The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Chu Yu never expected that the Bai family, having already taken her silver, would come knocking again. Yet, just as she finished slaughtering a pig and returned home this morning, the Bai family’s carriage arrived at Furong Village, asking everywhere for the location of the Chu residence.

As the carriage crossed the stone bridge, Chu Yu and Mu Dingxiang were working in the fields. Hearing the sound of rolling wheels from afar, Chu Yu’s face darkened as she watched the vehicle, which clearly clashed with the surrounding scenery bearing a “Bai” family marker on its frame.

She told Mu Dingxiang to stay in the field and not come over, then she set down her hoe and walked toward the roadside.

Once the carriage came to a halt, the driver placed a small footstool on the ground and lifted the curtain to invite the passengers out.

The first to alight was the noble-looking Young Master of the Bai family, Bai Fuhong, followed by the wealthy “Tai-tai,” Madam Bai.

Stepping onto the ground, Bai Fuhong fanned himself with a folding fan, looking every bit the romantic and elegant scholar. He frowned slightly as he watched Chu Yu approach from the distance, her pant legs rolled up unevenly at different heights.

A woman as radiant as the moon and breeze should have lived in a high pavilion to be admired, proud and untainted by the mortal world. Yet, this person had never lived according to his wishes. First, she took up the trade of a butcher, and now she had run back to her hometown to farm. How could this not frustrate him?

He no longer looked down on her for being the daughter of a household servant; why couldn’t she show some ambition and find a more respectable livelihood?

Moreover, she was already twenty-six. He didn’t mind her age, so why couldn’t she be more understanding of him? Why couldn’t she do more to please his mother and grandfather? She always left him caught in the middle, making things difficult for him.

What angered Bai Fuhong most was that while he was studying at the academy, Chu Yu had moved back to Furong Village without a word. He knew the family’s current conditions were not what they used to be, having moved from a large mansion to a small house. His mother said Chu Yu was someone who “loved the rich and loathed the poor,” and that was why she had left the Bai family.

But he didn’t believe it. They had grown up together; Bai Fuhong knew she was definitely not that kind of person. Perhaps it was as people said: women often want to “play hard to get,” wanting a man to put more thought into them and coax them more.

But currently, he was busy with his studies. In the several provincial examinations over recent years, he had always fallen just a bit short, just one final step away. She didn’t know how to be considerate of him; it was one thing that she didn’t help stabilize his “rear guard,” but she had fled alone. This made him very displeased.

Now that he had been considerate enough to come personally to Furong Village to fetch her, surely she wouldn’t be so ungrateful as to continue putting on airs and refuse to return?

Watching Chu Yu walk toward them, her rolled-up sleeves and pant legs did not diminish her pretty and gallant posture in the slightest. Her long hair was tied behind her head, making her look even more refreshed and nimble. She was tall and stood straight, walking toward the two of them step by step. Looking at her increasingly charming face, Bai Fuhong felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

Bai Fuhong suppressed his inner excitement. He had liked Chu Yu since childhood; he had even spoken to his mother about it and subtly mentioned it to Chu Yu several times. Though she had refused using various excuses, he felt she still liked him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have worked so tirelessly, treating the Bai family’s affairs as her own, and she was exceptionally good to him.

Perhaps she felt her age was too much greater than his, Bai Fuhong thought. Perhaps it was due to a woman’s modesty and bashfulness. Precisely because of this, he didn’t blame her for playing hard to get; he was willing to set aside his status and come personally to bring her back to the Bai Manor.

Chu Yu walked to the side of the carriage, looking at the elegantly dressed mother and son. The fabric they wore and the gold and silver necklaces around their necks were all of the same grade as the Bai family’s peak period.

Now that the Bai Manor had fallen into such ruin, the daily expenses and standard of living for this mother and son were actually still this high. This made Chu Yu’s heart ache for her money; how much of the silver she had lent out was spent on these things? And how much was actually used to treat Bai Fuhong’s father’s illness?

“What have you come here for?” Chu Yu’s heart ached for her money, so her tone naturally wasn’t very pleasant.

But this tone immediately made Bai Fuhong very displeased. He said somewhat reproachfully, “Chu Yu, is this any way to speak to an elder?”

“An elder? Madam Bai? Aside from being older, she isn’t exactly an elder to me. Now that you two have come to my Furong Village, you can only be considered guests. But I wonder what business brings guests from so far away? Could it be that the 80 taels of silver you borrowed last time have been saved up, and you’ve come specifically to pay me back? If so, I would be eternally grateful.”

“80 taels last time?” Bai Fuhong looked at Madam Bai with some confusion.

Madam Bai hurriedly changed the subject. “Xiao Yu, we’ve come all this way; won’t you invite us into your home to sit for a while?”

Chu Yu crossed her arms and looked at the entire valley, letting out a long sigh. “Madam, looking at this place, where do I have a house to invite you into?”

Only then did Madam Bai look around. Indeed, she saw no houses, though there was a pile of ruins further ahead, but it was uninhabitable. She asked hesitantly, “Then where do you usually live?”

“I live in a cave. Ever since I was driven out of your residence, I’ve had no fixed abode. I wanted to build a house, but Madam and the Old Master said the Master was deathly ill and wanted to borrow money from me. I had no choice but to give all the savings I’d accumulated over the years to your Bai family. Because of that, the house couldn’t be built, and I can only live in a cave.” Chu Yu looked at Bai Fuhong’s ignorant expression; it seemed the Old Master and daughter-in-law had kept this “blockhead” in the dark about taking money from her. She simply said it to his face.

The matter she intended to hide from her son was suddenly blurted out by Chu Yu, making Madam Bai feel embarrassed. But she said somewhat unwillingly, “I heard you’re about to build a house recently; surely you’ve saved enough money again? I didn’t expect that butcher shop of yours to be so profitable saving enough for a courtyard in just half a year.”

Hearing this, Chu Yu instantly became alert. “Madam, you haven’t come this time because…”

Madam Bai interrupted her. “Xiao Yu, let’s step aside to talk.”

Chu Yu didn’t see what there was to hide. It was just a family in decline whose business couldn’t continue, trying every means to fleece the daughter of their former housekeeper. Bai Fuhong was nearly 20; he would be the head of this household in the future. To keep him in the dark even at this stage was simply beyond understanding.

“Madam can just speak here. There’s no one else, and the Little Young Master isn’t an outsider; there’s nothing that can’t be said.”

Bai Fuhong’s outing with his mother today was a coincidence. Ever since Chu Yu moved back to Furong Village, he had been unable to see her. Usually, his morning classes at the academy were quite full, so he had no time then, and in the afternoon, Chu Yu was no longer at the shop. Finally, when the academy was on break, he went several times only to find her coincidentally away from the stall. Things had dragged on until now.

This morning, hearing his mother was going to find Chu Yu, he made a fuss to come along.

Madam Bai didn’t want to bring him, but Bai Fuhong was persistent. The Bai family had always doted on him and couldn’t bear to say no, so they brought him along.

Originally, she thought once they reached Chu Yu’s home, she would find a chance to avoid Bai Fuhong and speak. But who knew the Chu family didn’t even have a house; now there was nowhere to avoid him.

Madam Bai glanced at Bai Fuhong. Privately, she didn’t want her “jade-like” son to know about these embarrassing matters, nor did she want him to touch even a bit of the household’s mundane chores. But currently, the Bai family’s situation was no longer what it used to be. If this dragged on, he would have to know the state of the home sooner or later.

Furthermore, her son had always favored Chu Yu; if they could persuade her to return to the Bai family, given her speed at earning money, she could help pull the Bai family up.

With this in mind, Madam Bai’s previous hesitation vanished in an instant.

“Xiao Yu, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you once more. You know the current situation of the Bai Manor; Hong-er’s father’s illness shows no sign of improvement, and the family shops have all been mortgaged away. There are only a dozen or so mu of land left to collect rent, but the farmers had no harvest this year, and the rent can’t be collected. Even if it were, it would be a drop in the ocean.” Madam Bai spoke with a face full of sorrow.

Chu Yu didn’t chime in. Before they took 80 taels from her last time, they had also talked like this, saying how tragic, how tragic things were.

Seeing she remained silent, Madam Bai had to brace herself and continue: “Now the Master’s illness has worsened, and Hong-er’s expenses at the academy are high. The manor’s income doesn’t meet its outgoings. I heard you’re about to build a house; I assume your business has done well these past six months, and you’ve saved enough to build a house all at once. That would be 40 or 50 taels.

My father-in-law said to see if we could ‘move’ a bit from you first to temporarily ease the current difficulties. Once the situation improves a bit, we’ll pay it all back to you.”

Bai Fuhong never expected his mother’s visit today was actually to borrow money from Chu Yu. He froze on the spot. He had always been the treasure in the Bai family’s palm, living a life of fine food and clothing. No matter how poor the family was, his share was never shorted. He never needed to ask about the Bai family business, only needing to study well.

For so many years, he hadn’t noticed that the family situation was worsening day by day. He only thought that his father being ill might make things slightly worse than before, but he never imagined the Bai Manor had reached this point.

To actually sink to the point of borrowing money from the daughter of a former servant—and this person was the one he favored.

And Chu Yu, having heard Madam Bai’s speech, felt a chill in her heart. She hadn’t expected anything good from their arrival, but hearing them shamelessly mention money again, she felt nothing but rage.

She suppressed the fire in her heart, trying to keep her voice from being too sharp, saying word by word: “Madam Bai, look at me. I’m so poor I sleep in a cave. Yet you come to this mountain nook dressed in silk and gold jewelry, riding a luxury carriage, to borrow money from a poor person. Don’t you feel this is quite shameless?”

Bai Fuhong had always been proud before Chu Yu. Under these circumstances, how could he not feel he had lost face? But hearing Chu Yu’s aggressive posture, he couldn’t help but want to scold her: “Chu Yu, why is it that after returning to the countryside, you’ve become so crude? You even dare to talk back to my mother.”

“You call this ‘talking back’? You haven’t even listened to what kind of demand you’re making. Young Master Bai, if you feel a crude village woman like me has offended you, you needn’t stay here. Go back to your precious Bai Manor immediately.”

“Chu Yu, you—”

Before Bai Fuhong could speak, Madam Bai hurriedly to grab his hand. “Hong-er, it’s not Xiao Yu’s fault. It’s just that our Bai family has poor luck. Now that we’ve lost our standing, no one is willing to help us wholeheartedly anymore.”

Chu Yu found these words very grating, and her tone became extremely cold: “Madam Bai, those words are truly unpleasant to hear. Aren’t you indirectly calling me someone who ‘watches a person die without saving them’? If I truly stood by and did nothing, what were those 80 taels last time? I truly cannot believe the Bai Manor has reached such a degree of ingratitude.”

Bai Fuhong was a member of the Bai family and naturally wouldn’t allow someone to call them ungrateful. Hearing Chu Yu say this, he immediately felt displeased: “Chu Yu, although the Bai Manor is facing some difficulties right now, that is no reason for you to wantonly trample on and insult us.”

The person Chu Yu hated most in her life was this kind of “righteous-yet-self-important” scholar who loved to split hairs. Her anger surged, and she said impatiently: “If you truly feel I am standing by without helping, and that I am trampling on your Bai family, then let me go all the way. Madam, regarding those 80 taels of silver exactly when can your Bai Manor pay me back? I’m currently short several dozen taels for building my house. You need to return the money as soon as possible, otherwise I won’t be able to stock my stone materials.”

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