Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 411 - 406: Flattery (4000, two - s in one)_3

Chapter 411: Chapter 406: Flattery (4000, two Chapters in one)_3

Chen Afu felt helpless—his mother was foolish and had consequently hindered the progress of Chen Aju. Although Chen Aju worked diligently now, she still had a stubborn personality. Had his mother made smarter decisions, their gradually growing family would not have struggled as much. Fortunately, Mrs. Gao was intelligent and astute, ensuring that Dahu, Daya, and Dalong wouldn’t be held back like Chen Aju had been.

After dinner, Mrs. Wang played with her grandsons Yu and Ming for a bit and doted on Chen Dabao before Chen Afu started to leave.

They had originally planned to leave after dinner, but the children had gotten sweaty from playing. Even after wiping them down with a cloth, they still wanted to bathe to prevent getting sick. Additionally, Mrs. Hu kept trying to ingratiate herself with Chen Aju, who didn’t seem pleased, which was distressing to watch.

Seeing Chen Afu about to leave, Mrs. Wang offered, "Afu, why don’t you come and see our new house while the children take baths at our place. You all can then leave after dinner."

Chen Afu had been wanting to visit their house and nodded his agreement.

After saying goodbye to Chen Shi’s family members, they left. Chen Ming stayed behind to help cater to the guests.

Seeing Mrs. Hu pulling Chen Aju to join them, Mrs. Wang laughed, "Big sister-in-law, you should stay here and learn how to entertain guests and how to marry off your daughter."

Mrs. Hu replied, "I’ve already married off a daughter, you think I need to learn more?"

Mrs. Wang chuckled, "When you married off Alan, your family was still peasants. Now, you’re landlords. Things can’t be the same."

Mrs. Zhang, who was bidding farewell to the guests, chimed in with a smile, "That’s right. Aju won’t marry a peasant in the future, you should let her learn how to communicate with city dwellers."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu finally gave in.

Seeing the envious expression on Atang and Dahu’s faces, Mrs. Wang invited, "Dahu, come along and play with us. Uncle and aunt can visit our house and pick him up when they head home. You, Atang, should stay and help entertain guests."

The journey to Chen Ming’s house was a short one, it took less than fifteen minutes by carriage.

It was a ’U’ shaped, three-section house located in a peaceful enclave within the bustling area. Exiting the alleyway, you would find yourself on the lively North Street.

The yard was spacious filled with trees and flowers. There was a constructed rockery in the front yard and a newly repainted pavilion in the back, giving the house a fresh look. In Dingzhou, only the wealthy could afford such residences.

After touring the place, Chen Afu nodded approvingly and commented that the house was sufficient, even if Alu were to get married in the future.

Mrs. Wang chuckled, "On our first day here, your father remarked that he couldn’t have even dreamed of having such a grand courtyard in Dingzhou. He said that he’s been blessed by your good fortune, Afu."

After entering the main building and the West Room, Aunt Mu was instructed to heat water for the children’s baths. Aside from Ms. Chu and two toddlers sleeping inside, host Alu led the rest of the children to play in the back yard.

With no outsiders around, Mrs. Wang inquired about Chen Shiying. Chen Afu, wanting to ease her concern, vaguely answered a few questions and assured her not to worry.

Mrs. Wang continued, stating that in a few days, Chen Ming and she would accompany Alu and Chen Shi to Capital City, both to see off Aman who was getting married and to broaden their horizons.

Chen Afu responded, "You all shouldn’t stay in the Capital for too long; come back earlier. We’ll be going back to the Capital Marquis Mansion in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, but I don’t want to bring Dabao back. Some people in the Marquis Mansion’s second house are not very friendly to me, Dabao is sensitive and tends to overthink, I don’t want him to feel wronged. After you come back, you can stay in the Senator’s Mansion, so Dabao won’t be too lonely and I can rest easy."

For the Lunar New Year, Chen Afu had to bring his children to reunite with the old Marquis in the Capital Marquis Mansion. This wasn’t just because the Lunar New Year called for a family reunion, but also to bring the eldest grandson of the Chu family to pay respects at the ancestral hall, and more importantly, because of the subtle hint given in the brocade bag. It was likely that something important that would affect the fate of the Chu family could occur during the twelfth lunar month of this year or in January and February of the next year.

But they couldn’t bring Dabao back. Although Chen Afu was extremely reluctant, for Dabao’s safety, they had to do this.

Fearing Dabao would be lonely and for his absolute safety, she had to request Chen Ming’s family to accompany him in the Senator’s Mansion during the Lunar New Year.

Originally, she could have waited until the end of the twelfth lunar month to return to the Capital with Chu Lingxuan. But the monk warned of "a rush of snow at the end of the year", fearing that delay might cause poor weather and put the elderly and the young at risk on the road. The river route was now closed, so they could only travel by carriage. Plus, she was also concerned about Chen Shiying who was in the Capital.

Mrs. Wang exclaimed in surprise, "Dabao is very sensitive. If you leave him here alone, will he agree to it?"

Chen Afu sighed, "He definitely won’t agree. I’ll just have to convince him. Once I’ve sorted out the relationships in the Marquis Mansion, I’ll bring him back."

Mrs. Wang said, "You need to appease him before you go."

Chen Afu nodded.