Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 302 - 301: Getting Married

Chapter 302: Chapter 301: Getting Married

In the evening, Chen Afu was lost in thought with her arm propped on a desk, while Mrs. Li led five maids in packing up boxes. Auntie Zeng was not here; she had been left in Dingzhou to manage the Fuyunlai Shop with Zeng Shuang from now on.

At this time, Mrs. Jiang came in. Chen Afu immediately got up to offer her a seat and personally served her tea. The servants knew that the mother-daughter duo wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat, so they all quietly left the room.

Mrs. Jiang began with a few formalities, such as after marrying into a new family a wife should respect her husband, show filial piety to her in-laws, produce offspring for the husband’s family, and so on. Then, with a blushing face, she handed a book to Chen Afu and told her to read it carefully. Chen Afu knew that it was a must-read before marriage in this era, she accepted it with a pretended bashful lowering of her head.

Then, Chen Afu presented Mrs. Jiang with a piece of Agarwood, only saying that she obtained it coincidentally, but not mentioning her friendship with Master Wu Zhi. She felt that during her time at Chen Shiying’s house, Mrs. Jiang was considerate and put on a good face. The dowry was small, but what mattered was that she had helped resolve potential dangers at the Chen mansion, managing to deal with the wicked persons such as the old lady, Mrs. Tang, and Chen Yuhui. Regardless of Mrs. Jiang’s motives, in the end, she, Chen Afu, was the beneficiary.

She liked dealing with intelligent people like this and hoped that they could continue to cooperate happily in the future. In the end, she instructed Mrs. Jiang once again not to disclose the source of incense to anyone other than Chen Shiying.

Upon receiving the incense, Mrs. Jiang was so thrilled that she couldn’t help herself. She had heard that this type of incense was produced by Master Wu Zhi, and that Mrs. Chu, after great difficulty, had obtained a piece but didn’t have the heart to use it. Instead, she had presented it to the Empress Dowager. It was said that only the Emperor, along with Prince An and Duke Chen, who had good relations with Master Wu Zhi, had received a piece...

She had done the right thing by befriending Chen Afu. Not only had she won her husband’s affection, established relations with the Chu family, but she had also received such a precious item. Although her mother-in-law was becoming colder towards her, often taking her along to lay down rules, what was there to worry about? The old lady was aging and could only torment her for a few more years...

Mrs. Jiang’s hand trembled with excitement as she held the incense, "Don’t worry, Afu, I won’t even tell Qing’er and Yulan. They’re still young and don’t know how to keep a secret."

At night, Chen Afu was lying in bed with a case of insomnia. She desperately wished she could relax in her space and work with her creatures to stop eavesdropping, it was not good behaviour.

But with Xia Yue sleeping in the warm pavilion, she didn’t dare to make herself disappear.

The early spring moonlight was clear as water. Shining through the window lattice, it made the wedding clothes hung on the rack even more colorfully radiant. The golden auspicious birds embroidered on them seemed as if they were about to fly out.

In her previous life, she had fantasized countless times about her own wedding scene, wearing a pristine white wedding dress, holding a bouquet of roses, and being half-embraced by Liu Xudong, receiving everyone’s blessings... But until her death, she hadn’t managed to marry herself off.

Having lived two lives, she was finally going to marry herself off. She was marrying off to a second-generation official from a high-ranking family, contrary to her expectations and plans. It seemed that the dream of her previous life was coming true in this one, Cinderella was finally marrying her Prince Charming.

Only that, this Prince Charming came from a complex family with a wicked stepmother princess, a pitiful yet adorable little stepsister, and was also involved in the vortex of the struggle for the throne. Of course, this couldn’t all be blamed on the Prince’s family, she herself came with a more dangerous problem.

After her wedding, she wouldn’t be able to lead the simple and happy life she had always dreamed about, wouldn’t be a straightforward and blissfully content woman, at least not for a few years. She would be left at home on tenterhooks waiting for the man fighting on the outside, providing all kinds of support services for the men to help them fight their battles...

She fell asleep in a daze.

It felt as though she had just fallen asleep when she was awakened.

After she got up, she had a small bowl of Tangyuan under Hong Feng’s service before going to the bathhouse. Mrs. Li and Xia Yue were going to the Chus’ Mansion, they would be following the dowry later after they had packed up. So, Chen Afu was left to the care of Hong Feng and several other maids.

When Chen Afu came out, Mrs. Jiang led Madam Quanfu, who was Mrs. Jiang’s handkerchief exchange partner, and Mrs. Wu, the wife of Wu Hanlin, in. Behind her were Chen Yujing and her sisters, as well as some of Mrs. Jiang’s female cousins.

Hong Feng quickly greeted them with a smile and handed over two red envelopes to Mrs. Wu.

Chen Afu seated herself and Mrs. Wu combed her hair while singing, "First combing until the end, second combing until your hairs turn white, third combing until your children and grandchildren fill your home, fourth combing until four silver shoots stand tall and straight."

Afterwards, her face was coated with begonia powder, and a cotton thread was used to remove the fine hairs on her face. Then it was time for hairstyling, makeup application, inserting a gold hairpin, wearing a phoenix crown, and putting on wedding clothes.

Chen Afu sat cross-legged on the bed, noting the frequent visits from people uttering auspicious words, praising how beautiful the bride was. Although all brides largely had the same, heavy makeup, Chen Afu’s delicate features made her stand out.

Chen Afu knew almost none of these visitors; the majority were relatives and friends of Mrs. Jiang, as well as the family members of Chen Shiying’s friends. There wasn’t a single friend of her own. She knew Chen Ayu would come, but she could only stay in the front court and wouldn’t be in the bridal chamber.

As Chen Yulan was too young to carry her, Mrs. Jiang arranged for a clan brother from the Chen family to do it. In truth, Chen Afu deeply desired that Chen Ayu would carry her, for although there was no blood relation between them, their rapport was excellent. However, Mrs. Jiang had arranged everything and Chen Shiying agreed...

Chen Afu was smiling, her head slightly lowered, allowing them all a good look.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed, "Aunt Chen, my brother and I came to see you."

It was Yang Qian, pulling Yang Chao through the crowd to squeeze into the room.

The little girl had grown taller and more lively. They had come a few days earlier to contribute to Chen Afu’s trousseau. Chen Afu thought they would attend the wedding banquet at the Chus, for they were closer with the Chus than the Chens.

The little chatterbox explained, "Granny, brother, and I came to enjoy Aunt Chen’s wedding feast, while dad went to Uncle Chu’s place for the groom’s banquet. Hehe, our family gets to enjoy two banquets." She finished with a triumphant laugh.

Her words amused the crowd. Red Maple fetched some sweets for her and Yang Chao.

Then, an announcement that the feast was ready invited the guests to dine.

The bride couldn’t eat or drink at midday, afraid she might need to use the restroom. Some ancient customs do seem quite inconsiderate.

Not much later, Yang Qian returned.

Chen Afu asked, "Why aren’t you eating?"

Yang Qian said, "I can’t eat. I wanted to accompany Aunt Chen."

With this little chatterbox for company, time flew by. The banquet ended, and the groom arrived to fetch his bride.

The front courtyard fizzed with the noise of gongs and drums, and the cracking of firecrackers.

Many more people flooded into the room, and a red veil blocked Chen Afu’s sight.

Among those accompanying Chu Lingxuan to fetch his bride were not only Commander Fu but also the Seventh Prince. In the main court, he kowtowed to Chen Shiying and Mrs. Jiang, changing his address to father-in-law and mother-in-law. In return, the couple handed him red envelopes as a "name-changing" gift.

Amidst the ceremonial music, Chu Lingxuan led Chen Afu out to the main court to say goodbye, before the clan brother lifted her onto the bridal sedan chair.