Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 394 - 393: Feather Bright Jade Pearl

Chapter 394: Chapter 393: Feather Bright Jade Pearl

Upon hearing, Mrs. Chen wiped away her tears. She took Chen Shi’s hand and said, "Mother knows that among your three brothers, you’re the most intelligent and competent. Let oldest brother and the others remember this favor. Alright, I will ask the first son to buy the courtyard on Houxi Street. Mrs. Hu has no shame, living too close to the wine-shop wouldn’t be good..."

Chen Shi replied, "I dare not hope that they remember their debt, I only hope you won’t make any more demands in future. Mother, remember, this is the last time. I have two sons of my own, I need to live too."

As Chen Shi left the room, he saw Chen Aman, with red-rimmed eyes, standing outside the door.

When Chen Aman saw him coming out, she snorted and turned away.

Chen Shi had planned to keep this from Mrs. Zhang, but now that his daughter had discovered it, he didn’t dare hide it any longer and told Mrs. Zhang that night.

Mrs. Zhang was so upset that she cried again.

Chen Shi said, "I was left with no choice. My second brother and sister-in-law said they’d wait until Afu gave birth before moving back to the countryside. They wouldn’t buy a house and could live with their son-in-law. But mother, oldest brother, and sister-in-law would continue to live in our house. Mother and big brother are easy to get along with, but how would you feel about Mrs. Hu living in our house every day? By giving away twenty taels of silver, they could buy their own house and move out. Plus, they would be far from our house and wouldn’t come around every day. I told mother this would be the last time we would give them money, and she agreed..."

Unable to contain her anger, Mrs. Zhang discreetly told Mrs. Wang about Chen Ming secretly giving money to Chen Ye behind her back, which made Mrs. Wang cry again.

Mrs. Wang wasn’t crying over the money, but because Chen Ming had begun keeping secrets from her. Chen Ming had to soothe her with kind words, insisting that this was the first and last time and that it would never happen again. He also reassured her that having bought them a house, they wouldn’t have the audacity to ask for anything else.

Later, Chen Ye bought the courtyard on Houxi Street. Previously claiming that he couldn’t afford it, Chen Ming put off buying a house and explained that he didn’t want to impose any further on his daughter, who had already given him so much. He said he would buy a house once he’d saved enough money from the granary.

Even though Mrs. Wang was upset, she didn’t dare relay these frustrating events to Chen Afu, who was at a crucial stage in her pregnancy.

By mid-September, Chen Afu and the people around her were all on high alert. Two midwives were also invited to stay in the mansion. Mrs. Wang ran between the Senator’s Mansion and the Chens’ Mansion every day, and servants were sent from the Chens’ Mansion to inquire about the welfare of the family.

Chen Afu burned a small piece of agarwood. A few days later, she would light it again. Once it burned out, she would take out another small piece of incense.

It seemed that she was just burning some agarwood, but she was actually using the incense to mask the scent of the green bird’s nest. Jin Yanzi gave her a green bird’s nest the size of an eye mucus to eat during childbirth to increase her body’s resistance.

She always had the handkerchief wrapping the bird’s nest in her bosom so she could use it at any time. Childbirth was difficult in ancient times, especially since she was having large twins.

Chu Lingxuan dared not go out anymore and went home on time every day. There was a matter concerning Uncle Wang Cheng that he absolutely had to go to Yongcheng in the west to solve. He had to entrust Qin Jian to handle it for him.

Qin Jian was a bosom friend of Chu Lingxuan and was appointed to his position in the Dingzhou government through Chu Lingxuan. Therefore, Chu Lingxuan could only entrust this matter to him with peace of mind.

Thus, Chen Afu had very little time to herself. Even when performing religious prayers, she had to be accompanied, and she rarely had time to go into the space. Coping with daylight hours wasn’t too hard for Chen Afu. She would walk around the veranda, watch the children play, and chat with Mrs. Wang and others. The time passed all too quickly, but nights were tough. She couldn’t lie flat and had to sleep on her side. If she stayed on one side for too long, she would start feeling uncomfortable and her leg would hurt, causing her to want to turn over. She needed Chu Lingxuan’s help to turn in bed. After helping her turn over, Chu Lingxuan would have to massage her legs for a while.

She didn’t sleep well and had to turn over about a dozen times each night. Not only did she not sleep well, but Chu Lingxuan didn’t either.

Seeing Chu Lingxuan, who was pushed to the edge of the bed by her belly, Chen Afu said, "You won’t rest well here and won’t be energized for work tomorrow. Why don’t you sleep in the spare room and let a maidservant stay with me?"

Chu Lingxuan, gently stroking her belly, said, "I may not have been able to rest well, but you are the one suffering. At first, I was happy for you when you were pregnant with twins, but now I see it would have been better if you had one child at a time. It would have been easier for you."

Chu Lingxuan was always delighted when he saw Chen Afu’s big belly during the first seven months of her pregnancy. Especially when the baby moved, he would touch the little protruding belly and squint happily.

But as the belly got bigger and the skin grew shinier, his worries deepened.

Chen Afu sighed, "We can’t control how many children we have. What can we do if they’re born together?" She then laughed, "Nevertheless, I still like having twins. Although it’s hard, I get two children at once, which is wonderful. I like having many children. It makes the house lively."

Chu Lingxuan said, "Having many children is good, I like it too. But I’m just heartbroken to see you suffer."

In the dark, Chu Lingxuan heard Chen Afu’s soft moan, and asked, "Is the little one active again?"

"Yeah," Chen Afu whispered softly. The baby’s movements in her stomach had become more intense, causing her much discomfort.

Chu Lingxuan gently stroked the protruding belly. At first, touching the belly made him excited, now he wished he could flatten it.

To distract Chen Afu, Chu Lingxuan began talking to her softly, and then said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that my Father had written a letter. He has picked out names for the children. If they’re boys, he hopes one will be as talented in martial arts as Guan Yu was, and the other will be as talented in literature as Zhuge Liang was. They would be called Chu Siyu and Chu Siming. If they are girls, our family’s girls are as precious as pearls and jade, they would be called Chu Hanyu and Chu Hanzhu."

"Si" is the generational name in the Chu family. The name prefix of "Han" would be given to the girls, following Chu Hanyan.

Chen Afu was touched. Marquis Chu was indeed a good man. Like jade and pearl, he was telling her that he also loved and cherished girls...With such a grandfather who doted on his granddaughter, even if she gave birth to a girl, she wouldn’t be under too much psychological pressure.

From the start of Chen Afu’s pregnancy, Marquis Chu talked about his great-grandson every day, firmly believing that Chen Afu was carrying two boys. When the servants made brightly colored clothes for the babies, he would complain unhappily, "They’re clearly boys, why make such clothes. They’re too flamboyant, not good looking..."

Maybe the old master didn’t mean much else by it, but it unwittingly put pressure on Chen Afu.

On the 29th, in the late afternoon, Mrs. Wang had returned early to view the newly bought house. After finally fending off Mrs. Li and Hong Fei, Chen Afu finally went into the space.

Upon seeing Chen Afu, Jin Yanzi was so startled she used her wing to cover her small mouth, whilst her pea-green eyes widened in alarm. She chirped loudly, "A few days without seeing you and your belly has grown again. My God, it’s so scary."

Chen Afu sat in the chair and laughed, "Sweetie, can you tell if it’s a little brother or a little sister now?"