The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chu Yu looked down at the small figure enclosed in her arms, resting a hand on her waist and feeling the girl’s excessively thin frame, which brought to mind everything she had said that afternoon. She truly could not imagine that there were parents in this world who treated their daughter like cattle or dogs.

At this moment, Mu Dingxiang was unable to think much at all. Chu Yu was enveloped in a rich, fragrant scent that tightly surrounded her. She wondered how a butcher, who dealt with smelly pigs all day, could smell so good.

While her mind was wandering, a low, raspy voice sounded in her ear.

“We’re here.”

Mu Dingxiang looked up and saw the fork in the road leading to the Mu house. From here, it would take less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick to arrive.

After dismounting, Mu Dingxiang looked up at Chu Yu on the horse. Everything felt surreal; if her stomach weren’t still bulging, she might have doubted whether she had actually gone to the Chu house at the end of the village or visited that cave.

“You will come tomorrow morning, right?” Mu Dingxiang confirmed tentatively.

A heart that has been betrayed and trampled upon for a long time can only find peace through repeated confirmation.

Seeing her panicked, fawn-like eyes and the face tilted up in expectation, Chu Yu did not show any impatience. She tried her best to look trustworthy. “Mhm, I will be there.”

Only then did Mu Dingxiang feel settled. She waved her hand and turned to run toward the Mu house.

Watching the girl’s rare, light-footed silhouette disappear into the night, Chu Yu’s gentle expression gradually shifted, and a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

When Mu Dingxiang reached home, the Mu couple and Matchmaker Wang from the neighboring village were sitting in the courtyard discussing something. She didn’t care to listen and went straight to her room without a glance.

Ordinarily, if Mu Mother saw such an attitude, she would have burst into a loud scolding. But tonight was different; she even squeezed out a smile at Mu Dingxiang’s back. “Sanya is back.”

Mu Dingxiang didn’t look back. Once inside, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

Mu Jueming, who was lying idly on the bed, jumped at the loud noise. Seeing it was her, he cursed, “You bitch! What, you’re starting to act tough with me just because you’re getting married tomorrow?”

Mu Dingxiang ignored him. She didn’t want them to know about Chu Yu, so she took off her shoes and lay down on the bed.

“Still ignoring me? You don’t know yet, do you? Mom and Dad are betrothing you to Widower Zhang. Tomorrow he’s coming to deliver the bride price and take you away,” Mu Jueming said smugly. “Let’s place a bet: how many years can you survive in his house? His previous three wives lasted three years at most.”

“But don’t worry, our houses are so close; Widower Zhang should refrain from making it too miserable for you for Mom and Dad’s sake. Er—well, it’s hard to say. Men sometimes don’t know their own strength.”

Mu Dingxiang tried her best to ignore the annoying fly buzzing behind her, but the room was so small that even covering her ears couldn’t drown out the grating noise of Mu Jueming’s “duck-like” voice.

“Mu Dingxiang, don’t think you’re done with us just because you’re married. You’ll have to get up in the morning and come to our house to do the field work just like before. I’m certainly not going to the fields,” Mu Jueming grumbled.

Previously, he thought that once Mu Dingxiang was married—like his other two sisters—the task of farming the family land would fall to him. Habitually lazy, he was a thousand times unwilling. However, after hearing his parents’ plan this afternoon, his heart was filled with wild joy.

Hiding under the quilt, Mu Dingxiang felt an infinite sorrow. In what family does a daughter return to her natal home during the day to farm after marriage? The Mu family was truly pushing things too far.

Could there really be such parents in this world? Other families had maternal love and filial sons; why did her family treat a daughter like a slave?

Fortunately, she was lucky. She had found Chu Yu.

Recalling the scenes from earlier that evening, Chu Yu—the most free and unrestrained person in her heart—had actually agreed to help her. Mu Dingxiang’s heart was in a state of upheaval.

How fortunate.

But a faint worry still lingered. After all, everything was still an unknown. Even whether Chu Yu would show up tomorrow was not a certainty. Dread and unease swirled in her mind, making it difficult to find peace.

Just then, a thundering knock came from the door.

“Sanya, open the door! Sanya—”

Mu Dingxiang heard Mu Mother’s sharp voice. It had always been ear-piercing, but tonight it felt even worse. She had no intention of getting up to open the door.

Mu Jueming, however, was bothered by the noise and shouted at her, “Mom wants you to open the door, why don’t you do it?”

Mu Dingxiang didn’t answer him. Mu Jueming grew angry, but as the knocking didn’t stop, he had no choice but to sit up, put on his clogs, and open the door.

“It’s bedtime, why keep knocking like that?”

Mu Mother glared at her son, pushed him aside, and walked to Mu Dingxiang’s bed holding a set of red clothes. “Sanya, get up tomorrow morning and put these on. It’s festive.”

Mu Jueming sneered. “Festive! What’s festive about marrying Widower Zhang? Hope she doesn’t get worked to death in two days.”

Hearing this, Mu Mother became furious. She grabbed whatever was on the table and threw it at him, cursing, “On such a joyous day, what kind of nonsense is coming out of your mouth?”

Mu Jueming was used to being hit; besides, Mu Mother didn’t really intend to strike him hard. He ran around yelping, and for a while, the room was a chaotic mess. Mu Dingxiang stayed huddled under her quilt, motionless and unresponsive.

Mu Mother said a few more words, and seeing her daughter remain like this, she would normally have taught her a lesson. But today was not the day for violence, so she held back her anger and left.

Mu Dingxiang did not sleep well. she had one dream after another. One moment, she dreamed of Widower Zhang hitting her with a wooden club; the next, she dreamed of Chu Yu wearing a red bridal robe and coming to fetch her in a palanquin. Then the scene shifted, and she dreamed of the Mu couple pouring a pot of corn gruel over her head.

She finally jolted awake from a nightmare just as dawn was approaching.

Seeing the sky turning light, she got up and dressed as usual. Looking at the red clothes Mu Mother had left on the bedside, her eyes turned dark. She took the clothes and stomped on them fiercely a dozen times. Feeling that wasn’t enough, she found scissors and cut the clothes into strips, then kicked the pile under the bed.

In the next bed, Mu Jueming was sleeping like a pig, completely oblivious.

She opened the door to leave and find a place to hide until Chu Yu arrived, but to her surprise, the wooden door wouldn’t budge no matter how she pulled. Mu Dingxiang realized instantly: Mu Mother was afraid she would flee in the night, so she had locked the door from the outside.

What a truly poisonous woman.

Mu Dingxiang had no choice but to sit back on the bed and wait, praying in her heart that Chu Yu would come quickly to take her away from this man-eating cage.

She waited until her body felt numb before the door finally creaked open.

Mu Mother saw she was already up but wasn’t wearing the clothes she had brought last night. “Where are the clothes from last night? Why haven’t you changed?” she asked in an unpleasant tone.

Mu Dingxiang ignored her and didn’t raise her head. Mu Mother had been irritated with her since last night, but she suppressed her temper and started searching. She looked everywhere but couldn’t find them. Thinking of something, she knelt on the ground and peered under the bed. The space was dark, but the sharp-eyed old woman spotted a bundle of something. She found a stick and poked it out, only to discover the bridal outfit had been shredded to pieces and stained with filth.

Mu Mother’s anger flared instantly. Forgetting what day it was, she unleashed a torrent of abuse at Mu Dingxiang.

“This little bitch is truly ungrateful! Shredding such good clothes like this!”

“I raised you all these years for nothing; I should have just thrown you in the river back then!”

“I’m telling you, whether you want to or not, you are marrying Zhang the Second today—”

Hearing his old woman shouting at the top of her lungs in the room and thinking about the matchmaker and Widower Zhang arriving soon, Old Man Mu walked to the door and stopped her. “I’m not looking for a fight this early, but this girl is asking for it!” Mu Mother barked. “Look at these clothes, shredded to bits. They cost me 50 wen! Is this any way to behave?”

Seeing the ruined clothes, Old Man Mu also felt a surge of anger. He stepped forward, intending to slap Mu Dingxiang, but remembering the occasion, he forced himself to stop.

“If she won’t wear them, she won’t. She’s marrying over regardless.” Old Man Mu’s face was grim as he walked out with his hands behind his back.

Mu Mother wanted to curse a few more times, but she heard footsteps and voices outside. Peering through the door crack, she saw Widower Zhang and Matchmaker Wang approaching with large bags and small parcels.

She muttered under her breath, “What an impatient dog, bringing the matchmaker before the sun is even up.” But the next second, her expression changed, and she walked out with a face full of smiles.

“Oh, welcome, welcome! Zhang the Second, Sister Wang, you’ve arrived!”

Listening to the noisy conversation outside, Mu Dingxiang never expected Widower Zhang to be this eager—arriving to claim his bride just as day broke, as if he hadn’t seen a woman in eight lifetimes. Coming so early, she didn’t know when Chu Yu would arrive.

Mu Dingxiang’s heart leapt into her throat as she grew frantic. Please don’t let them finalize everything before she gets here. If they do, it’ll turn into a kidnapping, which would be much more troublesome.

Just then, Matchmaker Wang’s oily voice drifted in: “Let the bride come out and give our new groom a look. No need to hide in the room on such a joyous day.”

Sure enough, a second later, Mu Mother unlocked the door and came in, whispering harshly, “When I tell you to go out, you go out. No one will take you for a mute if you stay quiet, and if you say a word out of turn or try to run, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”

Mu Dingxiang didn’t want to acknowledge her, nor did she want to go out, but Chu Yu hadn’t appeared yet. If those people saw she wouldn’t come out, they might just settle the matter directly, and then it would be over.

She had to go out and stall for time. In her heart, she prayed desperately for Chu Yu to appear.

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