Lu Guanyi didn’t return to the back courtyard until lunchtime to eat with Ye Yaming.

After the meal, Lu Guanyi asked, “What do you plan to do this afternoon?”

Ye Yaming shook her head, “No plans.” She looked at Lu Guanyi, “Why don’t you accompany me for a walk around the mansion?”

She was now the wife of Marquis Xuanwu’s heir, and before Lu Zhongyong remarried, she was the only mistress of this household, responsible for managing domestic affairs. Before she began clearing out the household servants, she needed Lu Guanyi to accompany her for a walk to assert her authority.

Lu Guanyi had the same thought: “All right.”

The two got up and began touring the Marquis Xuanwu’s mansion.

Leaving their courtyard, Lu Guanyi said, “This mansion was bestowed on my father by the Emperor when I was six years old. I’ve hardly ever lived here. I’m not familiar with this place either.”

He spoke without any emotional fluctuation, but Ye Yaming felt sad for him.

She smiled, “You’ll become familiar with it soon. We’ll be living here for a long time. So today we should have a good look around.”

“Like dogs marking their territory?” Lu Guanyi suddenly joked.

Ye Yaming noticed that this man had changed a lot since their intimate contact last night. Previously, he had maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, speaking only when necessary. Now he not only talked more but had started joking with her.

Since he was opening up, she wouldn’t remain distant either. They would be together for a long time, and she wanted him to gradually adapt to her true personality.

She rolled her eyes slightly at him and retorted, “You’re the dog.”

Lu Guanyi laughed. When this mature man with his cold and composed demeanor suddenly laughed like this, he instantly seemed to return to his true age. Ye Yaming couldn’t help but look at him several times.

A handsome, talented man was pleasing to the eye, lacking nothing in intelligence, ability, or values. If he wasn’t fickle and didn’t attract romantic entanglements, Ye Yaming felt that it might not be impossible to continue walking with him.

Lu Guanyi loved Ye Yaming’s eyes the most. When she looked at him like this, his heart pounded, and he quickly raised his hand to lightly cover her eyes: “Don’t look at me like that.” He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist kissing her.

Ye Yaming reached out to push his mischievous large hand away. As a result, her hand was held in Lu Guanyi’s.

Ye Yaming walked forward, trying to pull her hand away, but Lu Guanyi held it even tighter.

Just holding hands wasn’t something Ye Yaming thought much of. But in ancient times, with several servants watching them from behind, displaying affection like this made her feel like they were performing for an audience.

She said, “This…” she shook their joined hands slightly, “doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”

“What’s inappropriate? We’re newlyweds, sweet as honey.”

“Lu Guanyi, I can’t believe you’re saying things like this,” Ye Yaming looked at him in surprise, “It doesn’t sound like you at all.”

Seeing his reddened ears and slightly embarrassed expression, she finally couldn’t help but laugh.

This Lu Guanyi, resembling an innocent young boy, was someone she had never seen before. Perhaps with Lu Zhongyong and Lu Guanyu gone, the man before her had finally removed all his armor, revealing his softest, most genuine side.

…

Land in the capital was extremely valuable. Although Marquis Xuanwu’s mansion was called a mansion, its area wasn’t as large as the Ye residence in Lin’an City. However, the buildings were compact; whoever built this residence must have hoped for many children and grandchildren, so they constructed many courtyards and buildings.

Ye Yaming counted six courtyards just in the inner compound, some standing alone, others nested within larger courtyards.

With so many rooms, originally only Madam Shi and Lu Guanyu had lived in the entire mansion as masters. Ye Yaming couldn’t imagine how Madam Shi had felt living here.

Ye Yaming became much closer to Lu Guanyi, and her speech became more casual.

“I still prefer your residence in Lin’an, with its beautiful scenery, moderate size, and not too many courtyards. It’s very comfortable to live in.”

Lu Guanyi had been holding Ye Yaming’s hand and hadn’t been willing to let go. Now, hearing “your residence in Lin’an,” he was displeased: “What do you mean ‘your’? It’s ‘our’! Ours.”

“Yes, yes, our residence in Lin’an,” Ye Yaming promptly corrected herself upon hearing this.

After the couple had toured the residence, Ye Yaming sensed quite a few prying eyes.

Concerned that her sixth sense might be wrong, she asked Lu Guanyi. As a martial artist who had spent two years at the border, he had long noticed the servants hiding in the shadows watching them, with their heavy footsteps and deep breathing.

He said, “Yes, in that courtyard we just passed, six people were peeking at us through the windows. In the courtyard ahead, there were two people, and near the kitchen, there were five. They’re probably curious about what you look like.”

Ye Yaming shrugged.

She turned and asked Bai Rui, “Did you stay in the servants’ quarters last night? What about the others?”

“Yes, miss. The others were there too,” Bai Rui replied.

“Were their accommodations and meals adequate? Did anyone give them a hard time?” Ye Yaming asked again.

It wasn’t that she didn’t care about these people and had only just remembered the dozens of servants she had brought as part of her dowry. These people had all been carefully trained. If they came to Marquis Xuanwu’s mansion and couldn’t even get proper meals, then there would be no point in their following her.

In fact, from the moment she brought them to Marquis Xuanwu’s mansion yesterday, their test had begun. How to arrange for these people would depend on their performance in the next few days.

“It was fine.” Bai Rui had already received instructions from Ye Yaming to ignore those people. She smiled, “We returned very late last night, and everyone was already asleep. Early this morning when we came over, many of them hadn’t yet risen, so we don’t know how they’re doing.”

Ye Yaming nodded and said nothing more.

After touring the residence, as they walked back, she instructed An Tai, “Go and summon Lu An.”

Previously, when Ye Yaming instructed An Tai to do something, he would first glance at Lu Guanyi, waiting for his nod before complying.

Now he knew that this extra step was unnecessary. His young master had already been so captivated by the young mistress that he probably didn’t even remember his surname. If the young mistress not only called for Lu An but even ordered him to be driven out immediately, his young master probably wouldn’t even make a sound.

He promptly agreed and turned to deliver the message.

Lu Guanyi didn’t ask Ye Yaming why she was calling Lu An. After returning to the hall in the back courtyard and sitting down, he ordered tea and refreshments to be served.

Just as Lu’E had finished brewing the tea, Lu An arrived and bowed to the couple: “Young Master, Young Mistress.”

Ye Yaming took the lidded bowl handed to her by Lu’E, and while stirring the tea leaves inside, asked, “How many servants are there in the Marquis’s mansion now?”

“In reply to the Mistress, there are sixty-two people,” Lu An answered.

Ye Yaming’s hand paused, and she looked up: “So many? How is it that when the Young Master and I toured the mansion earlier, we hardly saw any servants?”

Although there was no sweat on Lu An’s forehead, he wiped it with his sleeve. It was unclear whether he was genuinely nervous or just pretending to be nervous, putting on an act for Ye Yaming.