Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 370 - 369: Fell into the Water

Chapter 370: Chapter 369: Fell into the Water

Mrs. Jiang found herself in a quandary. Here, her husband held a lowly status, and hence, she usually refrained from speaking much in such gatherings. Moreover, she contemplated forging marital ties with the He family. But Mrs. He’s targeted criticism of Chen Afu compelled her to speak up. Now, her fate was intertwined with Chen Afu’s—they would share in glory or in defeat.

She reluctantly said, "Fu’er is my daughter, and our family, the Chens, indeed come from humble origins—we have little to boast about." She then smiled at Mrs. Fu and said, "But without bragging, I can say that my daughter Fu’er is always well-behaved and sensible. She treats the child of her husband’s late wife as if she were her own. Not only is her husband satisfied with my daughter, even my son-in-law’s grandfather too commends Fu’er as a virtuous daughter-in-law, hard to come by."

Mrs. Fu smiled at Mrs. Jiang and said, "Yes, I also heard from my son that General Chu, Marquis Chu, Mr. Chu, and Mrs. Chu are all highly impressed and satisfied with this young daughter-in-law—they describe her as intelligent and virtuous. This is all thanks to the good upbringing by Mrs. Chen." Then turning her head toward Mrs. He, she tittered, "Mrs. He, you shouldn’t overthink things. How old is Madam Chu? She is just a teenage girl. She hasn’t experienced the hardships that we women have gone through, so naturally, she’d be unaware."

This old lady not only knew how to mediate but also how to shift perspectives subtly. No wonder Mr. Fu, who was courted by the Chu family, the Wang family, and the Sun family on behalf of the Ninth Prince, Second Prince, and the Third Prince respectively, managed to keep good relations with all, without offending any party.

With her words, neither Mrs. Jiang nor Mrs. He could say much further.

At this point, Mrs. Fu led Fu Lingshan, the eldest daughter of the Fu family, into the room.

Mrs. Fu chuckled and said, "Madam Chu, you should go and play with the other young ladies and check out the bride’s dowry. Keeping the company of us old women will only bore you."

Chen Afu was eager to leave, so she rose to her feet, exchanged smiles with the ladies, and left with Chu Hanyan and Mrs. Fu and her daughter.

Seeing how articulate Chen Afu was, none of the ladies dared to underestimate her. They all reciprocated her smiles and advised her to take care of her health.

Mrs. Jiang came over to stand beside Chen Afu and whispered, "Your sister-in-law Yuhui insists on coming; you stay away from her." She then instructed Mrs. Li and Xia Yue to take good care of their mistress.

Chen Afu nodded.

Mrs. Qin walked over, leading an attractive woman in her twenties and a little girl about ten years old. She introduced the woman as, "This is General Liu’s wife."

This was Mrs. Du, the wife of Liu Rang, who was a military general. Like Chu Lingxuan, he also came from a prominent family and was young and promising. At twenty-six, he was already a high-ranking military official. Among the residents of Dingzhou, Liu Rang, Qin Jian, and Fu Shoumin, the eldest son of Commander Fu, were the closest to Chu Lingxuan.

Chen Afu greeted Mrs. Liu with a smile.

Mrs. Qin then introduced the little girl, "This is my eldest daughter, named Qin Lan, or sister Lan."

Lan curtsied to Chen Afu and called her, "Aunt."

Chen Afu took Lan’s hand, complimenting her, as Xia Yue offered a wallet adorned with pearl flowers.

As Lan was older, she held Chu Hanyan and Fu Lingshan by their hands. Although Lan conversed more with Fu Lingshan, Chu Hanyan occasionally chimed in. After every sentence, the little girl would twist her head to look at Chen Afu, and seeing Afu’s encouraging smile, she would excitedly turn her head back again.

The group headed toward Mr. Fu’s courtyard.

Despite Chen Afu being pregnant, she was undeniably the most beautiful among the female guests. As they walked along, they caught many envious eyes.

There were men in Mr. Fu’s courtyard examining the dowry as well—with gender segregation not being strictly enforced in this dynasty.

The dowry filled the entire yard—it was indeed a grand sight. Yet, it still paled in comparison to the dowry Chen Afu brought with her from the Capital City.

Chen Afu felt deeply grateful towards Mrs. Jiang, not only for the monetary dowry, but also for her continuous support towards him, even just now. Mrs. Jiang had wanted to make a connection with The Hes, but still chose to stay on Chen Afu’s side.

This woman was not only intelligent but also kind and patient.

As Chen Afu was considering this, a voice echoed, "Big sister."

She turned and saw Chen Yuqing leading Chen Yuxia towards her.

Chen Afu introduced her two younger sisters to Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Qin, whom Mrs. Fu already knew.

Chen Yuqing was now a devoted follower of Chen Afu. The clothes she wore were gifted by Chen Afu, a pair of embroidered crimson jacket with dark pan buttons. Her makeup was done in the manner taught by Chen Afu, emphasizing her smiling eyes curving up at the corners, creating a very pleasing look.

"Big sister, you are pregnant yet still joining in the fun. Be careful not to slip..." said Chen Yuhui, but quickly shut her mouth, realizing this wasn’t something to be said in public.

It had been a while since Chen Afu had last seen her. She knew Chen Yuhui wanted to say "miscarry," but stopped herself from doing so.

Chen Yuhui was dressed in a peach blossom red jacket with white pleated skirt.

Mrs. Jiang didn’t want to bring Chen Yuhui to The Fus’ today, and did not tell her. However, Chen Yuhui somehow found out. When Mrs. Jiang and her daughters were leaving to meet Chen Shiying, Chen Yuhui also rushed forward.

Seeing his daughter all dressed up and with make-up on, her eyes filled with pleading, Chen Shiying couldn’t bear to send her back. He gave orders that she shouldn’t cause any trouble and had Mrs. Jiang take her along, to keep an eye on her.

Mrs. Jiang didn’t really agree to bring Chen Yuhui along, fearing that she might cause some trouble since she had been acting abnormal after Aunt Tang passed away. However, since her husband had given orders, she could only comply, assigning a maid to keep a close eye on her.

When Chen Yuhui arrived, Mrs. Li and Xia Yue were on high alert and didn’t let her get within three meters of Chen Afu.

Just seeing Chen Yuhui made Chen Afu lose her appetite, so she excused herself from Chen Yuqing and left with Mrs. Fu and the others.

Chen Yuqing also feared Chen Yuhui would mindlessly cause trouble, so she held Chen Yuhui back, preventing her from following Chen Afu.

After lunch, Chu Hanyan and Fu Lingshan felt a bit tired, as did Chen Afu who also did not enjoy watching operas, so Mrs. Fu let a maid take them along with Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Liu to rest in her courtyard. Qin Lan wanted to go boating, so a maid led her to the lake. Mrs. Fu stayed to attend to the guests and didn’t accompany them.

Chu Hanyan and Fu Lingshan went inside to sleep while the adults sat under the porch, drinking tea and chatting.

It was early autumn. Although it was still hot under the sun, it was quite cool in the shade. When the breeze blew, it was very comfortable.

All these people were from military families. They were outgoing, of similar age, and got on very well, frequently breaking into laughter. They even made plans for when Chen Afu would return to her hometown, they would also visit the countryside.

Just as they were talking, they heard some commotion outside. A maid rushed in, whispering something to the maids in the room. Everyone looked quite flustered.

Mrs. Qin asked, "What happened?"

The maid responded, "I heard a young lady fell into the water."