On the 16th day of the winter month, Chu Lingxuan took several witnesses to the capital. General Fu knew that Chen Shiying was in trouble, so he gave Chu Lingxuan enough convenience.
Today, Chen Afu is going to add some dowry to Chen Aman, because Aman will set off for the capital city tomorrow to get married and will marry into the Yang family on the 30th of the winter month.
The day before, Chen Ahfu asked for leave for Dabao and Alu. They both had a good relationship with Chen Ahman and wanted to go out and play for a day. They didn't have to go to school, and Chu Lingzhi also had a day off, so they went out to play together.
At 9 o'clock in the morning, Chen Afu brought all the children and animals in the family to Chen Shi's house.
At the beginning of this month, Chen Shi and Zhang came to Chen Afu to borrow 100 taels of silver, saying that it was for Chen Aman's dowry, and that Chen Shi would return it after his dividend at the end of the year. They also said that they would rent a courtyard house in the capital for Aman to wait for her to get married. Originally, Yang Mingyuan wanted to give them a house for Aman to wait for her to get married, but Chen Shi was unwilling to do so, saying that it was unreasonable for a girl to wait for her to get married in her son-in-law's house.
Chen Afu thought that he had a three-story house in the capital, and he wanted to let them live there, which would save money and look good.
Chen Shihe and Zhang were overjoyed and kept thanking Chen Afu.
Chen Ahfu smiled and said, "We are all relatives, don't be so polite. Ah Yu is capable, Ah Tang is studious, and Ah Man is filial. The good days of Uncle and Aunt are ahead."
Zhang was very happy and said, "Amitabha, I am grateful for your good words."
Zhang was wearing the silk dress that Chen Ahfu had given her two years ago, which had turned white from washing. She was also wearing the silver hairpin that Chen Ahfu had given her at that time, but she had not dressed it up as well as Hu. Chen Shi, who was the owner of the restaurant, was well dressed. When the two of them were compared, Zhang seemed to be several years older than Chen Shi.
Now, Zhang not only hated Hu, but also had a lot of complaints against Old Lady Chen and Chen Ye.
The third wife did earn much more money than the first wife, but they also spent much more. They said they were rich, but they were still starving. The first wife said she was poor, but she kept buying land and even bought a house.
Because the second wife had a man named Chen Ahfu, the first wife didn't dare to offend him, and had to curry favor with him. Also, because Chen Ming secretly gave her a private sum of 100 taels of silver, the first wife felt that Chen Ming was much more generous than Chen Shi, and treated the second wife with even more respect. The first wife was not as polite to the third wife as to the second wife, and the whole family came to eat and live without feeling anything wrong. Especially Mrs. Hu, who looked like she deserved to eat them.
Because of these, Zhang and Chen Shi often quarreled.
Fortunately, the eldest wife finally had her own yard in the city. After coming to the city a few days ago, she did not live in the third wife's house, but lived in her own house.
Before Chen Afu and his friends' carriage reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Chen Atang and Chen Dahu standing there waiting. When they saw the Chu family's carriage coming, Chen Atang asked Chen Dahu to run home to report the news, and he got on the carriage that Alu and his friends were riding in.
When the carriage arrived at the gate, Chen Shi, Zhang, and A Yu were already there to greet them. A Yu came back specially to pick up A Man, and tomorrow A Man and Zhang would go to the capital together. On the 25th, Chen Shi would take A Tang to the capital.
Chen Afu's family was an absolute honored guest of Chen Shi's family. They welcomed the honored guests in with a smile. Not only Chen Shi's family, but also the guests bowed and greeted them.
There are many guests in the Chen family today. The first and second wives have already arrived, as well as some guests from the provincial capital, Zhang's family members, and even Hu Laowu and his wife.
A few days ago, the first and second wives moved into their new homes and invited guests. Because Chen Afu was busy with Chen Shiying's affairs, he only sent gifts but did not go. As long as Chen Ming and Wang lived in the new home, A Lu would also go home to live.
In order to prevent others from disturbing Chen Afu's peace and quiet, Chen Shi and Zhang specially cleaned up a room in the east wing for Chen Afu and his family to rest.
Chen Afu asked the two mothers to carry Yi Shuang and Li Xuan to the room, while she took A Lu and the other children to add makeup to Chen Aman.
Because Chen Afu had always liked Chen Aman and had a good relationship with the Yang family, the dowry was quite generous. Two pieces of brocade, two colorful satin quilts, two red gold hairpins, and fifty taels of silver. Of course, this was only the dowry for Chen Aman. The gift to congratulate the Yang family was much larger and would be sent by Luo Guanshi in the capital on behalf of Chu Lingxuan and his wife.
A-Lu, Dabao, Chu Lingyan and Chu Lingzhi also added two taels of silver each, and Mother Luo added ten taels of silver on behalf of the Luo family.
Chen Aman was wearing a pink half-sleeve top and a light red long skirt. Her young and pretty face was full of shyness and happiness.
She thanked him with a blushing face.
Zhang narrowed her eyes and smiled exaggeratedly, "Oh my, Third Uncle and Third Aunt are so grateful for Ah Fu's kindness." She lowered her head and said to the children, "Thank you, brothers and sisters from wealthy families, for coming all the way to add dowry to my Ah Man. It's such an honor."
When Mrs. Hu saw Chen Afu coming, she pulled Chen Aju in to see her put on makeup.
Seeing so many good things, including five large silver ingots worth ten taels, Mrs. Hu could hardly take her eyes off. She chuckled and said, "Ahfu is so generous that he even gave so much to his children. Ahju, you should learn from Ahman and curry favor with your sister Ahfu. If she lets go of her fingers, it will be enough for you to live on for the rest of your life."
This was too vulgar and explicit, and Zhang and Chen Aman blushed with anger. If they admitted it, it would prove that they were trying to curry favor with Chen Afu for money. If they didn't admit it, they were afraid of spurning Chen Afu's kindness.
Chen Ahfu frowned and said quickly, "Ah Man and I are sisters with deep affection, there is no such thing as fawning on others."
Old Lady Chen also came in and scolded Mrs. Hu, "You stinky woman, don't talk if you don't know how to speak. You are embarrassing yourself." She smiled and said to Chen Ahfu, "Ahfu, don't laugh at your aunt. She is just a rough woman."
Chen Ahfu didn't know what to say. She wanted to relax today and have a quiet chat with Chen Ahman, but there were too many people in the house. Many strangers secretly looked at her and Miss Chu, and a few women tried to get close to her. She had no choice but to get up and take Chu Hanyan to her own room.
Hu then pulled Chen Aju into the hut, but was stopped outside by Luo's mother. They watched Chen Afu and others and Wang leave the house.
Chen Aju had always been dissatisfied with Chen Afu in her heart, and was forced by her mother to follow Chen Afu, which had already greatly hurt her self-esteem. Now she was blocked outside, and she was so angry that her eyes turned red. She struggled to break free from Hu's hand and walked away.
Mrs. Hu was also angry, and ran over to complain to the old lady, "Mrs. Zhang is really looking down on people. She prepared a separate room for Ah Fu, but didn't prepare one for mother-in-law."
Old Mrs. Chen scolded, "This is how the third son's wife behaves. Ah Fu is a nobleman now, and he has such a spoiled brother and sister, so naturally he wants a quiet life. I am just a country woman, how can I ascend to heaven with a separate house? The third son's family has a good life, not only because my third son is smart, but also because he married a good wife who knows how to make plans. Oh, my poor eldest son, who has paid the most for his brothers, why did he marry a stupid woman like you? You are greedy and unsuccessful, so stupid." She pointed at Hu Laowu who was chatting and laughing with someone in the distance, and said, "You and Hu Laowu are still siblings. If you learned even a little bit of Hu Laowu's smartness, your family would not be like this. The eldest son's family is better off, and I would have gone to the second house to enjoy a good life..."
Mrs. Hu felt very wronged after being scolded. She has become more sensible now. She knows that Chen Afu is not to be messed with. She dares not to say anything bad about Chen Afu in front of him or behind his back. She even respects Mrs. Wang. She is the eldest sister-in-law. Her husband raised two younger brothers. Does she have to support both of her younger brothers and sisters?
It was already the middle of winter, but the weather was not too cold and the sun was shining brightly. So far, it hadn't snowed this year, which was unprecedented. Several children and the animal house were playing in the yard, which made Li Xuan in the house very jealous and he also wanted to go out.
Chen Afu then led him out and specifically instructed Atang and Alu to take good care of him and not to scare anyone.
The banquet has begun.
Chen Ahfu's room had a separate table, where only Chen Ahfu, Wang and a few children ate. It was obvious that the best food was piled on this table, and the most exquisite dishes were also laid out.
Although Chen Shi's family did not praise Chen Afu so much, Chen Afu would still have a bad impression of them. However, Chen Afu was undoubtedly very happy to be respected like this. Wang was even happier, thinking that they remembered their kindness and gave Chen Ming face.
Hu wanted to pull Chen Aju in to eat, but was stopped by the servants again. Chen Afu and Wang pretended not to hear.
Not only did Mrs. Hu try her best to please Chen Afu, she also asked Chen Aju to please Chen Afu. In her opinion, Chen Aman got that noble marriage because of Chen Afu. Chen Afu also added so much makeup, if she was placed in a country family, she could live a lifetime. If you have a good relationship with Chen Afu, you will not suffer any loss.
Chen Afu was helpless. His mother was stupid and had delayed the child. Chen Aju was much more diligent now, but her temper was still a little awkward. If my mother was more reliable, with the gradually growing family, life would not be difficult in the future. Fortunately, Gao was smart and had a clear mind. Dahu, Daya and Dalong would not be delayed like Chen Aju.
After dinner, Wang hugged Yu'er and Ming'er and played with them, kissed Chen Dabao for a while, and then Chen Afu was about to leave.
They were originally planning to leave after dinner, but the children were sweating from playing, and although they wiped themselves with a dry cloth, they still wanted to go back and take a bath to prevent getting sick. In addition, Mrs. Hu would occasionally take Chen Aju by the hand to get close to her, and Chen Aju looked unhappy, which made people feel annoyed.
Wang saw Chen Ahfu was about to leave and said, "Ahfu, please go and take a look at our new house. Let the children take a bath at my house and play until dinner before going back."
Chen Afu had long wanted to visit their home and nodded in agreement.
They said goodbye to Chen Shi's family and left. Chen Ming did not leave, he wanted to stay here to help entertain the guests.
Seeing that Hu was pulling Chen Aju to follow, Wang smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you should help entertain guests here and learn how to marry a daughter."
Mrs. Hu said, "I already have a daughter, do I still need to learn?"
Wang laughed and said, "When I married Alan, my sister-in-law's family was just peasants. Now they are landlords and employers. How can they be the same?"
Zhang, who was seeing off the guests, also smiled and said to Hu, "Yes, Ah Ju will not look for a peasant in the future. Sister-in-law should let her learn how to deal with city people."
After hearing this, Mrs. Hu stopped.
Wang saw Atang and Dahu looking envious and said with a smile, "Dahu can come with us to play. When uncle and aunt go home in the evening, please make a detour to my house to pick him up. Forget about Atang, you have to entertain guests today too."
This place is relatively close to Chen Ming's house, and it only takes less than a quarter of an hour to get there by carriage.
This is a curved three-story house with a good location, quiet in a busy area, and the bustling North Street is just outside the alley.
The yard is quite large, with trees, flowers and plants planted, a rockery in the front yard, and a small pavilion in the back yard. It has been repainted, making the house look newer. Only wealthy families in Dingzhou can afford to live there.
Chen Afu took a tour, nodded with a smile and said it was good and it would be enough for A-Lu to live in even if he got married in the future.
Wang smiled and said, "On the first day we moved in, your father said that he never dared to dream of having such a big courtyard in Dingzhou Prefecture. He was really enjoying Ah Fu's blessing."
Everyone went into the west room of the upper house and asked Aunt Mu to lead the people to boil water and give the boys a bath. Except for Miss Chu and the two little boys who were sleeping in the room, A Lu, as the host, led the other boys to play in the backyard.
There were no outsiders here, so Wang asked about Chen Shiying's situation again. Chen Afu was afraid that she would worry, so he only said a few general words and told her not to worry.
Wang also said that in a few days, Chen Ming and she would take A Lu to the capital with Chen Shi and his son, both to send A Man off as a bride and to broaden their horizons in the capital.
Chen Afu said, "Don't play in the capital for too long, come back early. We will return to the Marquis' Mansion in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, but I don't want to take Dabao back with me. Some people in the second house of the Marquis' Mansion are not very friendly to me. Dabao is sensitive and thoughtful, and I don't want him to be wronged. When Dad and Mom come back, they can live in the General's Mansion, so that Dabao won't be too lonely, and I will feel relieved."
It's the Chinese New Year, and Chen Ahfu must take his children back to the Marquis' mansion in Beijing to reunite with the old marquis. This is not only because the whole family must reunite during the Chinese New Year, but also because he has to take the eldest grandson of the Chu family to the ancestral hall to worship his ancestors, and more importantly, because of the hint in the brocade bag. It is very likely that in the twelfth month of this year, the first month and the second month of next year, there will be major events related to the fate of the Chu family.
They couldn't take Dabao back with them. Although Chen Ahfu was very reluctant, he had to do this for Dabao's safety.
She was afraid that Dabao would be lonely, and for his absolute safety, she had to invite Chen Ming's family to spend the New Year with him in the General's Mansion.
Originally, she could have waited until the end of December and returned to the capital with Chu Lingxuan. But the old monk said that "the snow is heavy at the end of the year", and the old marquis was afraid that if they left too late, the weather would be bad and the old and young would be in trouble on the road. Now the river has been blocked, so they can only go back by carriage. Besides, she was also worried about Chen Shiying in the capital.
Wang was surprised and said, "Dabao is a thoughtful child. Would he be willing to leave him here alone?"
Chen Ahfu sighed, "He will definitely not agree, so I have to persuade him. I will take him back after I have sorted out the relationship in the Marquis' Mansion."
Wang said, "Then you have to coax him into submission before you leave."
Chen Afu nodded.
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