Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 487 - 478: Exclusion

Chapter 487: Chapter 478: Exclusion

Hearing Shiyi’s title and seeing his utmost restraint, Chen Afu also felt a strange taste in his heart. It hadn’t been long since his arrival in the Imperial Palace, and it seemed he had suddenly aged several years. Originally, he was obedient and cunning, but he was not good at concealing his feelings or enduring hardships. The Imperial Palace sure was a place where one would have to grow up fast.

Chen Afu smiled and said with a false ease, "Wow, Your Highness Shiyi, you look even more majestic and handsome in this outfit."

Not only did Consort Shan enjoy this comment, but Shiyi also blushed and chuckled.

After the formalities were done, Yu and Ming rushed up to Shiyi, hugging his legs and crying, "Shiyi, Shiyi, we missed you, missed you."

Shiyi glanced at the unmoving Chu Hanyan, then lowered his head and led his little brothers, saying, "I missed you guys too." He sat down and pulled both brothers to sit by his side.

At this moment, two disharmonious voices popped up, one exclaiming, "Smelly Dabao, Smelly Dabao, Smelly Dabao..." in the voice of Chu Lingzhi.

The other voice, a bit childish, echoed, "Dabao needs to pee, Dabao needs to pee, Dabao needs to pee." Although it sounded juvenile, it was similar to Shiyi’s voice.

Seeing two parrots, big and small, fluttering their wings and making a ruckus, everyone burst out laughing. The sixth princess was especially delighted.

Chen Afu and others took their seats, Consort Shan beckoned Chu Hanyan and embraced her while engaging in conversation with Chen Afu. The Crown Princess had Yu’er brought over, she took Yu’er in her arms, praising her endlessly.

Consort Shan and the Crown Princess’s women treated Chen Afu and his family with great courtesy, which eased Chen Afu’s mind. She shared a few amusing anecdotes from Shiyi’s time among the common folk, making the ladies roar with laughter. Consort Shan laughed and cried at the same time.

Witnessing this side of Consort Shan, Chen Afu felt reassured about Shiyi. It was evident this mother was kind-hearted and deeply loved her son.

In the future, if Chen Afu and Shiyi handled their affairs properly, they should be able to maintain a good "monarch-minister" relationship.

After a while of conversation, everyone rose to go pay respects to the Empress Dowager at the Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager was already 71 years old, her hair turned snowy white but her body remained strong.

Because of Shiyi, and also due to Mrs. Chu, she liked Chen Afu and his family quite a bit. She bestowed them with gifts and held on to Chen Afu’s hand, praising her for her charm and her delicious pastries. She asked them to stay and have lunch in the Cining Palace with Consort Shan and others.

During the meal, the Empress Dowager said to Consort Shan, "You’re so much younger than me. Yet you’ve adopted such a contemplative and low-ambition attitude that you seem older than I do. Now that little nine is the Crown Prince and Shiyi has returned to you, you should rejuvenate yourself and live your life to the fullest... The past should be left in the past; we have to look forward."

Listening to the pointed words of the Empress Dowager, Consort Shan blushed, getting teary-eyed and rose to acknowledge.

Seeing this, Shiyi quickly stood up, bowed to the Empress Dowager, and said, "Rest assured, Empress Dowager, I will do my filial duties and keep my mother happy every day."

The Empress Dowager chuckled, "Such a good child. Filial, with a pleasing character." Turning to Chen Afu, she said, "Shiyi takes after Huachang. He is likeable, sweet-talking, and knows how to please. If he hadn’t been sent out of the palace to grow up, he’d probably have turned out like little nine, old before his time."

This had everyone laughing heartily.

By the time Chen Afu and others returned to the Bamboo Pavilion, it was already late afternoon, and the children had fallen asleep in the carriage.

After putting the kids to bed and leading Zhui Feng and his family to the lake for a walk, Chen Afu sat on the bed, lost in thought. The trip to the palace had been quite pleasant, and the ladies had given her a lot of respect. It was clear that this respect was not just for herself, who had raised Shiyi, but also for the Chus’ commitment and sacrifice for the Crown Prince.

As the Empress Dowager had expressed liking for the pastries she made, she decided to make some every now and then and send to the Empress Dowager. She would also send some to Consort Shan and the Crown Princess so that Shiyi would get to taste them regularly.

It seemed that Shiyi would start studying at the Imperial Study Room tomorrow. Although royal children weren’t easy to get along with, having a familiar friend like Xiao Lixuan should make things a bit easier.

Thinking of Xiao Lixuan and then recalling those clear eyes now tinged with a bit of sadness, Chen Afu felt a sting in her heart. On the night of the 19th, Princess Rui and Li Xuan visited the Chus’ Mansion. Li Xuan seemed extremely wary of going to the palace to study.

From Princess Rui’s potent words, it appeared that the royals were somewhat prejudiced against Li Xuan. A couple of the princesses even insulted Li Xuan by calling him a fool privately, which had upset him greatly. It could be deduced that Li Zhao, the eldest son of Prince Rui, was involved. Despite being an illegitimate child, Li Zhao had grown up under the care of Concubine Zhou and had since a young age mingled with the royal princes. With the support of Concubine Zhou, he would undoubtedly discriminate against and disrespect his half-brother.

Princess Rui, with tears in her eyes, exclaimed, "Xuan’er doesn’t want to go to the palace to study, he’s even pretended to be sick. In my mind, if he doesn’t want to go, then he shouldn’t. We could just say he was unwell and hire a tutor for him at the Royal Mansion. However, my husband argued, how can he handle the entire Royal Mansion if he can’t even deal with a few children? If others still call him a fool, then he must prove himself not to be one..."

Even though Prince Rui’s words made sense, it was heartbreaking to put such pressure on a child not even six years old. As the saying goes, one must endure pain to grow. It was all the more true for royal children.

With Shiyi’s help in the future, the life of Xiao Lixuan should get better, right?

Other than Shiyi, all the other princes were adults now. Those who currently studied at the Imperial Study Room were the princes’ sons. Shiyi, having a higher status and the fact that he was the younger brother of the Crown Prince, made others dare not bully him openly. In addition to that, he was shrewd and cunning. As long as he could avoid the dark tricks of others, his life should be much better than that of the naive Xiao Lixuan...

By late afternoon, Chen Afu led the children to the Anrong Hall once again. The old Marquis wanted to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren every day. So, he proposed that now that the main family had returned, they should all gather for dinner at the Anrong Hall every night.

When they arrived at the Anrong Hall, they saw Chu Hua had brought her son Heng and daughter, Yi. It was the first time Chen Afu saw Yi, and it was also the first time Chu Hua saw Yu’er. They exchanged greetings and gifts. Chen Afu held Yi up in her arms, while Chu Hua took Yu’er into hers.

Yi was already half a year old and looked as cute as a snow doll. She curled her mouth towards Chen Afu and smiled. Chen Afu kissed her twice, making the little miss laugh out loud. Chen Afu remarked, "Oh my, this girl is so pretty. She looks more like her aunt."