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

In the midst of their intimate moments, Lu Ruyi couldn't resist whispering in his ear: "Brother Zhongbao, among the scholars who have passed the imperial examinations over the years, the majority are from the south."

Why don't you go and seek refuge with your aunt, and have her send you to the Jinling Prefectural School? Then you can come back and take the provincial examination; wouldn't that give you a huge advantage?"

Gao Zhongbao's lips curled into a wicked smile, and he deliberately twisted around, provoking Lu Ruyi to giggle repeatedly: "What's wrong? Didn't you say you couldn't bear to part with your husband? Why are you daydreaming at a time like this?"

Lu Ruyi's emotions fluctuated for a while before she regained her composure.

"Brother Zhongbao! I have something important to tell you!"

Gao Zhongbao pinched her rosy cheeks: "I know what I'm doing. Now, all you need to do is try to please me!"

"Giggle giggle—" Lu Ruyi's coquettish laughter reached outside the window.

Zhou's face turned ashen. She covered Gao Manting's ears and led her away from the east wing where Gao Zhongbao was staying.

"Mother! Mother, let go!" Gao Manting struggled, but Zhou's hands held her firmly like two iron clamps. "Mother! You're hurting me!"

Zhou held Gao Manting's hand until they returned to the side room where Gao Manting lived before letting go.

Gao Manting rubbed her arm, which had been pinched so hard, and secretly glanced at Zhou Shi's expression: "Mother, my brother and sister-in-law have a good relationship, isn't that great? I can have a little nephew or niece soon, don't you want a grandson?"

Zhou's ugly expression softened a little, and she gritted her teeth and asked, "Tell me honestly, who invited you to the Lu family before?"

Gao Manting turned her face away guiltily: "It wasn't my sister-in-law who invited me, it was Aunt Li..."

“What kind of aunt is she! She’s just a concubine who’s been promoted to the rank of wife! Only a merchant family like the Lu family would do something so outrageous!” Zhou patted her chest.

Her heart ached terribly. How could she have been so blinded by greed? Whether Lu Huan entered the Gao family or not was none of her business, Lu Ruyi's business. How could she have been so foolish!

"Mother, please don't do this, I'm scared!" Gao Manting silently took a small step back, moving further away from Zhou Shi.

By then, it was too late for Zhou to regret her decision: the marriage contract had been signed, Lu Ruyi had not committed any serious offense, and the Lu family had some influence in Yanjing City. The Gao family really couldn't just divorce Lu Ruyi on a whim.

But if you go to Jinling...

Now, even the Zhou family began to seriously consider the feasibility of this matter.

The next day, while it was still gray outside the window, a soft knocking sound came from inside.

"Master, it's time to get up!"

Lu Huan suddenly opened his eyes and found himself wrapped around Gao Yan like a vine. Behind him was the kang cabinet.

No wonder she chased the stove all night in her dream; it turns out that stove was Gao Yan.

Lu Huan's face was getting hot from the warmth of the quilt, and she couldn't help but let go of his hand and move away from the heated kang.

Before they could move very far, Gao Yan pulled Lu Huan back, his large hand rhythmically patting her back.

Lu Huan instantly succumbed to this comfort, but then He Niang's voice rang out again: "Master, it'll be too late if you don't get up soon!"

The couple opened their eyes at the same time.

"It's already this late, and it's still not dawn!"

"Yes, I heard from the clan chief that it might snow in the next few days."

The two changed the subject, but quite simultaneously released each other's hands.

Lu Huan then noticed the bruises under Gao Yan's eyes: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Gao Yan recalled someone's indiscretion last night and coughed lightly: "No, it's just that the kang (heated brick bed) is too warm, and it's a bit too hot to sleep."

"Why don't you go back to bed and sleep? You don't need to stay with me..."

"That won't do!" Gao Yan interrupted her loudly.

"Um..." Lu Huan forced a change of topic, "What did the clan leader say?"

"The clan chief told those who were willing to learn charcoal making to start learning first. However, in the end, some of the charcoal would have to be given to those who were unwilling to learn."

Speaking of this matter, Gao Yan was also quite helpless. It was clearly a decision made jointly by the clan chief and several elders, but there were always a few households that were unwilling to cooperate, and they even incited other villagers to waver as well.

This reminded Lu Huan of a time when he was fleeing from disaster in his previous life. There were a few bad apples who didn't listen to the clan leader's arrangements and ended up not only harming themselves but also dragging down other people in the village.

"Never mind, even the ten fingers are not all the same length, how can we expect everyone to be the same? I just hope they won't take their anger out on you and the clan leader."

After the two finished washing up and having breakfast, there was no sound from the backyard.

At this moment, Shi Gu sneakily leaned close to Gao Yan's ear and whispered, "My dad was on night watch last night, and he suffered a lot. He had to call for water twice in the backyard! The second time, it went on until the very end of midnight, hehe!"

Gao Yan put on a stern face: "Don't say things like that in front of your boss!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

In fact, after drinking from the spiritual spring, Lu Huan's five senses became much more acute. But since Gao Yan didn't want her to hear it, she pretended not to know.

Holding the box of pearls, she instructed Shi Gu, "What are you still standing there for? Grab those boxes on the table, let's go."

After entering the city, the three of them each drank a bowl of hot mutton soup on the street before heading towards the Prince of Yan's residence.

Gao Yan touched Lu Huan's slightly cool hand and complained, "I told you to drink in the car, why didn't you listen and get out?"

Lu Huan rubbed her hands together; they weren't as cold as before. She joked, "Drinking mutton soup in the carriage, wouldn't the whole carriage smell like mutton soup, and you'd be covered in the smell?"

Gao Yan's eyes dimmed: "It's all my fault for being useless, that you had to run around like this."

It's a pity I'm too old to enter the academy. Otherwise, I could have joined the garrison and become a captain.

Lu Huan grasped his hand, lifted the curtain of the carriage window, looked outside, and only after confirming that no one was around did she say to him, "You must not act rashly. You heard what Lu Ruyi said yesterday. She is currently urging her mother-in-law to move the whole family to Jinling. You must not cause any trouble at this time!"

"What do you mean? Even if I go to the garrison, they can leave. Then we can stay and live our own lives." Gao Yan secretly observed the expression on Lu Huan's face and probed, "Do you also want to go south? Aren't you reluctant to leave your second brother?"

Lu Huan glared at Gao Yan fiercely, then reached out and pinched his handsome face, twisting it out of shape before letting him go.

"You said I don't trust you, but you don't trust me either! Don't mention that hypocrite in front of me, it makes me sick just thinking about him!"

Gao Yan was tormented by Lu Huan for quite a while, but he wasn't angry at all; instead, he started grinning foolishly.

Lu Huan glared at him angrily: "What are you laughing at! Am I that funny?"

Seeing that his wife was truly angry, Gao Yan suppressed his smile and promised, "I won't mention him again. But honey, what are you planning to do? Tell me. We're family, so you can't hide anything from me!"

They were still some distance from the Prince of Yan's residence when Lu Huan leaned close to Gao Yan's ear and said, "Actually, there are pros and cons to going to Jinling or not. Last time, the Prince of Yan asked me what reward I wanted, and said he could send you to the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Yanjing."

Gao Yan's face showed no joy: "I can get into Yanjing Guard on my own!"