Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 482 - 473: Grievance

Chapter 482: Chapter 473: Grievance

These past few days, Ms. Chu took Yu and Ming to Luomei Nunnery to visit their grandmother, Liao Chen. Aside from eating and sleeping, they were mostly there. Chu Lingxuan, having nothing to do, would also accompany Liao Chen and even spent two nights there. Meanwhile, Chen Dabao spent his time interacting with Mrs. Wang and others in Chaohua Garden, where Atang, Xiaodi, Xiaomei, Qin Mu, and a few other children would join them.

Early on the seventeenth day, just before dawn, ten carriages and dozens of horses stormed out of the Chu residence.

Mrs. Song, accompanied by a tearful Liao Chen, a sobbing Mrs. Wang, Chen Ming, Wang Cai, and Yuan Bao, farewelled them outside the door. Chu Lingqi and Alu escorted them out of the city, where they were joined by Wang Cheng, Chen Shi, Chen Yulan, Chen Atang, Wang Xiaodi, General Fu, and several other friends who had come to send them off...

Watching the city walls fall behind him, Chen Afu closed the curtain, tears filling his eyes. Recently, he had been far too occupied to spend much time pondering the situation.

In this journey to the Capital City, not only was he parting with his beloved Dabao, but also leaving behind Dingzhou City and Fu Garden, where he had lived for so long. He always believed that as long as he was in Dingzhou, he could return to Fu Garden anytime. However, with his entry into the Capital City, going back to Fu Garden would be difficult. Regrettably, due to time constraints, he was unable to visit once more before his departure.

Chu Lingxuan knew that Chen Afu was in distress. After bidding farewell to those who had come to send them off, he entered the horse carriage. Seeing this, he comforted Chen Afu, "The Capital City isn’t far from here. Once the rivers thaw in the warmer months, a day’s boat travel will get you there. If you miss your mother, your mother-in-law, or your old home in the future, you can visit anytime."

Chen Afu asked, "In the future, will I be able to take time off casually in the mansion with its many people and affairs?"

Chu Lingxuan laughed, "The elders in the mansion are easy to get along with, and your second aunt lives in a separate room. She can’t control you."

Dabao and Ms. Chu, on the other hand, were ecstatic. Thinking of their upcoming new life, both were filled with anticipation.

Dabao laughed, "Mom, I will accompany you when we return. Not only will we visit grandma, grandpa and uncles, but we will also visit our old home, Fu Garden, Lu Garden, Xiangluo Village, and the small woods on the west side of the village."

Ms. Chu added, "And Tang Garden. I want to see Tang Garden."

Chen Afu laughed, "Okay, let’s all go back together and visit everything we should."

Fortunately, the weather had been good these days. Despite the coldness, there was no snowfall, and they arrived at the entrance of Marquis’ Mansion by late afternoon the next day.

Chu Lingan, accompanied by Chu Lingwei and Chu Lingzhi, along with some house managers, greeted them at the entrance. There were even three eunuchs ushering them in.

The women and children didn’t get off the carriage, they went straight to the second gate. However, Chu Lingxuan led Dabao off the carriage and exchanged a few pleasantries with Chu Lingan and his brothers.

Although Chu Lingan was greatly puzzled by why his uncle would bring three eunuchs, one of them being Eunuch He from Si Yuan Palace. The Si Yuan Palace belonged to Consort Shan, and Eunuch He was one of her closest eunuchs. Despite his elder brother’s past assistance to the Crown Prince, it was unlikely that Virtuous Consort would have sent a eunuch to welcome his family.

Despite his confusion, he did not dare to question it.

As soon as Chu Lingxuan and Chen Dabao got off the carriage, Chu Lingan noticed Eunuch He’s eyes never left Chen Dabao, and even shed tears.

Chen Dabao was his elder brother’s adopted son, more accurately, a burden brought by his sister-in-law. On closer inspection of Dabao’s appearance, Chu Lingan’s heart pounded wildly. God...

Later, Eunuch He returned to the palace, while the other two eunuchs surprisingly accompanied them into the inner courtyard.

They went straight to Anrong Hall.

The hall was filled with people. Apart from Mr. Chu, who was at the city office, everyone else was present, including Marquis Chu. He sat in one of the superior seats alongside the old Marquis.

Chen Afu and Chu Lingxuan brought the children to pay respects to the elders. However, Mrs. Luo directly led Chen Dabao to the side room, preventing him from bowing to the Chu family’s elders.

Upon seeing this, the joy and novelty Dabao had been feeling suddenly vanished, his eyes filled with tears of grievance. He cried to Mrs. Wei, "Mrs. Luo, is it because I was a burden brought by my mother that you don’t allow me to pay respects to the Chu family elders? My mother loves me very much; she will be sad if she knows you’re treating me like this..."

Mrs. Luo also had teary eyes. She helped wipe his tears and whispered soothingly, "My dear boy, please don’t cry. It’s not like you think. The Grand Master, Old Marquis, and Marquis all like you very much, as much as your Grand Missus. They’ll explain why they did this in a bit."

Dabao sniffled and said, "They don’t need to explain. I’m afraid they will dislike my mom because of me, a burden. If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come to Marquis Mansion. Mom wouldn’t have to struggle..."

As for Mrs. Li, her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw Ms. Chu. Even though her son had told her that Chu Hanyan was smarter now, she hadn’t expected her to become just like a normal young girl.

Taking a further look at her pair of one-year-and-four-month-old brothers; strong, handsome, and adorable, a pang of pain shot through her heart, like a needle’s prick. The main branch of the family had two grandsons already whereas her branch did not even have a legitimate grandson.

Reflecting on her past infatuations made her laugh at her ridiculousness. Her hand clenched in her sleeve. If it weren’t for the Ninth Prince being the crown prince, any other prince would have been satisfactory. In that case, Princess Rong Zhao wouldn’t have been able to manipulate her eldest brother, and the main branch of the family wouldn’t have been able to regain its status...

Having finished with the formal greetings, the old Marquis asked Marquis Chu, Chu Lingxuan, Chen Afu, and the Third Mistress to stay behind while everyone else was asked to return and join for dinner in the evening.

Chen Afu found himself alone in a side room facing Dabao - or as he should now be called, the Eleventh Prince - staring at the doorway in anticipation and distress, his eyes red-rimmed.

Upon seeing Chen Afu walk in, The Eleventh Prince rose from his seat and clung to her waist, saying, "Mom, I..." Suddenly at a loss for words, he wanted to express his grievances and discontent, yet feared making his mother sad.

Chen Afu let out a sigh, held his face in her hand, led him to take a seat, and tightly held his hand. She pointed at Wang Laowu and said, "Good boy, do you know him?"

Chen Dabao was puzzled and replied, "He’s Uncle Wang Five, our neighbor from Xiangluo Village, who later became my close follower. Of course I know him."

Chen Afu went on, "His real identity is a dark guard in the Imperial Guard, specifically tasked with protecting the Emperor. Later on, he was assigned to guard you." Seeing Dabao widen his eyes in surprise she continued, "Actually, you are not an orphan, you have a father and a mother. They didn’t abandon you, but sent you away to better protect you." Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, "The years we’ve spent together have been an extraordinary bond between mother and son. No matter where you live in the future, I will be constantly thinking of you. That invisible hand will always guide you..."