The silver moon hung above the treetops. It was bright and clear, reflecting the stars in the sky. It gave the early autumn night a soft glow.
At this time of the year, every household was using kerosene lamps. However, only the village captain and the accountant were willing to light up their lamps at night. The other households basically finished their dinner early and returned to their rooms before sunset. Generally, they were unwilling to light up their kerosene lamps unless it was something important.
The Ai Cao was used to working in the dark in the Ai family. However, she was now in a new environment. Although she didn't need to work, she felt even more uneasy as she sat on the edge of the bed in the bedroom.
Gu Dong was used to being a wild boy. Throughout the year, except when it snowed in winter, he would wash his face and rinse his mouth beside the water jar in the courtyard.
As usual, Gu Dong wanted to return to his room after cleaning up. However, when he reached the door, he went back and filled half the basin with water. He took out the kerosene lamp that he hadn't used in a long time and lit it. Then, he held the lamp in one hand and the basin in the other and walked into the east room.
A faint light came from the central room. The Ai Cao felt that Gu Dong was coming in. Sure enough, when she raised her head, she saw the man striding in. He frowned and looked at her with a pair of big black eyes.
"Come down!" Gu Dong spent half the night tidying up the bed. Although the things were old, he kept them very clean.
The Ai Cao was frightened by him. She trembled and almost cried. He was so big and definitely stronger than her. What if she couldn't beat him in a fight?
Gu Dong looked at the girl in front of him who was like a pitiful red-eyed bunny. He felt a little uncomfortable and felt that he was being too fierce. However, when he saw her dry face, he still shouted, "Come down. Wash your face and feet before you sleep." He pointed at the basin of water on the ground and said to her. His voice unconsciously became much weaker than before. It didn't sound as fierce as before.
The Ai Cao glanced at Gu Dong's face. After confirming that Gu Dong wouldn't beat her up and really wanted her to wash her face, she quickly got off the bed and sat on a small stool that Gu Dong had hooked out from under the bed with his leg. She started to wash up like a little wife.
Gu Dong placed the kerosene lamp on the small table. He did not care what the Ai Cao behind him thought of him. He went to open the bedside table and took out a new quilt. Although it was more tattered than the one on the bed, there were still two quilts.
In fact, Gu Dong usually only used one, and it was a relatively old one. He kept the better one for the cold winter, but because he was getting married today, he took out the better one from the cabinet in the morning and put it on.
But in the current situation, he felt that it was better to take them all out. Looking at that flowery face, he felt that he couldn't bring himself to bite her. Moreover, her body was so weak. If he wasn't careful, she would be gone.
If he couldn't eat it, then why would he sleep in the same bed? The weather wasn't cold, and he didn't need her to warm his bed.
"Here, quickly come up after you're done washing up. Sleep inside! Kerosene is expensive. Don't waste it. "Gu Dong sat at the end of the bed and pointed at the quilt that was placed inside the bed. He said to the Ai Cao.
The Ai Cao didn't dare to disobey him. She obediently climbed onto the bed and crawled to the innermost part of the bed.
"Puff!" The Ai Cao heard a sound, and then the whole room fell into darkness again. Gu Dong blew out the kerosene lamp.
Gu Dong blinked his eyes to adjust to the light. He lifted his leg and gently kicked the basin under the bed. He turned over and crawled into his own bed to sleep.
The Ai Cao was still sitting on the quilt. She was shocked by Gu Dong's series of actions. She was afraid that he would do something to her next step.
Tonight was supposed to be their wedding night.
However, Gu Dong obviously didn't do anything. Seeing that the Ai Cao was still sitting there, he turned his back to her. In the quiet night, the boy's slightly aggrieved voice sounded: "Sleep well. I don't eat people." Really, why did she always look so afraid of him? He didn't look scary.
The Ai Cao looked at the man whose back was facing her. The uneasiness and fear in her heart slowly disappeared. It turned out that he didn't want to touch her. After this thought appeared in her heart, she immediately felt relieved.
She was nervous for the whole day. Now that she thought about it, Gu Dong only looked fierce. During lunch, he even knew to ask her if she was full and if she wanted to drink more soup.
In general, this man was very different from the future husband she imagined in her heart. However, in this unfamiliar and poor small village, the Ai Cao felt that he was still a good person.
At least in the original body's memory, it was common for men to beat women here. In addition, compared to the men in the Ai family, Gu Dong was really much better.
If she didn't have the Ai family's life as a comparison, perhaps it would be difficult for the Ai Cao to accept Gu Dong as an uneducated and temperamental country boy. However, it was different now. Compared to the men in the Ai family who were even worse, Gu Dong was simply too good.
The days of fear and trepidation before were too difficult. It made people want to die every day. The Ai Cao came to this place not only because of the physical difficulties, but also because of the mental torment. Everything that she experienced in the past few days had completely overturned her 16 years of life.
Gu Dong was the first person who showed her kindness since she came to this world. Although he looked disgusted, he didn't drive her out. He also didn't stop her from eating or only gave her leftovers. After they got married, he even cleaned up the mess of pots and pans in the courtyard.
Also, if a man really didn't like a woman, he would be annoyed and unwilling to stay with her. However, although Gu Dong's tone was fierce and his face was full of disgust, when she thought about it carefully, at most he was sulking and didn't show any signs of wanting to hit her.
After replaying the events of the day in her mind several times, the Ai Cao felt that Gu Dong disliked her because she was too dirty, too dark, and too ugly. After staying in his bedroom for the whole afternoon, the Ai Cao had already seen that even if the things in the room were old and few, they were basically clean.
This man probably didn't like dirty things. In addition, even if she looked terrible, he didn't directly pull her out and not let her sleep on the bed. He even gave her water to wash up. The silvery moonlight shone through the window into the room. The more the Ai Cao thought about it, the more she felt that the man in front of her was not a bad person. She wasn't sure if he was good or not, but he shouldn't be bad.
"What's wrong? You're not sleeping? "Gu Dong lay down for a long time, but he didn't hear any movement behind him. He turned around and looked at the Ai Cao impatiently.
He wasn't in a good mood right now. The leftover food from today was barely enough for them to eat two meals tomorrow, but if they couldn't get other food, they would still starve at night.
No wonder the elders in the village who wanted to get married prepared several years in advance. Marriage was really too expensive.
"I want to take a bath." The Ai Cao's voice wasn't loud, but it faintly floated into Gu Dong's ears.
"What? What do you want to do? "Gu Dong's mind was full of work tomorrow, so he didn't hear what the Ai Cao said.
"I want to take a bath." Gu Dong unconsciously raised his voice, but it still startled the Ai Cao, causing her voice to become even softer.
The Ai Cao hadn't taken a bath for a few days, so she really couldn't stand it. She thought that Gu Dong probably didn't like her being dirty, so if she wanted to take a bath, he wouldn't disagree, right?
"You're like a mosquito. Louder." Gu Dong turned his head to look at her. The more he looked at her, the more he felt that she was like an old rabbit in the mountains, a little rabbit that had just left its nest. She was very careful in everything she did, and even the slightest sound of the wind would make her run away and hide in the bushes.
"I want to take a bath!" The Ai Cao was shocked by his words, so she shouted into his ear. After shouting, she shrank back into the corner of the wall.
Gu Dong was originally shocked by her shout and wanted to scold her. But seeing her continuous small actions, he realized that she really was like a baby rabbit. "Ha!" He laughed out loud before he opened his mouth.
Take a bath? Take a bath? Gu Dong propped himself up with his elbows and stared at the Ai Cao. Why did this little fool, who usually didn't know how to tidy herself up, suddenly know that she wanted to take a bath?
"Why are you so nosy? Hurry up and go to sleep. I won't touch you now." Gu Dong naturally felt that the Ai Cao wanted to take a bath because it was their first night together. He didn't know who said something to her, but he didn't know who said it.
Boom! Gu Dong's words directly made the Ai Cao's brain go blank. Blood rushed to her head, and she was extremely embarrassed.
Ahhh! What kind of words was he saying! Also, whose father are you? My father is a first-rank duke, and you're still far from that. But it was good that he didn't touch her.
"I want to take a bath! It's so dirty! "Because Gu Dong said that he wouldn't touch her, the Ai Cao became a little bolder. However, she had been spoiled since she was young. In her eyes, her tone was rebellious, but in Gu Dong's eyes, it had a different feeling.
In the dark night, it was hard to see a person's face clearly. Her soft and coquettish voice sounded like she was acting coquettishly. With a whoosh, it wormed its way into Gu Dong's heart, making him tremble.
What the hell? This little fool doesn't look like a fool anymore.
Gu Dong lifted the blanket on his body and sat up straight. He looked at her and asked, "Do you really want to take a bath?"
"Yes, I want to take a bath." When the Ai Cao saw that there was a chance, she quickly nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice. She was extremely obedient.
"Okay, okay." Gu Dong said "okay" twice in a row before getting off the bed and walking out of the room. However, when he reached the central room, he turned back and lit the kerosene lamp at the head of the bed. Then, he took the matchbox and turned around.
He went into the room to get water to start the fire while he pondered about what was going on with the girl in the room. Could it be that she learned to be clean after getting married?
Gu Dong thought about it from left to right. In the end, he felt that no matter what, it was better to know how to tidy up than to be sloppy. Moreover, looking at the way she spoke, at most, she had the guts of a rabbit, but she didn't seem to have a problem with her brain.
Regardless, it was good that she knew how to be clean. Being timid and being stupid had nothing to do with it. He would take it slow in the future.
The Ai Cao in the room had no idea what Gu Dong was thinking outside. She was currently very happy. Gu Dong didn't get angry at her request and even went to get water for her.
Haha, the more she thought about it, the more satisfied she felt.
However, as she smiled, tears came out of her eyes. If her mother knew that she was like this right now, she would probably cry until her eyes hurt. In the past, when she bathed every morning and evening, the temperature of the water would be tested in advance by the maidservants and then sprinkled with flower petals and fragrant dew. But now? She could take a simple cold bath and be incomparably satisfied. She was so happy that it was as if she had eaten osmanthus honey cake.
She was really useless.
After waiting for a long time, the Ai Cao felt that a lot of time had passed. At this time, not to mention going to the courtyard to get water, even going to the river in the village to get water should be back by now.
She raised her small head and leaned against the window sill above the bedside table. Just as she was about to look into the courtyard, Gu Dong came in at this time, carrying a small wooden bucket with steam rising from it.
"What are you doing?" As soon as Gu Dong entered the room, he saw his wife lying there with her buttocks sticking out and looking at the window.
"No, I, I …" The Ai Cao didn't know how to explain for a moment. Seeing the bucket, she quickly said: "You went to boil water."
"What else?" Gu Dong angrily scolded her. However, the Ai Cao was a little afraid of him now. She felt that he, who was carrying a bucket full of hot water, looked more like a paper tiger.
Gu Dong put the small bucket in place for her and took out the basin from under the bed. He took it out and splashed it. Then, he refilled the basin with cold water and took a towel back into the room.
"Here, you go and wash. The things are all here." Gu Dong pointed and said to her.
The Ai Cao looked at the things and immediately got off the bed obediently. Under the soft kerosene light, her clear and bright eyes sparkled with unconcealable joy and happiness.
Gu Dong, who was standing next to her, saw this scene and inexplicably blushed. He said impatiently: "Hurry up and wash!" Then, he turned and left the east room.
Speaking of which, Gu Dong looked taller than the Ai Cao. In fact, the two of them were only two years apart in age. It was just that he had lived alone for so many years. He didn't have parents since he was young. All day long, he scurried around looking for food to survive. In addition, he was used to the fickleness of human nature in the village, so he usually looked like an adult.
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