Chapter 11 My cousin is a wretched man
Aunt Zhang squinted her eyes for a while and said, "Are you... Tiezhu?"
Gu Tiezhu blinked his triangular eyes and nodded vigorously, "It's me, not an outsider!"
"Aunt, please open the door and let me in."
Aunt Zhang propped herself up against the door and asked suspiciously, "It's so late, did your parents ask you to come?"
Gu Tiezhu waved his hands hastily, "No! I came here on my own accord."
He held up a basket and showed it to Aunt Zhang. "I picked wild mulberries in the mountains this afternoon. They are very sweet. So, the first person I thought of was Xixi. I kept the best ones for her."
There were indeed mulberries in the bamboo basket, although there were so few that you could see the bottom of the basket.
Aunt Zhang said with a cold face, "Wait a minute," then closed the door and walked to Xixi and whispered a few words.
This cousin never cared about Xixi in the past, and recently the two families had a complete falling out.
He suddenly comes to show his courtesy at this time, he must have something bad to say!
After hearing this, Gu Xixi stood up and said, "My cousin is here to give us a gift, let's go and greet him."
Aunt Zhang was surprised, "Not good, right?"
"He's a grown man, and he came into our house at night, and Xiao Chen happened to be away..."
Gu Xixi gave Aunt Zhang a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Aunt."
She stretched out her hand and opened the door. "I was having dinner. Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
When Gu Tiezhu saw Xixi, he immediately smiled and said, "I thought you were angry and didn't want to see me."
As he said this, he handed the bamboo basket over.
Xixi took the bamboo basket and said, "They are all relatives. Why should we be angry?"
"My cousin must have remembered that I love to eat fruit, so he specially sent it to me so late at night."
When Gu Tiezhu saw Xixi at his home in the morning, he realized that he had not paid attention to her for a long time. This girl had grown up. Upon closer inspection, she had become quite pretty and had a well-proportioned figure.
The night was dim at this moment, and her tone was as gentle and warm as the spring breeze. She lowered her brows and smiled slightly, as if she was shy.
Gu Tiezhu's body suddenly felt numb, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "My dear sister, you know I miss you, why don't you let me in and let's have a good talk."
Aunt Zhang was horrified, and stood in front of Xixi like an old hen protecting her chicks, "What can't you say during the day?"
Xixi looked at Gu Tiezhu and smiled, then turned around and went back gracefully.
Gu Tiezhu was stunned.
In his eyes, the look in his cousin's eyes just now clearly showed that she wanted to say something but was hesitant, and was reluctant to accept it!
Aunt Zhang locked the door quickly and ran back, saying, "My dear girl, didn't you see his lecherous look? Although cousins with the same surname shouldn't get married, there's no guarantee that he doesn't have bad intentions!"
Gu Xixi held the bowl and drank the porridge. "I know he has bad intentions, and I also know why he came here."
"Because he is my cousin, even if he did something shameful, he doesn't have to marry me. He can just push the blame onto me and many people will believe him."
Aunt Zhang was puzzled, "Why are you so nice to him?"
Gu Xixi half-closed her eyes and said calmly, "He should pay the price for having such damn thoughts."
Aunt Zhang became more and more confused.
Price? What price?
Aunt Zhang certainly didn't know that in the original book, Gu Tiezhu found an excuse to trick Gu Xixi into going to the grove in order to seize her property.
He touched Gu Xixi and deliberately messed up her clothes and hair.
Then he threatened her that if she didn't give him the land, he would make a fuss and let the whole village know that they were having an affair.
Gu Xixi was totally in love with Nanzhao at that time. She didn't want Mu Nanzhao to misunderstand her, so she endured the humiliation.
After that, he was threatened by Gu Tiezhu again and again, and gradually "sold" his three acres of fertile land to him.
But for some reason, this matter eventually became known to the whole village.
With the crop certificates of the three acres of land that Gu Xixi gave her for free, and Gu Tiezhu's exaggerated words, everyone was certain that Xixi was shameless and seduced her cousin after getting married.
Mu Nanzhao was mocked by the villagers as a "cuckold slave" and a "sickly man raised by his wife, he deserves to not dare to fart."
The idle bachelors from nearby villages even dared to flirt with Gu Xixi in front of Mu Nanzhao.
A wife whom he had never loved and who only brought him shame.
No wonder Mu Nanzhao ended up hating Gu Xixi so much.
Thinking of this, a hint of coldness flashed in Xixi's lowered eyes.
She doesn't harm anyone, but if someone comes to her door and wants to harm her, don't blame her for being ruthless.
Early in the morning, Aunt Zhang came out carrying a chamber pot. She was startled by a figure in front of her before she finished yawning.
"Ouch! Xiao-Chen?!"
"You, you didn't run away?"
Mu Nanzhao stood under the west wall of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He turned around and smiled faintly.
"I just went out to relax and came back late at night. Why did Aunt Zhang think I ran away?"
Aunt Zhang glanced at the intact bolt on the door and said, "How did you get in when the door was closed? I didn't hear any noise in the middle of the night..."
Gu Xixi heard this conversation as soon as she got up. She didn't even bother to tidy up her hair and quickly opened the window.
"Auntie, I'm hungry. I have to lead people to harvest wheat later. Can I eat earlier?"
Aunt Zhang had been taking care of Xixi's daily affairs. When she heard that the child was hungry, she immediately put everything else out of her mind.
"Okay, I'll wash my hands and light a fire, and make you a fried egg!"
Xixi nodded obediently.
If Mu Nanzhao was allowed to keep asking questions, he would inevitably become suspicious, and it was not impossible that he would even want to kill him.
Mu Nanzhao looked at Gu Xixi with a teasing look on his face, "Aunt Zhang is worried that I'll run away."
"What about you? Don't you have anything to ask?"
Xixi said sincerely, "You and I are not husband and wife. You are free to go wherever you want. You don't need to report to me before or after."
Mu Nanzhao snorted, "It only cost a penny, no wonder you are so generous."
Xixi looked at his back as he walked away and decisively closed the window.
During breakfast, Mu Nanzhao sat down at the table without Aunt Zhang inviting him.
As Gu Xixi sat down, she casually said, "If you don't want to eat at the same table with us, I'll ask Aunt Zhang to send you to your door in the future."
“No need.” Mu Nanzhao took a bite of sorghum steamed bread and didn’t seem to be uncomfortable at all.
"Since we are a family, we should eat and drink together."
A family? Gu Xixi almost choked, thinking she had heard it wrongly.
Before she could calm down from the shock, she heard Mu Nanzhao continue, "I'll go with you to harvest the wheat."
Before Gu Xixi could say anything, Aunt Zhang clapped her hands in approval.
"Okay! Since you are my fiancé, you should protect Xixi."
"The Gu Laosan couple are not easy to deal with. If they call for help and a fight really breaks out, we don't have to be afraid!"
Mu Nanzhao looked at Xixi, "Don't you like me following you?"
Xixi choked: "..."
After what happened last night, this person's attitude suddenly became attentive. There must be something mysterious going on.
In order to attract as much hatred as possible, Xixi nodded with difficulty, "Then please come along."
Walking on the path, Gu Xixi found that more people greeted her.
She soon realized that the enthusiasm of the neighbors was actually directed at Mu Nanzhao.
"Xiao Chen is going out too."
"You're not hurt? We're still planning to go home and visit!"
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