Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty-Chapter 67 - 66 Hope
Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Hope
Chapter 67 -66: Hope
Madam Luo nodded and said, “Yes, I have clarified everything. I will report to the Mistress.” After saying that, she headed towards the hanging flower gate.
Under the moonlight, Tang Garden had lost its mystery to outsiders. Like all rich families, it had upturned eaves, pavilions, winding streams, and beautiful gardens. But it had one unique feature: an abundance of begonia trees. Apart from the Four Seasons Begonia and Autumn Begonia, almost all of the begonia trees bore fruit, their sour-sweet scent lingering in the air, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.
Madam Luo walked to a delicately decorated courtyard and knocked on the door. A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old nun opened the door. She said softly, “Patron Huang has arrived. The abbess is reciting sutras.”
Madam Luo smiled and followed her into the main house. The aroma of sandalwood permeated the room which was plainly decorated, resembling a Zen room instead of a main house. There was a high table in the innermost part of the room, on which there was a statue of Guanyin carved from jade. In front of this was an altar, with a bronze incense burner and two plates of fruit offerings. Further ahead, there were four round chairs on both sides, all adorned with grey, cloud-embroidered cushions.
The sound of a wooden fish being struck emanated from a side room to the right.
Madam Luo stood outside the main room, waiting respectfully.
About fifteen minutes later, a nun in her forties came out of the prayer hall, she was Abbot Liao Chen.
Liao Chen, without any makeup, had clear, white skin, and eyes like those of apricots framed by willow-leaf eyebrows. Even though she had fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, one could still see that she had been extremely beautiful in her youth. She sat in a round chair and gestured to Madam Luo to sit.
Madam Luo knelt to apologize, then took a brocade stool from a wall and sat down. Although her mistress had become a nun, she was still in the habit of showing her worldly respect.
Liao Chen asked, “Have you found out what you needed to?”
Madam Luo smiled and said, “Yes, I found out everything. Afu’s initial condition was much worse than miss’s. But he was healed. The miss will surely recover too.” She then recited Mrs. Wang’s words.
Upon hearing this, Liao Chen’s eyes reddened with emotion. She brought her palms together and said, “Amitabha Buddha, there is hope for Yan’er at last. This nun doesn’t dare to hope that she can be as intelligent as Chen Afu, as long as she can be like a normal child, that would be satisfactory.”
Madam Luo chuckled, “The abbess is too humble. The miss’s father is so brilliant and capable, if the miss gets better, she will definitely be highly intelligent.”
Liao Chen said, “I hope so.”
Madam Luo continued, “You have met that mother and daughter before, Mrs. Wang still fondly remembers your kindness to her.”
Liao Chen appeared surprised: “Oh?”
Madam Luo then told Liao Chen about Mrs. Wang’s visit to Yingxue Nunnery in search of Liao Chen for treatment.
Liao Chen thought a moment and smiled, “Ah, I remember now. That child was only a few years old then, and her dementia was severe. But she was adorable, especially her eyes which were gorgeous, though vacant. I didn’t just feel sympathy for her, I liked her. Ah, when her mother asked me to help treat her dementia, I couldn’t do much. I can only treat minor diseases like cold and headache, I’m not that skilled. However, the Chens are a good family, if they have difficulties in the future, if you can help, do help them.”
Madam Luo nodded in agreement.
Then Liao Chen asked, “I wonder who was the senior monk from Lingyin Temple that Mrs. Wang mentioned.”
Madam Luo replied, “I asked Mrs. Wang and she also doesn’t know. She only mentioned that the senior monk had all white hair and a beard, and a large mole on his left eyebrow.”
Liao Chen nodded, and said, “I know who you’re talking about. It must be Master Wu Zhi. Unfortunately, Master Wu Zhi went traveling three years ago and has not returned to the temple since.” Ever since she found out about Hanyan’s illness, she had wanted to ask Master Wu Zhi for help. Hearing this, she was even more determined to do so.
She then instructed Madam Luo, “Collect all of the folk remedies mentioned by Patron Wang and present them for Afu to inspect. Visit the medical halls that treated Afu and describe Hanyan’s symptoms to them to see if there are any differences with the prescriptions Hanyan is currently taking…” She paused before adding, “Furthermore, have Luo Xiao and Xuan’er clean up the people around Hanyan. At the very least, Mrs. Xu is absolutely unsuitable. Even if Hanyan wasn’t sick, she is still just a four-year-old child, and certainly cannot be left with servants who oppress and exploit the good people, and even forcibly purchase from them. Not to mention, if Hanyan does recover from her illness, it would be bad if she is led astray by these people…”
Luo Xiao is Manager Luo.
Madam Luo was taken aback, “You mean, that person could extend his influence this far?”
…
The next morning, eight horse carriages left Tang Garden, each accompanied by over twenty robust men on horseback. Two carriages and five men headed towards Honglin Mountain, while the rest headed towards the capital city.
The Chen’s second house had certainly benefitted from the few days of the master of Tang Garden’s stay.
Chen Dabao, along with Qi Qi, Hui Hui, and Zhui Feng, not only had fun with Chu Hanyan in Tang Garden but also had the opportunity to enjoy many delicious foods they had never tasted before in their lives. They earned a lot of school supplies, enough for both him and Alu to use for a long time.
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They also earned half a box of high-quality satin. Though they didn’t dare use it all at once, they knew it would come in handy eventually. On top of that, they unexpectedly earned a large sum of money: forty taels of silver.
There was also the unknown amount of silver that was to be received from the “sale” of Ten Brocade Sparrow. They weren’t sure how much Master Chu would ultimately give.
Another advantage was dialing up a relationship with Manager Luo from Tang Garden. They planned to find ways to strengthen this connection in the future.
Therefore, as soon as they left, Chen Dabao was hoping for their return, just like he was hoping for Jin Bao.
Life for Chen Afu’s family has returned to normal.
In the morning, Chen Afu would go to the old courtyard to cook breakfast. After mother and son had their meal, they would return to the New Courtyard. Afu would clean up the courtyard and the house, and Chen Dabao would feed the birds and chickens. After that, Chen Dabao would go inside to study, and Chen Afu would go carry water and water the vegetable patch.
After all that, Chen Afu went back to the room and brought out the brilliant blue and brownish-yellow satin. She cut out several pieces for the main house: a piece of brilliant blue for Chen Ye, a piece of brownish-yellow each for Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Hu, and two feet of brilliant blue for Chen Dahu.
She reluctantly tore off a little over two feet of brownish-yellow satin for Chen Aju, just enough for a single garment. When the time comes, she’s going to say that’s all she had left. She really didn’t want to give Chen Aju so much readily. Initially, she thought about tearing a piece for Mrs. Gao, but then she decided not to. Mrs. Gao might not keep it, it could very well be demanded by Mrs. Hu either as a respect for her maternal home or given to Chen Aju.
She then took out the begonia red satin and tore off four and half feet for Chen Alan. Later, she’s going to say that this piece of red satin was awarded to them because of their craftmanship which pleased the master of Tang Garden.
Chen Alan was going to be married at the end of the year. A bride wearing such vibrant and festive clothing would not only look beautiful but would also be very presentable.
Although Chen Alan and Chen Afu were not particularly close, Alan was gentle, hardworking, and kind-hearted. Under the guidance of Mrs. Hu, Alan had never bullied young Afu. This was already quite good. Marriage happens once in a lifetime, and Chen Afu wanted Alan to be a beautiful bride and to be happy for a lifetime.
Compared to the delicate and charming begonia red satin, the brownish-yellow satin, suitable for middle-aged and old women’s clothing, appeared more old-fashioned.
Thinking of Chen Aju’s selfishness and impatience, Chen Afu smirked a little, hoping that the red satin would do its job. It could not only make Chen Alan a beautiful bride but also incite Chen Aju’s ire.
