Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 178 - 177: Pigeon Occupying the Magpie’s Nest

Chapter 178: Chapter 177: Pigeon Occupying the Magpie’s Nest

Chen Afu poked Jin Yanzi with her hand and said, "Darling, get up quickly to have the New Year’s Eve meal, mommy is here to accompany you."

Jin Yanzi lowered her wings and sobbed, "Mommy, today is the most lively day for you all, but it’s the loneliest day for me. Now I finally understand that spiritual enjoyment is far more important than material enjoyment. Even if I live in a golden house, today I can’t even compare to a little mud dog in the village."

Now that’s melodrama.

Chen Afu coaxed, "You won’t be locked up for long, in less than two months, you’ll be able to come out. Okay, okay, let’s see what delicious food mommy brought you. Tasting good food is also a kind of spiritual enjoyment."

Jin Yanzi quickly got up, let Chen Afu use a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and started pecking at the food in the bowl. After only two bites, she stopped, her little green bean eyes fixed on Chen Afu, "Mommy, you’re hiding something from me."

Chen Afu was taken aback and asked, "Hiding something? What am I hiding?"

Jin Yanzi turned her head back disdainfully and glanced at the four "buckets", saying, "What good stuff did Master Chu give you? I not only heard your suppressed laughter, but also the sound of porcelain collisions. Mommy, let me tell you, I am not only good with my mouth, but also my ears. By just listening to the sound, I can distinguish between karat gold and solid gold, coarse porcelain and fine porcelain. Master Chu gave you a set of good tea utensils, didn’t he? Why didn’t you bring it in for me to use as a bucket? I won’t need much, just one will do."

Chen Afu clapped her mouth, "Darling, even if I give you one, I can’t use the other five. I can’t always think of you going to the bathroom every time I drink tea, it’s uncomfortable. You just bear with it, I’ll ask someone to buy a good tea bowl from the capital city another day."

Jin Yanzi stopped eating after hearing this, squatted aside and whimpered, "Mommy said she loved me, it’s all lies. You can’t even bear to give me a good bucket, what can I expect from you in the future?"

After she finished saying that, she got sad again, her small body twitching.

Chen Afu grit her teeth, went out of the space and fished out the set of tea utensils from the box, and took it into the space.

Jin Yanzi, seeing the set of tea bowls, beamed with happiness. After admiring it for a while, she said, "Mommy, I know you’re a good mommy now, and I accept your kindness. You move those faeces, and throw out those broken buckets, I despise them." Then, she went to eat.

Chen Afu could only accept her fate and "work hard", diligently changing the feces. The little thing tormented people; there was a little bit in each of the four buckets. She dumped it all into one tea bowl, filling a large part of the bowl.

Seeing these fertilizers, she couldn’t help grinning again. This thing, its economic value and social value must far exceed that of the tea utensil set.

Chen Afu spent a long time with Jin Yanzi, and it was late at night when she returned to her room. She put the tea bowls away first, then went to bed.

In the morning, Chen Afu was awakened by a commotion in the courtyard. It seemed like it was heavy snow, and the servants were cleaning the yard.

Chen Afu lifted the net tent and saw that it was already bright outside the window. She hurriedly got up and woke Dabao, "Dabao, get up, today you’re going to represent our family and pay a New Year’s visit with your uncle."

Chen Dabao also remembered this honourable task, his eyes widened with excitement.

Chen Afu bent over and kissed him, smiling, "Son, happy New Year."

Dabao also smiled, "Mother, happy New Year."

Zeng Xiaoqing, who was standing at the door with water, heard that her master was awake and shouted, "Miss, I am here to serve you."

Chen Afu, wearing her nightgown, went to open the door and let Zeng Xiaoqing help Dabao get dressed.

Chen Afu put on the new clothes that had been prepared for her long ago, a peach-red silk jacket with a high collar and a red cotton long skirt. The jacket’s collar was very high, the waist fitting just right, and a row of ice-blue butterfly-shaped buttons decorated it. At the hem of the skirt, there was a circle of embroidered lotus flowers intertwined. She put a silver hairpin in her hair along with two pretty flowers. After washing her face, she dabbed some balm.

Seldom did she dress so festively and it made her look even more beautiful and fresh.

Zeng Xiaoqing, who had just finished dressing Dabao, said, "Miss looks really pretty when dressed up like this."

Dabao smugly said, "My mom always looks this good."

Zeng Xiaoqing giggled, "I misspoke. I mean, Miss is naturally beautiful, and when she dresses up, she looks even better than the daughters of those big families, even more than Mrs. Chu from the Marquis’ Mansion. Ms. Chu is one of the rare beauties in the Capital City. But why don’t you use blush and eyebrow liner, Miss? If you did your makeup, my goodness, you would outshine everyone else."

Her exaggerated gesture made Chen Afu laugh.

Chen Afu said, "Why do I have to outshine everyone else?" She then asked, "Which family’s daughter is this Ms. Chu?"

Zeng Xiaoqing said, "Ms. Chu is the legitimate daughter of the second master. She’s only fourteen years old. I heard Mrs. Chu is being very proactive about selecting a good suitor, wanting to marry her daughter into a good family."

Chen Afu remembered the insinuations of Mrs. Wei and Auntie Zeng the other day and asked, "The Marquis’ Mansion in the Capital City is pretty complicated, isn’t it?"

Zeng Xiaoqing was young and now a servant of the Chens. Hearing her master asking a question, she spilled everything she knew. "Actually, there weren’t many people in the Capital Marquis’ Mansion before. Besides the old Marquis, there was only the family of the second master. The second master was in poor health and couldn’t control Mrs. Chu... But now things are better, as the third master’s family has returned and Mrs. Chu can’t stir up any trouble."

Chen Afu was even more confused, she pondered, "Doesn’t the Marquis live in the Marquis’ Mansion? Does he have only Mr. Chu as his son?"

Zeng Xiaoqing explained, "Of course, the Marquis doesn’t live in the Marquis’ Mansion, he lives in the Princess Mansion. The Marquis’ son also has a sister, but she’s already married. Miss, think about it, the Marquis isn’t in the Marquis’ mansion, and neither is Mr. Chu and his sister. So in the Marquis’ mansion, apart from the old Marquis, the rest aren’t true masters of the mansion and they’ll be split out one day. Mrs. Chu naturally would take advantage of the situation to gather as much gains as possible. Luckily, the old Marquis is in charge of the Outer Court, she can’t meddle."

So it’s a case of the dove occupying the magpie’s nest.

Thinking of Ms. Chu, Chen Afu asked again, "Did Yan previously live in the Marquis’ mansion too? That Mrs. Chu is really shameful, not only taking people’s money, but also tormenting their child."

Zeng Xiaoqing shook her head, "No, Yan lived in the Princess Mansion before. The princess wanted her daughter-in-law to serve with filial piety in her presence. Yan stayed there even when the Marquis’ wife was alive. After Yan was born, she continued to live there until Mr. Chu returned from the border and built up his government in Dingzhou. Only then was Yan brought here."

That princess is even worse, stealing someone’s husband and tormenting their child. No wonder Chu Lingxuan hid here. No matter how high his status was, he couldn’t provoke the princess.

Fortunately, this place is far from the Capital City, and Miss Chu was slowly building up her own world...