Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 489 - 480: Biological Mother

Chapter 489: Chapter 480: Biological Mother

The Marquis Chu had been feeling quite depressed these days. The Ninth Prince had ascended to the position of the crown prince, the balance of power within the court had become very clear after the Second Prince and The Wangs fled. The Third Prince and his party could no longer cause significant trouble, and he and Consort Sun had grown meek. Yet, the emperor did not abide by his initial promise; it was agreed that once the Ninth Prince assumed power, Princess Rong Zhao, who had been involved in a plot contrived by the Second Prince to undermine important court officials, would be sent to live in a nunnery...

Perhaps the only chance he had to completely sever his ties with Rong Zhao would come once the Crown Prince ascends the throne.

Although he could not yet sever ties with Rong Zhao, he no longer needed to bend indifferently, especially not for Mrs. Ma and The Mas who were in cahoots with the party of the Second Prince. Marquis Chu and his family would no longer hold back.

Marquis Chu paused momentarily before continuing, "As for the Mas, they are her maternal family. It’s impossible not to allow Yan’er to see them. Meeting here at the mansion is fine, but we can’t let them take her back to The Ma’s house."

Upon hearing Marquis Chu’s emphatic words, Chen Afu was overjoyed. With the support of the elder, she would be better able to refuse. In fact, she had thought all along that even if the elders agreed to let the Ma’s take the young girl home, she would find all sorts of reasons not to allow it. Not only because she was angered by the Ma family’s previous disregard for the young girl and her mother, but also because the character and family traditions of the Ma’s were not commendable.

Marquis Chu further remarked, "As for your mother’s dowry, I will arrange for it to be transported back to the mansion tomorrow. You should find someone trustworthy to handle it."

Having a stepmother in charge of her stepdaughter’s dowry didn’t seem quite right. However, Mrs. Huang was dispatched by Mrs. Chu. Afu agreed to have her handle it temporarily until Chu Lingxuan returned, and she could find someone to help manage it.

On the way back to the Bamboo Pavilion, the young girl quietly asked, "Mother, who wants to take me to their home to play? Why wouldn’t grandfather let me go with them?"

In the starlight, the young girl’s little face became unusually stern, her lips tightly pursed. Perhaps, she had already made some guesses.

Chen Afu squeezed her little hand, and said, "Once we return to the Bamboo Pavilion, mother will explain it to you gradually."

Back at the Bamboo Pavilion, after Chen Afu fed Yu’er, she asked the two nannies to take the little brothers to the east room to play with Zhui Feng’s family. She then took the young girl to the bed in the east room, and embraced her into her bosom.

She said, "Yan’er, mother isn’t your birth mother, you’re aware of that, right?"

The young girl sniffled, tears welled up in her eyes, she choked back and said, "But I’ve always treated mother as my real mother."

Chen Afu lowered her head and kissed her little face, saying, "Yes, mother also treats Yan’er as her biological daughter. However, you have a birth mother, who gave you life. Even though she has passed away, you must always remember her."

The young girl dabbed her tears with a handkerchief, and nodded her head.

Chen Afu continued, "Your mother’s family is still there..."

Apprehension filled the young girl’s eyes as she asked, "Will they take me to live with them like brother... no, I mean the Eleventh Prince?" Every time she had to address her brother as the Eleventh Prince, her heart felt uncomfortable. But she knew that, uncomfortable as it may be, she had to insist on using the correct address. She continued, "Will they take me to live with them permanently?"

Chen Afu replied, "Of course not. The Eleventh Prince was taken back because his father, mother, and elder brother are all still here, their home is also the Eleventh Prince’s home. But you’re different; your father, mother, and siblings are all here in this family. This family is your real home..."

The young girl breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled through her tears, "That’s good."

Seeing a relieved young girl, Chen Afu’s heart lightened at the sight and she also smiled. She said, "Today your maternal family came over, they wanted to take you to The Ma’s for a few days. As you might have heard, the elders do not agree and mother does not wish that you interact with them too frequently..."

Chen Afu was in a difficult situation. If she said that The Mas were not good, she might be accused of trying to sow discord between the stepdaughter and her maternal family. Yet, if she didn’t explain everything, she was afraid that the young girl would be deceived by the Ma’s. If only Chu Lingxuan was here, it would be better coming from his mouth than hers. She had always regarded the young girl as her own daughter, but now that The Mas had appeared on the scene, she had to face the reality of the stepmother-stepdaughter relationship between them.

However, in order to do what’s best for the young girl, she had to sever this relationship, she just had to do it tactfully.

Then she heard the young girl pouting and complaining, "I am already so grown up, yet I have never met them. I have spent all these years in Dingzhou, and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins in the Capital City and at Shizhou Mansion have come to visit me, but they never did. I only found out today that I actually have such relatives. From what grandfather said, it seems they don’t truly care for me..."

As she spoke, a layer of mist formed in the young girl’s eyes.

The young girl was more astute than she had thought and could distinguish right from wrong. Chen Afu was both relieved and heartbroken, as she spoke, "There are so many people who genuinely care for Yan’er, we don’t need to worry about the few who don’t. In the future, if they come to visit, we can’t just turn them away, after all, they are your kin. But if they want to take you back to The Ma’s house, we will not agree."

The young girl nodded and said, "I understand. I won’t go with them. In my heart, my grandmother, grandfather, and uncle in Dingzhou are my real relatives; they have always been kind to me."

Chen Afu laughed, saying, "Those words, just keep them in your heart." If she were to voice these thoughts, others would not acknowledge them as the girl’s true feelings and will likely claim that they were influenced by her stepmother.

After the young girl went to the West Wing to rest, Chen Afu instructed Mrs. Huang, "If the Mas come visit again, do not let her speak to them alone."

Mrs. Huang nodded her agreement.

In the morning of the following day, Chen Afu had the west wing room cleared to store Mrs. Ma’s dowry items. Once the young girl had her own space, they would move them over there.

In the late afternoon, over a dozen carts of items arrived at the Bamboo Pavilion. The list of items was presented to Chen Afu.

The items were plentiful, including various decorations, fabrics, jewelry, medicinal materials, ownership deeds for 200 acres of land and a mansion as well as a treasure box holding one thousand taels of silver. Even the silver reaped from the lands over the years were there, which amounted to three hundred and one taels in total. The total estimated value of the dowry was over five thousand taels of silver.

Following the death of Mrs. Ma, her dowry was stored away under the direct control of Marquis Chu.

Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Li performed an audit and confirmed the items matched the list given to them. The incomparably affluent Rong Zhao, despite all her flaws, wouldn’t stoop so low as to tamper with the dowry of Mrs. Ma. As a result, Mrs. Ma’s dowry items were preserved perfectly.

The family of Mrs. Ma was only a distant relative of the Mas, her father and brothers were not great achievers. The size of the dowry indicated that Ma’s family likely assisted her with the items.

For the meantime, Chen Afu entrusted Mrs. Huang with the books and Qi’er with the storeroom keys. She then took the young girl to look over the items, telling her that these were what her birth mother had left for her to serve as her dowry.

The young girl had no memories of her birth mother but seeing these items, she couldn’t help but burst into tears.