The two chatted for a while, and Chu Hua smiled, put his arm around Chen Afu's arm and said, "My grandmother asked me to ask if my eldest sister-in-law's third sister is engaged now..."

After hearing this, Chen Afu really wanted to show off his skills. The old Xie family saw that the rebellion was about to be defeated, the Chu family's daughter became the future prince's consort, and Chen Shiying was highly valued by the prince. It was possible that he would go to Beijing to serve as an official. It seemed that they sent people to investigate Chen Yuqing again. They wanted to marry her again.

However, Chen Ahfu really didn't have the confidence to put on airs. Fifth Master Xie Feng had already passed the imperial examination this autumn. Although he was a little dark, he was tall and handsome. If the older Chen Yuqing missed this man, she would never find another young man with such a good family background, appearance, talent, and character.

She smiled and said, "My father and mother wrote to me the other day, saying that there are a few good families and they are still considering them. I think they haven't decided yet..."

Xie Hua said quickly, "Oh, then send someone to send a letter to Lord Chen quickly, otherwise he will be engaged first and my uncle will miss out." He also pulled the good people to share on behalf of Master Xie Wu, "The reason why my uncle is still unengaged at this age is because he wants to take the imperial examination, and the elders want him to find a daughter of a civil official. If he had found a daughter of a military official, I'm afraid he would have been engaged long ago."

Chen Ahfu nodded and smiled, "Okay, I'll write a letter tonight and have someone deliver it to Dingzhou Prefecture tomorrow."

Chu Hua gossiped again, "I heard from my father-in-law that now the court is saying that Master Chen will be able to return to the capital to serve as an official after the new year. He will definitely be a minister, but I don't know whether it will be the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Personnel."

Chen Ahfu said helplessly, "A matter that has not even been seen has been spread out like this. My father was unlucky that year because of the excessive spread of the matter, which caused dissatisfaction among some people..."

This year, the area under the jurisdiction of Dingzhou Prefecture has another bumper harvest. The per-acre yield of crops such as rice, wheat, corn, and sweet potatoes is much higher than that in other places.

The emperor and the prince were very happy and wanted to make full use of Chen Shiying. Especially the prince, whether based on Chen Shiying's talent and character or on the Chu family and Chen Afu, he wanted to make use of Chen Shiying.

Chen Afu has received reliable information from Xiaoyi that Chen Shiying will go to the Ministry of Works to be a minister after the new year. Although the Ministry of Personnel has more power, Chen Afu still hopes that Chen Shiying will go to the Ministry of Works. One reason is that there are too many people competing for the position in the Ministry of Personnel, and Chen Shiying is too inexperienced compared to some people. If he blocks the way for others, he will be criticized. Another reason is that if Chen Shiying does a good job in the Ministry of Works, it will be easier for him to be promoted to a minister than in the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Revenue.

In the evening, Lord Chu came to the bamboo pavilion with a group of children. He was wearing a half-old stone-blue robe, with an ebony hairpin on his head. He held Xiao Yu'er in one hand and Yi Jie'er in the other. Yu Ge'er and Ming Ge'er were holding his clothes, and Chu Hanyan was walking in front of him holding Xie Heng's hand. The children were making loud noises, but Lord Chu was not impatient at all.

Seeing him like this, Chu Hua's tears welled up. Thinking of his father in the past, he was once so heroic and heroic, and became a second-rank official just after he turned 30. But after being framed by that woman and still being a son-in-law, he was forced to interrupt his official career, causing his wife and children to be separated. Now even if the second prince's party has been defeated and the ninth prince has been promoted, he is still suppressed by the emperor. He is only 44 years old this year, in the prime of his life, but he can only take care of children at home for fun...

After seeing Lord Chu like this, Chu Hua let go of everything that had happened before.

"Dad..." Chu Hua called out, then choked with tears and became unable to speak.

Lord Chu felt a little sour when he saw his daughter, who had ignored him for many years, finally called him and saw the distressed look in her eyes. He smiled and said, "My daughter, Hua'er."

Seeing that the father and daughter had reconciled, Chen Ahfu was also happy. He sent people to invite the old marquis and the third lady and her son to have dinner at the bamboo pavilion.

Before dinner, Xie Ling came again. Lord Chu was happy and took his father and son-in-law to drink a lot of wine.

In the next few days, Chen Afu began to prepare for the dinner party on the 20th.

On the morning of October 18, a little snow fell from the sky. This was the first snow since the beginning of autumn. Lord Chu stood at the window and watched for a while. He asked someone to bring him a cloak, then he went out with a gloomy face and got on a carriage to pick up Rong Zhao at Baoguo Temple.

Seeing Lord Chu whom she hadn't seen for a long time, Rong Zhao instinctively wanted to blame him. Why didn't he come to the temple to see her after so long? Was he still thinking about that bitch? But seeing his cold eyes and tightly pursed lips, the words that came out of her mouth became, "Chu Lang, it's so cold today, why did you come in person?"

This attitude is really humble.

Lord Chu was stunned for a moment and said, "Well, let's go." He walked out of the house first, but did not take a carriage, but got on a horse.

Rong Zhao looked at Lord Chu on his horse, and then at the snowflakes floating in the sky. She knew that he didn't want to ride in the same carriage with her, so he wanted to ride a horse even if it was cold. In front of so many guards and servants around, she couldn't bring herself to ask him to ride in the carriage. She could only bite her lip and get into the carriage.

Lord Chu sent Rong Zhao back to the house and said, "Princess, take a good rest. I will go to the outer study."

As soon as he turned around, Rong Zhao grabbed his sleeve and said flatteringly, "Chu Lang, during this time in the temple, besides copying scriptures and chanting Buddha's name, I was thinking about the past..."

"What happened in the past?" A hint of sarcasm flashed across Lord Chu's lips, but he stood up.

Rong Zhao said, "Yes, it was about the past. Chu Lang, I was wrong in the past. I shouldn't have listened to the second brother, and I shouldn't have designed you like that, making you lose face... But what can I do? Once a big mistake is made, it can't be changed." He softened his voice and said, "Chu Lang, I really like you, and even dream of having you as my pillow. That's why I made such a wrong move, fell for the second brother's trick, and made my father dislike me. Chu Lang, it is said that a husband and wife for a day have a hundred days of grace. We have been husband and wife for more than ten years, and we have had sweet times. Can you let go of the resentment in your heart towards me, and let's live a good life in the future? The doctor said that my body is fine and I can still have children. Chu Lang, I want to give birth to a child for you. Don't worry, even if I give birth to a boy, I will not compete with Xuan'er for the position of the prince."

This was the method Rong Zhao had thought of in the temple - showing weakness. Now, she and her mother had completely lost the emperor's favor, and even disliked the prince. The emperor was her biological father's daughter, so he might not be so cruel as to let her become a nun. But if the prince succeeded to the throne, it would not work. Her only fate was to become a nun.

She didn't want to become a nun, and she felt extremely uncomfortable spending several months in the temple.