Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 89 - 88: Suspected Father (Seeking Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Suspected Father (Seeking Monthly Ticket)

Chen Afu, wearing his somewhat worn fine cloth garments, with a plain face, led Dabao out the door.

He had heard that the busiest commercial district in Dingzhou was West Street, where there were several silver towers. Before coming, Chen Afu made a point to ask Jin Yanzi which stores had good reputations and how their prices were.

Jin Yanzi told him that Yafeng Silver Tower had a strong backing, and some stores bullied their customers, treating them poorly unless they were very wealthy. It was so disgusted with that store that it had stolen from it twice. The owner of Jade Kirin Silver Tower, however, was quite good. It had scouted the place for several days and couldn’t bring itself to steal from there. This silver tower was the second largest in Dingzhou after Yafeng.

Thus, Chen Afu’s target was quite clear—he headed straight for West Street and then directly to Jade Kirin Silver Tower.

The mule cart stopped outside Jade Kirin Silver Tower; Chen Afu and Dabao alighted.

Upon entering the silver tower, they saw a large agate screen at the entrance, carved with the scene of five sons passing the imperial examination, surrounded by several huge agate screens and decorative pieces made of coral and ivory, all exuding grandeur. Chen Afu, leading Dabao to the counter, told the shop assistant that he wanted to see the manager as he had something to sell.

The shop assistant was quite accommodating and asked him to wait, as Mr. Bai, the manager, was entertaining a major client on the second floor.

So, Chen Afu and Dabao stood waiting, observing that the counter only displayed wooden and silver hair accessories and jewelry. Without modern theft-proof glass cabinets, the expensive items weren’t displayed. Chen Afu wondered how Jin Yanzi had managed to steal from them.

Shortly after, he saw several people come down from the second floor. An old lady around fifty, a woman around thirty, two girls, one looking about fourteen or fifteen and the other about twelve or thirteen, a man also around thirty, followed by several maids, and lastly, someone who looked like the manager.

One look at this group, and it was clear they were a wealthy family, decked out in fine silk garments, full of style and elegance.

That man was incredibly handsome.

Perhaps due to his standout appearance, the women by his side seemed plain by comparison. Even the two young girls, in the prime of youth, paled in comparison to him. Mr. Bai, the little old man following them, seemed even more aged and unremarkable next to him.

The man was truly beautiful, with a tall and slender frame, refined features, and a presence as graceful as an orchid. As he descended the stairs, he was even supporting the older woman—she must be his mother.

He looked different from the "hero" Chen Afu had seen before. The hero was also handsome but had a compelling and angular appearance, exuding dominance and arrogance.

This man, however, had features so beautiful they were almost perfect, to the point where even women paled in comparison. If it weren’t for the two short mustaches above his lips, one might only think he was in his twenties.

His beauty was one thing, but most striking was a sense of familiarity. Chen Afu couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he felt familiar to her. Unconsciously, a clear tear slid down her cheek, a nameless sorrow spreading through her heart.

Her gaze followed the man until they left the door and disappeared from view, leaving Chen Afu still dazed.

Chen Dabao hadn’t paid attention to those people; he was staring in a daze at a red coral decorative piece on the floor. When he looked up and saw his mother gazing out the door, lost in thought, he tugged at her hand and said, "Mother, what’s wrong?"

The attendant on the side could not help but snicker, finding it amusing how unabashedly the young miss ogled the handsome man. Fortunately, the man did not catch her gaze, otherwise, he might not have been pleased.

Chen Afu was jolted from her reverie and raised her hand to wipe away the tear on her cheek. The man seemed so familiar; who did he resemble? It wasn’t someone from this lifetime, was it a person from her previous life that made her so emotional to the point of shedding tears?

While she was pondering this, the shopkeeper who had escorted those people out returned.

An attendant asked with a smile, "Mr. Bai, that gentleman looked quite wealthy and must have bought a good amount of jewelry, right?"

Mr. Bai laughed heartily and replied, "That Mr. Chen’s hometown is only a few dozen miles from Dingzhou. He lived in Jiangnan for over a decade before returning, and now he plans to settle down here. He heard that our Silver Tower has a good reputation, so he brought his mother, wife, and daughter to purchase some jewelry." His smile was filled with joy—not only for the good profit but also for the good reputation his shop enjoyed.

He also bore the surname Chen, his home was a few dozen miles from Dingzhou, and he had lived in Jiangnan for many years, appearing to be just over thirty years old.

A sudden realization hit Chen Afu; the man did not resemble anyone else, he looked too much like herself in this lifetime.

At that moment, she was 99% certain that the man was her son-in-law, Mr. Chen, the biological father of the body she now inhabited. Her conclusion was not only based on the aforementioned details but also on her intuition and the body’s peculiar reaction. The remaining 1% stemmed from the lack of confirmation from Mrs. Wang’s own lips.

He was going to settle down in Dingzhou? Was it because he had been dismissed from office or did he come to take up an official post in Dingzhou? Given that his family was leisurely perusing the Silver Tower to purchase jewelry, it didn’t seem like he had been dismissed from office...

As Chen Afu pondered this, the attendant pointed at her and said, "Mr. Bai, this young miss says she has something to sell to our shop."

Chen Afu took a deep breath. She wasn’t the original soul of this body; their blood was not connected. Nor was she Mrs. Wang, who had lived with him for ten years, and furthermore, was carrying his child. Whether he had been dismissed or promoted was of no concern to her.

Her primary task now was to sell the jewelry at a good price, relying on her strength to provide a good life for her family.

She quickly composed herself and, leading Dabao by the hand, stepped up to Mr. Bai with a smile, "Good day, Mr. Bai."

Dabao also called out loudly, "Hello, Grandpa Bai."

The word "hello" caught in Mr. Bai’s throat as he stared at her, struck by how familiar she looked. He couldn’t help asking, "Have we met before?" Realizing how inappropriate the question sounded, as it might come off as flirting, he quickly tried to clarify, embarrassed and with a flushed face, "Er, no, I mean... you look somewhat familiar, that’s all..." His explanation still sounded a bit flirtatious, and he struggled to articulate himself further, finally asking, "What do you have that you wish to sell to our shop, young miss?"

Chen Afu knew he must have noticed her resemblance to the Chen patriarch who had just visited, but one was a dashing man in fine clothes and the other was a simple young woman in modest attire, so he hadn’t connected the two.

What she didn’t know was that after Mr. Bai’s "reminder," the attendant also felt that the young miss seemed familiar.

Chen Afu said with a smile, "I have two pieces of heirloom jewelry. Unfortunately, the family has fallen on hard times; we’ve already melted down the gold for use and only a few gems remain. I would like to sell them to pay for my father’s and brother’s medical treatment."

Mr. Bai invited them into a small room, where Chen Afu took out the emerald and ruby.