Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 553 - 544

Chapter 553: 544

After dinner, they returned home. As soon as they stepped into the courtyard of Rong’an Hall, Chu Hanyan sniffed and said, "Dad, mom, I think I smell Jin Bao."

Just as her words fell, two birds flew down from a tree. One landed on Chu Hanyan’s clothes, and the other on Yu’er’s clothes. They were Jin Bao and Jin Bei.

Everyone was joyfully surprised.

Ming tried to catch the Jin Bei on Yu’er, but she dodged him. Then he tried to catch the Jin Bao on Chu Hanyan. Chu Hanyan didn’t dodge, but gently told him, "Be gentle, brother, don’t hurt Jin Bao."

Ming promised to be gentle, but despite his light touch, Jin Bao rolled his eyes in discomfort. Jin Bao chirped, "Bad boy, you don’t know your own strength."

In the middle of the night, Chen Afu silently got out of bed. Previously, she slept on the inside, with Chu Lingxuan on the outside. But since she became pregnant, for convenience, she began sleeping on the outside while Chu Lingxuan slept inside.

Chen Afu went to the Zen Room and locked the door before stepping into the space.

Jin Bao was building a house, with Jin Bei watching admiringly from the side.

Chen Afu sat down, picked up Jin Bao, lightly tapped its head, and scolded, "You’re getting more and more reckless, playing around for over a month before coming home."

Jin Bao was not upset. It chirped with a smile, "We were taking BeiBei to see the world. This time we’ve toured all over the Dashun Dynasty, and next year we plan to take BeiBei abroad."

Chen Afu picked up Jin Bei and instructed, "Stick close to Jin Bao and don’t get lost. If it forgets to come home while playing, remind it."

Jin Bei obediently nodded its head.

Jin Bao, hearing that Zhui Feng, Sasa, Qi Qi, and Hui Hui had gone to Fu Garden, was eager to go too.

Chen Afu stopped it, "You’ve been out for so long, and the children miss you terribly. Stay at home for some more days before you go."

Time seemed to fly by and it was already July. Chen Afu had been pregnant for over three months. Now that the pregnancy was stable, her original plan was to take the children to visit Liao Chen, the old Marquis, and the old Lord in the countryside. However, because of special circumstances, the trip had not been made, and only Chu Lingxuan and Ming had gone.

A few days ago, when the imperial physician came to examine her, he said that she was carrying twins. This news made Chu Lingxuan and Chen Afu both happy and worried at the same time. Anyone would be happy to know they were expecting twins again, but remembering the risks when giving birth to the previous twin boys was worrying.

Chu Lingxuan didn’t dare let Chen Afu go, fearing something could go awry on the road.

Chen Afu, on the other hand, really wanted to go. One reason was to visit the old Marquis and others, and another was because she missed Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming, as well as Fu Garden. She felt that her frequent stays in the space, and her regular consumption of food with agarwood, had kept her pregnancy stable.

But Chu Lingxuan adamantly disagreed and brought in Mistress San and Mrs. Jiang to persuade her.

And so, Chen Afu had no choice.

Yu’er, seeing her father take Ming but not her, started creating a fuss. Chen Afu then scared her, "If you keep fussing, you’ll frighten the little brother and sister inside my belly. What do we do if they get scared and refuse to come out?"

Upon hearing this, Yu’er quickly covered her mouth. Seeing her silently shedding tears, Chen Afu had no choice but to send her to the Xijin Marquis Manor to play. Annoyed at her mother, the little girl stayed at the Xijin Marquis Manor for two days before coming back.

After ten days, Chu Lingxuan returned home with Yu, and he also brought back Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming.

Upon hearing that Chen Afu was expecting twins again, Mrs. Wang also felt a mix of joy and fear, and hurriedly packed her things to come over. Chen Afu was happy and suggested they stay in the Marquis’ Mansion.

Mrs. Wang agreed, now that her daughter held sway over the Marquis’ Mansion with no one to interfere, they felt much more comfortable residing here as they could keep an eye on their daughter. Moreover, when Alu returned from his vacation with Prince He, it felt like they had returned to the past.

However, the old Marquis’ pursuit of his wife encountered obstacles. In the evening, Chu Lingxuan mentioned that despite the old Marquis’s long stay in the countryside, he hadn’t seen Liao Chen. Every time he went to Yingxue Nunnery, Liao Chen would hide in the Zen Room. Whenever Yu cried for his grandma at the door, she would open a small crack just wide enough to pull Yu in.

In the past, Liao Chen would return to Tang Garden every now and then. But since the old Marquis moved into Fu Garden, Liao Chen didn’t even return to Tang Garden anymore.

Chu Lingxuan sighed and said, "...I tried to persuade my mother for a long time, saying that my father did what he did back then because he had no other choice, but his heart was always with mother. However, my mother is very stubborn. She just cried and refused to meet my father. I told her that if she really didn’t want to see my father, then don’t. But I hope she can return to secular life, so we, the younger generation, can take care of her from both ends... However, my mother still didn’t agree."

After listening, Chen Afu broke into a laugh.

Chu Lingxuan grumbled, "You’re laughing! My mother is all alone in the nunnery, it’s heartbreaking. And my father looks even more aged now."

Chen Afu said, "In my opinion, mother-in-law still cares about the secular world and isn’t fully devoted to Buddha, which is better than anything else." Seeing Chu Lingxuan brighten up, she added, "You men don’t understand the hearts of women. Mother-in-law’s willingness to see you and Yu indicates that she still remembers and can’t give up her family. The fact that she cries proves that she holds grudges and resentment in her heart, and she hasn’t achieved a state devoid of sadness, happiness or desire, which is even better. Moreover, deep love leads to deep hatred... Now, father-in-law should reduce his disturbances. Let’s first play the family card to persuade her to return to secular life. After she has done so, then we can discuss other matters."

What she didn’t say was, having harbored resentment and hatred for so many years as a nun, Liao Chen’s personality was likely to have changed. Especially as she was a woman who was very persistent in matters of love. It might be easy for her to return to secular life, but forgiving the old Marquis could be difficult.

Originally, Chen Afu thought that if she were Liao Chen, she would never forgive the old Marquis given his physical unfaithfulness of more than a decade. But after interacting more with the old Marquis, and truly understanding him, she changed her mind.

In ancient times, people like the old Marquis who loved only one woman throughout their entire lives were doubtlessly rare. Moreover, this woman had lost her youth and was terribly stubborn. Further, both of them had a hard time during those years, constantly worrying about each other.

Therefore, if she were Liao Chen, she would not only forgive the old Marquis but also spend the rest of her life with him, making up for the painful years. Of course, the resentment from those years wouldn’t just disappear, she might take it out on him a little each day. Pinching him now and then would be a way to vent her frustrations and lighten up the mood...

Although Chen Afu liked to put herself in others’ shoes, thinking about it in the context of her father and mother-in-law, she quickly dismissed the idea.

Chu Lingxuan didn’t notice Chen Afu’s cheeks blushing and said, "Yes, you’re right. We’ll do everything we can to persuade my mother to return to secular life. I’ll write a letter to my uncle, asking him to personally visit and advise my mother if he can. At that time, my sister and I can bring all the children. Surely, seeing so many family members will soften my mother’s heart."

"Good. I can bring Shuangshuang with me after giving birth. It would be hard for mother-in-law not to like her." Chen Afu chuckled.

Chu Lingxuan nodded and stammered, "When I went back to the Luos, I ran into... I ran into Chen Yuhui..."