Husband, Be A Gentleman - Chapter 9-1

Chapter 9-1

Chapter Nine (Part 1)


The horse carriage travelled from the palace to Pei Jin’s manor .

Inside the horse carriage Yan Shi Ning poked Pei Jin’s arm . ‘Big brother, why didn’t you let me visit Consort Mu’s chamber?’

‘Why do you want to go there?’ Pei Jin asked . ‘Aren’t you scared of her dull company?’

Of course Yan Shi Ning didn’t believe Pei Jin’s excuse .

Pei Jin hugged Yan Shi Ning . ‘Little lion, in the future when we’re summoned to the palace stay away from Consort Mu unless it’s necessary to talk her . ’

‘Why?’ Yan Shi Ning asked .

‘I’m scared you’ll be fooled by her,’ Pei Jin said .

Yan Shi Ning supressed her temper . ‘Ninth prince, is there anything else?’

‘Of course,’ Pei Jin said . ‘You can’t impulsively eat, bully and believe other people . Mainly eat more rice and speak less . You only need to laugh and act foolish… wait, you don’t need to act foolish, being yourself is enough . ’

Pei Jin gently knocked Yan Shi Ning’s head . She caught his hand and bit him . Her heart remembered his advice clearly, it knew behind the teasing tone was a deeper meaning .

After they returned to Pei Jin’s manor, Yan Shi Ning wanted to rest in their chamber but he stopped her .

‘Wait, I want you to meet someone in the manor,’ Pei Jin said .

Yan Shi Ning was suspicious who Pei Jin wanted her to meet . But she kept quiet because he looked serious .

Pei Jin’s manor was located north of the palace . There was an artificial lake, beautiful gardens and elegant chambers .

Pei Jin led Yan Shi Ning through the gardens . They stopped in front of a secluded chamber at the back of the manor . She could smell many herbal scents even before the door was opened .

Pei Jin looked at a young man dressed in black clothes and who carried bottles of remedies .

‘This is Gentleman Bei Dou, the manor’s physician,’ Pei Jin said .

‘Big brother, why do you want me to meet the physician?’ Yan Shi Ning asked .

Pei Jin laughed . ‘He’s a physician and also my friend . ’

Yan Shi Ning understood Pei Jin wouldn’t call someone a friend lightly . She didn’t know why Pei Jin wanted her to meet Bei Dou but she silently assessed Bei Dou .

Bei Dou looked about twenty years old, tall, wore black clothes, quiet, cold and distant . Yan Shi Ning felt like Bei Dou wasn’t someone easy to be close to . She was surprised Pei Jin was able to befriend someone like Bei Dou .

‘Do you wear perfume?’ Bei Dou asked coldly .

‘No,’ Yan Shi Ning said .

‘Then what’s the perfume scent on your body?’ Bei Dou asked .

Yan Shi Ning shook her head, she honestly didn’t wear perfume .

‘Recently have you been burning incense sticks?’ Bei Dou asked .

‘Yes, at the Yan Manor,’ Yan Shi Ning said .

‘For how long?’ Bei Dou asked .

‘Almost one month,’ Yan Shi Ning said .

‘Where did you get the incense sticks?’ Bei Dou asked .

‘My little sister gave them to me,’ Yan Shi Ning said . ‘She said it was a gift from the palace . She showed me two kinds of incense sticks . One had a strong scent and the other had a faint scent . I chose the faint scene . Is there something wrong with them?’

‘Nothing,’ Bei Dou said . ‘You don’t suit the scent . ’

Bei Dou tossed Yan Shi Ning one of the bottles he was carrying and he walked calmly into the chamber .

Yan Shi Ning felt Bei Dou was a strange young man who asked strange questions then abruptly became silent again . She looked at Pei Jin and her confused eyes asked him what had happened .

Pei Jin was upset with Bei Dou . He asked Bei Dou to subtly ask Yan Shi Ning about the incense sticks, he didn’t expect Bei Dou would ask directly .

Pei Jin escorted a confused Yan Shi Ning to their chamber and quickly returned to Bei Dou’s chamber .

‘I asked you to be subtle but you asked my wife directly,’ Pei Jin said . ‘What if my wife suspects something?’

‘I don’t have a habit of being subtle,’ Bei Dou said .

Pei Jin rubbed his temples . ‘When I gave you the incense sticks you told me I couldn’t sleep with my wife on our wedding night . Why?’

On the morning of Pei Jin and Yan Shi Ning’s wedding day, he woke a sleeping Bei Dou up and gave him the incense sticks to examine . In the past he had confided in Bei Dou about the missing incense sticks, but Bei Dou couldn’t identify the poison without examining the incense sticks . So when the incense sticks reappeared in Yan Shi Ning’s chamber the first person he wanted to show was Bei Dou .

Bei Dou only sniffed the incense sticks and gave Pei Jin a vague advice, ‘these incense sticks are poison . You can’t sleep with your wife on your wedding night . ’

Pei Jin continued to rub his temples while Bei Dou explained about the poison .

‘Seven poisons were used to make these incense sticks,’ Bei Dou said . ‘One of the seven poisons is called Fu Gui . Fu Gui is naturally found in Western Ning . Fu Gui fruits are rare and not easy to pluck . After it’s grown for ten years its flowers will bloom . Then ten years later it’ll bear fruit . Fu Gui fruits smell similar to jasmine . It’s hard for those who aren’t physicians to distinguish between Fu Gui fruits and jasmine . If a person sniffs the scent of Fu Gui fruits then they’ll feel relaxed . But if they sniff it continuously for months and years then their body will be poisoned . The poison will linger in their blood and they won’t escape death . But the poison only affects women, especially pregnant women . Women who are affected die within a year, pregnant women will die within three months . ’

Pei Jin’s whole body turned cold . The symptoms Bei Dou explained to him was exactly what had happened to his adoptive mother, Consort Chen . Before she was pregnant she was healthy but three months after she was pregnant she was weak and lost weight . What Jin curse? Someone killed Consort Chen .

Bei Dou noticed Pei Jin’s clenched hands, but he didn’t offer any comforting words and continued to explain the other symptoms . ‘A woman who is poisoned by Fu Gui can’t sleep with a man . The effect of the poison will double each time she sleeps with a man . If she becomes pregnant then both she and the unborn child can’t escape death . ’

‘Then what should I do?’ Pei Jin asked .

‘Lucky she didn’t sniff the poison for a long period,’ Bei Dou said . ‘Her body will slowly release the poison . Combined with the cure, she’ll recover faster, less than half a month . ’

‘Where is the cure?’ Pei Jin asked .

‘I gave it to your wife,’ Bei Dou said .

‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’ Pei Jin asked . ‘When I brought my wife back to our chamber, she didn’t like the stench of the herbs in the bottle you gave her . Luckily I explained to her that you wouldn’t give someone something for no reason otherwise she would have thrown it away . ’

‘It’s not a problem even if she throws it away,’ Bei Dou said . ‘The cure is easy to make . ’

‘Then must I endure not sleeping with my wife for half a month?’ Pei Jin asked . ‘Do you have a solution?’

Pei Jin felt tormented to death sleeping in the same bed as his wife without eating her .

‘Yes,’ Bei Dou said .

‘What’s the solution?’ Pei Jin asked

‘Castration,’ Bei Dou said .

***

End of Chapter Nine (Part 1)