Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 413 - 408: The Golden Avenue

Chapter 413: Chapter 408: The Golden Avenue

Mrs. Jiang’s face had turned red with anger, her hand trembling slightly as she held her handkerchief. She said, "Do you think you’ve paved a golden road for your son? Madam, your son’s career was indeed smooth before, but he was always troubled and fearful within, fearing that your misdeeds would be revealed. He’s your son, but you don’t even know him. He’s straightforward and upright, preferring to earn his position in government on his own merit and take things one step at a time. You talk of noble intentions and doing everything for your son’s sake. In reality, you’re doing it all for yourself, to live a good life. You ruined Wang Juanniang without hesitation, let your son shoulder a bad reputation, and even thought about ruining your own granddaughter... Indeed, marrying your son is the greatest fortune of my life. I admire my husband’s talent, good looks, and noble personality. However, I wish for him to live a happy, relaxed life, without having to bear so many burdens and compulsions. Even at the cost of not marrying him. Now, he’s suspended from his post and might even face imprisonment, yet he hesitates to state that you’re the one to blame. Instead, he takes it upon himself... He’s too foolish!"

With that, Mrs. Jiang covered her mouth with her handkerchief and broke into tears.

Upon hearing that her son faced prison for covering up for her, the old lady began to shake. She bellowed, "This is all Chen Afu’s making! She hates me and our family, and takes it out on my son, digging up incidents from over a decade ago. She’s ruining our family! Wang Juanniang is the troublemaker. She seemed modest, but secretly had an affair with my son, resulting in a bastard. That unworthy child causes harm to his grandmother and father..."

Wiping away her tears, Mrs. Jiang retorted, "Madam, have some decency when you speak. Wang Juanniang was your son’s lawful wife. Their having a child was entirely proper and nothing dirty as you allege. It’s you who is destroying our family, pushing your sins on others. Now, Afu and her husband are pulling strings everywhere to save your son’s reputation. And still, you abuse them! Without Afu, your son and our family would be doomed."

The old lady turned pale with fear. She sat upright, her eyes wide, and blared, "That wench is trying to clear my son’s name. Will she take advantage of this to push me into prison? That’s not acceptable. Tell her to not only save my son but also ensure that I don’t get implicated. If she dares to scheme against me, her own grandmother, heaven will not spare her."

Mrs. Jiang had never seen such a selfish mother. When a son is in trouble, his mother’s first instinct should be to sacrifice herself for his sake. Yet this mother, whose son took her sins upon himself out of filial piety, only cares about her own wellbeing. She lambasted Chen Afu with such vile accusations, yet expected Chen Afu to save her with unabashed entitlement.

Mrs. Jiang didn’t want to argue any further with the old lady. She was disgusted at even looking at her. Regardless, the old lady was her mother-in-law and it shouldn’t be Mrs. Jiang to deal with her. Shaking her head, she said sternly, "Heaven allows you to carry on. It’s clear it doesn’t keep watch. However, madam, what goes around comes around. It’s only a matter of time." With that, she turned to leave.

Chen Yuhui followed Mrs. Jiang, crying, "Mother, with father in trouble, will my engagement to the He family be affected? What if it is, and what should I do?"

Mrs. Jiang turned back, coldly saying, "What you should do, how would I know? It’s you who jumped into the lake and drew the man to rescue you." Seeing Chen Yuhui’s puzzled face that resembled the old lady, Mrs. Jiang frowned, then added, "Return to your quarters and copy ’Lessons for Women’ fifty times. Don’t show your face around, and don’t cause more trouble."

Chen Yuhui encountered Mrs. Jiang’s chilly gaze, her heart lurched, and she rushed towards her quarters.

She felt as if the sky was falling. She was soon to turn sixteen and if her father faced trouble and the He family broke off the engagement, who else of good family would take her in after two failed marriages?

All of this was because of the hateful Chen Afu and the wicked Mrs. Jiang. They plotted against her perfect marriage, leading her into this embarrassing situation... Her grandmother was right, heaven has eyes and wouldn’t spare them.

Mrs. Jiang ordered an investigation into who had leaked the news to Chen Yuhui. It was quickly discovered that a servant woman, bribed with five taels of silver, was the one who told Chen Yuhui the news she overheard from public gossip. Initially, Mrs. Jiang planned to have the servant woman harshly beaten and sold off. However, thinking of her husband’s uncertain future and the need to accumulate good karma for him, she simply had the servant woman sold.

The days dragged on agonizingly as they awaited news. The doors of the Chen residence remained closed, the family living in anxiety.

It wasn’t until seven days later, on the 23rd day of the eleventh lunar month, that Chu Lingxuan returned.

Chen Afu was just done bathing, preparing to take Yu and Ming into her dimension. The children knowing it was time for their mother to take them to their most comfortable place and to play with Jin Bao, their favorite brother, and Jin Bei, their favorite sister, were making playful noises towards Chen Afu.

Just then, they heard a maid’s voice from the courtyard, "Master is back."

Chen Afu’s spirits lifted, and she hurried out to see Chu Lingxuan already striding into the courtyard.

Chu Lingxuan had grown thinner. The faint stubble on his lip had grown out and his face was ashen, indicating non-stop days and nights of hardship. Chen Afu’s heart ached for him. Since the incident with Chen Shiying, he’d been out and about nearly every day.

She personally helped Chu Lingxuan off with his outer clothes and have him freshen up.

Chen Afu intended to go to the kitchen to prepare Chu Lingxuan’s favorite chicken dumpling soup, but the two children began to cry pitifully. Left with no choice, Chen Afu had to nurse them again.

After settling the children, Chen Afu sent the maidservants away and wiped her husband’s hair dry.

Chu Lingxuan then shared the developments regarding Chen Shiying’s case. Because Chen Shiying was the biological father of Shiyi’s adopted mother, was talented, and had made significant contributions to the court, the Emperor did not wish to punish him harshly.

However, many officials accused Chen Shiying, and the concrete evidence forced the Emperor to suspend him. As he wasn’t proven guilty, along with Emperor Luo’s report advocating for him, and the support of several key ministers, Chen Shiying wasn’t arrested but instead placed under house arrest in a small courtyard and guarded by the Imperial Forestry Army. He had food and water and was allowed some freedom.

The charge "condoning Madam Zhao’s relatives to exploit their neighbors" amongst Chen Shiying’s five accusations was proven unrelated to him. He had actually managed to return the land and property that Zhao’s relatives had seized.

The first charge "divorcing his lawful wife after his promotion and remarriage" was debunked. The remarriage was invalid because when he married, Mrs. Wang had already remarried for the sake of her unborn child. The "divorce" was also proved to be Mrs. Chen’s doing, and Chen Shiying was kept in the dark.