Chen Ahfu hugged Wang's arm, rested his head on her shoulder and said, "Mom, I know. If I can't even trust my dad, who else can I trust? In my heart, dad, mom, brother, Dabao, you are all my dearest people."
After hearing this, Chen Dabao also slid off the kang, hugged Wang and said with a curled tongue, "Yes, yes, you are all Dabao's dearest people."
Wang smiled. She felt that her daughter and grandson had been particularly fond of acting coquettishly with her recently, and their words were somewhat embarrassing. However, she liked it.
Chen Ahfu thought to himself that Chen Ming had a gentle personality and was particularly obedient to Chen Ye. It would be difficult to handle some things if Chen Ye interfered. It seemed that it would be better to keep his own business and Chen Ming's business separate in the future. It was not that he was afraid of being taken away by others, but that he did not want to hear those "noises" and add to his troubles.
She then said to Wang, "Mother, my father is kind and gentle. If he starts to manage the family business in the future, you should remind him to take care of our family more."
Wang smiled and nodded, saying, "Mother knows." She added, "Your father is not stupid either, he knows some things clearly."
Chen Ahfu said, "Dad knows it well, but sometimes he just can't save face."
A Lu said from the side, "Don't worry, sister. If Dad can't save face, I will remind him."
Several people were talking in the east room for a while, but the people in the west room had not yet finished their discussion.
Chen Afu took Dabao back to the new courtyard. Chen Ming had already said that he would not let his wife and children suffer any more grievances, so it all depended on his performance. No matter what rumors Chen Ye and his mother heard in the village or what they thought, they hoped that Chen Ming could protect his family.
…
The autumn night is like water, with stars all over the ground.
In the Yiran Courtyard of Tangyuan, Chu Lingxuan sat beside the bed frame with several small swallow dolls hanging on it, watching Chu Hanyan fall asleep with the big swallow doll in her arms. He was most willing to see his daughter sleeping soundly, without dullness or grievance, with a peaceful look on her face and a smile occasionally popping out from her lips.
He curled his lips and gently wiped his daughter's face with his hand before getting up and going to the study.
Manager Luo and his eldest son, Manager Luo Yuan, were still waiting for him here.
When Steward Luo heard Luo Yuan talk about some rumors and news he had heard about Xiangluo Village, he was in a state of panic. He said that he always felt that he had seen the new prefect, Mr. Chen, but he couldn't remember when he had seen him. It turned out that... there were some things that he had overlooked and didn't think too much about. He had to report to his master immediately.
When Chu Lingxuan heard those words, he was also shocked and said hurriedly, "I always remember that Mr. Chen's hometown is Hu'an Province. More than ten years ago, he won the first place in the Hu'an Provincial Examination. The next year, he was selected as the third place in the Spring Examination by the Emperor. He was only sixteen years old that year. It can be said that he was in a glorious position. How come his family changed to Jibei Province, and he is from Zhaojia Village in the neighboring town... How come the mother of Mrs. Chen was Mr. Chen's child bride? When he passed the examination and became a juren, Chen's mother drove Wang out of the Chen family?"
Manager Luo said, "That happened more than ten years ago. The master was still young and in the capital, so it's normal that he didn't know. I only came to Tangyuan nine years ago, so I don't know much about this either."
Luo Yuan bowed and said, "This time I went to Zhaojia Village specifically and spent some money to find out the situation of that family. It is true that Mr. Chen's hometown is in Hu'an Province..."
It is said that Mr. Chen's father was a scholar from Hunan Province. He failed the imperial examination in Beijing in his early years. On his way home, he passed Zhaojia Village and stayed at Mr. Chen's mother Zhao's house. Unexpectedly, he suddenly fell seriously ill that night and was forced to stay at Zhao's house. The Zhao family knew that he was a scholar, so they treated him very politely. Not only did they hire someone to treat his illness, but they also treated him well with good food and drink.
After staying for more than two months, Chen's father still did not feel well and could not travel long distances. Zhao's parents proposed to give their daughter to him and let him continue to recuperate in the Zhao family for a long time. He could return home after he recovered, or wait until three years later to go to Beijing to take the exam.
Chen's father didn't have much money at that time, and his parents died early, so he only had a few relatives in his hometown. He thought it would be better to work hard here, wait for the imperial examination and return home. Seeing that Zhao was pretty and her family was well-off in the countryside, he agreed.
Zhao's parents paid for the construction of a courtyard in Zhaojia Village, and Chen's father married and had children here.
Unexpectedly, Chen's father's illness kept recurring, and he could neither return home nor go to Beijing to take the exam. In particular, when his son Chen Shiying was five years old, he almost died...
Luo Yuan continued, "Father Chen was seriously ill. Mother Chen heard from a wandering monk that if she found someone in the east who was born in the Year of the Rabbit to go home and get married, Father Chen's illness would be cured. Mother Chen didn't want to find a woman to go back and be a concubine for her husband, so she found Wang Juanniang, who was born in the Year of the Rabbit, to be a child bride for her son. In this way, she could not only get married, but also help her with work and take care of the child. However, although Mr. Chen was only five years old at that time, he was already a well-known child prodigy, and he was very good at studying. Moreover, he had white teeth and red lips, and was very handsome. Mother Chen spent five taels of silver to buy Wang Juanniang into the family, but she didn't go to the government office to apply for a marriage. On the surface, Wang Juanniang was her son's child bride, but in fact she was just a small farmhand hired with five taels of silver. This is also a common thing in the countryside. Many families wait until their sons grow up and want to consummate their marriage with their child brides before going to the county government to apply for a marriage. However, Mother Chen probably didn't think so. Perhaps she made two preparations at that time...
"It's amazing. As soon as Wang Juanniang entered the Chen family, the dying father actually got better and lived for another four years. Before his death, he asked them to transport his remains back to his hometown and let his son recognize his ancestors. Mother Chen took her son and Wang Juanniang back to their hometown to carry the coffin. After the 49th day, they returned to Zhaojia Village, saying that the Chen family's relatives bullied them as orphans and widows... From then on, they lived in Zhaojia Village for a long time. They only returned to Hu'an Province twice, when Master Chen took the examinations for the scholar and the juren."
Blah blah, Luo Yuan told everything he had found out.
Chu Lingxuan snorted after hearing this, "Women are the most vicious! That old woman is really calculating for her son's future. However, I remember that Madam Chen's surname is Jiang, and she is Lord Jiang's daughter, not Tang."
Luo Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, Master, I remember correctly. The daughter of the Tang family only became a concubine, and the one that Master Chen finally married was the second daughter of the Jiang family."
Chu Lingxuan sneered, "After all the calculations, the Tang family still cannot outsmart the old woman of the Chen family. It's just a pity for Wang Juanniang, who has been in the Chen family for ten years, but was kicked out like this..." He added, "However, Wang Juanniang is too anxious. A woman should not serve two husbands. No matter how hateful Chen's mother is, no matter how much the stepmother forces her, she should not remarry after returning to her parents' home for ten days. She should at least wait until Master Chen returns home..."
Just as he said this, Chu Lingxuan suddenly widened his eyes and said in surprise, "Then, the Chen family's wife looks, looks..."
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