Chapter 15: Love between husband and wife
Gu Huan looked around the study.
That night, only a candle on the desk was lit in the study, and the light was dim.
She was carried in on someone's shoulders. She was drunk and confused, so she didn't see the study room clearly.
It is said that Duke Yong had been fighting outside for more than twenty years since he was eight years old, and the total time he spent in Duke Yong's Mansion in Bian Jing was less than two months.
Every time I came back, except for sleeping and talking to the old lady, I stayed in the study.
The study is very large, with all black lacquered rosewood furniture, which is low-key and luxurious.
The wall is filled with bookcases, all filled with books.
Gu Huan's gaze fell on the huge empty desk, and the extremely affectionate scene seemed to be right in front of her.
There was a sudden explosion in my heart and my ears suddenly turned red.
He quickly turned his gaze away and his eyes fell on a portrait of a woman hanging next to the bookshelf.
Curious, I walked closer to take a closer look.
The woman in the painting has a beautiful face, a dignified and graceful posture, and a slender figure, as if she is leaning against a willow tree.
This must be the original wife of Duke Yong, right?
Gu Huan felt a strong sense of shame.
They were actually in front of the portrait of the late lady...
She turned around in panic and almost knocked over the vase in front of the portrait.
He quickly and carefully steady the vase and just as he turned around, Zhou Zhilan pushed the door open and came in, holding a basket filled with brightly colored fruits.
"This lord's former wife. But I don't know her well."
Zhou Zhilan didn't notice Gu Huan's panicked expression. She said it casually and put the fruit basket on the coffee table on the couch with a smile.
Gu Huan calmed herself down.
I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Why aren't you familiar with it either?"
Zhou Zhilan took a white porcelain plate and a pair of scissors and cut the washed grapes one by one.
The dark purple grapes fell into the snow-white bone china plate and quickly piled up into a small purple hill, which was very beautiful.
She kept muttering, "My late wife was already very ill when she got married. She lived alone in Ningxiang Garden, and the servants she was brought from her parents' home served her. They rarely came out. Moreover, she couldn't be affected by the wind due to her illness, so she hardly left the house. Even the number of times she went to see the old lady could be counted on five fingers."
"Ah? Her illness has not been cured?"
"Well, after he entered the mansion, the Duke's Mansion used the best medicine to take care of him, but he died after more than a year."
Gu Huan felt inexplicably upset: "I heard that the master and the late wife were deeply in love. The master must be very sad, right?"
The portrait is painted so carefully, Duke Yong must be in true love.
Zhou Zhilan stopped and tilted her head to think for a while: "The master didn't come back on the wedding day. He only came back to pay his respects after the late wife passed away. I didn't see the master cry, so how can we say that the couple is deeply in love?"
Gu Huan was surprised.
This is... not consummating the marriage?
"You may not cry when you are sad. Especially for a man like my master, even if he is heartbroken, he will probably keep it to himself."
Gu Huan seemed to be talking to herself and turned to look at the portrait.
Zhou Zhilan forced her to sit down on the couch and stuffed a grape into her mouth.
"The master and the late mistress have known each other since childhood, and the late mistress really liked the master. The master was away at war for many years and never came back, so the late mistress wasted her time until she was twenty years old. That year, the master drove out the Tartars and returned victoriously. The late mistress went to the palace and begged on her knees. The emperor granted the marriage, and the master finally got married."
Although they got married according to imperial orders, didn't Mu Junyan not remarry?
It can be seen that he can't forget her in his heart.
Gu Huan chewed the sweet grapes slowly, feeling yearning in her heart: "This kind of mutual love is really enviable."
No matter how envious she is, she doesn't want to have love in this life.
In her previous life, she didn’t dare to think about it.
In this life, she doesn't deserve it.
She was also a young lady who grew up in a marquis's mansion. Although she was secretly bullied by her aunt and elder sister, she had enough food and clothing on the surface. She was able to study and learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, dancing and needlework.
She knew that innocence was priceless for a girl.
She also knows the moral code of honor and shame.
If the rumor spread that she took the initiative to climb into bed, she would be drowned in saliva.
If she found evidence to prove that she and Gu Wanru were swapped. Would her biological mother, who was born in the Wang family of Langya and who strictly followed the three obediences and four virtues to save face, recognize her?
Would they say that she is not worthy of being the daughter of the centuries-old prestigious family, Wang clan of Langya?
"Envy? I don't think so. If you marry a sickly woman, won't your master still be alone? It's the same as not marrying her at all."
Zhou Zhilan's nonchalant words brought Gu Huan back to her senses.
Gu Huan felt that the gossip was a bit too deep, and it was a sin to talk about the master behind his back.
She stood up quickly and asked, "Where is the late Madam's manuscript? Let me take a look first."
Zhou Zhilan put her hands on her hips and pointed at her: "Hey, I told you not to touch the manuscript until your hands are better. Sit back down."
After saying that, he ran to the bookshelf, bent down, took out a few books from the bottom layer, picked up the fruit basket in one hand, and pointed to the white porcelain plate full of grapes.
"Take the grapes and we'll go to the next room to read the short storybook."
Gu Huan: ...
For the entire day, the two girls lay together on the couch by the window, basking in the warm early autumn sun, eating fruit snacks, and reading short storybooks, feeling extremely comfortable.
From time to time, the two of them chattered about the stories in the novels.
Together we feel indignant for the heroine and sigh for the unrequited love between the hero and heroine.
Gu Huan had never had such a lazy and happy day.
She likes this kind of day, but she also feels melancholy.
It always feels so unreal.
Before they knew it, it was getting dark. After they had dinner together, Gu Huan had to go back.
The sky was fine just now, but suddenly it darkened. A few rays of light flashed through the thick clouds, followed by muffled thunder.
The sun is shining brightly during the day, but it is going to rain at night?
Zhou Zhilan handed her an oil-paper umbrella and said, "It's going to rain soon. Come as usual tomorrow. I'll have someone find some new short storybooks and we'll continue reading."
"Yeah." Gu Huan smiled at her, but her mood sank.
When Gu Huan walked out of Wenhanxuan, her pace suddenly slowed down. She didn't want to go back to Jinxiu Pavilion at all.
Suddenly, I heard two old women whispering nearby and I couldn't help but prick up my ears.
Unexpectedly, they were talking about her and both of them were pointing at her.
"That's her. When she couldn't seduce the young master, she tried to seduce the master. How shameless."
"I heard her mother was from a merchant family. Aren't the lower class people just cheap?"
"That's right. Look at her walking with her waist twisted three times, she is just a slutty vixen."
Gu Huan was so angry that she was shaking all over.
These words naturally came from Gu Wanru.
She had only been in the mansion for a month, and most people in the Duke's Mansion didn't know her. It was impossible for them to know that Aunt Pei came from a merchant family, let alone that she was trying to seduce the young master.
It was the same in my previous life.
She was forced to become a concubine, and had to endure the torture from Mu An and her elder sister, and deal with the open and covert attacks from Mu An's concubines.
On the other hand, the people in the mansion were unaware of the true situation and pointed fingers at her and even cursed her to her face.
They said she was shameless for stealing her own sister's man and that she was ruining the reputation of the Duke's Mansion.
Gu Wanru is a villain but still pretends to be a good person.
Gu Huan took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
The sunset glow gradually faded and dusk fell. Maids and servants shuttled around, carrying candle poles and lighting the lanterns on the surrounding corridors.
It was suddenly cold in early autumn. A gust of wind blew, and sudden raindrops fell from the sky with crackling sounds.
Gu Huan quickly opened the oil-paper umbrella, tightened her clothes, and continued to walk slowly.
She hoped that Mu An would not squat on her tonight.
I escaped a disaster last night, but if it happens again, I don’t know if I can escape it again.
After a long time, we returned to Jinxiu Pavilion. It was already dark and the rain was getting heavier.
She cautiously poked her head into the yard; the rain was so loud that she couldn't hear any sound coming from the main house.
It’s raining so heavily, Mu An shouldn’t come.
Gu Huan ran to the door of her room. Just as she opened it, the door to the main room suddenly opened.
She jumped up with surprise.
Subconsciously, I shrank back into the room.
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