Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 214 - 213: Another Type of Creature

Chapter 214: Chapter 213: Another Type of Creature

Only after being reminded by Dabao did Chu Lingxuan retract his gaze, suppress the faint regret in his heart, and start eating with his chopsticks. Her culinary skills were indeed exceptional, making even dumplings taste incredibly delicious. Not even a leftover piece of spring onion remained when he finished eating.

Chu Hanyan covered her mouth and smiled, "Father, aren’t Auntie’s dumplings extremely delicious?"

She was smug, as if she had made the dumplings herself.

Chu Hanxuan nodded, cleared his throat, and led the two children into the courtyard.

Chen Afu had already properly trimmed the rose branches and placed them within the Tianqing glazed flower vase. With the vase in hand, she admired it with satisfaction against the backdrop of the rosy sunset. The elegant and simple vase, when filled with beautiful and fragrant roses, was significantly enhanced in aesthetics.

In the late afternoon as she tidied up the storage room, she found this plain, solid-colored vase among several brightly colored ones. The vase, resembling ice and jade, was distinctive and unique. She thought that adding vibrant roses to it would make the vase more appealing, so she took it out.

Most of the items in the storage room had been given to her by Chu Lingxuan, and this vase was no exception.

Chu Lingxuan came and sat down next to her on another stool. He told her, "A few days ago, I received letters from my third uncle and his associates on the border. They’ve searched everywhere but haven’t found anyone named Li Gousheng."

Upon hearing the news about her Uncle Wang Cheng, Chen Afu, despite having already prepared for all scenarios, couldn’t help feeling upset. She said softly, "Doesn’t that mean...my uncle..."

Chu Lingxuan comforted her, "Ms. Afu, don’t be sad. At present, no news perhaps is good news. These people also thoroughly checked the lists of those who died in battle, and there was no Li Gousheng. This indicates that he hasn’t died in battle at the very least. They will continue the search, to see if anything was overlooked."

Chen Afu’s mood lightened slightly, and she said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Chu."

"Only thanking me verbally?" Chu Lingxuan asked playfully.

"Ah... how would Mr. Chu like to be thanked?" Chen Afu was a bit puzzled. Her daughter, Hanyan stayed at their house every day, and he often came over for free meals, so hadn’t she thanked him enough already?

Chu Lingxuan moistened his lips and said, "The season is changing. Ms. Afu, would you make me a summer outfit?" he said, his face turning slightly red.

Chen Afu was taken aback, not expecting such a request from him. This seemed out of character.

Chu Lingxuan looked at her curiously, asking, "Why, is it not possible?"

"Oh, no," Chen Afu hurriedly replied, "I just fear my craftsmanship may be rough and you may dislike it."

Hearing this, Chu Lingxuan took it as her agreement and smiled. He said, "Ms. Afu, you are too modest. I’ve seen the clothes you made for Yan’er. There’s no one more talented than you. My mother also praises you highly. She likes...your craftsmanship very much. You’ve seen my mother’s physique. Would you make her a white robe?" After pausing, he continued, "In a few days, my third aunt will visit my mother at the temple and will specifically come to see you. My third aunt is a very kind person. Don’t be nervous when you meet her."

And then, he got up and told Dabao, "Now that you’re studying, let’s go. Uncle Chu is going to supervise your learning and see if you’re progressing."

The two children and a grown-up then moved to Dabao’s study in the east wing.

Ask her not to panic?

Chen Afu was somewhat stunned. Holding the flower vase, she went to the West Room in the upper house and placed the vase on the high table. She sat down on the brocade stool by the window, didn’t turn on the light, and pushed open the lattice window to look out.

The sky had darkened, and all the red clouds had disappeared from the western sky.

Xia Yue and Qiu Yue opened the birdcage in the corridor. Jin’er and the other twenty-plus small birds went in, while the remaining birds hid in the leaves and branches of the trees. The courtyard fell silent, occasionally disrupted by the chirping of Zhui Feng, or Qi Qi and Hui Hui.

She looked at the window on the east wing, illuminated by the orange lamp light. One large and one small silhouette appeared in front of the window. The little one was writing, and then the figures of the big and little ones overlapped. It must have been Chu Lingxuan teaching Dabao to write, hand-in-hand.

Having lived through two lifetimes, Chen Afu naturally could discern Chu Lingxuan’s intentions. All the things he had done for her, and the fervent look in his eyes, certainly didn’t just reveal flirty antics between a superior and his subordinate.

Such an antiquated mindset, reminiscent of a machismo culture, yet also seemingly oblivious to a woman’s feelings. His way of expressing love involved asking her to make items for him and his mother, as if it were an honor to be able to do something for them.

He also mentioned that his third aunt would come to see her; was his third aunt visiting to size her up as a potential elder in the family?

However, she was merely a farmer’s daughter, and even worse, she was acknowledged as the governor’s illegitimate daughter. How could she dare to seek a union with someone of his status!

In her previous life, Liu Xudong was nowhere near as high in terms of status as Chu Lingxuan. Liu Xudong’s love was more intense compared to Chu Lingxuan’s gentle advancements. But in the end, she was coldly abandoned...

She would rather remain his subordinate and the teacher to Miss Chu.

Although she did crave, deep down, for a man like Chu Lingxuan who possessed tremendous competence yet was willing to protect her. When she was exhausted, she could sleep peacefully, knowing that no one would harm or covet her.

However, this man was not only competent and willing to protect her, but he was also remarkably handsome and came from a noble background. Unfortunately, this advantageous trait in others’ eyes was a glaring light that could burn her to death.

She was afraid that he might succumb to external pressures and change his mind, or worse, turn out to be like Liu Xudong, whose love was just a facade...

She was confident in nearly everything, except for love – she couldn’t fathom or see it clearly.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the sky was now filled with bright stars, lying quietly on the dark blue canvas like a brilliant Milky Way.

Being socially compatible was like the Milky Way, drawn by the Queen Mother with her jade hairpin, completely separating the high-and-mighty white knight from the humble Cinderella.

Suddenly, she thought about the existence of another kind of role in this era — someone who can’t be a wife but can be a concubine.

Would he want her to assume that role for him? The thought of it gave her the creeps.

If it comes to that, she would never see him again. And she would avoid Miss Chu too, her illness was after all, cured.

But would she then lose this powerful ally if she rejected his advances?

Whenever she thought of that wicked Mrs. Zhao, Chen Shiying who only accepted his silver but refused to allow him to get close to her, her not-so-welcoming blood relatives Chen Ye and his mother, and all the uncertainties, she really did not want to lose this support.

The best solution was to prevent him from proposing in the first place, and revert their relationship back to its original state, merely a superior-subordinate affiliation. However, the odds of this happening were next to none.

Just as she was in thought, the shadows on the window disappeared, and the two children and an adult walked out of the east wing.

Dabao loudly expressed with excitement, "Mother, Uncle Chu says my academic progress has been very significant." The boy did not hear a reply from Chen Afu, so he called out, "Mother, Mother, where are you? Uncle Chu and sister Yan’er are leaving. We should see them off."

How could the child be so clever yet naive at the same time?

Chen Afu, vexed, had no choice but to leave the room.

The father-daughter duo walked in front, and Dabao, hand-in-hand with Chen Afu, followed behind as they all walked out the gate.

When Chu Lingxuan reached the willow tree and turned around, he saw that the entrance to Fu Garden was eerily empty. The two figures he usually stood still to glimpse at were nowhere to be seen.