Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 117 - 116: Being Bullied

Chapter 117: Chapter 116: Being Bullied

Chen Ming nodded and sighed, saying, "Your mother went to bed late last night and hasn’t gotten up yet." He then pulled Afu to the other side of the side gate, speaking softly, "There are some unpleasant rumors circulating in the village, Afu, don’t take them to heart. Just remember, your mother is a good woman, a good wife, and a good mother. You should continue to respect her as you have in the past. If you show even a hint of neglect towards your mother, not only will it upset her, but I will not be pleased either."

His tone was as gentle as ever, but his face was extremely serious.

What a kind man! Afu was moved somewhat.

She reached out, hugging Chen Ming’s arm and said, "Dad, no matter what others say, I trust what I see and believe in what I feel. I know, my mom is the best, and my father is also the best. I’ll respect and honor you both all my life."

Chen Ming patted the hand that Afu had wrapped around his arm approvingly, saying, "Good girl. Your mother’s suffering has not been for naught."

While they were speaking, Alu emerged, hobbling along with his crutch. His little face was tensed up. Coming up to Chen Ming, he asked, "Dad, why was my mother crying so fiercely last night? Who bullied her?"

Chen Ming sighed again, repeating what he had just said.

Alu vigorously nodded, saying, "My mom is so kind, how could I not respect her? Those gossip mongers are just too despicable. Why do they have to talk about my mom?"

Afu said, "We can’t silence others, so in the meantime, let’s avoid letting mom go outside, and also ward off Auntie coming over babbling."

Mrs. Wang didn’t get up until probably the Chen hour (7-9 a.m. in the morning). Her eyes were still red and somewhat swollen. Seeing her husband and children talking in the courtyard, she was a bit embarrassed. She said, "Sorry for getting up late."

Afu laughed, "Dinner is already prepared, come over to my place to eat."

After Mrs. Wang had cleaned up, Afu went over and took her arm. Everyone headed together for the West Room in the New Courtyard. Today Dabao was particularly diligent and had already ladled out the food onto the table. Worried that it would be too hot, he had only ladled half a bowl of porridge for each person.

They ate their meal in silence, Chen Ming occasionally added some carrot strips to Mrs. Wang’s bowl, and even peeled an egg shell for her, causing Mrs. Wang to blush.

Mrs. Wang glared at him, to which he laughed.

Others, afraid of embarrassing Mrs. Wang, all pretended they didn’t see, and just focused on eating. Particularly Alu, to show that he was concentrating on eating his meal and didn’t notice anything else, he slurped his porridge much louder than usual.

After the meal, Afu then got up and took Zhui Feng to fetch water for the vegetable field, while Mrs. Wang stayed at home to do housework.

Walking on the road, Afu saw some people standing far off pointing and gesturing at her. They quickly hid when they saw her approaching.

Afu knew they were gossiping about Mrs. Wang. People say villagers are mostly good and honest, but once they start irresponsibly gossiping, their words can be as sharp as knives.

She didn’t hear what they were saying and couldn’t do anything about it, she had to pretend she didn’t see their strange glances. After watering the vegetables and filling the water jar, she took a large basin and led Zhui Feng to the stream outside the village to wash the clothes. It was already late autumn and the stream water was very cold, but most families would still go to the stream to wash their clothes instead of wasting fuel to heat water at home. If the weather got any colder, they would have to resort to heated water.

Just as she reached the entrance to the village, she ran into Mrs. Gao carrying a large basin.

Mrs. Gao smiled broadly and said, "Thank you Afu, you all made a trip to the capital city and brought so many things back for us, both clothes and food. In particular, Daya’s little satin dress, oh my, that’s something only daughters of rich families would wear."

Afu laughed, "Look at what you’re saying, what’s there to thank for? Big Brother has helped our family so much, I didn’t even specially bring you back a piece of fabric."

Seeing Afu faltering, Mrs. Gao knew what she was worried about and laughed, "It’s enough already. How could we be so ungrateful?" She then whispered, "Last night, your cousin came home and cried non-stop. When her father came home, he gave her a good lecture and even hit her with his shoe. Auntie was not pleased, saying she pampered this little sister too much, even wanted the dowry other people gave her to marry off." With a chuckle, she added, "Her father said she should learn to cook with us from now on. That would be best. Otherwise, after Auntie marries off, Grandma and I would be swamped."

The two women walked toward the stream, chatting and laughing.

There was a huge rock on the bank of the stream, and under the rock were several smooth stones that the women preferred to use for washing clothes.

Just as Afu and Mrs. Gao were approaching the big rock with their basins, they heard some housewives on the other side of the rock talking loudly.

"...She had no idea that Mr. Chen would become the governor. If she did, even if Granny Chen wanted Mr. Chen to take a concubine, she, herself, would definitely be willing to be that concubine. How could she voluntarily go back to her parents’ home and be in such a rush to remarry?"

"Yeah, she seemed demure and polite, so why the haste to remarry as soon as she returned to her parents’ house?"

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s certain that she can’t live without a man. She just realized after marrying, that she had chosen a useless husband."

"We can’t say that Chen Er is useless. Didn’t Mrs. Wang bear a child as soon as she was married into his family?"

There was a burst of laughter.

"You ladies shouldn’t be so critical, Mrs. Wang has had quite a tough time. As soon as she married into the Chens she was working from dawn till dusk, earning money for the sickling Chen Ming’s medical treatment, raising a pair of children, having to deal with a mentally slow daughter and a crippled son. Oh my, any meek woman who stepped in her shoes would surely end up hanging from a noose."

"Well, who can we blame for that? If it wasn’t for her rush to marry, Mr. Chen would surely have taken her back to the Chens to live an easy life. They say, as soon as Mr. Chen returned home, he went looking for her at her parents’ home, only to find she had already remarried. Mr. Chen was very distressed. Tsk, tsk, she just doesn’t have the destiny to be a nobleman’s wife..."

"She, a nobleman’s wife? She just looks so impoverished, so miserable from birth...."

Afu wasn’t familiar with these villagers, and she didn’t recognize who these women were. But hearing them discuss Mrs. Wang in this manner, it made her feel incredibly furious.

It was Mrs. Wang who was the victim, and by rights, she should be receiving sympathy. But these women shamelessly exalted Chen Shiying while speaking so ill of Mrs. Wang. There was nothing she could do if she hadn’t heard the gossip, but now that she had, she couldn’t ignore it. These women provided the perfect opportunity to teach the gossips a lesson and make them mind their manners.

For some people, and some problems, you can’t simply use "literacy" to solve them, sometimes you must resort to force.

She whispered to Mrs. Gao, "I need you to do me a favor. First, go find Junior Officer Gao, then go to Tang Garden. Tell them I am being bullied."

Afu wasn’t afraid of the women, but she was worried that their families might all gang up on her, that she and her family would be outmatched.

Tang Garden was far away, so by the time their people arrived, she might have already suffered a loss. Therefore, she needed to find Junior Officer Gao first. He had promised Junior Manager Luo that he would look out for her family.

She placed the basin from her hand onto the ground, straightened her clothes, tightened her waistband and tied a firm knot. She then grabbed the wooden baton she used to beat the clothes from the basin and headed for the other side of the big rock.