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

Lu Huan glared at him: "Why are you being so stubborn!"

They wanted to get to the bottom of things with Gao Yan, but both of them felt the mule cart gradually slowing down until it finally stopped.

Lu Huan asked through the carriage curtain, "Shigu, are we almost there?"

"Yes, boss!"

Lu Huan glared at Gao Yan again, then picked up the wooden box beside her: "I'll argue with you after I get out!"

Gao Yan touched his nose, then carried the remaining wooden boxes and followed behind her.

The side gate of the Prince's Mansion slowly closed. Gao Yan looked at the gate, which was about the same width as the main gate of the Lu family, and his eyes flickered as he recalled the boy he had met last time.

When he went to town to buy a mule cart, he also took the opportunity to inquire about the Prince's Mansion.

In the Prince's mansion, the only one of similar age to the boy I met last time was the heir of the Prince of Yan's mansion.

If I really had a connection with the royal family, how could I have ended up in the suburbs of Yanjing and been picked up by Gao Shangzhi and his wife?

Unable to figure it out, Gao Yan stopped torturing himself and called to Shi Gu. The two of them then crawled into the mule cart to warm up.

On the other hand, Lu Huan did not forget his place just because this was his third time entering the Prince's mansion; on the contrary, he became even more cautious.

No matter what he heard, he kept his head down, only looking at the three-foot square area in front of him.

Just as they were walking through a covered walkway and about to enter the moon gate, a sweet, delicate female voice came from the right.

"Oh! Zijing, who is this? It's an honor to have you come out to greet me personally."

Zijing gave a slight bow: "Greetings, Consort Dong."

"Get up! You haven't said who this is yet! You, raise your head!" the woman's voice persisted.

Lu Huan slightly raised her face, but still looked down at the ground.

giggle-

Consort Dong covered her mouth and laughed: "She's quite pretty. Whose wife is she? Her manners are so impeccable. I've never seen her like this before. Strange, I've never heard of any new official's wife in Yanjing."

"Your Majesty, I am not a member of any official's family. I have only come to express my gratitude for the help I received from the Princess Consort."

"Oh! I see!" Consort Dong exclaimed as if suddenly realizing something. "I heard that my sister has acquired eighteen new pearls; you must have presented them to her!"

Consort Dong's eyes were fixed on the wooden box in Lu Huan's hand, her gaze intense.

So they came for the pearls too.

Lu Huan understood, and knelt down holding the wooden box, protecting it under his body as he kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, it was indeed this humble woman who offered it. I have come today to offer all the remaining pearls in my home to Your Highness."

Consort Dong had originally intended to take a portion of it, and she figured this lowly commoner wouldn't dare refuse. Even if the prince investigated later, she could easily get away with the excuse that she "didn't know it was for the princess."

Unexpectedly, this woman was incredibly cunning, stating directly that she wanted to give everything to the prince. She even protected him with her own body, making it difficult for the prince to send anyone forward to check.

Consort Dong glared at the person on the ground, snorted coldly, and with a flick of her sleeve, went back to the backyard.

Only when the footsteps faded into the distance and could no longer be heard did Lu Huan stand up from the ground.

Zijing looked at her with a very complicated expression.

Because Consort Dong and the Princess Consort were always as close as sisters, and even the Crown Prince was quite fond of her.

Therefore, although all the women in the inner courtyard were equally unfavored, they would still treat Consort Dong somewhat leniently out of respect for the Princess.

However, Lu Huan's attitude towards Consort Dong seemed inexplicably hostile, which Zi Jin couldn't understand at all.

Lu Huan stood up, patted her dress, and curtsied to Zi Jin: "Miss Zi Jin, let's go."

"Ah."

Lu Huan didn't know what Zi Jin was thinking; at this moment, she was searching for information about Consort Dong within the limited available information.

In her previous life, when Empress Xu was seriously ill, it was Consort Dong who took charge of the harem for her. The Crown Prince's wife, who would become the future Crown Princess, also had the surname Dong.

Although on the surface, the two Dong families seem to have nothing in common, their ancestral homes are thousands of miles apart, and there is no record of any interaction between Consort Dong and the Crown Princess, this is the biggest flaw.

Having been reborn, and after being stabbed by Lu Ruyi, Lu Huan understood many things. The first was not to believe in sisterly affection.

Upon entering the study, Lu Huan once again performed a deep bow.

The princess was in high spirits today, her voice full of confidence: "Get up!"

Through the screen, the Prince of Yan's gaze fell on the wooden box in Lu Huan's hand, and he couldn't help but reveal a hint of longing.

He was anxious to get the pearl from Lu Huan so that the physician could examine it, which was why Lu Huan was late, and he sounded somewhat displeased.

Why did you take so long?

Lu Huan waited a moment, and seeing that Zi Jin did not seem to want to answer, he explained, "Your Highness and Your Highness's Consort, I just passed by the Moon Gate and encountered Consort Dong. She was very interested in the pearl in my hand, so she stopped me and asked her a few questions."

"Oh? She's interested in this too?" The Prince of Yan's eyes deepened, his tone remaining calm, yet like the calm before a storm. "Did she open the box to take a look?"

"No, it's just that I'm a foolish woman. When I was bowing, I placed the wooden box in front of me, so Your Highness couldn't see it properly."

"Hahaha! Good! Lu Huan, you're very good!" The Prince of Yan laughed heartily.

Even the Princess Consort of Yan glanced at him slightly. In her memory, the Prince rarely smiled so heartily at anyone other than her.

She tilted her head, puzzled: "Your Highness?"

"Zitong, don't be anxious, I'll explain everything to you in a moment!" The Prince of Yan then instructed the royal physician who had been waiting nearby, "Go and see if the two batches of pearls are the same!"

Taking advantage of the physician's break during the examination, Lu Huan began to flatter: "Your Highness is truly wise and insightful. I only thought that wearing pearls for a long time would be beneficial to the body, but I forgot the simplest way to use pearls, which is to grind them up and take them orally."

Those nineteen pearls were too precious and rare, but luckily I still have some from the same batch that were harvested, which is perfect for oral consumption.

Even if there were only nineteen pills, as long as they were good for the Princess Consort's health, the Prince of Yan would not hesitate to part with them.

However, when he asked the royal physician to take a pearl and grind it into powder, the princess stopped him, which led to this situation today.

Looking at the small box of pearls of different sizes and colors presented by the imperial physician, the Prince of Yan couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Cunning!"

It seems this girl was waiting here all along.

"Tell me, what do you want to exchange this box of pearls for?"

I previously offered to send your husband to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but you refused. I really can't understand what you're after.

"The only positions I can secure for your husband, besides the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are the Yanjing Guard. Oh, and my father-in-law still holds some influence in the Daning Guard; arranging for him there as a squad leader would be feasible."

Lu Huan is not a compassionate, selfless saint.

She raised her head, her voice clear and pure: "My husband has great ambitions and wishes to obtain an official position through his true talents and learning. As his wife, I can only obey his decision. I thank the Prince and Princess for their kindness on behalf of my husband."

"But we can't simply refuse a pearl offered by a commoner. Otherwise, if word gets out, people will gossip, saying that the Prince of Yan's mansion has seized the treasure by force."

The Prince of Yan looked at the young woman standing in the study with a smile, his eyes full of admiration: "Then what do you want?"