Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 387 - 386: Avoid Heading North

Chapter 387: Chapter 386: Avoid Heading North

Chu Lingxuan read it through and said, "The text is fairly clear, but the key point is the last sentence, which hints at avoiding the North."

Chen Afu said, "Master Gui Ling also mentioned that Master Wu Zhi asked him to pass on a message, saying there are two matters discussed here."

Chu Lingxuan questioned hesitantly, "Two matters? Are they two disasters or two incidents leading to one disaster?"

Both of them analyzed for a while. The literal meaning should be heavy snow at the end of the year, clear weather at the end of the month and recommends not heading north in fine weather... however, that’s too broad.

As they were contemplating, they were stirred by the laughter of the little girl and Liao Chen outside the window, along with the chirping of Jin Yanzi. Chu Lingxuan glanced at Chen Afu’s round belly, then at her serious little face, and said, "You shouldn’t strain yourself too much given your condition. Let’s drop it now and we can study it more at home with your grandfather and your father, Third Uncle."

Chen Afu nodded, she was indeed tired. She went to rest on the bed, and Chu Lingxuan left the room.

Chen Afu slept until dinner time, when she was awakened by Hong Fei.

In the evening, Jin Yanzi kept Chu Hanyan company until she fell asleep before flying to the forest. Jin Yanzi wanted to spend more time outside, having to return to its space before midnight.

Chen Afu, having been tired all day, fell asleep as soon as she was in bed. In the middle of the night, she felt an itch in her palm and woke up — it was Jin Yanzi returning to the space. Instead of following it in, she decided to rest up as she had to rise early the next day for the wearying journey in the sedan chair.

Just as dawn broke the next day, Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan, along with Mrs. Song who was holding Miss Chu, set off again.

Liao Chen saw them to the gate of the nunnery, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Before Chu Lingxuan mounted his horse, he helped Liao Chen up and said, "Mother, it will be over soon. Once the Ninth Prince gains power, I will find a way to get you back to secular life."

Tears streamed down Liao Chen’s face as she shook her head. Returning to secular life was easier said than done.

In the emperor’s view, even if their husbands and sons sacrificed their lives for the royal family, it was their duty, let alone asking their wives and mothers to become nuns. Even if they accomplished the tasks assigned by the emperor and enabled the Ninth Prince to truly take power, the emperor would only help his own beloved daughter, would he help an outsider like her?

But forgetting the husband she once had, the son and grandson she was supposed to have, was something she tried but couldn’t accomplish...

As dusk fell, Chu Lingxuan and his party returned to the Senator’s Mansion. Chen Afu went directly to the main court to rest, while Chu Lingxuan went to the front courtyard to find the old Marquis.

Chu Hanyan cried until her eyes were bloodshot because when she woke up, she found herself in a horse carriage, and Jin Yanzi was not by her side. Mrs. Song told her that early in the morning, Grandma Chu saw Jin Yanzi following a flock of swallows heading south.

Upon hearing that Jin Yanzi had flown south, Li Xuan burst into tears.

Dabao also cried when he returned home from school after hearing the news. Although he knew this day would come every year, he felt that Jin Yanzi didn’t care about him this year. It was only interested in playing outside and didn’t spend much time with him.

Jin Yanzi was so touched by this in the space that it swore to spend more time with smelly Dabao, Yanyan, and Xuan Xuan next year.

Three days later, Marquis Chu and Mr. Chu, as well as the little boy Chu Lingzhi, visited the senator’s mansion one after another. Their stated reason was to inquire about the old Marquis’ health.

For safety purposes, the two main pillars of the Marquis’ Mansion would not depart at the same time. One of them took the land route and the other two the waterway. Marquis Chu arrived first, followed by Mr. Chu and his son.

In the evening, Chen Afu, with her swollen belly, still managed to cook a few of her special dishes. After dinner, Mr. Chu, Marquis Chu, Mr. Chu, Chu Lingxuan, and Chen Afu gathered in the outer study for a meeting.

Everyone passed around and read again the letter from Master Wu Zhi, and the meeting continued late into the night before they finally reached a preliminary consensus.

They speculated that since Master Wu Zhi specifically wrote "Snow Emergency," it must not refer to ordinary heavy snow but most likely a snow disaster. This meant there would be a snow disaster at the end of the year, which would end by the end of the first or second lunar month. It couldn’t be snowing in March. The most likely scenario was that it would end by the end of the first lunar month.

Of the two matters, one possibly related to the snow. But, they could not yet guess why the master wrote this, let alone its connection with the calamitous disaster facing the Chu family. They would have to give it more thought and adapt accordingly.

The second matter was to avoid going north, which was, without a doubt, a significant matter concerning the life and death of the Chu family. After discussing, they agreed that Dabao should not go to places north of Dingzhou, and the Chu brothers should avoid areas north of the Capital City. While it was easier for Dabao to do so, it was not so for the Chu brothers. Especially Mr. Chu, who was in charge of the northern army and would inevitably be assigned duties in the northern frontier. He should try his best to avoid such duties, but if unable to, he must carry the divine medicine given by the old monk with him.

Most likely, the timeframe for all these was after the snow disaster when the weather improved, but they couldn’t rule out the possibility of it happening before the end of the year.

Chen Afu took out the divine medicine and gave one to Mr. Chu. If any of the brothers in the Capital City had to travel north, they would carry this divine medicine with them. The medicine in her hand was for Dabao.

Thinking of her previous speculation about the Second Prince being a reincarnated person, she felt even more strongly that Mr. Chu seemed to be in danger. If something happened to him, it would be too easy for the Second Prince’s party to annihilate the Chu family. With this divine medicine, she hoped he could turn the danger into safety.

Another thought occurred to her. If something happened to him, considering the deep affection between him and Mrs. Chu, she wondered if Mrs. Chu could bear it. If Mrs. Chu fell, the Chu family would lose the support of the Empress Dowager, making their future even more difficult. Chen Afu liked Mrs. Chu very much and did not want her full life to be cut short so soon.

The next day, Mr. Chu hurried back to the Capital City, leaving his son Chu Lingzhi behind to serve the old Marquis in observance of filial piety. Marquis Chu went directly to Lingyin Temple, where he would be chanting scriptures and practicing vegetarianism for a month to pray for blessings for the Dashun Dynasty. Chen Afu was somewhat amused, Marquis Chu was good at finding excuses. She wondered if he would meet with Liao Chen during his month there.

Chu Lingxuan also mentioned that he would be busy for a while and would not be able to return home often. Chen Afu speculated that this might have something to do with the Ninth Prince receiving treatment at Lingyin Temple.

Chu Lingzhi moved to Chaohua Courtyard to stay with Dabao. Every day, they would head to the front courtyard for lessons together.

Chen Afu particularly liked this boy. He was magnanimous, sturdy, not pampered, and lacked the arrogance of an aristocrat’s son. Not only was he good at playing with Dabao and Yan’er, but he also got along well with Alu. Sometimes, he would also go to Chen Shi’s house to play with Chen Atang. He had just turned seven this year, Mrs. Chu was really willing to let him go. If it were her, she would not want to leave such a young child somewhere else.

What really concerned Chen Afu was that when she heard that Wang Cheng had been hidden away, Mrs. Wang fell ill.

Chen Afu later specially had a letter sent to Mrs. Wang, telling her that her uncle was not in any danger and was simply being protected by Chu Lingxuan after offending someone he shouldn’t have. Once the matter was resolved, they would resume a normal life. However, Mrs. Wang was still unable to let go of her fear and continued to take medication.

Chen Afu then suggested that Mrs. Wang stay in the capital city, where the doctors were better and she and her brother could often comfort her.

However, it was currently the busy season for the autumn harvest. Chen Ming had many fields and also ran a grain shop, so he was too busy to split himself in two. Therefore, Mrs. Wang said she would come to the capital city with Chen Ming after the autumn harvest was finished.