Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 520 - 511 Persuasion

Chapter 520: Chapter 511 Persuasion

Chen Afu had no qualms about feeling annoyed at Liao Chen, believing her to be too stubborn. This was a crucial time, and it could have been Lady Ma’s deliberate attempt to force Chen Afu to return to the nunnery and be captured or killed by the remnants of the second prince. Even worse, Lady Ma and Rong Zhao could have planned to send a decoy to harm her. Yet, Liao Chen held on to her sense of pride and seemed ready to walk into the trap. Luckily, she wasn’t completely reckless and hadn’t gone to the mountain nunnery, which would have made it even harder to protect her.

Perhaps it was Marquis Chu’s anger at Rong Zhao that had rendered them unable to touch him. They could only vent their anger on Liao Chen, even going as far as sacrificing themselves in exchange for a small victory. Or perhaps they guessed that the emperor was aiming to use Rong Zhao to keep Marquis Chu in check, and thought that they still had a chance. They must have planned to get rid of Liao Chen first, assuming Marquis Chu would then focus on Rong Zhao...

Chen Afu was somewhat baffled by the logic of royal women.

The Luo’s estate was in the southern suburbs of Dingzhou. By the time Chen Afu’s party arrived, it was pitch-black outside.

Someone had been sent ahead on horseback to alert the Luos. When Chen Afu arrived, Manager Luo and Madam Luo were out on their front steps to greet her, along with several of their servants.

In Chen Afu’s eyes, Manager Luo was like an elder of her own. Seeing him kneeling in respect, she quickly leaned forward as if to help him up, saying,"Uncle Luo, please stand, you have all worked hard."

Manager Luo was deeply grateful to Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan for providing a good future for his son’s family. By becoming the housekeeper of the Eleventh Prince’s household, his daughter-in-law had elevated their family status, allowing his son and grandson to escape servitude and enjoy wealth. His descendants might even have a chance at a government career.

Manager Luo stood up, whispered,"Ma’am, rest assured the mistress is safe. Our mansion has some skilled protection, and the second master has arranged for several military officers to stay with the servants and in the local village. However, for the mistress’s safety, we encourage her to live in the city."

Chen Afu cast her gaze around. Under the starlight, the Luos’ mansion loomed alone here. A handful of lower houses lay around the estate, and a village lay about a hundred meters to the front of the estate. Behind it, Huajing Mountain sat some two hundred meters away, with many trees in between.

This place was cross-connected and easily concealed. If a dozen or so highly skilled fighters suddenly appeared from the mountain, they could easily wound Liao Chen. If more people joined, it could be possible to capture Liao Chen and take her to the mountains.

If Liao Chen’s safety was to be guaranteed, she must be persuaded to stay in Dingzhou. If she didn’t want to stay with the Chu family, she could stay with the Chen Ming family. Naturally, they could not drag Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang into danger, so they should stay with Chen Shi’s family or Wang Cheng’s family.

Determined, Chen Afu stepped through the front door. Once she entered the second door, Chu Lingqi and Mrs. Song were there to receive them. Chen Afu genuflected and said with gratitude, "Thank you, Uncle, for all your trouble."

Chu Lingqi and Mrs. Song quickly bent over in a bow and smiled, saying, "No need to be formal, sister-in-law, it’s our responsibility."

Chu Lingqi took Chen Afu to the confinement room in the main building. Mrs. Song whispered, "For the sake of the Elder Madam’s safety, we have arranged for her to stay there for the night."

Liao Chen was sitting on the bed, continuously scrubbing her prayer beads. She looked a lot thinner, her eyes had lost their previous warmth and peace, and seemed to have gained a few layers of emptiness and coldness.

Chen Afu and Chu Hanyan bowed to her. With tears streaming down her face, Liao Chen said as she helped them to their feet, "It’s so cold, yet you have come so far to see me. I have just been a burden, even though I have already left worldly affairs to become a nun, I’m still causing trouble for everyone."

Chu Hanyan said, "Grandma, don’t say that, we all miss you."

Chen Afu quickly added, "Grandmother, why would you say such a thing? How sad would my father-in-law be to hear that? Everything he has done, including going to pacify the rebellion, have all been in order to build his military achievements, to ensure your safety and happiness. You should sit down, we should have visited you early, just we were too busy with other things. Besides us and the children, even Auntie and Auntie Three wanted to come see you. However, the Empress Dowager was in poor health, so Auntie Three needed to spend a lot of time in the palace attending to her, and Auntie wasn’t able to spare any time. The kids are so young, we didn’t dare bring them."

They chatted for a while and then the vegetarian meal was placed on the table. Among the dishes was a pot of mushroom stewed tofu, which was very delicious. After Chen Afu had two bowls, she finally felt thoroughly warm.

After the meal, even though she noticed the youngest Miss Chu was tired, she didn’t let her rest. She needed to let her niece warm Liao Chen’s heart and win her over first.

The young Miss Chu who had her mother’s instructions in advance, kept clinging to Liao Chen, sweetly voicing her feelings of missing her and how cute her younger siblings were. Each time she yawned, she would cover her mouth with her little chubby hand, blinked her eyes and then continued her chatter,"... Grandma, Yu Yu and Mingming can already run all over the place now and they can say so many words. We didn’t dare to tell them we were coming here, otherwise they would have cried the house down... Little Yu’er is so smart, she can already speak words. Grandfather loves her the most, and she loves her grandfather too. She loves playing with his beard, even though it makes him cringe in pain, he doesn’t mind letting her do so."

Chen Afu chuckled and said, "You only talk about your younger siblings, what about you?"

The youngest Miss Chu blushed and bashfully said, "Grandma, I am engaged to be married to my brother. When you’re tired of staying at home, you can come and live with us. We will look after you very well."

Liao Chen had heard about their engagement before. Hearing her say this now warmed Liao Chen’s heart. Yet thinking about what the chamberlain had said, her spirits plummeted once more.

She was already a monastic, why was she still concerned with worldly joys and sorrows?

She gently pushed the young girl, saying, "Sweet child, you’ve been on the road such a long time, you should rest."

After the youngest Miss Chu left, Chen Afu immediately started persuading Liao Chen to move into the city.

As anticipated, Liao Chen firmly refused to live in Dingzhou, and even desired to return to Yingxue Nunnery. Holding prayer beads in one hand and putting her other hand together in salutation, she said, "What Lady Ma said is not wrong. As a nun, I should steer clear of worldly affairs. Yet here I am, still tangled up in worldly life, even fearful for my life, and willing to stay at... the Chus. I have violated the Buddhist rules by being so unclean, and I am sure to face divine retribution..."

Chen Afu replied, "Grandmother, your decision to become a nun was not because you were meant to be a Buddhist, but because you were forced by Lady Ma and Rong Zhao’s mother-daughter duo. When father-in-law agreed to your nunship, it was not a permanent fixture but a temporary measure to protect you. Lady Ma’s words were meant to manipulate you with fear, so why fall for their schemes? Also, in order to protect grandmother, so many people are guarding around you. If the second prince or someone dispatched by Lady Ma were to harm you and cause these young guards to lose their lives, how could grandmother endure that?"

Tears began to fall down Liao Chen’s face, "I do not wish for them to die for me. I want to return to Yingxue Nunnery, to retreat into meditation and contemplation. If someone really wants to harm me, then it must be my fate."