How could someone be unhappy living in a matriarchal society?

Chapter 9 Encountering a Wild Boar

After finishing his meal, Chu Ci, as usual, took his bow and arrows and went hunting in the back mountains.

Just as she was about to leave, Shi An called her back.

"My lady, I'm planning to make two sets of clothes for you. I need to take your measurements."

Chu Ci was taken aback. "Those fabrics are for you. You don't need to make clothes for me."

"But I can't use that many."

"It's alright, we can keep it for later." After saying this, Chu Ci left.

Shi An was left standing there, dumbfounded.

Are you really going to give him all this fine fabric...?

For some unknown reason, Shi An's lips slowly curved into a smile.

***

An hour later, Chu Ci arrived at the depths of the dense forest behind the mountain, where he encountered many wild animals.

However, she didn't hunt pheasants or rabbits. This time, she came to the back mountain with only one purpose: to hunt deer.

Chu Ci climbed up the tree and stood on the branch, squatting there quietly as if he didn't exist.

Many animals appeared below, rustling softly, but she paid no attention to them.

I squatted there for almost two hours.

Finally, a bouncy male deer appeared in the forest, with very large antlers and a very strong body.

Chu Ci immediately drew his bow, the arrow tip pointing directly at the deer's head.

After a loud "xiu~" sound.

The stag was shot; the wooden arrow pierced its brain, and it collapsed to the ground.

Chu Ci waited for a while until it stopped moving completely before running forward, dragging it into the pit he had dug earlier to cover up the smell of blood, and then jumping back onto the tree to continue waiting.

Half an hour later, a relatively small deer appeared in Chu Ci's field of vision.

Chu Ci felt it was too small, so she let it go and continued to wait.

Not long after, a commotion arose from the southeast.

Chu Ci immediately turned her head to look, but saw nothing.

So she gathered her strength in her toes and jumped directly onto another tree nearby.

This time, without the obstruction, she could see the animals below clearly.

It turned out to be a large wild boar with huge tusks.

Its fur is glossy and smooth, and its limbs are strong and powerful; it looks delicious.

Chu Ci swallowed hard and drew the bowstring taut.

This time she specifically used arrows with iron arrowheads.

With another thud, the wild boar also fell to the ground.

The arrow Chu Ci had just shot had drained all of her internal energy, leaving her pale.

She paused for a moment before slowly walking over to the wild boar and taking a closer look.

"Sure enough, if it weren't for the internal energy, this arrow wouldn't have been able to penetrate the wild boar's neck at all."

She needed to recover her internal energy as soon as possible; without it, she always felt insecure.

Chu Ci found a secluded spot to bleed the wild boar and deer, then took out a rope and tied the boar up.

A man carrying a deer on his back and dragging a pig started walking down the mountain.

Halfway there, I realized I hadn't had lunch yet, and my stomach was already growling.

So Chu Ci stopped and ate the three steamed buns with pickled vegetables that he had brought from home.

She looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting, so she quickened her pace down the mountain.

She still needed to deliver the venison to the Tian residence, so she didn't have time to dawdle.

Chu Ci ran quickly down the mountain and was covered in sweat when he got home.

Hearing the noise, Shi An looked out the window and immediately stopped what he was doing. "My lady, you're back."

Chu Ci put the wild boar under the eaves and rubbed his back.

"Shi An, I still need to deliver meat to town, I'll be going now."

"okay."

The Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) came and went in a whirlwind.

After seeing her figure disappear into the distance, Shi An quickly and secretly put Chu Ci's clothes back in her room.

Earlier that morning, Chu Ci hadn't asked her to take her measurements, so Shi An secretly went and stole her clothes, cutting out the fabric to fit the shape.

Now is the perfect time to put the clothes back.

This had to be done secretly; it would be too shameful if Chu Ci found out he had stolen her clothes.

***

Upon arriving at the Tian residence, Chu Ci quickly met with the steward.

When Tian Jiang saw the deer in her basket, he grinned from ear to ear.

"I didn't expect you to deliver it so quickly. You're really efficient."

"Luckily, I caught one."

Tian Jiang bent down and carefully inspected the venison. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, he readily paid the money.

"If you can send us live deer next time, the price will be doubled."

Chu Ci raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"of course."

"Then I'll try my best."

Tian Jiang was pleased with her attitude and patted her on the shoulder. "Miss Chu, would you like to come in for a cup of tea before you leave?"

Chu Ci declined, "No, I have other things to do."

"See you next time."

"Well, see you next time."

While hunting today, Chu Ci noticed that the bowstring was a bit loose, so he decided to go to the weapon shop in town to take a look.

The weapon shop owner was a sprightly old woman with white hair.

When she saw Chu Ci approaching, her eyes lit up and a smile immediately appeared on her face. "What a pretty girl! What are you here to buy?"

"Look at the bowstring, and the knife."

The old woman said, "The knife is on the first floor, but I'll have to go to the second floor to look for the bowstring. Are you in a hurry?"

Chu Ci's eyes remained fixed on the knife rack. "There's no rush. You go ahead, I'll take a look myself."

"it is good."

After the old woman left, Chu Ci looked at all the knives on the shelf and selected one by one.

Finally, I chose a long, thin, sharpened knife.

Not long after, the shop owner came down from the second floor with a cane, accompanied by a handsome man.

The old woman said, "Guest, you can talk to my grandson if you have anything to say. I'm old and useless now."

Han Qi sighed inwardly after hearing this, feeling utterly helpless.

He finally understood why his grandmother had specifically called him down—it was because of a woman again.

However, since they are guests, it's no problem for him to entertain them.

Chu Ci was looking at other weapons when he heard the sound and turned around. He happened to meet Han Qi's eyes and nodded to him.

"I want to buy this knife."

Han Qi was stunned by Chu Ci's outstanding appearance and was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted.

"Okay... okay."

"Oh, and the bowstring."

"it is good."

After confirming the items Chu Ci wanted, Han Qi gave a reasonable price.

"The total is one tael and five mace."

Chu Ci paid promptly without haggling.

This behavior further increased the old woman's goodwill towards her, so she started checking her household registration.

"Girl, what's your name?"

Han Qi, who was keeping accounts, glanced at Chu Ci and secretly perked up his ears.

"My name is Chu Ci."

Where are you from?

"Sanyuan Village".

How old are you this year?

"Seventeen."

Are you married?

She already has a husband at home.

"What?" the old woman exclaimed in surprise. "You're already married?"

Chu Ci nodded calmly, "Mm."

"So young and already married..." Han Feng sighed heavily. Sure enough, marrying off her grandson was no easy task.

I finally found a girl I liked, but she already has a husband. It's just...fate is cruel.

Thinking of this, Han Feng couldn't help but blame her grandson.

"It's all your fault. You weren't proactive at all. All the good girls have been snatched up by other men, and now you have nothing."

Han Qi was focused on his work and didn't even look up.

Seeing that he was so unyielding, Han Feng was so angry that she threw away her cane.

"You are utterly unfilial!!"

Han Qi gave a perfunctory reply, "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right..."