Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 338 - 337: Suspected

Chapter 338: Chapter 337: Suspected

Chen Afu began to tell the story, with two children sitting cross-legged on the bed listening attentively. It was the story of "The Magic Brush Ma Liang" that they had heard many times over, but the two little ones still couldn’t get enough of it, their eyes wide open.

Chu Lingxuan’s eyes were also wide open, but he was simply gazing at his wife. It was a rare occasion that he could openly stare at her in front of the children.

Chen Afu was asked to tell the story again after the first round, and again after the second.

She shook her head and said, "No more, it’s late now, and dad needs to get up early for the court tomorrow. Mom will draw this story into a comic strip for you to read," she said then got off the bed, preparing to take little Miss Chu to sleep in the Warm Pavilion.

Dabao quickly stood up and hugged his mother for a kiss, "Mom, kiss your son. It’s been a long time since you last kissed me. You need to kiss me more times."

Chen Afu laughed, cradling Dabao’s little face and gave him four kisses left, right, top, and bottom. Dabao did likewise, returning the kisses.

Little Miss Chu saw this and called out, "Mom, I want kisses too, I want kisses too."

Chen Afu then cradled her little face, kissing her four times as well, and the little girl returned the kisses.

Chu Lingxuan watched all this, frowning, "Afu, what are you all up to?"

Chen Afu chuckled but made no reply.

Dabao opened his mouth wide in a hearty laugh, "Dad is jealous, Dad is jealous."

Little Miss Chu immediately hugged her father’s neck, giving him two kisses, comforting him, "Dad don’t be jealous, I’ll kiss you." She then called out to Dabao, "Come and kiss Dad so he won’t be jealous."

The little girl can be quite thoughtful sometimes.

Dabao thought it made sense, although he was slightly embarrassed, he leaned in and gave Chu Lingxuan two perfunctory kisses.

Chen Afu laughed, saying to Chu Lingxuan, "They both kissed you, you need to kiss them back." She wanted Chu Lingxuan and Dabao to further strengthen their bond.

Chu Lingxuan could only return their kisses. The whole thing left him a little embarrassed.

Little Miss Chu was not satisfied, "No, you need to kiss us four times."

The four of them horsed around for a while before Chen Afu finally took Chu Hanyan to bed.

The next day when dawn was breaking, Chen Afu was woken up by Hong Fei. This was something she had instructed Hong Fei to do the night before – if her husband was awake and she hadn’t, she should be woken.

As his wife, she felt the responsibility to send her husband off to work.

The servants had already set the meals in the West Room. After Chu Lingxuan finished his breakfast, Chen Afu saw him off from Yanxiang Pavilion.

Seeing no one was around, Chu Lingxuan kissed her and whispered, "You can’t be soft-hearted, you must send Dabao and Yan’er back to their own courtyards to rest today."

Chen Afu smiled, "Alright, I understand."

Chu Lingxuan added, "When you go to Yingxue Nunnery, apologize to my mom on my behalf. I’ll visit her another day. Master Wu Zhi is not in the temple, so you don’t need to visit him at Lingyin Temple."

Chen Afu was a bit puzzled. How did Chu Lingxuan know that Master Wu Zhi wasn’t in the temple? Still, she agreed, "Alright." Then she warned him, "It’s still dark outside, be careful on the road."

Chu Lingxuan nodded and turned, heading towards the Outer Court, his silhouette disappearing into the dense darkness.

Chen Afu looked at the morning star on the horizon, blinking like a winking eye.

It was still early, she wanted to go to Fu Garden to bake the vegetarian snacks for Abbot Liao Chen together with Mrs. Hua, but she felt very sleepy. She yawned and went back to the Warm Pavilion to sleep again.

Because Fu Garden had an oven to make snacks, and the well water had a touch of agarwood, Chen Afu let Qiu Yue take Mrs. Hua to Fu Garden early in the morning to make snacks. She had been making snacks with Mrs. Hua, who was originally a cook, so the snacks she made were very good.

Chen Afu was sleeping soundly, Mrs. Li came to wake her up, "Madam, time to get up."

Chen Afu turned over and went back to sleep again.

Mrs. Li added, "Madam, we have to go to Yingxue Nunnery today."

Hearing this, Chen Afu forced herself up, but her eyes didn’t want to open. She muttered, "So sleepy, don’t want to get up."

Mrs. Li looked at Chen Afu and considered a possibility, her eyes crinkling in a smile. She said, "Madam, your cycle was due on the 25th, but it hasn’t come yet. Could it be...?"

Chen Afu jolted awake. Yes, her period was supposed to arrive on the 25th. She had been so busy every day that she forgot about it. Today was already the 29th; it was four days late. However, such a short delay didn’t necessarily mean anything.

She argued, "It’s only been four days, it might not be." Of course, she really, really hoped it was.

Mrs. Li chuckled, "Whether it is or not, Madam, you must take care. Today when taking the carriage, make the seat cushion thicker and make the horse run slower. You should take care of everything you should." Usually, Mrs. Li would discourage her mistress from going out for any other matters, but it was a critical moment now, she should avoid taking a carriage if possible. However, it’s inappropriate to stop her mistress from visiting her mother-in-law.

Chen Afu nodded.

She looked at Chu Hanyan, who was sleeping beside her with a rosy lovely face, pinched her little nose and laughed, "Yan’er, it’s time to wake up. You’re going to meet grandma today."

Upon hearing she was going to see grandma, Chu Hanyan instantly woke up. Seeing her mother was sitting beside her, she felt even happier, sat upright, and warmed her, "I slept with mom last night. Mom smells good and is so lovely."

Servants came to clothe them. Chen Dabao, who was sleeping in bed, was also woken up by Qiu Yue and got dressed.

The few of them went to the West Room for breakfast. Jin Yanzi, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui were also eating from large plates at the side. The snacks were made by Mrs. Hua that morning. In addition to preparing for the master in Tang Garden, Mrs. Hua also packed several large food boxes to take to Yingxue Nunnery and sent some to Lu Garden.

Once they were prepared, Chen Afu and the others left the main room. There was a small house built next to the West Wing Room, which was the home of Zhui Feng and his family. Sasa was lying at the door, with Chang Chang and Duan Duan sucking milk in his arms, while Zhui Feng lay gently watching them next to them.

Chen Afu was thinking; if she was pregnant, she would have to keep her distance from the animals, except for Jin Yanzi of course. She instructed her servants to temporarily move Zhui Feng’s home to Dabao’s courtyard, and move Qi Qi and Hui Hui’s nests to Yan’s courtyard.

She asked Xia Yue to stay. If Li Xuan made a fuss, Xia Yue could take him to Fu Garden to play.

After bidding farewell to the animals, they went to the Outer Court. Chen Dabao went straight to the Ze Institute for class, while Chen Afu and Chu Hanyan got on the carriage.

The carriage seat was packed with mattresses, and Mrs. Li specifically instructed the coachman to drive slowly and not to shake up the lady.

Because the carriage moved slowly, it was nearly midday when they arrived at Yingxue Nunnery. Chen Afu paid respect to Liao Chen, and offered the robes and shoes she made herself.

Liao Chen also gave Chen Afu a chain of red sandalwood Buddhist beads that Master Gui Jian, the abbott of Lingyin Temple had consecrated. Seeing that Chen Afu’s face was not very well, she took her pulse and hesitated, "It seems like a slippery pulse, but not quite."

Chen Afu, blushing, mentioned her period was four days late.