Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 304 - 303: Bridal Chamber

Chen Afu looked up and smiled, "Better than expected." She added, "Much better than I had anticipated."

Indeed it was better.

Her engagement to Chu Lingxuan was somewhat hasty, one might even say there were "no other options", but they had experienced a free courtship and were very familiar with each other. She wasn’t particularly nervous, having heard his descriptions of this place before, although she made various preparations to deal with potential troubles from others. To her surprise, everything had been much smoother than expected since she entered the Chu family. The rumored wicked mother-in-law, also known as Mrs. Chu, did not cause any discomfort.

Chu Lingxuan chuckled, "That’s good. This is now your home too, so don’t be shy. After half a month, we’ll return to the Dingzhou Mansion."

He went to the bathroom to wash by himself.

Seeing no servants follow him to assist, it seemed that Chu Lingxuan was quite self-sufficient, accustomed to handling such things on his own. After all, he had been serving as a soldier on the frontier since he was fourteen, quite distinctly different from many pampered heirs of wealthy families.

Chu Afu opened the closet in the bedroom to discover that half of the clothes inside belonged to Chu Lingxuan, and the other half were hers. As she had suggested a design for the closet, there was a rod specifically installed for hanging clothes. Xia Yue, Yu Zhuo, and the others had already hung up their outerwear on coat hangers neatly inside the closet. Innerwear such as shirts and pants were folded on the shelves.

She took out a white shirt and pants, and placed them on the rack by the bathroom door.

After Chu Lingxuan finished washing, Chen Afu and Yu Zhuo dressed him in a light, thin shoulder-pad and a crimson satin robe.

He took Chen Afu’s hand and led her to the east room, where they both sat down on the bed-style platform. He picked up the small white porcelain bowl in front of Chen Afu, and scooped wontons into it from the basin.

Seeing this, Yu Zhuo, who was serving at the side, spoke up, "Sir, allow me."

Chu Lingxuan ignored her, scooped four small wontons and placed the bowl in front of Chen Afu, smiling, "Eat, you must be starving."

As she was already familiar with Chu Lingxuan, Chen Afu was not being pretentious and started eating directly. After finishing four wontons, she felt much better.

Chu Lingxuan added some more vegetables and fish to her bowl, and she continued to eat. The cook was very skilled, and every dish was quite delicious. She ate fast out of habit, but her demeanor remained graceful.

Chu Lingxuan also ate a few bites, very slowly – he was not hungry at all. He had already had some food and beverages when entertaining guests in the front yard. He knew, however, that Chen Afu must be hungry and, not wanting her to feel awkward eating alone, he decided to accompany her.

Chen Afu stopped eating once she felt about sixty percent full. As a new bride, it wouldn’t have left a good impression if she ate too much.

The servants cleared the dining area, and both Chu Lingxuan and Chen Afu successively went to wash their faces and rinse their mouths. The mouthwash had a fragrant aroma, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. They changed into their nightwear here and let their hair down.

When Chen Afu came out, Chu Lingxuan was already on the bed, leaning against the headboard, waiting for her.

Gentlemen of the era were not typically gallant. Men slept inside and women outside so the women had convenient access to serve the men.

Chen Afu lifted her quilt. A white silk cloth was laid on the crimson bed sheet, creating a stark contrast.

After she lay down, Xia Yue entered the room, dropped down the mosquito netting, and then left. With the candlelight shining bright outside, the inside of the netting was hazy.

Chu Lingxuan pulled her into his arms.....she didn’t expect it to be this painful and she let out a soft moan.

She felt that Chu Lingxuan was like a naive and inexperienced man, rather than an experienced man who had been married before. He showed no consideration or perhaps he didn’t know how to be tender and caring.

In that sense, Chu Lingxuan indeed didn’t have much experience with women. During an era when it was common for a man to have many wives and mistresses, Chu Lingxuan was comparatively "pure". In contrast, she had foolishly considered Liu Xudong a good husband in her previous life, completely oblivious of how many women he had been with.

She distracted herself with random thoughts to alleviate the pain, but the ordeal felt unbearably long. Chen Afu was losing her patience when she suddenly heard Jin Yanzi’s voice in her head, "Hey, mommy, why haven’t you said anything? You’re not like the previous female leads at all. And Daddy Chu is so clumsy, without uttering a single cheesy word. I was so excited about hearing your love stories, but it turned out to be not fun at all. So disappointing, really disappointing."

Chen Afu had completely forgotten about the little creature. She murmured a word under her breath. "Annoying."

Assuming she was referring to him, Chu Lingxuan hastily said, "Just bear with it a little longer, it will be over soon."

Finally, it was over. After they bathed and lay in bed again, neither felt drowsy. Chu Lingxuan talked about their schedule for the following days. They would host a wedding ceremony and pay respects at the ancestral temple the next day, visit her parents’ home the day after, and the day after that they would need to go to the Princess Mansion to meet with his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Chen Afu curiously inquired, "Why didn’t that woman come to stir trouble today? I had been mentally prepared for her causing problems."

Chu Lingxuan snorted, "Not only did she want us to bow to her today, but she also intended for us to move into the Princess Mansion right after our wedding and hoped that you would stay there to serve my parents."

Live in the Princess Mansion? That was out of the question! Chen Afu’s eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed, "No, I disagree!"

Chu Lingxuan said, "Of course not. Regardless of whether you agree, neither I nor my grandfather nor my third uncle agree. After she made that request, my grandfather went crying to the Golden Hall, and my third aunt went crying to the Cining Palace. They argued that it was too sudden for Mrs. Ma to pass away, and that Yan’er had suffered so much, and it would be unfair to torment this newlywed wife in the same way. If that were to happen, they might as well ask the new wife to hang herself..."

Chen Afu asked, "Did she cause Mrs. Ma’s death too? How ruthless she is, even willing to harm her own relatives."

The mention drained Chu Lingxuan. He sank back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling as he said, "Mrs. Ma’s death probably wasn’t caused by her... Mrs. Ma, alas, I later heard that Mrs. Ma never really took her orders. She wasn’t willing to go to the Marquis Mansion to provoke my grandfather, nor to Yingxue Nunnery to provoke my mother. She was often scolded by her and, frustrated and without an outlet, her health deteriorated. So, she passed away during childbirth."

Finishing his sentence, he gave a long sigh. Perhaps, he also felt guilty towards her?

Chen Afu thought to herself, being treated as an abandon by her birth family and married off to their enemy, stuck in the middle, death must have been a relief.

Chu Lingxuan continued, "Although Mrs. Ma’s death wasn’t intentional on her part, Yan’er indeed suffered greatly because of her. After I took Yan’er out, my grandfather brought her to the Golden Hall to show the Emperor and then to the Cining Palace to show the Empress Dowager. That’s why she was reprimanded by the Emperor and confined to her palace for a year..."