Chapter 157: Not Afraid

Chen Feng reached out and gently embraced Mrs. Wang, saying, “Mother, don’t speak like that. You haven’t wronged me, and you haven’t made me lose face. I want to thank you for persevering through difficult times, for giving birth to me, raising me, seeking medical treatment for me… Mother, thank you. And Father, he has never shunned me and has given me a warm home…”

The voice of the departed little Feng must certainly be echoing her sentiments.

As she continued, Chen Feng also began to cry. They both wept for a while, and Mrs. Wang, contemplating something, raised her tear-streaked face and said, “A’Feng, what do you… What do you know?”

Chen Feng continued, “Mother, no matter who I resemble, or what people say about my birth, I don’t care about any of that. I only know that you are the best mother in the world, my father is the best father, and A’Lu, Dabao, we will always be a family of five.”

Mrs. Wang’s eyes grew even fiercer. Although her daughter hadn’t explicitly said it, she had now realized who her biological father was. It made sense, her daughter was so clever, and with so many rumors in the village, could she not have guessed?

Feeling deeply ashamed, Mrs. Wang cried, “A’Feng, Mother… When I was young, he, he was very kind to me, and I was very dependent on him, and then, then…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the words “I couldn’t help falling in love”, and cried even harder.

Chen Feng comforted her, “Mother, I understand, I know that many things just happen naturally, and people can’t control them.”

After soothing Mrs. Wang for a while, even though she felt embarrassed by her daughter’s directness, she felt a bit better. With such a clever and understanding daughter, everything seemed worth it.

Mrs. Wang’s crying lessened, and she asked, “They are so afraid of you working at Tangyuan. Failing in their plan. Will they resort to other methods? Zhao Lizheng is very cunning, and that woman, she’s especially formidable…”

Chen Feng reassured her, “Mother, don’t be afraid. No matter how cunning Zhao Lizheng is, he can’t control us in Xiangluo Village. No matter how formidable that woman is, she relies on her son. Even if that person holds a high position, he comes from a humble background and can’t afford to offend Lord Chu, who comes from an aristocratic family. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so afraid of me working at Tangyuan. They must fear that the master of Tangyuan will find out about their past misdeeds. We’re close to Tangyuan now, and they can’t openly do anything to us. But, Mother, remember not to go to distant places alone, stay at home when there’s no need to go out, and don’t open the door casually. And in the future, A’Lu, let Shanzhi pick him up from school…”

As they were talking, the front door creaked open. Shanzhi opened it, and Chu Hanyan, crying was brought into Luyuan by Dabao and several people from Tangyuan.

Upon seeing them, the mother and daughter quickly wiped away their tears. Mrs. Wang headed to the main room, and Chen Feng came out, picked up Chu Hanyan, who was weeping, and sat her in a chair, feeling utterly exhausted and not in the mood to comfort the little girl. Chu Hanyan, nestled in Chen Feng’s arms, stopped crying and pressed her little face tightly against her chest.

Seeing her grandmother and mother with red eyes, Dabao’s eyes also reddened. He walked over and asked, “Mother, why are you and Grandma crying?”

Chen Feng forced a smile and said, “Mother and Grandma thought of some old matters and felt sad, so they cried for a while. Don’t worry, nothing serious has happened.”

Mama Song and Mrs. Wei, feeling extremely embarrassed, realized that they come in a wrong time. However, their young miss was fussing and crying, and it was difficult not to go to Chen’s residence.

Once Chu Hanyan had calmed down, Chen Feng led her to the southern room to play with building blocks. As the little girl sat down, she sneakily remarked, “Want to eat… Auntie’s… food.”

Mama Song blushed and whispered, “Young Miss, you can’t say that.”

The little girl pouted and persisted, “Want to eat.”

Sighing, Chen Feng said, “Alright, Auntie will go prepare some delicious food. Be a good girl and play here.”

She went to the kitchen and told Aunt Mu which dishes to prepare. She didn’t personally assist, choosing instead to sit and rest while the food was being prepared.

The little girl had her meal as she wished, and after obtaining Chen Feng’s promise to take her to Tangyuan after her nap, she returned to Tangyuan for her rest. Dabao wanted to stay at home with his mother, but Chen Feng asked him to accompany Chu Hanyan to rest at Tangyuan.

Once the west wing had finally calmed down, Chen Feng entered the space. She was too exhausted and had too much on her mind and needed someone to confide in.

The Golden Swallow was busy at work and, upon seeing Chen Feng with red eyes and even a red nose, paused his task and said, “Mommy, you’ve gained another father, and he’s a high-ranking official. You should be happy.”

Chen Feng rolled her eyes in exasperation, leaned against the sandalwood, and sullenly said, “You’re joking. That Chen Shiying has caused my mother so much suffering, I hate him. How could I be happy?” She added, “That old Zhao has already guessed who I am. He’s Old Lady Chen’s clan brother, and he’ll surely tell the Old Lady Chen about my identity when he returns. I don’t know what trouble that Old Lady will bring. It’s better if you stay outside and peck that Old Lady’s face to bits.”

The Golden Swallow retorted, “Mommy, do you think I can just peck anyone I want?”

“Isn’t that the case?” Chen Feng countered.

“Of course not.” The Golden Swallow replied. “I can only peck or even kill when someone attacks me or wants to harm my master. Otherwise, if I harm someone directly, I’ll face consequences. I can’t just reign supreme in the mortal world.”

Chen Feng felt disheartened once more, sighed, and closed her eyes to rest.

Seeing that Chen Feng didn’t want to talk, the Golden Swallow went back to work, his long tail raised.

Feeling it was time to return to Tangyuan, Chen Feng got up and left the space. She was once again full of energy.

At Tangyuan, she led the children through exercises and games before allowing them to play with building blocks.

Returning to Luyuan in the evening, she found grandma Chen, Chen Ye, Mrs. Hu, and Dahua seated in the main room. They had all come to see the commotion after hearing about the new servants from Mrs. Gao.

Chen Ming noticed that Mrs. Wang had been crying and, upon hearing about Zhao Lizheng’s visit, understood her mood, so he didn’t insist on having the visitors stay for dinner.

However, Mrs. Hu was eager to enjoy being served by the new servants. When Chen Ye proposed leaving, she remained seated, insisting, “Your family is now well-off, how can you let your mother and brother’s wife come and not even provide dinner?”

Chen Ming had no choice but to invite them for dinner.

During the meal, everyone sat around the large table in the main room.

Mrs. Hu was still expecting Aunt Mu and her son to serve behind her, but they left after setting the table. She pursed her lips and remarked, “Oh, why didn’t you have the servants serve us? Even after buying servants, you still don’t know how to use them.”