Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 428 - 423: Scar

Chapter 428: Chapter 423: Scar

In the Imperial Palace, the Second Prince was seething with anger. He knew the heavy snow would cease on New Year’s Eve and intended to alter the Emperor’s image of him by offering his blood in a solo sacrifice to the heavens, hoping to change the Emperor’s stubborn beliefs for the sake of the dynasty. However, that bastard Seventh Prince disrupted his plans by forcing all the adult princes to participate in the sky worship ritual.

The Third Prince was even better at playing the game. Despite his illness, he fasted and offered his blood in sacrifice, stealing the limelight and gaining praise from every corner of the city. Now, in the eyes of the common people, the Third Prince’s reputation had reached new heights. Had the Emperor really changed his stubborn ways and begun paving the way for the Third Prince?

The Second Prince was restless and fearful inside, worried that his well-thought-out plan had actually helped the Third Prince.

The snowstorm had indeed ended, but the temperature had suddenly soared, as if moving from the cold of deep winter directly into the warmth of spring. Many old people and children who had survived the worst of the snowstorm fell ill when the weather abruptly warmed up, and many more died.

Second Prince remembered that things had happened similarly in his previous life. The unusual climate had caused plague to break out in Liaozhou, and Chu Guangkai had died unexpectedly during his inspection trip to the north.

In the face of the sudden rise in temperature, the Emperor decreed that each region should prepare for post-disaster reconstruction, especially epidemic prevention and control. Those people and livestock who had died due to the snow disaster needed to be quickly buried and disposed of...

Chen Afu didn’t concern herself with these national affairs. Before returning to Dingzhou, she wanted to make her courtesy visits to the households she ought to visit.

On the second day of February, Chen Afu took her two children to her faux in-laws’ residence—the Jiangs.

The Jiangs were adept at maintaining relationships. The kin of Mrs. Jiang were also good at this. They treated Chen Afu and her children as if they were their own granddaughters and great-grandchildren, making anyone feel exceedingly comfortable.

Mr. Jiang was an oracle of the Imperial Astrology Bureau. Although his official rank was third class, his position wasn’t important, so powerful and influential people didn’t bother courting him. After Chen Shiying got into trouble, Mr. Jiang sought help from many people, but none were truly able to assist him. Even just to visit Chen Shiying, he had to beg the Chus.

Mrs. Jiang held little Yu and Ming in her arms and bestowed on them extravagant welcoming gifts. Afterwards, she took Chen Afu’s hand and said, "Your mother wrote to me in a letter, saying just how much you and your son-in-law have done for her family..."

Chen Afu sincerely smiled, "Mother is virtuous and kind, Brother Lan and Sister Qing are quite understanding, we get along very well."

Mrs. Jiang wiped away her tears and said, "My second daughter has always been good-hearted and sensible, but she had terrible luck in previous years. Thankfully she later found your father, but now..."

Mentioning Chen Shiying made Mrs. Jiang even sadder, and she began to cry. Chen Shiying was her favorite and most esteemed son-in-law, and now he had encountered such a disaster.

Chen Afu consoled Mrs. Jiang, "Great responsibilities are given to a person who is capable of shouldering them. Before such responsibilities are bestowed, that person will be tested and tried... My father is a capable man, this may be heaven testing his resolve. My father thinks this way too, his mood is fine and he has not been deterred."

Mrs. Jiang’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Jiang, quickly added her voice, "Dear mother-in-law, listen! Your granddaughter also says the same thing, right? My husband also says the same, brother-in-law is extremely capable, he will be heavily depended upon in the future, but first he must be toughened..."

Upon hearing these words, the old lady finally felt a little better.

After lunch and sitting for a while, Chen Afu and the children went back home.

Not long after they arrived at the Bamboo Pavilion, the Old Marquis and Marquis Chu arrived. The weather was warm today, so Marquis Chu wasn’t wearing a hat. A fresh scar was clearly visible on his forehead—probably caused by a recent fight. The scar was thick and long, like a red earthworm crawling across his forehead, intensely grotesque and frightening—leaving Chen Afu stunned. A twinge of pain struck her heart, wondering how and with what such a large scar had been made.

Marquis Chu was quite the handsome middle-aged man, but this scar ruined his overall aesthetics.

Marquis Chu’s face was initially so gloomy it seemed water could wring out of it, filled with pent up anger. However, upon seeing the two little boys on the bed, his expression immediately softened, a warmth swimming in his eyes. He also pulled out two jade pendants from his bosom, asking their mother to keep them safe.

The two little boys were already asleep. Marquis Chu sat beside them, quietly watching.

Chen Afu, the old marquis said, "Go and prepare a few light dishes. Call the third one over, and we old men will share a drink."

Chen Afu nodded, leading Mrs. Hua and the maid to the kitchen to get busy.

It was winter now, and they had just suffered a disaster. While there was no shortage of rice and flour at home, it was not easy to prepare delicious dishes. The only fresh vegetables available were radish and white turnip. Chen Afu had sprouted some bean sprouts and grown some garlic sprouts, yet she dared not use Yan Poop as fertilizer.

Because Marquis Chu had a wound on his face, he couldn’t eat pickles and seafood, making it even more difficult. After some thinking, she made chestnut braised chicken, sauerkraut fish, crispy duck, sauerkraut duck blood frozen tofu, Mei dish pork, garlic sprouts fried with cured meat, crispy tofu skin rolls, stir-fried dual-colored mushrooms, refreshing wood ear mushrooms, garlic flavored bean sprouts, fresh soup boiled with white turnip, and radish pig’s foot soup.

When she entered the room to pay respects, she brought a piece of Agarwood Leaf from the space, about the size of eyes droppings. This leaf had beautifying properties, she hoped the old handsome man’s scar won’t stay too obvious. She soaked the leaf in the wine, which had a strong smell so it could hide some of the fragrance of the leaf. Prior to this, she had also added some agarwood powder to the wine, which added a unique aroma, so even if she added the leaves, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

Not only did she invite the elder sir, but she also invited Mrs. Chu, Chu Lingwei, and Chu Lingzhi.

Knowing that the three men had important matters to discuss, she arranged for them to eat in the west room, while Chen Afu, Mrs. Chu, and the brothers Chu Lingwei and Chu Lingzhi ate in the east room.

Mrs. Chu whispered to Chen Afu, "I’m certain that Rong Zhao was the one who injured my uncle’s forehead." Further adding out of fury, "My uncle has such good temperance. If I were there, I would surely have slapped her. What a thing to do, fighting tooth and nail for him and not cherishing him in return."

Chen Afu also suspected it was Rong Zhao. She didn’t know what had gotten into them that they ended up fighting. If only Jin Yanzi was there, then she could have led the flock of birds to gather manure.

After the meal, Marquis Chu instructed Chen Afu to visit the Princess Mansion before returning to Dingzhou. She was his wife in name and it was only proper to bid farewell to Rong Zhao and the Marquis Chu. She shouldn’t give outsiders an opportunity to find fault with her. He instructed her to not bring the children along and to be bold and cautious. He would be waiting for her at home and ensured her no unexpected events would occur.

Upon hearing that she would have to see Rong Zhao, Chen Afu’s scalp went numb. Mrs. Chu volunteered to accompany her on this visit, stating that she hadn’t seen Rong Zhao since the latter was put under house arrest.

Thinking about the "devastating disaster" that had befallen the Chu family, Chen Afu thought it would be better to not let Mrs. Chu pay a visit to the Princess Rongzhao’s Mansion. At this point, both Princess Rongzhao and her mansion were labeled as "unlucky."

Chen Afu smiled and said, "Thanks for your offer, Auntie. But since no one dares to visit the Princess Rongzhao’s Mansion, you should stay away as well. As long as my father-in-law is here, I will be safe."

Mrs. Chu figured that she was right, considering the bouts of bad luck surrounding Rong Zhao extended miles around her. So why bother attracting trouble? She simply nodded in agreement and suggested, "Let Mrs. Huang accompany you. She understands many palace etiquettes."

The next day, Chen Afu had her servant deliver a letter to the princess mansion saying that she would bring her child to visit the princess the day after.