After Marrying the Disabled Fourth Prince

Chapter 7

Hearing Pei Yuan's voice, Bao Ning sniffled and hurriedly entered the room.

Just before pushing the door open, she was still thinking about that rat. She didn't know what it had been eating to grow so big and fat. There wasn't much here for it to feed on, right?

A thought from her aunt flashed through her mind: if a big rat appeared in a house, there must be a nest of little rats at least. Bao Ning shuddered at the mental image.

Compared to the furry rat, the cold Pei Yuan didn't seem as frightening anymore.

...The scent of alcohol filled the room.

Bao Ning focused her attention and saw what Pei Yuan was doing.

He was sitting against the wall with a thin coat draped over his shoulders. His right leg was bent, and his left leg was stretched out on the kang. He had rolled up his pants to the root of his thighs and was disinfecting his wound with alcohol.

This was the first time Bao Ning had truly seen Pei Yuan's leg.

She had always thought that Pei Yuan's left leg was just paralyzed, but she never expected it to be injured like this. There was a palm-sized knife wound near the knee, deep enough to see the bone. Perhaps due to improper treatment, the wound hadn't healed well, with some areas forming pus.

In addition, there were no other good parts on the entire leg. There were winding scars, shallow or deep, resembling a crawling centipede.

Bao Ning gasped.

She was afraid of pain and blood. Although the wound was on Pei Yuan's body, seeing it made her feel as if she were in pain too. A cold shiver ran down her spine.

Pei Yuan stared at her expression, expecting to see fear in her eyes. He tongue touched his palate, lowered his eyes, and smirked.

He lowered his head, and by the faint light of the candle on the table, Bao Ning saw that he also had wounds on his face. From the corner of his eyebrow, across his forehead, was a one-inch scar.

Pei Yuan's voice was low, seemingly indifferent as he asked, "Are you afraid?"

Bao Ning tightly clasped her skirt with both hands and nodded.

There was a moment of silence from Pei Yuan. There was an inexplicable taste in his heart, somewhat sour, somewhat relieved. He already knew the answer. Who wouldn't be afraid upon seeing this? It's better to see his true self sooner rather than later, and to leave earlier.

He grunted and reached for the alcohol on the table.

Bao Ning approached him, staring at his wounds for a while before asking softly, "Does it hurt a lot?"

"Not really," Pei Yuan said, splashing the alcohol onto his leg with a "whoosh".

The murky yellow liquid mixed with pus flowed down his calf. Pei Yuan closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and clenched his teeth, enduring the pain without making a sound.

Bao Ning was startled by his actions and subconsciously closed her eyes. It wasn't until some time later that she dared to open them again, seeing the fine sweat on Pei Yuan's forehead.

Bao Ning sighed and took out a handkerchief from her waist, wiping the sweat off him. "It obviously hurts a lot, why pretend to be strong?"

Pei Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, staring at her strangely. "What are you saying?"

Bao Ning sat down and looked at his legs, saying slowly, "Are all men like this? My younger brother is the same. He plays with knives and guns every day, always coming back with a few cuts on his body. When I ask if it hurts, he says it doesn't. I thought he really didn't feel pain until one day when I went to call him for dinner and saw him sitting on the bed, hugging his knees, crying with red eyes while applying medicine."