Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 401 - 400: Something’s Wrong

Chapter 401: Chapter 400: Something’s Wrong

A blush appeared on Chu Lingxuan’s face, and his big hand squeezed her shoulder with strength, rebuking, "Nonsense. In this lifetime, the most correct thing I did was to go to the border, and the luckiest thing was to marry you."

"Daddy, mommy, you’ve been looking in the mirror for such a long time."

The voice belonged to Dabao.

Both turned their heads and saw that Dabao, Chu Hanyan, and Li Xuan had arrived.

"Wow, mommy is even prettier now." Chu Hanyan hurriedly exclaimed, her big eyes constantly gazing at Chen Afu.

Dabao corrected her, "Sister got it wrong, mommy has always been beautiful." His eyes sparkled as he watched Chen Afu. To him, his mother was always the most beautiful.

Chu Hanyan was an honest child, and she knew how to appreciate. She believed she should tell her mother the truth, but realized that it might not sound too pleasant, thus, she felt a bit conflicted.

Li Xuan, having much to learn still, simply joined in, "Auntie, pretty, pretty."

Both Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan burst into laughter.

Chen Afu chuckled, "None of you are wrong."

Chu Lingzhi, the young boy, was only seven years old. And because he was their uncle, it wasn’t proper for him to enter Chen Afu’s bedroom.

He was disappointed that his parents didn’t come for his nephew’s month-old wine feast. He missed them. Standing at the door, he pouted, saying, "If sister-in-law had had two fragrant daughters, even if my mom was busy, she would make time to come here and even try to steal and raise one of the girls."

In this family, almost everyone was happy that Chen Afu had had twin sons, except him. Because he knew if sister-in-law had had girls, his mother would have definitely overcome all troubles to come and even steal one. If she had boys, mom might not come. And it was really that way!

Chen Afu also knew that Mrs. Chu favored girls over boys and felt guilty. She went over and pinched Chu Lingzhi’s chubby little face, laughing, "Sister-in-law also likes daughters too, but it’s a pity I had boys. Next time, we will try for girls."

Chu Lingzhi laughed, showing two small tiger teeth, and said, "Ok, deal. You must have two because if you have one, my mom would feel embarrassed to steal, but if there were two, my mom will definitely steal."

His words managed to amuse Chen Afu and she chuckled.

Once the children arrived, the small room became lively once again. Chu Lingxuan left for the Outer Court to entertain the male guests.

The two little brothers were sleeping soundly. Mrs. Li and a few maids had just finished weighing them. Chu Siyu was nine jin six liang and Chu Siming was exactly nine jin. They had grown so much in just a month, which made Mrs. Li squint merrily.

The guests arrived one after another. After Chen Afu fed the two children to their fill, she, along with Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Jiang, dressed them in their finely made red shirts, used red brocade blankets to swaddle them like red chillies, and then brought them out to meet the guests.

The young brothers received compliments from everyone. Mrs. Fu and Mrs. Jiang held one each and refused to let go. The boys were not shy and didn’t cry or fuss. They even "ah, oh, eh" conversed with the guests, sometimes blowing a milk bubble, looking so much like bubblegum.

Mrs. Fu let her newly pregnant daughter-in-law hold the babies, hoping the babies would bring her good luck. She laughed and said, "I’m not expecting you to have twins, just one beautiful, robust boy like this will do."

This made Mrs. Fu’s third daughter-in-law blush. Oh, how she wished!

Everyone started complimenting Mrs. Jiang, saying the word had spread far and wide that Mr. Chen had made significant contributions to high-yield crops promotion, that the Emperor was so delighted that Mr. Chen’s prospects were inestimable.

Watching Mrs. Jiang’s eyes crinkle with delight at the praises, Chen Afu felt a twinge of unease. Who had been spreading these words, even to the far ends of the city? She didn’t have a good feeling about this.

Later on, the wet nurse brought the sleeping children to the front yard so that the male guests could see them.

The sight of his great-grandsons made Marquis Chu squint his eyes in happiness. He boasted about his great-grandsons to the guests and laughed, "My eldest granddaughter-in-law is a blessing. Since we married her into the family, we’ve all been pleased."

The guests naturally echoed his sentiments.

Still, the Marquis was angry inwardly, upset at his second son’s family for being insensitive, and at his in-law, Luo, for their disrespect.

After the children’s month-old feast, Chen Afu would bring them out to soak up the sun in the late afternoon every day.

Chen Afu had prepared two small baby strollers long ago. The two little ones would lay in them, shielded by a thick drape. Every late afternoon, the main court would become the liveliest place. Chu Hanyan, Li Xuan, and Qi Qi, Hui Hui, as well as Zhui Feng’s family, all gathered around the stroller to peek inside. The old Marquis often came to see his grandsons as well.

As long as they weren’t disturbed, the two little brothers would remain undisturbed even if they were sleeping. If they were awake, they wouldn’t cry from being scared by all the commotion.

Chen Afu had to admit, these two were the most resilient boys, incredibly easy to care for, and were not troublesome at all.

Usually, by this time, the weather would be cold, but this year was exceptionally warm. The late afternoon, in particular, was radiant with beaming sunshine, a cloudless sky, and even the breeze carried warmth. What was more surprising, the osmanthus in Gui Courtyard had bloomed once again.

This was nothing like the typical weather of early winter, it was more like the golden autumn.

Thinking of the brocade bag, Chen Afu’s heart tightened further. Despite making all preparations, she still didn’t want to see the grim scene that might unfold. How many people might perish because of it?

On the sixth day, late in the afternoon, while Chen Afu was busy playing with the children, Hong Feng from the Chen Mansion came again.

She was beaming, her steps quick. She curtsied to Chen Afu and said, "Congratulations, Great Auntie, you have another half-brother."

Turns out Chen Shiying’s concubine Aunt Yu had given birth to a son. She now had another half-brother, and Yu and Ming gained an uncle who was even younger than them.

Looking at how cheerful Hong Feng was, Mrs. Jiang must also be truly happy. She always felt having only one son for the Chen family was too thin. She hoped that Aunt Yu could give birth to another son, and her wish finally came true. Before Chen Shiying left for Capital City, he had even named the child, saying if it was a boy, his name would be Chen Yuchao.

Hong Feng continued, "Madam said, the master is still away in Capital City, and there aren’t many relatives left in Dingzhou. Therefore, the ’washing the third’ ceremony for Young Master Chen will not be a grand event, only inviting Great Auntie and the future in-laws of Second Auntie."

Chen Afu promised with a smile, that she would definitely be there.

Chu Lingxuan didn’t come home that night. He returned very late the following night.

At that time, Chen Afu was getting ready to take the kids into the space, when she heard the maid report Chu Lingxuan’s arrival followed by his urgent footsteps.

Chu Lingxuan walked in with a serious face, dismissed the maid with a wave, then said to Chen Afu, "Your father-in-law is in trouble."

Startled, Chen Afu rushed to him and asked, "What happened to my father? Is my mother okay?"

Chu Lingxuan corrected, "Not your father from the village, your father-in-law from Dingzhou."

"What happened to him?" Chen Afu asked anxiously.

Chu Lingxuan replied, "Today, my third uncle sent an urgent message that the Emperor is considering appointing your father-in-law as the Vice Minister of Personnel..."

Chen Afu joyously interrupted, "The Vice Minister of Personnel is a crucial position. This is a good thing! This means the Emperor has started paving the way for the Ninth Prince."