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

Lu Huan skipped over to his side and said in a low voice, "Not yet, we need to go to the bank first, and then to the government office."

She pulled Gao Yan along and walked quickly toward the mule cart: "Let's talk as we walk!"

Although the head butler was being very polite, Lu Huan didn't dare to keep him waiting too long.

Lu Huan pulled Gao Yan to her side and whispered in his ear, "The prince has spoken, ordering the government officials to return all of my maternal grandfather's shops to me!"

"Shouldn't we go directly to the government office? Why do we need to go to the money exchange first?"

Lu Huan snorted inwardly. No rush, she would definitely get that money back from the culprit.

Her smile remained unchanged as she explained, "Regardless of the inside story behind my maternal grandfather's case, on the surface, his family was confiscated and he was convicted. Unless the case is overturned, it's impossible for them to return the property to me directly; they can only redeem it by paying money."

But I'm already very happy with this. You know, those shops are all in the most prosperous areas of Yanjing City, no less than the shop the Princess Consort bestowed upon me last time!

Gao Yan couldn't help but hold Lu Huan's hand, his mouth moving, but he couldn't utter a single word. He didn't know how to explain his discovery to Lu Huan.

After much consideration, he decided to keep the matter to himself and ask about the topics they discussed on the way.

Why don't you agree to let me join the Yanjing Guard?

Lu Huan was so caught up in her excitement that she hadn't noticed Gao Yan's hesitation. Hearing his question, she stopped laughing and glared at him: "We just got married, and you're already off to join the garrison? You...you're going to leave me alone in this empty house?"

Moreover, your mother-in-law will definitely not agree to you going to the garrison. Even if you go without telling them, they might accuse you of filial impiety, and your future will likely be ruined.

Yes, that's how Gao Yan was when he was a child. His private tutor once praised him for his talent, saying he was a natural scholar. But afterwards, Zhou never sent him to the private school again.

It wasn't until he turned thirteen, when Gao Zhongbao was going to a school in Yanjing, that he was allowed to go with him. But it wasn't to let him study; rather, he was to become Gao Zhongbao's page.

Thinking of this, Gao Yan's mood visibly became somewhat depressed.

Lu Huan thought that his sadness was due to her opposition, so she quickly comforted him, "Let's make a decision next spring after things have settled down, okay? If you want to go to the garrison then, I won't stop you!"

Gao Yan didn't want Lu Huan to worry about him, so he squeezed her hand and forced a smile.

“I’m not unhappy because I can’t go to the garrison. Actually, after I finished the militia training, the instructor wanted me to go to the garrison with him, but I refused.”

He told Lu Huan the secret he had kept hidden for many years: "When I was little, I always thought that it was because I wasn't smart enough that she didn't like me."

As I grew older, I realized: the more outstanding I was, the happier she became. Since she didn't want me to steal her son's thunder, I would comply.

Lu Huan didn't know how to comfort Gao Yan for a moment, so she could only quietly lean against his side, wrap her arms tightly around his waist, and comfort him in this silent way.

But what they didn't see was the man above them, whose lips slowly curved into a smile.

The wheels of the mule cart rolled on the ground, making a soft sound. Listening to this rhythmic sound, Lu Huan hugged the large heater and felt drowsy.

"Huan'er! We've arrived!"

Lu Huan suddenly woke up and was about to stand up when she felt a tightness around her waist.

She then remembered the topic they had been discussing before she fell asleep, and her face immediately flushed.

Who would comfort someone else only to fall asleep themselves?

"Um... I'm sorry, I got up too early this morning, and I was a little sleepy just now."

Gao Yan pulled the cloak up for Lu Huan and said gently, "Go on, I'll wait for you in the hall."

Aren't you coming in with me?

There was a complex look in Gao Yan's eyes that he himself was unaware of: "No, I'll wait until the day you're willing to tell me."

A sudden panic rose in Lu Huan's heart. Had Gao Yan discovered something? Impossible! She hadn't given anything away.

She chuckled twice, feigning nonchalance, like children bickering, and winked at Gao Yan: "If you don't want to go, then forget it."

Gao Yan's smile didn't fade as he watched Lu Huan flee in disarray.

He slowly strolled into Baofeng Money Shop.

Unlike the first time he came in, when everything seemed strange and wonderful, he calmly found a corner to sit down and began to close his eyes and rest.

In the enclosed space beneath Baofeng Money Shop, Lu Huan's panting was particularly noticeable.

Manager Ding said politely, "I don't know why, but it's getting colder and colder. The sky is all dark and gloomy; I'm afraid it will snow in the next couple of days."

"Yes, the winter vegetables were just planted this year, and then it snowed. We don't know if they will grow up."

Steward Ding seemed unconcerned and asked again, "Is Madam planning to retrieve something today?"

"Yes and no."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Lu Huan glanced at the four maids following behind her, her meaning clear.

The flickering firelight illuminated Steward Ding's smiling face. In the dim light, his teeth appeared particularly prominent.

"The lives of these maids are in the hands of the bank. Madam, please speak freely if you have any requests."

“I plan to redeem a few shops from the government, but it’s inconvenient to bring gold bars with me, so I’d like to exchange them for a batch of gold notes with you.”

Manager Ding's heart leaped with joy, but his voice remained calm: "No problem!"

Lu Huan's hesitation didn't stem from this. When she exchanged the gold bars with Deng Ya earlier, she had specifically asked Deng Ya to stamp them with the seal of the previous dynasty.

However, Lu Huan was worried that the gold bars were too new and that Steward Ding might not be able to make the decision on such a big matter.

"Manager Ding, let's take a look first before making a decision!"

Lu Huan opened her storeroom and went inside to check it out. Seeing that the secret marks she had left had not been tampered with, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they packed up several boxes, filled the bottom with gold bars, and piled up various miscellaneous items on top.

Once everything was back to normal, Lu Huan pushed open the door and let Steward Ding in.

She opened the outermost large wooden box, rummaged around at the bottom for a while, and took out a gold bar as thick as a baby's arm.

"This...this is...the stepping stone to the previous dynasty!"

"Not bad!"

In the final years of the previous dynasty, the people suffered greatly. A popular story circulated among the common people, and it was about gold bars.

Legend has it that a wealthy merchant wanted to obtain a title for himself, but he had nowhere to turn. In the end, he used this baby's arm and a gold bar weighing ten taels to force his way into the gates of the Northern King's mansion.

Whether the story is true or not is unknown, but the nickname for this gold bar has spread far and wide.

Steward Ding felt that the gold bar was very heavy. Not to mention the guards of the Prince's mansion were tempted, he himself was tempted too!

What he hadn't expected was that such a valuable item was hidden inside this ordinary-looking wooden box. No wonder Miss Lu had chosen to rent a warehouse instead of opening the box and taking inventory.

He swallowed hard and asked, "How many gold notes do you plan to exchange?"

Lu Huan pointed to the four large wooden crates that had been tampered with earlier and said, "Take everything out of these crates and replace it!"