Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 445 - 438: Rumors

Chapter 445: Chapter 438: Rumors

On the twenty-eighth of February, a suitable day for moving, Chu Lingqi also moved house.

He invited Chen Afu’s family, The Fus, The Qins, The Lius, Mrs. Wang and her son, Mrs. Jiang’s family, and even the Liu family whom he had never met before.

Chu Lingqi had not lived in Dingzhou for long, and his circle of friends consisted mainly of Chu Lingxuan’s friends and relatives.

A few days ago, Mrs. Song had considerately asked Chen Afu if it was possible to invite both Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Jiang.

These questions troubled Mrs. Song for quite some time. She noticed that Chen Afu had an exceptionally close relationship with her biological mother, Mrs. Wang, and also got along well with her stepmother, Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Song was unsure whom to invite among the two. In order to maintain good social relations in Dingzhou, she should invite Mrs. Jiang. But to maintain a good relationship with Chen Afu, it seemed she should invite Mrs. Wang.

Chen Afu laughed and said, "Both my mother and stepmother are very kind; if you’re willing, you can invite both."

Mrs. Song was taken aback by this response and later told Chu Lingqi about it.

Chu Lingqi said, "You need to learn more from my sister-in-law in the future. Not only her tactfulness in dealing with matters but also her respect for traditions and kindness. Her relationship with her stepmother, Mrs. Chen, her mother’s current husband, Uncle Chen, and even Yan’er and Dabao, who are not related by blood, are all exceedingly harmonious, if not better. In contrast, consider those from big households who, despite being related by blood, still quarrel fiercely over minor gains..."

Mrs. Song knew her husband was alluding to something and quickly nodded in agreement. She smiled and said, "I understand. Not to mention other things, Wen’er has been very happy lately and has even grown braver. He said he likes his aunt."

Naturally, this relaxed time was also her and her husband’s happiest days. No need to be cautious, no fear of being blamed or punished...

Once they moved to their new house and she managed the household affairs, things would get even better.

As her husband mentioned, it seemed that the Capital Marquis Mansion had narrowly survived a great disaster. If this disaster had not been averted, The Chus would have been ruined. My goodness, they almost had no idea what was going on and could have potentially been on the brink of disaster. In the future, her husband would do well following the lead of the main house, their lives not only would improve but they would also gain insight into many secrets of the marquis’s mansion.

Thinking about all this, Mrs. Song was delighted and felt that life was getting better and better. Unlike in the Capital City, where every day felt like a bleak future.

Early in the morning, Chu Lingqi, together with Mrs. Song, Chu Siwen, and Auntie Fang, went to Chen Afu to bid farewell. Chu Siwen even bowed in gratitude to Chen Afu, thanking him for his help.

This was the second time Chen Afu saw Auntie Fang. She kneeled to express her gratitude for Chen Afu’s help, after which she did not speak a word.

Chen Afu had to admit that Auntie Fang was a smart woman. It was no wonder that despite her age and not particularly being attractive, Mr. Chu had favored her for so long.

She had fully recognized her role and never did anything to displease others, nor did she try to compete for attention. Even when her son bought a house, she voluntarily chose to live in the back quarters, ensuring that she didn’t put her son in an uncomfortable position.

Around late morning, Chen Afu, along with the kids and Zhui Feng’s family took a carriage to another Chu Mansion. Yesterday, Jin Yanzi, along with Qi Qi and Hui Hui, had flown to the forest to play, saying that it had been a long time since they had been there and that they would also visit the Fu Garden.

Upon arriving at Chu Lingqi’s house, Chen Afu explored both the front and back yards.

The house was in the alley in front of Chen Ming’s house and similar in size and layout. Chu Lingqi and Mrs. Song, along with their son, lived in the main court, while Auntie Fang lived in the back.

The current weather was the best of the year, neither cold nor hot, with a gentle breeze. The men sat under the trees drinking tea and chatting, the women sat in the corridors laughing, the boys were either discussing scholarship or playing in the courtyard with Zhui Feng’s family, Chu Hanyan and the other little girls were playing with threads under the corridor.

As soon as Mrs. Jiang arrived, she started chatting with Mrs. Wang.

Since Chen Shiying’s incident, news about his affairs quickly spread throughout Jiangnan. Especially regarding his family’s affairs, which had become the talk of the town, everyone was gossiping about it. The rumors almost unanimously praised Chen Shiying as a good official. They blamed his unvirtuous mother, Mrs. Chen, for disliking poverty and for her greed which had harmed not only Chen Shiying but also Mrs. Wang who had shown kindness to Chen Shiying. Later on, Jiang, who had replaced Mrs. Wang, had benefitted greatly...

When the snow disaster hit, people in the north were too preoccupied to spread such rumors. In contrast, it was a hot topic in the distant southern region. After the snow disaster, these rumors sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, proliferating in the northern region.

The speed at which these rumors spread utterly exceeded Chen Afu’s comprehension and imagination. She never thought that the ancient people were more enthusiastic and exaggerated when spreading gossip.

She believed that if it had happened to another person, the rumors wouldn’t have spread this quickly.

But the person that it happened to was Chen Shiying, the youngest and handsomest scholar in the Dashun dynasty, a role model of grassroots motivation. He was gentle, ambitious, and fortunate. As a scholar from a humble background, he had become a fourth-rank official in his thirties purely through his own efforts. Not only was he a role model for all students, but he was also the pride of all ordinary people.

The ordinary people completely ignored or were unwilling to acknowledge the efforts that Mrs. Chen had made for Chen Shiying’s official career. They were more willing to believe that Chen Shiying had reached this step purely through his own strength, since it gave them or their offspring a sense of hope.

Students and grassroots people didn’t want their idol to be tainted, so they exaggerated the situation, portraying Chen Shiying as extremely filial and innocent, while portraying Mrs. Chen as unvirtuous and cruel. Even storytellers made up stories about it, the most famous one being "Scholar and his filial piety towards his mother," only the name of the protagonist was changed.

If Chen Afu had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have bothered sending people to Chen Shiying’s hometown to tell the story.

Now, almost everyone in the Dashun dynasty knew about Chen Shiying’s ex-wife, Mrs. Wang, and his current wife, Mrs. Jiang.

The details of Chen family’s affairs were even more well-known to the guests invited today.

In their imagination, it should have been extremely awkward for two women with such a relationship to meet. After all, one was the legal wife who was driven out by the wicked mother-in-law. Mrs. Wang was verbally driven out by Mrs. Chen, which was illegal. If Mrs. Wang had not remarried, the court might "rehabilitate" her and recognize her as the legal wife again. In that case, Mrs. Jiang’s status would be awkward, surely being decreased by one level, becoming a concubine.

But contrary to expectations, these two women got along exceptionally well, exceeding everyone’s surprise. Especially Mrs. Jiang, who showed a lot of respect towards Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Jiang held hands and went to one side to talk, their eyes welling up with tears, with Mrs. Wang comforting Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang now treats Mrs. Wang as Chen Shiying’s real elder sister. She is genuinely grateful to Mrs. Wang from the bottom of her heart. In her eyes, Chen Shiying is so outstanding not only because he has good qualities, but also because Mrs. Wang taught him so well. She would hate to imagine what her husband would have become if he had been personally brought up by that old lady.

Of course, Mrs. Jiang had also heard the rumors, but she was not envious of Mrs. Wang and even less so angry at her. In her opinion, Mrs. Wang has remarry, and indeed, she picked a good husband.

Moreover, her husband had a fortunate escape, all thanks to Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan’s help.