Husband, Be A Gentleman - Chapter 5-1

Chapter 5-1

Chapter Five (Part 1)


Outside the Yan Manor the nightwatchman struck bamboo sticks together .

Pei Jin awoken by the sounds of the struck bamboo sticks . He heard the nightwatchman signalled it was the hour of the ox (1am to 3am) . He watched Yan Shi Ning who was sleeping peacefully next to him for a while . Then he parted the beaded curtains, got out of bed and stepped toward the table .

On the table incense sticks were burning, giving off a faint scent . Pei Jin’s eyes darkened . The last time he met Yan Shi Ning in the palace, he had smelt the same faint scent on her body . At that time he thought the scent was familiar and didn’t think too much about it . It wasn’t until he laid in bed next to Yan Shi Ning did it occur to him that the scent was eerily familiar . He didn’t want to make Yan Shi Ning anxious so he kept quiet about the scent . It was the same scent his adoptive mother, Consort Chen used that year .

His birth mother was a palace maid who died after giving birth to him . When his mother died, Consort Chen didn’t have children . Consort Chen asked his father to let her adopt him and his father consented .

Consort Chen was a gentle and kind person . She had a healthy body and was pregnant near the age of thirty . But during her pregnancy her health slowly declined . The imperial physicians who examined her reported the same outcome, she had a mysterious illness .

Consort Chen was isolated in a cold chamber of the palace and a rumor was spread about the ‘Jin curse,’ whoever was his mother wouldn’t survive a pregnancy . Consort Chen died when she was four months pregnant . Before she died she gripped the incense sticks in her hand, cried and told him that someone poisoned her .

Pei Jin became ill after Consort Chen died . But a young physician entered the palace and examined him . The physician told him that the incense sticks were poisoned . After he recovered, the physician resigned and left the palace . He hid the incense sticks and studied medicine under the guidance of the imperial physicians to secretly find out what was the poison added to the incense sticks . The incense sticks he hid didn’t have wings, but it flew away . He searched for them but he didn’t find out who had taken them .

Pei Jin regretted that Consort Chen’s death was still unresolved . Unexpectedly twelve years later the incense sticks reappeared in the Yan Manor, inside Yan Shi Ning’s chamber . His eyes narrowed while thinking about who wanted to harm Yan Shi Ning . His intuition conjured an image in his mind of the haughty and cold face of Yan Shi Ning’s step-mother, Princess Kang Hua .

Princess Kang Hua and the empress’ relationship was good whereas Princess Kang Hua and Yan Shi Ning’s relationship was bad . His heart pounded endlessly, luckily he discovered the incense sticks before it could seriously harm Yan Shi Ning .

Pei Jin contemplated for a while and decided to take the incense sticks away to show someone at his manor . He searched for fabrics around the chamber and found Yan Shi Ning’s undergarments . He smiled, picked up her undergarments and wrapped the incense sticks .

Pei Jing was about the leap out of the window when he remembered the purpose of his visit . He took out a jade pendant, walked to the bed and carefully put it on Yan Shi Ning’s palm .

‘This is something I won from an elder in Southern Jiang,’ Pei Jin whispered . ‘I thought it was a fake jade but it turned out to be a rare jade pendant . I was going to sell it but I thought about you . Apart from the tao (a Chinese toy drum) I gave you, I haven’t given you anything else . This will be my love token to you . It took a long time to carve the jade pendant for you, forgive me for my amateur craftsmanship . ’

Pei Jin gently stroked Yan Shi Ning’s head and quickly leapt out the window .

The nightwatchman signalled it was the hour of the tiger (3am to 5am) and Pei Jin couldn’t wait until his and Yan Shi Ning’s wedding ceremony .

Yan Shi Ning awoken from a nightmare . In the nightmare she was a six-year-old again, the first time she met Pei Jin . That year she heard Pei Jin’s adoptive mother, Consort Chen who was four months pregnant had died . Pei Jin’s teacher resigned but Pei Jin’s teacher asked the emperor if he could take Pei Jin to stay with him in his country home while Pei Jin was grieving . The emperor could see Pei Jin’s grief and agreed .

Unfortunately Pei Jin’s teacher’s country home was in Xuan Qing, next to Dung Thi and Yan Shi Ning’s home .

In Yan Shi Ning’s nightmare it was that afternoon she was on her way home after a fight with other children, she saw Pei Jin stood with the sunset behind his back .

Yan Shi Ning thought Pei Jin was a handsome boy . But she was curious why Pei Jin was staring up at the sky .

‘Big brother, what are you looking at?’ Yan Shi Ning asked .

‘I’m looking at the rice noodle rolls fallen from the sky,’ Pei Jin said .

‘Liar, only bird poo fall from the sky,’ Yan Shi Ning said .

‘Little sister, I’m not lying,’ Pei Jin said . ‘I caught this rice noodle roll from the sky . ’

Pei Jin showed Yan Shi Ning the rice noodle roll in his hand and ate it .

Yan Shi Ning saw the serious expression on Pei Jin’s face and she believed him . Afterward she tilted her head back and she stared up at the sky .

‘Little sister, you can’t stand here,’ Pei Jin said . ‘You need to stand over there . ’

Yan Shi Ning walked to the spot Pei Jin pointed to then she fell into the hole he dug and concealed!

Yan Shi Ning sobbed loudly . Pei Jin’s teacher heard the commotion and ran outside his home .

‘Pei Jin, what are you doing?’ Pei Jin’s teacher asked .

‘Teacher, I saw a little girl fell into a hole,’ Pei Jin said . ‘When I walked to the hole, little sister was crying . I wanted to give her the rice noodle roll that teacher’s wife made to console her . But I don’t know how to pull little sister up from the hole . ’

Yan Shi Ning’s body shook with anger while she sobbed . She didn’t know how Pei Jin maintained a serious expression while lying smoothly . She cried louder, she was fooled by the liar!

Luckily Yan Shi Ning’s nightmare ended at that moment . She looked at her surroundings and sighed in relief when she saw the spot next to her on the bed was empty . The morning sunlight shone through the window and she reluctantly sat up on the bed .

‘Heavens!’ Yan Shi Ning cursed .

The six-year-old Yan Shi Ning fell into a hole but was quickly pulled out of the hole . Unfortunately twelve years later she fell into a hole for life . There wouldn’t be escape even after death .

Yan Shi Ning cursed mouthy boy . What danger? What grieving? Mouthy boy was allowed to leave the palace because his teacher feared his life was in danger and didn’t want him to grieve deeply by himself . But she saw his real personality behind his grieving mask .

Yan Shi Ning didn’t know how mouthy boy could deceive other people . What gentle ninth prince? He was a deadly liar! She reasoned that other people must be blind if they believed he was capable of being gentle and kind .

Yan Shi Ning felt insanely angry . She wanted to break apart her bed but when she fisted her hands, she felt something hard . It was a beautiful jade pendant . She looked closer at the jade pendant and she almost spatted out blood . Little lion was engraved at the top of the jade pendant . She didn’t need to think too deeply to know who the owner of the jade pendant was .

Yan Shi Ning got out of bed and searched everywhere in the chamber for her undergarments but it was missing .

‘Big brother, why did you take my undergarments?’ Yan Shi Ning mumbled .

***

End of Chapter Five (Part 1)