The woman slapped her thighs twice, wearing an expression of pity.
“You useless, worthless thing!”
She grabbed the broom from the corner and swung it at Mu Guiying. “I’ll beat you to death!”
Mu Guiying was startled by the scene before her. Before she could react, the broom handle had already struck her body.
Her early summer clothing was thin, and Mu Guiying felt a burning pain where she’d been hit.
She jumped off the kang, trying to wrest the broom away from her aunt Liu E, but her petite frame was no match for Liu E’s robust build—they weren’t even in the same league.
The broom handle landed on her back again, sending another wave of searing pain through her.
“You ungrateful wretch! You eat my food, wear my clothes, and you dare fight back?” Liu E, provoked, struck even harder.
Mu Guiying ran around the room, dodging the broom.
Confronting her head-on clearly wasn’t working!
Mu Guiying quickly begged for mercy, deciding to try a more roundabout strategy.
“Aunt, if you injure me, Gu Yunche will truly lose interest in me,” Mu Guiying said, circling around the round wooden table to avoid Liu E. “Besides, the reason it didn’t work earlier was that you didn’t put enough of the drug in the wine. Gu Yunche sobered up too quickly, so I couldn’t succeed.”
Outside the door, Gu Yunche, who had returned upon hearing the commotion inside, overheard Mu Guiying’s words clearly. His stern face grew even darker.
He sneered coldly. “Tsk, so she was playing hard to get earlier!”
Gu Yunche hadn’t expected that Mu Guiying, raised in the countryside, would even know the sixteenth stratagem from the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Her earlier pleas for him to leave quickly and not abandon her had all been part of her tactical game with him.
As someone who led troops year-round, he had actually been outmaneuvered by this young girl.
At this thought, Gu Yunche strode away.
Suddenly, he bumped into a sturdy, simple-looking man.
The man had clear, honest eyes and seemed genuinely straightforward.
He grinned apologetically. “Sorry, brother. I’m in a hurry to save my wife—didn’t mean to bump into you.”
Gu Yunche frowned. “Who’s your wife?”
“Guiying, of course. Guiying is my wife.”
The man grinned broadly, a look of simple-minded pride on his face, appearing both honest and foolish.
Gu Yunche closed his eyes in frustration.
So Mu Guiying was already married—no wonder she had been so adept at seducing him earlier.
Had she lied to the Gu family about her age?
If so, what was he even doing here?
Had he come all this way to take home a married woman who tried to seduce him, just to get her a household registration in the capital?
With that thought, he turned and walked away without looking back.
Gu Yunche headed to the village committee to call his mother and inform her of the situation: Mu Guiying was utterly unworthy of the Gu family’s years of care and entirely unfit to be taken to the capital.
Inside the room, Liu E was growing dizzy from chasing Mu Guiying around the table.
Catching her breath with her hands on her hips, she saw her foolish son burst in.
“Mom, don’t hit Guiying! If you hurt her, I won’t have a wife anymore.”
Mu Guiying stared as the fool from the book suddenly appeared before her eyes, gasping in shock.
Liu E’s eldest son was twenty-five. As a child, he had suffered a high fever one night that damaged his brain.
Outwardly, he seemed merely simple, not overly foolish, but at night he would scream and shout uncontrollably because he was afraid of the dark. Outsiders might not realize he was mentally impaired during the day, but his abnormality became obvious after dark.
Mu Guiying shrank back in fear, only to see the fool approach and pull her tightly into his arms.
He leaned in to kiss Mu Guiying. “Wife, I want a kiss! After a kiss, you won’t hurt anymore!”
Mu Guiying desperately covered the fool’s mouth.
She pleaded with Liu E, “Aunt, if I become dirty, Gu Yunche won’t want me anymore. Then the money for Second Brother’s marriage will be completely gone.”
Liu E caught her breath and slapped the back of her eldest son’s neck.
“Stop fooling around. Your wife hasn’t earned any money for our family yet. Don’t mess things up.”
The fool listened to his mother and released Mu Guiying.
Mu Guiying breathed a slight sigh of relief, only to hear Liu E speak again.
“Son, your wife doesn’t listen to me. Lock her in the woodshed and don’t give her any dinner tonight.”
The fool acted as if he had received a military order, hoisted Mu Guiying onto his shoulder, and carried her to the woodshed.
All the way, Mu Guiying’s struggles with her hands and feet were futile.
During her years in Liu E’s household, she had been underfed, poorly clothed, and still had to feed pigs and cook. She ate little but worked hard—how could she have the strength of a young, robust man?
The fool placed her on the pile of firewood.
“Wife, stay here quietly. I’ll sneak you some cornbread for dinner.”
Mu Guiying rolled her eyes.
“Oh, how kind of you! I should thank you!”
“No need to thank me. You’re my wife.”
The fool clapped his hands, looking delighted.
Mu Guiying, “…”
After the fool locked the door from the outside and left, Mu Guiying surveyed the woodshed.
There was only one small window, but it was boarded up from the outside. If she wanted to escape, she would have to wait for the fool to bring her food and seize the opportunity then.
Recalling the events of the past half-day, Mu Guiying sighed deeply, but her mind grew clearer.
Since she had come here, she must not repeat the same mistakes!
She had no desire to die alone and helpless in a smuggling boat as described in the book.
Suddenly, Liu E’s voice came from outside.
“Grandpa Wang, Regiment Commander Gu hasn’t had enough to drink. It’s all Guiying’s fault for not knowing how to entertain guests.”
Grandpa Wang said something else, but Mu Guiying couldn’t make it out.
However, Liu E’s loud voice rang out clearly, “Regiment Commander Gu came to pick up Guiying. I can’t treat him poorly. I’ll go invite him over for another round of drinks tonight. Grandpa Wang, please help me slaughter another chicken.”
Liu E was really going all out!
To ensure Mu Guiying succeeded in climbing into bed with him, she was killing another chicken.
Meanwhile, the village Party branch secretary watched anxiously as Gu Yunche made a long-distance call in the office for nearly 20 minutes!
He sighed inwardly, thinking about how much this phone call must be costing.
Just then, Gu Yunche raised his voice, his magnetic and clear tone tinged with helplessness.
“Mom, why won’t you trust my judgment? That Mu Guiying is not a good person. I won’t take her back to the capital.”
He rubbed his temples. “As for Uncle Bai’s daughter, Bai Lin, I’ll go to the provincial capital to pick her up.”
The village Party branch secretary frowned upon hearing this.
So, the officer from the capital had changed his mind and didn’t want to take Mu Guiying back to the capital?
Did that mean Guiying would have to marry Liu E’s foolish son?
Gu Yunche listened to the phone for a while longer.
He reluctantly conceded, “Alright, I’ll observe for one more night. But I’m afraid she’ll disappoint you.”
With that, he hung up the receiver, his expression dark and unreadable.
Just as the village Party branch secretary was about to enter and explain Guiying’s situation, Liu E rushed in breathlessly.
As soon as she entered, she exclaimed, “Regiment Commander Gu, I’m here to invite you over for drinks.”
Gu Yunche’s cool gaze swept over Liu E.
A mocking smile appeared on his lips.
“That’s perfect, I quite like Aunt Liu’s wine.”
Liu E couldn’t stop smiling when she heard this.
She wiped her rough hands on her clothes, “Alright then, I’ll go to the store now to buy peanuts and braised pig’s trotters.”
Liu E glanced at the village Party branch secretary, who seemed about to speak but hesitated, fearing he might say something that could ruin things.
She said cheerfully, “Village Party branch secretary, come with me, I happen to have something to discuss with you.”
The village Party branch secretary thought for a moment; since he couldn’t persuade Gu Yunche, he could only try to persuade Liu E to be kinder.
Seeing the village Party branch secretary about to leave, Gu Yunche stood up.
He said gravely, “Wait a moment.”