Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 193 - 192: Stay Away from That Woman

Chapter 193: Chapter 192: Stay Away from That Woman

The next day, the family got up early at dawn. After breakfast, everyone dressed neatly.

Afu and Dabao were dressed in round, plump clothes, with little jackets inside, and thick cotton robes on the outside. Chen Afu specifically wore a small cotton vest to protect his chest, with a pea-green fine-cloth cotton coat on top, a dark green horse-faced skirt, and a warm ear cover. This was her thickest outfit, which kept her warm and comfortable.

Mrs. Wang specifically gave Chen Afu fifty taels of silver, and Chen Afu also took out fifty taels of silver, to provide oil money for the temple.

At 9 a.m., a carriage arrived at the entrance of Lu Garden. Chen Afu, carrying two lunch boxes, helped Afu and Dabao into the carriage.

When the carriage returned to the entrance of Tang Garden, they were asked to get off, and Chen Afu and her children were ushered onto a second exquisite yew wood carriage, in which Chu Hanyan was seated. Because Mrs. Song was also in there and the carriage could only accommodate four people, Alu was asked to get onto the first carriage, where Mr. Chu was seated.

Chu Lingxuan was riding on a horse. In seeing Chen Afu wearing only a thin cotton vest, which looked even thinner and more delicate in the morning breeze, he beckoned Mrs. Wei over and whispered a few instructions to her. Mrs. Wei nodded and hurried into Tang Garden.

At that moment, two birds appeared in the sky, squawking as they hovered low.

Dabao and Yan’er both exclaimed in unison, "Qi Qi, Hui Hui." Then, with joyful expressions, they lifted the curtains to look out.

The two birds, who usually followed Chen Afu like shadows, had been told not to chase the carriage when they were at home, and although they listened at the time, they had now followed.

The Marquis Chu burst into laughter and lifted the curtain to call them in.

After waiting for a long while, Mrs. Wei came out with a small parcel and walked straight towards the second carriage. She lifted the curtain, handed the parcel to Chen Afu, and said, "Master Chen is a bit underdressed. This is my master’s old cloak, please put it on as we go up the mountain."

Chen Afu thanked her and took it. Actually, she wanted to say that she was not cold and didn’t need it, but seeing that it had been brought already, she accepted it gracefully.

After Mrs. Wei left, Chen Afu laughed and said to Mrs. Song, "Mrs. Luo has a warm heart."

Mrs. Song laughed and replied, "Yes, indeed."

Noticing the meaning behind Mrs. Song’s smile, Chen Afu realized that Mrs. Wei was not in a position to offer her master’s clothing. Remembering Chu Lingxuan’s instructions last night, she couldn’t help but blush. He was indeed a considerate superior, not unlike the superiors in the workplace in her previous life, wasn’t it?

The carriage started to trot, and gradually began to speed up.

Approximately half an hour later, the carriage entered the mountain. Surprisingly, the temperature dropped drastically as soon as they entered the mountain. Even holding hand warmers, they still felt cold. Chen Afu had to take out the cloak from the parcel. It was a teal-colored embroidered bird pattern, white mink fur cloak with a Zhaojun hat of the same color. Mounted on the hat was a ruby as big as the pad of a thumb—exuding incredibly wealth.

Seeing such luxurious fur clothes, Chen Afu was also very pleased. She put on the cloak and the Zhaojun hat, and immediately felt warm.

Mrs. Song laughed and said, "With Master Chen dressed like this, she looks quite noble."

Dabao, beaming with pride, said with wide eyes, "My mother is so beautiful."

Yan’er, huddling in the thick cloak, straightened her back and exclaimed, "Auntie... beautiful."

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of Lingyin Temple and everyone got off the carriages and horses. Their plan was to first pay a visit to Master Wu Zhi. Marquis Chu had seen the master a few times in his early years, and Chu Lingxuan had seen the master once when he was a child with his grandfather.

Master Wu Zhi had a strange temper and was not always available for meetings. If he didn’t agree to meet, they would have to leave the food they brought and then go to the main hall to worship the Bodhisattva, then head to Yingxue Nunnery together. They would have their vegetarian meal and rest there before heading home.

As the group just walked into the temple’s main gate, the old Marquis seemed to have seen something he did not wish to, his face instantly darkening. Chu Lingxuan exaggerated even more, his eyes were not just cold as ice, but he also clenched his fists.

The old Marquis halted, saying coldly, "Xuan’er, let’s visit your mother first." Then, he turned around and left through the main gate.

Chu Lingxuan bent over to pick up Yan’er and said to Chen Afu, "We’ll head to Yingxue Nunnery first, this place we’ll come back to later."

Just as Chen Afu was still shocked, a small monk, around eleven or twelve years old, appeared. He put his palms together and asked, "Are you, Buddhist devotee, looking for Master Wu Zhi?"

Chen Afu nodded, "Yes."

The little monk said, "Please follow me, Buddhist devotee."

Chu Lingxuan knew that Master Wu Zhi was not easy to meet. Surprisingly, Master Wu Zhi had anticipated Chen Afu’s arrival and sent someone to welcome her. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so he said, "Go ahead, we’ll wait for you at Yingxue Nunnery." His voice was a bit lower, "Stay away from the woman in the yellow cape." Then, he instructed two of Tang Garden’s guardians to follow them. He led the rest of the group out of Lingyin Temple.

They had already walked some distance, but they could still hear Ms. Chu crying, "Auntie, Dabao..."

This time, neither the Chu grandfather nor grandson compromised. They walked away hastily with her.

Chen Afu was clueless. What happened?

She looked at the worshippers in front of the main hall. There were at least dozens of people walking, looking around, burning incense, and kowtowing. All kinds of people were present – the rich and poor. However, she didn’t see any woman wearing a yellow cape.

Following the little monk, they headed towards the back of the temple. They walked through a corridor, crossed a bamboo forest, crossed a stone bridge, and their horizon opened up. There was a row of Zen rooms; in front of the rooms were several plum trees in full bloom, vying for attention, creating a beautiful sight.

However, there were a few people standing at the entrance of the Zen rooms. One of them was a young woman wearing a bright yellow brocade cape embroidered with phoenix tails, and a matching Zhaojun hat.

Chen Afu paused for a moment, although she could only see the woman’s back, she felt it quite imposing. Thinking of Chu Lingxuan’s words, she didn’t want to go any further.

The little monk noticed Chen Afu’s hesitation and said, "No worries, if you stay close to me, Buddhist devotee." He then addressed Alu and the two guardians, "Please rest for a while in the pavilion over there."

There was a pavilion about ten meters away and several people were standing inside.

Alu was not willing to part with his sister and let out a plaintive, "Sister."

Chen Afu, considering nothing would happen outside the Master’s room, whispered softly, "Be obedient, sister is going to take care of some important matters."

Chen Afu watched Alu and the others as they left for the pavilion when she noticed a man in a black cape eyeing her in surprise. He was tall and handsome, with a short beard, and his bearing was quite impressive. To Chen’s surprise, she found his face somewhat familiar. Upon seeing her look at him, he quickly turned his head away.

The little monk, holding the meal box that he had received from a guard, said, "Let’s go, Buddhist devotees."

Chen Afu suppressed her curiosity and, along with Dabao, followed the little monk towards the Zen room.

As they approached the entrance of the Zen room, they heard a young monk who was blocking the entrance speaking to the woman. "...The Master asked me to convey a message to the Buddhist devotee. If it’s meant to be, it will be. If it’s not in your destiny, don’t force it."