Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 297 - 296: Betrothal Gifts

Chapter 297: Chapter 296: Betrothal Gifts

After the fourth day, Chu Lingxuan no longer delegated his responsibilities, but assisted Manager Luo and his son in preparing the betrothal gifts for Lu Garden.

On the seventh day, Chen Shi and his family returned to Dingzhou.

On the ninth day, Chu Lingxuan returned to the Yamen to attend to his official duties.

That day, Carpenter Wu also arrived at Lu Garden. They had to finish the last bit of work. Chen Afu, Mrs. Wang, and Chen Ming were even busier, as they juggled the preparations for Chen Afu’s wedding and her dowry.

On the 20th, Agui and Dabao’s long holiday ended, and they resumed studying with Mr. Liao. However, only Dabao went to Tang Garden that day, as Agui had requested a leave for an important task.

In the late morning of this day, the main entrance of Tang Garden was wide open. Chu Lingxuan, in his festive attire, went to Lu Garden to present the betrothal gifts accompanied by a matchmaker. Agui and Chen Agu were waiting for him at the entrance of Lu Garden, while Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang waited inside the hall for the prospective son-in-law to pay his respects. Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye kept them company. Mrs. Hu and Chen Aju were also present, standing in the courtyard, waiting to see how much the Chu family would give as betrothal gifts.

Sweets, marine delicacies, sacrificial animals, various gift boxes and special boxes, incense, gold bracelets, and more were brought into Lu Garden, while more people carrying betrothal gifts continued to pour out from Tang Garden.

Many villagers and children flocked to watch the spectacle.

Chen Afu hid within Fu Garden, too embarrassed to come out. Ms. Chu knew that it was the day her father was sending betrothal gifts. She wanted to join in the festivities, but the noise outside scared her, and she left Fu Garden’s main entrance slightly ajar, watching from inside instead.

When she saw Chu Lingxuan passing by Fu Garden, she turned around laughing and loudly said to Chen Afu within the house, "Auntie, sister saw father. He was dressed in a red robe and looked quite silly with his smile."

The maidens burst into laughter, and she quickly added, "Hehe, but my father still looks fairly handsome."

When the commotion outside and in Lu Garden had subsided, Mrs. Hu eagerly tried to open the boxes to check how much silver and gold jewelry was present, but was stopped by Chen Ye. He scolded her, saying, "What are you doing making such a mess, you’re not a child."

Mrs. Hu could only retreat.

Chen Ming had already seen the gift list; the betrothal money amounted to 2,000 taels of silver. He opened a few boxes; there were many gold bracelets, armlets, ingots, and headdresses, dazzling everyone present.

An ecstatic Mrs. Chen, with smiles creasing her face, stated, "Agu is very lucky. Even the betrothal gifts for his wife-to-be are ready."

Chen Ming responded, "We will keep nothing of these gifts. They all will be included in Afu’s dowry."

Chen Ye was startled. He said, "Are you out of your mind? It’s the responsibility of Afu’s biological father to prepare her dowry. Mr. Chu gave betrothal gifts to express his gratitude to the Chens for taking care of Afu. Just make a token contribution to the dowry. Those furniture in the backyard, as well as the quality fabrics you bought for her, have quite a value. Given Afu’s wealthy biological father, it’s hard for me to see you not living a good life, and sending all these items along with the dowry."

Chen Ming remained firm, "Afu suffered a lot in her childhood. After our life improved, it was due to her own earnings. As her adoptive father, I cannot keep the betrothal gifts given by the groom’s family. We’ll give all of it to her, so her dowry will be impressive. This will not only improve her standing in her in-laws’ eyes but also ensure her lifetime financial security."

Chen Ye answered, "No one asked you to keep everything. You should only hold on to the betrothal money and the jewellery which will be part of Afu’s dowry. Afu is wealthy and also has a rich biological father, she won’t suffer in the future. On the contrary, you, although better off than me, are nowhere near as rich as those large landlords. Given your resources, why not strive to become a large-scale landlord yourself? Why would you inflate your expenses and hand over all this money to the even wealthier Chu family, forcing yourself to be frugal instead?"

Mrs. Chen also said, "Your elder brother is right. Afu is affluent, and the Chu family is even wealthier. They won’t care about this small amount of money. Even I understand that money should be spent wisely. You and Agui need this money, so it should be used for your needs."

Chen Ming continued to disagree, "The Chu family didn’t initially have to give us any betrothal gifts. They could directly give them to Mr. Chen, as Afu is going to be married from there. But because the Chu family was considerate and gave us betrothal gifts, morally recognizing my role and status as Chen Ming, I can’t be greedy."

The old lady was infuriated, cursing, "How did I end up raising such a blockhead son? That’s not greed, it’s what you deserve for bringing up Afu."

"Afu was not brought up by me, but by her mother," Chen Ming stubbornly responded.

Chen Ye also lost his temper and yelled, "Even so, did our family not protect Afu at all? She was able to safely grow up only because she was born into our family, under our name. If not, she would have died many times over. Besides, during the multiple times she got into trouble, we always stepped in to protect her."

Chen Ming commented, "True, our family did protect Afu, but she also reciprocated. Our current easy life is due to her assistance. While I owe elder brother for being brought up by him, Afu has already paid off any debts she owed me or any of you. From now on, elder brother should stop talking about any favors we have done for Afu. She’s given us more than enough."

This was the first time Chen Ming had defied Chen Ye. Furious, Chen Ye raised his hand to slap Chen Ming, but then held himself back. Angrily, he said, "Mother, we are minding too much of others’ business. Let’s go." He then ushered Mrs. Hu, Chen Aju, and Chen Agu towards the exit.

Seeing Chen Ye about to hit Chen Ming, both Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang screamed, their hearts only settling down when the slap did not fall.

Mrs. Chen, looking at her elder son’s retreating figure, said to Chen Ming, "Do not resent your elder brother. He only means well."

She then caught up with Chen Ye, advising him, "Your younger brother is now grown up. You can’t resort to hitting like you did when you were small. If that slap had landed, it would have destroyed all the bonds that you have built over the years..."

Seeing them leave, Mrs. Wang hesitated before saying, "Afu is not short of money, why not keep all the betrothal gifts?"

With a dark expression, Chen Ming declared, "No, we will do as I say. All these betrothal gifts will be part of Afu’s dowry. Greed is cultivated. I’m afraid if I become accustomed to this, in future I may easily fall for more. That would not be good for Afu, nor for you, Agui, or our family."

Agui also chimed in, "I also think we should give it all to sister."

Chen Afu arrived at Lu Garden leading Chu Hanyan to see the room full of colourful betrothal gifts inside the main hall. However, Chen Ming, Mrs. Wang, and Agui were not beaming with joy, but wore solemn expressions.

Agui narrated to Chen Afu what had happened.

Chen Afu said, "I was coming to talk to father about this..."

The previous night, Chu Lingxuan had visited Fu Garden to discuss the betrothal gifts with Chen Afu. He specifically stated that the 2,000 taels of silver betrothal money should be kept by Chen Ming to buy land or shops...