Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 375 - 374: Veiled punishment

Chapter 375: Chapter 374: Veiled punishment

Not only the adults were busy today, the children were too, with Dabao particularly excited and getting up early. It was his first time formally making friends. The invitations he had personally written for his brothers and sisters were sent out yesterday along with the ones written by his father to several families.

The days had started getting shorter, and he got up and dressed in the dark before dawn.

When he arrived at the main court with Zhui Feng’s family, Chu Lingxuan and Chen Afu had just got up.

He knew he could not directly enter his parents’ bedroom so he waited for them in the east room. Usually, when he arrived, his parents were already up and his father was not at home.

Listening to the sounds of his parents dressing and talking softly, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. He used to sleep with his mother. When his mother was sick, even her clothes and shoes were put on with his help.

But now, someone else was at his mother’s side, and he had gone to live alone in another courtyard...

Chen Afu came out of the bedroom first and saw Dabao. He smiled and said, "You’re not going to school today, so why are you up earlier than usual?"

Dabao gently hugged Chen Afu’s big belly and said, "Guests are coming today, so I got up early to prepare things for them to play with."

Chen Afu laughed and said, "Good boy, you know how to treat guests."

Dabao climbed back onto the bed, hugged Chen Afu, kissed him a couple of times, and then stretched his face out for Chen Afu to kiss him a couple of times.

When Chu Lingxuan came out and saw them like this, he scowled and furrowed his brow.

Although Dabao knew he should not make his father angry if he was smart, he couldn’t help but be secretly thrilled when he saw how jealous his father was.

He jumped off the bed, paid his respects to Chu Lingxuan, and hurried out of the side room.

Looking at Chu Lingxuan’s twisting and displeased face, Chen Afu laughed and said, "Look at you, feeling jealous of a child." Seeing him get even less pleased, he quickly added, "Alright, alright, next year when Dabao turns seven, he won’t act like this any more."

By then, they could hear Chu Hanyan’s voice speaking to Dabao.

Chu Lingxuan couldn’t help but smile, as their daughter, who always liked to sleep in, was awake early too.

The family ate breakfast at the West Wing Restaurant, then started their preparations.

Chu Hanyan was busy getting the Animal House dressed up prettily in clothes and accessories, while Dabao was busy directing people to set up tables, chairs, building blocks, picture books, and toys under the trees in the backyard.

Chen Afu led people in preparing his best dishes in the small kitchen, including his braised dishes, Gold Series, and cucumber series. He was also preparing ingredients for watermelon shaved ice.

There’s a little bit of ice in the cellar of the Senator’s Mansion, which was an extreme rarity and only used to cool down Marquis Chu. Even Chen Afu was reluctant to use it for cooling himself, considering it extravagant, and only occasionally made shaved ice for the children and himself.

The one with the least to do was Chu Lingxuan, who was sitting by the window reading a book, while even Xiao Lixuan, who got up later, was helping her sister make the Animal House look nice.

When Chen Afu finished with his preparations and noticed that Alu had not arrived yet, he asked Xiao Mo to fetch him.

Xiao Mo returned and said, "The young master said he was feeling unwell today, so he won’t be coming."

Upon hearing this, Chen Afu became anxious. Xiao Mo added, "Madam, don’t be too worried. I think Young Master Alu is fine, he just seems a bit listless. Maybe he’s feeling unwell due to the heat."

Chen Afu nodded, indeed, it could be possible that Alu was feeling embarrassed and unwilling to meet the guests.

At this moment, someone reported that the guests had arrived.

Since Chu Lingxuan was very familiar and friendly with them, the guests were invited directly into the main court upon arrival.

Most of them had previously met Chu Hanyan, but it was their first time to see Dabao. Other than General Liu and Mrs. Liu, it was also their first meeting with Li Xuan for the other two households.

They offered gifts to Dabao and Li Xuan upon meeting them.

Afterwards, the adults sat under the pavilion in the backyard for tea and conversation, separated into two tables. The place, filled with many trees and bamboo, was very refreshing. Chen Afu found it amusing, reminding her of a mahjong game in her previous life.

As soon as the children arrived, they immediately started playing with two birds and four dogs. After a while, Lan and Shan, along with a young boy were attracted to the peculiar toys and picture books on the table.

General Fu has a daughter, Fu Lingshan, and a son named Fu Lushen, who has just turned four. Mrs. Qin has two sons and a daughter. The eldest son is twelve-year-old Qin Mu, the second son is seven-year-old Qin Jin, and the daughter is Qin Lan. General Liu has two sons, eight-year-old Liu Wang and six-year-old Liu Ao.

These children, plus the three Chu children, totaled ten. The eldest is twelve-year-old Qin Mu and the youngest are four-year-olds Li Xuan and Lu Shen.

A lot of children naturally makes for a lively atmosphere, coupled with the unusually sociable birds and dogs in the Chu’s house, laughter rang continuously in higher and higher waves.

Even Xiao Lixuan was proudly holding Duan Duan, declaring, "She is Sister Duan, she’s mine, I won’t let you play with her."

People like General Fu, who knew of Li Xuan’s special situation, instructed their children, "Don’t touch Brother Xuan, let him be."

Mrs. Liu said quietly to Chen Afu, "Oh, it seems like Xuan has improved a lot since I last saw him at the beginning of the year. He used to just stand there blankly and cry when he saw strangers, not so lively like now..."

Liu Rang was born into the Qin Xibo Mansion and is related to Princess Rui’s maternal family.

This Mrs. Liu was a refreshing and straightforward character.

Chen Afu smile and said, "In fact, Xuan doesn’t really have any illness. He was frightened as a child and became fearful of strangers. With slow and steady encouragement and closeness, to let him know that the people around him won’t harm him, along with our pets who love to play with him, he gradually became braver, and now he dares to talk and even laugh."

While they were talking, Liu Rang quietly mentioned, "Last night, my cousin came over from the Capital City and he told me that the Empress Dowager dreamed of the late Emperor. The Empress Dowager mentioned that when the late Emperor was alive, he loved Princess Rong Zhao the most. This late afternoon, she sent Princess Rong Zhao to Baoguo Temple for three months to chant scriptures and eat vegetarian food, in memory of the late Emperor."

A few days ago, Mr. Chu sent a letter. Many imperial censors have submitted impeachments against Princess Rong Zhao for her misconduct, alleging that she angered the gods, thus frequent roots attacked the palace. They requested that the Emperor punish Princess Rong Zhao, appeasing the anger of the heavens.

Marquis Chu was also accused. When he didn’t wed Princess Rong Zhao, there weren’t any strange incidents. But when he did, strange things happened. This led people to question whether there was something wrong in the Chu family...

Two days ago he received another letter. The Emperor was furious with the meddling imperial censors, claiming that even the official court observers hadn’t noticed anything wrong. He called them rumor mongers who slandered his own kin. He ordered the ringleader beaten with a heavy bamboo rod and warned the others that if they dared to spread rumors, they would be executed. Only then did the imperial censors gradually quiet down.

It was analyzed that the Emperor probably wouldn’t openly condemn Rong Zhao for her misconduct and angering the gods, since Rong Zhao was part of the Royal family. If Rong Zhao were found guilty of such a crime, it wouldn’t leave a good mark on the Royal family reputation. However, the Emperor would not be pleased with Rong Zhao in his heart. He might fear that Rong Zhao really angered the gods and might indirectly reprimand her under other pretexts.

Unexpectedly, punishment arrived so quickly, and with such a pretext.