CHAPTER 209: CHAPTER 43: THE WOMAN WASHING HER HAIR

"So, Junior Brother Gu’s family lives in Shangling Village of Shanhe Town? What a coincidence, my elder aunt is from Shangling Village!" Huang Ming asked with a face full of surprise.

"Oh? Then Senior Brother Huang, you are from Dalincun of Huaihe Town?" Gu Chengyu had a bad feeling, as Huang Ming had just mentioned he was from Huaihe Town.

"Exactly! How does Junior Brother Gu know? Could it be you know my elder aunt?" Huang Ming actually already had a clue; his elder aunt’s surname was Gu!

"Well, that’s truly a case of the river flooding the Dragon King Temple, family members not recognizing each other! Senior Brother Huang! I didn’t expect we were relatives!" Gu Wanhua initially thought Huang Ming was overly friendly, but after this short conversation, he felt Huang Ming was sincere and most importantly, spoke pleasantly, and he was quickly won over by Huang Ming’s sugar-coated words, almost considering him a confidant friend!

"Come, come, come! Let’s toast with tea instead of wine, a toast to everyone! We are all relatives, yet we didn’t know before!" Huang Ming glanced at Gu Chengyu’s attire, his eyes brightened even more. Gu Chengyu thought that if he didn’t say anything, Huang Ming wouldn’t know about the Gu family’s situation, but he could just ask his aunt when he returned.

The world knows that studying and taking the imperial examinations is not easy, but only those who study realize that even if you pass, without Silver, it’s not easy to become an official.

After Huang Ming left, Gu Chengyu kept Gu Wanhua alone in the room, wanting to advise him not to foolishly fall into the trap Huang Ming set. Gu Wanhua was puzzled, even saying that Gu Chengyu was overly suspicious, seeing everyone as a bad person. As he left, he muttered to himself.

Gu Chengyu shook his head. Although Gu Wanhua became more sensible after getting married, his temperament was as it was, and he would not be so obedient to his little uncle. He just couldn’t say that Huang Ming might be targeting their family women, right? Obviously, Huang Ming already had a wife; does he want the Gu family’s girl to be a concubine?

At this time, Sun Xian came into Gu Chengyu’s room, "Chengyu! I want to talk to you about Huang Ming. I always feel that Huang Ming approaching you has ulterior motives; you need to be careful and not be deceived by his appearances!"

Sun Xian returned to his room, still a bit uneasy after thinking about it. Gu Chengyu was his prospective brother-in-law; he couldn’t let Gu Chengyu suffer. Gu Chengyu was young and might not see through people’s hearts. While outside, he naturally needed to watch out.

"I know! Rest assured, Senior Brother!" Gu Chengyu was quite pleased to hear this; Sun Xian was steady and reliable, and his second sister was quite fortunate.

"Then you rest well! I’m heading back!" Sun Xian stood up, ready to leave. As he was standing up, he saw the courtyard outside the window. During the day, Gu Chengyu wanted to open the window for some fresh air, so now the window was wide open.

In the courtyard, a woman was washing her hair. Sun Xian was not far from the window and could see it clearly. The woman’s clothes were somewhat disheveled, her collar slightly open, he could see the red strings of her camisole and her snow-white skin.

Sun Xian frowned. He had never realized that Gu Chengyu’s window was so close to the back courtyard. Although he couldn’t see the woman’s features clearly, such women wore such revealing clothes and still washed their hair in the courtyard—truly shameless!

He couldn’t imagine that Gu Chengyu saw these every day? Although Gu Chengyu was still young, an eight-year-old boy was not completely ignorant anymore!

He quickly rushed forward and closed the window. The woman outside heard the window of the opposite inn closing and quickly lifted her hair to look over, but she couldn’t see anything.

"In the future, it’s better not to open this window. I think what that scholar said is right; we should change inns!"

"What are you worried about, Brother? I’m still young and don’t understand these things. They are blind men lighting candles, wasting the wax! You should keep yourselves in check! In just a few days, we’re going back; it’s no use wasting time. Better spend the time reading than looking for an inn!" Gu Chengyu said nonchalantly.

"For you to say such things, you don’t seem to be that ignorant! Very well! You better not open that window anymore!" Fearing that Gu Chengyu would talk in circles back at him, Sun Xian quickly left after speaking.

And Gu Wanhua returned to his room, lay on the bed, feeling a bit uneasy. The little uncle, though his elder, was younger than him, and he was already married. It was somewhat inappropriate for the little uncle to lecture him, wasn’t it?

Suddenly, he thought of something, hesitated for a moment, and inexplicably got up, standing by the window. He looked into the alley, and suddenly saw a woman in the courtyard to the right washing her hair. The woman was bending down, and because she was not directly facing Gu Wanhua’s window, he couldn’t see as clearly as from Gu Chengyu’s side.

He only saw the woman scooping water from the basin and pouring it over her head, then taking a comb to comb through her long, dark, silky hair, finishing in one stroke. Gu Wanhua only felt that the hair was truly smooth!

He was just staring at the woman’s actions, until she finished washing, wiped her hair dry with a cloth, draped it behind her, and stood up. She actually walked in his direction. She carried the water to the corner of the courtyard to pour it on a peony.

From this angle, Gu Chengyu saw the disheveled clothes and the patch of snow-white skin, couldn’t make out her features, only felt that the woman was dazzlingly white in the sunlight.

Suddenly, the woman lifted her head and looked towards the inn’s direction, and she immediately saw Gu Wanhua standing by the window. Gu Wanhua was startled, immediately pulling away from the window, but his heart was still pounding, and his mouth felt dry.

He went to the table, grabbed the teapot and poured a bowl of water, drank it in one go, but still heard a burst of bell-like laughter echoing. The woman’s voice was clear and pleasant, her laughter happy, making him recall the woman’s every move, exuding a different charm, quite intriguing, very different from his wife at home, very different!

He went to sit on the bed, staring at the window frame, his expression a bit dazed. After a while, he shook his head, picked up a book by the pillow and began to read, but couldn’t really focus on what was written!

"Ming Mo! Bring Wan Qian; we are going to the brokerage! Steward Yu should be here today!" Gu Chengyu planned to take care of the shop affairs while they had free time, and once Yu Tuanzi arrived, let Yu take over and open the First-class House!

Gu Wanqian was still lying on the bed in his room, clutching Silver. It was his first time holding Silver, and it was ten taels. With this Silver, he could buy medicine for his grandmother’s illness when he returned and could also buy some good food to nourish her.

Gu Wanqian was even more determined to follow Gu Chengyu, as long as he did well for the family elder, he believed the family elder wouldn’t treat him poorly!

Ming Mo arrived outside Gu Wanqian’s room, wanting to call him out but unsure how to address him. After thinking, he called out, "Young Master Wan Qian! The young master is calling you!"

Upon hearing the voice, Gu Wanqian immediately jumped up from the bed. After tidying up his clothing, he opened the door.

"Brother Ming, you’re flattering me; how can I be called Young Master? If Brother Ming doesn’t mind, just call me Wan Qian in the future!" Ming Mo was older than Gu Wanqian by a year, so Gu Wanqian called him brother.