The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The rain didn’t stop, and the master carpenter didn’t come to start work. By noon, there was still no sign of Chu Yu a phenomenon that almost never happened in the past. Mu Dingxiang comforted herself, thinking that perhaps because of the rain, Chu Yu had gone with Shi Man’s cart to the shop to take shelter.

But even so, a sudden sense of irritability that had arisen since yesterday made her restless all morning. She paced back and forth in the cave incessantly. After waiting for about another hour, she could no longer sit still. She grabbed an umbrella and headed out.

When she reached the riverbank, she carefully observed the surroundings for any signs of someone falling into the water, but she found nothing. Disturbed by her thoughts, she walked for a while longer, accidentally wandering further and further. By the time she snapped out of it, she realized she had actually walked near the old Mu family fields.

She saw a figure swaying through the thick curtain of rain. Looking closely, it was her mother in name Mother Mu. Remembering how that woman used to torment her, a wave of disgust filled her heart, and she turned to go back.

Unexpectedly, she was spotted by the sharp-eyed Mother Mu. The Mu family had been talking about harvesting rice half a month ago. Since Mother Mu went to ask Mu Dingxiang and Mu Yuzhu and no one was willing to come back to help, there had been no movement. The mother and son were lazy and unwilling to move, wanting only to wait for Old Man Mu to have a day off so they could go cut it together. Once Old Man Mu finally got a day of rest, it started to rain; after that, Old Man Mu was busy again, and the two grew lazy once more.

Other families were clearing their fields of stalks to prepare for the second season of crops. On the north bank at the Chu house, the seedlings had already sprouted. Meanwhile, the Mu family worked one day and rested for three; more than half the harvest remained uncollected.

Now with this sudden heavy rain, the rice was all soaking in the water. Mother Mu began to feel the pain in her heart again. She woke up early and started scolding—first cursing Mu Dingxiang and Mu Yuzhu, calling them daughters who forgot their natal home once married and wouldn’t come back to help; next she cursed Mu Jueming for being idle all day and not working, letting the rice rot in the field; then she cursed the heavens for being blind, sending heavy rain at this time and leaving people with nothing to eat.

Although she was unwilling to go into the fields to harvest, it didn’t stop her from coming out on a rainy day to inspect. Looking at the rice soaking in the water, her heart ached in waves. Just as she was grumbling and about to head back, she saw a figure on the main road. Looking closely, it was Mu Dingxiang. Recalling the unharvested rice in the field before her, her heart was filled with resentment. If the girl hadn’t gone to seduce Chu Yu, this rice would have been harvested and traded for quite a lot of silver by now.

The two were far apart and it was raining; Mother Mu cursed a few times, felt it was dull, and turned to leave.

Mu Dingxiang walked a few steps further, but there was still no sign of Chu Yu. She felt anxious but didn’t know where to look for her. There was a small bamboo shed by the road used for travelers to rest, so she went inside to shelter from the rain for a bit.

Watching the curtain of rain, she dazed for a while, suddenly feeling a chill throughout her body. She decided to head home first, but when she turned around, she discovered her umbrella was gone. She froze in place instantly.

In fact, she didn’t even have to think about it; it must have been taken by that woman.

Mu Dingxiang didn’t have the energy left to curse. She had seen enough of that woman’s sinister and poisonous face. Now that she knew the underlying reason, the fact that this woman would steal an umbrella didn’t seem strange at all.

But the rain was getting heavier, and Chu Yu still hadn’t returned. What was she to do? She couldn’t wait here forever. Moreover, with the strong wind and rain, she felt a wave of cold all over.

Mu Dingxiang hesitated for a good while, gritted her teeth, and decided to run home through the rain.

By the time she reached home, she was soaked to the bone like a drowned rat. Chu Yu wasn’t back, and she had no heart to tidy herself up. She hurriedly changed into dry clothes and sat despondently by the table waiting.

Because of the rain, Zhu-er hadn’t gone out to play. Seeing Mu Dingxiang’s unhappy look, the sprite considerately crawled into her arms and asked, “Why is Mother unhappy?”

Mu Dingxiang felt a wave of lethargy. She replied softly, “Because Chu Yu isn’t back yet. With such heavy rain, I don’t know if she’s staying at the shop or on the road; I’m just afraid she might have slipped and fallen on the slippery roads.”

Zhu-er hugged her neck and pressed against her face, saying, “Mother, don’t worry. Chu Yu is very strong; she won’t slip.”

Mu Dingxiang stroked its little head. “Only you know how to comfort people.”

The little bamboo sprite was delighted by the praise and giggled while holding onto Mu Dingxiang.

It wasn’t until late afternoon, near dusk, that Chu Yu finally returned.

The rain had lightened a bit. When she returned, she saw Zhu-er sitting alone at the cave entrance looking outside. She asked, “Zhu-er, why aren’t you with Mother?”

“Mother is sleepy-sleepy, sleeping,” Zhu-er turned to look at the bed.

Chu Yu looked at the lump on the bed, somewhat surprised. Normally, the girl rarely went to bed to sleep during the day. Could it be that because of the rain she had nothing to do but lie in bed?

By the time she took off her raincoat, a large patch of her clothes was still wet. She changed her clothes before walking to the bed, lightly patting Mu Dingxiang’s shoulder. The girl gave a soft moan and turned over. Only then did Chu Yu see the unnatural redness on her face. She hurriedly reached out to check; her fingertips felt a burning heat.

“Xiangxiang, Xiang-er—” Chu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. How could she have developed a fever in less than half a day while at home?

Mu Dingxiang was held in her arms and opened her eyes. Seeing she was back, she said, “You’re back.”

“Why is your hair still damp—Xiangxiang, you have a fever.”

Chu Yu touched her hair and realized it was damp. She knew then the girl had gone out into the rain. She hurriedly found a dry towel to help dry her hair, unable to stop herself from nagging: “Why go out on a rainy day instead of staying home properly? And you went out without even an umbrella.”

Zhu-er, hearing that Mu Dingxiang had a fever, also became anxious. She ran over da-da-da and said, “Chu Yu, you didn’t come back at noon. Mother said she was going to look for you. She had an umbrella when she left, but she didn’t have one when she came back.”

Hearing this, Chu Yu felt a surge of self-reproach. While drying the hair, she said, “What could happen to me? The rain was just too heavy, so I came back a bit late.”

After saying that, she felt a slight urge to pinch the girl’s bottom and give her a good spanking; running around in the heavy rain and making herself sick.

Once the hair was dry, Chu Yu changed her to a dry pillow and let her sleep. Then she went to the stove to start a fire and boil water. Fortunately, there was a shed over the stove area; though some rain drifted in, the place where the fire was made remained dry.

Once the water boiled, she propped up Mu Dingxiang to give her a little to drink and said, “Lie here and be good. I’m going to find a few medicinal herbs nearby to brew for you.”

Mu Dingxiang gave a muddled response and fell back into a deep sleep.

Chu Yu instructed Zhu-er to look after Mother, put on her raincoat, and headed out. She returned about half an hour later, soaked once more. She didn’t even care to change her clothes, washing the herbs and putting them on to brew immediately. Seeing Mu Dingxiang still lying there and Zhu-er staying obediently beside her without going anywhere, she finally changed her clothes, dried her hands, and touched the girl’s forehead.

It was still burning hot. She fed her some more boiled water. The girl was very well-behaved, not crying or making a fuss. Chu Yu wondered if she had encountered such colds and fevers in the past seventeen years; if she had, and no one cared for her, how had she made it through?

Thinking of this made her heart ache even more.

Finally, the medicine was brewed. She poured a small half-bowl and brought it to the bedside, blowing on it until it was ready to drink before propping her up.

Mu Dingxiang knew she was sick and that Chu Yu was taking care of her. Although her mind was muddled, she sat up and drank the half-bowl of medicine from her hand.

After drinking, she didn’t lie down immediately but leaned toward Chu Yu’s chest, huddling in her arms.

When people are sick, even if they are normally strong, they can’t help but want to act spoiled if someone is caring for them, wanting the other person to love and cherish them more. Mu Dingxiang was no exception, but she was used to being reserved and couldn’t bring herself to actually act spoiled. Chu Yu had always been tolerant of her; being able to cling to the other’s embrace while sick was enough to make her heart content.

However, because of the fever, she felt extremely uncomfortable all over. The breath from her mouth was hot. She was muddled and didn’t know what time it was, whether the rain had stopped outside, or even that Chu Yu’s appearance seemed blurry.

Chu Yu held her tenderly, stroking her now-dry hair. She said with some pain in her voice, “Why did you think of going out to look for me? Don’t I know how to look after myself? Why is the big umbrella gone?”

“It was stolen… by that woman,” Mu Dingxiang said with slurred speech. She wanted to sleep but couldn’t, feeling hot and miserable all over.

That woman,

Chu Yu froze for a moment before reacting immediately. Who else could “that woman” be but Mother Mu? Realizing it was Mother Mu who had caused Mu Dingxiang to be in this state, the temperature around her dropped sharply: “You mean that wicked woman of the Mu family stole your umbrella and made you get soaked in the rain?”

With her head pressed against Chu Yu’s chest, Mu Dingxiang thought of the Mu family’s attitude toward her. The image of Liu Niannian flashed muddledly through her mind—every time she saw her, she was with Ji Yunniang, with motherly kindness and filial love. Yet she herself could only be in those fields by the road day after day, working in tattered clothes, or on the way to cut pig grass for others, never having a moment of leisure.

Thinking about it, her heart turned bitter, her eyes grew hot, and tears began to fall rapidly down both cheeks.

Chu Yu’s hand was near her face and felt the hot, wet tears. She hurriedly lowered her head and asked, “Is it very painful? If it doesn’t work, I’ll go get a doctor.”

Hearing she was going to leave, Mu Dingxiang hurriedly grabbed her hand and said in a panic, “Chu Yu, don’t go… don’t leave me…”

Her voice was choked with sobs. Chu Yu’s heart ached and softened as she held her body, soothing her with a gentle voice: “I’m not going, I’m not going. I’m right here, I’ll stay with you always…”

Beside them, Zhu-er heard Mu Dingxiang crying and ran over da-da-da to climb onto the bed, starting to cry while holding her.

Chu Yu looked at the two little things in her arms, large and small, and hurriedly picked Zhu-er up to place her on the chair beside the bed: “Zhu-er, don’t move around. Mother is sick and uncomfortable. You have to be good, okay?”

Hearing that Mu Dingxiang was sick, Zhu-er’s eyebrows slumped. Her voice stopped, but more tears fell.

Chu Yu hurriedly said, “If you stay good and don’t make a fuss, Mother can get better quickly, okay?”

Only then did Zhu-er choke back her sobs, stop the tears, and return obediently to her little nest. But she still leaned against the stone wall, watching Mu Dingxiang from a distance, her small face full of worry.

“…Chu Yu… tell me, why… why did Auntie… why didn’t she want me…”

Mu Dingxiang was muddled, asking almost unconsciously while crying.

Chu Yu’s body jolted at the words. She thought she had heard wrong.

She thought the girl didn’t know—at least, not yet. But she hadn’t expected her to have perceived it so sensitively.

Because of the switched identities, an originally innocent girl had suffered over a decade of grievances, going hungry and cold, not even knowing why the parents in her home were so cruel as to treat her like an enemy.

Chu Yu lowered her head and kissed the top of her hair lightly. She said, “She didn’t ‘not want you.’ She pities and cherishes you more than anyone. And you have me. I will never ‘not want you.'”

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