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

Even using the cheapest cedar wood, a complete set of furniture would cost over a hundred taels of silver. Not to mention, this was a compensation from the wealthy Lu family to their son-in-law.

If the Li family dares to send her a set of cedar wood furniture, then Zhou Xiulan shouldn't blame Zhou Xiulan for disrespecting the Lu family.

"Your idea is good. You must let the Li family know that if I didn't want to ruin Zhongbao's big plans, I certainly wouldn't have let Lu Ruyi off so easily!"

"Yes, yes, yes, my mother-in-law truly loves her son dearly!"

Zhou tried hard to suppress the upturned corners of her mouth, not wanting Lu Huan to see through her thoughts, but little did she know that Lu Huan had been secretly laughing to herself for a long time.

“Mother-in-law, it’s getting late. I’ll have Ayan take me back to the Lu family now. But…” Lu Huan hesitated.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"With this round trip, I'm afraid Ayan and I won't be able to get back by tonight."

Since Lu Huan married into the Gao family, the Shi family has taken over Gao Yan's work. Lu Huan is willing to spend money, and Zhou Shi's life has become more comfortable, so she doesn't care whether Gao Yan is at the Gao family home at night or not.

"Well then, you can stay at the Lu family's place tonight." Zhou was asking for a favor, but quickly added, "Come back early tomorrow!"

"Definitely! We only bought half a lamb when we came back, so we can't have lamb hot pot tonight. We definitely need to be back before lunch tomorrow!"

The thought of a warm mutton hot pot made Zhou feel hungry again: "Let's go! Don't forget to tell He Niang that I want to eat hot pot tonight."

"Yes, Mother-in-law! I won't forget!"

As Lu Huan emerged from the backyard, Gao Yan approached and scrutinized her from head to toe: "Mother didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"

Lu Huan opened her arms, twirled in front of him, and smiled radiantly: "See, I'm perfectly fine!"

She glanced at the sky, secretly relieved that they had returned quite early: "Let's talk as we walk!"

Gao Yan's heart skipped a beat; he instinctively knew that what was about to be said was not what he wanted to hear.

"Let's go back to the Lu family now."

"Why the rush?" Gao Yan felt that this change must be related to his trip to the backyard. He didn't delay any longer and started looking for a change of underwear in the box.

Lu Huan took out a wolfskin cloak from the box—actually, from his spatial storage—and stuffed it into Gao Yan's arms.

"You'll be catching the carriage in a bit."

Gao Yan couldn't help but frown slightly: "Aren't you going to bring Shi Gu along?"

Lu Huan paused for a moment while packing, then continued looking for clothes: "I won't take them, you'll be catching your train soon."

Fortunately, Ishigani hadn't unloaded the mule cart yet. After the two of them finished tidying up, Ishigani drove the mule cart to the door.

Lu Huan went straight into the carriage, without having a chance to properly admire Gao Yan's handsome appearance in his cloak.

She originally wanted to sit next to Gao Yan, but was persuaded to return to the carriage.

He had no choice but to sit closest to the carriage curtain and describe to Gao Yan what had happened in the backyard.

"You!" Gao Yan had just opened his mouth when he was hit by a blast of cold air and couldn't help but pull his cloak up a little.

The charcoal stove that had been burning at the Qin family's house had long since cooled down, and the temperature inside the carriage wasn't much warmer than outside. Lu Huan pressed her calves against Gao Yan's back and rubbed her hands together, as if that would make her feel less cold.

Gao Yan hurried as fast as he could and finally arrived at the Lu family's residence before curfew.

The servant in front of the Lu family's gate was a little surprised that someone would still be visiting at this hour.

Lu Huan helped Gao Yan down from the mule cart. Seeing the servant still standing there dumbfounded, not even bothering to remove the threshold, Lu Huan scolded, "Are you stupid? You don't even know to come up and ask when you see someone? Don't you even recognize your own son-in-law?"

I think I need to go in and have a serious talk with Father. Otherwise, if word gets out that the servants of the Lu family don't even recognize their own son-in-law, won't they be laughed at to death by outsiders?

The servant immediately panicked and begged for mercy with a mournful face: "My dear aunt! I was just wondering why you're back too, since my second aunt came back today."

"What? Lu Ruyi can go back to her parents' home, but I can't?"

Lu Huan ignored the mule cart and pulled Gao Yan towards the Lu residence, shouting, "Where's Dad? I need to find my dad!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Zheng came out. Seeing it was Lu Huan, his face visibly wrinkled: "Grandma, why are you back? Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet! It's all because of Lu Ruyi! Butler, where is my father? We'll have dinner with him in a bit."

"Okay, please come with me!"

Since Lu Chengde began secretly investigating Li's people, he has rarely returned to the backyard, and Li has been busy preparing Lu Ruyi's dowry and has no time to pay attention to Lu Chengde.

Tonight was no different; Lu Chengde did not stay out overnight but had dinner alone in his study.

Lu Huan ran with wide eyes, blowing so hard that her eyes turned a little red.

"father!"

Lu Chengde was momentarily dazed. How long had it been since he had heard his eldest daughter call him that?

In the past, Lu Huan always seemed to be very polite and respectful, but not close enough. In addition, Lu Chengde never had to worry about his expenses, so he inevitably neglected him a bit.

When he saw Lu Huan running towards him with red eyes, he had a strange feeling, as if he had returned to the time when the Cheng family was still around.

Back then, no matter how he managed his business, he always had a steady stream of customers. He didn't need to worry about the source of goods or business routes.

His tone unconsciously carried a hint of genuine emotion: "Huan'er, why are you back? Did you suffer some injustice at the Gao family?"

Lu Huan's heart trembled slightly, but only for a moment.

She pouted and complained, "It's all because of your good daughter, Lu Ruyi! She made such a mess that I didn't even get to eat dinner. I had to come back and relay a message to her."

Lu Chengde showed no sign of anger, and said with a smile, "Huan'er, stay for dinner! And... Gao Yan, you stay too!"

"Of course, there's a curfew outside. We're not officials or princes, how could we possibly wander around outside at this hour? Wouldn't that be suicidal!"

Lu Huan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly. She knew her father too well; as long as it didn't affect Lu Chengde's business or go too far, he basically wouldn't turn against her.

But Gao Yan was unaware of this, and cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Chengde, saying, "Father-in-law!"

"Sit, sit, sit!"

At this moment, Lu Zheng personally led several servants in, bringing not only four more dishes but also two jugs of wine.

Lu Chengde laughed and pointed at Lu Zheng: "You old fox!"

Of the three dishes that were newly served, three were Lu Huan's favorites, plus a plate of roasted mutton, which would be perfect with drinks.

"Thank you, Head Butler! You're the one who loves me the most!"

Lu Chengde couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness: "Don't I, your father, love you anymore?"

Lu Huan snorted: "I think Father dotes on the Second Miss more!"

Lu Chengde personally picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and placed it in Lu Huan's bowl: "From now on, Dad will love you the most!"

Lu Huan reciprocated by pouring Lu Chengde a cup of wine.

The study in the front yard was filled with joy and harmony, but the atmosphere in the backyard was not so pleasant.