Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 90 - 89: I Wronged Her

Chapter 90: Chapter 89: I Wronged Her

Perhaps because they had been stored in the space for so many years, the gemstones’ clarity and luster seemed particularly brilliant in the palm of Chen Afu’s fair and tender hand.

Mr. Bai, the shopkeeper, laughed when he saw them. He took the stones and inspected them carefully by the window, then said, "Not bad. How much are you expecting, young lady?"

Chen Afu replied with a smile, "I’ve heard that Mr. Bai has an excellent reputation. You treat a business worth one to two taels of silver with the same importance as a 1,000 taels business, that’s why I came specifically to your Silver Tower. I didn’t even consider going to another."

Mr. Bai laughed heartily and said, "How eloquently you speak, young lady. You spoke highly of me, so it wouldn’t be fitting for me to haggle with you." He turned back to the window and looked at the stones again, and said "These three rubies are mediocre in quality and not large, but their luster is commendable, so they’re likely worth 90 taels of silver at most. This emerald is quite good, with fine transparency and luster. Let’s make it 300 taels of silver, how does that sound?"

This was much higher than Chen Afu’s expected price. Mr. Bai was indeed a fair dealer. She would have to tell Jin Yanzi in the future to not set her sights on this shop, no matter how tempted she was.

But she had to haggle to make it feel like a proper business deal, she couldn’t just accept whatever price he gave. So she smiled and said, "Mr. Bai, although I don’t know a lot about this business, I do know that emeralds are delicate and not easy to cut or polish. This emerald is already cut and can be directly set into jewelry, isn’t it worth a bit more?"

Mr. Bai replied, "The price I offered isn’t low. How about this, I’ll add another 20 taels, but I can’t go any higher."

A total of 410 taels, which was very good. Chen Afu’s eyes crinkled in delight as she said, "Deal."

Mr. Bai gave Chen Afu two silver notes, each worth 200 taels, and a silver ingot.

As they left the private room, Mr. Bai said with a smile, "Young lady, aren’t you interested in purchasing any jewelry? Our Silver Tower’s jewelry is exceptional and reasonably priced."

Chen Afu, holding the ten taels of silver, went over to the counter and asked for some affordable silver hairpins. A server brought over a small tray. Chen Afu chose four silver hairpins adorned with floral motifs, one each for herself, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Zhang, and Mrs. Chen, and also bought a pair of silver lily of the valley earrings extra for herself and Mrs. Wang, for a total of 11 taels of silver.

Mr. Bai gave her a discount and only charged her 10 taels.

Mother and son thanked him and left the Silver Tower.

Once outside, Chen Afu looked around. They were on the busiest street in Dingzhou, a bluestone road wide enough for six carriages to ride alongside each other. The shops on both sides were multi-story buildings, lavishly decorated.

Across the diagonally opposite to them was the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop that Chen Aman had mentioned.

Three stories high, with gray tiles, green walls, and red carved windows and doors, the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop stood out even from this distance with its large lanterns and colorful streamers hanging around, its massive plaque clearly visible.

She figured she would take the toys over there tomorrow for a walk.

She was just about to turn away when she saw Mr. Chen, whom they had bumped into earlier, escorting a group of women out of the Nirvana Embroidery Workshop. He helped an old woman into a carriage, and the rest of the women followed suit.

Despite only having seen him briefly twice, Chen Afu could tell that not only was he good-looking, but also had a decent demeanor, displaying a gentle and delighted expression towards his old mother, wife, and daughter.

Could that be an illusion? When it came to the woman who had raised him and whom he had been intimate with, his heart was harder than stone. It was probably for the best that Mrs. Wang’s mother was not there; it would have broken her heart.

Chen Afu watched as the carriages disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the street.

Chen Dabao tugged at Chen Afu’s sleeve again, saying, "Mommy, carry me, carry me." He was always worried about the silver notes in his mother’s arms, but she didn’t seem to care, which worried him.

Chen Afu lifted him up, and he whispered in her ear, "Mommy, we should find a donkey cart and go back to Grandpa’s house quickly. You have so much money on you, don’t let it get stolen."

Afu teased him, "Not eating out anymore?" When they arrived, Dabao had specifically said that they were going to eat at a restaurant.

Dabao swallowed, shook his head and said, "We’ll pass on eating out today. We can do it some other time."

Upon seeing those people, Afu also lost any desire to continue strolling around. She nodded, led Dabao to a nearby snack shop, bought two steamed bun baskets, handed one each to mother and son, and then hailed a mule cart.

They returned to the Chen household around noon, just in time for lunch.

The people they had asked to come had arrived. They were two boys around thirteen or fourteen years old, currently sitting to one side with a large rice bowl each.

Afu unwrapped the buns from their oil paper and enjoyed lunch with them.

After the meal, Afu presented a hairpin to Mrs. Zhang saying, "I made a trip to the Jade Kirin Silver Tower on West Street. I bought this for you there. I hope you won’t find it offensive, Auntie Zhang."

Mrs. Zhang exclaimed, "Oh my, you already gave us the secret recipe for the Lu Chuan. We haven’t even thanked you yet. How can we accept something so valuable?"

Chen Shi also chimed in to refuse, suggesting "Save it for your sister-in-law."

Upon seeing her daughter had gone to the Silver Tower, Mrs. Wang guessed that she sold the gemstone. She smiled at Mrs. Zhang and said, "Just accept what Afu gave you. Yours certainly will not be forgotten."

After some resistance, Mrs. Zhang happily accepted the silver hairpin.

Afu claimed to be tired. She didn’t lend a hand but returned to her room to rest with Dabao and Alu.

Hearing the boys’ snoring, she struggled to fall asleep. A face identical to hers kept appearing before her eyes.

The older girl looked not much younger than Afu, indicating that the Chens had driven Mrs. Wang out not long before Mr. Chen took a wife.

Thinking about the noblewoman with her head full of jewels radiating power and the two young ladies in their fine clothes, and then thinking about Mrs. Wang who entered the Chen’s family as a child bride, laboring day and night to care for the sickly Chen Ming and the foolish Afu who was bullied to death, Afu couldn’t calm herself down...

She could hear the laughter and talking of Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Zhang in the courtyard. Chen Ming and Mrs. Zhang sounded jovial and loud. Mrs. Wang, though also laughing and talking, sounded a lot more refined.

Thinking about Mrs. Wang, Afu felt a warmth in her eyes. She was sold to the Chen family as a child bride by her stepmother at the age of ten. She single-handedly raised an unaware five-year-old boy into a handsome fifteen-year-old young man, even bearing a child. They must have developed a significant emotional attachment, right?

Definitely! Otherwise, she wouldn’t love his child so dearly that it even surpassed her love for her son.

She wasn’t sure if it was a mother-child relationship, a sister-brother relationship, or a relationship between a man and a woman. The most likely was a budding romantic relationship, right?

She was pregnant, so she and that little son-in-law must have had some mutual affection, right?

Only that, as soon as the little son-in-law passed the civil examination, he turned a blind eye to her. She was sent back to her mother’s home and, carrying a child, was sold by her stepmother for the second time.

The gentle, but smart and resilient Mrs. Wang, without time for grief and pain, was married off to another Chen family. She accepted the marriage so readily, and yet she chose the dying Chen Ming. She must have prepared herself to be a widow, thereby securing a legitimate status for her unborn child.

So unfair... to her.