If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Tonight, the room of the prince consort and the princess was filled with excitement, and ambiguous voices kept coming out.

The servants serving in Zhiyuan Hall suddenly felt that the haze hanging over their heads had dissipated, welcoming the bright and brilliant blue sky.

That’s great! The prince consort and the princess finally reconciled.

I really hope that they can live in harmony in the future, and they won’t have to worry about serving the princess.

The next day.

Lu Heng took Guangning to the upper room to pay their respects to the old lady.

When the old lady saw them coming hand in hand, she felt that her illness was mostly cured.

She sent Shen Sui'an and Ruan away, leaving only Lu Heng and his wife to talk.

"Sister-in-law, I want to play with you." Lu Yaoyao took the initiative to hold Shen Suian's hand, her eyes like black grapes, clear and watery.

Shen Sui'an's heart softened, "Great, I love it when such a beautiful girl comes to play with me."

Ruan could see that Shen Sui'an truly liked Lu Yaoyao, and she felt happy in her heart.

Who doesn't want their children to be loved by others?

"I wanted to come and play with you yesterday, but I heard that the eldest young master was teaching you archery, so I didn't want to disturb you." Ruan said with a smile.

Shen Sui'an didn't know about this and felt a little embarrassed. "Why should I be afraid of disturbing you? Next time, Yaoyao can just come to Tanboyuan to find my sister-in-law."

As they walked and talked, they met Mrs. Lu Er in the garden, who had been very busy recently.

The New Year's Festival is the busiest time of the year. In addition to preparations everywhere in the house, there is also the exchange of gifts between families. Although there are references to previous years, it depends on the vision of the mistress of the house as to which family should increase and which should reduce.

These matters originally fell on Mrs. Lu, but now they have all been taken over by Mrs. Lu.

She was so tired that her back and waist ached, but in front of Mrs. Lu San and Shen Sui'an, she still raised her chin proudly, like a victorious rooster.

"Aunt, you seem to be a little haggard. Are you too tired recently?" Shen Sui'an certainly knew that Mrs. Lu wanted to seize power and was most afraid of others competing with her.

"It's tiring to manage the household. You guys are so leisurely every day." Mrs. Lu said, shaking her sleeves.

Shen Sui'an smiled and said, "Yes, I really can't bear to see this. Why don't I go and ask the old man to help Second Aunt with the housekeeping."

"You are young and inexperienced, what can you do?" Mrs. Lu immediately said with disdain.

"What about Third Aunt? She also managed the rear house in Subei. She must have experience." Shen Sui'an looked sincere.

The smug look on Mrs. Lu's face finally disappeared, as she remembered that the Duke had mentioned that he wanted Mrs. Three to help her manage the household.

It was the old lady who refused to agree and was determined not to let the power of housekeeper fall into the hands of the third house. This was how she managed to keep her current position.

The old lady could let Lu Yan be the housekeeper because she was her favorite granddaughter, but she would never allow the third wife to interfere in the housekeeper's power.

"I won't chat with you. I have a lot of things waiting for me." Mrs. Lu spoke vaguely and walked away in small steps.

Ruan couldn't help but sigh as she looked at her back, "Is the Lu family's income very lucrative? Otherwise, what is she after?"

She worked so hard to manage the household affairs, but in the end the Duke's Mansion was not the eldest wife's. The most she could get was more land.

However, if the housekeeper holds great power and can embezzle money from it, then it is understandable that she wants to seize power in this way.

Shen Sui'an knew very well that although the Lu family looked prosperous on the surface, they were actually not as good as they used to be.

Otherwise, Duke Lu would not have wanted to borrow the Shen family's connections to restore the Lu family's glory.

"Maybe Second Aunt likes this kind of selfless dedication." Shen Sui'an smiled softly.

Ruan looked at her and said, "You are right."

When they arrived at Danbo Courtyard, Shen Suian asked someone to prepare snacks. Yaoyao liked the swing in the courtyard and was taken by the maids to play on it.

"It's so quiet here," said Ruan.

Several maids were stationed in the courtyard where she and the Third Master lived, and they would keep their eyes peeled every day to find faults in them.

Since she had just arrived, she had to endure it for now.

Shen Sui'an knew what she meant, "There is no quiet place in this house. You have to rely on yourself."

There are still maids placed by the old lady in Danbo Courtyard, but they seem to be well behaved recently, so Shen Sui'an has not done anything to them.

"As long as husband and wife are of one mind, they will not be afraid of any evildoers," Ruan said in a low voice.

"This kind of thing is the same no matter which family it is in."

Shen Sui'an actually wanted to test the relationship between the Third Wife and the Southern Dynasty Ruan family, but she was afraid that her test would be discovered, which would affect their interactions.

Lu Yuan has little affection for his family, and the help from his third uncle is the rare warmth he gets in the Lu family.

Their uncle-nephew relationship cannot be affected by her suspicion.

Shen Sui'an, "That day I saw Third Aunt crush a spoon with her bare hands. Third Aunt has deep inner strength. I'm very curious, how did you and Third Uncle know each other?"

"Third Master and I are two people who have known each other for a long time." There was a warm smile on Ruan's face.

"Although the Southern Dynasty and the Yong Dynasty had already formed an alliance, I sneaked into the Yong Dynasty from the Southern Dynasty and was discovered by the Third Master who was patrolling the border. He arrested me as a spy. At that time, I was disguised as a man, and he couldn't see it in the dark."

"Then we had a fight. He found out that I was a woman and that I was from the Ruan family of the Southern Dynasty. He wanted to send me back."

"I refused to go back and lied to him that if he sent me back, he would be sending me to death. He softened his heart and let me stay. Later, my family found me, and he went to the Southern Dynasty to propose marriage, and we got married."

As Shen Sui'an listened to Ruan's words, his mind sketched out the happy and interesting things that she and the Third Master had experienced in the Subei Desert. He thought that they must have known each other and then fallen in love, and they trusted each other very much.

However, what surprised her was that the third wife actually took the initiative to tell her that she was from the Ruan family of the Southern Dynasty.

Ruan seemed to have guessed what Shen Sui'an was thinking. She smiled gently, "What about you? You and Lu Yuan have such a good relationship. Are you childhood sweethearts?"

Shen Sui'an smiled and said, "No, Lu Yuan was not the one I was engaged to at first."

"Huh?" Ruan was surprised. She looked at Shen Sui'an curiously.

"It seems that Third Aunt didn't find out all the family affairs before returning to the Lu family." Shen Sui'an chuckled.

Ruan, "I really didn't deliberately ask about your younger generation's affairs."

Shen Sui'an briefly described the process of her and Lu Yuan's marriage. It was no secret anyway, and Third Aunt would know if she asked around.

"I just saw how affectionate Lu Heng and the princess were. I never expected..." Ruan sighed softly.

She looked at Shen Sui'an deeply and said, "You are lucky. Lu Yuan is more suitable for you than Lu Heng."

Shen Sui'an smiled slightly, "Aunt, why did you come to Subei? You are a girl from the Ruan family... I have heard that there is a legitimate girl in the Ruan family who likes to wield swords and guns since she was a child. She once threatened to travel the world with a sword."

"...There is no need to mention the grandiose words spoken by the ignorant young people." Ruan covered her face with her hands and sighed.

Shen Sui'an thought to himself that he had guessed right, Third Aunt was the legitimate daughter of the Ruan family.

If the old lady knew that Third Aunt’s family background was so high, I wonder if she would faint again from anger.

"Sui'an, I'm sorry to ask you a question, but have you seen Lu Yuan's biological mother?" Ruan suddenly asked in a low voice.