12: Chapter 12 Jin Zijin’s Home
12 -12 Jin Zijin’s Home
Gu Youyou felt a sourness in her heart; after all, Old Master Gu was the only person in this world who truly cared for her.
“Grandfather, I’m fine, don’t cry,”
Her voice, light as a mosquito’s buzz, was very pleasant to hear.
Old Master Gu hurriedly responded, “Ah, yes, yes, Youyou will get better.
Zijin is a good man; he promised me he would take good care of you.
You must listen to everything he says, he won’t harm you.”
Gu Youyou found these words somewhat strange, but she didn’t overthink it and soon was carried out by Matchmaker Zhang.
Anyway, as long as she could leave this room, it was fine.
Once her health improved, she could go anywhere.
Childish cheers followed: “Whoa, hahaha… The ghost sister of our house is being carried away to someone else’s.”
Gu Youyou: “…” This bratty kid.
Gu Youyou was carried onto a small sedan chair by two people.
This was quite rare among farming households, as most brides usually rode in ox carts.
This caused a wave of envy.
A girl around ten years old said, “Mom, I want to ride in a sedan chair when I get married too.”
The people around burst into laughter.
The woman beside the girl slapped her on the forehead, scolding sharply, “You foolish girl, what are you saying?
Unmarried girls should not talk about such things.
It was fortunate she was young; had she been thirteen or fourteen, the reaction from others would not have been limited to laughter.
Calculating the distance of the journey, it took only half an hour for the two bearers to reach the destination, not far from the Gu Family’s home.
Indeed, within the same village, it truly wasn’t far.
Emerging from the sedan, Gu Youyou was unexpectedly carried out by her unseen husband.
Jin Zijin only slightly furrowed his brow at her skeletal frame, showing no significant reaction as he brought her into his fenced yard.
A gust of wind blew away her bridal veil, and the strong sunlight, striking her eyes that hadn’t seen light in ten years, caused her temporary blindness, compelling Gu Youyou to instinctively close her eyes.
Shouts of surprise rang out nearby; undoubtedly, they were startled by Gu Youyou’s appearance.
The timid children had already been frightened to tears, and their mothers, equally scared, were trembling as they comforted their own children.
Matchmaker Zhang hastily picked up the bridal veil and covered her head again, reassuringly saying, “Don’t be afraid, everyone, Youyou is just sick.
After she recovers, she will be just like the rest of us.”
Only then did the crowd come to their senses.
Yes, she was just sick; it was no surprise that someone ill for ten years wouldn’t look quite human.
Truth be told, the people who saw her during that brief moment were only those nearest who caught a quick glimpse before Matchmaker Zhang swiftly shielded her, the subsequent screams being purely self-inflicted fright.
The reactions of these villagers were of no concern to Gu Youyou, but she was curious as to why Jin Zijin, holding her ghost-like form, wasn’t scared enough to throw her out; she had even clung tightly to Zijin’s clothes, fearing she would be discarded.
She had planned to scare him when the veil was lifted, but it seemed that would not happen.
In the simple straw house, Gu Youyou lay quietly on the bed alone.
She observed the room: the leaky house was made of mud walls and thatched with straw, with holes everywhere, yet it was relatively clean.
Red celebratory characters for “happiness” were pasted on the windows and doors, her bridal dowry of three big red trunks sat against the wall, and a pair of red candles burned at the bedside.
However, the redness of the room clashed starkly with the shabby house, and Gu Youyou sighed to herself, thinking that this was truly the epitome of poverty.