Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 404 - 403: An Hall

Chapter 404: Chapter 403: An Hall

Chen Yuhui looked very striking today in an orange butterfly-patterned jacket, long pale-yellow cloud-silk skirt, her hair adorned with pearls and jade, her face as rosy as a peach.

To make her stand out, Chen Yuqing dressed very subtly in a lavender embroidered robe. Chen Afu’s outfit was even more modest, not because she wanted to emphasize Chen Yuhui, but because she had no mood to dress up. She wore a lotus-color robe, with her hair simply adorned with two jade pins and her makeup kept light.

Even in plain attire, Chen Afu looked more beautiful than Chen Yuhui.

Chen Yuhui certainly didn’t think so, for when He Linsheng entered, she was taken aback by his elegance. But when she noticed that his gaze didn’t linger on her, but rather admired Chen Afu, her face flushed with anger. She held her handkerchief tightly, feeling resentful.

From Chen Yuhui’s perspective, Chen Afu had done it on purpose. Knowing herself to look best in lotus-color attire, Chen Afu had deliberately chosen to wear that color today. If this wasn’t an attempt to attract men, then what was it?

When Chen Afu caught Chen Yuhui staring resentfully at her, she too felt irritated. She thought to herself - as if she was keen on being stared at by that disgusting man! The few glances from He Linsheng felt as revolting as swallowing a fly.

Mrs. He also acknowledged her son’s poor behaviour, understanding that no matter how beautiful Chen Afu was, she was someone else’s daughter-in-law, and her son’s rival’s wife at that.

She chuckled, praising Chen Yuhui for her elegance, composure, and talent, which made Chen Yuhui break out in laughter.

When Mrs. He praised Chen Yuhui for being "composed," not to mention that there was a hint of derision in the eyes of Chen sisters, even He Ying snorted softly.

Mrs. He then suggested going to visit Mrs. Chen. Mrs. Jiang responded with a smile, "Mrs. Chen isn’t feeling very well and she’s still bedridden."

Just around midday, the midwife brought the child out to bathe, and everyone added water to the basin.

After the meal, they chatted for a while and then the guests from the He family took their leave.

Mrs. Jiang noticed Chen Afu seemed to want to speak with her, so she sent the Chen sisters away. She asked, "Fu’er, is something the matter?"

Chen Afu dismissed her servants, assisted Mrs. Jiang onto the Luohan Bed, and while wrapping her arms around her said, "Mother, you must be strong. You need to trust that Father is a good official and trust us. We won’t let anything disastrous happen to Father and our family..." Mrs. Jiang sensed that something serious had happened, and she abruptly grabbed Chen Afu’s hand and asked, "Fu’er, what happened? It can’t be that your father..."

She couldn’t finish her sentence before tears were streaming down her face.

Chen Afu nodded and said, "Yes, yesterday Sir Luo received a letter from my third uncle. He mentioned that the emperor has intentions to appoint my father as Minister of Personnel. Some people started impeaching my father then. The wrongdoings of Mrs. Chen in her hometown were pinned on my father. Here, they mainly talk about how my father unceremoniously divorced his main wife and suddenly had the money to buy a four-courtyard house. Both these issues are easy to handle, it’s not my father’s fault, it’s the vile old Mrs. Zhao who was responsible. As for what has been gathered about him in Jiangnan, we have no idea..." She briefly informed about Chen Shiying’s situation and asked Mrs. Jiang whether she knew about Chen Shiying’s affairs in Jiangnan.

Mrs. Jiang swayed on hearing this, feeling weak.

Chen Afu gently held her saying, "Mother, you can’t collapse now, we need you to support our family. Sir Luo has already gone to Shizhou Mansion to seek his uncle’s help, and has sent Manager Luo with a generous gift to ask for help in the Capital City. Father should not be in any serious danger. But, Mother, you need to tell me about Father’s affairs in Jiangnan. If there was any issue, we need to see if there are any remedial measures..."

When Chen Afu mentioned "seeking help from his uncle", it was quite apparent she wasn’t confident. She wasn’t sure if Mr. Luo would help. But regardless of his willingness, they had to seek help from him because they were out of options.

Mrs. Jiang held Chen Afu tight and began sobbing, saying, "Fu’er, thank you, and thank you to my son-in-law. At this moment, we can only rely on you."

After weeping, she told Chen Afu of Chen Shiying’s stint as an official in Jiangnan.

The two incidents caused by his old mother in their hometown incensed and terrified Chen Shiying. After relocating to Jiangnan, he instructed Mrs. Jiang to keep a strict eye on his mother and Mrs. Tang. His mother, Mrs. Tang, and the Tangs were all involved in several wrongdoings which Chen Shiying rectified once he learned about them. His wealth amassed in Jiangnan mostly came from Mrs. Jiang’s dowry shops and the business the servants did with the Tang family. Moreover, many large deals were outside his jurisdiction. In Jiangnan, no major scandal could be traced back to him. Perhaps there were minor issues, but all officials had those, and they wouldn’t influence his career. She just didn’t know if Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Tang, and the Tangs had done something that Chen Shiying and Mrs. Jiang were unaware of...

Based solely on those two incidents, Chen Shiying’s foundation couldn’t be shaken. The worst-case scenario would be a demotion in rank. As long as he was still an official, he could find ways to regain his position.

Chen Afu’s heart was half relieved. Hopefully, Chen Shiying and Mrs. Jiang had discerning eyes and had discovered and remedied all the wrongdoings.

Mrs. Jiang was most afraid of Chen Shiying being jailed. As long as he was alright, even if he was no longer an official, she would still be relieved.

Chen Afu returned to the Chu residence after dinner. Before leaving, Mrs. Jiang gave Chen Afu several silver notes and told her to use them for liaising. Chen Afu didn’t accept it and said that she and Chu Lingxuan had already given gifts as part of the process.

Mrs. Jiang forced upon her, saying there was enough money in the family, and it wouldn’t make sense for her son-in-law to not only put in the effort but also the money. Moreover, no amount of money can buy that piece of aged-wood agarwood.

Just after Chen Afu left, a servant came and reported that the old Mrs. Chen wanted to see Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang clenched her fist in her sleeve and went to see Mrs. Chen.

Ever since she was scared by Chen Afu last time, Mrs. Chen’s health had deteriorated. Mrs. Jiang’s prayers at the temple were not enough; Mrs. Chen had people invite a Taoist priestess to perform rituals in her home, drank holy water, and had taken numerous decoctions. As her spirit improved, she was still unable to move about, and even eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom had to be done in bed.

Now she no longer resided in Wanshou Hall but had relocated to another courtyard which she named An Hall. The name was phonetically similar to "nunnery," hoping that ghosts would be deterred by its name.

Since she didn’t have dreams of old Mr. Chen, or encounter any "ghosts," old Mrs. Chen believed that inviting the Taoist priestess had worked and drank the holy water, thus putting her mind at ease.

That time when Chen Shiying returned from their hometown and heard about the "dream," he didn’t quite believe it. It was plausible to dream of old Mr. Chen, but how could he say those things? And what about the floating white head in the air, how was it possible? But judging from Mrs. Chen’s reaction, she certainly had seen a floating white head during the night.

A flicker of doubt crossed Chen Shiying’s mind — could it be that Afu had someone pose as a ghost to scare old Mrs. Chen? The moment the idea occurred to him, he dismissed it. Those days, he and Mrs. Jiang had agents closely watched that courtyard. They were so resolutely guarded that not even a bird could get in.

An Hall was a secluded small courtyard and was far inferior compared to the previous three-sectioned Wanshou Hall. There were only six rooms here, no wing rooms, and no bamboo, trees, or flowers. None of the dark corners capable of hiding ghosts or people existed here.