The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Since the seeds were bought back, Mu Dingxiang began her farming plan. Chu Yu went out early every day to slaughter pigs and only returned home after selling the meat.

Zhu-er disliked the scene of raw pig slaughter and didn’t like going out with her, so she stayed at home to accompany Mu Dingxiang in farming.

Since Mother Mu’s last visit, Zhu-er had reminded all the small companions in the valley to raise their vigilance. Should that woman come again, they were to take full action and give her another lesson.

However, after the last incident, Mother Mu was deeply traumatized. She felt her hair stand on end whenever she thought of the Chu family’s territory and dared not come alone again for anything.

The entire valley returned to its former tranquility.

Mother Mu had dug up Mu Dingxiang’s two taels of silver; she was riding high, her old face full of smiles. But she didn’t tell her old man, fearing he would take it to save for the eldest son.

She thought about how she had followed this old fellow since her youth and borne so many children without enjoying much fortune. All these years, every effort had been poured into the eldest son, and all household expenses were kept to a minimum. To fund the eldest son’s studies, she hadn’t even bought a decent piece of clothing for herself in a long time.

Thus, the day after taking the silver, she generously spent a copper coin to take a passing carriage to the county. She bought two feet of cloth and a ready-made garment, feeling wonderful in her heart.

Passing the butcher shop and seeing the marbled, exceptionally fatty pork, she couldn’t help but salivate. Seeing a shop crowded with people, she figured their pork must be better and squeezed in to buy some. To her surprise, the boss cutting the meat was none other than her third daughter’s “female husband,” Chu Yu.

Mother Mu’s eyes darted around. Since it was her own “son-in-law,” taking a piece or two of meat shouldn’t matter, right? So she boldly snatched a piece of meat from the counter and turned to leave.

Someone nearby saw this and shouted at her, “Hey, what are you doing? Why are you stealing meat?”

Mother Mu bared her teeth at him and said, “This is my son-in-law’s butcher shop. What’s it to you if I take a piece of meat?” Having said that, she turned and left without looking back.

There were many regular customers in line. Seeing Mother Mu pull such a stunt, Chu Yu was also momentarily stunned.

To be honest, in all these years, she hadn’t encountered a customer who dared to bully her like this, let alone this old woman she detested the most.

The customer who had spoken up for justice looked at Chu Yu in confusion and asked, “Chu Yu, when did you provoke such a madwoman?”

Chu Yu shook her head helplessly but said nothing.

Since Mother Mu got away with it once and didn’t see Chu Yu coming to cause trouble, she grew bolder on the third day and took another piece of meat, specifically picking a large one.

Shi Man was also watching from the side, but Chu Yu had given special instructions, so he said nothing.

Mother Mu was overjoyed and decided to take a piece of meat from Chu Yu’s shop every day. The night before, that piece of meat had tasted especially delicious to her family of three; they couldn’t have been happier.

Old Man Mu asked her where the meat came from, and she said she bought it from the son-in-law’s shop. Old Man Mu said nothing more. He knew his wife’s temperament; as long as there was a benefit to be had, he was happy to eat the meat and remained silent.

Mu Jueming looked at his mother’s new clothes and asked, “Mother, could these clothes also be a tribute from that pig butcher?”

Mother Mu’s hand holding the meat paused, and she said vaguely, “Naturally.”

Mu Jueming couldn’t help but let out a series of “tsk tsk tsk” sounds, saying with envy, “That pig butcher was so fierce that day, I thought she was someone not to be trifled with. Turns out she’s a softie. I said it—she’s just a woman, how tough can she be? One of these days, I’ll go get some money from her too.”

Mother Mu didn’t dare mention digging up Mu Dingxiang’s silver for fear that Old Man Mu would ask for the money. Now that Mu Jueming spoke this way, she just went along with it vaguely.

The next day, Mother Mu tried her old trick again, going to Chu Yu’s butcher shop to scavenge meat. However, Chu Yu wasn’t there today; only Shi Man was.

Mother Mu aimed for a piece of meat near the edge. It was large, and there seemed to be something tucked underneath it, looking like a money pouch.

There weren’t many people buying meat at the moment. She reached out, recklessly grabbed the meat, and incidentally swept the money pouch underneath into her embrace. She hunched over and slipped away from the side.

Although Chu Yu hadn’t said a word the previous two times she took meat, she didn’t want to be too blatant and provoke that “savage.” If she got beaten, it would be a loss.

Little did she know, just as she reached the corner, she heard someone behind her shouting, “Catch the thief! Catch the thief! Someone stole my meat and my money pouch!”

Hearing this, Mother Mu was scared out of her wits. The money pouch and the meat weren’t those the two things in her embrace? Weren’t they from Chu Yu’s shop? Why was someone shouting about a thief?

Footsteps began to approach from behind. Terrified to look back, she ran forward for all she was worth.

She happened to run into a patrol team. Mother Mu immediately beat her chest and stomped her feet, crying, “I’ve been wronged! This is meat I took from my son-in-law’s shop. When did I steal your things?”

Both sides refused to yield, each with their own story. Seeing it couldn’t be settled there, the patrol officers took both of them to the yamen.

Because the meat and money pouch were stolen at the butcher shop, Shi Man was summoned to testify.

Shi Man said, “Your Honor, that piece of meat had already been sold to that guest. I had weighed it and hung it up with a bamboo strip for him. The guest put it on the counter and reached down to pick something up; when he looked up, the meat was gone. According to him, he had also placed his money pouch next to the meat.”

Several other regular customers in line also stood up to testify.

Furthermore, the very money pouch described was found on Mother Mu’s person, exactly as the victim had claimed.

The matter was simple and clear: Mother Mu had indeed stolen someone else’s property and run away. This constituted the crime of theft.

Mother Mu panicked, realizing this was a trap set by Chu Yu that she had walked right into. She argued frantically, “I was taking meat from my son-in-law’s house. That can’t count as stealing; it’s just taking the wrong thing.”

The County Magistrate struck his gavel heavily: “A son-in-law is not your son. What meat gives you the right to take as you please? And even if you took the meat by mistake, why did you take someone’s money pouch? Can a money pouch be taken ‘by mistake’ as well?”

Mother Mu couldn’t argue a single word against this and could only scream that she wanted to see Chu Yu.

With both witnesses and physical evidence present, the Magistrate didn’t care who she wanted to see. According to the law and the amount of money stolen, he ordered her to be given twenty strokes of the board first.

Mother Mu was terrified and called out loudly, “My son is a Xiucai! You cannot beat me!”

She vaguely remembered that the status of a Xiucai was quite high; if a Xiucai committed a crime, even the yamen runners couldn’t beat him.

The Magistrate sneered, “If a prince breaks the law, he is punished like a commoner, let alone the mother of a mere Xiucai. Men, bring the boards!”

Mother Mu’s regret was bitter. When those twenty strokes landed, her skin was torn and her flesh split, and she cried out for her parents.

Because he did consider that her son was a Xiucai, the Magistrate decided to throw her into jail to wait. Once the Xiucai arrived, the next trial would be held. Barring any surprises, according to the laws of the Great Zhou, she would be sentenced to one year in prison.

Mu Kongqing didn’t have many classes at the Huaru Academy. As Chu Yu had said, this academy was just a place where some dandy sons in the county hung out to satisfy their parents. Mu Kongqing spent most of his time out playing with other students, even secretly visiting the brothels a few times.

That day, he slept until the sun was high. Hearing that someone was looking for him outside the academy, he went out to find his shabbily dressed father and brother. Seeing the strange looks from his classmates, he hurriedly pulled the two of them to a secluded spot, saying quite unhappily, “Didn’t I tell you not to come looking for me so easily? The schoolwork is very intense lately; I’ve been busy reviewing.”

Old Man Mu looked at the fine fabric of the clothes before him, which made his son look even more distinguished—like heaven compared to the “mud-legs” like them. He felt even more certain that his son would be greatly successful in the future.

But the current matter was extremely thorny and had to be handled by him. He told him about Mother Mu’s situation, asking him to go to the yamen to plead for her and see if he could get his mother out. Otherwise, if she stayed locked up and the news got out, everyone would know this Mu Xiucai had a mother who committed a crime, which would directly strip him of his right to take the imperial examinations.

Mu Kongqing felt his head swell when he heard this. How could his mother be so careless, causing all this trouble for him? If the other students at the academy found out, who knows how they would look at him. He was fuming.

As Old Man Mu said, a criminal record for the mother would inevitably affect a Xiucai‘s path in the examinations. No matter how unwilling, Mu Kongqing had to make a trip to the yamen.

He went to visit the prison and saw Mother Mu looking sallow and sickly. Having been beaten twenty times and left in jail without care, she was tormented beyond recognition. Mu Kongqing’s first feeling was not pity for his mother; seeing her disheveled state, he felt a sense of disgust. Enduring the stench in the prison, he investigated the situation and immediately guessed that Chu Yu had set the trap.

He felt a surge of resentment: “When did you marry off the Third Sister without telling me? And to a woman! Now she’s turned you into this state.”

Mother Mu let out a wail: “Wasn’t it all to save monthly allowance for you? Seeing that your father won’t be able to work for many more years, if I didn’t save some money for you now, where would we find money for your studies later? Son, when exactly will you pass the exams? Give your old mother a definite word so I have something to look forward to.”

“Definite word, definite word! How can anyone give a definite word on such things? I’m studying so hard outside, and you’re causing all these messes behind my back. When the teachers and classmates at the academy find out, who knows what they’ll think of me.”

“Son, it was that woman Chu Yu who set the trap, otherwise how could I be here?” Mother Mu didn’t think she was in the wrong at all, cursing the “Chu Butcher” a thousand times in her heart.

There was no other way; Mother Mu was sued by the victim. Now the only certainty was that Chu Yu must know the victim. He could only go beg her to find the victim and have the lawsuit withdrawn, saying the money pouch was taken by mistake.

But until an agreement was reached with the victim, Mother Mu had to remain locked in the yamen jail, suffering the torment of her torn flesh.

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