On September 22, Chen Ayu got married. Chen Afu and Xiao Yuer did not go, but Chu Lingxuan took Chu Hanyan and Ming Geer to the wedding. He Wangye did not go in person, but sent a chief historian to present a valuable gift. This made the Chen family extremely honored, and Chen Shi and his son were almost crazy with joy.
The next day, the bride went to meet her relatives, and Chen Afu, her cousin, went.
The bride, Mao, was of average appearance, rather plump, and was quite generous and polite. Her family was wealthy, and it was said that her dowry included a red dress of ten miles, a thousand acres of fertile land, and a box of ten thousand taels of silver.
This made Chen Shi and Zhang very happy, and also made Chen Ye and Hu jealous. Hu said some unpleasant things, thinking that the second wife's help to the third wife was real, and the third wife's son-in-law and daughter-in-law were all good. But helping the first wife was fake, and she didn't find a rich husband for Aju.
Old Lady Chen scolded, "You stinky woman, stop making trouble. It's because of all the bad things you did in the past that my eldest son has become estranged from his second and third sons. Also, a pot should fit its lid. You've spoiled Ah Ju to pieces. How can she compare with Ah Yu and Ah Man? She's already marrying up to her parents-in-law. If you dare to make trouble again, get out of here. I won't take you out anymore."
They lived in Chen Ming's house, and the noise of their quarrel was a little loud, which was heard by the servants and then reached Wang's ears. Although Wang felt that Hu was a dog that could not change its eating shit, the old lady and Chen Ye were quite understanding.
At the end of September, Chen Afu invited the three branches of the Chen family to come to the mansion to play for a day. After that, they returned to Dingzhou, and Chen Ming and Wang Shi also left.
Before leaving, Wang went to Shui Linglong and bought a Suzhou embroidery kang screen with a pattern of rich flowers, and asked Chen Afu to help Chen Yuqing add makeup.
Time flies and it is the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. Chen Afu is already eight months pregnant and her belly is very big, giving people the feeling that she will give birth at any time. A few days ago, two experienced midwives were brought into the mansion to live.
On the third day of the Chinese New Year, Dr. Song, who was good at gynecology, came to feel Chen Ahfu's pulse again. He said with certainty that Chen Ahfu was pregnant with twins. Dr. Song could tell the gender of the fetus. When he was asked before, he was always unsure, saying it was a boy and a girl.
The Third Madam was here at the time. When she heard about it, she laughed a few times and left. In the afternoon, a servant came to report that the Third Madam and the Third Master had moved into Minghe Courtyard with their large and small bags.
Chen Afu was helpless. He was happy about being pregnant with twins, but also worried that someone would snatch his daughter away. If it was someone else, Chen Afu would definitely break his promise. But that person was the generous, domineering and chivalrous Madam Chu San, who had helped Chu Lingxuan and the Chu family a lot. Chen Afu could not and did not dare to cheat. Not to mention Chen Afu, even Chu Lingxuan and the old marquis did not dare to cheat and say they would not give it.
Chen Afu didn't want to let his daughter be raised by the third wife. In addition to the emotional reluctance, there was another important reason. If the child followed him, he could often enter the space before nine months old and drink his own milk, which was very important for the child's health and development. The good physical fitness of the two brothers and Xiao Yu'er was inseparable from these two points.
She thought that it would be best to persuade the Third Lady to stay in Minghe Garden until the child was nine months old before moving back to Xijin Marquis Mansion. In this way, the child could be brought back to the space occasionally. At the same time, she asked someone to send milk-producing food with added ingredients to the wet nurse every day, and the quality of the wet nurse's milk would be better.
Just as she was thinking about it, the third master and the third mistress came to Rong'an Hall with smiles on their faces.
The third wife said that she had already found a wet nurse and a nanny for the child. She also had the west wing of her courtyard renovated so that it would be given to her "granddaughter" to live in.
Chen Afu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He thought that people with money could do whatever they wanted.
The Third Lady also saw that Chen Ahfu was reluctant to let her go, so she smiled and said, "You won't suffer any loss if you let me raise your daughter. Not only will I train her to be a smart and sensible lady, I will also give her a generous dowry."
Chen Ahfu acted like a fool and said, "I know Third Aunt can teach people well, so I am relieved to let you raise my daughter. But, can Third Aunt stay in my house until the child is one year old before leaving? I will feel better if I see her every day."
The Third Master at the side felt embarrassed for his wife to snatch someone else's child. After hearing what Chen Ahfu said, he smiled and said to the Third Lady, "Let's do it this way. I will occasionally go to the countryside to visit my father and elder brother, or go out to play, and I won't be at home often. Next year, Wei'er will go to the army for training, and Zhi'er will go to the Imperial College. It will be lonely for you to be alone at home with the children."
The Third Madam thought about it and said with a smile, "Okay, it's more lively here. We'll move back after Wei'er gets married."
Chen Ahfu was even happier when they did this. The third wife did not like her sons to get married too early, saying that they should wait until they were 18 years old before they could get married, and Chu Lingwei would have to wait at least two or three years before getting married.
In the evening, Chu Lingxuan came back and was very happy to hear the good news from Chen Afu.
He touched Chen Ahfu's oversized belly and smiled, "That's good, I can hug our little girl more. When Wei'er's wife gives birth to a daughter, we will quickly bring our little girl back." He added, "Oh, by the way, my uncle sent me a letter saying that he will go to Tangyuan to persuade my mother at the end of the year. By then, no matter whether you give birth or not, I may have to go back to the countryside."
Chen Afu's due date is early January next year. However, twin pregnancies are prone to premature birth, so no one can be sure when the baby will be born.
Although Chen Ahfu didn't want Chu Lingxuan to be away from him at that time, he had no choice but to let her go because his mother's affairs concerned more people. He said, "Don't worry, the midwife lives in the mansion, and Third Aunt is also here, so nothing will happen."
On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, the heavy snow that had been falling for several days finally stopped in the afternoon. The sky cleared up and the bright sunshine made the thick snow particularly dazzling.
Several children were bored in the house and ran out to play.
Chen Ahfu, who was sitting on the kang, heard the giggling of children outside the window and wanted to get up to check on them. As soon as she moved, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
"Ouch, my stomach hurts." She frowned and cried.
"The eldest lady must be about to give birth." Nanny Li asked someone to call the midwife and to help Chen Afu to the east wing, where a room had been prepared for Chen Afu to give birth.
Chen Ahfu endured the pain and went to the bedroom to take out a small piece of green leaf agarwood. Suddenly, a pleasant fragrance spread. While Li Ma Ma was not paying attention, she used her sleeve to cover her left hand and took out a handkerchief from the space. The handkerchief was stained with a green bird's nest as big as an eye booger. This was what Jin Yanzi gave her when she gave birth to a child. She wiped her mouth with the handkerchief, and the green bird's nest went into her mouth.
After hearing about it, the Third Lady also rushed to Rong'an Hall. She was afraid that Yu Ge'er and Xiao Yu'er would be frightened, so she asked Chu Hanyan to take her younger brother and sister to the back room to play. She also sent someone to tell the Chen family and Chu Lingxuan who was on the yamen.
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