Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 500 - 491

Chapter 500: 491

Ever since Yu’er turned six months old, Chen Afu began to gradually take over the management of the Marquis’ Mansion from Madam San. She spent over an hour each morning in the Inner Courtyard Conference Hall handling mansion affairs. She never had been fond of domestic management, and ever since she’d started managing the household, she’d been training Mrs. Li and Hong Fei to be her capable assistants. Hong Fei had already been promised in marriage to a manager in the mansion, and Chen Afu decided to let her get married two years later.

Luckily, Yu’er had started eating supplemental food, and she only needed to be breastfed twice a day, in the morning and evening.

On the tenth lunar day Chen Afu invited all the masters except those from the second residence to have dinner in the Bamboo Pavilion. Mrs. Li was so angry that she cursed in the courtyard for most of the night. The news reached Chen Afu the next day.

This was the beauty of being the mistress in control. Any slight movement or change within the mansion could quickly reach her ears.

Chen Afu was blatantly slapping Mrs. Li’s face. Mrs. Li, aligning herself with Rong Zhao, had controlled the Inner Courtyard of the Marquis’ Mansion for more than a decade, embezzling several thousand silvers. Embezzled money aside, the real heart-breaker was how she had caused Chu Lingxuan and Hanyan so much trouble that they couldn’t even return home, naively hoping to have her own son inherit the title if Chu Lingxuan had no offspring.

Although the second master never participated, he just stood by and watched his wife create havoc without caring or questioning. Without any pressure, he spent the money his wife embezzled. He was also dishonest.

Without the Marquis Chu implying that the second master had suffered when he was young and letting the silvers slide to save him some face, Chen Afu would have made every effort to force Mrs. Li to cough up the few thousands of silver.

Fortunately, Chu Ling’an and his wife were decent people. Chen Afu respectfully treated them in private.

On the afternoon of June 20th, Chen Afu was just getting up from her afternoon nap, entertaining several children and the animals from Animal House, with the exception of Jin Yanzi, who had been dispatched to "observe the battle" in the south again.

At that time, Shiyi and Li Xuan visited the Chus together once again.

As soon as Little Li Xuan arrived, he raised his voice and said, "Auntie, I want to eat your watermelon shaved ice and golden shrimp balls." His voice was cheerful, just like before in the countryside and in Dingzhou.

Chen Afu jokingly reprimanded, "Did your mother let you starve?" She then immediately ordered someone to prepare the shaved ice and Shiyi and Prince Rui’s favorite foods. She planned to keep them for dinner.

Last month, Prince Rui requested the title of Crown Prince for Little Li Xuan, and the Emperor immediately approved. In fact, not all Princes or nobles necessarily request the title of Crown Prince for their children at such a young age. The reason Prince Rui did this was to tell his birth mother, Concubine Zhou, and her eldest son, Li Zhao, that the title of Crown Prince belongs to his legitimate son, Li Xuan. Some wishes were just delusions.

When Concubine Zhou learned of this, the title of Crown Prince had already been firmly granted to Li Xuan. She was so angry that she summoned Prince Rui to the palace and shouted at him saying that Li Xuan was too young. She wanted Prince Rui to revoke the Crown Prince title and to request it for him again after Li Xuan fully recovered in a few years.

Prince Rui refused, arguing how such an important matter could be changed on a whim. Moreover, Li Xuan was extremely healthy and there was no need for recovery.

Prince Rui had always been a disobedient child, so all the shouting from Concubine Zhou was of no use.

Having no choice, Zhou ran to the Emperor and cried, accusing Prince Rui of unfilial piety for not consulting her, his Consort mother, about such a significant matter. And moreover, Li Xuan was physically frail and a bit slow. How could he be entrusted with such a big responsibility?

The Emperor reprimanded Concubine Zhou, saying that she, as the grandmother, was too biased. Everyone could see that Li Xuan was now bright and lively, his body robust. There was no reason why such a good legitimate grandson should not receive the title while the concubine’s grandson was deemed more suitable.

Concubine Zhou was so angry she thought to herself, ’You, as a father, are the most biased one here. You went ahead and made your concubine son the Crown Prince too.’ However, she only dared to think these words and did not dare to say them aloud.

Concubine Zhou failed to bring down Li Xuan’s status as Crown Prince. Li Zhao also dared not cause any more trouble. Coupled with having Shiyi around, Li Xuan’s days in the palace improved a lot. The unease and anxiety he felt when he first returned to the capital were gone, and he was optimistic and relaxed again.

Shiyi also gradually adapted to life in the palace. His older blood brother was the Crown Prince, and the Emperor doted on him, making his life extremely affluent. Especially after his birth mother became the Empress, nobody even dared to regulate him as he flaunted his status in the palace. Moreover, he was flattered and revered by his imperial nephews every day. His life was extremely satisfying and leisurely.

Although he mentioned Chen Afu and the Chus in the palace very rarely, if he happened to run into Chen Afu, who had come to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Mother or the Empress, he would courteously greet her but would not show too much affection. However, once he returned to the Chus, he would sit right next to Chen Afu like a child. Of course, he would not neglect Chu Hanyan, and he would pull her to sit by his side too. Having two exceptional beauties on either side made him extremely happy and proud. After being affectionate with the two beauties, he would then play around with his other brothers and sisters.

Whenever he returned to the Chus, all his other guards and eunuchs would be kept in the Outer Court. Only one person would accompany him to the Bamboo Pavilion, Xiao Gezi, and occasionally Qiu Yue would come along too. These two were his most trusted confidantes that he was not afraid they would spread the news of his close relationship with "Mother".

He felt that his "Mother" was such a kind person, even if she knew about their intimacy, she would not be upset. However, he did not want to take any chances, always fearing that he might cause trouble for "Mother" and her family.

Every time he left the palace, he would take Mrs. Luo with him, and Mrs. Luo would go straight back to her own home. Earlier, Chu Lingxuan had granted freedom to Luo Yuan and his son Luo Mingcheng, releasing them from their servant status. This was not only because of Mrs. Luo but also in acknowledgment of the Luo family’s loyalty and dedication to Liao Chen.

The Luo family might have been servants, but they were definitely wealthy. They owned multiple shops and a lot of farmland. Now that Luo Yuan was a free man, he was a true gentleman. He no longer needed to work for the Chus. Instead, he managed his own business. His son, Luo Mingcheng, was studying at a private school. The Luo family had high hopes for him, forecasting his future as a scholar. With Shiyi and Cheng assistance, Luo’s future would definitely not be bleak.

After finishing the watermelon shaved ice, Li Xuan, his brothers and the creatures from Animal House, unafraid of the intense summer heat, clamored to go to the children’s playground. Shiyi didn’t follow along, claiming he wanted to stay in the Bamboo Pavilion to keep "Mother" and his sister company.

Now that Shiyi had grown up, he wasn’t as interested in the children’s playground as he used to be.

It wasn’t until they were free of other people that Shiyi leaned in and quietly whispered to Chen Afu, "Mother, Ninth Brother asked me to tell you that he knows that Marquis Chu is being wronged. He has a plan in mind."

Ever since the Ninth Prince was named Crown Prince, he hadn’t met with Marquis Chu privately. His message relayed through Shiyi, was to express his stance, wasn’t it?

Chen Afu laughed and pinched Shiyi’s chubby face, saying, "Okay, I got it. I’ll forward the message."

Blushing, Shiyi softly muttered, "I think Marquis Chu is being wronged too. But my Emperor...ah..." He felt uncomfortable criticizing his father, pausing before continuing, "That Rong Zhao is very annoying. I’ve never considered her as my elder sister."