Chapter 82: Wife

After dinner, Wen Ruyu asked Lu Songnian and Lu Ke to return and take care of things, saying that any matters could wait until tomorrow.

The two couples, separated for a short while, felt the sweetness of a new marriage as they returned to their rooms and naturally shared many heartfelt words with each other.

Lu Ke stayed in his wife’s room, and as soon as he entered, he gave Lin Xiaoyin a beautiful jade bracelet with a lovely water color.

Lin Xiaoyin took the bracelet and smiled, asking, “When you went to Kyoto, didn’t your family give you much money? Two hundred taels of silver, plus what you brought yourself, doesn’t even reach three hundred taels. You went by a large ship, which would have cost you at least several tens of taels. You had to treat guests, rent a house, and buy me a gift in Kyoto. Where did you get the money?”

Lu Ke, wanting to please his wife, replied with sweet words, “If you save a little, it adds up. This bracelet has a nice water color, and when I saw it, I thought you would like it. I’d rather skip a meal than forget my wife.”

Lin Xiaoyin smiled faintly, listening to only half of Lu Ke’s words, not fully believing them.

She wasn’t like Lu Ke’s elder sister-in-law, who came from a simple family where her father only had one woman. Lin Xiaoyin grew up in a complicated family environment.

Earlier, she had longed for love, but after learning about Lu Ke’s actions before marriage, she gave up on that hope and started seeing marriage as something to manage like a business.

She was content if the couple could respect each other like guests.

She had originally thought that marrying into the Lu family would involve some kind of struggle, like dealing with someone like Fen’er, where she might need to use some means to make her settle down.

However, after observing for a long time, Lin Xiaoyin couldn’t detect any ambition in Fen’er.

She had also thought that the old lady and her sister-in-law wouldn’t let her manage the household affairs, but unexpectedly, when her sister-in-law became pregnant, the old lady handed most of the household responsibilities to her.

Marrying into such a family, Lin Xiaoyin felt there was little left to be said.

So even though she knew that Lu Ke was flattering her, she was willing to play along and appear easy to please.

Naturally, if Lu Ke became more honest from now on, she could continue pretending to be naive. But if he kept being pretentious, she wouldn’t tolerate it.

Marriage should never be a one-sided act of tolerance.

Lu Ke, unaware of what Lin Xiaoyin was thinking, just continued to flatter her, and that evening, the two enjoyed each other’s company and were both happy in their hearts.

The next morning, Lu Ke and Lin Xiaoyin went together to pay respects to the old lady.

Lin Xiaoyin had something to take care of, as she needed to prepare a banquet for Lu Songnian, so after paying her respects, she quickly went to work.

Lu Ke deliberately waited a bit in the old lady’s room, and after his wife left, he made an excuse to visit a friend and left Wen Ruyu’s room.

Once outside, he met with Fen’er in the garden to talk.

At first, Fen’er, before becoming an official concubine, was extremely passionate towards Lu Ke. Even when she was four months pregnant, she didn’t hesitate to hit him when ordered to do so. After the abortion, despite her own pain, her thoughts were still on Lu Ke.

Since returning to the old lady’s side, however, her attitude toward Lu Ke had gradually cooled.

Today, when Lu Ke specifically sought her out, Fen’er remained indifferent.

Although Lu Ke sensed her coldness, he thought it was because Fen’er was worried about being discovered by the old lady’s people, so she pretended to be indifferent.

“What is it, Third Master? The old lady still has things to do inside,” Fen’er asked when she came out.

Lu Ke smiled faintly and took out a silver hairpin from his sleeve, presenting it to Fen’er.

“This is something I brought back specially for you from Kyoto.”

Previously, when Lu Ke had been short of money, he didn’t care much for Fen’er, and he was reluctant to buy her a good one.

Now that he was a juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examination), his monthly stipend was much higher, so he didn’t hesitate to spend.

The main reason was that, although Fen’er hadn’t been confirmed as his concubine, she was now recognized by the old lady, so Lu Ke didn’t mind being generous.

Fen’er, upon seeing the hairpin, smiled faintly, took it, and curtsied to him, saying, “Thank you, Third Master.”

Lu Ke noticed her indifferent response and felt she, like his wife, gave him a sense of detachment. She cared for him, but when he sought emotional feedback, it always seemed just short of what he hoped for.

He thought of how both his wife and concubine saw him as their world, yet he still felt the love was incomplete. It was like a broken mirror that couldn’t be fixed.

Just as he was lost in thought, Fen’er’s lively voice broke through his reverie. “Does the lady have a gift for me?”

Lu Ke snapped out of it, feeling as though Fen’er’s eyes no longer held him as they once did. “Your third wife naturally has one for you.”

Fen’er’s eyes lit up, and she smiled.

Lu Ke was suddenly struck by how beautiful her smile was. At first, he hadn’t thought she was that pretty, but now, she seemed to have grown more captivating.

He reached out to hold her hand, but she skillfully avoided it.

“Thank you, Third Master. I’ll return now,” she said before running back to Wen Ruyu’s courtyard.

Lu Ke was left with an empty hand and didn’t feel she was teasing him. It seemed like she had changed significantly.

A courtyard, with brothers and sisters all living together, but each leading their own lives.

When Lu Songnian woke up early, he felt his hand go numb. Looking to the side, he realized his wife had used his hand as a pillow.

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to share a bed with his pregnant wife, but after being apart for so long, both were eager to reunite.

Especially Zhao Shu, who was usually a very efficient person. However, during pregnancy, especially in the third or fourth month, she became very sentimental and cried frequently.

After the baby was born, she would quickly recover.

Last night, they had chatted for a while, but Zhao Shu had started crying again. Lu Songnian couldn’t bear to let his wife sleep alone, so he held her close.

Thankfully, nothing untoward happened during the night.

As soon as he carefully withdrew his hand, Zhao Shu woke up. Because of her pregnancy and swelling, her eyes were red and puffy, which made her look pitiful.

Lu Songnian chuckled and said, “You should go see the old lady with that face; she’ll think I’m bullying you.”

Zhao Shu touched her cheek shyly, sat up carefully, and, with her large belly, struggled to sit upright.

“The old lady probably doesn’t care about such things.”

As they spoke, both got out of bed.

Zhao Shu, being pregnant, only did a quick wash and didn’t apply any makeup, just lightly oiled her face, fixed her hair, and changed her clothes before heading to the old lady’s room with her husband to pay respects.

Zhao Shu, being pregnant, was excused from the regular morning greetings, but since Lu Songnian had returned, she decided to accompany him for a walk to the old lady’s room.

After they paid their respects, Lu Songnian sat down, and only then did Wen Ruyu bring up her plan to buy a house in Kyoto.

This was obviously a favorable matter for Lu Songnian, so he didn’t oppose it, saying, “If my son has no objection, then it’s up to my mother to decide.”

Wen Ruyu then explained her plan: “Since we are going to buy, we should get a bigger house. Once your wife gives birth, we’ll all move to Kyoto. It’ll be easier to avoid social troubles. With the world in turmoil, I believe we’ll need more help from relatives in the future, so we should plan ahead.”

Lu Songnian nodded and said, “Lately, there have been many bandits in the south. The court has issued an order to recruit soldiers to defend against thieves. With the chaos everywhere, the court can’t control it all.”

Wen Ruyu thought for a moment and replied, “That’s not a good omen.”

“Local unrest gives local officials military power. It’s possible we might see separatism. To be safe, it’s better to decide on the house purchase soon. If the house is too small, we can buy more land to build a bigger one.”

Lu Songnian, who hadn’t considered the possibility of regional separatism, took his mother’s words more seriously, furrowing his brows.

“With insufficient local forces, the central government still has thousands of soldiers who can be mobilized for self-defense if necessary. But with a young emperor on the throne, the army below may not obey.”

At this time, danger could be found everywhere, and in ancient times, survival often depended on luck.

After agreeing to Wen Ruyu’s plan, Lu Songnian added, “Once the banquet is over in a couple of days, I want to take my brothers to the village to visit the ancestral tombs and also tell my father that I passed the imperial examination.”

Wen Ruyu nodded, “That’s very appropriate.”

Though she said this, Wen Ruyu had other thoughts in mind.

She felt that going to the ancestral tomb wasn’t as meaningful as visiting the original family head. The younger generation of the Lu family wasn’t very capable, and only the original head had tried to save the family, even after his death.

But as for the Lu family ancestors… Wen Ruyu had yet to see one of them.

The three of them chatted for a while before dispersing.

That evening, the family had dinner together, and Wen Ruyu brought up the house-buying matter again.

She also asked her third son to stay a bit later to take her token and go collect the silver notes tomorrow.

Several hundred taels of silver would be too conspicuous if carried in cash.

When Qian Yiniang heard that Wen Ruyu was taking the family to Kyoto, she became nervous.

“Old lady, what about me…?”

She was afraid she might be left out.

Wen Ruyu, sensing her concern, smiled and said, “You can come along too.”

Qian Yiniang was relieved, her face beaming as she busied herself serving her beloved son his food.