Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 101 - 99: Shen Bao’er’s Regret

Chapter 101: Chapter 99: Shen Bao’er’s Regret

Mr. Shen just walked in from outside. All the men from the village had gone to help those whose houses had collapsed. He had stayed up all night and was a little worn out. Seeing this, Shen Chengyao told him to go home and rest. The collapse of the east wing wasn’t too severe; before dawn, Shen Chengyao and Shen Chengzu, along with Youfu and Dashi, had banded together to repair the damage. The broken tiles were replaced with the ones left over from their own house. Seeing Mrs. Shen rushing out angrily, he quickly stopped her and asked, "What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"That damned scoundrel from the third brother’s family, he only cares for himself. He had no regard for his older brother’s family. Even letting them stay in the west wing would have been enough, but they didn’t even heat the kang bed in this freezing weather. What if Wen’er catches cold? And as if that’s not enough, Mrs. Liu is bringing a jinx into my son’s house! I’m going to give those two a piece of my mind, ask Mrs. Liu if she intends to ruin our Shen family, and send that jinx off!" Mrs. Shen replied, pushing aside Mr. Shen’s hand.

Hearing this, Mr. Shen hurried to stop Mrs. Shen. If she went to the third brother’s house to make a scene, things would get out of hand.

Today was the first day of the new year, and if someone insulted him early in the morning, he too would hold a grudge for the entire year. He had been occasionally chatting with the third brother at the village entrance, trying to build a better rapport, and finally got him to agree to have the New Year’s Eve dinner together. The dinner went reasonably well, but he didn’t want Mrs. Shen to stir things up again! Moreover, everyone in the village had nothing to do today, so if Mrs. Shen made a scene, the whole village would come out to watch. Everyone in the village knew that if Mrs. Shen drove away a homeless, helpless person, they would definitely be labelled heartless!

"Enough! You’d just give the whole village a reason to call you mean and heartless. Don’t you ever think? Besides, everyone is currently helping to fix the collapsed houses, and by tonight, they will be able to move out. It’s best to avoid unnecessary trouble!"

"Just let them label me as they want, I’m more concerned about her reputation affecting Yuzhu! Whoever thinks I’m harsh and unfeeling can go take her in themselves. I value my family more than my reputation, and we can’t afford to take in this burden!"

"You may not care, but what about Wen’er? Don’t you want to be a mother of a nobleman?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Shen fell silent. Deep down, Mrs. Lan was annoyed that she couldn’t cause Mrs. Liu any trouble.

Mrs. Shen stayed in the room for a while, but her anger didn’t subside. Since she couldn’t go to the third brother’s house to cause a scene, she decided to go talk to someone else. She refused to believe there was nowhere she could go to reason her case.

Manor decided to find Mrs. Wang. With her big mouth, Mrs. Wang would surely make sure the whole village knew about the shameless jinx squatting in her son’s house. At that time, Manor wanted to see how she could muster up the face to stay!

As a result, two versions of this story circulated in the village. One group claimed that Xu Wenhui, unable to bear her loneliness, sought to cling to the prosperous Shen Chengyao following the collapse of her house. This led to several extremely impoverished families wanting to offer their daughters as concubines to Shen Chengyao,

Another group claimed that, now prosperous, Shen Chengyao wished to emulate the city folk by taking multiple wives and concubines. He had long admired Xu Wenhui’s youth and beauty and had finally seized the opportunity. Otherwise, why would he have asked her to open up wasteland before, and why would he have even invited her to cook during the construction of his house! Perhaps the two had already been carrying on an affair, with only Mrs. Liu remaining oblivious!

This incident led to Xu Wenhui hanging herself in an attempt to prove her innocence.

When Mrs. Lan returned to the east wing, she saw Shen Bao’er seated on the kang bed in a daze, seemingly lost in thought.

"Bao’er, what’s wrong? What are you thinking about?"

"Mother, was it a mistake to call off the engagement with Young Master Ming?" Recently, Mrs. Lan had been investigating Young Master Shangguan. She found that there were no rich and noble families in the county or even the prefecture city with the surname Shangguan. Shen Jingzhi’s evident fear of Shen Xiao’er also suggested something to her. Her intuition told her that Young Master Shangguan was not someone they could afford to offend. As for Young Master Lai, he showed utter indifference to her family. Her mother had repeatedly asked some wives to probe for gossip regarding Young Master Lai, and they all said that Young Master Lai’s mother was looking to match him with high-status girls from the Imperial Capital.

Is she destined to be a concubine? She feels a bit resentful! Being a concubine means forever bowing to the legal wife; she can’t accept this!

The sole opportunity she had to marry into a prestigious family, she destroyed herself. Honestly, seeing the New Year’s gifts that Ming Zhijie had given for the village chief’s family, and to that girl Shen Nirui, abalone, shark fin, bird’s nest, several rolls of colorful silk, some foreign trinkets, like a floor-standing clock, a music box, and a musical instrument called a piano; these were all things she had barely come into contact with or even heard of before. Her jealousy flared. Those things should have been hers.

Ming Zhijie may only be a concubine’s child, but he has a wealthy maternal grandfather. His grandfather is a wealthy merchant in the prefecture city, known for dealing in prestigious plants, and running a fleet for overseas trade.

With money and ability, how could his future career be terrible? Moreover, the County Magistrate’s legitimate son is a good-for-nothing. This was something she only found out recently, and it was the cause of her endless regret.

"My daughter is exquisite in every way. You being married to a County Magistrate’s concubine’s child is demeaning. Don’t overthink, your mother will find a better marriage for you. I won’t let my precious daughter be wronged." Mrs. Lan caressed her daughter’s head, looking contentedly at her beautiful daughter. She looked like her mother, inheriting Shen Chengguang’s good traits for the most part.

Who in the village could compare with her daughter? Even that little girl from the village chief’s family pales in comparison to her own. Mrs. Lan, thinking back to Mrs. Liu from yesterday, those two sisters dolled up to the nines, and frowned. Hmph, they only have their fancy clothes to rely on!

How did the third family rise to such wealth? Was it truly because they found pearls; how did they become acquainted with Young Master Shangguan’s family? Did they sell the pearls to Young Master Shangguan? Then she thought of the toy store in the county that sold out every day. Was it because of those toys that Young Master Shangguan saw the third family in a different light? It would seem so, if someone helped her make a lot of money, she would look at them differently, too.

That third family really isn’t human. They had such great items and didn’t even sell them in their grocery store. If her family could sell those toys, incomparable wealth would be hers in no time! They are ungrateful as a white-eyed wolf!

"Bao’er, why don’t you come up with some doll designs, and we can also start selling them in our store?" Now there are many little dolls sold in the streets, all made after the models in the toy shop, with some modifications. They sold quite well, because their prices were far cheaper than those in the store.

The dolls made by her own daughter would definitely be better than those made by that uneducated girl, Xiao’er. Her daughter has been learning to read and write since she was little, she has seen much more, how could she be inferior to that illiterate girl, Xiao’er!

But Shen Bao’er was unwilling to do it, feeling that it would lower her status, "If I make dolls to sell, how could I face my sisters if this gets out!"

"We are not asking you to make them yourself, you just design them, and mother will find someone to make them!" Mrs. Lan also felt it wasn’t appropriate. They’re not a merchant’s daughter, doing such things would insult their dignity.

"That’s better." Shen Bao’er is most confident in her drawing skills. Thinking of the doll parts made by her fourth aunt, maybe she can probe for some ideas from certain people, then take the lead, who knows?

"Mother, we must get along well with Uncle Three’s family. Uncle Three’s family has changed from the past. There’s no harm in maintaining a good relationship with them!" Shen Bao’er recalls the day when Young Master Lai and Ming Zhijie visited Shen Chengyao’s family. Why would those who should look down on country folks, all associate with the Shen Chengyao family, she couldn’t understand.

Shen Bao’er, projecting herself onto others, was ashamed of her own country background. She considered herself superior as she lived in town; little did she know, truly cultured people merely despised those who disregarded the poor while favouring the rich!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.