Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 232 - 231: Seventh Prince

Chapter 232: Chapter 231: Seventh Prince

Afu was anxious in her heart. Guard Wang said he was a noble from the Capital City, and with his behaviour, could this person be the "playful" Seventh Prince?

Her brow was furrowed, but she still glanced sideways at the man. He was very handsome, effeminately so, slightly thin and looking at her with that audacious, fiery gaze.

She bowed again and said, "My lord, there must have been a misunderstanding just now. I don’t know that young lady at all. Perhaps she mistook me for someone else."

Chen Yuhui also recovered her composure, she could tell that this man had an uncommon bearing, with his guards dressed in military attire. If he was a noble from the Capital City, even her father would not dare to offend him. She quickly said, "Yes, I was mistaken, I don’t know her at all."

The man did not expect Afu to respond this way, the corner of his mouth twitching, he said, "So, does this mean I was meddling in other people’s affairs?"

Afu did not respond to him, instead, she bowed again and asked, "May I leave now?" She thought, this was the busiest street in Dingzhou, if this man was a prince, he probably wouldn’t grab someone here.

The man indeed nodded his head and said, "Please, do as you wish, Miss."

Upon hearing this, Afu passed him and walked ahead.

Afu was walking ahead, with Xue Dagui and the others following behind. Soon, they reached the junction of the main streets. After finding Uncle Qing, Afu, along with two maids, got into a carriage. Guard Wang mounted his horse, Xue Dagui sat in front while they hurried off towards the Chens’ residence.

Afu leaned against the back of the carriage, her eyes closed, thinking about what had just happened. Her heart was in a state of panic. She was afraid, not only because she had been audaciously scrutinized by that man, but there was something else unsettling her. What could it be?

It seemed, that man had a sense of familiarity. He was certainly a noble from the Capital City, and she had definitely never met him. On a closer thought, Afu came to a realization, he resembled the ninth master she met in Sanqing County. Manager Luo also showed extreme respect towards Ninth Master. Could they be related? Could this ninth master possibly be the Ninth Prince?

Oh my God!

At this point, Guard Wang rode his horse to the front of the carriage, whispered something to Uncle Qing, and Uncle Qing subsequently slowed down the carriage.

Guard Wang dismounted, handed the reins to Xue Dagui who had disembarked from the carriage and took up his place at the front, beside Uncle Qing. He whispered, "Miss Chen, it seems like we are being followed."

Afu startled, asked, "Are they the people from before?"

Guard Wang whispered back, "Yes. That noble is the Seventh Prince, who was just recently granted the title of Ruiwang. It was said that the second prince and the seventh prince were supposed to be inspecting the army today, so how did the seventh prince end up here?" He paused, then continued, "It is said that the Seventh Prince enjoys collecting beautiful women, and there are many consorts in his mansion. He also likes to patronize opera singers, and is a regular guest in many brothels..."

Afu’s head started throbbing, she anxiously said, "What should we do now?"

Guard Wang replied, "He may be a prince, but he wouldn’t dare to kidnap a woman on the street. However, if it’s in a secluded place, that’s hard to say."

Afu suppressed the pounding in her chest, secretly thought, she couldn’t go home, she couldn’t risk bringing trouble to Dabao. The old monk had said Dabao couldn’t meet someone he wasn’t supposed to...

Dabao!

Seeing Dabao’s innocent face in her mind’s eye, she finally realized where that sense of familiarity came from. Whether it was the Seventh Prince or the Ninth Master, there was a slight similarity to Dabao. However, the degree of resemblance between Ninth Master and Dabao was more pronounced.

The realization rattled Afu to her core. She cried out, "No, don’t go to my uncle’s house."

Guard Wang said, "I was also thinking that we should not go to Miss Chen’s uncle’s house. If we went there, it might bring trouble to the Chens’..."

"Then where should we go? Surely, we can’t keep circling the streets?" Afu asked again.

After thinking it over, Guard Wang said, "Let’s go to the Senator’s Mansion and see what my master might suggest."

Afu had the same thought, the safest place right now was the Senator’s Mansion. Even though Mr. Chu might not necessarily be able to contend with the prince, he still was the most influential person she knew. If even he refused to help her, or couldn’t, then all hope was lost for her.

She still asked, "Aren’t you afraid Mr. Chu will blame you for bringing me, this trouble, back?"

Guard Wang replied, "Actually, Uncle Qing and I were sent by my master to protect Miss Chen. If anything happens to Miss Chen, my master would indeed blame us."

On hearing this, Afu almost cried out, there might still be hope for her to continue living a quiet life. If she were to become a concubine, she would rather hide forever in her space-time.

Xia Yue and Qiu Yue were very pale from fear. Only when they heard that they were going to the Senator’s Mansion did they finally relax.

The carriage was heading towards the Senator’s Mansion.

On reaching the Senator’s Mansion, the carriage drove straight through the main gate. After dismounting from the carriage, Afu instructed Xue Dagui to hurry back to Chen Shi’s house through the back door, telling Mrs. Zhang that she was fine and that they, especially Dabao, must not venture out and must stay at home and wait for her return.

Manager Luo happened to be there. After hearing from Guard Wang about what had happened, he reassured Afu, "Miss Chen, don’t worry, I will have someone go and inform my master. He will come up with a solution." He then asked, "Do we need to bring Dabao over here too?"

Afu shook her head, "No need, let him stay at my uncle’s house." Afterwards she went to the Yuetao Pavilion in the inner courtyard where Ms. Chu resided.

Chu Hanyan was sitting on a Luohan bed, playing with a swallow plush, her small mouth pouted and her expression mournful. Ah, life without auntie and Dabao was really unenjoyable.

Upon seeing Afu suddenly, she was overjoyed. She jumped down from the Luohan bed and ran towards Afu, her mouth chattering, "Auntie, how come you are here? Where is Dabao?"

Afu smiled and picked her up, "Dabao didn’t come. Are you unhappy that auntie came alone?"

Chu Hanyan pressed her small face against Afu’s and said with a laugh, "I’m happy, very happy, I’m so very happy."

After lunch, she put the little girl to sleep and then went to the living room to be lost in thought.

At that moment, Mrs. Wei walked in and whispered, "My father-in-law asked me to inform you that there may be the Seventh Prince’s spy outside our mansion. He advised Miss Chen to stay here indoors and wait for Master’s return."

Afu nodded. Right now, she didn’t have anywhere else to go. Whichever place she went to, she would attract trouble.

At sunset, the long-awaited Chu Lingxuan finally returned.

Afu was sitting on the corridor watching Chu Hanyan and Luo Mei playing with a jump rope. The two little girls, unaware of Afu’s worry, burst out laughing from time to time.

When the tall figure of Chu Lingxuan appeared at the entrance of Yuetao Pavilion, Afu’s nose began to tingle. She saw him walking quickly towards her, his profound eyes looking at her with concern.

Afu stood up, feeling the tension she had held all day finally relax at this moment. She looked up with a sob, "Mr. Chu, I, I..." Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.