Chapter 193 - 192: Stay Away from That Woman
The next day, the family got up early at dawn. After breakfast, everyone dressed neatly.
Afu and Dabao were dressed in round, plump clothes, with little jackets inside, and thick cotton robes on the outside. Chen Afu specifically wore a small cotton vest to protect his chest, with a pea-green fine-cloth cotton coat on top, a dark green horse-faced skirt, and a warm ear cover. This was her thickest outfit, which kept her warm and comfortable.
Mrs. Wang specifically gave Chen Afu fifty taels of silver, and Chen Afu also took out fifty taels of silver, to provide oil money for the temple.
At 9 a.m., a carriage arrived at the entrance of Lu Garden. Chen Afu, carrying two lunch boxes, helped Afu and Dabao into the carriage.
When the carriage returned to the entrance of Tang Garden, they were asked to get off, and Chen Afu and her children were ushered onto a second exquisite yew wood carriage, in which Chu Hanyan was seated. Because Mrs. Song was also in there and the carriage could only accommodate four people, Alu was asked to get onto the first carriage, where Mr. Chu was seated.
Chu Lingxuan was riding on a horse. In seeing Chen Afu wearing only a thin cotton vest, which looked even thinner and more delicate in the morning breeze, he beckoned Mrs. Wei over and whispered a few instructions to her. Mrs. Wei nodded and hurried into Tang Garden.
At that moment, two birds appeared in the sky, squawking as they hovered low.
Dabao and Yan’er both exclaimed in unison, "Qi Qi, Hui Hui." Then, with joyful expressions, they lifted the curtains to look out.
The two birds, who usually followed Chen Afu like shadows, had been told not to chase the carriage when they were at home, and although they listened at the time, they had now followed.
The Marquis Chu burst into laughter and lifted the curtain to call them in.