Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Mrs. Jiang’s face had turned red with anger, her hand trembling slightly as she held her handkerchief. She said, "Do you think you’ve paved a golden road for your son? Madam, your son’s career was indeed smooth before, but he was always troubled and fearful within, fearing that your misdeeds would be revealed. He’s your son, but you don’t even know him. He’s straightforward and upright, preferring to earn his position in government on his own merit and take things one step at a time. You talk of noble intentions and doing everything for your son’s sake. In reality, you’re doing it all for yourself, to live a good life. You ruined Wang Juanniang without hesitation, let your son shoulder a bad reputation, and even thought about ruining your own granddaughter... Indeed, marrying your son is the greatest fortune of my life. I admire my husband’s talent, good looks, and noble personality. However, I wish for him to live a happy, relaxed life, without having to bear so many burdens and compulsions. Even at the cost of not marrying him. Now, he’s suspended from his post and might even face imprisonment, yet he hesitates to state that you’re the one to blame. Instead, he takes it upon himself... He’s too foolish!"

With that, Mrs. Jiang covered her mouth with her handkerchief and broke into tears.

Upon hearing that her son faced prison for covering up for her, the old lady began to shake. She bellowed, "This is all Chen Afu’s making! She hates me and our family, and takes it out on my son, digging up incidents from over a decade ago. She’s ruining our family! Wang Juanniang is the troublemaker. She seemed modest, but secretly had an affair with my son, resulting in a bastard. That unworthy child causes harm to his grandmother and father..."

Wiping away her tears, Mrs. Jiang retorted, "Madam, have some decency when you speak. Wang Juanniang was your son’s lawful wife. Their having a child was entirely proper and nothing dirty as you allege. It’s you who is destroying our family, pushing your sins on others. Now, Afu and her husband are pulling strings everywhere to save your son’s reputation. And still, you abuse them! Without Afu, your son and our family would be doomed."

The old lady turned pale with fear. She sat upright, her eyes wide, and blared, "That wench is trying to clear my son’s name. Will she take advantage of this to push me into prison? That’s not acceptable. Tell her to not only save my son but also ensure that I don’t get implicated. If she dares to scheme against me, her own grandmother, heaven will not spare her."

Mrs. Jiang had never seen such a selfish mother. When a son is in trouble, his mother’s first instinct should be to sacrifice herself for his sake. Yet this mother, whose son took her sins upon himself out of filial piety, only cares about her own wellbeing. She lambasted Chen Afu with such vile accusations, yet expected Chen Afu to save her with unabashed entitlement.

Mrs. Jiang didn’t want to argue any further with the old lady. She was disgusted at even looking at her. Regardless, the old lady was her mother-in-law and it shouldn’t be Mrs. Jiang to deal with her. Shaking her head, she said sternly, "Heaven allows you to carry on. It’s clear it doesn’t keep watch. However, madam, what goes around comes around. It’s only a matter of time." With that, she turned to leave.

Chen Yuhui followed Mrs. Jiang, crying, "Mother, with father in trouble, will my engagement to the He family be affected? What if it is, and what should I do?"