The Queen Mother did this not only to show off to others, but also because she didn't want Rong Zhao to enter the palace again, for fear that she would bring her "bad luck" with her.
This also made the Chu family very happy, because the whole family reunited on New Year's Eve, and the princess and her husband would also return to the Chu family. In this way, Rong Zhao would not return to the Chu family again. Of course, the happy Chu family did not include the second wife Li, who had always hoped that Rong Zhao would go back and mess with Chen Afu and her two sons.
Chen Afu was even happier. She was no longer afraid that Rong Zhao would torture her and her son. The next day, which was the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, she recovered from her illness. In the evening, Chu Lingxuan finally rushed back.
He was exhausted and his face was purple from the cold. When he came out of the hot bath, the mutton soup pot was already on the kang table.
Chen Ahfu filled his glass with wine and scooped half a bowl of soup. He said, "Drink it to get rid of the cold."
After two glasses of wine, Chu Lingxuan finally recovered. He said, "Don't worry, Ah Fu, the family is fine. There is enough firewood and food. Dabao, Yan'er, my parents-in-law, and my uncle are all fine. Oh, and my uncle's family has everything they need, so they have no worries..." He added, "Although there was a snowstorm in Dingzhou, the situation is better than in the capital."
After hearing this, Chen Afu felt relieved.
After Chu Lingxuan finished his meal, he teased the two brothers again. Someone from the outer courtyard came and said that the old marquis asked the prince to go to the outer courtyard study. The marquis is here.
The men held a meeting until the next morning. Chu Lingxuan, who was extremely tired, came back, washed up, and went to bed. He was smiling silly the whole time. Before going to bed, he smiled to Chen Afu, "Dad will rest in the outer courtyard today."
This is the first time that Lord Chu has rested in the Chu family since he married Rong Zhao. It is not easy.
Chen Ahfu ordered his servants to dress up Zhuyuan, and then he, Yu Ge'er, Ming Ge'er, Sasa, Changchang, and Duanduan were all dressed up. At noon, Chu Lingxuan also got up, and they went to Anrong Hall together.
Today is Chinese New Year and the whole family gathered here to have the New Year’s Eve dinner.
When their family entered, others were already sitting in the living room, including Lord Chu.
Several people walked forward and greeted their elders.
This was the first time that Lord Chu met his grandsons. He was extremely excited and gave them a mutton-fat jade Kunpeng ornament as a gift, and also gave each of them a big red envelope.
The children were awake at this time, smiling at Lord Chu. He didn't dare to hold them because they were too small. He looked at them for a long time and touched their little faces. The eyebrows and eyes that looked very much like Luo Yun made him like and sad at the same time. It would be great if she could sit here too. Without her, even if he was in the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion and had many children and grandchildren, he would still lack the warmth of home...
This was the first time that Chen Afu met the Second Master and Mrs. Li after coming back for so long. He also brought his children to pay them respects as a junior.
Li opened her mouth but didn't dare to say anything. The second master had said before coming that if she dared to make trouble again, he would not be polite. These days, the third master Chu Ling'an also talked to Li a lot, asking her to put away her thoughts that she shouldn't have. Now the eldest wife has her own grandchildren, two at that, and there will be more in the future.
At this moment, she saw Lord Chu and his children and grandchildren happily gathering together, which was particularly dazzling. But she also knew that her ideas would never come true...
Today, Li was unusually honest. Although he looked very sad, he did not say anything inappropriate.
During the meal, the men's table was lively, with laughter and toasts. The women's table was not so friendly. The Third Lady, Chen Afu, Chu Lingwei, and Chu Lingzhi were all laughing and talking, but Li had a bitter face. Seeing her like that, the other women and children in the second room did not dare to say anything. They just lowered their heads to eat and looked up in a daze.
The reunion dinner lasted until the evening. Lord Chu and the young man went to the outer courtyard to stay up all night, the boys set off firecrackers in the yard, and Chen Afu took the two children back to the bamboo pavilion.
Opening the red envelopes that Lord Chu gave to the children, there were silver notes for five hundred taels of silver each. The jade ornaments that the second master gave to the children as a gift were okay, but the two pieces of jade given by Li were rough in texture, typical street stall goods. Chen Ahfu gave the two pieces of jade to the little girl who was guarding the door. Li didn't give him face, so why should he give her face?
After washing up and sending the servants away, Chen Afu took the child into the space.
Jin Yanzi was holding Jin Bei and playing with him. Chen Afu said with a smile, "Now that we have Bei Bei, the baby won't be lonely during the New Year."
The golden swallow chirped, "Yes, loneliness is the most unbearable. It's fun to have a companion."
Chen Ahfu laughed again, "You've been thinking about playing every day. It seems that you haven't repaired the house in such a long time since you came here."
The golden swallow chirped, "They have so many houses, enough for me and Beibei to live in. I will try harder after Beibei is alive." Then, it flew onto the crib with Golden Bei in its mouth.
Yuger and Mingger were also waiting to play with Jinyanzi and Jinbei. As soon as they got on the bed, they started shouting non-stop.
Chen Afu looked at Jin Yanzi's toilet, and saw that she had accumulated a lot of swallow droppings. If she were in the countryside or Dingzhou Prefecture, she would definitely grow some garlic sprouts to eat. But here, if the Third Lady ate it well, she would bring it to the palace to honor the Queen Mother. Chen Afu didn't want the royal family to know that all the good things came from her. She made snacks every few days, which was already very conspicuous.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was still snowing heavily and the wind was howling. Except for the younger generations who were greeting their elders, no one went out to greet relatives and friends in a big way. After all, even the royal family didn't want them to greet them. Many wealthy families placed big pots at the door and began to give porridge and steamed buns to the poor, including the Chu family.
In the morning, the old marquis and Marquis Chu led all the male members of the family to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and wrote the names of Chu Siyu, Chu Siming, and Chu Hanyan into the family tree.
In the afternoon, Chu Lingxuan took Chen Afu to see Chen Shiying. If he didn't go today, he would have no time to accompany Chen Afu. He had to rush to Dingzhou Prefecture tomorrow, and even so, he would not be able to return on the third day.
In this kind of weather, no one was comfortable with Chen Afu taking the children back to Dingzhou Prefecture, so they asked them to wait until the weather was better.
Chen Afu really wanted to say, it’s okay for me to put the child in the space?
In fact, that was her plan. She sent the two mothers to other carriages and took care of the two children by herself. Apart from feeding them, she only had to put them in the space.
But it was impossible to say this. I thought that if I broke my promise, the two children would be very sad.
Chen Afu was wearing a cotton jacket, cotton skirt, cotton boots, a Zhaojun suit, a mink cloak, and a hand warmer in his hand, but he still felt cold all over when sitting in the carriage.
Chu Lingxuan did not ride a horse, but took a carriage with Chen Afu. He did not hold a hand warmer, but his palms were still warm, and he would use his hands to cover Chen Afu's face and nose from time to time. Occasionally, he would peck her little mouth while covering her face.
Seeing the rouge on his lips, Chen Ahfu had to take out his handkerchief to help him wipe it clean. As soon as he wiped it clean, he would take another bite.
The carriage traveled for nearly an hour and arrived at a quiet alley, entered a three-story house, and stopped.
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