Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Liu Wenying calmly placed the empty bowl back on the small table, a sly smile spreading across her face.

She showed no embarrassment at being exposed. "I clearly tasted it sweet. Perhaps Third Master's tongue is damaged and he can't taste sweetness anymore?"

The words were cheeky, yet they carried a kind of intimate teasing that only close friends would dare to exchange.

Pei Yaojun's eyes were blurry and weak from the fever, yet he insisted on taking this matter seriously.

A thought suddenly popped into his muddled mind, and he moved his lips and uttered a sentence.

"What did you say?" Liu Wenying leaned forward, not suspecting anything, trying to hear what he was going to say.

The next moment, a large hand gripped the back of her head and pressed down on her lips with a little force.

Pei Yaojun kissed her.

Their lips met, his lips burning hot, like someone parched and thirsting for rain, eagerly drawing moisture from her lips.

She wasn't lying to him; it really was sweet...

Liu Wenying never expected to be ambushed by him.

His kisses were haphazard, urgent, and forceful, sucking so hard that her tongue ached and she could barely breathe.

After regaining her senses, she pushed him away with all her might.

Pei Yaojun was pushed backward by her and fell back onto the bed.

The violent movements aggravated his illness; he clutched his chest and coughed violently.

Liu Wenying had already stood up, away from the bed, staring at him with slightly rapid breathing, her face showing embarrassment and annoyance.

Pei Yaojun coughed for a while before he recovered, and his flushed cheeks became even more vibrant.

The corners of her peach blossom eyes were slightly flushed, making her look rather pitiful.

Seeing that she was about to get angry, Pei Yaojun offered a vague and evasive explanation.

"I'm a patient, it's not surprising that I do anything while I'm delirious with fever. You're here to visit me, how can you argue with a patient like that..."

He was always dressed in fine clothes and rode a spirited horse; his red robe accentuated his arrogant features and radiant spirit.

It can even tone down such vibrant colors.

Lying in the brocade quilt, her dark red nightgown hung loosely, revealing the pale skin of her neck and chest.

The person looked as if their life essence had been drained by the intense colors, leaving only a thin, bony frame.

Liu Wenying ultimately decided not to hold it against him, considering his persistent high fever and extreme weakness.

But she couldn't plan to stay any longer.

"Third Master, please rest well. This servant will return now."

She curtsied and prepared to leave.

"etc."

Pei Yaojun leaned halfway out of bed. "You're leaving already? I haven't eaten yet."

"Should I call Ah Cai in to serve Third Master his meal?"

"I don't want him, I only want you."

Liu Wenying was reluctant; feeding him medicine was already overstepping her bounds, and now she was staying to feed him as well…

"Feed me a bite, and I'll give you a hundred taels of silver."

Liu Wenying looked at him silently.

Pei Yaojun felt a little guilty under her gaze and was about to change his mind and say two hundred taels.

But then I saw her lips curve into a quick smile, and she nodded gently: "Okay."

Pei Yaojun happily called Ah Cai in and reheated some food.

A little while later, Ah Cai brought over a freshly prepared nourishing meal.

Chicken porridge, bird's nest soup, steamed fish paste, and a small dish of bright green vegetables.

Liu Wenying sat down on the edge of the bed again and fed him.

Pei Yaojun ate it from her hand.

The porridge was cooked until soft and melted in your mouth, and the chicken soup was delicious and fragrant.

However, his sense of taste was dulled and his appetite was poor during his illness. After eating a couple of bites, he felt nauseous and shook his head.

"Would you like some more fish paste?"

Liu Wenying gently coaxed her.

Pei Yaojun reluctantly opened his mouth again.

And so, they ate porridge and soup, fish paste and vegetables.

Liu Wenying patiently fed him, and Pei Yaojun reluctantly ate as well.

In the end, almost half of those dishes were eaten.

Pei Yaojun really couldn't eat anymore, so he turned his face away and said, "...That's enough."

Liu Wenying then put down her bowl and spoon, picked up a handkerchief, and wiped the corner of his mouth.

She strives for perfection and is very responsible in her work, so she doesn't think there's anything wrong with it.

Pei Yaojun felt that the corner of his lips that she had wiped felt like it had been brushed by a feather, itchy and hot.

While taking care of Master Pei's meal, Liu Wenying was not idle. She quickly took out a small purse from her sleeve and a charcoal pencil, and wrote something on a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Keep the books."

After Liu Wenying finished writing, she put everything back into her purse, her voice light and cheerful.

"I just fed Third Master twelve mouthfuls: three mouthfuls of porridge, three mouthfuls of soup, three mouthfuls of fish paste, and three mouthfuls of green vegetables. Each mouthful cost one hundred taels, for a total of one thousand two hundred taels of silver."

She counted on her fingers, calculating clearly, her eyes shining like they were filled with stars.

"Third Master, you must remember to return this servant when you recover."

Pei Yaojun: "..."

I was both amused and exasperated, but ultimately I didn't dwell on her money-grubbing nature.

Seeing the 1,200 taels of silver beckoning to her, Liu Wenying found Pei Yaojun much more agreeable.

She even started to take the initiative to care about him.

"Why did Third Master have such a falling out with the Duke? He even knelt down in the rain, making himself look like a mess."

He pursed his lips. "I struck Minister Li of the Ministry of Works in front of His Majesty."

Liu Wenying's heart skipped a beat: "Why?"

"He stole our credit; that water-saving trick was something you and I did together."

He promised to take me to see the Emperor to report, but he kept putting it off. Finally, when we arrived before the Emperor, His Majesty praised him highly, but he insisted that he had done it himself.

As Pei Yaojun spoke, his anger intensified.

"With a brain like his, what kind of brilliant ideas could he come up with? He's clearly just taking advantage of what's readily available. This kind of behavior is an insult to your hard work and to those who actually do the work."

He spoke quickly and urgently, as if he felt wronged on her behalf, or as if he felt he had been wronged himself.

Liu Wenying was taken aback.

She never imagined that part of the trouble Third Master got into was because of her.

She did offer suggestions for the water-saving mechanism, but it was Third Master who actually carried out the actual production, and she never thought about taking any credit.

"But Minister Li is still your superior. Rank matters, and a higher rank can have far-reaching consequences. Don't you care about your career after you hit him?"

After all, the Pei family had been officials for generations, and as the eldest son, his career was of paramount importance.

"Official career?"

Pei Yaojun twitched the corner of his mouth, a rare clarity showing in his dazed eyes.

"I used to think that a career in government was a good thing. Before the imperial examination, my father would nag me every day, not letting me take the path of a hereditary official, but insisting that I enter government through the imperial examination based on my own abilities, saying that it was for my own good."

"I listened to him and spent those days studying diligently, day and night. I finally passed the exam and entered the Ministry of Works as an observer. But what I saw was that this official career was nowhere near as glamorous and fair as he described."

"Li Shilang was only a vice minister of the Ministry of Works, yet he dared to arbitrarily seize the credit of his subordinates, distort the truth, and bully his juniors."

An official like him, who doesn't even appreciate the hard work of his subordinates, how can he govern a region well, how can he uphold justice for the nation?

"If the entire court is like this, I'd rather not pursue an official career!"

Pei Yaojun was resolute, his words overflowing with a solitary courage that said he would rather die than live in dishonor.

…………