She got pregnant after the swap marriage, and the scumbag's family regretted it so much they cr

Zhou slammed the door shut with a stern face, and felt annoyed as she looked at Lu Huan, who was standing timidly to the side.

"Weren't you quite the talker before, relying on the power of the Prince's Mansion? How come you're mute now?"

Lu Huan smiled apologetically: "These are all elders, and there are so many of them. If each of them spits at me, I could drown. How could I possibly win? I need you, Mother-in-law, to step in!"

Mother-in-law, these two pieces of fabric are for you and Father-in-law to make clothes. And this bolt of cloth is perfect for making undergarments. Father-in-law's undergarments will be most comfortable and cozy if you make them for him!

Zhou felt much better after being soothed, but she still couldn't resist finding fault: "Why didn't you buy ready-made clothes? Do you expect me, your mother-in-law, to make them myself?"

"I don't know my mother-in-law's size! If I buy the wrong size, Ni Chang Ge (the clothing store) won't accept returns!"

Both of them selectively ignored the fact that on the second day of the wedding, they would have to serve tea, give shoes to the parents-in-law, and present gifts.

Zhou had always ignored Gao Yan and hadn't thought of him; as for Lu Huan, he simply didn't want to.

The fact that he knelt before Zhou Shi again during the wedding ceremony was already considered giving her face.

Want to receive another courtesy during the tea ceremony? Don't even think about it!

Moreover, Lu Huan also intended to use these small incidents to provoke Gao Yan. If her husband could completely side with her, she wouldn't necessarily demand a memorial arch for his chastity.

Thinking this through, Lu Huan added, "Besides, don't I have my younger brother and sister-in-law? How could I possibly steal their thunder?"

He gave He a wink, signaling her to escort Zhou back to the backyard.

Outside the courtyard, Gao Yan patted Gao Chengyi on the shoulder apologetically: "I'm sorry, I couldn't invite you in for a seat. I'll treat you to a meal in town another day!"

Gao Chengyi gave Gao Yan a thumbs up: "You're a completely different person now that you're married. Even your tone of voice is much more confident. No need, I should be the one treating you! I'll ask you about the militia training after you're done with this busy period!"

Gao Yan hadn't expected him to remember this matter, so he figured he must be serious. He couldn't help but give him a few more words of advice: "You should still talk to your fourth uncle and fourth aunt about this. You absolutely can't make a decision first and then inform them later!"

Don't worry, brother!

After seeing Gao Chengyi off, Gao Yan went to the clan chief's house to return the mule cart, and also brought back his marriage certificate with Lu Huan, as well as Lu Huan's new household registration.

The clan chief forcefully stuffed the remaining one or two taels of silver into Gao Yan's hand: "Go back and have a good talk with your wife. A couple can't live like this, so extravagantly. They need to be careful with their money and live frugally!"

You must also work hard and never let outsiders say that any son of the Gao family is a freeloader!

Gao Yan gave a wry smile. Having witnessed Lu Huan buy five shops in one go, he knew it wouldn't be easy for him to shake off that label. However, he didn't say anything. He had a feeling that Lu Huan letting him know about this might be a test.

He assured her, "Uncle, I will try my best!"

After leaving the clan chief's house, Gao Yan glanced at the Gao family's ancestral home not far away. His eyes flickered, and he walked eastward without looking back.

Back at the Gao family home, the kitchen was already bustling with activity.

As soon as Gao Yan entered the courtyard, he heard Zhou's voice.

"Hey! Wash these vegetables more thoroughly! Use less rice! Use less oil!"

Recalling what Lu Huan had said, he paused briefly before turning and walking into the west wing.

At this moment, Lu Huan was busy inside the house. The men's clothing that had previously covered the entire heated kang had been neatly packed into a large bundle, and there were also many local artifacts placed next to it. Gao Yan recognized them at a glance as items collected from the village.

In her previous life, when Lu Huan returned to her parents' home, the Gao family didn't offer any gifts. She had to ask someone to go to the city and buy a lot of things, otherwise she might have returned empty-handed.

Even so, Li showed no dissatisfaction. However, afterwards, the Lu family acted as if they had never had this daughter again. It wasn't until the Lu family learned that the entire Gaojia Village was preparing to flee south that they followed.

This time, Lu Huan didn't plan to give anything expensive. He spent less than two taels of silver to buy a few pounds of dried mushrooms and four small jars of pickled vegetables from the village.

Li knew all too well what kind of situation the Gao family was in, and Lu Huan didn't care at all what Lu Chengde would think.

Gao Yan looked at the familiar jars and asked, "These aren't pickled vegetables that Fourth Aunt made, are they?"

"How clever!" Lu Huan smiled and patted the vegetable jar. "My dad doesn't lack anything, so sending him a little something is just a token of his appreciation."

Originally, the return gift should have been prepared by the Gao couple, but they pretended it wasn't, so what could Lu Huan do? She could only make do with whatever was available, since it wasn't her who would be embarrassed.

Gao Yan tried to persuade her for a while, but Lu Huan did not change her mind. Instead, she was ordered around to move the large wooden boxes that had been placed in the next room to the side of the canopy bed so that it would be easier for her to access her things.

The marriage certificate and household registration that Gao Yan had brought back were also pretended to be locked inside by Lu Huan. Of course, this was only on the surface.

Lu Huan also found a good use for the wooden box she bought for clothes today—the flatter ones could be used to store dried mushrooms, while the deeper ones could be used to store pickle jars.

Imagining Lu Chengde and Li Shi's reactions upon seeing these wooden boxes, Lu Huan couldn't help but laugh.

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner.

Dinner was prepared by Zhou Shi overseeing He Shi, and it tasted pretty good, though the presentation was much more refined than Gao Yan's.

Zhou Shi also experienced the joy of having servants to serve her again after a long time. She also put on airs as a mother-in-law and asked Lu Huan to come to her side to serve her food.

Looking at Lu Huan's submissive demeanor, Lu Ruyi couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile.

But her smugness didn't last long. Soon, Zhou Shi got angry: "Why do you keep giving me dishes that I don't like to eat!"

Lu Huan knew perfectly well that she was doing it on purpose. However, she didn't make it too obvious; she would just serve Zhou a dish she didn't like every two or three times. But that was enough to disgust Zhou.

She was secretly pleased, but outwardly admitted her mistake with a good attitude: "Mother-in-law, I... I'll pick it out for you right away!"

"Alright, alright! Zhongbao's wife, come here!"

Lu Ruyi's smile froze; she hadn't expected retribution to come so quickly.

She glanced at Gao Zhongbao with a worried expression, but the latter showed no intention of helping her at all, continuing to eat without offering her a single comforting look.

But Zhou caught her reluctance on her face: "What's wrong? You're so unwilling to serve your mother-in-law? Otherwise, Zhongbao will send you back to the Lu family tomorrow!"

Even though Lu Ruyi was unwilling, she could only obediently put down her chopsticks and stand up.

She didn't know Zhou's likes or dislikes and could only guess, but by sheer luck, she avoided the trigger.

Zhou's complexion improved considerably. Looking at Lu Huan, she recalled the pile of things they had bought when they returned.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, how much silver did you spend today?"

Lu Huan thought to himself: Here it comes.

She swallowed the food in her mouth slowly and replied, "It cost a total of more than two thousand taels."

"What did you say?" Zhou's eyes widened.

You should know that the entire Gao family currently has less than a thousand taels of silver at their disposal, and this spendthrift wife has spent more than two thousand taels in one go.

Zhou choked on her breath and couldn't swallow, so she could only pat her chest vigorously.

After catching his breath for a while, he shouted, "That pile of junk is worth two thousand taels? Who are you trying to fool!"