Chapter 97: Ghosts and Monsters

Bao Ning squatted in front of the brazier, throwing spirit money into the flames alongside Pei Yuan.

She had never dreamed that she would do something like this with him. Back at her family home, they had held sacrifices—the Duke’s Mansion was a century-old noble house with its own ancestral temple. Around the Qingming Festival, everyone in the household would wear plain clothes and eat vegetarian food. The Duke of Rong would lead the women and children to the ancestral tablets to offer incense. Because she had married out, she hadn’t been able to attend this year’s rites.

Bao Ning tilted her head to look at Pei Yuan, tracing his features in her mind and wondering what Lady Xian must have looked like.

“What are you thinking about?” Pei Yuan looked back at her and reached out to touch her face, which was a bit cold from the wind. He frowned. “Are you cold?”

“No,” Bao Ning shook her head. Resting her chin on her hand, she whispered, “I was wondering what Lady Xian looked like.”

“She gave birth to someone as handsome as me; could she possibly be ugly?” Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow. Before Bao Ning could tease him for being thick-skinned, he added, “You need to change how you address her. You should call her Imperial Mother.”

Bao Ning obediently called out, “Imperial Mother.”

She closed her eyes, pressed her palms together against her lips, and whispered: “Imperial Mother, please rest easy. I will take good care of Pei Yuan. We will be happy together and won’t argue. When there’s an opportunity in the future, I will come to pay my respects in person…”

Bao Ning remembered that the older generation usually liked having grandchildren. She stole a glance at Pei Yuan; seeing he wasn’t paying attention, she quickly added: “In a couple of years, we’ll have several children. When we’re old, they’ll have each other for company, and we’ll have them too. Please don’t worry about us!”

These words were a bit bold and embarrassing, but just this once, to make Pei Yuan and his mother happy, she said them anyway.

Bao Ning was focused on the flames and didn’t see the complex look in Pei Yuan’s eyes.

Pei Yuan couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart. He wanted to smile, yet he felt a heavy weight in his chest.

In the past, he had always felt that fate was unfair, as if every stroke of bad luck was reserved for him. But after meeting Bao Ning, he wondered if he had been accumulating luck his whole life. He had spent half a lifetime’s worth of fortune to gain this precious treasure. She was soft and gentle; you could say she was smart, yet she often acted silly; you could say she was silly, yet she was brilliant at key moments. This Bao Ning, who weighed less than two bags of millet—he wished he could hang her from his belt and carry her everywhere just to be safe. He feared she would be tricked or snatched away. If he lost her, there truly wouldn’t be anything left to look forward to in this life.

Perhaps because today was a special day, Pei Yuan’s throat felt dry. He pressed his fist against his upper lip, coughed twice, and asked in a husky voice, “How many?”

Bao Ning was dazed for a moment before realizing what he was talking about. Her face flushed red.

She blinked, her eyes full of longing for the future, and whispered, “Is three enough?”

Pei Yuan said, “How could that be enough? If we’re having them, let’s have many. When they grow up, they can form a Cuju team. When life gets boring, we can take a little whip and crack it to make them play a match for us.”

Bao Ning pursed her lips and smiled. “You’re being improper, talking nonsense.”

Pei Yuan lowered his head and didn’t speak again. His ears were attuned to the movements outside. Besides the crackling of the fire, he heard a few faint footsteps.

Pei Yuan knew that person had arrived.

“I’m going out for a moment,” Pei Yuan stood up and said softly to Bao Ning. “Someone is coming—someone you dislike. Get ready to give them a scare.”

Seeing the glint of interest in Pei Yuan’s eyes, and perhaps through sheer intuition, Bao Ning realized almost instantly who he was talking about. “Sister-in-law, or Qian’er?”

“It should be that Qian-something,” Pei Yuan nodded. “Chen Jia said she’s been coming out around this time the past two nights, wandering around the courtyard. I bet she’d come today too, and she did.”

“Oh my god, am I going to pretend to be a ghost to scare her?” Bao Ning was at a loss, yet felt excited. “I’ve never done this before. I lack experience. What should I say?”

“Whatever you want.” Pei Yuan reached out to pull out her hairpin and ruffled her loose hair. “I suspect she has some connection to Pei Xiao, that she’s an informant. But regardless of connections, she’s not a good person. Don’t feel burdened. If you dislike her, say it. I haven’t had time to take you out to play lately, so tonight, treat this like a childish prank and let loose. Isn’t it killing two birds with one stone?”

Bao Ning said, “I understand!”

Pei Yuan took out a rouge box he had hidden in his sleeve, hooked her chin, and smiled. “I’ll be watching your performance tonight.”

Zhao Qian had heard faint whispering behind the courtyard wall just now, but when he plucked up the courage to round the corner, there was nothing.

The courtyard was empty, surrounded by tall, eerie trees. Under the dark moon and high wind, a solitary brazier sat there, emitting blueish smoke. Zhao Qian’s palms had been sweaty with excitement, but seeing this creepy scene, his heart skipped a beat, and he wanted to turn and leave. But then he thought about how long he had prepared; he was just one step away from his goal, so he was loath to go.

What on earth was going on?

To a person with a guilty conscience, everything looks like a ghost. Zhao Qian furrowed his brows and walked forward slowly. He focused his gaze on the brazier; the more he looked, the more it resembled the kind he and his mother used to burn spirit money for his father. But this was the Fourth Prince’s estate. Who would dare burn such things outside in the middle of the night? Had he run into something supernatural?

The hair on Zhao Qian’s back stood on end. He forgot all about his plans and turned to run, when he suddenly heard a very soft voice from behind:

“Are you here looking for me?”

“Ah!” Zhao Qian jumped. He was wearing a long dress, and the hem caught on his toes. He stumbled and fell to the ground, looking back in terror. “Who are you?”

Bao Ning squatted on the ground, hugging her knees. Her long hair covered half her face as she asked with a light laugh, “You aren’t here looking for me?”

“I’m not, I’m not!” Zhao Qian scrambled with his legs, trying desperately to back away, his face deathly pale. “I just came out for a stroll… Are you a ghost, or a Great Fox Immortal? Just carry on with your business, I’m just walking by, you don’t need to mind me…”

“Why do you have to come out for a stroll every day, and specifically around my courtyard?” Bao Ning said. “You’ve disturbed my peace. I’m going to punish you.”

Zhao Qian’s mind was a mess. He was convinced that because he had done so many shameful things, the women who had died were coming for him. Zhao Qian swallowed hard, crawled up, and fell to his knees with a thud. He said tremulously, “I was wrong, I was wrong! You’re already dead, so just stay dead! Don’t come for me! I’m leaving right now and I’ll never come back. Please, let me go! I’ll burn spirit money for you—just tell me in a dream how much you want, and I’ll give you ten times that!”

Bao Ning pondered for a moment. She had only thought this Qian’er was strange and hadn’t considered that she might have committed evil deeds. But looking at what she just said…

Bao Ning asked, “Who am I?”

“How should I know who you are!” Zhao Qian was on the verge of fainting. He clutched the hem of his dress, panting heavily, wanting to run but his legs had turned to jelly. Tears fell, carving streaks through the powder on his face. He wiped his eyes, about to beg again, when he suddenly noticed something strange.

This “ghost” was a bit too gentle; she didn’t seem like the vengeful spirits or evil beings described in books. Moreover, the curve of her pointed chin looked familiar.

Zhao Qian looked at Bao Ning suspiciously, studying her until he saw the pink tips of her shoes. Realization dawned on him: “Consort of the Fourth Prince!”

Bao Ning gave a small “mhm.” “It’s me.”

Zhao Qian truly wanted to faint now. He pounded the ground in frustration. What was this? What on earth was this! The Fourth Prince’s Consort wasn’t sleeping in her room in the middle of the night, but was out scaring him? Was there something wrong with her!

Bao Ning asked, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you needn’t fear a ghost knocking at your door. Why were you so panicked? Also, what bad thing were you planning to do by coming to my courtyard?”

“I wasn’t!” Zhao Qian denied it immediately. Drenched in cold sweat, he struggled to his feet and insisted, “I just came out for a stroll. Taking care of Madam Su during the day is too exhausting, so I came out to see the night scenery when I had free time. The banksia rose trees in front of your gate are in full bloom, so I came to admire the view.”

Bao Ning said, “You certainly are in a good mood.”

“…” Zhao Qian asked, “What is the Fourth Prince’s Consort doing?”

Bao Ning said, “Is what I do something you’re allowed to question?”

Zhao Qian gritted his teeth, knelt down, and performed a formal bow. “This servant overstepped. Your Highness is right to scold me.”

The night was very deep. Bao Ning had had enough fun and couldn’t find any other fault with Zhao Qian, so she waved him away.

Zhao Qian clenched his fists, bowed, and took his leave.

Once he was out of sight, Pei Yuan strolled out from behind, looking thoughtfully in the direction he had left.

Bao Ning smiled as she gathered her hair, asking him, “Did I do well just now?”

“Not bad,” Pei Yuan rubbed her face appreciatively. “That Qian’er was scared witless. She’ll likely fall seriously ill after going back.”

Bao Ning said happily, “If she gets sick, that’s perfect. I’ll kick her out immediately.”

Pei Yuan extinguished the brazier with sand and led Bao Ning back to the room.

Dinner had only been one duck, which wasn’t enough. After all the excitement, they were tired. Bao Ning took the flatbreads Wei Meng had given them and toasted them over the fire. Once they were hot, she stuffed them with donkey meat to make Donkey Meat Burgers. Wei Meng had bought good bread—crispy and golden on the outside, soft on the inside. The hot bread with cold meat was intensely fragrant and savory, with a lingering aftertaste.

Bao Ning sat on the edge of the soft couch. She was full after a few bites. Now that she was idle, she thought back to what happened and felt a bit regretful.

“Was I too undignified just now? How could I do something so childish, and to a servant at that?”

“Dignified for whose sake?” Pei Yuan propped himself up with one hand, holding a burger in the other. He took a bite and brushed away the meat crumbs that fell on his knee. “I’m not a proper Prince, so you shouldn’t be a proper Prince’s Consort either. That’s how we match. If you put on airs all day, reading scriptures like a wooden block and taking tiny mincing steps, it would make me look too uncouth.”

Bao Ning laughed. “You are uncouth.”

“Heh, as if you’re so perfect.” Pei Yuan glanced at her and flicked her forehead with his finger. “I’ve wanted to scold you for a long time. You’re such a coward. Su Mingyou is staying in your house; you are the mistress, yet you take her nonsense. Isn’t that cowardly? If it were me, and she dared to be sarcastic, I wouldn’t care who she was—I’d spit right in her face. What did you grow a mouth for? Just to recite rules and etiquette?”

Bao Ning hung her head and mumbled, not knowing how to argue with him. She couldn’t get him to understand these social graces, so she asked back, “What did you grow a mouth for?”

“Two things: eating and cursing,” Pei Yuan flicked his eyelids. “I curse whoever provokes me. Go ask around the military camp—see if anyone dares to mess with me. Not even Wei Meng dares. Why? Because I can curse. And I don’t just curse; I hit people. Using both kindness and severity—that’s for good people. For barbarians, explaining logic ten times isn’t as effective as a good kick. And if kicking doesn’t work, then just kill them. Why do so many people want to be Emperor? Isn’t it so they can kill whoever they want without being killed themselves?”

“You’re so savage. What kind of talk is that? It’s completely undisciplined.” Bao Ning laughed, stepping on his foot with her bare foot. “Don’t corrupt me.”

“I’m teaching you for your own good,” Pei Yuan snorted. He pulled her into his lap and clamped his legs around hers. “At home, or in bed, it’s good to be a bit submissive. But outside, you have to be like Jixiang—show your claws. Don’t think about etiquette or rules. They say the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, but if you stood before the Minister of Rites with a knife, I bet he wouldn’t dare talk to you about ‘rules.’ He’d have to kneel down and call you ‘Mother’.”

Bao Ning burst out laughing. She turned around and pinched Pei Yuan’s nose. “Stop talking!”

“Listen well to my lesson. I’m teaching you that kind people get bullied.” Pei Yuan pinched Bao Ning’s cheeks until her mouth opened a crack, then blew air into it. “Let’s not talk about that. Smell me—is there a meat scent?”

“We just ate donkey meat burgers; of course there’s a meat scent.” Bao Ning tried to pull away. “What are you doing? Don’t mess around…”

Pei Yuan swept her up in his arms and strode toward the bed, pulling down the curtains in a few swift motions. “Just giving you a reminder—this man is craving meat.”

After Qian’er returned, he indeed came down with a fever. In just one night, his cheeks became sunken and his face turned sallow.

Su Mingyou was frantic. She called for a doctor, and after several doses of medicine and another night, the fever finally broke.

Bao Ning sat in her room all day, sending Nanny Liu out to watch the drama. When the Nanny returned and told her about the chaos over there, Bao Ning finally felt a bit of satisfaction. She had intended to visit Su Mingyou the next day to see just how sick Qian’er had become. However, as soon as she woke up that morning, she received a letter from her eldest sister at the Marquis of Chongyuan’s estate.

The letter was stained with tears, pleading for her and Pei Yuan to come quickly, saying there was an urgent matter.

At this time, there were only four days left before the Emperor was set to depart for the summer palace.

Since their parting at Ruyi Pavilion, Bao Ning had been waiting for this letter, hoping Ji Xiangzhen would come to her senses. Finally, the letter had arrived! With Ji Xiangzhen’s help, breaking Pei Xiao’s scheme would be much smoother. They were running out of time.

Joy surged in Bao Ning’s heart. She immediately sent Chen Jia to prepare the horses and called for Pei Yuan to return, so they could hurry to the Marquis of Chongyuan’s estate.

Zhao Qian heard the neighing of horses in the front courtyard. Propping up his sick body, he looked out the window and asked Su Mingyou with a frown, “Where are they going?”

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