"This is my courtyard."
Shen Xuan stopped in front of the coldest and most secluded courtyard in the entire mansion, tilting his head slightly to signal Lu Yu to go in first.
"A Kai, A Kai! Young Master Shen Er is back today. Do you think he'll come back here? If he does, how should we deal with him?"
A young servant wearing a servant's shirt ran out from inside, chasing another servant and constantly questioning him.
Lu Yu paused, instinctively looking back at Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan's face showed no emotion, but Lu Yu could feel Shen Xuan's disappointment.
That's right, Shen Xuan wasn't overly shocked. He wasn't favored at home, so it wasn't difficult to understand that his courtyard would be occupied by servants after he got married.
It was just a little bit sad in his heart. The courtyard he had lived in for so long was gone just like that. The feelings between relatives were also gone just like that.
After wealthy young ladies got married, even though most of them wouldn't return, their fathers' families would still keep a courtyard for them. In poor rural families, after a man got married, his relatives would live in the man's room.
"Deal with it as you would normally deal with it!"
"He did such a shameless thing, and he still has the nerve to argue with us during the return visit? You wait, he won't come."
The servant named A Kai said with disdain.
Seeing A Ning still looking worried, he pushed him, "Hurry up and buy some chestnut cakes from the street and send them to the eldest young master later. The eldest young master loves them the most."
Lu Yu couldn't bear to see Shen Xuan sad and was about to teach them a lesson, but Shen Xuan grabbed her arm.
Shen Xuan shook his head at her and smiled faintly, "Forget it."
This place held only unpleasant memories. Since it was already like this, then so be it. After all, he would never return here again.
Looking at Lu Yu's indignant expression for him, Shen Xuan felt warm. This was the first time he could wait for someone else to protect him with peace of mind, without worrying about being bullied, because she was there.
Being protected felt really good. If only it could last like this forever.
A Fu, watching his young master look so happy and content, secretly lowered his head and smiled.
His young master had suffered too much over the years. He lacked his father's love and his mother's care since childhood. Coupled with Zhao Liu's harshness and Shen Jia's bullying, even the servants didn't give him a good look.
His young master could only rely on himself. No one protected him at home. His young master couldn't cry out in pain when he was hurt, couldn't feel wronged when he was bullied, and couldn't cry when he was sad, because no one would pity him; they would only gloat.
If the family head could protect his young master like this today, then...
"A Fu, go see if the Shen family head is back."
Lu Yu felt A Fu's gaze lingering on Shen Xuan and came up with a reason to send A Fu away.
This was a good opportunity to establish her reliable image in Shen Xuan's heart. A Fu was ruining the aesthetic by being here.
"Oh, oh, okay, I'll go right away."
A Fu snapped back to attention and responded hurriedly. From Lu Yu's attitude towards Shen Xuan these past two days, A Fu had completely regarded Lu Yu as his second master.
Seeing A Fu walk away, Lu Yu approached Shen Xuan and said gently, "Take me to the places you usually go."
"Okay." For the first time, Shen Xuan answered so readily.
Shen Xuan led Lu Yu along a small path to the osmanthus tree next to his courtyard.
Late summer and early autumn, it was the season for osmanthus to bloom, and even the air was filled with a sweet fragrance.
"This osmanthus tree was planted by my father when he was carrying me. I come here to sit whenever I miss him," Shen Xuan said softly, looking up at the osmanthus flowers scattered by the wind in the sky.
"It's beautiful. Your father would be happy to know that the tree he planted has grown so well," Lu Yu replied softly, turning to look at Shen Xuan.
"Yes, so I want to take care of it on behalf of my father."
"Your father wanted to bury 'Nan Er Zui' under the tree, didn't he?" Lu Yu walked to the tree, squatted down, and reached out to touch the smooth soil.
There was a custom here: if a boy was born, a jar of "Nan Er Zui" would be buried under the tree when the boy was one month old. It would be brought out when he got married as a blessing to the newlyweds, symbolizing that the man belonged to his wife from birth until the future.
"Yes, but my father left after giving birth to me, so there was naturally no 'Nan Er Zui' buried under this tree."
Shen Xuan said, walked forward, sat beside Lu Yu, leaned against the tree trunk, picked up the fallen leaves blown by the wind from the ground, placed them in his palm, and watched them scatter with the wind.
"Wife."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you today." Thank you for letting me experience the feeling of being protected.
"Don't say 'you' so formally. That kind of address isn't used with me. I am your wife, so it's only natural for me to protect you."
"Yes, but... you are the wife, and this is not in accordance with the rules."
"The equality between husband and wife is my rule. If you marry me, you must abide by my rules. Don't call me 'you' anymore. You can call me by my name, understand?"
Lu Yu's words seemed to have a magical power, making Shen Xuan unconsciously obey.
"Okay."
The soft, clean voice drifted into Lu Yu's ears with the wind, attracting Lu Yu's attention.
"Young master, uh, no, family head, husband, the Shen family head is back."
Hearing the title "husband" again, Lu Yu chuckled.
Listening to Lu Yu's laughter, Shen Xuan gritted his teeth in embarrassment and glared at A Fu.
A Fu was completely bewildered by their reactions, not knowing which of his words was wrong. He quietly lowered his head and remained silent.
Seeing A Fu looking so pitiful, and Shen Xuan lowering his head without speaking, Lu Yu had to break the awkward silence, especially since she was eager to know Shen mother's attitude and reaction.
"A Fu, does the Shen family head know we're back?"
"Yes, but..."
Seeing A Fu's hesitant expression, Lu Yu guessed that the Shen family head must have said something unpleasant. Shen Xuan also guessed it.
A Fu stole a glance at Shen Xuan and said nervously, "It's mealtime now, and they are preparing to eat. But the Shen family head said, said not to bother with us, and they have already started eating."
After speaking, he glanced at Lu Yu again. Seeing that Lu Yu's face showed no anger, he was slightly relieved.
From their return until now, he had observed everyone's behavior in the mansion, and the malicious words directed at the couple were incessant.
For sons returning home from ordinary families, the parents would greet them with smiles to show their importance to their sons. If a woman was respected in her husband's family, her husband's situation would improve significantly upon returning home.
If a woman was humiliated when accompanying her husband on a return visit, the man would inevitably be disliked by his wife upon returning home, and his situation would naturally become difficult.
He was truly afraid that Lu Yu would get angry because of this matter and implicate his young master.
A Fu and Shen Xuan had identical expressions, as if they were carved from the same mold. The two had grown up together, no wonder they were so alike.
"Let's go, let's go eat. We can't starve ourselves."
Saying that, without regard for A Fu, she took Shen Xuan's hand and walked towards the dining hall with light steps.
The warmth of Lu Yu's palm was transmitted through their clasped hands to Shen Xuan, not only warming Shen Xuan's slightly cool fingertips but also slowly melting Shen Xuan's already frozen heart.
The warmth traveled through Shen Xuan's blood to his face, colliding with the cool autumn breeze, making his heart beat faster and faster.
Against the backdrop of the falling yellow osmanthus flowers, the redness on his cheeks became even more apparent.
Only poor A Fu was left to chase after them desperately.