Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 476 - 467: Returning to the Mansion

Chapter 476: Chapter 467: Returning to the Mansion

When Chen Afu heard from Luo Yuan that Liao Chen would return to the mansion for a temporary stay, she was relieved.

She guessed that the masked men must have been sent by the Second Prince. The Second Prince must be so desperate that he sent men to kidnap Liao Chen to threaten the Chus, right? It seemed the Second Prince had already made his move.

Liao Chen residing outside the city was always risky.

Chen Afu said, "Okay, I see. Junior Manager Luo hasn’t had his meal yet, has he? Go to the Outer Court for a meal, then go home and rest."

Manager Luo also had a courtyard in Dingzhou.

Luo Yuan shook his head and said, "Thanks, Madam, but I must rush back to the Luo’s estate right away. My father is still..."

Chen Afu worried again, thinking about Manager Luo who was still in danger. She stood up and said, "Wait a minute, Junior Manager Luo. Before, Master Wu Zhi gave me a medicine for external injuries, which may be useful for Uncle Luo."

She went into the bedroom and took out a Yanchen Xiang Wood Strip from a small drawer in the wardrobe, which was used to boil goat milk for the little brothers.

She handed the Wood Strip to Luo Yuan and said, "This was given to me by Master Wu Zhi. Put it in the medicine to decoct together. It can be used repeatedly." She hoped that Manager Luo could recover, but green swallow nests were scarce. She could only give him Yanchen Xiang Wood Strip. It also has a significant effect on wounds.

The Luo family knew that Chen Afu had a deep relationship with Master Wu Zhi. He took the medicine excitedly, knelt down, and kowtowed to Chen Afu several times. He choked and said, "Thank you, Madam. I didn’t expect that my father would have such a blessing to use the medicine given by Master Wu Zhi."

After Luo Yuan left, Chen Afu immediately asked Mrs. Li to run the chores in the Luomei Nunnery.

Luomei Nunnery was located at the southwest corner of the mansion, a secluded and quiet place, with over a dozen plum trees in the small courtyard. Chu Lingxuan had it specially built for Liao Chen and while it looks like an ordinary small courtyard from outside, it was actually constructed according to the design of a nunnery.

After it was built, Liao Chen didn’t come. So apart from the golden jade carvings of Buddha and Bodhisattva, as well as specially made large furniture, there were no other furniture and accessories for daily use.

Now that it was cold outside, the rooms needed to be cleaned carefully and the bed and the floor heating system needed to be warmed up. Furthermore, some furniture from the warehouse needed to be moved in. Liao Chen was born in riches, even his nunnery was elaborately furnished, so only the best things must be used.

Chen Afu instructed Mrs. Li, "... for furniture, decorations, and bedding, choose the best and simple ones."

Chu Lingqi also heard about the accident at the Luo’s estate. He rushed to their estate while Mrs. Song brought Wen to the Deputy General’s Mansion.

With the arrival of Mrs. Song, Chen Afu felt relieved of many concerns. She could not leave the room now, and many things had to be handled by Mrs. Song.

It was late afternoon when Liao Chen and Ms. Chu returned to the mansion.

Chen Afu was still in the month-long confinement and couldn’t go out to meet them, so she had to wait in the east room.

Mrs. Song escorted Liao Chen into the living room, and Chen Afu came out to greet her with a bow.

Liao Chen’s face was pale, her eyes red, her clothes slightly wrinkled, and she kept turning her Buddha beads while walking. She extended the other hand to grab Chen Afu’s hand and cried, "It’s all my fault. I thought I was a nun, detached from the secular world, and those people wouldn’t target me. Who knew... alas, I have hurt Xuan’er, Manager Luo, and also those good kids ..."

In order to protect Liao Chen, not only Chu Lingxuan and Manager Luo were injured, but three guards also died. Chen Afu didn’t know how to comfort her, so she said, "It’s good that mother is back. We feel safe now. My husband and I are relieved."

Chu Hanyan ran over and hugged Chen Afu, crying, "Mother, I’m scared...I’m scared..."

The little girl’s hair was in a mess, her eyes were red and swollen, and she was still shaking.

Chen Afu pulled her over to check her all over again. Seeing she was not injured, Chen Afu calmed down. She held her gently and comforted, "Don’t be afraid, Yan’er. We are home now, and the bad guys will not dare to come."

Liao Chen looked at Yu’er a couple of times, gave her a string of red sandalwood Buddhist beads as a gift, then was led by Mrs. Song to the Luomei Nunnery.

Chen Afu took the little girl to sit on the bed in the east room, held her in her arms, wiped her tears, and whispered comforting words to her. Dabao was also comforting her by her side.

According to Mrs. Huang, who had gone to the estate, the Master himself sent Manager Luo to the Luo’s home, accompanied by several doctors from the Qianjin Hall.

She also said, last night, the Master and Yan’er stayed in the upper room of the main court. When they heard the fight outside, the Master rushed to the back room, asking Mrs. Huang to hide Yan’er in a cabinet in the west room. The bad guys didn’t enter the room they were staying in, but the outside noises scared Yan’er...

When the little brothers woke up, Chen Afu didn’t let them accompany Liao Chen either. With people dead and servants injured, Liao Chen must be upset and had no interest in playing with children.

At night, Chen Dabao was still sleeping in the Warm Pavilion, while Chen Afu took the little girl to sleep in the big bed. The little girl was scared and kept holding Chen Afu without letting go, even talking nonsense in her dreams.

Chu Lingxuan didn’t come back until late. Seeing both children sleeping in the bedroom, he went back to the east room. He asked the night-duty maid to spread a cushion on the bed because he wanted to sleep there.

Chen Afu heard the noise and quietly got up and went to the east room.

Chen Afu saw his left arm bandaged and his face pale, she was so heartbroken that tears welled up in her eyes. "How’s your injury? Is Uncle Luo awake yet?" she asked.

Chu Lingxuan pulled her to sit on the bed and said softly, "I’m fine, the wound is not deep. Uncle Luo has woken up. The doctor said he is out of danger now."

Chen Afu breathed a sigh of relief. "Uncle Luo is finally alright. Otherwise, mother would feel even more guilty." She asked again, "Were those people from the Second Prince?"

Chu Lingxuan nodded and said, "They definitely belonged to him. They are death squad members, who took poison before coming. If they didn’t take the antidote in time, they would die from poison. We captured two of them alive, unfortunately, both of them died."

Seeing the inquiring gaze from Chen Afu, he continued, "You’re still in your confinement period. I was afraid that you’d worry, so I didn’t tell you about some things... You know, Wang Cheng’s father returned to the Southern Province for medical treatment two years ago..."

Two years ago, Wang Cheng’s father, who was the Grand Preceptor, resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown in the Southern Province for medical treatment. After that, members of the Wang family were successively placed in Shaanxi and Sichuan’s armies.

Chen Afu knew all of this. She even specifically checked the map of the Dashun dynasty, which is somewhat like that of their China, but not exactly. The Southern Province was somewhat like Yunnan in the past life, while Sichuan was like Sichuan and Shaanxi was like Shaanxi. The Southern Province was the place where the Wangs originally came from and also the starting point of their rise.

Before, the Wangs had placed Yang Qing in Shaanxi as the General. If they could also unite Sichuan, then these three provinces would form a powerful bastion. If they rebelled, it would be hard for the court to suppress them.

Because of Wang Cheng, they had already dealt with Yang Qing.