The old butler showed little reaction to Zhao Qiao'Er's words.
He simply remained bent over, his body bowed.
Zhao Qiao'Er, however, had plenty to say on the matter and immediately continued:
"Look at those men out there, always throwing their weight around in public.
Then they go home and take it out on their families!
Our dear nephew knows how to protect his family. If anyone dares to bully his woman, he'll go after them with everything he's got!
Now that's what I call a real man, loyal and true! That's the kind of man a woman should marry!
We really didn't waste our affection on our close nephew!"
...
Lu Yuan, of course, had no idea that his willful act, far from making Aunt Zhao dislike him, had actually struck a chord with her.
But he had long since stopped worrying about things with Aunt Zhao.
He was currently lying in bed, holding Su Liyan and talking about the day's events.
It seemed like a lot had happened today, but it was really just one event, which was relatively easy to explain.
The harder part to explain was the matter of the Ink Pot and the Celestial Master Sword.
After all, these were things he would have to bring out into the open eventually.
Lu Yuan didn't want to keep secrets at home.
In his heart, home was home—a place where there should be no secrets.
The only exceptions were that he was a transmigrator and had a system. Telling anyone that would just make them think he was a complete idiot, and besides, there was no need to.
Lu Yuan wouldn't hide anything else from his wife.
She was the person sleeping beside him, after all, the one he would spend the rest of his life with.
If he had to hide this and that, home wouldn't feel like a home, and there would be no point to it.
As for the Celestial Master Sword and the Ink Pot, he would stick with the same story he told Aunt Zhao: they were family heirlooms.
Su Liyan truly believed whatever her man said, without a shred of doubt as to why she hadn't seen them before.
After all, Su Liyan had been the one cleaning the house inside and out these past few days.
"If you run into trouble in the future, tell me. Don't just bury all your grievances in your heart."
"I'm your husband. If you're wronged outside and you don't tell your own husband, are you treating me like a stranger?"
Lu Yuan held Su Liyan, his words a reprimand, but his heart ached for her.
He had not only learned what truly happened tonight, but also what those local thugs had said on the second day after his wife had just moved in.
How could Su Liyan not understand what her husband meant?
Hearing her husband's words, Su Liyan was truly moved beyond measure.
She pressed herself tightly against her man, rubbing her exquisitely beautiful face against his chest.
Overcome with happiness, she said with a hint of coquettishness:
"I was afraid of causing you trouble~"
Hearing his wife's words, Lu Yuan immediately reached out and gave her a firm pat.
After a crisp SMACK, a blushing Su Liyan buried her gorgeous face in her husband's embrace.
Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows and said:
"Nonsense. A family is supposed to help each other."
"There's no such thing as 'causing trouble' or not."
"I'm your husband, which means I'm supposed to protect my wife. Otherwise, what kind of man would I be?"
Deeply moved, Su Liyan hugged her husband tightly and replied in a voice as sweet as honey:
"You're the best man there is~~"
Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then remembered something else.
He said at once:
"Right, speaking of banquets, it's about time we held ours."
"Let's lay low in the village for the next few days. Once the Celestial Master from the Provincial City has executed that Xingzi, we'll go to your family's home."
Filled with happiness, what could Su Liyan say to that? She nodded repeatedly and said in a sweet, delicate voice:
"Whatever you say, darling~"
...
...
For the next seven or eight days, Lu Yuan didn't go anywhere, holing up at home to read.
This fit his public image, since he was a Scholar, after all.
Of course, he wasn't reading the same books as before.
Instead, he was reading *Celestial Master* and *Craftsmanship*.
What were these two books for? As their names implied, you could tell at a glance.
*Celestial Master* taught Magic Skills for dealing with Xingzi.
*Craftsmanship* was for making things.
But these two weren't just books; they were more like cultivation manuals from a fantasy world.
For instance, after studying *Celestial Master* for a few days and practicing the methods inside, Lu Yuan could now conjure a golden glow with his bare hands.
However...
Well... it could only produce a bit of light.
It wasn't very useful, making him look like a human lightbulb...
It couldn't be helped. The way of the Celestial Master was difficult, and there were many things in the book where Lu Yuan recognized the characters but didn't understand their meaning.
He could only fumble his way forward.
But at the very least, Lu Yuan now had a foothold in this strange world.
He was no longer completely in the dark like before.
The other book, *Craftsmanship*, was much simpler for Lu Yuan.
After all, as a modern person, the things taught in *Craftsmanship* were relatively easy to grasp.
The main thing was that he understood the principles.
*Craftsmanship* taught methods and techniques for creating all sorts of things.
From small items like Ink Pots, washbasins, tables, and chairs...
...to large ones like pistols and machine guns...
It even included things like steam engines and diesel engines.
It all sounded very impressive, but to build those powerful items, he needed materials.
Lu Yuan didn't have the means to make any of those things just yet.
However, he had recently been figuring out how to make something with the materials he currently had on hand.
A nice little thing to protect himself.
「Early morning.」
"Brother Fusheng, breakfast is ready. You can get it from the pot yourself."
Su Liyan stood in the courtyard and shouted toward the East Wing.
Then she quickly walked to a corner of the courtyard, where her husband was, and said in a sweet, lovely voice:
"Darling~~ Time to eat~~"
Lu Yuan, who was fiddling with something in his hands, nodded and replied without looking up:
"In a minute. I'm almost done with this."
Lin Fusheng had been staying at Lu Yuan's home for the past few days, since he was there for protection.
They couldn't just have the man living outside the village every day.
So they had given him the room in the East Wing.
The two had gotten to know each other well over the past few days. Plus, they were around the same age.
Once they were familiar with each other, they could talk about anything.
Lin Fusheng didn't have any major problems as a person. It could be summed up in one word: lazy.
Just like Pigsy.
He went to bed earlier than Lu Yuan and woke up later.
He had a huge appetite but was never on time for meals.
When it was time to eat, he'd dawdle and refuse to get out of bed.
"Darling, what's that?"
Su Liyan, standing to the side, was like a curious kitten.
Her current obedient, charming, and beautiful appearance was a world away from the cold, indifferent, and seemingly emotionless state she entered after her reversion. It was like she was two completely different people.
However, Lu Yuan also quite liked the way his wife looked after her reversion.
'Especially when she looks like a queen, her face an icy mask, only for her cheeks to flush red when I finally pin her on the bed.'
'Tsk~'
'Perfect~'
"This...?
Cover your ears."
Lu Yuan said, raising the object in his hand and aiming it at the roof of the East Wing.
Although Su Liyan didn't know what her husband was about to do, his words were like a royal decree to her.
She immediately covered her ears.
And then, with a BANG, a gunshot rang out.
Lu Yuan grinned at the frightened Su Liyan beside him and said:
"A small firearm."
"But I've given it a new name: a Flintlock Gun."