Chapter 4 Chapter Four

"No, no, my lady, a good wife doesn't nag. A good wife obeys her husband," said Joss, tired and weary.Miss Ernie kept asking her how to be a good wife, but Ernie had been in power for so long that it was almost impossible to make her understand such things. "Should he obey even if he's a fool?" Aine asked. "Especially obey when he's an idiot," Joss replied. "Men always think they know everything, they think they are never wrong, and they want women to be absolutely loyal to them. No matter how bad he is, he still wants you to support him."

Aini listened carefully.It was very different from her mother's view of marriage, and not from Lina's.And neither of them were the most favored wives, she thought contemptuously.Over the course of a month, it became clear to her that she wanted her marriage to be very different from theirs.Her mother didn't seem to care how much she belittled her husband, and neither did Lina, but he wanted to be different. "Then he would rather obey than honest advice?" asked Ernie. "If he's wrong, can I tell him?" "Absolutely not. Men like women to worship them like gods."

The only man Aini really knew was her father, and she couldn't imagine what would happen if her mother refused to manage the Fei family's estate. "But my father—" "Your father is not an ordinary man." Joss said as tactfully as possible.She was taken aback when Miss Aine asked her about men.But she thinks this is the right time. If Ai Ni is about to marry the Ou family, she'd better get to know a man first. "Sir Lowe won't give you as much freedom as your father did." "Well, I don't think so," Aini said softly. "He said he wouldn't marry a shrew."

"No man likes a fierce woman. He wants a woman who can praise him, take care of his daily life, and be very enthusiastic in bed." Aini thought she was absolutely sure of the other two points. "I don't know if Sir Lowe likes comfort or not. His clothes are dirty, and I don't think he bathes very often." "Huh, that's where women can make a difference. All men like to be well cared for. They like good food and a neat and organized home. His wife is responsible for putting good food on the table, Settle the servant's dispute. You can change his dirty clothes and give him clean and tidy new clothes, which is the way to attack a man."

"If there is any land dispute, then I—" "That's his business, women don't have to worry about that." Joss said decisively. Aini thought that governing a hundred estates would not be more difficult than pleasing a man, and she was not sure if she could remember so many rules. "Are you sure? Staying in the room and managing the house will win my husband's heart?" "I'm 100% sure, Miss Fei. Now, can you try on this new dress?" For three months, Ai Ni kept trying on various new clothes.She ordered all kinds of leathers, Italian brocades, and jewelry.She sent every female red who could hold a needle to sew and embroider.Not only had she ordered her own gowns, but she had a whole wardrobe of fine dresses for Sir Lowe.

When she wasn't preparing a new dress with Lina, she was busy pretending to oversee the packing of the dowry.Gold plates, saucers, and pots were wrapped in hay and filled the wagon, and she brought tapestries, embroidered hangings, carved oak furniture, candles, feather pillows, and mattresses.In addition, there were several carts of luxurious cloth and feathers, a large chest of jewelry, and a whole chest of silver coins. "Everything you'll ever need," Lina said. "Those people don't have any equipment at home." Ernie smiled as she thought that maybe what she brought with her would make her husband love her twice as much.

Lina couldn't help groaning when she saw Aini's lovesick smile.But she didn't talk to Ai Ni any more, because she had seen how impossible it was to argue with Ai Ni.All day long, she helped Ai Ni pack and pack the things in the castle one by one, without saying a word. The scale of the wedding was not large, because the Fei family was not very popular among the local nobles and gentry, and also because the Fei family's title was bought by Gilbert's father with money shortly before his death.Ai Ni was very happy to save a sum of money for the wedding banquet, so that she could bring more things to Oujia Castle.

The night before the wedding, Aini couldn't fall asleep.She mentally reviewed the ways Joss had taught her to please men, and at the same time imagined her new life. She pictured herself in bed with the handsome Lowe, imagined him touching her and talking sweetly to her.She also pictured walking with him in the garden, holding hands and laughing.She would read to him on winter evenings as they sat before the fire; perhaps they would play a little game, and the loser would kiss the winner. She smiled in the dark when she thought of him finding out that the woman by the pool was the one he had married home.The woman by the pool was a shrew, of course, but Lowe's wife was a submissive and lovely woman.

Aine dozed off for a while before dawn, smiling, but a moment later there was a terrible rumble in the courtyard.The shouting of people, the clashing of metal, it seemed that they were under attack.Who brought down the drawbridge? "Oh, God, don't let me die before I marry him." Ainnie prayed, jumped out of bed, and started rushing out. In the hall, Lina also rushed over.And about half the other people in the room were running around. Ani came to her stepmother in confusion. "What is it? What's going on?" she shouted amidst the noise. "Your groom is here at last," Lina said angrily. "And they've all come here drunk. Now somebody has to get your husband off the horse and get him sober enough to say to you, 'Yes, I'd like to marry you.'" Lena sympathetically Looking at Ai Ni. "Your life is ending today, may God bless your soul." Lina turned and walked down the stairs.

"Miss," Joss called after Aini. "You have to go back to your room. You can't show your face on the wedding day." Ai Ni returned to the room, and she even asked Joss to help her to bed, but she still couldn't sleep.Lowe was under the same roof as her again!Soon... soon he'll be sharing her bed.What should they talk about?Was there room in his castle for her to hang tapestries? She slept for a while longer in pleasant fantasies, until Josie came in with a laughing maid, woke her up, and changed her into a gown.The red satin was lined with gold silk gauze, and the red double-horned headdress was studded with a hundred pearls; the long transparent gauze trailed behind her.

"It's beautiful, miss." Joss said with tears in her eyes. "I bet there's no man who can't be attracted to you." Ani hoped so too.She wished she could draw her in as much as he did and couldn't take his eyes off him. She rode a white horse sideways to the church, and the people on both sides cheered her along the way, wishing her an early birth and a happy life together, but she just looked straight at the man in front of the church door.The palms of her hands were almost soaked as she got closer.Would he suddenly find out that she was the woman who threw the muddy shirt at him, and refuse to marry her? When Zuo got close enough to see him clearly, she was filled with pride.He was just as good in the clothes she had prepared for him as she had imagined!She sat up even more with excitement and pride.When he came down the church steps, she was breathless with tension.Will he come and help her off the horse himself? Her horse was surprisingly slow.Maybe he'd be happy to find that she was the woman by the pool, maybe he'd been dreaming of her for the past three months! But Lowe wasn't coming towards her, in fact he didn't even look at her as far as she could see.He walked to her father's horse and took hold of the rein. The whole line stopped when he yelled eagerly at Gilbert.Aini looked ahead suspiciously, and Lina also rode to her stepdaughter at this time. "What is that red-haired devil trying to do again?" Lina called out loudly. "If those two lunatics think we're going to wait for them to finish talking about eagles or horses, they're dead wrong!" "Since he's going to be my husband soon, I think we should wait." Aini said calmly, she was tired of listening to Lina's criticism of Lowe. Lina kicked the horse and stepped forward to her husband.Ani could not hear what they were talking about amidst the noise, she only saw her father still leaning on the saddle indifferently.But Lina was arguing with Lowe red-faced, and Lowe just looked at her without seeing her. Aini hoped that he would never look at her with that look.After a while Lowe suddenly turned to look at her.His eyes scanned her from beginning to end, and Ai Ni could hardly breathe.When he raised his eyes to meet hers, she lowered her eyelashes, hoping to appear submissive and humble. When she raised her eyes again, Lowe was already up the church steps.Lina rode toward her. "The man you're marrying," Lina snorted. "Want to pay for twelve more warriors. He said if we don't pay, he'll just walk away and leave you here." Ai Ni opened her eyes wide in horror. "Did my father agree?" Lina's eyes were closed for a moment. "He agreed. Now let's finish this farce!" She kicked the horse and rode behind Ai Ni. Gilbert helped his daughter off the horse, and she went up the steps to meet her husband.The ceremony was brief, and even the wedding vows were different from traditional ones.Aini kept her eyes down, and when he read "absolutely submissive and obedient, no matter on the bed or anywhere", the people watching the ceremony cheered.She stole two glances at Lowe, but he seemed absent-minded—like her, she thought, smiling. The crowd cheered again when the priest announced they were married, and then their families and guests entered the church for Mass.Because the wedding is a general ceremony, it is held outside the church.After the pastor blessed their marriage, the Mass began. Ernie sat beside her husband, listening to the Latin sermon.Lowe didn't look at her or touch her.He yawned a few times, stretched a few times, and put one foot out onto the aisle.For a moment she seemed to hear him snoring, but his brother punched him, and he sat up again on the hard chair. After the mass was over, the crowd rode back to the castle together. Along the way, farmers threw grain to them and cheered loudly.When they rode across the drawbridge and entered the inner court, Aine sat on the horse and waited for her husband to help her.But all she saw was Lowe and his brother dismounted, went to the carriage to order the dowry to be loaded, and waited by the stone wall. "He seems to be more concerned about your things!" Lina said after the groom helped Aini off the horse. "Enough is enough!" Ai Ni retorted. "You don't understand at all. Maybe he has a reason." "Yeah! He's not even human, for example," Lina said. "It's too late to say anything now. Should we go in and eat? From my experience, men go home when they're hungry!" But Lina was wrong, because of the sumptuous wedding feast, Lowe and his people didn't even come in to touch them, they were busy loading the dowry outside into the carriage.She sat alone at her father's right, with the groom's seat next to her vacant.She could feel sympathetic glances from those around her, but she raised her chin, not wanting to show that she was hurt.She told herself: A husband who cares about property will not easily gamble and squander. A few hours later, when the guests were mostly full, Lowe and his men entered.Aini smiled, he must have come to apologize to her.But he stepped between Gilbert and Lina, picked up a two-pound roast, and began munching. "There are three carriages full of feather mattresses and messy clothes, and I want them to hold gold." Lowe said with a mouth full of meat. Gilbert knew nothing about dowry packing, so he could not answer.He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Lina has no such troubles. "The mattress is for my daughter's comfort. I don't think your damn place has even that!" Lowe suddenly became icy cold, and he stared at Lina so hard that she almost took a few steps back. "When I need a woman's advice, of course I ask." He turned to Gilbert. "I'm counting now. If you cheated me, you will regret it." He left the table, and wiped Aini's well-designed clothes twice with his greasy hands. "Keep your feather stuff!" Lina immediately stood up from her seat, she was facing Lowe.He was much taller than her, but she still stood upright. "Your wife personally supervised the boxing of these dowries. She didn't deceive you. As for the household items, if you don't let her bring them, I'll keep her. Make a choice, Ou, or I will Cancel this marriage. I will not let my daughter walk out of the house naked." The whole room fell silent, except for the occasional hissing of the dog in the corner, everyone was staring at this tall and handsome man fighting with a lady. Lowe was speechless for a moment. "The wedding has already taken place." "But you haven't consummated the house yet," Lina retorted. "It couldn't be easier to cancel." Anger rose in Lowe's eyes. "Don't try to threaten me, bitch! This girl's stuff is mine, and I can take whatever I like." He took a step back, grabbed Aini's arm, took a step back, and pulled her away from the seat. "If the key is this girl's virginity, I can take it away now." These words made the half-drunk guests throughout the hall laugh, and they laughed even harder when Lowe pulled Anila up the stairs. "My room..." Aini said nervously.She didn't know what was going on, she only knew that she could finally be alone with the handsome man in her mind. Lowe knocked open the door of a guest room, which was for the Duke and his wife, while the Duchess's maid was folding clothes. "Get out!" Lowe yelled at the girl, and she ran out. "But my room is—" cried Aine, and it shouldn't be like this, she should be served by a maid to take off her dress, and— "This room is good enough." He said as he pushed her down on the bed, lifted her skirt and covered her head. When Lowe's heavy body pressed down on Ai Ni, she couldn't stop panting.She cried out in pain the next time he entered her.Unprepared for the pain, she reached out to push him away.But he didn't seem to notice at all, instead the twitching was more violent and faster.Aini gritted her teeth, holding back the cry of pain. He was finished in a few minutes, lying loosely on top of her.It took Ernie a long time to recover from the pain, and when she opened her eyes again, Lowe's black hair fell right on her cheek. She raised her hand to stroke his hair, and then the bridge of his nose, breathing in his unique smell. He turned his head to face her slowly, his eyes were too tired to open. "I'll sleep for a while." He said softly. She smiled on his tired face, and gently brushed the hair on his forehead with one hand.Her fingers caressed his forehead, temples, cheeks, until his lips. When she touched his lower lip, his eyes suddenly opened, and the black light was startlingly bright.Now he's going to kiss her, she thought.When he looked at her, she dared not take a breath. "Blonde," he murmured. Aini smiled at him, he seemed to like her hair color.She reached out and pulled off the tiara, three feet of blond hair cascading down. "I saved it for you," she said softly. "hope you'll like it." He picked up a lock of long, soft blond hair and wrapped it around his fingers. "this is--" Suddenly, the soft expression on his face disappeared.He jumped up and glared at her. "Get dressed and go and tell your damn stepmother that the wedding has been thoroughly executed and there's no way she can cancel it. Then prepare yourself, because we're leaving tonight." Anila pulled down her skirt to cover her feet. "Tonight? But the festivities are two days away! Tomorrow I have a dance and—" Lowe adjusted his clothes impatiently. "I don't have time to dance, and I don't have time to deal with a wife who talks back. My men and I are leaving in three hours, and I don't care if you come or not." He turned and left the room, closing the door loudly . Aini sat in her original position without moving.How could he treat her like this! There was a light knock on the door, and Joss walked in. "Miss?" she said timidly. Aini suddenly felt anger boiling to the extreme. "I've never been treated like this before! He didn't even come to the wedding dinner, leaving me alone to suffer from people's stares and ridicule. And this!" She looked down her skirt. "I'm being raped! I want him to know who I am!" She reached for the doorknob, but Joss' words made her stop. "Then he'll hate you as much as Madame Lina." Annie turned around. "You also saw how much he despised her." Joss continued.She suddenly felt proud that her young mistress might be beautiful and wealthy, but he was her but she dared not disobey Joss. "Trust me! I know what a man like Sir Lowe likes." Aini rubbed her hands hesitantly.She still remembers the feeling of his head on her face, and the tenderness in his eyes.She didn't want it to just disappear. "What should I do?" she asked softly. "Obey him," said Joss firmly. "Be ready to go in three hours. I've told you that a man likes his wife to be absolutely faithful to him." "Blind faithfulness?" asked Love. "Like now. But he was wrong!" "Especially when he's wrong!" Aini listened, but she still didn't understand. Joss saw that her mistress was still a little confused, and she continued: "Swallow your anger, all married women live on this kind of food, you will find out later. You will soon Get used to this kind of life, and only in this way can you grasp the heart of a man!" Aini wanted to say something, but Joss interrupted. "Go and get ready, or he'll leave you alone." Although Ai Ni was full of doubts, she still hurried back to her room.She is ready to be a good wife, and if this is the first step, she will not give up easily. Ser Lowe's handsome face frowned as he came down the stairs.The first person he met was Madame Lina. "It's done," he told her. "You can't call off the marriage. If there's anything left unloaded in the carriage, hurry up, because we're leaving in three hours." He finished walking past her, but Lina stood in his way. "Are you going to take my daughter away at the wedding banquet?" Lowe really didn't understand what the woman was complaining about. "I won't let her starve," he said, trying to appease the hatred in Lina's eyes.He was not used to women hating him, because women were usually submissive to him—like this girl he just married. "You'll starve her," Lina said. "Like your father starved his wives to death." Her voice dropped suddenly. "It's like you starved Huo Taoli to death." When Lina saw the expression on Lowe's face, she took a few steps back tremblingly. "Don't come near me, woman!" He said coldly and walked out of the hall, ignoring the guests' greetings. Huo Taoli, he thought.This woman dared to mention this name in front of him, but it also reminded him to be careful of his new wife, not to be swayed by her blue-eyed blonde hair. "Are you ready?" Lowe yelled at Seaman in the courtyard. "Or are you still busy having fun with those whores?" Seaman was too used to his brother's temper, and he drank too much alcohol. "I've been waiting for you, bro. Shall we take those feather pillows?" "Not at all!" Lowe replied, but hesitated again.He seemed to hear Felina saying, "It's like you starved Huo Dolly to death." He felt a pang in his heart.The girl he married—what was her name—seemed to be a very simple person. "Take those useless pillows with you." He yelled at Seaman, and went to check other carriages.Seaman watched his brother go away, but he was thinking: what does his dear sister-in-law look like?