Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

After dinner, Chen Afu started to pack things for Chu Lingxuan, and wrote a letter to Wang, Jiang, Zeng Shuang, Dabao and Chu Hanyan respectively. Especially the letters from the two little ones were written with sincerity and I brought them many gifts. I broke my promise and didn't go back earlier. I don't know how they would cry.

Chu Lingxuan didn't come back until midnight.

Chen Afu was sleeping deeply when he was woken up by Chu Lingxuan. She didn't know how long it would be before she could see him again, so she cooperated with him very much.

The furious Golden Swallow appeared in Chen Afu's mind again, and he cursed, "That's bad, Mommy. I knew I was going to do this with Daddy Chu today, so I didn't bring a glass of water in to calm her down. She had a nosebleed again, OK, Mommy." I hate it...ah, ah, Beibei is also angry, all glowing red..."

Chen Afu was so embarrassed that he pushed Chu Ling and said, "Hurry up, others will laugh after hearing this."

Chu Lingxuan muttered, "I will deduct the money from whoever laughs...concentrate, why don't you please your husband like you did just now..."

Chen Afu didn't know when he ended, nor when he fell asleep. It seemed that not long after he fell asleep, he heard the rustling sound and Chu Lingxuan had already gotten up. She gritted her teeth and got up, served him breakfast, then locked him out of the courtyard and watched him disappear into the windy and snowy night.

Chen Afu was heartbroken to have to ride a horse for more than 200 miles in this kind of weather. It was warm in the carriage, but Chu Lingxuan said it was too slow, and he wanted to rush back earlier.

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. Poor families are sad, but these wealthy families who have no shortage of rice, food, and firewood should still live their lives as they please. Today is the day to return to her parents' home. Almost all the female relatives, including Mrs. Chu San, have returned to their parents' home with their men and children.

Chen Afu’s natal family is not here and he has nowhere to return. Because Chu Hua was pregnant, he didn't dare to go out in this weather. Therefore, in the huge Yong'an Marquis Mansion, there are only three people, Chen Afu and his son, in the inner courtyard, and the old Marquis in the outer courtyard.

Chen Afu fed the two little brothers, put on a small red silk cotton jacket and cotton trousers, played on the warm kang, and sent someone to invite the old man to Zhuxuan.

The old man, who was feeling uncomfortable, was also thinking about his great-grandson. Etiquette in the capital is stricter than in the countryside, and grandfathers are not allowed to go to their grandson's wife's yard. Seeing that Chen Afu sent someone to invite him, the old man came quickly and happily.

The two brothers can already turn over and raise their heads, and they can also laugh, making the old man laugh from time to time.

Chen Afu was making fish hot pot by himself in the west room. Although the thick cotton curtain was blocking the door, he could still faintly hear the old man's laughter.

In the afternoon, Lord Chu Hou actually came and was invited directly to Zhuxuan.

He seemed to have made a special trip to see his grandchildren and brought them gifts, two small ebony arrows, saying that he had carved them without incident.

Chen Afu secretly thought that he must be so bored in the princess's mansion that he would carve these things by himself.

When he came, the two brothers fell asleep very humiliatingly, but it did not affect his interest in watching. He sat quietly by the kang and watched them silently.

Chen Afu couldn't bear to stay here, so he refilled his tea and went to the West Room to read. The old man couldn't bear the loneliness anymore and played with the birds in the living room.

After watching for an hour, Lord Chu got up and left.

After that, he would come to Zhuxuan to look after the children almost every day, and of course he would drag the old Marquis with him. It's just that the time is very short, as long as two quarters of an hour, as little as a quarter of an hour, and once it was only half a quarter of an hour. Moreover, every time I come, I bring gifts for my children, all kinds of things to play with and use.

As the snowstorm lasted longer and longer, more and more people were affected, and countless people and animals froze to death and starved to death, and the number became worse the further north they went. The price of grain in grain stores is rising higher and higher. Due to the inconvenient transportation, the grain shipped from the south is limited, and many grain stores are also running out of grain. After the sixth day of the first lunar month, local governments began to open warehouses to release grain, but they still could not relieve the difficulties.

When ancient people suffered a disaster, they began to think about the gods, and there were more tricks to impeach Princess Rongzhao. Most of the excerpts made a year ago were deliberately made by the Chu family in order to ban Rongzhao's feet. But now, all the ministers in the court were panicking, and many of them believed from the bottom of their hearts that Rong Zhao had offended the gods. Not only did they impeach Rong Zhao, but some people also began to impeach the Marquis of Chu and the Marquis of Yong'an who were related to Rong Zhao. Among those who impeached the Chu family, the second prince and his party were the most numerous.

On the 10th, Fuyunlai Trading Company and its Beijing branch in Dingzhou Prefecture donated a total of 60,000 jins of grain to the government and another 10,000 jins of grain to the common people.

Because Fuyun came to take the lead, many grain stores that still had stocks began to donate grain, which greatly eased the pressure on the court and saved countless lives.

These merchants and grain stores have all received commendations and awards from the emperor. Especially when the fortune came to the merchant house, the emperor personally presented a large plaque - praiseworthy for her righteousness and kindness. The Queen Mother also issued an edict to commend Chen Afu, saying that she was a model for women in the world, and also gave her two jade handles.

Chen Afu's righteous act gained a lot of face for the Yong'an Marquis Mansion, and the impeachment of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion was reduced.

On the 15th, Mrs. Chu San, the princess of Huachang County, launched the "Send Warmth and Love Activity" again, taking the lead in donating money and materials to repair houses and buy quilts and jackets for the victims.

Mrs. Chu San donated five hundred taels of silver because she was the leader. The concubines and princesses in the palace and the ladies in the mansion also responded positively.

Of course it was Chen Afu who came up with this idea for the third lady. The third lady was very willing to do this kind of good deed that was both publicity and life-saving. She went to the palace to see the emperor with a "proposal" written by Chen Afu. She was highly praised by the emperor and the queen mother, and she also asked the royal women to set an example.

Queen Wang, Concubine Sun and Concubine Ma Shu were so angry that they thought they had not thought of such a good idea. Queen Wang and Concubine Sun wanted to gain a good reputation for their son, while Concubine Ma Shu wanted to clear a bad reputation for their daughter.

Moreover, this idea was proposed by the annoying Hua Chang. No matter how much he donated, it was Hua Chang who stole the show. But I don’t dare not to donate, and I don’t dare to donate less. The Queen Mother donated 500 taels of silver, while Queen Wang had to donate 300 taels of silver, and Concubine Ma Shu donated 200 taels of silver.

Rong Zhao heard about it and sent someone to the palace to ask the Queen Mother for instructions. She wanted to go to the palace to donate money. The Queen Mother sent a nanny to Princess Rongzhao's mansion to collect the money. Rong Zhao was so angry that her liver hurt, so she had to give the nun a hundred taels of silver.

Chen Afu of the Chu family was the first to respond to the initiative, donating one hundred taels of silver himself and another twenty taels of silver on behalf of Miss Chu. On the 16th, there was still no movement from the second room. Mrs. Chu San knew that it was Li who was causing trouble, so she sent her nanny to go to the yard of the second-bedroom female family members to collect them one by one.

The second grandmother, Mrs. Song, was a concubine's daughter-in-law, and her natal family was not rich, so she took out twenty taels of silver, which was already quite good. The third grandmother, the Shen family, was not wealthy either. Although her father was a fifth-rank official, he was from the Hanlin Academy. But the third master, Chu Ling'an, was the only son of the Li family, so he should have some family background. She also donated twenty taels of silver, which was pretty good. Several girls, the second girl Chu Zhen donated ten taels of silver, the third girl Chu Lin and the fourth girl Chu Bi each donated two taels of silver, which is not bad.

But Ms. Li said that the "proposal" stated that she would do her best and not "force donations". She had no money and would not donate a penny. She didn't take the dozens of taels of silver seriously, she just didn't want to add to the arrogant third lady's cake.

Mrs. Chu San sneered twice and asked someone to hand over the Chu family's "merit book" to the old Marquis for review.