After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

Meng Wan brought Chuan'er and Cai'er to the outer courtyard. Mingfu happily welcomed Meng Wan into the east room of Zhou Yu's study in the outer courtyard.

"The second master hasn't come back yet, and he told me to light the charcoal brazier." Xuefu enthusiastically moved the charcoal brazier in the corner of the room to the middle.

The seventh sister stood timidly behind Cai'er, leaning her head to look at Meng Wan, not daring to come forward.

Meng Wan took off his cloak, sat down, took the tea handed to him by Chuan'er, and waved to his seventh sister.

The seventh sister hid behind Cai'er and said, "What are you afraid of? Didn't I tell you yesterday that this is the second wife, our master, and the best one." Cai'er pulled the seventh sister out.

The seventh sister stood up, staring at the sleeves of her cotton jacket without looking up, and whispered, "This servant has met the Second Madam. The Second Madam is really, really beautiful."

These words made everyone in the room laugh.

Seeing that everyone was laughing, the seventh sister was obviously relieved. She turned around and asked Cai'er, "You said you would bring me a fruit box. Did you bring it?"

"You only know how to eat." Cai'er tapped Seventh Sister's forehead with her finger.

Chuan'er took out the fruit box, put it on the table and opened it, then said with a smile, "You just like to talk about others, as if you have nothing else to say."

Cai Er took out a piece of red candy from the box and handed it to Qi Mei, "You can't blame me, it's because there are so many delicious foods at the end of the year."

Meng Wan looked at Xue Fu and asked, "Second Master said he would invite me to dinner in the outer courtyard today. I wonder what delicious food you have prepared for me?"

Xue Fu said cheerfully, "If you want me to cook, then it must be delicacies from land and sea. Second Master said not to worry about it, he will arrange for Brother Wu, and we just need to light the charcoal basin. If it doesn't suit Second Madam's taste, it's not our fault."

Meng Wan smiled and nodded, "Okay, if it tastes good, I'll pay for it. If it doesn't taste good, you can go find the Second Master, how about that?"

All the maids nodded, and the room was filled with laughter for a while.

Seventh Sister chewed candy and whispered to Cai'er, "Second Madam is so kind. When I was at Junyue Residence, I never saw the Princess or Third Miss talk to us like this."

Cai'er raised her chin proudly, "Of course, when you work under Second Madam, you only need to remember one thing: loyalty. Second Madam will think of the rest for us."

"Xue Fu, the things have been brought back." Wu Hen's voice came from outside.

Meng Wan stood up and walked out first.

Wu Hen was carrying the bag in his hand and was about to go to the bathroom next door when he heard the door creak. He turned around and saw Meng Wan coming out, standing in the corridor, smiling at him.

This was the first time the two had met face to face since Meng Wan had taken care of him.

Wu Hen was stunned for a moment, then he put down the bag in his hand and bowed to Meng Wan, "Greetings, Second Madam."

"Brother Wu, you don't have to be so polite. Last time, on the day of the Little New Year, I always wanted to ask you a question. After all, carrying so much salt to exchange is not an easy job. Can your arms bear it?"

Wu Hen didn't expect Meng Wan to care about these things. His heart warmed and he said softly, "It's okay. A hundred or eighty kilograms is no problem. You just can't do one movement for a long time."

Meng Wan nodded, "You still have to be careful. You don't know how scared I was when I saw the injuries you suffered. I was afraid you would get sick."

When Wu Hen heard her talk about the past, her cold and handsome face was filled with a warm smile, which made people feel amazed. "Second Grandma was really scared back then. But Second Grandma is also a heroine. Anyone facing such a situation would not be able to stay still for a moment, but Second Grandma..." When Wu Hen said this, he realized that there were eight eyes looking at him from behind Meng Wan, and he quickly stopped talking.

"Xuefu, these..." Wu Hen pointed to the bag on the ground and became frugal with his words again.

"Oh, oh, I'll do it, I'll do it." Xue Fu hurried forward and picked up the bag. Cai'er looked at Meng Wan, then at Wu Hen, and followed Xue Fu to the bathroom.

"Oh, I've known Brother Wu for so many years, but this is the first time I've heard him talk so much." Xue Fu said to Cai Er while pouring out the contents of the bag, "It turns out that Second Madam and Brother Wu are old acquaintances."

"Ah? I didn't know they knew each other. Brother Wu doesn't talk much with the Second Master?"

"Not many, at least not when I saw it. Whatever the Second Master arranged, Brother Wu would either say 'yes', 'yes,' or 'OK.'"

Xue Fu looked at the potatoes, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and broad beans on the ground and said with a smile, "How can the Second Master use this to entertain the Second Mistress?"

Cai Er smiled and said, "Second Master and Second Madam never care about what to eat. Haven't you seen them have a bowl of porridge, a piece of cake, and two side dishes for breakfast every day?"

"Ah? So simple." Xue Fu smiled as she cleaned the potatoes. "That's easy. Last time we roasted them, Second Master came back and ate a few bites. He said they were delicious. I'm afraid he wants Second Madam to have a taste."

Cai'er also nodded. She put the chestnuts into the basin and placed it on the table. She looked through the half-open window and saw Meng Wan still standing there talking to Wu Hen.

"Second Master wants to grill meat for Second Madam. I wanted to go to the mountain to hunt two pheasants, but the road out of the city is too far, so I had to buy them on the street. I also got some roe deer meat a few days ago. I wonder if Second Madam likes it?"

Meng Wan smiled and said, "I like it. I'm not picky, and I especially like grilled food. It's a pity that Brother Wu has to worry about me. The snow on the mountain is thick now, so it's right not to go."

Wu Hen blushed and said, "It's not worth much. I'll go back when I have some free time. It still tastes delicious when it's fresh."

Over there, Mingfu pushed the door open and came in. Zhou Yu followed behind him and smiled at Meng Wan, "When did you come? Why are you standing in the corridor? Aren't you cold?"

Meng Wan watched Zhou Yu walk up to her and gently brushed away the snowflakes on his shoulders with her hand. "It's so cold today and you don't even wear a cloak." She said angrily.

"It's not far, just a little thing to do." Zhou Yu smiled, "Wu Hen, did you get the things back?"

"Yes, Xuefu and Cai'er went to clean up."

"Well, Mingfu, take Mingxi to cut the meat. Wu Hen, go get the jar of wine that Uncle Qi dug up last time. Let's have a good time today."

Meng Wan happily took Zhou Yu's arm and said, "Great, so you want to treat me to a feast of barbecue. I thought it was some kind of delicacies from the land and the sea!"

"Don't underestimate this barbecue. Not everyone can eat the meat cooked by Wu Hen."

"Brother Wu?" Meng Wan turned her head away. She didn't know Wu Hen had this ability.

Wu Hen stood there, looking at the backs of the two of them, with an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. Seeing Meng Wan turn around, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly unnaturally, and hurried to the west wing. After walking a few steps, he stopped, thought for a moment, and turned around to walk to the east wing.

Meng Wan had never seen Wu Hen like this before. He looked like a kid, at a loss, and chuckled. Zhou Yu turned around to see, "What's wrong?"

"No, since you said so, I will give you a good evaluation later to see if you are exaggerating."

"Don't worry, I won't let you down. Last time, Master Lin, no, it was Prince Rui who also ate it once. It tasted better than the one cooked by the royal chef in Zanbi Palace."

Meng Wan heard Zhou Yu mention King Rui and thought for a moment before saying, "When did King Rui allow you to tell me his identity?"

"I don't know the details, but after Mr. Song brought Mrs. Song to meet you, I knew this was a prelude, and it turned out to be true. Qing'er, you don't blame me for not telling you, right?"

"Why do you keep dwelling on this? I told you, I don't blame you. This is not a trivial matter. If I had known that Master Lin was Prince Rui, based on the cunning of Prince Rui and Lord Song, they would have discovered something that day, which would have an impact on both you and your brother-in-law. The heart of an emperor has always been unpredictable, and the same is true for the princes."

Zhou Yu nodded, "You are right. People in Beijing say that Prince Rui is the most silent, easy-going, and non-confrontational person. I didn't know his identity before, and I really felt this way when I didn't have much contact with him. But now I don't think so. I thought about what you said that night. Even for the position of the prince of our county palace, Hu Shi could spend so much effort, let alone that position."

Meng Wan and Zhou Yu looked at each other. That's right. This Prince Rui was definitely not what he appeared to be. He was helping the prince, but if the prince didn't have an heir, then everything would be uncertain.

Meng Wan thought of Meng Qi, the wife of the Rui Prince, and wanted to ask her whether the Rui Prince had ever sat in that position in his previous life. With her current status and position in the Rui Prince's Mansion, had she become the most noble woman in the world?

The two stood by the window. Meng Wan leaned her head gently on Zhou Yu's shoulder, watching everyone busy in the yard.

Mingfu was lighting a fire in the corridor, and the smoke made Qimei cough continuously. She was dissatisfied and wanted to pull Mingfu's ears.

Mingxi placed the prepared ingredients on the rack next to the charcoal stove.

Cai'er followed behind Wu Hen, handing him the seasonings, the skewer, and then taking the ingredients Wu Hen had prepared to the shelf.

Xuefu and Chuan'er were roasting potatoes and sweet potatoes on another stove. When the chestnuts burst, Chuan'er hid in Xuefu's arms, and everyone laughed.

"That's great. I wish we could do this in Qinghe Garden someday." Meng Wan said softly.

Zhou Yu patted Meng Wan's hand that was in his arm and said, "Don't worry, it won't be long. You can go to the courtyard of Junyueju when the time comes."

Meng Wan chuckled, "Will Third Aunt and Cousin Jun come to have New Year's Eve dinner together?"

"Yes, it's the Zhou family's ancestral precept. My grandfather specifically mentioned this before he passed away. As long as my father is alive, we should be together on important holidays. But they will go back home after the reunion dinner, and they will stay up at their own homes at night to celebrate the New Year."

Meng Wan nodded, "I understand. Is there anything else you want to tell me about Third Aunt's situation and hobbies?"

"No, I have told you almost everything I should. If there is any discrepancy, I don't know about it. As for my cousin's wife, you just need to grasp those few points and don't let Mrs. Xie scold her."