Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 308 - 307: Slapping the Face

Chapter 308: Chapter 307: Slapping the Face

In a yard located in the western part of Yong’an Marquis Manor, Mrs. Chu, the wife of the second Chu Master, was looking at a plate of golden cakes with resentment. She ordered, "Take these good-for-nothing golden cakes and feed them to Gunr."

Gunr was a pet cat owned by Mrs. Chu.

Chu Ling’an, the second Mr. Chu, quickly replied, "Mother, don’t waste food. If you don’t want them, I do. Even my Third Aunt says that Eldest Sister-in-law’s cooking skills are on par with those of the royal chef."

Mrs. Chu poked him with her index finger, rebuking, "Pathetic, being bought easily by such insignificant trinkets."

A frustrated Chu Ling’an said, "Mother, please take to my advice. You have offended everybody in the mansion. Don’t strain your relationship with eldest sister-in-law any further. This current attitude of yours will make grandfather more disdainful and father more angry with you. Before grandmother passed away, she provided us with quite some money, and grandfather has allowed you to manage considerable assets in the past few years. I estimate that you have no less than fifty thousand taels of silver, enough for us. If we split from the family, with the additional money from the division, we can live comfortably."

After the age of seven, Chu Ling’an was taken to the Outer Court by the elder Marquis. Although the elder Marquis did not personally teach him every day, he had hired a good teacher for his grandson. He did not want his son and daughter-in-law to ruin his upbringing, as it would mark the ultimate downfall of the second family.

Chu Ling’an was not an outstanding student, not even qualifying as a scholar. Last year, Mr. Chu got him a post in the Imperial Forestry Army. Although he was not as capable as Chu Lingxuan, he was quite standard and stable in his work, without any crooked thoughts. Therefore, the elder Marquis loved this grandson very much.

What his son was saying was the last thing Mrs. Chu wanted to hear. She was displeased that her son lacked ambition, just like his father. She huffed, "Life wouldn’t be hard after splitting from the family? Once we do that, we’d just become a side branch of the Yong’an Marquis Manor. Your father doesn’t even have a substantial position, and you’re just a minor seventh-grade official. Our family will be in complete decline."

The thought of moving out from the Marquis’ Mansion pinched Mrs. Chu’s heart like a needle. When she first got married into the mansion, she had to employ some tactics to steal the opportunity from her sister. The man’s disability meant nothing to her; what mattered was that she had married into the Marquis’ Mansion and her status was established.

She was overjoyed when the main branch of the Chu family met with a disaster. On the surface, she was getting in Princess Rong Zhao’s good books, but behind the scenes, she was stirring the waters in the mansion to seize whatever benefits she could. A few years later, seeing that Princess Rong Zhao was infertile and Chu Lingxuan did not dare to return to the Capital City, with his daughter becoming mentally disabled, she had even deeper plans.

Her eyes dimmed a bit as she said, "It’s all because the elder Marquis is biased. It’s completely reasonable for a daughter-in-law to serve her in-laws. But all this was ruined by Huachang. If Mrs. Chen enters the Princess Mansion, her fate will be worse than Mrs. Ma’s back in the day. Let alone bearing children, she likelier wouldn’t be able to preserve her own life." She grimaced in pain and added, "What a pity... if Princess Rong Zhao can’t bear a son and neither can Lingxuan, your uncle’s title would belong to you. After inheriting the title, we would..."

"Mother, you are being muddled!" Chu Ling’an reproached. He got up to look out of the window to ensure no outsiders were around. He then sat back down and spoke in a low voice, "Mother, please, quash such wild ideas immediately. If word of this gets out, grandfather, the main family, the third family, and Princess Rong Zhao, none of them will spare you. They won’t spare our family either."

The nervous expression on her son’s face amused Mrs. Chu. She said, "Look at you, so lacking in courage. You are frightened by mere words. How will you ever achieve great things?" She then laughed, adding, "I wonder how Mrs. Chen will react when she sees the red packet I gave her! I just can’t stand her. The illegitimate daughter of a mere governor does not know how to be filial to her in-laws or how to please her sister-in-law. She’s only worth this small sum of silver."

Upon hearing that his mother had only given Chen Afu twenty taels of silver, Chu Ling’an sighed, saying, "If father finds out what you did, he’ll certainly be so angry he won’t come here for a year."

Mrs. Chu said, "Rest assured, Mrs. Chen wouldn’t dare to speak of this. When an elder gives her only twenty taels of silver as a meeting present, it’s clear the elder doesn’t think highly of her. It’s a slap to her face. She wouldn’t dare to tell others about it and tarnish her own reputation..."

At dusk, Chu Lingxuan returned to the Bamboo Pavilion, and they both went to Anrong Hall for dinner. Apart from during festivals, the Chu family members usually dined in their own chambers, but since it was a day for the newcomer to meet the family, they would dine here this evening.

Chu Hua and her family had spent the entire day in Anrong Hall. Chu Hua had lived with Mrs. Chu since she was ten years old, and their relationship was extraordinarily good, like that of a mother and daughter, or of sisters.

The men were talking in the hall, and the women were in the West Side Room. Mrs. Chu was sitting on the Luohan Bed, teasing baby Heng in her arms. When Chen Afu arrived, she beckoned Chen Afu to come and sit by her side. The group chatted and laughed.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Chu was whispering and giggling with Chu Zhen. The two common-born ladies sat there obliviously, while Mrs. Song, the wife of Chu Lingqi, stood behind Mrs. Chu serving her.

One moment Mrs. Chu wanted to drink tea, the next she wanted to eat fruit, and then she would complain about a shoulder ache. Mrs. Song was kept on her toes attending to her. It seemed like they had made an agreement; only Mrs. Song was busy, and the servants stood around doing nothing.

In the end, Mrs. Chu expressed her satisfaction to Mrs. Chu, "Lingqi’s wife is virtuous. As soon as she entered the door, she knew who to serve and defer to. She is a clever and good child."

Mrs. Chu took a sip of tea and laughed, "I don’t know which of your words to believe anymore, Second Sister-in-law. Just a few days ago, you complained about Lingqi’s wife being as dull as a sledgehammer, and now you’re calling her clever?"

Mrs. Chu was left speechless and blushing from the reproach. She wanted to counter, but she dared not and instead awkwardly retorted, "That was a joke, little sister, did you take it seriously?"

Mrs. Chu laughed again, "Oh, I’m so naive; I trust whatever people say. However, I do remember that our late mother-in-law was renowned far and wide for her benevolence and never imposed strict rules on her daughters-in-law. She used to say that daughters-in-law were also the apple of their parents’ eyes. With so many servants in the mansion, it’s not as if we employ them to treat daughters-in-law as slaves. And Second Sister-in-law, I am managing this household now. lf there are any disrespectful servants you aren’t able to give tasks to, please let me know and I will immediately sell them."

This comment not only made Mrs. Song turn red, but it also scared several servants standing behind Mrs. Chu, and they started trembling.

The two were on entirely different planes. One was as insignificant as a mosquito, the other as imposing as an elephant. Mrs. Chu was thoroughly defeated, but she did not even dare to talk back. She could only hang her head low and drink her tea pretending to be oblivious of the situation.

Chu Hua, finding the scene amusing, whispered to Chen Afu with a twinkle in her eye, "If Mrs. Chu dares to bully you, sister-in-law, don’t hesitate to fight back. Third Aunt will help you."

Chen Afu laughed and nodded. She would be living here for only half a month and did not want to stir up any trouble. However, if Mrs. Chu went too far, she would certainly not let it slide.

The dinner was served in the Hua Hall of the second courtyard. The men were at one table, and the women and children at another.

Mrs. Song stood behind Mrs. Chu, serving her dinner and tea. As Mrs. Chu was making small talk, Mrs. Chu said meaningfully, "Sister-in-law of Lingqi, please sit down and eat. You can show filial piety to your mother-in-law, or take care of your wife in the second room, as you like. But in my presence, if I see the servants standing around idly while the masters are busy working, I won’t be able to resist disciplining them."