Resumen del episodio 12 de The Lady in Butcher's House
> Resúmenes de The Lady in Butcher's House
Hu Jiao, unsure if she liked Xu Qingjia, expressed admiration for his academic achievements, noting he was different from others and even the prime minister wanted him as a son-in-law. Despite her attempts to read his books, she found herself unable to understand them. Later, a friend advised her to control her temper at home. Soon after, Hu Jiao found Xu Qingjia receiving a massage from Yu Niang, who complimented Xu Qingjia's dedication to commoners.
Upon seeing them, Hu Jiao was furious and yelled at Yu Niang to "Get out!" Xu Qingjia defended Yu Niang, telling Hu Jiao not to be rude and to apologize. Hu Jiao angrily accused him of planning to take Yu Niang as a concubine and felt coerced into apologizing. Enraged, Hu Jiao demanded a divorce, stating their marriage was a pretense—she wanted money, and he wanted fame. She insisted they separate amicably since their arrangement wasn't working.
Xu Qingjia, whose arm was conveniently injured, initially tried to dismiss it, but Hu Jiao pushed him, recalling his past academic achievements and how she believed he married a butcher's daughter only for reputation. Meanwhile, Yun Niang, sent by Magistrate Zhu to eavesdrop, overheard them discussing their "fake couple" status and potential divorce. Xu Qingjia finally vented his frustrations, telling Hu Jiao she caused trouble constantly and never gave him peace.
He admitted his own flaws but felt she always chose to vent her emotions rather than communicate. Yielding to her demand, he agreed to the divorce, reiterating that their marriage was fake and she had forced him to write a divorce paper even before they married. This quarrel ultimately ended unhappily. Concurrently, Gao Zheng confronted Yu Niang, asking her intentions and if she truly liked Xu Qingjia.
Yu Niang provocatively asked if Gao Zheng was jealous, to which he replied that he simply didn't want her to disrupt Lord Xu's family. The next morning, Xu Qingjia returned home after working all night, finding Hu Jiao restless from insomnia, her eyes bruised. She felt an inexplicable sadness despite their "cold war," hinting at her developing feelings for him.
Cui Wulang jokingly remarked on Hu Jiao's tired appearance and offered to "kill the pig" (referring to Xu Qingjia) if it angered her again. Hu Jiao, however, countered that if he were dead, she wouldn't get the money to open her shop. During breakfast, Hu Jiao complained about the repetitive meals, while Xu Qingjia, seemingly indifferent, said he was used to it.
Yu Niang soon arrived uninvited with homemade pastries, making the atmosphere quite strange, and offering to take over breakfast duties with her culinary skills. Hu Jiao retorted that only her food would be consumed in their home. Yu Niang offered Hu Jiao a cooling green bean dessert, which Xu Qingjia noted Hu Jiao had always eaten. Yu Niang further ingratiated herself by offering to learn more porridge flavors to provide variety.
Xu Qingjia quickly finished his meal, trying to maintain his distance, and left for the government office with Cui Wulang. Left alone, the women began their confrontation. Yu Niang, always smiling despite Hu Jiao's coldness, directly asked Hu Jiao if she was preventing Xu Qingjia from taking a concubine. Hu Jiao maintained her stance, claiming she only cared about the 270,000 wen promised.
Yu Niang then implied that the sum was insignificant and could be hers if she married in, even calling Hu Jiao "Older Sister." Hu Jiao questioned why a woman of Yu Niang's wealth and beauty would choose to be a concubine. Yu Niang explained her admiration for Xu Qingjia's intelligence and potential for higher office, and most notably, his respectful demeanor towards her, unlike other men at Jade Spring Pavilion who only stared at her body.
Hu Jiao sarcastically pointed out that his lack of interest might simply mean he wasn't attracted to her, but Yu Niang confidently stated her ability to make him like her eventually, which also inspired Hu Jiao to consider a "softness conquers hardness" approach. Meanwhile, Xu Qingjia and Cui Wulang discussed the urgency of finding the account ledger to solve the silver mine case and free the imprisoned miners.
Xu Qingjia felt immense pressure and expressed determination to find clues, feeling ashamed to face the workers. On their way, they observed Registrar Yang drunkenly leaving an expensive new restaurant, needing assistance to return, sparking Xu Qingjia's curiosity about his spending habits. Over the next few days, Xu Qingjia continued working long hours at the office, leaving early and returning late, often sleeping in his study when he did come home, making their opportunities to meet very few.
Cui Wulang relayed a message to Hu Jiao that Xu Qingjia wouldn't be home for dinner again due to his busy schedule. One night, Cui Wulang waited for Xu Qingjia, visibly unnerved by Hu Jiao silently sharpening her knife in the courtyard. Later, Xu Qingjia returned and tried to apologize to Hu Jiao, explaining his late nights were due to reviewing files.
Hu Jiao, however, responded by criticizing his memory, pointing out he remembered files but forgot her waiting for dinner, their unpaid monthly salary, and her having to grow vegetables to supplement their household needs. She then firmly told him to get out of her room, leaving him to sleep with Cui Wulang that night. Taking inspiration from Yu Niang's "softness conquering hardness" approach, Hu Jiao began to learn cooking.
After discovering Yu Niang had brought flour carp, symbolizing Xu Qingjia's future fame, and hearing Yu Niang boast about cooking delicacies for him if she became his concubine, Hu Jiao determined to learn to make such dishes herself. She experimented repeatedly to perfect a flour carp. One day, as Hu Jiao was taking her meticulously prepared nourishing yam porridge to Xu Qingjia at the government office, she witnessed him entering the Jade Spring Pavilion.
Realizing that Xu Qingjia and Yu Niang had been meeting frequently these past few days, Hu Jiao was furious and sat alone, crying and lamenting Xu Qingjia's supposed greed for a woman's money. Gao Zheng, seeing Hu Jiao's distress, rushed to the Jade Spring Pavilion. He found Yu Niang painting and, after entering through a window and ruining a painting, warned her to stop bothering Xu Qingjia, questioning why she would want to be a concubine.
Yu Niang, calm and collected, asked Gao Zheng to model for her and revealed her true intentions: she was helping Xu Qingjia and Hu Jiao. She believed the couple loved each other but were too stubborn to admit it, so she was pretending to pursue Xu Qingjia to make Hu Jiao realize her feelings before potentially losing him. This act was orchestrated by Xu Qingjia, who had asked Yu Niang to administer this "strong medicine" to Hu Jiao.
Gao Zheng, who was modeling for her, still seemed concerned for her reputation as he left. After their previous interactions, Gao Zheng and Yu Niang had developed feelings for each other, but Gao Zheng was notably more reserved than Xu Qingjia. A message arrived for Xu Qingjia from Jade Spring Pavilion, stating "No visitors today, can continue to teach," confirming their collaborative effort.
