Chapter 245: Displeasure

The sky was now ablaze with the rosy hues of sunset, casting a blush upon Chen Feng’s fair cheeks, making her even more exquisite. However, she had visibly lost weight.

Beautiful as jade. Reflecting on that small, tender hand he had held that night, Chu Lingxuan’s heart stirred, and he quickly clenched his hand into a fist.

He smiled, “I’ve already spoken with father-in-law and mother-in-law. I’ll accompany you back to the countryside tomorrow. My grandfather and aunt took Yanyan to the Yingshuan Monastery yesterday, my aunt is eager to see my mother. Next year, before the Chu family presents the betrothal gifts to your family, we will send a betrothal gift to Luyuan first. You were raised by father-in-law and mother-in-law, so we can’t let them feel aggrieved.”

Chen Feng was deeply grateful for his thoughtfulness. Marrying out of the Chen family, she felt that it would truly burden Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang. If the Chu family could treat them with such respect, it would lighten Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang’s hearts.

She murmured, “Thank you, Lord Chu.”

Chu Lingxuan shook his head, “Feng, why are you still calling me Lord Chu?”

Chen Feng asked, “Then what should I call you?” She couldn’t call him by his given name or a nickname, right? This wasn’t modern times, where even pets were given names.

“Anything but Lord will do.” Chu Lingxuan said boldly.

After some thought, Chen Feng tentatively called out, “Mr. Chu?”

Chu Lingxuan chuckled, “Drop the surname for now. Call me that temporarily.” Then he added, “You’ve lost weight. Surely you’ve been worrying too much? Don’t worry, after we’re married, we’ll visit the Marquis’s estate in the capital for a few days, but you’ll live at Tangyuan afterward. You’ll occasionally stay in Dingzhou. In the next few years, my grandfather and I won’t let you live in that place of intrigue in the capital, nor will we give others a chance to meddle with you.”

Hearing this good news, Chen Feng felt on the verge of tears from excitement. Not having to live in the capital, and perhaps not even in Dingzhou, but still in the countryside. Although she would live in Tangyuan, it was only about a hundred meters from Fengyuan. How could such good fortune be possible!

These past few days, she had been pondering how to avoid living in the capital, as it would mean being separated from Dabao, which she couldn’t bear. She had also been contemplating how to find excuses to prevent Dabao from staying with her. She had been hesitant to tell Chu Lingxuan about Dabao, even though she felt he was someone she could rely on, as she feared that Dabao’s complicated background might make the Chu family unwilling to get involved in any potential complications.

Moreover, if she were to move to the Marquis’s estate, there was a high chance that Princess Rong Zhao might use the pretext of serving her mother-in-law to involve her in the affairs of the princess’s residence, which would be even more burdensome.

Now, hearing this promise from Chu Lingxuan, she was truly overjoyed.

She exclaimed, “Really, that’s wonderful!”

Seeing her radiant smile, Chu Lingxuan’s own smile widened. He said, “Of course, I won’t let you suffer. There are some things…” He glanced at Dabao, then continued, “There are some matters that I will explain to you in detail later.”

Dabao, noticing Chu Lingxuan looking in his direction, felt like rolling his eyes. But considering that he might have to rely on him for a living in the future, he refrained from doing so and simply pouted even more.

These days, Dabao had been strongly averse to Chu Lingxuan. He found this person annoying even at the mention of his name. Learning that his mother was going to marry him and that he would have to call him father in the future, made him very sad.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Dabao had been living like he was in hell these past few days. On one hand, he was upset about not being able to see his mother, and on the other hand, he was worried about having an additional father.

Despite his happiness about little Yan becoming his true younger sister, he simply didn’t like the idea of having a man as his father.

He had been brought along today because his mother had dragged him. Pouting, he didn’t show a smile to Chu Lingxuan. It was his way of letting him know that he was upset.

Chu Lingxuan reached out as if to pat his head, but then thought better of it and withdrew his hand, saying with a smile, “After returning to the countryside, Dabao will formally acknowledge me as his adoptive father. Since he is to be my adopted son, he can no longer attend the private school in Shangshui Village. I’ve already arranged for a good tutor who will teach him at Tangyuan.”

Chen Feng nodded, knowing that staying at Tangyuan would ensure Dabao’s safety. She then asked, “Has the Second Prince and the Seventh Prince left? They won’t cause us any more trouble, will they?”

Chu Lingxuan responded, “The Second Prince went on an inspection tour of Jiaodong a couple of days ago, and the Seventh Prince seems to have gone to play at the Honglin Mountain.” Seeing Chen Feng’s nervous expression, he added, “Don’t worry, the Seventh Prince knows you belong to me and won’t dare to have any other thoughts.”

After bidding farewell to Chu Lingxuan, Chen Feng then gave detailed instructions to Zeng Shuang about the business matters regarding the Fenyunlai. She was apprehensive and felt that she might not want to return to Dingzhou for a long time. Many matters would have to be fully entrusted to Zeng Shuang.

That night, as she lay on the bed, Chen Feng noticed that Dabao was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She could tell that Dabao was upset with Chu Lingxuan. She asked, “Dabao, is something bothering you?”

“Um.” Dabao did not deny it.

“Do you dislike Uncle Chu?” Chen Feng inquired. “You seemed to like him before.”

Dabao sat up suddenly and said, “I used to like him because he’s little Yan’s father, so I called him Uncle. But now, he’s going to be my father.” His mouth pouted, and he said with a hint of resentment, “I still think that Grandma should have let me be mother’s future husband. Then, no man could be my father, and no one could take my mother away.”

In the dim light, Chen Feng saw his eyes glistening with tears, and it made her feel terribly distressed.

Feeling both amused and annoyed, she sat up and pulled him into her arms, softly saying, “Silly! Didn’t I already tell you, the life of a young daughter-in-law or a young son-in-law isn’t a happy or lasting one? Look at your grandma and Grandpa Chen, they’re not together, are they? Being my son is so much better, we’ll never be separated. Don’t say such silly things about being a young son-in-law. If someone hears it, they’ll not only laugh at you but also at me. And, I haven’t been taken away, I’m marrying Uncle Chu, which means not only will there be one more person who loves me, but also one more person who will love and care for you alongside me. Oh, no, it’s actually two more people who love us, including little Yan. Isn’t that better?”

Dabao choked up and said, “Mom, what you say makes sense. I also like little Yan. But I just don’t like the idea of you marrying someone, no matter who it is. I feel very unhappy about it.”

Chen Feng gently patted his back and comforted him, “When we move to Tangyuan, it’ll be fine. You’re familiar with that place, it’s close to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and you can go to Luyuan to play anytime, and also play with the kids in the village. Besides, Mr. Chu won’t be coming back every day…”

After hearing about the benefits of his mother marrying Uncle Chu, Dabao felt somewhat comforted, thinking that this was much better than her marrying someone else. Finally, the two lay down again and fell asleep.

The next day, everyone rose early, had breakfast, and then Chu Lingxuan arrived with a dozen people and several carriages to fetch them.