The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Mu Dingxiang stared at Chu Yu, speaking words of gratitude.

“Ahem, you’re welcome. After all, from now on you are my wife, so isn’t doing all this exactly what I should do?” Chu Yu said. Looking at the girl’s serious little face, she didn’t know what possessed her, but she asked somewhat teasingly, “Do you know what it means to be someone’s wife?”

Mu Dingxiang froze for a moment, thinking of the things Mother Mu did at home, and then of what the women in other households did. She said with some uncertainty, “Doing laundry and cooking? And raising pigs and farming the land?”

“Is that all?” Chu Yu arched an eyebrow.

“Ah? What else is there? Oh! it’s having children.” Mu Dingxiang had a realization; almost every woman had children after getting married. “But since we are both women, I’m afraid we won’t be able to give birth.”

“Then do you know what a husband and wife do before having children?”

Chu Yu knew she should stop there, but seeing the girl’s wide-eyed innocence, and remembering how the girl had tentatively suggested by the river last night that Chu Yu should marry her, she couldn’t resist continuing.

“What they do… they just sleep together.” Mu Dingxiang knit her brows. Didn’t all men just aim to sleep with a woman? Every time her mother scolded her, she would yell about her not coming home all day, asking if she had gone to sleep with some man.

How could Mu Dingxiang know how a man and a woman slept together? She assumed it was just two people lying on a bed under a blanket chatting. She didn’t understand why men were so obsessed with such a thing.

Seeing Mu Dingxiang’s frank and slightly disgusted gaze, Chu Yu suddenly couldn’t bring herself to ask further. This girl clearly understood nothing. There was no point in pressing on, so she dropped the subject.

After finishing their meal, the two of them tidied up. Mu Dingxiang wandered around the vicinity of the Chu family ruins. Looking at a patch of land slightly closer to them, she asked aloud, “Chu Yu, can that piece of land be used to plant vegetables?”

Chu Yu looked it over and said, “That’s too close. It’ll be built over when the house is constructed. Aside from that patch, you can manage the rest however you like. Plant whatever you want.”

“Are we going to build a house? When?” In Mu Dingxiang’s impression, building a house required a lot of money and hiring people to help.

She was truly powerless regarding the money, but as for hiring people, she privately hoped that no outsiders would intrude upon this quiet area at the end of Furong Village, especially not those big, burly men.

“In a while. The silver isn’t enough yet, and I can’t afford to hire people. Maybe we’ll have to build it ourselves when the time comes.” Chu Yu was someone who couldn’t stay idle; she sat near the cave entrance splitting firewood.

“Oh, is building a house hard? I can help you build it too.” Mu Dingxiang hoped she could be of some help. She looked at the gauze on her hand, feeling very unhappy. It was because of the wound on her hand that she hadn’t been able to do anything for Chu Yu since yesterday. She couldn’t even touch water to do the laundry as promised, nor could she wash the dishes. This made her very anxious; what if one day Chu Yu felt she was useless and wanted to drive her away?

Chu Yu seemed to see the worry in her heart and said, “From now on, you are a member of the Chu family. No need to worry about things that don’t exist. As long as you don’t dislike my cave and the fact that I’m a butcher, just live here with a peaceful mind.”

Mu Dingxiang’s eyes widened: “How could I ever dislike you? As long as you don’t drive me away, I will cling to you forever.”

At this point, she cautiously walked over to Chu Yu’s side and crouched down. Looking up, her eyes locked onto the woman’s handsome face as she said, “Chu Yu, no matter what happens in the future, don’t drive me away, okay? I will work hard.”

Looking at those pitiful little eyes, Chu Yu couldn’t help but rub her forehead and say, “Where did you get the idea that I’m going to drive you away in the future? You spend all day thinking about things that won’t happen.”

Mu Dingxiang lowered her head and murmured, “When I was with the Mu family, Mother often scolded me, saying that if I didn’t work hard, she would sell me to a brothel. I don’t know what happens in a brothel, but it shouldn’t be a good place. I heard that men all like to go to brothels to sleep.”

The thought of having to sleep with those disgusting men made Mu Dingxiang’s skin crawl; she even felt a bit nauseous.

When Chu Yu heard that the woman of the Mu family had actually said such things to her daughter, her previously soft brows instantly snapped upward. Her entire face was covered in frost, and she said in a very harsh tone, “That mother of yours—don’t pay her any mind from now on. Don’t let her come here, and never go back to the Mu family again.”

Mu Dingxiang wanted nothing more than to never return and never see the ugly faces of that family again. If it was said the Mu family had the merit of birthing and raising her, her years of working like an ox and a horse were enough to repay it.

Chu Yu now understood where Mu Dingxiang’s naturally sensitive and uneasy personality came from. Anyone with parents who threatened to throw them out or sell them to a brothel at any moment could not possibly have a calm heart. It had been incredibly difficult for Mu Dingxiang to bravely resist such bizarre family members until now.

She stopped her work, patted Mu Dingxiang’s shoulder, and said to her solemnly, “You don’t need to be afraid. Starting today, you are a member of the Chu family. I will treat you like my own younger sister. When you go out and see others, just say you are from the Chu family. If anyone dares say you aren’t, I’ll deal with them. You don’t need to be so fearful anymore.”

However, upon hearing this, the girl’s face instantly turned deathly pale: “Why a sister? I don’t want to be your sister.”

“Isn’t being a sister good?” Chu Yu was a bit taken aback.

“I don’t want you to be my older sister,” Mu Dingxiang thought of the fates of Mu Baizhi and Mu Yuzhu; she didn’t want to think of Chu Yu as a sister at all. “Didn’t we agree that I’d marry you and be your wife? Why do you want to treat me as a sister?”

Seeing Mu Dingxiang’s eyes reddening and brimming with tears, Chu Yu burst out laughing: “Do you really want to be a butcher’s wife that badly?”

Only then did Mu Dingxiang realize from Chu Yu’s teasing gaze what kind of words she had uttered. It was indeed a bit bold, like those women desperate to marry, eagerly offering themselves up. She felt embarrassed for a moment, but she truly did not want Chu Yu to treat her as a sister. She could only lift her head to look Chu Yu in the eye, steeling herself to say every word clearly: “Yes. I want to be your wife.”

The girl’s shy and timid gaze, her watery eyes, and that flushed little face while saying she wanted to marry her, it made Chu Yu’s breath catch for an instant.

There had long been rumors outside that Chu Yu liked women, which was pure nonsense.

However, as she got older, there were always various well-meaning people trying to play matchmaker for her. Chu Yu disliked it but was helpless. It wasn’t until some later events occurred that led people to misunderstand that Chu Yu had the “habit of the rubbed mirror” (lesbianism). The rumor spread everywhere, and eventually, everyone knew.

Although she was often gossiped about behind her back after that, the benefit was that no well-meaning people tried to arrange marriages or proposals for her anymore. Chu Yu gained some peace and quiet, so she never thought to clarify.

The matter with Mu Dingxiang was purely because Chu Yu couldn’t stand by and watch; she helped the girl out of pity. As for the matter of marriage, it was merely a strategy used to achieve her goal.

Now, this girl was looking her in the eye and telling her she wanted to be her wife, causing Chu Yu’s heart to skip a heavy beat for some reason.

Two hazy figures immediately appeared in Chu Yu’s mind, and she was startled. She hurriedly shook her head to drive out the chaotic thoughts.

She stroked the few stray hairs on the top of Mu Dingxiang’s head and said, “Fine, then be my wife.”

In Mu Dingxiang’s understanding, being a wife meant doing laundry, farming, raising pigs, and sleeping in the same bed at night. There was nothing wrong with that.

After dark, Mu Dingxiang originally wanted to just use cold water to wash. Chu Yu, however, said, “The weather is still cool. A young girl like you should wash with hot water. Otherwise, you’ll suffer for it when you get older.”

Mu Dingxiang felt pained over the firewood and shook her head: “I haven’t washed with hot water for as long as I can remember. I’m used to cold water. Better to save the wood for cooking.”

Chu Yu pointed to the high stacks of firewood near the cave: “Do I look like someone who lacks firewood?”

Mu Dingxiang looked at the pile of wood that was taller than herself and shook her head.

“Then listen to me and wash with hot water. You aren’t with the Mu family anymore, and you don’t have to sleep in the fields. We should live in a new way. Eat three meals a day normally and use hot water for bathing. Although my cave can’t compare to the brick-and-tile houses of wealthy families, at least you won’t be exposed to the wind and sun.”

Mu Dingxiang had stayed in the cave for a long time today and had already experienced its benefits—warm in winter and cool in summer. Chu Yu had even set up a gauze curtain; once pulled shut for sleep, no mosquitoes or insects could fly in. Truly, this place was no worse than those big houses. She liked this cave very much.

Hearing Chu Yu say this and knowing it was for her own good, her heart filled with gratitude again, and she nodded.

Mu Dingxiang’s first hot bath since growing up was incredibly comfortable. Chu Yu kept the stove burning brightly, adding firewood continuously and bringing her water several times. The girl washed through three large tubs worth, nearly scrubbing the skin off her body.

“Comfortable, right?” Seeing that it took her a long time to come out, Chu Yu looked at her messy, wet hair with a half-smile and found a dry towel to hand over.

“Comfortable!” Mu Dingxiang spoke her mind directly, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled. She felt much cleaner, and felt as though she was a bit closer to Chu Yu.

“First, take off the bandages and change the medicine. After drying your hair, get into bed. You sleep on the inside.” Chu Yu went out herself to tidy up and wash.

It was now completely dark outside. In this season, there would usually be some mosquitoes, especially inside a cave, but this cave was clean—not even the sound of a mosquito could be heard. Chu Yu must have put out some kind of repellent.

An oil lamp was lit in a hollow of the stone wall, illuminating the small cave brightly. From outside came the faint sound of Chu Yu bathing. Mu Dingxiang sat by the stone table, feeling the cozy atmosphere in the cave, her heart filled with a peace she had never known before.

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