Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 520: Miss, Miss, Something’s Wrong—Ninth Madam Has Taken Away the Young Master
"Finished?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo widened his eyes. How come he didn’t remember such a thing.
"Erlang, you forgot? Right when you had just taken Yu State and hadn’t returned to Qingzhou, the people from the village and Xiaolu’s father went up the mountain to do it. I remember mentioning it to you," Han Anniang slowly remarked.
As it turned out, with Chen Mo’s power growing, and his influence becoming ever more prominent, some things didn’t require him to even open his mouth or hint at; others would handle them for him.
At that time, when Zhang Fusheng’s mother went up the mountain to sweep the tombs, she found that the area around the ancestors’ graves of Chen Mo was overgrown with weeds and extremely simple and "shabby." So upon returning, she mentioned it to the villagers.
Following Chen Mo, the villagers’ living conditions improved significantly, and they felt grateful. Thus, they voluntarily organized to repair Chen Mo’s ancestral graves, though they lacked the funds. Repairing graves wasn’t a small expense, and a simple refurbishment felt too "perfunctory," so they hadn’t started.
Later, the matter came to the attention of the noble clans Wang and Yi in the county as well as some merchants, who voluntarily sent money and materials for grave repairing. After all, why would they miss such a good opportunity to curry favor with Chen Mo?
If it weren’t for the fact that Chen Mo was in Yu State at the time, and that some matters required his personal return to handle, they even planned to build a Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in the Marquis of Pingting County.
Thanks to Han Anniang’s reminder, Chen Mo recalled that after he ordered the issuance of the call to arms against the Longyou Yuezhi Clan, he immediately launched a surprise attack on Linzhou, and thus this matter faded from his mind.
"Erlang, not only that, but the old house in our village has been rebuilt into a new one, much larger than the old house, funded by the Yi and Wang families," Han Anniang explained.
Chen Mo: "..."
"This matter, An Niang, you should have reminded me about it after I returned," Chen Mo said.
"At the time, Erlang, you were busy with great affairs; how could I interfere with such trivial matters? I have thanked the Wang and Yi families and those who assisted back then," Han Anniang replied.
Consequently, Chen Mo couldn’t help but lament that power truly is a wonderful thing.
If he were a poor fellow, others might not even glance his way, let alone assist him in dealing with these affairs of his predecessors.
"Ancestral Hall..."
Chen Mo muttered and then said, "I remember our family doesn’t have a genealogy, so how is the ancestral hall to be built?"
In Fu Ze Village, it’s not just his family; generally, impoverished families don’t have genealogies.
"Our family indeed has no genealogy, but Lord Geng once told me that the government office has our household registration records, which can be traced back to your great-grandfather’s generation. Moreover, Zhiqing also mentioned to me that if we have no genealogy and others aren’t clear about it, we could claim kinship with a historical figure from hundreds or thousands of years ago," Han Anniang said.
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo thought of the likes of Li Yuan and Li Shimin, who revered Li Er as their forebear.
Liu Bei also claimed to be a descendant of the Great Han, a descendant of Emperor Jing of Han’s son, King Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Sheng, although whether or not that’s true is unproven by historians.
Not only Li Shimin, Liu Bei, but throughout history, anyone who accomplished something liked to claim a famous figure as their ancestor.
"There’s no need for kinship claims. If there’s indeed a need to build an ancestral hall and compile a genealogy, start from the generation of the traceable great-grandfather."
Saying this, Chen Mo recalled a saying: No one can resist the allure of a newly opened clan register.
"Erlang is now a person of status; it’s time to build an ancestral hall and genealogy. Otherwise, outsiders might think we are a small family," Han Anniang said.
"Let’s compile the genealogy first; we’ll talk about the ancestral hall when we have time."
Saying this, Chen Mo sat down by the bed, pulling Han Anniang close to him, gently rubbing her bulging stomach, "Is the baby restless?"
"Previously, the baby was quite restless, but ever since Erlang returned today, it has calmed," Han Anniang replied, her well-matured face blushing as she leaned against Chen Mo’s embrace.
"An Niang..."
Chen Mo softly called out.
Han Anniang raised her eyebrows slightly, lifting her head, only to see Chen Mo leaning closer, a familiar warmth approaching.
Han Anniang let out a soft nasal sound, quickly closing her eyes, her cheeks blushing even redder.
The saying goes: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Han Anniang too longed for closeness with Chen Mo.
After a while of embracing and kissing, her captivating eyes became misty, showing some signs of longing. During a brief pause for breath, she spoke with sultry eyes, "Erlang..."
Chen Mo lightly teased, "Only a few months apart, and An Niang has gained some weight."
Han Anniang’s body was warm, her cheeks blushing, her voice trembling slightly; she clearly knew the true meaning of his words, and replied, "Erlang, please do not make fun of me."
"I wasn’t joking," Chen Mo said, looking at Han Anniang’s pregnant belly, "Child, you are blessed. You won’t go hungry no matter what."
Han Anniang’s body reacted as if shocked, her eyes becoming even mistier. Seeing Chen Mo’s increasingly excessive actions, she quickly grasped his wrist, suddenly saying in a subdued voice: "Erlang, my condition is inconvenient, and I might not be able to serve you tonight. Please do not tease me, go to Xiaolu instead."
"No rush, let me be with you a bit longer," Chen Mo gently stroked her cheek, his mind forgetting all worldly matters, indulging in the moment.
Pregnant women are often sleepy, and after a quarter of an hour seeing Han Anniang gradually getting sleepy and lying down, Chen Mo left.
...
After leaving Han Anniang’s chamber, Chen Mo headed towards Yi Shiyin’s room.
Upon reaching the corridor corner leading to Yi Shiyin’s residence, he saw a tall, graceful figure standing with her hands covering, staring at the moonless night sky.
"Juan’Er?"
The corner was where light met darkness, creating a visual blind spot. Chu Juan stood there wearing a pale green long dress with a white cloak draped over her shoulders. The cold wind blew against her face. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Husband." Hearing the voice, Chu Juan turned her head with a look of joy.
"It’s such a cold day, Juan’Er, why aren’t you sleeping, standing out here?" Chen Mo walked forward, holding Chu Juan’s hands, and remarked, "They’re ice cold."
"Couldn’t sleep... came out for a walk."
Chu Juan naturally wouldn’t say she was waiting specifically for him.
After all, if it was according to the order and sequence, she might not have her turn tonight.
Chen Mo wasn’t a fool and knew she had something to say to him; after all, her courtyard and Xiaolu’s were not in the same direction, and their relationship wasn’t particularly good. By habitual thinking, if she couldn’t sleep and came out for a walk, she would only stroll around familiar places.
He didn’t expose her and said, "Actually, I was about to go to you. It’s cold outside; let me walk you back."
This matched Chu Juan’s intentions, and she nodded softly.
As the two walked away, Yi Shiyin’s maid Xiaoling came out from Yi Shiyin’s courtyard and saw them. She had already seen Chu Juan earlier when she came by; Chu Juan had claimed just to be walking around. But now, seeing Chu Juan and Chen Mo leaving together, she immediately understood something.
She hurriedly turned back inside the room and exclaimed, "Miss, miss, it’s not good, Ninth Madam has stolen the young master away!"
