After a woman marries, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law become almost natural rivals. Zhóulǐ^[1]wife of brothers are also not easy to get along with, and disputes between gūsǎo^[2]a woman and her brother’s wife are quite common.

For Shen Lan, none of the three was a problem.

First of all, she had no mother-in-law. Secondly, there were still several years before Lu Xuan gets married, and she had no zhóulǐ for the time being.

There were many xiǎogū^[3]husband’s younger sister, but Lu Minghua was getting married soon, and Lu Mingyue was lively and lovely. Lu Mingyu and her were close friends in the boudoir, and she took care of her everywhere.

Because of this, Shen Lan’s life after marriage was actually more comfortable than her maiden life.

After Lu Fei went to the barracks, Lu Mingyu and Shen Lan rode out together for a day. On the next day, Lu Mingyu summoned all the stewards in the mansion to the main hall.

“Èrsǎo^[4]second sister-in-law or wife of second elder brother, from today onwards, you and I will manage the house together.” Lu Mingyu said with a smile: “After the new year, I will entrust all the housework to you, and I will be married with peace of mind.”

Two months was enough time for Shen Lan to get familiar with the inner house of Lu’s mansion.

Shen Lan was not pretentious, nor did she refuse: “That’s fine, I’ll follow you first and see how you manage the house.”

Lu Mingyu smiled and nodded.

Shen Lan often came to the Lu residence in the past and occasionally met the steward of the Lu residence. However, it was the first time that everything was in front of her eyes so neatly.

After looking at it carefully, Shen Lan was secretly amazed.

Of the dozen or so stewards in the Lu residence, only the two steward mothers were in charge of the sewing room, and the rest were men.

Moreover, all of them had old wounds, some had a broken arm, some were missing an eye, some had scars on their faces, and all of them looked fierce.

King Xingyang put the wounded and disabled soldiers in his mansion and gave them dignity and a way to survive. This kind of mind was indeed worthy of admiration and respect.

These vicious stewards were exceptionally docile in front of Lu Mingyu, like gentle and harmless little sheep.

But as long as Lu Mingyu gave an order, these strong men who try their best to smile honestly and sincerely will show their fangs and tear each other into pieces with a grinning smile…

“Èrsǎo,” the stewards all left, Lu Mingyu laughed and joked about the wandering Shen Lan: “What are you thinking about alone, so engrossed?”

Shen Lan calmed down, and smiled softly: “I was thinking, the stewards of the Lu Mansion are one of their kind in the capital.”

Lu Mingyu smiled slightly: “They are all the soldiers who fought with my father for many years. Without these loyal followers, my father would not be where he is today.”

“Some soldiers died on the battlefield, and some were slightly injured, but they were still able to go into battle. There were serious injuries, and people who almost died. They had been in the army for many years and had no wives or children. My father didn’t want to send them back to their hometown, so he found them jobs in the mansion.”

“The person who was accustomed to holding knives and guns suddenly started taking care of the household chores. In fact, in the beginning, they weren’t quite used to it and caused many jokes. Furthermore, I started managing household matters when I was eight years old and didn’t understand many things either. Initially, I was quite overwhelmed and clumsy, but as time went on, I gradually adapted.”

“Are you a little scared when you saw them?”

The last sentence was said in a joking manner.

Shen Lan thought for a while, and honestly admitted: “A little bit.”

She was born in the boudoir and grew up in the inner house, and normally, she was in contact with the maids and matrons of the Shen family. Suddenly facing such a group of strong men with fierce faces and wounds, there was a little fear in her heart.

Lu Mingyu smiled slightly: “You have the right to adapt for a while. My father told me that when I get married, he would give me half of the soldiers in the mansion. I will take all the things I am used to in charge of. When the time comes, you can then slowly use your dowry maids and servants.”

Shen Lan was moved in her heart, and shook Lu Mingyu’s hand: “Xiaoyu, thank you.”

The mistress who was in charge of the family must have her own confidant to do things. Without saying a word, Lu Mingyu always thought of her, how could she remain calm?

Lu Mingyu smiled and said: “Is there a need to give thanks between me and you? The third sister and I are going to get married one after another, and the fifth younger sister and sixth younger brother are still young. From now on, the inner house of the Lu Mansion will be entrusted to you, so please don’t worry about it. Don’t say thank you to me; I should be the one to thank you.”

Shen Lan didn’t say much but whispered: “We are both good friends and gūsǎo. In the future, no matter what, I will stand by your side.”

Being the daughter-in-law of the Royal Family is not an easy job. The position of the Crown Prince has not yet been determined, and there will be a battle between the princes in the future. When Lu Mingyu marries the Second Prince, the Lu family was on the same boat as the Second Prince.

Conversely, if the Second Prince became the Crown Prince, and Lu Mingyu became the Crown Princess, she will be the one to sit on the Phoenix chair^[5]the throne of the Empress in the future. The Lu family will also be honored for decades because of her wealth and honor.

No matter how you look at it, the Lu family will be the unswerving supporters of the Second Prince.

Lu Mingyu held Shen Lan’s hand tightly, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

it was more than words.

…

Five days later, Lu Fei came back from the barracks.

It was the time when the wedding was hot, and that night, the young couple didn’t show up at all. Early the next morning, Lu Fei went to the military camp on horseback, and Shen Lan didn’t get up until mid-morning.

Seeing Lu Mingyu, Shen Lan felt a little embarrassed, and said with a blushing face, “I’m sorry, I got up late today.”

Lu Mingyu glanced at Shen Lan, who still had a blue shadow in front of her eyes, and suggested very considerately: “I’ll take care of the family matters.”

“I’ve finished taking care of everything, anyway, there is nothing to do during the day, you are so tired, go back to the yard and continue to sleep. I will send someone to call you when it is time to eat at noon.”

Shen Lan: “…”

It was all Lu Fei’s fault, who didn’t let her sleep last night for most of the night. It made her so exhausted that she didn’t sleep until five o’clock. Naturally, she got up late, and Xiaoyu made fun of her.

Shen Lan’s face was flushed, and she pretended to be calm and said: “There is no new daughter-in-law who sleeps all morning. If it spreads out, I’m afraid I will be laughed to death. After lunch, I will just take a nap for a while.”

Lu Mingyu teased with a smile, “Alright, fine. If you’re embarrassed, I won’t say it. If your face gets any redder, you’ll be outdoing a monkey’s behind.”

Shen Lan smiled and punched Lu Mingyu.

Lu Mingyu didn’t feel pain or itch, but Shen Lan’s hand hurt after beating her.

Lu Mingyu smiled and leaned over to rub her hands: “How is it? Does it still hurt?”

Shen Lan deliberately sighed, “If I can’t outargue you, then so be it. If I were to punch you, I’d be the one feeling the pain. In the future, if there are any conflicts between us as relatives, I’ll definitely be the one taking the brunt of it.”

Lu Mingyu smiled and answered, “If I bully you, Second Brother will have to settle accounts with me. How dare I!”

But Shen Lan said: “It’s hard to say. Maybe your second brother will settle accounts with me and blame me for bullying xiǎogū!”

Talking and laughing, their little life was relaxing and happy.

After a few days, good news spread from the Qiao residence.

Qiao Wan is engaged to the second son of the Fang family.

Fang Zizhan is talented, handsome, and comes from a well-known scholarly family. He passed the second-class Jinshi examination today and entered the Hanlin Academy together with Zhou Li. Such a young and handsome man is indeed worthy of a girl from the Qiao family.

The Fang family came to ask for marriage, and the Qiao family quickly agreed.