love story.You can click the link to check it out.

COHABITATION.

Everyone said he was “strange”.

Jiang Wan didn’t believe it—until one night, on her way to the bathroom, she accidentally caught sight of him.

Expressionless, brows furrowed, he walked over, his deep, magnetic voice low and sexy:

“In order to avoid awkwardness the next time we meet, now—you go pee.”

Jiang Wan: “…”

Male lead: retired e-sports player

Female lead: ASMR streamer

Older-woman-younger-man romance (the man is three years younger)

1v1, no love triangles

Double C: Both are each other’s first and only partner

Translator’s note: A sweet story with healing and h.

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