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

Lu Huan, of course, could not admit that he had done something wrong, so he pretended to be profound and said, "I saw her first thing this morning and I felt she was unlucky. He Niang, you tell me."

Just as He Niang was about to speak, Cui Zhu's haughty voice came from outside: "Isn't the hot water ready yet? Our young lady is waiting to use it!"

She stood at the kitchen doorway, glancing impatiently inside, and met Lu Huan's gaze.

"Miss...Miss, what are you doing here?" Cuizhu stammered as she spoke.

Lu Huan didn't answer her question, but instead asked He Niang, "Does she usually yell at you like this?"

Under Cui Zhu's death stare, He Niang replied, "Yes. However, Miss Yu Zhu will be more polite."

Lu Huan snorted coldly: "What kind of girls are they? I said before that I bought you back to serve my parents-in-law, not to be ordered around by Lu Ruyi."

We only let her eat your cooking because she's a member of the Gao family. She actually thinks she's just a servant of the Lu family? How ridiculous!

Cuizhu hadn't witnessed Lu Huan's prowess that day, and her impression of her remained from the past—that weak, easily bullied, and easily manipulated young lady.

"Both the eldest young lady and our young lady come from the Lu family, so why bother with such a fuss?"

Cuizhu tried to build a closer relationship by appealing to his social status, but she didn't realize that Lu Huan was no longer the person she remembered.

"Then go back and tell your young lady that from now on I'm very particular and can't stand anyone taking advantage of me. You two and Lu Ruyi, from now on you'll have to take care of your own meals!"

"Fine, I won't eat then! Who's afraid of you!" Cuizhu was completely unaware of the consequences of her actions. She thought Lu Huan was just saying it casually, so she turned around and wanted to go back to the backyard to complain to Lu Ruyi.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Huan continued, "Not only the food, but from now on, if your young ladies need water, they'll have to fetch it themselves and boil it themselves! I may be stingy, but I never take advantage of others!"

Cuizhu was so angry that her teeth itched, but she knew that she and Lu Huan were of different statuses. If she really alarmed the Zhou family, she would be the one who would suffer.

Zhou Shi wouldn't take her side just because she was Lu Ruyi's person; she would only think that she was being disrespectful.

After Cuizhu left, Lu Huan asked again, "How did Lu Ruyi get so unlucky?"

This time, He Niang did not hesitate and began to tell the story from the moment they learned about it.

After hearing this, Lu Huan had the illusion that the entire Gao family's courtyard was filled with a foul stench.

She asked again, incredulously, "Lu Ruyi really fell in her own poop and pee?"

He Niang nodded seriously, her expression indescribable: "At that time, Cuizhu wanted me to tidy up, but I remembered the master's instructions. The son-in-law's younger brother wasn't home, so we didn't need to worry about what happened in their room."

But Cuizhu came over and took away the hot water that was prepared on the stove. We were worried about running out of hot water for the owner, so we boiled two more pots.

Listening to the crackling sound of the firewood burning in the stove, Lu Huan looked at the gloomy sky outside and sighed inwardly.

The first snow will fall tonight.

She rubbed her arms: "Something's not right with the weather. It might snow tonight. Those of you on night watch, be alert. If the snow on the roof gets too thick, remember to go up and knock it down."

Oh, right, there's hot water right here. Bring it all into my room; I'll take a hot bath before it gets too cold!

"Alright!" Shi Dong and his two sons quickly carried the hot water into the west wing.

Lu Huan locked the door and went into the space along with the wooden barrel. As for the comfortable temperature, nowhere in the room could compare to the space!

Looking at the grains that had already begun to sprout on the land, Lu Huan felt a little hungry.

When will I be able to eat alone without having to eat with the Zhou family?

Meanwhile, in the backyard.

Even though her exposed skin had been rubbed red by Lu Ruyi, she still felt that she had a faint odor on her body.

Hearing the noise outside, she thought it was Cuizhu returning with hot water and complained impatiently, "Cuizhu, why are you only coming back now!"

The newcomer arrived empty-handed and seemed even angrier than she was, which surprised her: "Where's the hot water?"

Cuizhu embellished Lu Huan's words and repeated them, waiting for Lu Ruyi to go to the front yard to demand an explanation for her.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Ruyi retorted, "So what? Do you want me to walk out smelling like this? Her people are unmanageable, can't you do it yourself? If you really can't, just pay them to do it. Do I need to teach you something like this?"

In the Lu family, the meals served in the main kitchen were fixed every day; if you wanted anything else, you had to pay for it yourself. So Lu Ruyi didn't see anything wrong with this.

But Cuizhu was clearly not used to it. Her parents were both prominent managers in the Lu family, and in the past, if she wanted a special meal or some fancy decorations, the maids and servants would never charge her money.

When has she ever suffered such injustice!

Cuizhu felt increasingly uneasy. If she had known it would turn out this way, she should have been assigned to serve the eldest young lady: not only could she have stolen the young lady's things, but she could also have been like Xiangqiao, avoiding the need to marry into this impoverished family with the young lady and instead returning to her parents' side to await marriage.

Lu Ruyi was unaware that her maid was already having second thoughts.

She sniffed herself and could still detect a faint, unpleasant odor. A chill ran down her spine; had she really gotten the hang of it? What if Brother Zhongbao came back and disliked her?

She couldn't wait a moment longer, and pointed to the low cabinet by the bed, saying, "There's silver in there. Take some and give it to He Niang and the others, and tell them to bring me water quickly! Oh, and while you're at it, ask them how much silver they want to clean the room. Go now!"

Lu Ruyi was on the verge of collapse. She dared not recall whether her mouth was closed tightly when she slipped in the bathroom.

Ugh—

The thought just crossed her mind when she felt nauseous and started gagging again.

Cuizhu returned quickly, but she didn't bring the hot water she had been longing for.

"Miss, the... the eldest young mistress has carried all the water into her room."

"What did you say?" Lu Ruyi stood up angrily, but before she could take two steps, the faint stench made her nauseous again. She vomited a couple of mouthfuls of bile, but her stomach was too empty to vomit anything.

She could only shrink back onto the bed, trying not to move: "Why is Lu Huan taking a shower at this time? She's just deliberately trying to go against me!"

"The eldest young mistress said it was going to snow tonight, so she prepared it in advance..."

Lu Ruyi grabbed Cuizhu's arm: "She did it on purpose! She did it on purpose!"

When people are at their angrier, they forget how disgusted they feel.

She shrieked, "Don't beg her! There's a small clay stove in the study, go and bring it over, boil water in the room! I refuse to believe I can't take a bath without her help!"

The thought of having to go out to fetch water in this freezing weather made Cuizhu feel chilly all over.

She suppressed her nausea and didn't shake off Lu Ruyi's hand, patiently persuading, "My dear aunt, don't be stubborn now! If it gets any later, and Madam finds out it's going to snow tonight, you won't be able to use the hot water!"