The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Mu Dingxiang headed out early as usual.

However, in the afternoon, she accidentally stepped into a puddle and soaked her shoes, so she decided to return home to change.

When she entered the gate, she saw that Old Man Mu hadn’t gone out for labor work today. Instead, he was sitting in the courtyard, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe with a deeply furrowed brow.

Mu Dingxiang was long accustomed to this; Old Man Mu always looked this way every time Mu Kongqing left. She couldn’t help but sneer in her heart. Anyone would feel the sting of having one tael of silver plucked away every month, let alone when this biological son had been taking exams for so many years without any definitive results.

Mu Dingxiang didn’t want to provoke his ill temper at this time. She changed her shoes and quietly headed out, nearly colliding with Mu Mother who was just entering the gate.

Ordinarily, this woman would have cursed and tried to beat her, but this time, the woman glanced up at her and actually pulled out a faint smile. This smile instantly made Mu Dingxiang’s hair stand on end; feeling as if she had seen a ghost, she hurried away.

Once she reached the outside of the courtyard, she couldn’t help but stop her pace.

When things are abnormal, there must be a catch. Her mother must be plotting something underhanded; otherwise, she wouldn’t have had that reaction. Thinking of Mu Mother’s smile just now, a sense of unease rose in Mu Dingxiang’s heart.

So she turned back, tiptoeing toward the house and hiding behind the door, straining her ears to hear what the two were saying.

“What? Zhang the Widower?” Old Man Mu’s voice came from inside, his volume a bit high.

“Yes, I just passed by their door, and he specifically pulled me in to talk about it,” Mu Mother said with her usual nagging tone. “It’s not bad at all. Our houses are close, so it’ll be convenient for Sanya (Third Girl) to come do the field work.”

Hearing this, Mu Dingxiang’s heart skipped a beat. She understood the gist of it instantly and felt a chill all over her body, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

“But that Widower Zhang’s age is almost catch up to mine,” Old Man Mu said hesitantly. “Did he say how much bride price he’d give?”

Hearing Old Man Mu ask this, Mu Dingxiang clenched her teeth tightly. Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms, a pain she didn’t even notice.

“He said that three-mu paddy field near the foot of the mountain will go to our family, plus a young yellow ox and five taels of silver.”

Hearing his wife say this, Old Man Mu frowned and thought for a while. Only after a long pause did he speak: “These conditions aren’t that great. Five taels of silver is a bit little.”

“Widower Zhang said that during the day, Sanya can come back to our house to do the field work, and she only needs to go stay at his house at night. As long as she can bear him a big fat son, it’ll be fine.”

Old Man Mu thought it over and murmured to himself: “Our family has six mu of land. If we add the three mu he gives, that’s nine mu total. Every year it only costs a few hundred wen for seeds. Excluding what we eat, the harvest from these six mu usually trades for five or six taels; nine mu should at least bring in eight taels. Put that way, it seems quite a bargain.”

“Isn’t it though? Marrying off a daughter gets us five taels plus a young ox, and we can still rely on that girl for an annual income of seven or eight taels. Where else are you going to find such a good deal? It’s much better than you going out to do labor…” Seeing the old man wavering, Mu Mother struck while the iron was hot.

“Widower Zhang is just a bit old, the rest is okay. It’s just that he married three before and they all died, this…” Old Man Mu hesitated.

“What are you still hesitating for? Think about how Eldest’s expenses for studying are getting bigger and bigger—one tael of silver a month. Relying on you alone to do labor won’t work.”

As soon as Old Man Mu thought of Mu Kongqing’s affairs, his face immediately filled with bitterness and resentment. He thought for a long time, finally gritted his teeth, and asked: “What else did that Zhang the Second say? Did he say when he’d come to propose?”

“He said a good thing should be done early. He told me to come back and talk to you. If you agree, he’ll find a matchmaker first thing tomorrow morning and come over.”

The voices inside continued sporadically, but Mu Dingxiang no longer had the courage to keep listening. She leaned against the wall to stand up and stumbled toward the outside of the courtyard.

She accidentally tripped, her left palm scraping against a sharp stone, opening a small gash that immediately bled profusely.

Mu Dingxiang was in no mood to pay attention to this physical pain; her entire head was buzzing. Passing the sheep pen, she discovered a young yellow ox standing there—she hadn’t noticed when it had been put in.

A cold sneer rose in her heart. Before even discussing it with Father, Mother had impatiently brought the ox back, likely fearing the man would change his mind.

At the thought of Widower Zhang in the village, a wave of revulsion hit her. That man was in his forties, nearly Old Man Mu’s age, with a mouth full of yellow teeth. Over the years, he had married three wives in succession, every one of them a young girl like herself. And of those wives, the longest-lived lasted three years, and the shortest only two months.

Recollecting the way Widower Zhang grinned at her whenever she passed his house, she felt a sudden surge of dry heaves.

And her own biological parents were actually arranging to marry her to such a person, all for a mere five taels of silver, a young ox, and three mu of land. Of course, it wasn’t just that; they intended for her to remain a slave to the Mu family for the rest of her life, helping them farm forever—that was why they wanted to marry her off so close by.

Mu Dingxiang walked outward like a walking corpse, not knowing where to go. As she walked, she felt a strange gaze. Turning her head, she saw Widower Zhang standing under a large tree not far away, grinning at her. Her scalp instantly went numb, and she turned to run in the opposite direction.

Mu Dingxiang didn’t want to accept her fate like her eldest sister, nor did she want to be beaten into an idiot by the couple and given away as a toy like her second sister.

But currently, there was no good solution. Should she flee? Over the years, she had saved one or two taels of silver buried under the big tree by the field, but she didn’t know if it was enough to get her anywhere. She feared that if she was caught by the Mu and Zhang families, she might be beaten into an idiot just like her second sister.

The more she thought, the more bewildered and terrified she became. By the time she stopped, her surroundings were unfamiliar; she realized she had unknowingly crossed the stone bridge and reached the end of Furong Village.

She had never been to this area, and few people in the village ever came here. Looking at the clear river water, her vision blurred. Maybe I should just jump in. Die and be done with it. Never have to be enslaved by the Mu family again, and never have to marry that terrifying Widower Zhang.

With this thought in mind, she closed her eyes, and her footsteps involuntarily moved toward the riverbank.

Just then, a splashing sound reached her ears. Mu Dingxiang opened her eyes, temporarily forgetting what she was about to do, and looked around.

There was only one household at the end of Furong Village. The houses had collapsed, and most of the family had died off, leaving only Chu Yu. Chu Yu was a butcher who traveled around slaughtering pigs and taking the meat to the county seat to sell. Usually, she stayed in the county, only returning occasionally. Who would come all this way to wash clothes?

As she drew closer, she saw a person with their head bowed, clumsily scrubbing clothes without even a washboard or a wooden mallet. Sensing movement by the river, the person looked up. Seeing a slender figure approaching against the light, she stopped her movements and squinted at the newcomer.

It was nearly evening. The light was weak, shining on Chu Yu’s face, her naturally loose long hair blowing in the wind. She looked very beautiful.

Mu Dingxiang hadn’t expected the person washing clothes to be Chu Yu herself. She said somewhat awkwardly, “Chu Yu, why are you washing clothes here?”

Being from the same village, Chu Yu naturally recognized Mu Dingxiang, but they had only crossed paths once or twice, let alone spoken.

“My house is nearby. Where else would I wash my clothes?” Chu Yu’s personality wasn’t exactly warm, and her voice lacked inflection.

“You… weren’t you living in the county seat before?” Mu Dingxiang asked in confusion.

“No longer. I’ll be living in the village from now on.” Chu Yu lowered her head to continue washing.

Mu Dingxiang looked at the woman, whose forearms were partially exposed, showing firm, defined muscles. She subconsciously thought of the gossip the villagers whispered behind her back. They said Chu Yu didn’t like men, but liked women.

Because of this, Chu Yu didn’t have a single friend in the village, and all the young girls took a detour whenever they saw her.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. The despair in Mu Dingxiang’s eyes was instantly replaced by a few sparks of spirit. She took two steps forward, knelt down, and said to the woman:

“Chu Yu, why don’t you marry me?”

Chu Yu’s scrubbing motion stopped instantly. She looked up at her with a face full of confusion: “Have you gone mad, or did I hear wrong?”

“You didn’t hear wrong, and I haven’t gone mad. I’m serious. If you marry me, I can wash your clothes and cook for you. I can also farm; I farmed all six mu of our family land by myself,” Mu Dingxiang said urgently.

Chu Yu looked at the thin, weak girl and finally noticed her hands were covered in blood. There was a gruesome wound on her palm, the flesh turning outward. The most amazing thing was that this little girl wasn’t afraid of her. Usually, young girls and boys’ eyes would wander everywhere when they saw her, not daring to look her in the eye, let alone negotiate terms.

“I am a woman. Why would you have such an idea?”

“The villagers say you like girls, but you haven’t found anyone all these years… Maybe you can try me,” Mu Dingxiang said somewhat incoherently. “You can do whatever you want, as long as… as long as you help me leave the Mu family.”

Seeing Chu Yu stand up, Mu Dingxiang hurriedly stood up as well, fearing she might suddenly leave. Only then did she realize how tall Chu Yu was—taller than her eldest brother, a full head and a half taller than herself.

“Look, you can’t even wash clothes properly. I wash clothes very cleanly, and my cooking is very delicious—”

“Are you sure your cooking is delicious? Why did I hear that the Mu family’s Sanya’s cooking can take lives?” Chu Yu couldn’t help but retort upon hearing this.

“No, I did that on purpose because I didn’t want to cook for them…” Mu Dingxiang said with some guilt. “Chu Yu, help me. My parents want to marry me to Widower Zhang in the village. His three previous wives all died. If I go there, I’ll be dead within two months.”

“What conditions did Widower Zhang give your parents to make them willing to betroth such a capable daughter to such a rotten man?” Chu Yu knew of Widower Zhang and couldn’t help but frown.

Mu Dingxiang quickly told her everything she had heard that afternoon and then pleaded bitterly: “I have two taels of silver myself. You help me pay the rest first. Once I’m out of the Mu family, I can earn money myself and pay you back slowly.”

After Mu Dingxiang finished, Chu Yu fell into deep thought. She had heard some things about the Mu family, but she hadn’t expected them to be shameless to this degree. Looking at the girl who was almost skin and bones, she sighed and asked:

“Does your hand still hurt?”

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