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

Seeing that her mother was actually going to take matters into her own hands, Lu Ruyi smiled smugly, following behind Li Shi with a look of glee. Compared to her, Lu Jinxiu looked more like an ordinary maid, her head bowed and eyes lowered, not daring to say a word.

Madam Li, adopting the airs of the matriarch, led a large group of people in a grand procession from the east courtyard straight to the west courtyard. This commotion not only reached the people in the front courtyard, but also Lu Haoyu.

He frowned, inwardly cursing what his mother and sister were up to now, but on the surface he had to maintain a nonchalant demeanor and appease his two brothers-in-law.

"It's alright, maybe Mother has something she wants to tell my younger sister."

Thinking of the dashing woman in red, Gao Zhongbao's eyes flickered, and he asked with concern, "Won't something happen to them?"

Lu Haoyu chuckled awkwardly, "No, no, my three younger sisters grew up together and are all gentle and virtuous. There's no need to worry."

puff-

Li Rong burst out laughing: "You might be able to fool outsiders with this, but don't tell me such jokes!"

I was afraid to tell you this before because I didn't want you to get angry, but I've never liked overly arrogant women like my eldest cousin. My second cousin is much better.

This older cousin, of course, refers to Lu Ruyi.

He seemed to only then remember that Gao Zhongbao was present, and teased, "Of course, Brother Gao is different from me. After all, he is the person my cousin has been longing for, so naturally he is considerate and gentle, unlike how unruly he is in front of me."

Gao Zhongbao initially felt uneasy, but as he listened, he became somewhat elated. Recalling Lu Ruyi's passion every night, he even thought that perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing if it were Lu Ruyi instead.

Although things have taken a roundabout route, Lu Huan is still ultimately a member of the Gao family. If he needs something from her in the future, does she really think she can refuse him?

Gao Zhongbao was making plans in his mind, but what he didn't know was that Lu Huan was about to steal Gao Yan away.

On the other side, Li walked past Shi Gu with her head held high. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Lu Huan burning paper money inside, which made her scalp tingle.

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke: "Huan'er, on such a joyous day, why are you burning paper money inside the house?"

Lu Huan frowned slightly; she sensed that something was off about Li Shi's condition.

She waved a stack of Xuan paper in her hand and explained, "This is not paper money."

Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief, forced a smile, and asked, "Huan'er, why did you send all the maids out of your courtyard?"

Lu Huan didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to burn paper money one sheet at a time.

“I’m getting married, and I can’t take my family with me. What’s the point of keeping so many people around? It’s better to send them back to their parents. Those who are meant to be married off can be married off, and the younger ones can go to other courtyards. That way, we won’t waste their monthly allowances.”

"The Lu family isn't so poor that they can't afford to support these ten or so maids..."

Before Li could finish speaking, Lu Huan stood up, handed the Xuan paper in her hand to Gao Yan, and said indifferently, "So this is how a stepmother manages the household? No wonder they're already so disrespectful after only two days of marriage!"

Lu Ruyi had originally wanted to wait and see her mother dominate the scene, pin Lu Huan to the ground and slap him, and then find the eight thousand taels of silver notes, but she didn't expect to be met with Lu Huan's accusations instead.

She took two steps forward, glaring at Lu Huan: "How dare you speak to my mother like that!"

"On what grounds? Because you and your daughter dared to engage in a marriage swap!"

"Then...didn't you say it was an accident?"

"Oh? So you're admitting that your mother is incompetent in managing the household, and that we could get into the wrong bridal sedan chairs even though our courtyards are so far apart?"

Lu Huan walked up to Lu Ruyi with great interest and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I'm very curious, is Gao Zhongbao too charming, or is there something shady going on in the Li family that makes even a cousin like you unwilling to marry into the family?"

"What filth is there! Don't talk nonsense! Lu Huan, do you know something?!" Lu Ruyi screamed as if her fingers had been cut off.

Lu Huan frowned and quickly covered her ears: "Tsk, so noisy!"

Li pulled Lu Ruyi back into her arms and shouted, "Lu Huan! Ruyi is your sister! How could you treat her like this!"

Did you say something?! How did Ruyi become like this again?!

Lu Huan shrugged helplessly: "Don't talk nonsense, I didn't say anything."

Madam Li placed Lu Ruyi in Lu Jinxiu's arms and walked up to Lu Huan: "Things have developed to this point, so my daughter and I are simply outmatched. Please, have mercy and let this matter rest."

As for the eight thousand taels of silver notes, that was my personal savings; please return it to me.

A mocking smile appeared on Lu Huan's face, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "That's more like it. Just state your real purpose directly. Why bother using the excuse of caring about me and going through all that trouble?"

"So you're agreeing?"

Just as a glimmer of relief rose in Li's heart, it was shattered by Lu Huan's next words.

"Unfortunately, I've already used that money to buy a shop. After deed tax, I only have a little over a thousand taels left."

"how come……"

"So fast? Yes, the head steward of the Prince of Yan's mansion personally accompanied me. Do you think the people in the government office would dare to neglect me?"

Lu Huan smiled broadly, a smile that truly came from the heart.

Yes, with someone from the Prince's Mansion involved, even if the minor officials in the government office wanted to delay or inform Li Shi, it would be too late.

All her years of planning ultimately failed.

She insisted again, unwilling to give up, "That's my money!"

"Your money?" Lu Huan seemed to have heard a huge joke. "Don't forget, when you first entered the Lu family, you were carried in a sedan chair, with only a bundle as your personal belongings. Everything you have now comes from the Lu family. What part of it truly belongs to you?"

Just then, Lu Jinxiu's exclamation came from behind Li Shi: "Mother! Second Sister has fainted!"

The maids brought by Madam Li were also thrown into a panic, and behind them, Lu Chengde had already appeared.

But by then, Madam Li had no time to spare for him; she directed the maids to lift Lu Ruyi up. The group arrived suddenly and left even faster.

Only Lu Chengde remained, standing by the courtyard gate with a complicated expression.

"Father, what brings you here?" Lu Huan pretended not to see the expression on his face.

“I heard from the head steward that you plan to send all the maids in the courtyard away.”

"That's right, otherwise, the monthly allowance for these maids alone would cost a lot."

The two head maids, Xiangqiao and Lümei, each received two taels of silver per month, while the other maids received one tael. That adds up to twenty taels of silver per month, and over two hundred taels per year. That's equivalent to a shop's monthly profit!

This doesn't even include their clothing for all four seasons and other expenses.

Lu Chengde was startled.

Previously, the Lu family's backyard was managed by Li Shi, and he rarely inquired about it. He never expected that there was such a large profit to be made there.

As far as he knew, ordinary servants didn't earn that much per month!

More than two hundred taels a year, plus living expenses, wouldn't it be three hundred taels? In ten years, that's four thousand taels.

No wonder Madam Li repeatedly emphasized that the eight thousand taels of silver were hers. So that's how it was—she painstakingly scraped together the money from the household expenses!

He worked himself to the bone outside to earn money, while Li embezzled from the inner quarters!