The Sickly Beauty and the Butcher’s Knife

Yu Li transmigrates into the body of a peasant girl sold off by her own family to marry a sickly scholar from the same village in a bid to improve his fortunes.

At first, she assumes the marriage is just for show and that her real role would be to act as a maid in the scholar’s household. However, to her surprise, she finds herself truly becoming his wife, with the authority to manage the household—and finally having consistent meals instead of worrying about her next.

It doesn’t take long for her to discover that the scholar’s family is just as poverty-stricken, barely scraping by.

As Yu Li looks at her bedridden husband—his ethereal features tinged with a sickly blush that lends him an oddly enchanting beauty—she takes a deep breath.

It’s just a second chance at life. Surely, she can make it work this time.

*

With a sickly husband, a frail mother-in-law, and two children to feed, Yu Li has no choice but to take on the responsibility of supporting the family.

But her skills at needlework are mediocre, washing clothes earns too little, carrying goods at the docks invites exploitation, and foraging in the mountains is too risky. The only thing she has going for her is raw strength…

Her husband asks, “What kind of work did you find?”

Yu Li answers, “Butchering pigs.”

He pauses. “Have you done it before?”

Yu Li replies confidently, “No, but I’ve watched it being done!”

“…”

Just as Yu Li’s pig-butchering career begins to thrive, the sickly scholar miraculously recovers. Not only that, but he rises through the imperial examination system, eventually earning the title of a Duke. And Yu Li? She becomes the Duchess.

To this, Yu Li simply says: “…”

—

Notes:

1. Set in a fictional dynasty, with a highly fantastical take.

2. A slice-of-life farming story with family dynamics.

3. The heroine is exceptionally strong, and no amount of scheming can match up to absolute strength.