Painting Enchantment - chapter 1

The sun was already high when I finally crawled out of bed.

Last night, Lu Yanzhi tormented me the whole night, and my waist and legs were still sore and aching when I got up.

Oh, where was Lu Yanzhi?

He was sleeping right beside me.

I patted him, telling him to get up.

No response.

I touched his small hand-it was cold.

I checked his breathing-none.

Oh, so he was dead.

I didn’t cry or make a fuss. I quickly got out of bed.

I ran to the woodshed next door, fetched some firewood, and heated a big bucket of water. Then I dragged Lu Yanzhi off the bed, stripped off his clothes, and tossed him in.

Smoke curled up, steam billowed, and after a good while, his body finally warmed up.

I wrapped him up in bedding like a spring roll and threw him back onto the bed, then pried open his mouth and poured in a big bowl of ginger soup I’d prepared.

After all this, I stopped and leaned on the bedside, waiting.

Half an hour later, Lu Yanzhi exhaled a turbid breath and slowly woke up.

His pitch-black eyes turned toward me, dark as ink.

“How many cups of tea did you drink this time?” I propped my head up, leaning on the bedside, and asked.

“Three cups.” The owner of those eyes smiled, sat up, put on his clothes, and turned to ask me, “You must be hungry. I’ll go cook you some noodles.”

I touched my rumbling, empty stomach, gave a shy smile, and nodded.

I am the daughter of Zhou the Blacksmith at the entrance of Huanxi Village.

And my husband is not human.

…

I am the wife Lu Yanzhi bought.

When I was born, my mother had a difficult labor.

Blood flowed for three days and nights before I finally came into the world.

The fortune-teller at the village entrance said my official star had entered the grave, and I was born to bring misfortune to my husband.

The villagers praised my looks, saying I was an exceptional beauty. Even the foolish son of Aunt Zhang next door would drool stupidly when he saw me.

But no one dared to marry me.

My father said he couldn’t let this face go to waste, and was planning to find a broker to sell me off, but Lu Yanzhi stopped him.

He asked how much. My father said ten copper coins.

He pulled out a silver ingot from his sleeve and said he wanted to buy me as his wife.

My father was overjoyed, didn’t care that this man valued beauty over his own life, and ran off, leaving me behind.

So I became Lu Yanzhi’s wife.

I said, “I bring misfortune to husbands. I can’t be a wife, only a servant.”

“A servant?” He turned to look at me for a long moment, then smiled and said:

“That’s a different price.”

“But your father already took the silver and ran, so you can only be my wife.”