Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 467 - 458: Worlds Apart

Chapter 467: Chapter 458: Worlds Apart

After dinner, Chen Afu returned to her bedroom to spruce herself up. To highlight the little girl, her attire and jewelry were designed to emphasize luxury. Being already pregnant, her waist was no longer visible, and her face was slightly swollen. After dressing up, her pregnant figure was not particularly outstanding.

Afterward, she called the little girl in and started to dress her up.

Ms. Chu’s outfit was a high-end children’s suit designed personally by Chen Afu and exclusively launched by the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop. The upper part was a yang-color engraved silk stand-collar slanted placket short coat, with five pairs of black double-ear disk buttons and a circle of black color around the collar and hem as embellishments of the clothing. She wore a bright red long gauze skirt underneath, which was full and fluffy.

The jacket resembled the student uniforms from the days of the Republic in her previous life, somewhat similar to a popular type of shirt from this era. However, the student uniform was relatively short, with a tight waist and wide hem, while the shirts of this era were longer and didn’t emphasize the waist. Had the skirt been black, it would have looked even better. But it must be festive for Ms. Chu today, and besides, black was not suitable for ancient girls.

She inserted two jade lotus hairpins into her wrapped hair, and added two yang-color fine flowers, then she dotted a bit of vermillion on her forehead. She also lightly drew her eyebrows and lightly dabbed her cheeks with rouge.

Chen Afu knew that Ms. Chu enjoyed looking beautiful. Last night, she had stained her fingernails red with nail polish. She adjusted it a little, so it was not a bold red, but more of a pink. She also added a bit of pearl powder to it, which faintly shone luster.

The little girl looked good even without any dressing up. After the dressing up, she was just too pretty to be true.

Not only was Ms. Chu delighted when she saw herself in the mirror, even Dabao was so excited that he kept saying, "Sis is so beautiful, just as beautiful as Mommy. My goodness, there’s no one more beautiful than you two."

Alu and Chu Lingzhi also thought that Chu Hanyan looked like a little fairy today, but they were too embarrassed to compliment Ms. Chu as Dabao did.

Li Xuan thought that Chen Dabao was just merely surprised out of unfamiliarity as he said, "Yan and Auntie look this gorgeous every day, Brother Dabao, how come you only just discovered it?"

Chu Lingxuan looked at his beautiful little girl with a smile at the corner of his mouth, appearing calm on the surface, but filled with intense emotions inside. It reminded him of her four-year-old birthday three years ago. At that time, she was foolish and hardly spoke or smiled, and people called her the "foolish girl". But now, she is smart and lively, with eyes as beautiful as a painting, filled with happy smiles... the difference from the past was simply like heaven and earth.

He knew all these changes were thanks to his wife. Without her, their daughter’s life would have been miserable. At this moment, he felt a strong urge to pull his wife into his arms, yet seeing a roomful of children, he restrained himself.

After looking at Shiyi, who was wholeheartedly praising his wife and daughter, he no longer found this little guy annoying, but rather cute.

Chu Lingxuan handed a small brocade box to Ms. Chu, saying, "This is the birthday gift from daddy wishing his daughter a happy birthday."

"Thank you, daddy." The little girl’s eyes curved as she smiled.

After that, Chu Lingxuan led Chen Alu, Chu Lingzhi, Chen Dabao, along with Zhui Feng’s family and Wang Cai to the front yard to receive the guests. Zhui Feng’s family were social stars in Dingzhou, and both adults and children liked them.

Chen Afu, accompanied by Chu Hanyan and Li Xuan, went to the Hua Hall to entertain the female guests.

Chen Afu looked at the backs of the boys in front of her, standing tall and staggered as if they were pines. Even their silhouettes could reveal their handsome charms. The children had grown up so fast, and in a blink of an eye, they had grown so tall.

In particular, Alu shot up in height over the last two years and was already over one meter sixty, even taller than Chen Ming. Both Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang were of shorter stature, and Alu was always thin and small. Perhaps his life had improved over the past few years, plus he frequently ate food containing agarwood, which had accelerated his growth. He was only thirteen years old and could at least grow another ten centimeters tall. He was already handsome; if he were to grow taller, he would undoubtedly make a elegant and dashing young man in this dirty world.

This year, several families have expressed their interest in arranging a marriage with Alu. Most of them were local gentry, along with two subordinates of Chu Lingxuan, not only attracted by the prospect of having Chu Lingxuan as a brother-in-law but also because Alu himself was exceptionally excellent — good at studies, handsome, and kind-hearted.

Chen Afu chuckled, a sense of pride washing over him as if his younger brother was coming of age.

Upon reaching the veranda, Chu Lingxuan and his party headed forward, while Chen Afu, guiding the girl and Li Xuan, moved towards the back.

Hua Hall, situated next to the back garden, was a row of private rooms, designated to entertain guests or to take a rest while admiring flowers.

Autumn was in full swing, the sun shining brightly. Not only chrysanthemums and camellias in the garden were blooming brilliantly, but also Four Seasons Begonia, roses, and bird-of-paradise, all were in full bloom. Chen Afu, who was not worried about his material life, spent more time on his spiritual pursuit. He occasionally used water blended with Yan Poop to water the flowers, especially a few pots of prized chrysanthemums and camellias, which were large in size, extremely beautiful, and plump.

Chen Afu went inside to check, the room was decked out in colorful decorations, extremely festive.

At this moment, Mrs. Song came leading Brother Wen; she was going to help Chen Afu to entertain the female guests.

The first group of guests was Chu Hua and her son, as well as Granny Luo and her daughter. They had visited just two years ago when the young lady was only five years old. When they saw Chu Hanyan today, their eyes widened in surprise.

Could this smiling young lady standing before them be Yan? If it weren’t for the familiar features, and Chen Afu by her side, as well as Liao Chen’s previous praise, they wouldn’t dare believe that this young lady was the same naive Yan.

Chu Hua expressed her surprise joyfully, "Oh my, Yan, good girl, you’ve grown so much, and you’re still so clever and charming."

Granny Luo also laughed and said, "Yan, do you remember me?"

Of course, Chu Hanyan didn’t remember them. But just now she had heard her mother calling their names, so she smiled and gave them a standard courtesy, saying, "Great Aunt, fourth cousin’s mother." She also greeted Luo Ying and Heng, saying, "Sister Ying, brother Heng."

Granny Luo and Chu Hua both took turns to lavish praise on the young lady.

Luo Ying was now twelve years old, pretty and amiable, and it was said that her marriage had been arranged already. She not only liked the smart little girl but was also fond of her unique clothes. Luo Ying knew that Chen Afu could design clothes—the disk buttons in her mother’s dowry shop were designed by him, so she guessed that Yan’s clothes were also designed by him.

She said to Chen Afu, "Big cousin-in-law, cousin Yan’s clothes are really beautiful. Do you think such clothes would suit me?"

Chen Afu laughed and said, "Of course they’d suit you. If the top’s color is more subtle and elegant, and if the skirt is made of satin instead of gauze, it would also look good." Seeing the little stars in Luo Ying’s eyes, he laughed again, "Come to the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop tomorrow, pick your fabric, and let the embroiderers there make it for you."

Luo Ying’s eyes curved up in a smile as she pulled on Chen Afu’s hand, repeatedly thanking him.

Next, Mrs. Jiang arrived with her daughters Chen Yuqing. And then, guests started to trickle into Hua Hall. Seeing the pretty and charming Chu Hanyan, one after another showered her with compliments, making the little lady feel shy.