Yun Juan nodded awkwardly. After hesitating for a moment, she asked,
“Lanting… you’re supporting the Crown Prince’s succession to the throne, aren’t you?”
“Mhm.” He glanced at her. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just curious.”
Yun Juan struggled inwardly, unsure whether she should reveal anything she knew.
But…
Xiao Lanting would never live to see that day.
Or rather, it was precisely because he died that the Crown Prince’s fortunes began to decline. In the end, the Third Prince—who seemed to appear out of nowhere—replaced the Crown Prince as heir and even won away the fiancée who had all but been destined to become Crown Princess.
Xiao Lanting didn’t notice her hesitation. His gaze drifted downward.
“Does it still hurt?”
Yun Juan froze.
When she didn’t answer, he asked again,
“It hurts? I’ll get some ointment and rub it for you.”
“N-No… it doesn’t hurt anymore…”
She simply didn’t have the nerve to stay alone in the same room with him. In a flash, she fled to the warm side room across the hall and hid there.
But when night fell, Xiao Lanting still carried her back under the excuse that it was time to sleep.
The bed curtains fell, leaving only a narrow gap through which the moonlight filtered, just enough to reveal that no handprint had been left on her fair skin.
Yun Juan hadn’t been bruised.
The next morning, however, there was a faint bite mark on Xiao Lanting’s collarbone.
Yun Juan and Xiao Lanting had married near the end of the year.
In the blink of an eye, the year-end festivities had passed, and less than a month remained before the New Year.
This was always the busiest season in the household.
Yun Juan remembered that in her previous life, simply balancing the accounts, arranging banquets, and preparing New Year’s gifts for every courtyard had left her with barely two hours of sleep each day.
Madam Qin was currently in exactly that state of frantic busyness.
She was so occupied that she had even suspended the family’s daily greetings.
The Marquis of Yingchuan’s household held a family banquet every ten days.
On this particular day, Yun Juan finished getting ready and waited for Xiao Lanting to return from work before the two of them headed together to the main hall.
The banquet was still being prepared.
The family sat chatting in the reception hall.
Or rather…
Everyone mostly listened while the Marquis talked.
The Marquis first asked Xiao Lanting about affairs at the Northern Command Office.
He smiled warmly throughout, his eyes full of approval and fatherly affection.
When it came time to address Xiao Mingyu, however, his expression immediately darkened.
“What’s been wrong with you lately?”
“I’ve heard you’ve once again been staying out all day instead of coming home, leaving your wife alone in her room. And even when you do come back, you refuse to sleep in the main quarters.”
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Xiao Mingyu shot Yun Xiu a dark look.
“Who told you that?”
He had clearly paid everyone to keep quiet.
The Marquis slapped the armrest of his chair.
“Why are you looking at her? She didn’t complain!”
“I’m still the head of this household.”
“Did you really think you could hide something like this from me?”
Madam Qin sighed worriedly as well.
Xiao Lanting and Yun Juan were inseparable every day.
The Marquis already favored his younger, illegitimate son.
If Yun Juan became pregnant before Yun Xiu did…
What then?
Turning to Xiao Mingyu, she said,
“What exactly is the problem between you and Xiuxiu? Just talk it out.”
“You’ve only been married ten days, and you’re already tired of each other?”
“You insisted on marrying her in the first place. No one forced you.”
“Ever since the wedding, there hasn’t been a single peaceful day. If I’d known this would happen, it would’ve been better not to marry at all.”
Yun Xiu’s face burned with humiliation.
Of course Xiao Mingyu could never admit the truth—
that the woman he’d married had actually wanted to marry someone else.
He would rather swallow that humiliation for the rest of his life than let anyone know he’d been cuckolded before the marriage had even begun.
“It’s just a small disagreement,” he muttered.
“It’s nothing serious.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“As if I want to worry about you!”
The Marquis barked.
“Since you’re married, start acting like a married man.”
“Treat your wife properly.”
“If you pull another one of your ridiculous stunts, I’ll cut your monthly allowance in half.”
“Let’s see how you’ll afford to keep chasing women then.”
Xiao Mingyu immediately wilted.
“…Yes.”
Meanwhile, Yun Juan had become completely absorbed in watching the family drama unfold.
The Marquis called her name twice before she finally snapped back to reality when Xiao Lanting gently nudged her.
“Yun Juan.”
The Marquis looked at her.
“Did you ever learn bookkeeping or household management at the Yun residence?”
“I only learned a little from Madam.”
Originally, the Yun family had intended to marry both daughters off together.
Yun Xiu disliked accounting and couldn’t endure mathematics.
So Madam Xu had forced Yun Juan to learn instead.
The plan had been for Yun Juan to accompany Yun Xiu as part of her dowry and manage Yun Xiu’s accounts and household affairs after the marriage.
The Marquis nodded approvingly.
“So you’ve learned the basics. That’s enough.”
“Household management isn’t difficult.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
Madam Qin’s heart skipped a beat.
“My Lord… what do you mean by that?”
The Marquis answered matter-of-factly,
“I’ve seen how overwhelmed you’ve been lately.”
“Now that we have daughters-in-law, it’s only natural to let the younger generation take over part of the work.”
He looked at Yun Juan.
“Starting today, half the household affairs will be entrusted to you.”
“You are to assist your mother-in-law and help manage the estate.”
“Understood?”
Xiao Lanting was about to speak.
The Marquis immediately cut him off.
“Yun Juan.”
“What do you think?”
Yun Juan remained silent for several breaths before bowing.
“This daughter-in-law will obey Father’s arrangements.”
The Marquis nodded in satisfaction.
Madam Qin ate the remainder of the meal without tasting a thing.
The moment it ended, she left without saying a word.
The Marquis naturally knew she was sulking.
He simply couldn’t be bothered to coax her.
“Lanting.”
“I have something to discuss with you.”
“Yun Juan, go back first.”
Inside the study.
Xiao Lanting stood before the desk.
The Marquis faced away from him with his hands clasped behind his back.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Lanting.”
“You’ve had far too many things on your mind lately.”
“I’m pleased that you and Lady Yun treat each other with mutual respect.”
“But you’re devoting too much attention to her.”
“You worry too much, Father.”
“Do I?”
The Marquis turned around.
“Just now you wanted to object to my decision.”
“Why?”
“Were you afraid the household duties would exhaust her?”
Xiao Lanting answered evenly,
“We’ve only been married ten days.”
“I don’t want her wasting too much energy on other matters.”
“After all…”
A faint smile crossed his lips.
“I haven’t finished enjoying her yet.”
The Marquis studied him carefully.
Xiao Lanting met his gaze without flinching.
After a while, the Marquis finally looked away.
For now…
He believed him.
“Good.”
“As long as that’s all.”
“It’s fine to indulge yourself once in a while.”
“But I hope you understand your priorities.”
“And don’t forget why this marriage was arranged in the first place.”
He looked directly at Xiao Lanting.
“After the New Year’s court assembly, I intend to petition His Majesty to officially name you the heir to the marquisate.”
Xiao Lanting cupped his hands respectfully.
“Thank you, Father.”
“Very well.”
“You may go.”
After Xiao Lanting left, the Marquis sat alone in the study.
He pulled out a blank sheet of paper.
Then he dipped his brush in ink…
…and began writing.
After bathing, Yun Juan spent some time reading before Xiao Lanting finally returned.
She looked up.
“Did Father scold you?”
After a pause, she added softly,
“Was it because of me?”
Xiao Lanting neither admitted nor denied it.
Instead, he said,
“The household affairs are complicated.”
“Just handle the simpler matters.”
“Madam Qin is obsessed with holding onto authority.”
“She won’t easily entrust anything important to you.”
“If the workload becomes too much, hire a few more accountants.”
“If you don’t have enough money, have Changfeng withdraw some from the treasury.”
Warmth quietly spread through Yun Juan’s heart.
Although control of the household finances was something every noblewoman coveted…
The work itself was tedious and exhausting.
If not for the security and influence it provided…
Who would willingly give up an easy, comfortable life just to bury themselves in endless accounts and chores?
Back in the hall, the words Xiao Lanting hadn’t managed to say had probably been meant to refuse the responsibility on her behalf.
That must have been why the Marquis had called him away afterward.
Yun Juan assumed he felt guilty for failing to help her.
Smiling brightly, she said,
“Actually…”
“I’m quite good at managing a household.”
Xiao Lanting looked at her for a long moment.
Then he lowered his eyes.
What a fool.