This time, Chen Afu, Dabao, Chen Ming and Wang Shi went on the large canopy carriage together.

At Chen Ming's request, after arriving in Zhongning County, the carriage took a detour to visit Laohuai Village. The 200 mu of land there had been planted with rice seedlings a few days ago, and the green fields stretched as far as the eye could see. Many tenants were busy in the fields.

Chen Ming got off the carriage and talked to the tenants for a while before getting back on and continuing on his journey.

Arriving home at the end of noon, Chu Lingxuan went directly to Yingxue Temple. Old Marquis Chu, Madam Chu San, and Miss Chu would stay in the temple for a few days.

Chen Afu and his mother went to Luyuan to have lunch.

Chen Afu also told Chen Ming and Wang that the Chu family would send them betrothal gifts next year and that he would live in Tangyuan for a long time after getting married.

Wang and Chen Ming were very happy to hear this. The Chu family not only still treated Ah Fu as their own daughter, but also treated them as real in-laws. Moreover, their daughter lived in Tangyuan and was still by their side.

After being happy for a while, Wang thought of something, and the joy on her face faded again. She said, "Afu, mother thinks this is not good. Master Chu is in Dingzhou and can't come back to Tangyuan often. Doesn't that mean you can't see each other every day? This way, it will be easy for other women to come between you."

Last night, Chen Afu also thought about the arrangement that Chu Lingxuan's grandfather and grandson made for her. Not allowing her to live in the capital could be said to be protecting her, but not allowing her to live in Dingzhou for a long time was a bit ambiguous.

Originally, the reason why Miss Chu was not allowed to live in Dingzhou was because she was ill and Chu Lingxuan was too busy with official duties to take care of her. But why is it still arranged like this now? Although this is good for protecting Dabao, they should not know the comments of the old monk Wuzhi and Dabao's special life experience.

They must have some reasons, I'll wait for him to explain it later.

Then he said, "Mother, Master Chu is not that kind of person. If he wanted a woman, he would have had one all these years ago. Why would he wait until now? They let me live in Tangyuan for a long time, maybe they have some considerations."

Chen Ming also said, "Women love to fantasize. Lord Chu is such a good person, how could he be like you think."

Wang also thought that she might have thought too much, and smiled, "I am just worried. I hope they can be closer, live happily together, and have more children."

These words made Chen Afu blush, but Dabao's mouth curled even higher.

Chen Ming laughed and said, "Dingzhou is not far from here. It's about fifty miles away. If we ride fast, we can get there in less than an hour. Lord Chu has a good mount. Maybe we can get there in half an hour."

After dinner, Chen Afu took Dabao back to Fuyuan to rest.

After lunch, Chen Ming asked Aunt Mu to go to the village to invite the first wife's family to Luyuan for dinner, and to give them the little bull he bought for them and the gift from the third wife. He also asked Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye, the two heads of the family, to come first, so that he could say something.

When Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye heard about it, they hurried to Luyuan. Chen Ye's health had improved a lot and he could go to the fields to do some farm work.

Seeing the strong little bull in the yard, Chen Ye's face was filled with joy.

They entered the upper room, Wang poured them tea, and then left. The daughter-in-law had no right to attend the high-level meetings of the Chen family.

When Chen Ming said that Chen Afu had already returned to his ancestral home and had become engaged to Lord Chu, and would be getting married next year, Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye's eyes widened.

After the surprise, the two of them sighed and felt very sad.

Chen Ming said in confusion, "Mom, big brother, it's a good thing that Ah Fu and Lord Chu are engaged, why are you not happy?"

Chen Ye looked out the window and saw Wang talking to A Lu in the yard, so he whispered, "Silly boy, if A Fu had not recognized her ancestral roots, it would have been a good thing for us if she had married Lord Chu. We are Lord Chu's in-laws and the Chu family's in-laws. Even Mr. Luo doesn't dare to offend us. But she is the prefect's daughter now, and it is Lord Chen's family that is related to the Chu family. What does it have to do with us? Oh, what a pity..." Before he finished speaking, his face twisted into a pile.

Old Mrs. Chen also sighed in great sorrow, "Oh, what a pity. If she's not his biological daughter, then she's not his biological daughter. We've cherished her for so many years, and now she's gone." She said to Chen Ming, "Look, you weren't happy when I said that to you, but now it's working, right?" She thought of something and said, "Third brother, you raised his daughter, so Master Chen will give you some money, right?"

Chen Ming frowned and said, "Look at what mother is talking about. Earlier, Master Chen did give us some silver, but I didn't want it and gave it all to Juanniang as her dowry."

Chen Ye said angrily, "You are stupid. You raised Ah Fu and you are the head of the family. How can you give the money to Wang alone?" His voice became hoarse due to his anger. He continued, "If you want to come back, the family property should be managed by men. In addition, you should talk to Lord Chu again. Ah Fu was raised by our family. The Chu family cannot only recognize Lord Chen's family as in-laws."

Old Lady Chen also said, "The eldest brother is right. The Chu family should give half of the betrothal gift to your family."

Chen Ming shook his head after hearing this. My mother and elder brother are good people, but they can't see through things when it comes to money. He said hurriedly, "You guys are so anxious. I haven't finished what I want to say. Although Ah Fu has returned to her ancestral home, she will not live in the Chen Mansion in Dingzhou, but in Fuyuan. She didn't say that she has returned to her ancestral home and no longer recognizes me as her father. She is still my biological daughter, but she has two fathers. The Chu family said that they will also send a betrothal gift to our family."

After hearing this, Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye smiled comfortably. Old Lady Chen said, "The Chu family is kind and righteous. After all, they are a powerful official family and they think things through. Ah Fu is not bad either. She is a nostalgic girl."

Chen Ming added, "Don't tell anyone about Ah Fu's return to his ancestral home. Don't even tell your sister-in-law. She's a stickler for words..."

He also said that although many people speculated that Chen Afu was Chen Shiying's biological daughter, that was just speculation, so it was better not to say it out loud.

Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye nodded their heads in agreement. They did not dare to offend the prefect, so they certainly would not say anything careless. In addition, if others did not know that Chen Ahfu had already recognized his ancestry, then their Chen family would be a relative of the Chu family, and no one in this area would dare to offend them.

Chen Ming saw through their thoughts and warned them not to act tyrannically in the name of being a relative of the Chu family. The Chu family values official reputation, and Tangyuan is here. If they do something inappropriate, the Chu family will be unhappy.

He also said, "Let Da Hu study hard in the future. If he passes the imperial examination, he will be able to find a good job with the Chu family's connections. Besides, there is Daya, the little girl is pretty, and it is not impossible for her to find a son of an official in the future."

If this is the case, my family will also be able to change its fate.

Chen Ye said happily, "Don't worry, second brother. I will control my family and not let them bring disaster to the Chu family. Especially Hu Shi. If she dares to act recklessly again, let her go back to her parents' home."