As far as she knew, Grandpa Gu Feng was the only person in this world who truly cherished her. She once overheard from around the corner that Gu Feng had planned to take care of her until she was put in a coffin, but why had he suddenly changed his mind?
Sigh, she couldn't be bothered to think about it. Even if she were to die, dying in someone else's house would at least save her own family the cost of a coffin.
The lonely night dragged on. She couldn't sleep even though she spent all day in bed, so she might as well continue to listen at the walls.
Her third uncle and aunt were cunning people. After mentioning a few times that Gu Youyou was to be married off, the couple laughed joyously for a good while before going to sleep.
As for the dowry, they had already discussed it and decided to pack a few cheap items into two boxes to make a good show on the surface, which wouldn't cost more than a few pieces of silver. Other than that, once Gu Youyou was married off, she would be completely out of their lives.
It wasn't so simple with the second aunt.
As the saying goes, if you're not family, you don't enter the same door. The second uncle and aunt, who were stingy and loved to take advantage of small gains, were a perfect match for each other.
The moment they heard that Gu Youyou needed to bring a dowry to her wedding, they cursed half the night away. The things they said were as nasty as they could be, calling her a loss-maker who just ate and loafed around at home for ten years. They had slaved away for ten years to take care of her, and when she was about to die, they even had to pay for her coffin, and now that she was to be married, they had to pay for her dowry, too.
Only if they owed her from a previous life would they have to serve her like this, it would take eight lifetimes of bad luck to come across someone like Gu Youyou.
Gu Youyou snorted in disdain. The way they spoke, it was as if the dowry came out of their own pockets. Gu Youyou had heard that it was left by her parents who died early.
She had heard such words too many times, so they no longer affected her. She treated them as if she was listening to a farce.
The original Gu Youyou and she were fated in some way, not only sharing the same name, but even the details of their parents dying early and being schemed against by uncles and aunts for inheritance were identical. The only difference was that the modern Gu Youyou was healthy, whereas this one was gravely ill!
...
The morning sun shone through only a few gaps as thin as fingernails. The room was filled with muddy gaps, and it was rare to have such slivers of light coming through the ventilation holes. Gu Youyou propped herself up and sat staring blankly at those beams of light.
With the sound of a lock falling, Gu Youyou knew her breakfast had arrived, along with the medicine she had to drink every day.
The door opened, and immediately second aunt Huang Xiangwen's sharp and acerbic voice came through.
"Wow, the sun must be rising from the west today, you ghost girl are actually sitting up by yourself. Since you're so much better, you might as well go outside and eat by yourself."
Gu Youyou, with her dry yellow hair, cracked a smile and said, "Sure."
Huang Xiangwen, caught off guard by her response, was momentarily speechless. Regaining her composure, she said, "Wishful thinking, ghost girl. Without the old master's permission, I dare not let you out on my own. If anything happens to you, I'll be blamed. Well, I won't have to serve you for many more days. In three days, when you marry into the Jin family, let him prepare porridge and medicine for you."
Huang Family couldn't help but sneer. That hunter whose head must have been caught in a door goes up the mountain and sometimes doesn't return for ten days or half a month. She wondered how this sickly girl would survive alone without starving to death.
Gu Youyou acted surprised, asking, "What do you mean marry into the Jin family?"
Huang Xiangwen chuckled and, while placing a bowl of watery porridge with a 'clang' on an old table beside the bed, gleefully explained, "Surprisingly, you still have some good fortune, to be wanted even in this state. Your grandpa arranged a nice marriage for you. The groom is a strong and sturdy hunter, and you'll marry him in three days. You better be happy about it."