Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 516 - 507: Correcting the Posture

Chapter 516: Chapter 507: Correcting the Posture

After hearing Mrs. Chu’s words, Li Xuan’s eyes lit up. He first bowed to Mrs. Chu and called her, "Royal Aunt," and then ran to find Chen Afu.

Princess Rui let out a bitter smile, quietly saying, "My royal sister really does have a knack for stirring the pot."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Chu asked, puzzled. She had thought her previous comment was simply a joke.

Princess Rui lowered her voice and said, "Ever since Shiyi was engaged, Xuan’er has been clamoring to get engaged to Yu’er. Knowing that’s impossible, he insists on explaining the situation to Mrs. Chu, not wanting her to promise Yu’er to someone else. Xuan’er has been fussing about this every day, but his father kept him in check."

Hearing this, Mrs. Chu burst into laughter, saying, "Like father, like son. Xuan’er is even more assertive than his father; he’s already thinking about getting a wife at such a young age."

Princess Rui blushed and explained, "It’s all thanks to my husband. He once teased Xuan’er, saying that as long as Mrs. Chu has a daughter, he’d fight to have her as Xuan’er’s bride. It was just a joke, but he took it seriously..."

What she was too embarrassed to say was when Prince Rui heard that Li Xuan tried to convince Shiyi to ask the emperor for a marriage blessing in an effort to win Yu’er, he was ecstatic. He was proud of his son’s cleverness, surpassing his own at the same age. He felt his decision to send his son to live with Chen Afu was justified more than ever. He thought Chen Afu’s intelligence was clear proof that her daughter would be an excellent bride for his son. Of course, he only shared this idea with Princess Rui, not daring to tell Li Xuan. To want a wife at such a young age was embarrassing...

Chen Afu was leading Chu Zhen to greet the guests at the door when Li Xuan approached and pulled her aside, whispering, "Auntie, where’s Yu’er?"

Chen Afu laughed, "There are so many guests today, so we didn’t let her out."

Gathering his courage, Li Xuan continued, "Auntie, please don’t rush to arrange an engagement for Yu’er. Wait until I turn fifteen, and then ask Grandfather Emperor to decree our marriage."

Chen Afu found this both amusing and exasperating. She prodded his little head, reprimanding lightly, "Such nonsense at your age. Don’t say that again, or your Auntie will be unhappy." Seeing Li Xuan’s pouted lips and red-rimmed eyes, she thought to herself that he was still a child, and he would eventually forget about this. She said, "Yu’er is very young, of course Auntie won’t arrange an engagement for her. And you too, you’re only six this year, you should focus more on your studies and not make people laugh at you."

Lixuan was overjoyed when he heard that Auntie wouldn’t arrange for Yu’er’s engagement. His smile reached his eyes, and he hastily promised, "I will focus more on my studies, study hard, and I will have a promising future..."

Seeing Li Xuan now, so different from the silly little boy she used to know, Chen Afu couldn’t help but praise herself inside her mind. She squatted down and gave him a kiss on his cute little face, saying, "Good boy, off you go to play."

Seeing more guests arriving, Chen Afu went on to greet them.

Today, there were also several unexpected visitors. One was Shiyi leading Li Cheng, and another was Chen Yuhui accompanied by Mrs. He.

Shiyi and Li Cheng were naturally the most prestigious guests. Shiyi sat next to Mrs. Chu and had a conversation with several elder female relatives before heading to the Outer Court.

He wasn’t willing to leave, wanting to stay longer with Chu Hanyan and his mother. But Xiao Gezi kept on nudging him to go out and spend time with the men, saying it was the Crown Prince’s orders. Moreover, Mrs. Chu, Princess Rui, and Princess An kept teasing him, making him extremely shy.

Li Cheng was parked in a corner with Chu Hanyan, Ying Hui, Zhu Ying’er, Zhang Ziqi, and Yang Qian, all of them giggling and teasing Chu Hanyan. Chu Hanyan’s face blushed, she glanced at Shiyi in the distance, and covered her face with a handkerchief. She only led the other girls to the children’s playground to play on the swings and slides when she saw Shiyi leaving.

What surprised Chen Afu was that Chen Yuhui was pregnant. In Mrs. Jiang’s letter, she mentioned that Chen Shiying wanted Chen Yuhui to get a divorce. After the rebellion was quelled, someone was bound to be held responsible. Everyone knew that Mr. He was part of the Second Prince’s party, his fate would certainly not be good.

It was not hard to figure out that the Hes wouldn’t let Chen Yuhui get a divorce at this stage. Chen Yuhui had been causing trouble at home, but He Linsheng and his family endured it. Thus, Chen Shiying had no reason to push for a divorce.

Today, Chen Yuhui was exquisitely dressed and had on delicate makeup. Her belly was not protruding yet, she didn’t look pregnant. It was Mrs. He who told Chen Afu, "My daughter-in-law is pregnant, but she badly wanted to see you, so I brought her along."

Chen Yuhui walked up to Chen Afu and linked arms with her, laughing, "Big sister, I’ve been wanting to come to see you for a long time, but I haven’t been feeling well recently, so I only came to see you today. You should also come to visit me more often when you’re free, and we can chit-chat together."

Mrs. He also chimed in, smiling, "Yes, my daughter-in-law would mention missing you nearly every day, she really misses you."

This false sincerity, if it were not for what Mrs. Jiang had conveyed in her letter, Chen Afu might have really believed that Chen Yuhui had put everything behind her. Chen Afu calmly removed her arm from Chen Yuhui’s grasp, and replied with a smile, "I’m usually very busy with household matters, taking care of the children and filial duties for the elders..."

Chen Yuhui’s smile faded, and she was about to say something when Mrs. He tugged on her arm. Mrs. He chuckled, "Indeed, Mrs. Chu is managing a large family, with many children to take care of, she must be very busy. It’s okay if Mrs. Chu doesn’t have time, my daughter-in-law can visit you more often instead."

Chen Afu just smiled without saying a word, and went on to greet other guests.

Once Chen Afu had left, Mrs. He Er frowned and said quietly to Chen Yuhui, "Daughter-in-law, compose yourself, we’re here today to curry favor with her. If she is willing to help, your father-in-law’s position may be saved, if not, he might be labeled as part of the Second Prince’s party. Losing his position would be the least of his worries, we could lose everything. If it happens, you may not escape the fate of being sold or reduced to a government slave."

Chen Yuhui’s expression fluctuated.

She didn’t want to be pregnant. After hearing about the court’s situation from the messengers sent by her father, she also wanted to find an opportunity to divorce He Linsheng. She often caused trouble at home and had even made He Linsheng’s two concubines unable to stand from beatings, and caused his mistress to miscarry. Unexpectedly, He Linsheng endured it all, not only did he not hit or scold her, but he also told her she could hit anyone she wanted.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, under the full moon and amid the scent of osmanthus, He Linsheng, dressed in white, looked as suave as an immortal from the heavens. He brought a jar of wine to her room, saying that on such a fine evening, he wanted to share a drink with her...