Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 369 - 368: Origin

Chapter 369: Chapter 368: Origin

Mrs. He’s attitude was quite puzzling. She was not particularly warm towards Chen Afu, even looking at her disdainfully from the corner of her eyes, her smiles merely polite and insincere. Yet, she was chatty and cordial with Mrs. Jiang, often holding Mrs. Jiang’s hand to display their closeness. When Mrs. Jiang wanted to sit next to Chen Afu, she would stop her from rising.

The Hes had always wished to form marital ties with The Chens, so why did Mrs. He have such different attitudes towards the mother and daughter of the Chen family? At the very least, she should not disdain Chen Afu’s background?

After some thought, it made sense to her. Chen Afu was Chen Shiying’s "illegitimate child." To these "mistresses," a child born out of wedlock was even more unwelcome than a child born to a concubine. They suspected that Mrs. Jiang also detested Chen Afu, but she tolerated her for her virtuous reputation and to win favor from the men.

These women could never dream of someone like Mrs. Jiang who loved a man so selflessly and humbly, genuinely considering his needs first.

Almost all women of this era projected such an image, preaching virtues and reverence toward men, but they mostly had their own schemes, and very few truly embodied these virtues. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many scandals in the inner courtyard.

Perhaps Mrs. He would think that by making Chen Afu uncomfortable, she would gain more favor from Mrs. Jiang. Once The Hes and The Chens truly became in-laws, she intended to stir up more conflict between The Chens and The Chus, helping Chen Shiying truly become the Second Prince’s man.

From this point of view, was the emperor considering giving Chen Shiying more power?

Chen Afu pretended not to notice Mrs. Fu’s contempt, nor did she pay her much attention, instead engaging in conversation and laughter with the ladies nearby.

Actually, she didn’t like talking to these ladies at all. They all held themselves high, and they were of different generations, there was no common ground to speak of. She considered spending a few more minutes being polite before taking the little girl to find Mrs. Qin.

Most of these "mistresses" and ladies considered Chen Afu as an "illegitimate child" from the countryside. Her marriage to Chu Lingxuan was merely due to her good looks, they looked down on her from the bottom of their hearts. But from the moment they saw Chen Afu and Chu Hanyan together, some people started to change their minds.

Chen Afu possessed not just beauty, but grace and elegance as well. She was well-dressed, confident, and her manners and speech were proper. She was nothing like a country bumpkin. Not to mention, she had raised this "foolish" girl so well, no wonder Prince Rui allowed her to bring his legitimate son to the countryside. Perhaps Chu Lingxuan’s attraction to her went beyond just her looks.

Some people, though they did not think highly of Chen Afu, would still put up a decent front.

Only Mrs. He and a woman in her forties watched Chen Afu dismissively. The woman seemed to be the wife of Deputy General Cui, who came from the Capital City. Two other people flashed a look of disdain in their eyes, perhaps feeling that Chen Afu’s presence was degrading their status. These two people were the family members of civilian officials, and although they showed disdain, they didn’t make it too apparent.

Chen Afu wasn’t just seventeen years old. Along with her past life’s experience of reading people’s faces at the workplace, she felt she had a good grasp of these people’s true feelings. She hoped that everything would go smoothly today. Once she got through the first day, everything would be much easier.

Granny Fu was very kind, on one hand she was sending someone to call her seven-year-old grand-daughter over for company, and on the other hand she was chatting amiably with Ms. Chu.

The young girl, seeing the old lady’s kindness and with her mother by her side, was not so afraid and answered whatever Granny Fu asked. Granny Fu didn’t ask about any tricky issues, just things like how old she was, whether she could recognize characters, what she liked, etc.

With the promotion by Rong Zhao and Mrs. Chu, Ms. Chu’s reputation as a "fool" was widely known in Capital City and Dingzhou. Even though the young girl had made a great improvement on her previous birthday, many people who didn’t see it did not believe that her dementia was completely cured. People’s hearts are generally like this, preferring to believe the worst of others, and the best of themselves.

Seeing this beautiful and charming young girl now, no one could see a trace of foolish behavior, and they were all surprised. Many people praised her with smiles, "My, what a darling child."

"Yes indeed, she is so bright and clever just by looking."

"Madam Chu is charming, and the child she raises is charming too."

...

"Oh, Madam Chu, I heard that you have a six-year-old son, why didn’t you bring him?"

Someone started to stir things up.

Chen Afu laughed and said, "My husband did want to bring him, he felt that there will be many people today and it would be an opportunity to make more friends. But the boy is really dedicated to his studies and didn’t want to take a day off, insisting that learning is more important. So we left him to it."

"Mr. Chu is great and generous." Someone commented.

Chen Afu pretended not to hear the sarcasm within the words and laughed, "Indeed, my mother often says how fortunate I am to have married into The Chus."

"In my opinion, not only does Mr. Chu make a good step-father, Madam Chu makes an even better step-mother. People say that it is hard to act the part of a stepmother, but she managed to teach such a dull child to be so clever, and she is so close to Madam Chu. She must have put in a lot of effort. My, it must not have been easy."

Mrs. Cui insinuated that Chen Afu endeared herself to her step-daughter to win Chu Lingxuan’s favor.

Mrs. He laughed and said, "Isn’t it? It must have been hard. Not to mention others, let’s talk about us. Which family doesn’t have children by concubines, even though they are a bit annoying? But we have all read "Lessons for Women" since we were young, and received the teaching of the elders. We should be virtuous and generous, treat them like our own, not just flesh and bone from our own body. Isn’t that right, Madam Chu?"

Her words not only shared sympathy with Mrs. Jiang, but also intended to lead Chen Afu astray.

While others Chen Afu might give some face to, and reply indirectly when refuting. This annoying Mrs. Cui was unknown to Chen Afu and was not eager to make enemies with her for Chu Lingxuan.

But Chen Afu would not be courteous to Mrs. He, and wanted to use her to ward off a potential threat. She said solemnly, "Mrs. He, your words just now are not right at all. My eldest sister in our house is the legitimate first granddaughter of Marquis Yong’an’s Manor. Let alone the concubinal children from various families, even legitimate children from certain families are not worthy to be compared to my eldest sister. As for words like ’effort’ and ’hard,’ they are even more incorrect. Serving a husband and educating the children is what we, as wives and mothers, ought to do. I dare not take credit for it." After saying this, she even shook the fan in her hand.

Mrs. He’s face turned red in annoyance. Although her husband’s official position was a rank higher than Chu Lingxuan’s, the latter was the son of a Marquis, so in terms of status her family indeed couldn’t compare to The Chus. Angry as she was, she retained her calmness and retorted sarcastically, "Madam Chu, did you come here to flaunt your ancestry?"

The word "ancestry" was particularly emphasised, making several ladies laugh.

Chen Afu nonchalantly fanned herself, and laughed, "There isn’t much about my background to show off, my mother is right here. The reason I spoke like that, was to answer Mrs. He’s question. When you ask me, I am obliged to answer."