Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 421 - 416: Visit

Chapter 421: Chapter 416: Visit

Chu Lingxuan stepped out of the carriage first, then turn around to help Chen Afu.

At this moment, a military officer in uniform came out from the house and greeted Chu Lingxuan with a clenched fist salute, calling out, "Mr. Chu."

He must be the local headman.

Chu Lingxuan also smiled and returned the salute. Then, he took out a wallet from his bosom and shoved it into the officer’s hand, saying, "I am forever grateful to my father-in-law, General Lin and all of you for taking care of him."

General Lin quickly pocketed the wallet and chuckled, "Mr. Chen is a good official. He won’t stay here for long. I will do my best to take care of him."

Chen Afu didn’t say anything. She just smiled and bowed to General Lin, who returned the salute. Chen Afu then handed him the package she had brought. It would first be inspected by him before being given to Chen Shiying.

After passing through the hanging flower gate, Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan walked to the main residential building along the veranda. The courtyard was quiet except for the occasional soldiers patrolling, not revealing how many guards were hidden within the house.

Upon entering the main building, the reception hall was empty. They then headed east, where they found Chen Shiying sitting on the bed in the side room, engrossed in a Go Game with himself, seemingly oblivious to their entry.

"Father," Chen Afu called out.

Chen Shiying abruptly lifted his head. He was wearing a dark-colored, gold-embroidered, long cotton robe which Mrs. Jiang had made for him years ago and had only recently been delivered to him. His beard was neatly trimmed, and he looked neat and tidy.

However, his face had thinned considerably and white hair was visible at his temples. Fine lines had started to form on his smooth forehead and around his eyes.

He seemed to have aged much in a short time.

Tears welled up in Chen Afu’s eyes as she called out once more, "Father."

"Fur’er, is that really you," Chen Shiying blinked, hastily got down from the bed, his own eyes moistening, "Fur’er, I didn’t think I would be able to see you."

Had this been the modern era, Chen Afu would have definitely flung herself into his arms and cried.

Chen Afu pulled on his sleeve and said, "Father, you are a good official. Not only will you see your daughter again, but you will also walk out with your head held high."

Chen Shiying smiled and nodded, then turned to Chu Lingxuan and said, "Son-in-law, quick, come and sit on the bed, the floor is cold." He then sat down on the bed, pulling Chen Afu to sit next to him.

The room was cold with no charcoal being burnt, but the bed was warm. Despite its rather plain furnishings, the room was immaculately clean. It seemed that the soldiers were quite considerate in looking after Chen Shiying who thankfully hadn’t suffered much.

Once seated, Chen Shiying asked Chen Afu, "How are your grandmother, your mother, and your siblings? Are they all okay?"

Chen Afu ignored the question about her grandmother and said, "Mother is okay, she just misses you a lot and often sheds tears. My brothers and sisters are also doing fine, they are all hoping for your return. Chao’r too, he is really chubby and looks so much like you..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shiying felt relieved and nodded, then asked, "Is your aunt okay?"

Chen Afu said, "She is alright, mother hopes you can be cleared of the charges soon."

Chu Lingxuan also told him that they had sent people to Jiangnan to find witnesses. Since the north is currently experiencing a severe snow disaster, it is unknown when it will end. The emperor and the court officials are all focusing on disaster relief, so his case has to be put on hold again...

Chen Shiying said, "What does my little matter count for compared to the disaster? The disaster relief is the most important thing. The emperor is so merciful..."

While talking about the emperor’s kindness, Chen Shiying’s voice choked up a bit, and he gestured reverently towards the north.

After conversing for more than a quarter of an hour, General Lin’s voice came from the reception hall, "Mr. Chu, Mr. Chen, the visiting time is up."

The three of them got down from the bed, with tears welling up in Chen Afu’s eyes and Chen Shiying’s eyes turning red.

Chen Afu hugged his arm and said, "Father, you must take care of yourself. You haven’t done anything seriously wrong, and you have many great accomplishments. With your son-in-law helping outside, you will be fine."

Chen Shiying patted her hand and said, "Man proposes, God disposes. All the things your grandmother did, they have been weighing on my mind. All these years, I have been living in constant anxiety, fearful that these things would be exposed, ruining my reputation, and making my official position unstable. Now that they’re out in the open, I feel somewhat relieved. If I’m not an official, so be it. It is retribution. My son-in-law shouldn’t feel too distressed. Ah, only your aunt and you, Fur’er, have been wronged. If Mrs. Ding hadn’t been so greedy and wanted to embezzle more silver, or if your aunt hadn’t smartly kept her cool, she would have really been sold off to the mountains, and if that had happened, I don’t know if you and your mother would have survived. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have had a good night’s sleep for the rest of my life."

Chen Afu added, "Father, you must take care of yourself. Your official position and reputation are all external things. The most important thing is your health. You are the pillar of our family. If you fall, what will happen to the family?"

"Alright, I will," Chen Shiying responded.

General Lin’s voice came again, "It’s time."

Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan paid their respects to Chen Shiying. As they reached the door, Chen Shiying spoke again, "Fur’er, don’t be too hard on your grandmother. After all, she gave birth to me. It wasn’t easy."

Chen Afu pretended not to hear this and turned back to Chen Shiying, saying, "Mother is very tough. She is a good wife and mother. Don’t worry, father, I will comfort her."

On the carriage ride back, Chen Afu spoke to Chu Lingxuan with a touch of melancholy, "Father has let his feelings get the best of him. That wicked old woman has caused him so much pain, and yet he still defends her."

Chu Lingxuan chuckled, "Your father does have a touch of feminine compassion. However, he probably guessed that you would expose Madam Zhao’s wicked actions to the Chen clan elders, so he was indirectly pleading on Madam Zhao’s behalf."

Chen Afu huffed, "That wicked old woman has committed countless evils and harmed so many people. She deserves severe punishment."

Chu Lingxuan said, "Keep that kind of talk here, but never say it in front of others, especially not to our elders. Many people think like your father, no matter how wicked one’s parents or elders may be, you cannot say they are evil. That would be a great act of disrespect."

By the time the two of them returned to the Marquis’ Mansion, it was already dusk, and Chu Lingxuan was immediately asked to go to the study.

After Chen Afu returned to the Bamboo Pavilion, she could hear her two little sons crying as soon as she entered the courtyard. They were probably starving.

Chen Afu hurried in, warmed herself by the charcoal basin in the hall, then went into the east room, where her boys’ nurses were holding them trying to soothe them.

She said to her boys, "Good babies, just wait a moment, Mommy will feed you after washing her hands."

Hearing their mother’s voice, but not seeing her come to feed them, the cries of the two boys grew louder, as if they were about to topple the roof. They turned three months old today. They were weighed in the morning and Yu weighed approximately fifteen pounds, and Ming weighed approximately fourteen and a half pounds. Both were growing well. Besides, the two little guys could already laugh and lift their heads. Marquis Chu said he had never seen such smart children, they were far smarter than Chu Lingxuan...

After washing her face and hands and wiping the baby bottles with a warm cloth, Chen Afu finally started feeding her boys.