Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 220 - 219: Saving Face

Chapter 220: Chapter 219: Saving Face

This peculiar idea even startled Chen Shiying himself. No matter how good-looking Fu’er was, her lowly birth made her unsuitable. Moreover, Chu Lingxuan came from such a family; he himself was indifferent, he surely wouldn’t cherish his wife, being his woman wouldn’t be easy...

Chen Shiying was mentally listing all the downsides of Chu Lingxuan, yet his face was full of spring warmth, the closer he got to Tang Garden, the broader his smile became.

Chu Lingxuan saw Chen Shiying approaching like a warm spring breeze, also smiling, he stepped forward a few steps and made a fist salute, "Mr. Chen, it’s been a long time, please, please."

Chen Shiying didn’t have much contact with Chu Lingxuan, they had met less than ten times in total. Whether it was his own perception or the understanding of his colleagues and friends, they all thought that even though Chu Lingxuan has some real abilities, he was indifferent, had a strange temperament, and was forceful. This was the first time he saw Chu Lingxuan’s eyes smiling along with his mouth, he was slightly stunned, turns out that this man could genuinely smile too.

Why was he being so warm to him today?

He suppressed the doubts in his heart, quickly returning the fist salute and said with a smile, "Mr. Chu, I’m afraid I’m intruding."

Chu Lingxuan laughed again and said, "Not at all, Mr. Chen, your presence today brings a touch of grace to Tang Garden. I heard that you like Champion Red wine, it’s already prepared."

The two of them entered Tang Garden with laughter and mutual humility.

At this time, Manager Luo was heading to Fu Garden through the Jiao Gate in large strides.

Chen Afu was gazing blankly at the two brocade boxes left by Chen Shiying. In the purple brocade box was a complete set of solid gold and ruby jewelry, in the red brocade box was a complete set of solid gold and jade jewelry.

The jewelry was brilliantly colorful, very beautiful. But she didn’t like it, she didn’t want to accept things from Chen Shiying anymore, didn’t want him to constantly find opportunities to look for her, and was even less willing for him to interfere with her life.

If she insisted on returning these two boxes, it seemed improper. Mrs. Wang refusing Chen Shiying’s gifts was understandable, but what about herself...Chen Shiying was right, even if she didn’t call him father, she was his biological daughter, she couldn’t change her bloodline. If this were in her previous life, she could simply not recognize him considering all the nasty things he did. But this was ancient times, let alone Chen Shiying who always wanted to repair the relationship between father and daughter, even the wicked old lady wouldn’t dare to openly defy her if their relationship was confirmed by the outside world.

Moreover, her current relationship with Chu Lingxuan, her long relied-upon support, was so delicate...

Just as she was troubled, she heard Shan Zi from outside saying, "Manager Luo is here."

Chen Afu quickly closed the boxes and invited him in.

Manager Luo smiled and said, "Miss Chen, my sister had been longing since morning to eat the chicken noodle salad you make by hand. Big Treasure will also have lunch at Tang Garden, maybe you can make some for them too." He then shook the bowl in his hand and said, "I was worried you don’t have chicken at hand, so I brought half a boiled chicken from Tang Garden."

Chen Afu stood up and smiled, "Alright, I’ll make two bowls right now and send them to Tang Garden for them."

Manager Luo thanked her with a laugh, and then said seriously, "Miss Chen, you’re still young and don’t think about things thoroughly. Uncle Luo will take the liberty to remind you. That Mr. Chen is...is your biological father, even if everyone doesn’t say it out loud, they all understand it clearly in their hearts. Since Mr. Chen came a long way to visit you, you should show some gesture as his daughter, right? If you make noodles for them and not for him, others will say that you’re unfilial."

Chen Afu was stunned. This was the first time someone had openly acknowledged in front of her that Chen Shiying was her father. Although she was slightly uncomfortable, this was an undeniable fact. She could only smile and say, "Okay, I’ll make some more...."

Only then did she realize that Chen Shiying was having drinks with Chu Lingxuan, it’s impossible to make only for Chen Shiying. She began to understand why Manager Luo came to relay this message. This was asking her to serve Chu Lingxuan and make Chu Lingxuan look good. He really was cunning!

She quickly added, "I’ll make some more, for Mr. Chen and Mr. Chu."

Manager Luo laughed heartily, "Oh, Miss Chen is so understanding. Our Lord has been treating you and Big Treasure very well, especially Big Treasure, he’s been training him up the whole morning...." on and on, sharing how busy their master was, yet still making time to tutor Big Treasure.

Chen Afu smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chu." Then, she took the bowl to the kitchen.

Auntie Zeng had already stir-fried a few dishes. Thinking that Mr. Chen would have lunch at Fu Garden, she prepared a few extra dishes.

Chen Afu instructed Aunite Zeng to knead the dough. She shredded a boiled chicken, blanched her homegrown mung bean sprouts in boiling water before picking them out, and then boiled peanut oil and let it cool.

The she boiled the hand cut noodles, tossed them in the cooled peanut oil, cooled them and mixed them with various seasonings. In the end, she sprinkled some peanut crumbs, and it was ready, served in two small bowls.

Auntie Zeng from side sniffed and laughed, "The chilled noodles made by Miss Chen are so delicious, much better than the Beijing Restaurant."

Chen Afu said, "It would taste even better if I had cucumbers."

Manager Luo happily picked up the two bowls and trotted back to Tang Garden.

Seeing there were additional dishes, Chen Afu carried two dishes to Lu Garden. Only to see Mrs. Wang sitting on the bed with her eyes slightly reddened, in a daze. The food on the small bed table was untouched.

Upon seeing Chen Afu, Mrs. Wang forced a smile and invited her to sit on the bed.

Chen Afu asked, "Mother, why are you crying?"

Mrs. Wang said, "I thought of your little uncle, and felt sad."

Chen Afu thought to herself, she might have known that Chen Shiying was here, and was thinking of the past?

Chen Afu sat down on the bed and comforted, "Mother, don’t be sad. Mr. Chu has said that they will continue to help look for him." Then she had lunch with Mrs. Wang.

As the two were eating, Chen Afu said in a low voice, "Mr. Chen is in Fu Garden."

Mrs. Wang was not surprised. In the morning, she had already heard a few sentences of his conversation from Fu Garden. Even if the voice was not loud, she could make out it was his. She continued to eat with her head down, and asked casually, "Why is he here at Fu Garden?"

Chen Afu said, "He brought a set of headgear for Mother."

Mrs. Wang looked up and said, "I don’t want it. I won’t take his things anymore, Afu. Give it back to him."

Chen Afu said, "I told him that you wouldn’t accept his things anymore. He said if Mother doesn’t need it, then let me keep it." She then talked about the two young men Chen Shiying wanted her to consider.

When Mrs. Wang heard about the two young men, she listened attentively and even showed a smile, saying, "I also think the young man from the Zhou family is not bad. He’s already a scholar, both knowledgeable and of good character. If he manages to become a government scholar, even if he doesn’t become an Imperial scholar, he would still be able to secure a small official position for his son. The father and son would depend on him to live a good life, you surely won’t be ill-treated once you’re married to him. Let’s forget about the other young man. The children of official families are all arrogant, I fear they would look down upon your birth and Big Treasure."