Mrs. Li and Mrs. Luo were a little puzzled when they saw Chu Hanyan like this. They had seen the little girl once before. Chu Lingxuan asked her to come and greet the elders and relatives, but she pouted her lips and twisted her chubby fingers, standing there stupidly without moving. Chu Lingxuan smiled apologetically to the guests, "Yan'er is shy." Then he asked someone to take her away.
But after Chen Afu's coaxing, the little girl seemed like a different person.
Li laughed shrilly, "Oh, Miss Chen hasn't even married into our Chu family yet, but my sister has already regarded you as her mother."
Chen Ahfu pretended not to hear. After leading Chu Hanyan to meet the guests, he touched the little girl's head and whispered, "You are so good. Auntie is happy for you. Go back to the house to eat. Auntie will visit you later."
Chu Hanyan nodded and was led out of the flower hall by Mother Song.
Before leaving, the little girl looked back at Chen Afu and smiled brightly.
After dinner, the guests watched a play, and Chen Afu, accompanied by Yuzhuo and Xia Yue, went to Yuetaoxuan where Chu Hanyan lived.
Chu Zhen caught up with them halfway. She said, "Sister Chen, I heard that you can design clothes. Those beautiful buttons are designed by you. You also made Sister Yan's beautiful clothes and Aunt San's beautiful shoes. Is that right? You can also make me a different set of clothes and shoes. I want to wear them to attend the Peach Blossom Banquet next year. Okay?" At the end, she pulled Chen Afu's sleeve and acted coquettishly.
This girl really doesn't consider herself an outsider. What is her relationship with her? How could she ask for this right after meeting her? At first glance, she looks like her mother, Li, with unusually small eyes.
Perhaps they had already made similar requests to Chu Lingxuan, and Chu Lingxuan reminded her at the time. Although Chu Zhen was Chu Lingxuan's cousin, Li followed Princess Rong Zhao to make trouble for the benefit of the second house and did many things that hurt the first house. No matter how saintly she was, she would never make clothes for her daughter.
Then she smiled and said, "Miss Chu thinks highly of me. How can I design clothes? I did come up with the idea of the buttons before, but I can only make buttons and nothing else. Sister Yan's clothes were made by her maid according to the samples of the Nishang Embroidery Workshop, and Aunt San's shoes were made by my maid according to the samples of the embroidery workshop. Miss Chu can take her skillful maid to the third floor of the Nishang Embroidery Workshop to have a look. There are many beautiful samples there."
Chu Zhen didn't expect Chen Afu to refuse so directly. She was so angry that her eyes turned red. She stamped her feet and said, "You..."
Chen Afu glanced at Chu Zhen coldly and walked forward.
As soon as I walked into Yuetaoxuan, I saw Chu Hanyan standing in the corridor, staring at the gate. When she saw Chen Afu, she opened her arms and ran over, shouting, "Auntie, Auntie, I miss you."
Chen Ahfu laughed and picked her up, put his face against hers and said, "Auntie misses you too."
Holding her, Chen Afu felt sweet and at peace.
After they were intimate for a while, the little girl became sleepy, and Mother Song carried her to the bed to rest.
Chen Afu was sitting in the corridor, talking to Wei in a low voice. Wei said that they would wait until three days later, after sending off the guests from the capital and Shizhou Prefecture, before returning to Tangyuan. She also gossiped, "The Marquis came to Dingzhou Prefecture yesterday. He wanted to stay in our mansion, but the attitude of the old Marquis and the eldest master was not good, and my aunt even had some verbal confrontations, so the Marquis was angry and went to the post station."
Chen Ahfu didn't react at first to who the Marquis was, but only after hearing the last part did he realize that he was referring to Marquis Chu and his wife. He was also surprised and said, "He came here specifically to wish my sister a happy birthday?"
Wei shook her head and said, "He wouldn't come all the way here to wish my sister a happy birthday. He doesn't like my sister. He came to Dingzhou on business. I heard that he also came to the mansion for a banquet today..."
At this time, Chu Hua led a few people into the courtyard. The woman behind her was holding a child who was over one year old.
She laughed loudly and said, "I knew Sister Chen was here, so I brought my son Heng here for you to see."
Chen Afu quickly stood up and went to greet him. She happily held Xie Heng in her arms and said with a smile, "Oh, what a lovely child." Xia Yue behind her handed over a purse containing a jade unicorn ornament.
Brother Heng didn't look like a member of the Chu family. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a chubby face, and was dark-skinned. He was a very cute and strong little boy. He was not shy and his hands and feet were not honest. He grabbed Chen Afu's collar and hair, and when he was happy, he hugged her face and kissed her. Chen Afu laughed so hard that she kissed him several times in return.
Chu Hua said regretfully, "Brother Heng is already one and a half years old, and he still can't speak."
Chen Ahfu smiled and said, "My mother told me that boys tend to start talking late..."
As he was speaking, Chu Lingxuan walked into the gate of Taoranxuan with a sullen face.
Chu Hua just shouted, "Brother..." and swallowed the rest of the words.
Because behind Chu Lingxuan, another middle-aged man followed in. This man was tall and slender, wearing a red jacquard gold brocade robe and a jade belt around his waist. He was Chu Lingxuan's father, Lord Chu.
As soon as Chu Hua saw him, he ran over and pulled Chu Lingxuan's sleeve and complained, "Brother, why did you bring him here?"
Chu Lingxuan said, "He said he wanted to see Heng Ge'er and Yan'er."
Lord Chu ignored Chu Hua, looked around the yard, and walked towards Chen Afu. Looking at the child in her arms, a smile flashed across his face, and he said, "Is this Heng'er?"
"Yeah." Chen Afu agreed.
Lord Chu stretched out his hand, and Heng Ge'er unexpectedly leaned over and threw himself into Lord Chu's arms. He held Heng Ge'er, who was giggling, in his arms, and there seemed to be tears in his eyes, but they disappeared in a blink of an eye.
But Chen Afu saw it clearly.
At this time, Chu Hua rushed over and snatched Heng Ge'er away. Heng Ge'er burst into tears and stretched out his little arms to Lord Chu, saying one word, "Lord."
Chu Hua was furious and didn't realize that her son had finally spoken. She coaxed him, "Be good, don't cry. He is not your grandfather. Your grandfather is still at home in the capital."
Lord Chu looked at Chu Hua, expressionless, and walked back into the house. Chu Hua wanted to stop him, but was stopped by Chu Lingxuan. Several people followed him into the house.
Lord Chu stood in the hall and looked around. The doors of the east and west rooms were all closed. He asked Chen Ahfu, "Which room is Yan'er in?"
Chen Afu had no way to refuse him, nor did he want to refuse him, so he pointed towards the east room.
Lord Chu walked toward the east room, pushed open the door and looked inside. The room was so quiet that a pin drop could make a sound. Mother Song, who was sitting on a brocade stool doing needlework, stood up in fright.
He walked gently towards the bed. Through the aquamarine curtain, he saw a little girl sleeping on the bed, her black hair scattered all over the pillow, her long eyelashes like a black butterfly with folded wings, her rosy little mouth occasionally flickered with a smile, as if she was having a sweet dream...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
