Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 196 - 195: Handover

Chapter 196: Chapter 195: Handover

Only after being reminded, did the princess recall that she came to pray to the Bodhisattva for a child. Giggling, she said, "Oh, I was so anxious that I forgot. Lucky for me, Chu Lang reminded me..."

Seeing that Marquis Chu was already walking away, without even taking another glance at Chen Afu, she caught up with him and left. Not long after, the group vanished around a corner of the corridor.

It wasn’t until they were out of sight that Chen Afu felt that she could breathe again. Despite this, her legs were still a bit shaky and her body was covered with a thin layer of cold sweat.

Dabao and Alu ran sobbing towards here. They had been held back by two temple guardians who didn’t dare to let them approach. It was only after the princess had left that the guardians set them free.

Chen Afu embraced them each with one arm, comforting them, "It’s okay, I’m alright. Let’s go pray to the Bodhisattva and ask for blessings for Uncle Wang Cheng to be safe."

Now that the princess had been persuaded to leave, she still wanted to pray to the Bodhisattva.

Upon hearing her words, the two children wiped their tears and led Chen Afu towards the main hall.

Once inside the hall, they paid their respects to the Bodhisattva, praying for Uncle Wang Cheng’s safety and a future family reunion. They also prayed for their family’s health and good fortune, and for her to find a good husband. After their prayers, they made an offering of 50 taels of oil money for the temple, and reserved another 50 taels to donate to Yingxue Nunnery.

As soon as they exited the main hall, a man resembling a guard approached Chen Afu and asked, "Ms. Chen, do you happen to know Abbot Liao Chen?"

Chen Afu nodded and asked, "What’s the matter?"

The guard then presented a wallet and said, "This is from our Lord Marquis and it’s intended for Ms. Chu. Would you mind passing it on?"

Chen Afu felt hesitant about whether to pass on the gift. She could see the Chus’ resentment towards the princess and Marquis Chu Lingxuan’s grudge against his father, not to mention the complicated involvement of Master Liao Chen. Yet Marquis Chu had also saved her just moments ago...

Seeing her unresolved hesitation, the guard hurried, "Miss, it’s merely a small, traditional Lunar New Year gift from our Marquis to his granddaughter. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I don’t have much time to delay."

Fearing he might lead the princess’s people back, Chen Afu quickly received the wallet, planning to pass it to Marquis Chu Lingxuan and leaving it to his discretion when she returned to Tang Garden.

The group then left, boarded a carriage, and headed toward Yingxue Nunnery.

Once the carriage arrived at Yingxue Nunnery, the tense Chen Afu finally relaxed.

After dismounting the carriage and lifting Alu and Dabao down, she saw Chu Lingxuan quickly approaching. Chu Lingxuan, who had been waiting for them, was about to head to Lingyin Temple to fetch them.

Seeing them return, he relaxed and asked, "What took you so long? Was there an issue?"

Before Chen Afu could answer, Chen Dabao started crying loudly and ran towards Chu Lingxuan, grabbing his clothes and saying, "Mother was almost hit by the princess, Dabao is scared. Whimper..."

As he howled, Alu also started crying loudly. Both children were terrified, but they were sensible enough not to cry aloud in the temple. Perhaps they knew that place wasn’t safe and crying loudly might invite trouble. Now that they saw someone who could protect them, they burst into tears.

Seeing them in distress, Chu Lingxuan picked up Dabao and asked urgently, "So you really ran into that woman? What happened?"

Chen Afu hugged the sobbing Alu and briefly explained what had happened.

Chu Lingxuan suppressed his anger and spat out two words through gritted teeth, "Despicable." He then apologized to Chen Afu, "I wasn’t careful enough. Out of fear that she would recognize my guard, I only sent two temple guardians from Tang Garden to accompany you. They don’t know how to protect people and can’t manage in emergent situations, and as a result, you were frightened."

The two temple guardians, upon hearing this, quickly kneeled down in terror and begged, "Please spare us, sir."

Chen Afu quickly interjected, "It isn’t their fault. I asked them to protect the children. Besides, they were powerless in that situation."

Chu Lingxuan scoffed, "In situations like that, they should have had one person scout ahead and one stay with you to prevent you from meeting those people. They don’t even have that basic level of readiness, which shows I was not wrong about them." He then said to the kneeling guardians, "Only because Master Chen pleaded for you, you will receive twenty beatings when you return. If there is a next time, you will get half beaten to death and be sold outright!"

The two guardians thanked Chu Lingxuan and Chen Afu before retreating.

Feeling guilty for getting them into trouble, Chen Afu was greatly upset.

Just then, the elder Marquis approached and asked, "What happened here?"

Chu Lingxuan gave a brief explanation, causing the elder Marquis’s face to darken. He said, "We’ll discuss this when we get home. Don’t let your mother hear about it and upset her."

Chu Lingxuan nodded, comforting the two children and instructing them not to mention this incident in front of Abbot Liao Chen. He then accompanied Chen Afu and the children to pay respects to the Bodhisattva in the main hall, and donated the 50 taels of oil money. They then headed to Abbot Liao Chen’s Zen Room located behind the nunnery.

The layout of Yingxue Nunnery was quite compact.

After passing three main halls and crossing a stone bridge, they were met with an ocean of blooming flowers. It was the blooming season for plum blossoms, with hundreds of trees blossoming in competition, creating a spectacular sight. Turning left along the flower path, they arrived at a quiet little courtyard, which housed Abbot Liao Chen’s Zen Room. Even before entering the courtyard, they could hear Yan’er’s laughter, Liao Chen’s gentle murmuring, and the noisy sounds of Qi Qi and Hui Hui.

Upon hearing those two voices, the tight lines on Chu Lingxuan’s face relaxed.

Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Afu, Dabao, and Alu bowed to Abbot Liao Chen. Yan’er, using all her four limbs, crawled up Chen Afu, calling out "Auntie, Auntie."

Liao Chen laughed and said, "Yan’er has improved so much, thanks to Afu. Thank you, Afu."

She now also addressed Chen Afu using her secular name. Looking Chen Afu up and down, she had a radiant smile on her face that brightened her tranquil countenance. She said, "I have only worn this outfit a few times and it fits you perfectly. It also looks good on you, so I’m giving it to you. I hope you don’t mind it’s secondhand."

Chen Afu knew that people from ancient times had different ideas than modern people. Modern people were not accustomed to giving worn clothes to others, considering it impolite. However, in ancient times, elders would often give their used items or worn clothes to their juniors as a sign of affection and fondness.

Plus, in the olden times, you couldn’t refuse a gift from an elder.

So, she gratefully said, "Thank you, Abbot."

Liao Chen then said to Chu Lingxuan, "Afu’s figure matches mine. When you return, find the Fuyeqiu set and give it to her. It’s a pity to just leave it at the bottom of the box."

Chu Lingxuan laughed happily and readily agreed.

Feeling embarrassed, Chen Afu said, "That seems a bit too much."

Liao Chen explained, "Since I’ve taken vows, I don’t have any use for these things. I was going to..." She paused, swallowing her next words, and continued, "An elder’s gift is not to be refused."

Chen Afu graciously accepted again.