Pei Jin's clothes were disorderly.
Yan Shi Ning heard Pei Jin breathed heavily, his eyes were red and he gave off a crazy wild animal aura.
Pei Jin staggered onto the bed, hugged Yan Shi Ning and spoke huskily. 'Su Yue put lust herbs in my soup.'
'What-' Yan Shi Ning said.
Pei Jin laid on top of Yan Shi Ning and kissed her. She felt something hard pressed against her stomach and her body tensed in anticipation. Was she going to experience a wedding night?
Yan Shi Ning's heart was chaotic. Pei Jin's lips left her lips and his hands loosened the grip on her waist.
Pei Jin hugged Yan Shi Ning and he smiled. 'Wife, don't worry. I promised if you're not willing then I won't force you. I can control the lust herbs effect.'
Pei Jin let go of Yan Shi Ning and he laid on the bed. Her heart ached because of the clear suffering on his face.
'Big brother, why did Su Yue put lust herbs in your soup?' Yan Shi Ning asked.
Pei Jin pulled Yan Shi Ning to his chest. 'Huang Guo sent her to be my maid and spy on me. He wanted her to become one of my consorts, but I have never touched her. Today she was punished to stay in her chamber to reflect. She panicked and wanted to turn rice grains into steamed rice.'
After Pei Jin opened his mouth, he couldn't control himself and kissed Yan Shi Ning's lips again. His hands swiftly took off her clothes and untied her undergarments. His hands didn't resist touching her soft skin and pink peaks.
Yan Shi Ning gasped for air and pushed Pei Jin away. 'Big brother, if she's responsible for giving you lust herbs then big brother should let her serve you.'
Pei Jin bit Yan Shi Ning's lips hard and heard her moan of pain but her breathing quickened.
Pei Jin looked at Yan Shi Ning's flushed face, crinkled forehead and kissed her deeply. 'Wife, I only want you. I don't want anyone else.'
Yan Shi Ning heard the conviction in Pei Jin's tone, her ears reddened and she felt her soul floating away.
'But I know you're not willing,' Pei Jin said and let Yan Shi Ning go. 'Tonight I'll endure.'
Yan Shi Ning looked at the strain on Pei Jin's face and she felt guilty for making him endure. She reasoned they were married and sleeping with him was fated by the heavens. There was no need for her to deprive him and for him to suffer.
'Big brother… you don't need to endure anymore…' Yan Shi Ning whispered.
Pei Jin lowered his head so Yan Shi Ning couldn't see his devious smile. He raised his head, looked at her with pained eyes and he spoke in a hoarse voice. 'No, Shi Ning, I can endure.'
Yan Shi Ning's body trembled in admiration. She thought if Pei Jin heard her consent then he would immediately jump on her body, she didn't expect him to force himself to be a gentleman.
Yan Shi Ning's impression of Pei Jin improved greatly in her heart, it appeared he was a good person. She silently vowed in the future she wouldn't kick him anymore.
Pei Jin endured his frustrations. Of course he could easily ingest a pill to counteract the effect of lust herbs and didn't need to torment himself. But he saw the softness in Yan Shi Ning's eyes and his eyes brightened, his frustrations bear fruit.
That night Pei Jin rolled on the bed and mumbled countlessly while his hands continuously wandered on Yan Shi Ning's body. 'Finally the effect of the lust herbs have worn off.'
Yan Shi Ning remembered how Pei Jin endured throughout the night so she didn't protest that his hands wandered everywhere on her body.
In the calligraphy room Su Yue's heart withered. She couldn't believe even under the influence of lust herbs Pei Jin didn't want to touch her.
The following morning Pei Jin awoken early. He stared at Yan Shi Ning who was sleeping on his chest and he smiled like a scoundrel.
A while later Pei Jin's eyes darkened coldly. He couldn't allow to let Su Yue stay in his manor anymore! But Su Yue was given to him by Huang Guo, he needed a good reason to return Su Yue that wouldn't offend Huang Guo. His head were full of thoughts of how to return Su Yue in a way that Huang Guo was forced to accept.
Yan Shi Ning didn't want to get out of bed.
Yan Shi Ning buried her head on Pei Jin's chest. But he kept poking her to wake up. She raised her head, glared at him, rolled over and continued to sleep.
Pei Jin shook Yan Shi Ning's body. 'Wife, wake up.'
Yan Shi Ning frowned and kept her eyes closed.
Pei Jin smiled. 'You need to wake up to read.'
'Troublemaker!' Yan Shi Ning protested.
Pei Jin laughed and shook Yan Shi Ning's body but she continued to sleep.
'Wife, you have no conscience,' Pei Jin accused. 'Someone schemed against your husband, but you can sleep peacefully.'
Yan Shi Ning remembered what happened last night and had no sympathy left for Pei Jin. 'You deserve it.'
Yan Shi Ning thought Pei Jin always deceived other people, of course it was fair he received retribution.
Pei Jin rubbed his chin. 'Wife, how should I deal with her?'
'Feeding her master lust herbs is a serious offence,' Yan Shi Ning said. 'Of course you need to punish her severely.'
'Wife, it appears you truly hate her,' Pei Jin said. 'If that is so then your husband won't be merciful anymore. I've decided to make her disappear forever in front of us.'
Yan Shi Ning's eyes widened and she sat upright on the bed. 'Big brother, you don't want to…'
Yan Shi Ning gestured a slit throat.
'Wife, what are you thinking?' Pei Jin asked. 'I want her to go back to Huang Guo's manor.'
Yan Shi Ning's heart cursed Pei Jin, it was pointless of him to appear deadly threatening before if he didn't want to kill Su Yue.
'But I need a good reason to send her back,' Pei Jin said. 'Faulting her for feeding me lust herbs isn't a good reason. She was given to me to serve me. Huang Guo would ask me to forgive her for being impatient to serve me.'
'Big brother, what do you want to do?' Yan Shi Ning asked.
'I have a plan…' Pei Jin said. 'Yesterday I cooperated with you. Today I need your help.'
Yan Shi Ning listened to Pei Jin's plan. 'Big brother, you thought deeply only to return one maid to Huang Guo's manor?'
Pei Jin hugged Yan Shi Ning and he smiled. 'Wife, are you not the one who hates her? Because of your happiness, your husband would do anything.'
'Big brother, why does it feel like you want to borrow a dagger to kill someone?' Yan Shi Ning asked.
Pei Jin didn't admit or deny Yan Shi Ning's accusation. 'Wife, will you let me borrow your dagger or not?'
Yan Shi Ning pursed her lips, contemplated for a while and agreed to help Pei Jin. But she was suspicious why he would waste energy to think of a thorough plan to send Su Yue back to Huang Guo's manor unless he had his own reason. She sighed inwardly. Although she was curious what the reason was, she knew if he didn't want to tell her then it was pointless to ask him.
Yan Shi Ning glanced at Pei Jin who was smiling too sweetly and her intuition agreed with her suspicions. 'Big brother, have you been wanting to chase Su Yue out of your manor for a long time?'
Pei Jin's sweet smile didn't disappear. If he didn't deny it, Yan Shi Ning knew last night she was fooled. She glared at him, raised her foot and kicked his thigh. MF, fooled her again!
Initially Yan Shi Ning thought Pei Jin agreed to cooperate with her to punish Su Yue because he wanted to appease her. After she thought carefully, she realised he had fooled her.
Pei Jin was happy Yan Shi Ning was angry. He hugged her and his hands stroked her skin beneath her undergarments. She didn't struggle and only laid still. He rubbed his face on her neck and bribed her. 'Wife, don't you want to know why I want to chase Su Yue out of the manor?'
Yan Shi Ning glared at Pei Jin and he whispered in her ear. 'Huang Guo truly gave Su Yue to me to spy on me.'
Yan Shi Ning's body shivered. After Consort Chen died, Huang Guo resigned from his position in the imperial court. Huang Guo announced he wanted to live a peaceful life of a gardener. Yan Shi Ning didn't understand why Huang Guo wanted to spy on Pei Jin. Perhaps, it was seventh prince or the crown prince who wanted to spy on Pei Jin.
Pei Jin could see Yan Shi Ning's flow of thoughts and he whispered something in her ear.
Su Yue stayed awake most of the night. The more she thought, the more heartbroken and hopeless she felt. She stayed in bed and hugged her pillow the whole morning. But in the afternoon she couldn't stay in bed quietly, because she heard Pei Jin's voice nearby her chamber.
'Wife, what do you think of these flowers?' Pei Jin asked.
'The flowers are beautiful,' Yan Shi Ning said. 'It reminds of Su Yue, they're all beautiful. Who lives in the chamber of this courtyard? It's a beautiful courtyard.'
'Mistress, big sister Su lives here,' a maid said.
'Is that so?' Yan Shi Ning asked. 'Ninth prince, a day's gone. If you were angry then it would have simmered by now. I feel I was partly at fault, Su Yue was shocked to see me sick and accidently knocked over the blue vase… I think that she doesn't need to reflect for a month in her chamber.'
Su Yue was eavesdropping by her chamber window. Her heart raged and thought Yan Shi Ning was pretending to appear merciful in front of Pei Jin. She hated Yan Shi Ning but she wanted to hear Pei Jin's reply. She didn't expect he would forgive her after what she did last night.
'Wife, if that is your wish then Su Yue's punishment can be forgotten,' Pei Jin said.
Su Yue was overjoyed to hear Pei Jin had forgiven her.
'Ninth prince, let's go visit Su Yue,' Yan Shi Ning said.
Su Yue quickly adjusted her dress and hair. She curtsied when Pei Jin and Yan Shi Ning entered her chamber.
Yan Shi Ning said some comforting words to Su Yue, but Su Yue's attention was focused on Pei Jin's coldness toward her.
'If my wife has forgiven you,' Pei Jin said. 'I have nothing more to say. In the future you need to serve my wife well!'
Su Yue's blood boiled at the thought of serving Yan Shi Ning. 'Thank you ninth prince. Thank you mistress.'
Su Yue was happy to be free from her chamber, it gave her opportunities to separate Pei Jin and Yan Shi Ning.
Yan Shi Ning suggested Su Yue should rest for a few days. But Su Yue declined, tidied her chamber and followed Yan Shi Ning.
In Pei Jin and Yan Shi Ning's chamber, Yan Shi Ning was playing with a maid's cat. Pei Jin sat next to Yan Shi Ning while reading a book. Apart from the cat's meow sounds, it was quiet in their chamber.
'Ninth prince, I wonder if the herbal soup is ready,' Yan Shi Ning said. 'I feel a little hungry.'
'Then send someone to the kitchen,' Pei Jin said and glanced at Su Yue.
Su Yue understood and immediately walked to the kitchen nearby. The herbal soup was cooked and she scooped a bowl of herbal soup. The steam rose to her face and her head was consumed with one bad thought.
Yan Shi Ning waited for the herbal soup for a long time. She acted excited when the bowl of herbal soup was put on the table in front of her.
'Ninth prince, do you want to eat a spoon of the herbal soup?' Yan Shi Ning asked.
'No,' Pei Jin said. 'Wife, you can slowly eat the herbal soup.'
Su Yue resented Pei Jin's consideration toward Yan Shi Ning.
Yan Shi Ning blew on a spoon of herbal soup. It was still hot, she put the bowl of herbal soup back on the table and waited for it to cool. Afterward she continued to play with the cat. She acted like her back ached from patting the cat. Then she put the cat on the table, took out a loose silver hairpin and put it on the table to brush her hair.
Suddenly the cat leapt off the table and knocked over the bowl of herbal soup onto the silver hairpin. Everyone looked shocked to see the silver hairpin changed colour.
'The herbal soup is poisoned!' Yan Shi Ning cried out.
If the herbal soup was poisoned the suspects were the cooks and Su Yue who brought the bowl of herbal soup to Yan Shi Ning.
Pei Jin's guards and Bei Dou searched the cooks and Su Yue's chambers. The guards found a blue bottle of poison in Su Yue's chamber and Su Yue's face whitened.
Pei Jin passed the blue bottle to Bei Dou.
'What kind of poison is it?' Pei Jin asked coldly.
Bei Dou sniffed the blue bottle for a while. 'This poison is called Diao Jing Ji. Like its name, it prevents pregnancy. If someone ingest this poison then they'll be infertile for the rest of their life.'
Su Yue panicked and feared for her soul. She knelt in front of Pei Jin and grabbed his sleeve. 'It isn't mine! I was framed!'
Pei Jin pulled his sleeve out of Su Yue's hands.
'I thought you were remorseful about your impulsiveness,' Pei Jin said. 'I didn't expect that you're a cruel person!'
'Ninth prince, it truly isn't me!' Su Yue pleaded. 'Someone framed me!'
'Who would frame you?' Pei Jin asked.
'It's…' Su Yue said.
Su Yue couldn't think of anyone who would frame her. The herbal soup was made by the head cook Xiao Xuan who was a good person and wouldn't harm anyone. Pei Jin sent her to the kitchen to bring the herbal soup to Yan Shi Ning, but Pei Jin wouldn't poison Yan Shi Ning.
Su Yue didn't know what happened. She remembered in the kitchen she did think about poisoning Yan Shi Ning, her arms and legs turned cold. The biggest obstacle between her and Pei Jin would disappear if Yan Shi Ning died.
Su Yue thought about going to her chamber and using the hidden poison to put in the herbal soup. If Yan Shi Ning died then she would deny the deed. She began to suspect herself. That she didn't think about poisoning the herbal soup but actually did use the poison in her jealous haze.
'Where did you get the Diao Jing Ji from?' Pei Jin asked coldly.
Su Yue looked at the bottle but she couldn't open her mouth. The bottle was secretly delivered to her a month ago from Huang Guo's manor.
Su Yue remembered what the messenger said before leaving, 'There's poison inside this bottle. You need to hide it well. Later I'll give you instructions when to use it.'
Su Yue never knew the poison was Diao Jing Ji, she only thought it was a deadly poison. But she couldn't reveal the truth if she wanted to stay alive.
Since Su Yue remained silent, it meant she admitted her deed.
'I considered your years of service and forgave you for yesterday's offence,' Pei Jin said. 'Today you dared to do this. I can no longer keep you in this manor. Go pack your belongings and return to Huang Guo's manor!'
Su Yue felt like Pei Jin's words were like a basin of cold water that was poured onto the top of her of head and down to her feet.
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