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

This reminder finally brought the person to Lu Huan's mind, and he asked knowingly, "What major case has happened in the city?"

Lei Kun's wife glanced behind her, and seeing that no one was following, she whispered, "I heard that a group of notorious bandits came to the city and emptied all five families' houses and shops overnight!"

"That shouldn't have caused such a big fuss!"

"Our Lu family has a pretty good relationship with one of those families. I heard that a nobleman lives among those five families. One of that nobleman's treasures was stolen, and he's throwing a tantrum in the Yanjing government office, demanding a city-wide search!"

Lu Huan recalled the tiger-shaped talisman he had stored in his spatial storage that night and smiled slightly: "Why bring such an important treasure out?"

"Young Miss, you can't just say things like that!"

"Let me tell you about it."

The two walked to the main house in the backyard. Lu Huan knocked on the door and said, "Mother-in-law, the servants from the Lu family have arrived. Would you like to come out and see them?"

Zhou's voice came from inside: "What's so interesting? Eldest daughter-in-law, I'm leaving everything to you!"

"understood!"

Lei Kun's wife peered through the paper window but didn't see anyone. She did see the furnishings, which were even worse than those in the servants' quarters of the Lu family. She secretly pursed her lips and followed Lu Huan out.

"Young Miss, you've really suffered!"

Lu Huan simply smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm fine, don't worry, Chief Butler."

In the backyard, only Zhou Shi and Gao Manting remained. As long as they didn't come out, they wouldn't be disturbed.

Lu Huan stood in the middle of the backyard and reminded them: "Ahem, you should have heard that Lu Ruyi got an upset stomach a few days ago and made her room... uninhabitable, so my father sent you to clean it up."

"Go inside and open the windows to ventilate the area, then move all the furniture from inside to the front yard. Understand?"

"Understood!"

Shi Gu and Shi Liang also brought cleaning tools, but Lu Huan had reminded them beforehand, so they only boiled water in the front yard and did not intend to help.

Lei Qian stepped forward, pointed to two people, and said, pointing to the east wing of the backyard, "You two go in and open all the doors and windows!"

At first, they didn't care much, thinking it couldn't be that dirty, but they didn't expect it to be an attack of odor.

It seems that Lu Ruyi and the others hadn't extinguished the charcoal brazier before they left, so in addition to the foul smell, there was also a considerable amount of charcoal gas inside.

The visitors had never suffered such torment at the Lu family's residence before, and they were also feeling nauseous as they had just eaten lunch before leaving the city.

They then understood why the young lady and Steward Lei Kun had repeatedly emphasized the need for ventilation—it was simply too smelly inside!

Lu Ruyi thought that she had run away and that the Shi family would have to deal with the mess, but she did not expect that Zhou would send Lu Huan back to complain.

She then learned from Li Shi the purpose of Lu Huan's return and paced back and forth in the room.

"What should we do! How could Dad agree to send someone to clean up! Oh dear, this is so embarrassing!"

However, Madam Li was worried about something else. Hearing her complaint, she casually brushed her off, saying, "If you know how shameful you are, you shouldn't have done something so shameful in the first place. Now look what's happened, the whole Lu family knows what you did!"

Unable to find comfort from Madam Li, Lu Ruyi could only console herself: "It's alright, once we get to Jinling, no one will know about this! Once Gao Zhongbao becomes a high-ranking official, who will dare to laugh at me, a lady of high rank!"

The servants are even easier to deal with; just sell them all! Yes! That's it!

Lu Ruyi paced back and forth in front of Li Shi, almost making Li Shi dizzy: "Stop pacing back and forth in front of me, I'm tired for you even if you're not."

She looked up and saw an old woman rushing in from outside. She quickly asked, "How is it? Have you found out what happened outside?"

The old woman cried, "Madam, it's all over! Our deposit is gone!"

"What deposit! Explain yourself!"

Li's fingernails dug deeply into the old woman's arm, causing her to shrink back in pain: "Madam... it's the Su family... the ten or so bolts of brocade and the ready-made clothes we ordered from the Su family are all gone!"

"What!" Lu Ruyi screamed, "Is it part of my dowry?!"

The old woman stammered and dared not answer.

Stunned, Li let go of the old woman's arm and almost lost her balance.

The old woman, taking advantage of the mother and daughter's distraction, immediately made her escape.

Madam Li slowly walked to the window of the warm pavilion and sat down, feeling a splitting headache. She had previously contributed a considerable amount of money to the marriages of her two daughters, but it all benefited Lu Huan.

Immediately afterwards, the managers of those shops got into trouble and were taken directly to the government office by Lu Zheng's men.

If Li doesn't return all the money she embezzled and redeem those managers, they might not be able to withstand the punishment and would expose her as the mastermind behind it all.

At that time, not only will Lu Haoyu's position as the matriarch of the Lu family be affected, but Lu Haoyu himself may also be implicated.

That was bad enough, but Lu Ruyi's dowry... the government could only come up with two thousand taels of silver, and after deducting the cost of furniture, they were even more strapped for cash.

The Su family's silk shop has been robbed; the shop has been ransacked, leaving not even a shelf. All the money in the Su residence has also been stolen, and it's unknown when they will be able to compensate her for her losses.

Li pressed her temples in pain, regretting in her heart: How did things come to this?

However, the most urgent task right now is to make money.

After quickly dressing up, Li stood up and walked outside.

Lu Ruyi had been preoccupied with how to persuade Gao Zhongbao, but when she saw Li Shi leaving, she suddenly grabbed Li Shi's arm: "Mother! Where are you going?"

Li was pulled so hard she stumbled, and snapped angrily, "Where are we going? You tell me where we're going! The Li family! We're here to get your money!"

Li shook off Lu Ruyi and walked out with a gloomy face.

She finally understood that the root of everything was Ruyi's desire to marry that damned Gao Zhongbao!

Lu Haoyu had also heard about the case in the city and came back to ask Lu Chengde for advice, only to find that his mother was all alone and was rushing toward the gate.

His eyes flickered, and he turned on his tiptoes to follow her: "Mother, what happened?"

Li didn't hide anything from her son: "There's been a problem with Ruyi's dowry, so I need to go back to the Li family now."

Lu Haoyu didn't understand the connection between the two things, but since Li Shi didn't say it explicitly, he didn't ask and followed behind Li Shi.

“Mother, things are a bit unsettled in the west city. I’ll go with you.”

Mrs. Li sighed heavily: "It's good that you're here."

However, when the two reached the stable, they did not see any familiar figures.

Lu Haoyu frowned and asked the stable boy, "Where is Lei Yongren?"