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

Gao Yan held Lu Huan's thin shoulders tightly, his large hand slowly stroking her back. His head was lowered, but his eyes were coldly fixed on the direction where Lu Chengde's carriage had left.

"Huan'er, don't worry, I can protect you!"

puff-

Lu Huan couldn't help but laugh when she heard Gao Yan's words. She quickly composed herself and secretly wiped her tears on Gao Yan's body.

But her voice still had a strong nasal tone: "Who needs your protection! I can protect myself!"

"If I don't protect you, who else should I protect?"

Lu Huan did not respond, so Gao Yan deliberately increased the pressure, refusing to let her out.

To passersby, only Gao Yan was visible; Lu Huan's figure was completely hidden under his cloak.

"Hey! Let me go! It'll be bad if someone sees us!"

Lu Huan pushed hard against Gao Yan's chest, but unfortunately his arms were like cast iron, and he probably couldn't push him away without using his full strength.

Hehehe——

Gao Yan's laughter was hearty, and his whole body trembled as he laughed. Lu Huan pressed her face against his chest and could clearly hear his heartbeat.

The sound of his heartbeat mingled with laughter, giving Lu Huan an indescribable sense of peace. It was like a hot spring in the dead of winter, or a harbor in a storm.

In that instant, both of them forgot about the troubles of the outside world.

But a discordant voice rang out from behind Gao Yan: "May we see the property deed, Mrs. Gao?"

Gao Yan turned around unhappily and glared at the man.

The man remained completely unfazed, his smile undiminished, but inwardly he was thinking: What's with the glare? He's just a peasant boy; even if he wears this wolfskin cloak, he'll never become a prince!

Lu Huan stepped out of Gao Yan's arms, wiped away imaginary tears from her face, and replied, "Of course, may I ask how this master is addressed?"

"My surname is Fan."

As far as Lu Huan knew, none of the people who were on good terms with the Lu family had the surname Fan.

She remained calm and continued to inquire, "What kind of business does your family run?"

"I am not very talented, but my family owns a restaurant and an inn."

Lu Huan nodded slightly and didn't ask anything more. She led Gao Yan into the shop.

This shop used to be the Cheng family's silk shop. It had three floors and a sizable backyard. A shop of this size was already quite rare in Yanjing, let alone on Zhuque Avenue, which runs north to south.

No wonder those different factions are fighting like roosters, all wanting to get their hands on this piece of fat meat.

The shelves in the shop had been emptied long before the shop was sealed off, leaving only an empty shop and a dozen or so cylindrical pillars of varying thicknesses.

In this way, it didn't take long for Granny Sun to bring people over to clean.

"Madam Gao, are you satisfied with how this shop is decorated?"

Although Lu Huan had visited when she was a child, it was two lifetimes ago, so she didn't remember it very clearly.

She glanced at it casually and asked, "Did anything happen when you sent people to repair it?"

Granny Sun seemed hesitant to speak, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the backyard.

"You don't need to have any reservations, just speak your mind."

Granny Sun chuckled twice: "It's not a big deal. Now that the lady has redeemed the shop and rebuilt the courtyard wall, I don't think those people will have the guts to climb over the wall again."

These words, seemingly meant to comfort Lu Huan, actually revealed everything.

"Oh? Let's go take a look!"

Lu Huan nodded to Manager Fan and walked straight to the backyard, completely ignoring the man's previous request.

Fan Zhichang glanced at the three people's backs, his eyes flickered, and he followed them.

In the backyard, Qin Hui was staring blankly at the peach tree, the corners of his eyes already etched with the marks of time.

Noticing someone approaching, he quickly put on a smile and exclaimed, "I never expected that even though this shop has been closed for seven or eight years, this tree inside still hasn't died."

"It's clear this shop is in a good location." Lu Huan exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries with him, then turned to ask Granny Sun, "Where is the place you mentioned earlier where the wall was being rebuilt?"

Granny Sun nodded to Qin Hui in greeting, then led Lu Huan toward the northeast corner of the backyard.

"Madam, look here."

There is a large, fresh patch of paint along the northeast corner of the courtyard wall. It is clear that it was recently repainted, and the patches on the ground nearby are also very new.

Seeing these marks, Lu Huan turned around and walked back the way he came. After walking a few steps, he found that there was a relatively new paving stone on the ground, and there was a similar paving stone every few steps.

Qin Hui's expression was somewhat unpleasant. He had clearly made a connection to something, but there were too many informants, so he couldn't tell Lu Huan directly.

All I could do was point out: "Why do you keep prying up a floor tile every few steps?"

"Who knows!" Lu Huan said coldly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the gap in the northeast corner.

They quickly returned to the lobby on the first floor, and the others also browsed the shop before returning to the lobby.

Granny Sun brought over a tea table from somewhere, and Lu Huan stepped forward and pulled out a roll of house deeds from her sleeve.

Those present, especially Fan Zhichang, became unusually excited.

Lu Huan took in everyone's expressions and smiled, "This Manager Fan just now wanted to see my property deed. I was thinking that renting out this shop would bring in at least several thousand taels of silver a year, so it's reasonable for you to take a look."

"Exactly, exactly!" Fan Zhichang tried his best to appear honest and simple, but unfortunately everyone present was shrewd.

When the government sent people to remove the seals, they had already asked around to find out what was going on.

Everyone present today knows that the owner of these three shops is the Gao Lu family. Who would still ask to see the property deeds, unless they are someone with ill intentions!

Qin Hui's gaze towards Fan Zhichang became even more hostile. He then walked over to Lu Huan's side, flanking her with Gao Yan.

Lu Huan pulled out the shop's deed and spread it out with both hands: "If you have any questions, feel free to come and take a look. Just take a look and that's it, don't touch it."

Fan Zhichang walked forward somewhat dejectedly, and besides the price and the official seal, he paid special attention to the middleman.

Upon seeing the names of Prefect Di Bo and the chief steward of the Prince of Yan's residence, Fan Zhichang's pupils shrank in fright.

"This... Madam is quite capable, actually managing to get the Prefect to act as the middleman!"

Lu Huan changed the orientation and showed it to the others.

"Lord Di was just acting on a whim."

Seeing that there was no loophole to exploit, Fan Zhichang could no longer maintain his smile and left with a stern face.

Lu Huan gestured with his chin in the direction he left, and Qin Hui nodded slightly, indicating that he had noticed the person.

The entire merchant community in Yanjing City, especially large merchants like Qin Hui and Lu Chengde, all maintain information networks.

They were usually the first to know what new shops had opened in Yanjing.