Gu Huaizhi had sharply defined brows, a gaunt jawline, and a pair of fierce eyes that made him seem cold and brooding.
Su Wan swallowed nervously. For some reason, she had the constant feeling that he wanted to strangle her.
Truthfully, Gu Huaizhi was remarkably handsome. Perhaps because he was so sickly pale, his entire presence carried a gloomy, ghostly aura. His eyes were especially beautiful—if only they weren’t so cold, so intimidating, and so full of undisguised loathing whenever they looked at her.
“The medicine you’ve been taking has gone moldy. It won’t cure your illness. It could even poison you.”
Su Wan thought to herself, I’m not trying to harm him, and I’m certainly not selling off his younger brother and sister. What exactly am I afraid of?
Besides, if they really came to blows, this sickly weakling might not even be able to beat her.
Then it dawned on her that the original Su Wan would never speak so gently. Afraid of exposing herself and letting Gu Huaizhi realize someone else now occupied this body, she quickly imitated the original owner’s mocking tone.
“You may not look like someone who’ll live very long,” she sneered, “but try your best to stay alive a little longer. I don’t want to become a widow while I’m still so young.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Wan remembered that, in the novel, Gu Huaizhi actually outlived her.
That realization made her feel utterly miserable.
The veins on Gu Huaizhi’s forehead twitched. Pressing his thin lips together, he glanced at the spilled medicine on the floor.
“What are you staring at? It’s just one bowl of medicine.” Mimicking the original Su Wan’s arrogant expression, she shot him a contemptuous glance and said loftily, “At worst, I’ll buy you a few doses of good medicine to make up for it.”
The corner of Gu Huaizhi’s lips curled ever so slightly into a mocking smile.
As if he were silently calling her a liar.
A surge of indignation rose in Su Wan. She instinctively reached into her sleeve, intending to pull out a handful of silver and throw it in his face.
She searched both sleeves.
They were completely empty.
Forget a handful of silver—not even a single copper coin.
Only then did it hit her.
When she’d married into the Gu family, she hadn’t brought a single coin as dowry.
Su Wan wished the ground would open up so she could crawl inside and disappear.
Mother Gu came back from the kitchen carrying a broom and dustpan to sweep up the broken bowl. As she cleaned, she tried to smooth things over.
“Enough now. What’s the big deal? It’s only a spilled bowl of medicine. Wanwan didn’t do it on purpose. She was worried it’d upset your stomach.”
Su Wan froze.
In the novel, Mother Gu was infamous for her fiery temper. She was broad-waisted and broad-shouldered, her weathered face deeply lined with wrinkles that made her look anything but approachable. Though she was only in her forties, her hair had already turned mostly gray, making her appear closer to sixty.
Mother Gu was fiercely protective of her family.
In the story, she’d always treated the original Su Wan well. She would rather let her own children go hungry than let Su Wan miss a meal. Yet the original Su Wan never appreciated it, believing Mother Gu was simply currying favor with her in hopes of attaching herself to the Marquis’s family.
“Wanwan, don’t mind him,” Mother Gu said, forcing what could almost be called a kind smile. “If he gives you attitude, just beat him up. Men shouldn’t be spoiled.”
Su Wan was completely at a loss in the face of Mother Gu’s unexpected kindness.
She felt guilty… and incredibly awkward.
Gu Huaizhi remained expressionless. He coughed a few times before getting to his feet, preparing to return to his room.
“Mother! Mother! The child trafficker is here! He’s come to take my sister and me!”
The second child, Gu Jingyun, came sprinting into the house. His tiny, yellowish face was thin with malnutrition and filled with terror.
The third child, Gu Baozhu, clutched tightly at Mother Gu’s clothes, her voice trembling.
“Mother… the trafficker chased us all the way here. What are we going to do?”
“What are you afraid of?” Mother Gu pulled the two children behind her protectively. “Your mother’s here.”
She was just about to head outside when a loud shout came from the doorway.
“Su Wan! Get your ass out here! You already took my deposit, and those two brats still haven’t been delivered to me today! What? You think you can swindle me?”
The trafficker’s voice turned threatening.
“If you don’t hand those children over today, don’t blame me for turning nasty!”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Su Wan.
Su Wan was dumbfounded.
When did I ever take his deposit?
Then the memories surfaced.
The original Su Wan had been broke. She had accepted the trafficker’s advance payment, used the money to buy arsenic to poison Gu Huaizhi, and agreed to hand over the two children today.