Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 502 - 493 Etiquette

Chu Lin and Chu Bi were already thirteen years old. From the previous year, the process of finding them suitable husband’s families had begun. Even though they were daughters of a concubine, with a father lacking in accomplishment and a legitimate mother lacking in refinement, as the Chu family’s status had risen and they themselves were delicate and lovely, they could still find sons of concubines with respectable families or legitimate sons of lower social status families.

A few months ago, a marriage proposal came for Chu Lin. Mrs. Li and the second master surprisingly agreed. The family of the prospective groom was quite eminent – the second son of the Cheng’en Marquis Residence. However, everyone in Capital City knew that not only was Mr. Xiao inclined towards the same sex, he also had a violent temper, lacked ambition, and no respectable family would willingly marry their daughter into his house.

Previously, the Xiao family set their sights rather high, always seeking to marry their sons to princesses of matching social status. Hence, even now, Mr. Xiao remains unwed at the age of twenty-five.

At the end of the previous year, Mr. Xiao caused a scandal by beating a young servant of the Chu family to death. The Xiao family was able to suppress this incident by paying a large sum of silver and finding a scapegoat. The Xiao family has now lowered their conditions and are content with a concubine’s daughter of equal status and decent appearance.

The Xiao family set their sights on the Chu family, and had the head Madame of their family approach Mrs. Li with a proposal. They hint that if the marriage proposal goes through, apart from the openly-stated dowry worth ten thousand silvers, they would also privately give five thousand silvers as a betrothal gift.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li agreed and persuaded the second master.

The second master thought about it: sacrificing a concubine’s daughter would not only net them five thousand silver, but would also benefit a son’s future. Therefore, he also agreed.

Upon learning of this, the Old Duke had a fit of temper and fiercely reprimanded the second master. He even kicked him a few times, stating that the Chu family could never stoop to selling off their daughters, even if they were daughters of a concubine. Thus, the marriage proposal did not go through.

Afterwards, the Old Duke entrusted the third Madame with the task of arranging marriages for Chu Lin and Chu Bi. The third Madame, bored at home and sympathetic towards the two young girls, accepted the task. Although An Royal Mansion did not invite the people from the second branch to the Lotus Banquet this time, the third Madame still brought the two young girls with her.

Upon reaching An Royal Mansion, their sedan chairs headed straight for Hudian Pavilion not far from Mingyan Lake.

As soon as Chen Afu and her group alighted from the sedan chairs, the servants pushed over a fancy baby carriage. Although it was not the hottest period of the year, it was still quite sweltering. Chen Afu did not want anyone to carry the baby because being held might cause her to feel too hot and develop a heat rash.

The moment they placed Yu’er in the baby carriage, the two little brothers ran over, one on either side of the carriage, acting as if they feared someone would steal their little sister away.

The way in which the brothers cherished their little sister was a reflection of Chen Afu’s teachings. She had always held the belief that boys ought to have a strong sense of responsibility, regardless of the era they lived in. Only with a sense of responsibility, could they put their heart into their work, and strive to protect their family and children. Cultivating their sense of responsibility could begin with the protection of their little sister, Yu’er.

As a result, from the moment Yu’er was born, Chen Afu had educated them to cherish and protect their little sister, instilling in them the notion that in times of difficulty, they should step forward, and in times of advantage, their sister should be the first to benefit.

Now, when they saw so many people coming to see their sister, they were quite scared that these people might steal their beautiful little sister away. In actuality, these people were not only looking at Yu’er, but also at the two of them, and perhaps even the beautiful baby carriage. However, they felt as though all the attention was solely on their sister. What’s more, their perception of the looks on their faces implicitly suggested the word ’robbery’.

Upon seeing someone approach their group to interact with their sister, they shouted, "Sister belongs to us!"

Their shouting only served to amuse the onlookers.

The three children were simply too adorable. The little girl in the carriage was dressed in a rosy, embroidered little outfit, a pale blue skirt, and a small swallow toy sewn onto the skirt. On her head, she wore two little buns and her bright large eyes looked around curiously. When someone talked to her, she would respond with a couple of "ah, ah" sounds, indicating an extremely friendly demeanor.

The two little boys, on the other hand, not only looked alike, but were also similarly dressed, even down to their crew-cut hairstyle. They weren’t as welcoming, seemingly ready to shout at strangers who approached, as if fearing they would snatch their little sister away.

Chen Afu blushed, sighing inwardly that she needed to bring these two out more often to experience the world. Chen Afu had attended a few banquets in the past, but only took Ms. Chu along, leaving the three younger children behind.

In a quiet reprimand, she said, "Darlings, they didn’t come to steal your sister. They simply find your sister cute and just wanted to say hello. If you act like this, your sister will not have any friends in future."

The brothers, upon hearing these words, relented, and told the bystanders, "We like people looking at sister. We don’t like people trying to snatch her away."

A lady nearby said with a laugh, "Oh my, such adorable children. Not only do I wish to bring your sister home, but I also wish to take both of you brothers back with me."

Seeing the guarded eyes of the little brothers, another person hastily intervened with a laugh, "We’re only joking, we won’t really snatch them."

Engaged in conversation, the group made their way into Hudian Pavilion.

In the drawing-room of the pavilion, the ladies of An Royal Mansion and several women of high status and seniority were seated, chattering. Among them was Princess Rong Zhao.

Out of courtesy, An Royal Mansion also extended an invitation to Princess Rong Zhao’s Mansion. They assumed that the previously housebound Princess Rong Zhao would certainly not attend. However, much to their surprise, the widely-known fit-bodied Princess Rong Zhao actually did.

Given that Princess Rong Zhao had previously sided with the Second Prince and had used such means to force the Chu family into divorce, both Prince An and Queen An were not keen to have too many interactions with her. However, now that she was here, Queen An had no choice but to extend a warm welcome on the surface.

Upon seeing Third Madame Chen Afu, leading the children and approaching, Queen An beckoned and said with a smile, "Huachang is here as well, come, sit here. With you here, things will not be boring."

Third Madame replied, laughing aloud, "With Imperial Aunt hosting the Lotus Banquet, when would it ever be boring? You tease."

Among the guests were princesses, wives of nobles, old imperial consorts, a princess of the first rank, and two old marchionesses.

Chen Afu led the children and Chu Lin and Chu Bi to greet and pay respects to them. Upon reaching Princess Rong Zhao, Chu Hanyan was so scared that she turned pale and clung tightly to Chen Afu’s hand, her body trembling slightly. She said in a whisper, "Mother, I’m scared."

Chen Afu squeezed her little hand, signaling her not to be afraid.

Chen Afu then led the children to bow to Princess Rong Zhao, and the two little brothers bowed in a courteous salute.

Today, Princess Rong Zhao’s attention was not on Chu Hanyan, but rather on the other children. When comparing Chu Hanyan with the other children, the ones she despised more were definitely the other children.

No matter how it was put, Chu Hanyan still carried the bloodline of the Mas. However, the other children were solely related to that despicable woman.

The Princess’ gaze swept over the several children, her heart filled with intense hatred which she forcibly suppressed. She giggled, "These children are my grandchildren, my granddaughters. It’s their first time meeting their grandmother and they should kneel." She then told Chen Afu, "Wife of Commander Lingxuan, how have you taught your children that they don’t even understand this basic courtesy?"