Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Aini stretched out her hand to press her painful back.Lowe had been away for two weeks, during which time she had performed many wonders in castle and village.The peasants in the village were at first afraid to obey her orders because they were afraid of Sir Lowe's punishment, but some of them obeyed without incident, and others began to trust her. Farmhouses were being renovated, new clothes were sewn, and cattle and sheep were slaughtered to feed the emaciated farmers.Two weeks later, the farmer began to regard Ai Ni as an angel sent from heaven. Aine was happy with everything except one thing: the village was full of little red-haired goblins running around, and at first she thought it was just some villagers who happened to have weird red-black hair like Lowe, but then there was an eighteen A girl of about 10 years old came forward, and Aine recognized her as one of Lowe's previous eight weeks of girls.

"Sir Lowe is their father," she said defiantly. Aine felt the farmer cringe, as if waiting for a storm to break out. "How many children does my husband have?" "About twelve," the girl's chin lifted. "I'm pregnant with one of them." Aini stood for a while, unable to speak or move.She didn't know whether she was angry with Luo Wei for keeping so many evil seeds, or because he didn't care about his own children.She took a deep breath of nitrogen. "Gather the children and send them to the castle, and I will take care of them."

"And their mother, isn't it?" said the girl who didn't know the day of the week with a triumphant tone and expression. Ai Ni stared at her. "You can leave the child to me, or you can take it slowly by yourself, but I will not pick up the child's mother." "Yes, ma'am." The girl bowed and said reluctantly. Aini heard titters of agreement from a nearby woman. It was already dark when she left the village, and behind her was the eternally silent Ou family knight.When she returned to the castle, she was greeted by an empty moat, and the ground in the castle was almost clean.Aini climbed the stairs, and the sights along the way were satisfactory.

She avoided Joss when she went upstairs because Joss always had a bunch of questions and complaints.She climbs up the wooden stairs.For two weeks she had wanted to see the mysterious lady, the old lady who had solved her mystery.But every time her door is always locked. The upstairs was also cleared, and a few rooms were occupied by maids, but were still mostly vacant.The door at the bottom of the corridor is usually locked, but this time it was open.Aini stopped and looked at her, who was bending over to embroider a drapery. "Good night, dear," said the old lady. "Come in, close the door by the way, it's windy."

Ai Ni complied. "I came to look for you, but you were not here. Lowe went to Barman Castle." The feeling of deja vu came back. The old lady divided the silk thread with her hands. "Well, you even made a bet with him, saying that you will be your slave for a day, right?" Aini walked towards her with a smile, looking over her shoulder at the embroidered curtain she was making.It had a slender blonde embroidered on it. "It could be you," the old lady laughed. "Tell me, how are you going to spend the day with Lowe?" Ani smiled dreamily. "Maybe a walk in the forest. I want to be alone with him, and I want him to give me... full attention." The old lady didn't make a sound for a long time, and Aini looked up and saw that the smile on her face was no longer there. "You disagree?"

"It's not for me to decide," she said softly to him. "But I dare say he and Dolly used to walk together a lot." "Dolly?" "Huo Taoli. Lowe married her before she became the Huo family." Aini sat down on a chair by the window. "Tell me," she said softly. "When Lowe was sixteen, he married Dolly, who was fifteen. At that time, his parents and elder brother William had died because of the siege, and the other three eldest sons of the Ou family were too busy dealing with the Huo family. Marriage. They decided to let Lowe marry, on the one hand to get the dowry of the girls, and on the other hand to have some sons to help them fight in the war. Lowe strongly opposed the marriage, but his brothers persuaded him."

The old lady turned her head to look at Ai Ni. "But he's not so reluctant when he's seen her. She's a pretty little thing, quiet and docile." She looked at Aini, but Aini didn't respond.She had just found out this morning that her husband had a dozen illegitimate children, and now she found out that he had another wife. The old lady went on: "I think Lowe is growing in love with her. He's never had any softness in his life, and I think Dolly's kindness appealed to him. I remember one time when they came back from a walk with flowers on their hair." .”

Aini turned her head away, not wanting to see the sad expression on her face. "Four months after they got married, the Huo family took Dolly when she was in the forest with Lowe. Luther used to tell Lowe not to go out alone, but Lowe thought he was not going to die. Especially When he was with Dolly, he felt invulnerable. I guess they were swimming and..." The old lady looked at Ai Ni's face full of jealousy. "Nap. That's when Hodry's men swooped in on them and grabbed her. Lowe couldn't get the sword, but he pulled two of them off his horse and knocked one down. One of the Hodry's brothers was killed by the O's not long ago, So he was not very good-tempered. He asked his men to catch Lowe, and he shot Lowe three times, deliberately not letting him die, and then rode away with Dolly."

Aini opened her eyes wide, and the terrifying scene appeared in her mind. "What happened to Lowe?" she said softly. "He is walking back to the castle," said the old lady. "Four miles away, there were still three bleeding wounds on his body. The next day after he walked back, he and his brothers went to attack the Huo family. He rode horses and fought with them until the third day when he fell hot all over his body. Get off your horse. It was two weeks before he regained consciousness, and his brothers Tim and Chuya were killed in battle." "No wonder he said he killed his brother." Aini said softly.

"Lowell has always been serious about his responsibilities. He, Luther, and Seaman fought against the Huo family for a year. It was a bloody year, and then..." The old lady didn't finish. "What happened next?" Ai Ni asked. "Then Dolly came back to Lowe. She was pregnant with Holdery's child and was in love with him. She came back to Lowe and begged him to break off the engagement so she could marry him." "Poor kid," said Ernie. "How could she treat him like this? Did Hodry force her to come?" "No one forced Dolly. She loves Derry, and he loves her too. I think she saved Lowe this time. When Lowe canceled the engagement, the Huo family took the initiative to stop the war."

Aini stood up and walked to the other side of the room, and after a long time turned around to look at the old lady. "So Lowe and Dolly used to go for walks in the woods, didn't they? Then I'll make a celebration, and we can dance—" "Like your wedding reception?" Ai Ni stopped talking, remembering Lowe's rough appearance at the wedding banquet. "I want him to be with me," she said. "He barely notices me outside the bed. I don't want to be just his bedmate, I want him to..." "What do you want him to do?" "I want what that rotten woman, Dolly, doesn't want!" Aini said violently. "I hope he loves me!" "And you want to use a walk in the forest to achieve this purpose?" The old lady seemed a little amused. Aini suddenly felt very tired.No wonder, no wonder Lowe never laughed, no wonder he wanted nothing to do with women. "What should I do?" she said. "What can I do to make him understand that I'm not Huo Dolly? How can I make him love me?" She looked at the old lady, waiting for an answer. But the old lady shook her head. "I don't have the answer you want. Maybe it's an impossible thing. Most women are content as long as their husbands don't beat them. Lowe will give you children, and children are a great comfort to women." Love pursed her mouth. "Child? A child who grows up to fight for the Ou family? Am I going to watch my husband teach my child to be a war machine? Teach him to hate, to kill? Hate is probably the only thing Lowe recognizes. He Why don't you forget the Huo family? Forget the Ou family son? Even if it's only for one day. If he can see what suffering his resentment has brought to his people, maybe he--" She stopped talking and opened her eyes wide. "Maybe he?" Ai Ni's voice was very low. "The farmer asked me a few weeks ago if I could celebrate St. Augustine's Day, and of course I said yes. If Lowe could just look at these people and talk to them... maybe he sees his kids..." The old lady laughed again. "I rarely leave my family, and I doubt he would be willing to spend a day alone with you. No, I don't think he will say yes willingly." The old lady looked at the door and pricked up her ears to listen. "I seem to hear your maid calling you, you should go." "Okay." Aini replied absent-mindedly, thinking about the conversation just now.She walked to the door and turned around suddenly. "Will I ever see you again? Your door is always locked." The old lady smiled and said, "I will be there when you need me." Aini also smiled at her and left the room. When the door closed, she heard the click of the lock, and everything returned to silence. She walks down the stairs.Joss was indeed looking for her.Lowe had already returned, followed by almost all the peasants of the village, and in the center were pushing a cart on which lay two dead men—a father and a son. "They are the thieves you want." Joss said with wide eyes. "As you might expect, the villagers hanged them, they said so Lord Lowe would not abuse the two thieves. They said the thieves were Robin Hoods, and they gave the peasants what they stole, and the peasants loved them all .But for you they hang 'em, miss." Ai Ni smiled wryly at this honor, lifted her skirt and walked towards her husband.Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Lowe still sat on the horse.He looked around the castle, frowning at the clean ground. Ai Ni felt that the storm was coming, and she clearly saw the sign of dark clouds from Luo Wei's handsome face. "I have won," she said aloud, and all the peasants, knights, and squires in the courtyard heard. She watched as Luo Cheng rode up to her and stared at her. Her breathing stopped as she looked into those eyes.He seemed angry with her—no, not just angry, but resentful.Undoubtedly, he must also look at the Huo family with this kind of eyes.I am not your first wife, she shouted in her heart, trying to stabilize her trembling body. "I won," she forced herself to say. "You're going to be my slave." She turned and ran upstairs because she couldn't bear his gaze any longer.Maybe a little time alone would calm her down. Lowe watched her go upstairs, then dismounted and handed the reins to a little red-haired boy.He watched the boy lead the horse away, and it seemed a little familiar to him. "Being a woman's slave all day, huh?" Seaman said beside his brother, his voice laced with sarcasm. Lowe turned his head and glared at Seaman. "Did you allow them to dry out the moat? And this?" He embraced the entire castle with a wave of his hand. "It was your idea, wasn't it? While I—" "Oh, the credit belongs to Mrs. Madam, and has nothing to do with me." Seaman said. "She's been doing better than you and I these past few weeks—" He didn't finish Lowe before pushing him up the stairs. "Now you don't kill people anymore?" one of the farmers boldly asked. Seaman also has his temper.He also went up the stairs two steps at a time.Thrall was the only one in the main hall. "Where is he?" Seaman asked. "Inside." Thrall pointed to the room they called the meditation room.According to Fu Tong, this room belongs to the owner of the Ou family, and its privacy is sacred and inviolable.Unless there is an immediate danger of intrusion, no one can just go in and disturb. Seaman strode towards the room, and pushed open the door without hesitation. "Go away!" Lowe growled, his astonishment hidden in his voice. "Go and listen to my subordinates laughing at my brother as a coward? Can he afford to lose?" "That's just a bet with a woman!" Lowe snorted. "But it's also a public bet, a bet made in front of me, the farmer and other followers." Seaman calmed down a bit. "Why don't you go and see what she wants? Maybe she just wants you to sing a song to her. What's wrong with being a woman's slave for a day? Especially this woman, she seems to only care about this castle and... And you. God knows why, she's asking about you every day." "And you told her all, no doubt. You seem to like talking to women, don't you? You and that duchess of yours—" "Don't say anything you'll regret," Seaman warned. "That's right, I will talk to Randy because she has brains. As for your wife, she is undoubtedly very wise." He paused. "Admit it, Lowe, she won." "If I let her get her way today, she'll be as greedy as the peasants. Who knows what she'll want tomorrow? Is she going to run the whole estate? Judge in court? Maybe I'll have to let her Let's train the army!" Seaman looked at his brother for a long time. "Why are you so afraid of her?" "Afraid of her!" Lowe roared. "I can split her into two pieces with one hand, I can send her away immediately, I can..." He stopped and slumped heavily on the chair. Seaman looked at his brother in great surprise, his always strong and stubborn brother.Lowe had always been absolutely confident, never hesitated in what he decided to do, but now he was like a frightened little boy. Seaman walked towards the door. "I'll make up some reasons for them. How can a man from the Ou family be a slave to a woman? This is really absurd." "No, wait," Lowe said.He didn't look up. "I'm so stupid to bet with a woman. I don't know if she can really catch the thief. You go to her and ask him what he wants. If you want a silk dress or two, although I don't want to waste money. But I'll say yes." Seaman did not move, and Lowe raised his head. "Huh? What are you waiting for? Go find her." Seaman felt his face gradually heat up. "Well, she might ask for something...personal, who knows?" He shrugged and spread his hands. "Go and see that woman! She looks quite innocent." He walked out of the room and closed the door after he finished speaking. After a while Lowe also walked out of the contemplation room and into the sunroom.He hadn't been in for several years, and the room was completely different now, with fresh white paint on the walls that almost gleamed, and huge embroidered draperies hanging on the walls.His first thought was to sell it for gold. There were furniture, tables and chairs, and many frames embroidered by women. The maids in the room stopped their work and stared at him when they saw him.Across the room, his wife was sitting on a sofa by the window.He still remembered her fearless eyes, but he remembered her beautiful body even more. "Get out!" he said, and the roomful of women hurried quietly out of the room. When the two of them were alone, he did not come forward.In his opinion, he had to keep a safe distance from her. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, his bushy brows knit together. "I'm not going to make a fool of myself in front of my people, you have to know that." Aini looked at him in surprise, then smiled. "I don't get any fun out of embarrassing other people." She slowly reached out to remove the tiara, her long blonde hair cascading down. "You must be tired after being out for so long. Come, sit down here. There is wine and sweet meat here." He stood there staring at her. "Are you trying to seduce me?" Ai Ni showed a displeased expression. "So what? You're my husband, and I haven't seen you in weeks. Come on, tell me what you've been up to, and I'll tell you what I found in the moat." Picked up a silver cup, filled it and handed it to Lowe. "Try it, it's Spanish." Lowe took it and drank it down, staring suddenly at the empty glass in surprise.The wine tastes so beautiful! Annie smiled. "Oh, Lowe, how stubborn your men are! Reasoning with them is a real thing. I should have needed your help." She gently pulled him towards the sofa chair. "Here, try this, pickled peaches. And you'd love this bread, no sand in it." Before Lowe could figure out what he was doing, he was half lying on a soft chair, pouring delicious food into his mouth, listening to his wife talking about trivial household matters.He should have left, but he didn't move. "How many gold coins did you say you found?" she found herself asking. "We found six gold coins, twelve silver coins, and several hundred copper coins. There were also eight corpses, and those were buried." She crossed herself. "Come on, don't be so awkward. Relax and put your head on my lap." Lowe didn't know what he was doing.He stretched his legs out on the sofa, resting his head on her soft lap.The wine just now had gradually taken effect in his body.Aini looked at the beautiful man who was sleeping on her lap, and gently stroked his hair with one hand.She wants this moment to last forever. He slept peacefully for nearly an hour, until Seaman came to the door in fifty pounds of armor. The alert Lowe sat up suddenly. "What happened?" he asked. Seaman looked at his brother, then at his sister-in-law.He had never seen Lowe look at a woman before dark, let alone fall on a woman's lap. He frowned.Seaman had always been on his sister-in-law's side, but he didn't like the sight in front of him.His dislike of this woman made Lowe forget his situation.It was only a few hours ago that Lowe didn't dare to meet this woman, and Seaman still thought it was a little funny.But now he believed that this woman had something to worry about.Would she make him forget his responsibilities?Will she make Lowe forget her hatred for the Huo family? Seaman doesn't want his brother to change, he doesn't want Lowe's edges to soften. "I didn't know it was a day off," Seaman said sharply. "I'm very sorry to bother you. I will tell everyone to practice separately, and I have to judge the farmers' dispute. You are so... busy, so I won't disturb you." "You go to train the samurai." Lowe said quickly. "I'll go to the trial. And if you still want to keep your tongue, just bite it and don't move it." Seaman turned around to hide his smile.This is his brother.This woman can modify the castle as she likes, but he doesn't like her changing Lowe.There is no way to measure her!No one can change Lowe, he thought with a smile.He leaves the room. Ai Ni wanted to throw the bottle at Ximan.She felt his suspicion, his distrust, and the people in this castle seemed to wish that Lowe would remain like a rock forever.She put her hand on Lowe's shoulder. "I might be able to help you get to court for a verdict, which I used to do for my father," she said.In fact, she was responsible for the entire sentence at all, since his father had nothing to do with him but the eagle and the horse. Lowe immediately jumped to his feet. "Don't push yourself too hard, woman. I'll judge for my own farmers." She also stood up. "Seems like you're doing pretty well so far, don't you?" she said angrily. "Is letting them starve what you call justice? If two people have a dispute, what do you do? Hang them both? Justice! You don't know the meaning of these two words. You only know punishment, punishment , punishment!" Aini looked into his eyes, she thought she must be on his must-kill list now.She almost flinched, but a strong will kept her where she was. Suddenly his eyes changed. "What would you do if someone stole another man's cattle? Make them take a shower together? Or make them clean their nails twice a day?" "No, no, I'll—" Aine said, but suddenly she knew he was playing tricks on her.Her eyes sparkle. "I'll punish them for staying with you all day. Your ox temper and your stench are enough for them." "Oh?" he said softly, walking closer to her. "You don't seem to care much about my smell!" He pulled her closer with one hand, and Ai Ni melted on him.No, she didn't care about his smell or his temper.He kissed her softly at first, then deeper and harder. He moved his mouth away, but still hugged her. "What do you want me to do as a slave? Are we going to stay in bed all day?" Annie's eyes widened.What a tempting proposition, she thought, but she held back the desire. "I want you to transform into a farmer and go to the market farmers' meeting with me." Lowe blinked a few times, then let go of his hand suddenly, and Ai Ni fell on the chair. "Don't even dream about it!" he said, anger returning to his face. "You want to kill me, if you are a spy! The Huo family—" "Go to his Huo family!" Ai Ni roared. "I don't care about the Huo family. I just want you to be alone with me for a day, and I want to be with you in my clothes. Don't let anyone bother you. Come with me to the farmers' celebration for a day." She said slowly down. "Can't you give me a day?" There was no hiding his interest in the idea on Lowe's face.A day of easy fun... "I couldn't go into the village unarmed," he said. "them--" "Won't recognize you. More than half the people in the village are your father—and your—descendants," she said with disgust. Lowe was surprised by his attitude. He should have sent the woman to the dungeon long ago. "Do you think they won't recognize you?" "Then I'll just wear a blindfold. I'll modify it, and the peasants won't believe that their lord and wife will be among them! Just one day, Luo Wei, please?" She approached the ground, Luo Mie heard To the scent of lavender on her. He heard himself say, "Okay," but couldn't believe he did. Aini's hands quickly wrapped around his neck, kissing her touchable skin.In this short moment, he hugged her lightly and quickly.Not sensual, but a sign of pleasure. He let her go quickly. "I'm leaving," he murmured. "You stay here for me, don't meddle in court affairs." She wanted to look sad, but in truth she was too happy. "Of course I wouldn't. I'm a good, dedicated wife, and my only job is to make my husband happy." Lowe didn't know if she was making fun of him. "I'm leaving," he said again.She held out her hand to him, and he found himself hesitating for a moment before kissing her hand lightly.He almost fled the room.Well, he'll go to the market with her, he thought as he ran down the stairs, and then he'll take her to Barmain Castle and bring back the eight-week-old girl.Yes, this is the case.This wife has gone too far, if she doesn't give her any color, she will think she is some kind of queen. But just as he was thinking about what to do, he was also thinking about how to please the queen in bed that night.