Chen Ahfu spent a whole day in Anrong Hall, and took a break here. Chen Ahfu really enjoyed the feeling of being with the Third Lady. The two of them were like sisters, laughing when they were happy, unlike the noble ladies who still cared about their manners.
In the evening, Chu Lingwei and Chu Lingzhi came back from school and played with Sasa and her son for a while. Then Master Chu San came back again. He told Chen Afu that Lord Chu was busy these days and had no time to visit the two brothers.
He also talked about the excitement in the court today. Many ministers submitted memorials praising the emperor for his good parenting and the princes' benevolence and filial piety, which made the emperor very happy. Some ministers also said that the second prince was the first to propose "blood sacrifice", and his filial piety was known to the sun and the moon. Others said that Prince Rui proposed "brothers working together", which further demonstrated the prince's generosity and benevolence...
The Third Madam and Chen Afu were delighted to hear this. Regardless of whether the disaster was over or not, the Second Prince would not be able to take all the credit.
The third master was delighted when he heard that they were going to have hot pot for dinner, which was prepared by Chen Ahfu himself. He said, "I like the taste of Xuan'er's wife's cooking."
The Third Madam smiled and said, "I know you like the food cooked by Xuan'er's wife, so I specially kept her here today and asked her to make your favorite hot pot."
The third master laughed loudly and said to her, "The one who knows me best is my wife."
Chen Afu laughed secretly. If the Third Madam was a professional woman in her previous life, she would definitely not be liked by her colleagues. She was also capable of taking credit for other people's achievements and doing it blatantly in front of others.
After the couple showed their affection, the third master asked someone to invite the old master and the second master. After thinking about it, he asked someone to invite the second master Chu Lingqi. The third master Chu Lingan was on duty today and was not at home.
Because they didn't want to call her Li, the other female members of the second house didn't call her that either.
The men share one pot, and the women and children share another pot.
Chu Lingqi came and thanked the Third Madam and Chen Afu. After Song fell ill, the Third Madam and Chen Afu sent people to send valuable tonic medicine.
Outside, the wind was howling and the snow was falling, but inside the house, the aroma was everywhere and the soup and meat were boiling in the pot. Everyone was eating happily when Chu Lingqi suddenly stood up, knelt in front of the old marquis, and burst into tears.
The old man sighed, "I know your wife was wronged this time. Your wife did the right thing. The donation of silver for 'Send Warmth' was initiated by the third daughter-in-law, and it is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. Of course, family members should support family members. That Li was short-sighted and made your wife angry and sick. I have already sent someone to reprimand her."
The third master didn't want to say anything bad about his sister-in-law in front of his brother, so he just nodded repeatedly.
The third lady at another table said, "Lingqi's wife is filial and polite, and we all like her. But I got her into trouble this time because she suffered so much injustice for 'donating silver'. Fortunately, she was rescued. If she had been in trouble, I would not have known for sure."
The second master blushed with embarrassment, and knelt down to apologize to the old man, "Dad, I will deal with her when I get back, please don't be angry."
The old man snorted coldly, "She is such a short-sighted person who can't tell good from bad. What's the point of cleaning her up? Later..." He held back what he was about to say and asked Chu Lingqi, "Are you willing to take your wife and son to Dingzhou Prefecture to work? In this way, not only can you leave home, but you can also do some things for your eldest brother."
Chu Lingqi glanced at the second master, then gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go. I'm afraid of my aunt..."
When the Second Master heard Chu Lingxuan mention Concubine Fang, his face darkened. Concubine Fang was already 39 years old this year. She was the Second Master's first woman and the oldest one. She was gentle, knew when to advance and when to retreat, and had good massage skills, which pleased him very much.
The old marquis was so angry when he saw his second son's gloomy face that his palms itched. If his second son was not disabled, he would have wanted to hit him. He cursed, "You have so many women, are you afraid of missing this one? If you really treat her well, let her live with Qi'er's family and enjoy a good life."
Since the old man said so, the second master didn't dare to refuse and could only nod.
The old marquis asked the third master to be responsible for the transfer order, and then Chu Lingqi and his family would follow Chen Afu back to Dingzhou Prefecture.
After dinner, Chu Lingqi sent the old man back to the outer courtyard.
The old man gave him a thousand taels of silver notes and said, "Although the Marquis's Mansion has not been divided yet, you should not live in your eldest brother's house when you go to Dingzhou Prefecture. You can live separately, not only will your life be easier, but your relationship will not be easily affected. Buy a house, which is both your private property and you can live on your own. I know that among you brothers, you are the poorest. You can only save a little money with your monthly salary, and your wife doesn't have much dowry. Don't learn from your father who is so useless and hangs on women every day. Work hard outside in the future, and you will be able to live a good life."
Chu Lingqi knelt down with tears in his eyes and kowtowed to the old man. His salary was not much, and he had to hand it over to his family. Even if he never spent a penny carelessly, he still had to spend money on social activities, so he had not even saved up 300 taels of silver so far. The money given by the old man could be put to great use.
The next day, news spread in the mansion that the second master and the second mistress had a big fight the night before.
It was said that the Second Master smashed the Second Madam's head until it bled, and the Second Madam scratched the Second Master's face, leaving several red marks. The Second Master was furious and confined the Second Madam to her house for three months, and also forbade the younger generation and the aunt to see her.
Chen Afu laughed for a while. To deal with people like Li, you must use force.
In the afternoon, Song brought Wen Ge'er to Zhuxuan.
Song's illness had been cured, but she had lost a lot of weight, and her small pointed face was pale. However, the joy in her eyes was something she had never seen before. Wen Ge'er gave people the impression of being very quiet and timid. Chen Ahfu had hardly spoken to him before.
Chen Ahfu invited Song to sit on the kang, and then he carried Wen Ge'er to the kang with a smile, and asked someone to bring him some snacks. He said, "Oh, your hands are cold, warm them up quickly."
Song stood up, knelt down and bowed to Chen Ahfu, saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law. My second master and I both know that Third Aunt and sister-in-law have helped us a lot."
Chen Ahfu smiled and pulled her to sit down, saying, "We are one family and we should not have different opinions."
Song smiled and nodded, and asked about the approximate price of a house in Dingzhou Prefecture. She also said, "Second Master asked me to ask my sister-in-law, and I asked how she knew all this. My Second Master said that my sister-in-law is a man among women, who can run the dowry shop so well and has been praised by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, so what else does she not know?"
Chen Ahfu smiled and said, "Second Master, you are too kind. I am not that capable."
I thought to myself, Mr. Chu is really smart. He must have asked Song to tell me that they will get a prefectural certificate when they go to Dingzhou Prefecture.
Chen Ahfu is a person from the modern era, and he doesn't like brothers and sisters-in-law living together. "Far away, fragrant, near, smelly" and "distance creates beauty" are classic sayings from the past.
She then told Song what she knew, emphasizing that the three-story house that Chen Ming bought was particularly suitable for them to live in.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
