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Facing Madam Wu’s angry glare, Ayuan didn’t know how to comfort her.
She could only lower her head and head back home.
With Wu Tianyou’s life hanging by a thread, it wasn’t appropriate for her to show up again.
Earlier, she had spotted that snake coiled nearby, and deliberately sat close to it. When Wu Tianyou reached out his hand toward her, the snake must have thought it was being threatened and struck.
As for why it hadn’t attacked her—most likely, even the snake knew she wasn’t easy prey.
When she returned home, her parents and grandmother weren’t there. Only her younger sister, Fangfang, was at home.
“Jie, I just heard someone got bitten by a snake! Where did it bite him? Is it serious? Did they give you any trouble?” Fangfang had seen the commotion when Wu Tianyou was carried to the brigade clinic and rushed back from gathering pigweed to check on her sister.
Cheng Yuanyue patted her head. “I’m fine. He tried to bully me, and even the snake couldn’t stand it—so it bit him instead.”
“That serves him right!” Fangfang’s face went pale when she heard he had tried to bully her sister. Only after remembering that he was lying in the clinic, bitten, did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Not long after, Shen Xiuying and her husband, along with Grandma Cheng, returned with Cheng Jiafu from the detention center. Before the family could even celebrate his release, they learned that Wu Tianyou had been bitten by a snake while taking Ayuan to the market. With no antivenom at the local clinic, he had already been sent to the county hospital—his life uncertain.
Grandma Cheng stormed into the house, grabbing a broom to beat Yuanyue.
“You cursed girl! In one day you’ve jinxed two men to death. Is your reputation not already ruined enough?”
This wretched child—what kind of fate was this?
Any man tied to her ended up dead!
How could she ever get married in the future? And worse—wouldn’t her bad reputation even affect her brother’s chances of marrying?
The old woman clutched her chest in pain. Truly, they had birthed a debt collector—a girl who brought nothing but misfortune.
“Grandma, you can’t hit my sister! It’s not her fault, it’s their bad luck!” Fangfang spread her arms wide, shielding her sister.
“This really isn’t Ayuan’s fault. She never wanted this to happen.” Shen Xiuying sighed. “Anyway, Jiafu is back now, and Ayuan doesn’t need to marry anyone. That’s already good enough.”
There was always so much work at home. If Ayuan had married out, it would have all fallen onto her shoulders instead.
“It’s all my fault,” Yuanyue said with guilt. “If I had known earlier I was cursed to bring misfortune to my husband, I would have warned them in advance. That way they wouldn’t have died for nothing. Next time someone comes with a marriage proposal, I’ll be honest and tell them so they know.”
Hearing this, Grandma Cheng nearly spat blood.
What nonsense!
If she went around warning people she was fated to kill her husband—who would ever dare marry her?
“Enough! We’ll deal with your marriage later. Your brother’s home today—kill a chicken and make some extra dishes.”
“Yes,” Yuanyue replied obediently, just like when she was a child.
Seeing her so docile, the old woman held her tongue. Instead, she lit a basin of straw and made Jiafu step over it, calling it a ritual to drive away bad luck.
When Jiafu got home, he behaved like a little lord.
The moment he sat down, he ordered Fangfang to pour him water. After serving him, she quickly went to the kitchen to help her sister.
In this family, everything revolved around the eldest son. She and her sister were long used to it.
If they ever disobeyed him, their parents or grandmother would explode in anger. Once, when her sister refused to do Jiafu’s homework, Grandma had thrown her into the pond in a rage. Another time, when she didn’t wash his clothes on time, the old woman carried her out and tossed her into the water again. If not for villagers rescuing her, she would have drowned.
Back then, Jiafu had stood on the bank, laughing. When she was pulled out, her grandmother merely scowled and asked, “Do you admit your mistake now? Dare to disobey your brother again? Next time, if you don’t listen, I’ll let you drown.”
Her sister had obediently nodded through tears. “Grandma, I’ll listen to brother from now on. I won’t dare again.”
“You girls are born to obey your brother,” the old woman said matter-of-factly. “He’s the eldest grandson of our Cheng family—he must marry, have children, and carry on the family line. Unlike you two—one day you’ll marry out, bear children for another family, and won’t belong to us anymore.”
From then on, Ayuan never dared defy her brother.
But she always protected Fangfang. Whenever their parents or grandmother wanted to scold or beat her, Ayuan would rush out to shield her, whisking her away.
In truth, only she and her sister were truly on the same side in this house.
In the kitchen, Yuanyue was washing rice when Fangfang slipped in with a stick of firewood. There was a secret smile tugging at her lips. No one else understood her joy—but she was happy her sister didn’t have to marry.
She didn’t fear losing her protector if Ayuan married out. She feared her sister would marry into the wrong family and suffer even more than she did at home.
“Jie, don’t worry. I’ll study hard, and one day I’ll take you out of these mountains,” Fangfang said firmly.
Yuanyue’s lips curved gently. She answered softly, “Alright.”
Meanwhile, Wu Tianyou was rushed to the county hospital, injected with antivenom, and narrowly survived.
Before, he never believed in such superstitions as a “husband-killing fate.”
But after coming so close to death, he was convinced—some women truly carried curses.
Otherwise, how could it be explained that the moment he started courting Cheng Yuanyue, he nearly lost his life?
“From now on, stay away from that woman,” his mother Liu Shuhong scolded. “In a single day she killed one man and nearly killed you too. If something had happened to you, what would I and your father have done?”
Wu Tianyou shuddered, recalling the snake’s fangs sinking into his palm. He didn’t want to think about it—but neither could he swallow his humiliation. If word of this spread, how would he ever hold his head up again?
“Mom, I remember Uncle still has an enemy who hasn’t remarried since his wife died. If we send Cheng Yuanyue to him, maybe he won’t have to lift a finger—she’ll kill him for us. That way, Uncle can win without a fight.”
Liu Shuhong’s eyes lit up. She slapped her thigh.
“You really are quick-witted! That man has caused your uncle so much trouble—if not for him, your uncle would’ve been promoted long ago. If we deliver Cheng Yuanyue to his door, it’ll be the perfect gift!”
She hesitated for a moment. “But what if his fate is strong enough and she can’t kill him?”
“Don’t worry,” Tianyou sneered. “As long as her reputation as a husband-killer sticks, there isn’t a man alive she can’t destroy.”