Fated Deception: How I Accidentally Married a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 14: The Rumors Begin

At home, Su Liyan hastily explained the situation to Li Guifang: “No, auntie, it’s not what you think. My husband wants me to eat white flour and meat, but we had sweet potatoes that would spoil if not eaten.”

Li Guifang struggled to keep her expression neutral while inwardly rolling her eyes. The explanation sounded entirely implausible. Who would choose sweet potatoes over white flour and meat? And even if she wanted to avoid waste, why not include a few pieces of meat alongside the humble tubers?

Unable to voice these thoughts, Li Guifang simply left the two heads of garlic she’d brought as a neighborly gesture and departed. Su Liyan, misinterpreting the visit as simple kindness, accepted the garlic with genuine gratitude.

After finishing her modest lunch, Su Liyan lay down for a brief rest. The previous night’s activities and her early morning had left her fatigued. Thirty minutes later, she rose and returned to her chores—three more basins of laundry awaited her attention.

In the backyard, beneath the shade of ancient trees, the neighborhood women had reassembled after their midday meals. The summer heat made their homes unbearably stuffy, driving them outdoors despite the afternoon sun.

Even Wang Xu had emerged from seclusion. She had remained indoors all morning, nursing both her wounded pride and the still-visible bruising on her face. The humiliation of being struck and losing a potential daughter-in-law had initially kept her hidden away. But the stifling heat of her home eventually proved stronger than her shame.

By the time Su Liyan arrived with her laundry, Li Guifang had already shared her lunchtime observations with the gathered women. Their reactions ranged from shock to outrage as they whispered condemnations of Lu Yuan’s apparent miserliness.

Wang Xu, seizing the opportunity for vindication, offered a venomous assessment: “She deserves exactly this treatment. The girl clearly married him for his city residence and steady income. What a surprise to discover her ‘catch’ won’t even provide her a proper meal!”

The other women exchanged glances at this hypocritical display. Wang Xu’s family circumstances hardly positioned her to criticize others’ financial situations—by any measure, Lu Yuan’s means exceeded her own.

When Su Liyan appeared with three large basins of laundry, the gathered women fell momentarily silent. The volume of unwashed items suggested a concerning level of negligence. Did Lu Yuan accumulate dirty clothing for weeks before permitting his new wife to wash them?

Eventually, one woman broke the tension with a seemingly innocent question: “Where are you from, dear?”

Su Liyan looked up with a gentle smile. “Shigezhuang village.” She responded politely, aware that these women would be her neighbors for life. Establishing cordial relations was important, regardless of their initial reactions to her arrival.

The questioning continued casually—how many family members she had, her age. Su Liyan answered while continuing her work, revealing she was twenty years old—one year older than Lu Yuan.

Despite this age difference, Su Liyan referred to Lu Yuan as “brother,” partly from habit and partly because he enjoyed the term of endearment. In their society, city women typically addressed their husbands by name, while village wives used “shopkeeper.” The intimate form of address seemed a small concession to make for marital harmony.

After exhausting these preliminary inquiries, the women moved to matters of genuine interest. “How much bride price did your husband provide?” one asked directly.

“Ten yuan,” Su Liyan replied honestly.

The response elicited barely concealed disdain. City marriages commanded at least thirty yuan, plus the traditional “three turns and one ring”—typically a bicycle, sewing machine, and watch, with a ring completing the set. Even the most modest arrangements included at least one significant item, perhaps a radio.

To secure a bride of Su Liyan’s beauty and industriousness for merely ten yuan seemed an extraordinary bargain—or exploitation, depending on one’s perspective.

The questioning continued. Someone asked about their wedding banquet plans.

“We don’t have many relatives, so we’ve decided against it,” Su Liyan explained, repeating what she and Lu Yuan had discussed.

This revelation further disturbed the gathered women. While none particularly wanted an invitation that would require reciprocal gifts, the absence of a banquet suggested something deeply troubling about Lu Yuan’s character.

War, famine, and disease had certainly diminished many families, but modern banquets typically included neighbors and friends when blood relatives were scarce. Lu Yuan’s refusal seemed calculated to deprive Su Liyan of her moment of glory—the one day when a woman wore her finest attire and stood proudly beside her husband, receiving congratulations and good wishes.

More practically, weddings typically netted a small profit for the couple. Lu Yuan’s decision to forgo this tradition struck the women as both cruel and foolish.

Their collective indignation grew as they imagined themselves in Su Liyan’s position, recalling their own marital disappointments and injustices. Their silent judgment was unanimous: Lu Yuan was behaving unconscionably.

Finally, one woman posed the most revealing question: “How much monthly allowance does your husband provide?”

Su Liyan hesitated momentarily, remembering Lu Yuan’s instruction. “Eighty cents,” she answered softly.

A profound silence descended over the backyard, broken only by the rhythmic chirping of cicadas. The women exchanged glances of shock and outrage.

The verdict passed silently among them with absolute certainty: Lu Yuan was no man at all, but a beast.