Chapter 3: The Countryside Wife and the White Moonlight (3)

After a round of relentless wrangling, Su Yu managed to secure her rightful entitlements before pushing him past the brink—such as accompanying him to formal banquets.

With her current appearance, Mo Chengyuan would have to be insane to take her anywhere near high society.

Mo Chengyuan glared at her coldly. “You want to accompany me to banquets? Fine. Mo Chengyuan’s wife will not humiliate me looking like a rustic provincial bumpkin. Shed twenty jin first, and then we’ll talk.”

Su Yu agreed without hesitation. “Very well. It’s only twenty jin.”

Once their terms were settled, Mo Chengyuan picked up the telephone to summon the butler.

Su Yu stared at the device with apparent curiosity. Hanging up the receiver, Mo Chengyuan sneered, “Never seen one before? Find it miraculous, do you?”

Su Yu withdrew her gaze and replied placidly, “While keeping vigil over our parents’ graves, there were certainly no such contraptions. Will the quarters the Marshal assigns me have one as well?”

Mo Chengyuan’s face turned black as thunder. Were it not for the sake of his deceased parents, how could he ever tolerate this woman’s insolence?

A knock sounded at the door, and the butler entered. “Marshal.”

Mo Chengyuan pointed at Su Yu. “Arrange accommodations for this woman.”

The butler looked up and recoiled in surprise. “Marshal, may I ask who this…”

Her appearance was that of a scullery maid or domestic servant, yet why would an ordinary servant warrant the Marshal personally summoning him?

“My name is Su Yu,” she announced. “I am the Marshal’s wife from the rural planet.”

The butler’s eyes flew wide in shock, and he instinctively glanced at Mo Chengyuan.

With a scowling face, Mo Chengyuan made no denial. “Must your mouth run constantly?”

Su Yu addressed the stunned butler, “Shall we?” With that, she pulled open the door and stepped out first.

The butler scrambled after her, carefully closing the study door before hurrying downstairs to catch up.

Su Yu waited outside for him. Jogging up, the butler said, “Madam, my surname is Qian. You may call me Butler Qian.”

Su Yu nodded. “Butler Qian, my quarters must be adequately quiet, with enough open space for running. As for my daily meals, I will write out a menu, and you are to have the kitchen prepare them strictly according to my instructions.”

“Understood, Madam.” Butler Qian inquired, “Madam, Beiyuan covers a vast expanse—more than enough for running, or even horse racing. How would you like me to arrange your stay there?”

“That will do.”

It took a full half-hour to traverse the Marshal’s Manor from the southernmost end to the northernmost tip. Standing before the gates of Beiyuan, Su Yu said meaningfully, “Butler Qian certainly knows how to read the room. No wonder you hold the post of butler.”

Recognizing Mo Chengyuan’s disdain for her, he had placed her as far away from the master as humanly possible.

“You flatter me, Madam,” Butler Qian replied, bowing as he ushered her inside.

Past the gate lay an open courtyard paved with bluestone pavers, lined along the wall with weeping willows. It was the third month of spring, and the willows were sprouting tender green shoots, swaying gently in the crisp breeze.

Su Yu took a tour around the row of tiled-roof buildings with Butler Qian, nodding in satisfaction. “Not bad. Butler Qian, I require only one sturdy older matron to fetch meals and carry water.”

“Regarding that…” Butler Qian hesitated. “Madam, older matrons are often shrewd and unruly. It might be better to assign you a maid instead. The manor has several robust young maidservants. I shall bring them for your inspection shortly, and you may select from among them.”

“Very well.”

Su Yu stepped inside. The main hall was furnished with two rows of Grandmaster chairs for receiving guests.

The east wing served as the bedchamber, featuring a huanghuali canopy bed. Opposite it, beside the dressing table, stood a slender, oval full-length mirror with intricately carved borders.

In the west wing, a desk rested against the window, backed by a curio shelf adorned with porcelain vases of various designs.

The rooms were clearly swept daily, without a speck of dust in sight.

Su Yu instructed Butler Qian to bring the maids over for her selection.

The mustache beneath Butler Qian’s nose twitched into a smile. “Madam may rest for a while. I shall summon you once they have arrived.”

Su Yu added, “Fetch me some newspapers and books to pass the time, along with a fountain pen and ink. For dinner, I want a bowl of cabbage hearts boiled in plain water—no seasonings whatsoever.”

Butler Qian agreed to each request.

Once Butler Qian had departed, Su Yu ran several laps around the courtyard, stopping only when her legs grew too sore to lift.

123 chimed in: [Host, staying in the Marshal’s Manor is so dreadfully dull! Look at this courtyard—there’s nothing here! And you’re so far from Mo Chengyuan; how are you supposed to stop him from being with his White Moonlight?]

Su Yu propped one leg against a tree trunk to stretch. “Standing before Mo Chengyuan looking as I do now would accomplish nothing except earning his revulsion. It does nothing to advance the mission.”

Butler Qian returned, leading five maidservants inside.

Su Yu lowered her leg. “…These are the robust maids you spoke of?”

They’re just fat.

Each girl was rounder than the last. Standing beside them, Su Yu would look positively slender.

Butler Qian cleared his throat awkwardly. “Madam, though they appear somewhat stout, they possess great strength. They are diligent workers and never complain.”

Accustomed to manual labor on the rural planet, Su Yu’s body possessed considerable strength. She dragged a slab of bluestone from beneath a tree and set it before the maids. “Whoever can lift this may stay.”

The five maids stepped forward one by one, from the thinnest to the heaviest. Only the fattest of them hoisted the stone with ease; the others flushed crimson, the rock refusing to budge an inch.

Su Yu asked, “What is your name?”

The plump maid spoke in a surprisingly delicate voice. “Madam, my name is Li Hua.”

“Very well. Li Hua stays. The rest of you may go.”

Compared to the other four, Li Hua was genuinely honest.

Anyone with an ounce of wit would avoid being chosen to serve a woman in such an awkward position. The stone Su Yu had moved weighed ten jin at most—any ordinary person could have lifted it easily. The others hadn’t failed for lack of strength; they simply hadn’t wanted to lift it.

With the maid selected, Butler Qian escorted the other four away, pausing to say, “Madam, the kitchen serves meals at seven every evening. You may send Li Hua to collect your dinner shortly. It is too late to purchase the items you requested today, but I will deliver them tomorrow morning.”

Su Yu nodded. “Thank you, Butler Qian.”

Once they had gone, only Su Yu and Li Hua remained in the vast courtyard.

Su Yu strolled forward, asking, “Did you sign an indenture of sale, or are you hired help?”

Li Hua wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, struggling to keep pace with Su Yu. “Re-replying to Madam, I signed an indenture of sale.”

“How old are you, Li Hua?”

“F-Fourteen.”

Su Yu halted and turned to look at the girl panting and drenched in sweat. “Fourteen?”

Does this count as hiring child labor?

Li Hua stopped as well, gasping for breath, her face burning with nervous embarrassment. “Thirteen by Western reckoning.” She assumed Su Yu found her too old.

Su Yu: “…”

With a mental age of thirty, Li Hua could practically be her daughter.