Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 556 - 547: Fraternal Twins

Chapter 556: Chapter 547: Fraternal Twins

On September 22nd, Chen Ayu got married. Chen Afu and Yu’er did not go, but Chu Lingxuan took Chu Hanyan and Yu with him. Prince He did not go in person, but he sent a high-ranking official to deliver lavish gifts. This brought great honor to the Chens, and Chen Shi, father and son, were overjoyed.

The next day, the new bride continued the custom of honoring her husband’s family. Chen Afu went as Ayu’s cousin.

The new bride, Mrs. Mao, was of average looks and slightly plump, yet she was generous and knew the rites. Her family was wealthy. Allegedly, her dowry was a parade of bridal gifts for ten miles, totaling one thousand acres of fertile farmland, and ten thousand liang of treasure box silver.

This made Chen Shi and Mrs. Zhang elated, and Chen Ye and Mrs. Hu incredibly envious. Mrs. Hu spouted some acerbic comments, suggesting that the second house is genuinely helping the third house, as the third house’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law were both excellent matches. She insinuated that their help to the main house felt insincere as they hadn’t found a wealthy family for Aju.

Old Mrs. Chen chastised her, "You ungrateful woman, don’t stoke any more conflicts. It is due to your past misdeeds that relationships between my eldest son with my second and third have deteriorated. Also, what pot calls for what lid, Aju is poorly disciplined because of you, how could she be compared with Ayu and Aman. Considering the family we’ve already found, it is an honor for her. If you dare to meddle further, I will throw you out, never to bring you along."

They were staying at Chen Ming’s house, their quarrel was overheard by the servants, and it reached Mrs. Wang’s ears. Though, Mrs. Wang thought Mrs. Hu to be someone who cannot change her old habits, she felt old lady Chen and Chen Ye were reasonable.

At the end of September, Chen Afu invited the Chen family of the third house to the Marquis’ Mansion where they spent the day. After that, they returned to Dingzhou, with Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang also leaving.

Before Mrs. Wang left, she visited Shui Linglong and bought a Suzhou embroidery bed screen with a pattern symbolizing wealth and prosperity. She asked Chen Afu to help her gift it to Chen Yuqing as a makeup present.

The time flew by to the beginning of the 12th lunar month. Chen Afu was already eight months pregnant, her belly was very large, giving the impression that she could give birth at any moment. They had already brought two experienced midwives to live in the mansion.

On the third day of the month, Dr. Song, an expert in gynecology, came to check on Chen Afu’s pulse. He confidently stated that Chen Afu was carrying fraternal twins. Precisely determining the genders had been challenging for him, sometimes he would state the fetus was a boy, other times a girl.

Mrs. Chu happened to be there, hearing this, she burst into laughter and left. Later in the afternoon, a servant reported that Mrs. Chu and Mr. Chu arrived at Minghe Residence with loads of bags.

Chen Afu was left helpless, happy that she was carrying fraternal twins, but worried for her daughter’s future. If it was someone else, Chen Afu would have surely reneged on her promise. But Mrs. Chu was a woman of generous character, rude yet with chivalrous spirit, who had helped Chu Lingxuan and the Chu family a lot. Chen Afu couldn’t and wouldn’t dare back out on her promise. Not just Chen Afu, even Chu Lingxuan and the old Marquis did not dare go back on their words.

Chen Afu did not want to hand her daughter over to Mrs. Chu for upbringing. Apart from emotional reluctance, there was also an important reason. If the children stayed with her, they could frequently enter the magical space during the first nine months, and they would be able to breastfeed, which would be essential for the development and health of the children. It was no coincidence that the little brothers and Yu’er had such great physical qualities.

She thought it would be best to convince Mrs. Chu to stay at Minghe Residence until the child was nine months old before moving back to Xijin Marquis Manor. This way, she could still occasionally bring the child back to the magical space. Meanwhile, she would have meals supplemented with galactagogues delivered to the wet nurse daily, ensuring the quality of the milk.

As she was thinking, Mr. Chu and Mrs. Chu entered Rong’an Hall laughingly.

Mrs. Chu mentioned that she had already found a wet nurse and a nanny for the child. She had arranged for the West Cross Courtyard in her home to be renovated for her future "granddaughter".

Chen Afu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Clearly money gave Mrs. Chu the freedom to indulge.

Mrs. Chu noticed Chen Afu’s reluctance and laughed, "You’ll have no regrets entrusting your daughter to me. I will not only raise her as a sophisticated noble lady but also provide her with a generous dowry."

Chen Afu cooed coyly, "I know you, auntie, are good at raising children. If I leave my daughter in your care, I will be at peace. However, could you stay with me until the child’s first birthday before leaving? Seeing her every day would make me feel much better."

Mr. Chu, standing by, was a bit embarrassed for his wife’s insistence on taking the child, upon hearing Chen Afu mention this, he smiled at his wife, "Let’s do it this way. I frequently visit my father and older brother in the countryside or go out for leisure. So, I won’t be home often next year. Wei’er will undergo military training, Zhi’er is going to attend the Imperial College, you’ll be lonely at home, raising a child alone."

Mrs. Chu felt it made sense, hence she smiled, "Alright, it’s settled. It’ll be more lively here. We’ll move back once Wei’er gets married."

With them agreeing, Chen Afu was all the more delighted. Mrs. Chu was known for not wanting her sons to marry too soon. She insisted that they had to be at least eighteen before taking a wife, Chu Lingwei’s wedding would be a minimum of two or three years away.

In the evening, when Chu Lingxuan came back and heard the good news from Chen Afu, he was overjoyed.

He gently rubbed Chen Afu’s extraordinarily large belly and laughed, "This is good news. Now, I will also be able to hold our little girl more often. As soon as Wei’er’s wife gives birth to a daughter, we should hurry and take our little girl back." He then added, "Oh, right, my uncle sent me a letter, saying that he will be persuading my mother at Tang Garden at the end of the year. At that time, whether you have given birth or not, I might have to go back to the countryside."

Chen Afu’s due date was in the early part of the next lunar year. However, since it was common for twins to be born early, no one could be sure when the birth would occur.

Although Chen Afu did not wish Chu Lingxuan to be absent at that time, his mother’s matter was of more concern to many people, so she had to let him go. She said, "You can go at ease, the midwives are living in the mansion, auntie is also here, nothing bad will happen."

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, in late afternoon, the heavy snow, which had been falling for several days, finally stopped. The sky cleared after the snow, the radiant sunlight made the thick snow glaringly bright.

The kids, who were struck with cabin fever, ran out to play.

Chen Afu, sitting on the bed, heard the giggles of the children outside the window, she too wanted to go out and see. However, as soon as she tried to move, she felt a severe pain in her belly.

"Ouch! My belly hurts!" She winced and cried out in pain.

"The Madam must be going into labor." Mrs. Li yelled out orders for someone to call the midwives, while also assisting Chen Afu to the east wing, where a room had been prepared for her delivery.

While enduring the pain, Chen Afu first fetched a piece of green leaf agarwood from her bedroom. A pleasant fragrance filled the room. When Mrs. Li was not watching, she hid her left hand behind her sleeve and took out a kerchief from the magical space. On the kerchief was a piece of green bird’s nest the size of eye discharge, which Jin Yanzi gave her to eat when she was pregnant. She wiped her mouth with the handkerchief, swallowing the bird’s nest.

When Mrs. Chu heard about the situation, she quickly rushed to Rong’an Hall. Worried about scaring Yu and Yu’er, she asked Chu Hanyan to take her younger siblings to the back parlor to play. She also sent someone to inform the Chens and Chu Lingxuan, who was on duty at the yamen.