Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 495 - 486

Chapter 495: 486

After discussing business, the marriage prospects of Chen Ayu were brought up. There were quite a few families showing interest in Ayu, but he wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to get his main store’s affairs in order first. However, recently, he received a marriage proposal on behalf of an official family’s daughter, who, although was only a concubine’s child, had a father who was a third-ranked commander in the Left Guard Battalion outskirts of Capital City. The girl, whose surname was He, was also quite beautiful.

Apparently, Mr. He and his wife had seen Chen Ayu at the Hongyun Hot Pot Restaurant and found him tall and handsome, with a gentle demeanor and appropriate behavior. They felt that with the right kind of support, he had the potential to achieve great things. Considering this, Mr. He and his wife desired to marry their daughter to Chen Ayu. Furthermore, they stated that substantial dowry that included silver for Chen Ayu to establish his own household would be given, and they would even help in attracting customers...

Both Chen Ayu and Yang Mingyuan vaguely knew that Mr. He was related by marriage to Chen Afu’s biological father and that their relationship was not harmonious. Chen Ayu was sensible enough to know that the He family was interested not just in himself but his connections with The Chus as well. Therefore, he didn’t immediately accept, saying he needed to consider it.

With a blush on his face, Chen Ayu said, "Even if sister didn’t come, I would have gone to Marquis’ Mansion to ask sister for advice..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Afu was taken aback. Going to such lengths, it was clear that the He family was desperate, but this move was so embarrassingly low.

In the recent counter-insurgency military operation, some troops from the Left Guard Battalion, which Mr. He was responsible for, were drafted. However, the one leading the troops was not Mr. He, but his deputy. Mr. He realized that he was being marginalized. Being marginalized was only the first step, his position was so precarious that it was uncertain if he would be alive after the accounts were settled for the autumn. Hence, he had been living in a state of constant fear these days.

Mr. He realized that now the Emperor and the Crown Prince highly regarded The Chus while Chen Afu was indeed regarded as the foster mother of the eleventh prince. There is a rift between Mr. He’s second son’s wife and Chen Afu, despite being sisters. He had subtly hinted to his son’s wife on many occasions to try and establish better relations with The Chus and Chen Afu, but she was defiant and refused to do so. Later, he heard that Chen Afu had a very good relationship with the third room of the Chen family, and hence came up with this plan.

Seriously, Chen Afu said to Chen Ayu, "Previously, Mr. He was a follower of the second prince, you must not mix with him. Otherwise, instead of help, it will create many problems in the future."

Chen Ayu quickly nodded in agreement.

Originally, Chen Afu was planning to go home after lunch, but seeing the children playing so happily, especially Chu Hanyan, who was walking hand in hand with Yang Qian and laughing loudly, in addition to being encouraged to stay by Chen Aman and Yang Mingyuan, she agreed to leave after dinner.

Dinner was served in Mrs. Yang’s courtyard. Before dinner, Chen Afu went there with the children and their gifts for Mrs. Yang.

Mrs. Yang hadn’t changed much in the last few years. She was a kind-looking and good-natured lady, the only difference being that she was a bit chubbier. Seeing Chen Afu and her children, her eyes curved in delight, and she had gifts prepared for the three little ones as well.

However, Mrs. Yang completely ignored Chen Aman. As soon as she arrived, she began serving Mrs. Yang, pouring her tea, and making herself useful in any way she could.

Perhaps this was something Chen Aman had grown accustomed to doing, as she performed these tasks effortlessly and cheerfully. Mrs. Yang accepted these services without a second thought and didn’t make any attempt to tell Chen Aman to sit down.

Yang Mingyuan was slightly embarrassed, saying, "Aman, please sit, my mother has maids to serve her."

At these words, Mrs. Yang seemed to finally realize what she was doing and echoed, "My daughter-in-law, please sit down."

Upon hearing this, Chen Aman thanked Mrs. Yang and sat down with a smile.

All this while, Chen Afu believed that Mrs. Yang was a kind and intelligent older lady, always understanding about what was going on. Her behavior might be intended to establish a proper order in the household for her grandchildren and their stepmother, or perhaps she was being egoistic due to Aman’s overly humble attitude.

Chen Afu never approved of Chen Aman being overly humble. It was typical for daughters-in-law in ancient times to be humble towards their mothers-in-law, but Chen Aman was overly so. There were so many maids and old women in the house, it wasn’t right to have her do all the serving while standing.

If Yang Chao and Yang Qian were her biological children, this would perhaps not have posed a problem. However, they were not, and with her continuous servitude, she could eventually be looked down upon by both the growing siblings and the household staff. If the mother-in-law was harsh and her stepchildren difficult, Chen Aman would have a hard time.

Though Chen Aman’s family background was indeed inferior to the Yangs, her cousin was the one the Yang family had to rely on because of her noble connections.

Chen Afu’s face darkened slightly.

Yang Mingyuan, seeing this, quickly tried to lighten the mood by praising his wife’s virtues in attending to the elders, caring for the youngsters, and respecting her husband. His straightforward praise made Chen Aman’s face turn red, while Mrs. Chen seemed a bit displeased.

A look of embarrassment crossed Chen Ayu’s face. He had been working so hard to gain strength quickly, just so he could support his sister.

When it was time for dinner, just as Chen Aman stepped behind Mrs. Yang to serve her, Yang Mingyuan called her to come and sit down for dinner.

After dinner, Chen Afu took the children home, reminding Aman to visit Marquis’ Mansion when she was free.

On the twentieth of February, Marshal Chu led the counter-insurgency forces to the front lines, bringing calm to The Chus.

Chen Afu began leading a peaceful daily life with the children at the mansion.

In order to establish Chen Afu’s standing among the Capital City nobility, Mrs. Chu started taking Chen Afu on visits to various noble families and inviting noble women to their home.

Every time, Chen Afu would bring Chu Hanyan along to socialize and network.

On the twenty-fifth, a letter arrived from Marquis Chu informing Chen Afu that Princess Rong Zhao was ill. It was expected, both for emotional and formal reasons, that Chen Afu pay her a visit. To avoid exposing the children to illness, she was asked not to bring them along, but to bring Hanyan with her.

Ever since Chen Afu arrived in the Capital City, she hadn’t been to see Rong Zhao. However, the Marquis had sent her a letter, and so she had to go.

Rong Zhao’s situation had changed a lot recently. Because the Emperor disliked her, Queen Wang, who had close ties with Lady Ma, had fallen from grace and was confined. Additionally, with the death of the second prince and the appointment of the ninth prince, who was his sworn enemy, as the Crown Prince, and the sudden rise of Shan Jieyu to become a virtuous imperial concubine with potential to become the Empress Dowager, Rong Zhao and her family were losing their influence.

What terrified her the most was the possibility that she might be abandoned by her prince consort once the Crown Prince ascended to the throne after the death of the Emperor. She had been married to her prince consort for many years, but she knew she had never been truly loved by him. Ever since the ninth prince became the Crown Prince, her prince consort had stopped showing affectionate towards and spending the night with her. Even when she humbled herself and asked him to stay the night, she was rejected under the pretext of tiredness.

She was now both scared and resentful and had become genuinely ill.