Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 362 - 361: Man-made Disaster

Chapter 362: Chapter 361: Man-made Disaster

Half an hour later, a carriage arrived. The carriage went directly into the front yard of Tang Garden, the Marquis Chu stepped out of the carriage. Chu Lingxuan came out to greet him with a bow, leading him to his grandfather’s courtyard.

Marquis Chu looked around, the place was very unfamiliar to him. He had only been there once as a youth. Because it was once her estate, it was now the safest home for his father, son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and the Eleventh Prince, even his most trusted base.

The courtyard was dim, not a single lamp was lit under the corridors. From the entrance all the way to the old man’s courtyard, there were more than a dozen begonia trees lined the pathway paved with green bricks. The trees had already bore fruit, and although they were not yet ripe, their sour-sweet scent was already in the air.

If it were spring, the beautiful begonia flowers would be in full bloom; it must be quite a sight.

Because Yun’er liked begonia flowers, and because she was as beautiful as the begonia flower, her father-in-law’s family planted begonias all over the place, and named it Tang Garden as her dowry...

Chen Afu was already waiting at the entrance of the small courtyard. When she saw the Marquis Chu coming in, she went forward to greet him with a bow and whispered, "Father-in-law."

Marquis Chu nodded at her and said, "Thank you for your hard work, daughter-in-law."

He entered the room and bowed to the seated old Marquis Chu.

The old Marquis had not seen his eldest son for a long time and was somewhat excited. He stood up and said, "Let’s eat first. Your wife has been busy since late afternoon."

After entering the side room, the three men sat down. The old Marquis said again, "This is no outsider, sit down, Xuan’s wife."

Chen Afu first poured them full of wine before she sat down.

The meal was very satisfying to the men, especially Marquis Chu, who nodded often, praising, "Hmm, very good. I have often heard my younger brother say that Xuan’er’s wife has a good hand for cooking, it certainly is."

After dinner, they went to the small study, served the tea, dismissed their servants, and Marquis Chu directly tackles the topic, "After I heard Xuan’er’s words yesterday, I went to look for the Master, only to know that he had quietly left yesterday morning." Then he added, "Not only did I not find him, but the second prince also rushed over last night and did not find him either."

The old man asked, "Why was the Second Prince in such a hurry to find Master Wu Zhi?"

Marquis Chu shook his head and said, "I don’t know. While I was in the capital city, I heard that the Second and Third Princes were looking for him everywhere." He then told Chen Afu, "Repeat the words you had with the Master. Think carefully, and try not to omit anything."

Chen Afu recalled carefully. Aside from the details about the green swallow’s nest and other unspeakable things, she practically recited their entire conversation, including the Master’s prediction of her "fortune." Chen Afu’s memory was very good. In her previous life, she did well in her exams because of her memorization skills.

Chen Afu’s words were astonishing to the men, including Chu Lingxuan. So, this daughter-in-law actually had great fortune! Master Wu Zhi had actually revealed so many secrets to her! None of them, including Chu Lingxuan, had told her before that the three-color ball was for the Ninth Prince, yet the Master had already hinted it to her. He even told her his approximate return date!

Marquis Chu was even more shocked than the old Marquis and Lin Lingxuan. Because this was the first time he had heard that the previous three-color ball had been found by Jin Yanzi, and that it had so many special properties. It seems, Rong Zhao being attacked by a flock of birds was absolutely no coincidence, and it certainly had something to do with Jin Yanzi...

Thinking back to the tiny bird he saw in the pavilion that day, it was indeed extraordinary. Looking at Chen Afu again, not only was she beautiful, but she also looked very fortunate.

He nodded in satisfaction. If the fate of the Chu family was to be saved from a great disaster by this fragile daughter-in-law and her Jin Yanzi, then the Chu family truly had a destiny that should not be extinguished...

Knowing that Jin Yanzi had gone north to find the three-color ball, both old Marquis Chu and Marquis Chu were very happy.

The old master Chu said, "I’ve always felt that little bird was not ordinary. It played well with Yan’er and Dabao, but it turned out to be our family’s lucky star. From now on, we must treat it with more respect, as an honored guest."

Marquis Chu and Chu Lingxuan nodded frequently upon hearing this, saying that not only should it be treated as an honored guest, but it should also be treated as family.

Chen Afu laughed and recounted how she had initially fooled Chen Ming and others, saying that she had once saved Jin Yanzi, and when Jin Yanzi had returned to repay the favor, it had decided to live in her home...

After praising Jin Yanzi for a while, they asked Chen Afu to recite her conversation with the old monk again. The few men heard some hints in the old monk’s words.

Marquis Chu kept repeating the most crucial words, "imminent, complete disaster, go north to find it while there is still time, brocade bag, handwritten letter, divine medicine, bring fortune to the family, rescue relatives from danger..."

They analyzed that as long as they found the three-color ball, the Master would be able to give hints, and many things would be much easier.

The problem was that they couldn’t put all their hopes on Jin Yanzi, they needed to be fully prepared themselves as well.

They first analyzed the timing. Since they had to give Jin Yanzi time to find the three-color ball in the north, the disaster would not occur in the nearest month. If they couldn’t wait for the near forest’s three-color balls to bloom next year, then it should be before early spring of the following year. A rough time estimate would be from August this year to March of next year.

The given divine medicine for external injuries should be for healing or someone may get injured.

"Bring fortune to the family" and "Rescue relatives from danger" both emphasized one word: "people".

Therefore, the most likely scenario was that a "person" caused the catastrophic disaster to the Chu family: a man-made disaster.

The person most likely to lead to the "complete disaster" of the Chu family was the Eleventh Prince. If he caused a big problem causing the emperor to be furious, the Chu family will certainly suffer. Another possibility was that if the "pillar" of the Chu family had a big problem, the Chu family could be destroyed by political enemies.

The old master, being wise, said, "The people who can support the Chu family now are only two, one is the eldest son, and the other is the third son. If either of you were to be gone, the Chu family would be finished."

Chu Lingxuan agreed with this, expressing his concern saying, "Father and third uncle must be extra cautious in the future."

Marquis Chu, deep in thought, said, "Right now, my younger brother is more important than me. If anything happens to him, and the Ninth Prince has not yet taken power, it will be easy for us to be taken advantage of by political enemies..."

They guessed the greatest possibility was the Eleventh prince getting into trouble. Therefore, before receiving the Master’s "handwritten letter," they must ensure the absolute safety of the Eleventh Prince...

Chen Afu couldn’t help but ask, "When will the emperor allow Dabao to live under the sun now that the Ninth Prince has recovered from his illness?"

Marquis Chu said, "The emperor’s intention is to wait until the Ninth Prince is crowned as the crown prince, and once the two women completely lose power, then the Eleventh Prince will be brought into the palace." He sighed and added, "The emperor is kind, he was scared by the incident where the former crown prince was harmed. He feels that the Eleventh Prince was hard to come by, and hopes that he can live a good life..."