The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

**Trivial Daily Life (Part One):**

One day, Wen Ye left Madam Lu's place and happened to run into Xu Yuxuan on his way home from school.

The little boy called out "Mother" when he saw her, but then deliberately turned his head away and walked at a distance from her, occasionally letting out a few "hmphs."

It reminded her of the time she visited the pigpen at the estate and saw the piglets happily grunting when they got something tasty to eat. "Still upset?" Wen Ye asked, taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Xu Yuxuan immediately turned his head and said, "Mother, next time you finish eating, remember to save the bones for me." Wen Ye chuckled, "Alright, I won't forget next time." It was just that she had eaten an extra piece of his dried rabbit the day before and forgotten to leave the bones for him.

Not long ago, the academy had a break, and Xu Jingrong came home, bringing a lot of dried rabbit meat. The household had been eating it for a while, which also led to a sharp increase in the number of rabbit tombstones in Xu Yuxuan's courtyard.@@novelbin@@

Wen Ye hadn't expected that this boy, who wasn't particularly good at his studies, could remember every single bone missing from the rabbits. At such a young age, his hobbies were quite peculiar.

After Wen Ye took the initiative to speak, Xu Yuxuan stopped huffing and said, "Mother, the teacher assigned a lot of homework, so I won't be joining you for dinner tonight."

At six years old, Xu Yuxuan had become much more sensible and reasonable, as Madam Lu often remarked. However, in front of Wen Ye and Xu Yuejia, he still frequently showed his little temper.

Wen Ye nodded and waved at him at the fork in the road, "Go on, do your homework well."

Xu Yuxuan, carrying his book bag, turned and headed towards the west courtyard.

After watching him walk away, Wen Ye turned to Tao Zhi and said, "Go, tell the kitchen to stew rabbit meat for dinner tonight."

This time, she was going to enjoy it to her heart's content.

During dinner that evening, Xu Yuejia looked at the spicy rabbit heads on the table and simply said, "Remember to 'dispose of the evidence.'"

Wen Ye replied, "Don't worry, Tao Zhi is an old hand at this."

Tao Zhi, who hadn't left yet, overheard this and thought to herself, "…" Anyone listening would think she was involved in some murderous business.

Tao Zhi couldn't help but sigh. In the past, only Madam Wen had a tendency to speak inappropriately, but now even the master was following suit.

**Trivial Daily Life (Part Two):**

Recently, the Marchioness of Ding'an had started worrying about her eldest son's marriage.

Madam Lu and her younger brother, the Heir Apparent Lu, had a significant age gap. The heir had joined the military at fourteen and was about to turn nineteen this year.

According to the marriage customs of the Great Jin Dynasty, this wasn't considered late, but it certainly wasn't early either.

The Marchioness of Ding'an had a few young ladies in mind but was feeling indecisive. So, she chose a day to visit the Duke's residence, hoping Madam Lu could help her weigh the options.

Coincidentally, Wen Ye was also there that day.

To be honest, Wen Ye hadn't met the Marchioness of Ding'an many times, but every time she did, she was struck by her beauty. Sometimes, you just had to accept fate—no matter how much you tried to take care of your skin, you couldn't compete with someone who was naturally beautiful. The Marchioness's skin was so fair it seemed to glow, and you couldn't tell she was already in her forties.

Madam Lu's features closely resembled her mother's, though there were slight differences. Wen Ye couldn't help but think that those subtle differences probably came from the Marquis of Ding'an.

The Marchioness took a sip of tea and suddenly felt someone's gaze on her. She looked up and saw her daughter's sister-in-law staring at her. She smiled and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that, Ye'er?"

Madam Lu also turned to look at Wen Ye.

Wen Ye smiled and explained, "I was just wondering how you maintain such smooth skin, Marchioness. I'd love to learn your secrets."

The Marchioness hadn't expected Wen Ye to ask her this and couldn't help but laugh softly into her handkerchief.

Madam Lu gave Wen Ye a slight glare before turning to her mother and saying, "Mother, Ye'er is just being playful. Please don't mind her."

In truth, the Marchioness hadn't interacted much with Wen Ye, and most of her impressions came from her daughter, Madam Lu.

The phrase that stood out the most was "smooth talker."

At the time, the Marchioness had thought her daughter was exaggerating, but after today, she silently retracted that thought. She had been too narrow-minded. She looked at her daughter and said, "Mind what? I think she's quite delightful."

Though the Marchioness was somewhat reserved, she wasn't one to resist genuine praise.

As for skincare secrets, she certainly had some.

Seeing Wen Ye's sincerity, the Marchioness generously said, "I'll write down a recipe for you later. But keep in mind, the results vary from person to person, so don't set your expectations too high."

After that, the conversation returned to the topic of choosing a suitable wife for the Marquis's Heir.

Faced with the two candidates proposed by the Marchioness, Madam Lu shared her thoughts and concluded, "They're both excellent young ladies, but Mother, you should still consult with my brother. A harmonious marriage largely depends on the man's attitude."

Madam Lu spoke tactfully, but the underlying message was clear: if the man was considerate and loyal, the wife would naturally be gentle and obedient.

It also implied that the heir didn't have a sweetheart yet.

The Marchioness and her husband had married for love in their youth, so they always sought their children's opinions when it came to marriage.

Madam Lu trusted her younger brother's judgment.

With the candidates in mind, the Marchioness didn't linger too long at Madam Lu's place. She quickly prepared to return home and inquire about the families' willingness to form an alliance.

Before ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍leaving, she handed Wen Ye a skincare recipe.

Madam Lu watched as Wen Ye eagerly held onto the recipe and couldn't help but say, "I don't mean to discourage you, but I've tried that recipe before, and it didn't do much for me."

Wen Ye put the recipe down and said, "It's alright, Sister-in-law. Having it is better than not having it at all."

She could tell that the Marchioness's flawless skin was more due to genetics than skincare, but some people just had to see for themselves.

Like her.

Wen Ye took the recipe back to the west courtyard.

After dinner, Wen Ye decided to give the recipe a try. She had just prepared the ingredients when Xu Yuejia returned. It was already past 9 PM.

Xu Yuejia went to wash up first and then came over to Wen Ye's side. Noticing the paper next to her, he asked, "What's this?"

Wen Ye, sitting at her vanity, casually replied, "It's a skincare recipe I got from Sister-in-law's mother." Xu Yuejia picked it up and glanced at it. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Wen Ye started joking, "I'm planning to challenge becoming the youngest grandmother in the Great Jin Dynasty."

Xu Yuejia thought he had misheard. Recalling how Xu Yuxuan had been standing on his tiptoes to pick grapes in the courtyard that afternoon, he said, "He's too young to get married."

Wen Ye applied the red, mud-like paste to her face and replied, "Isn't it said that children grow up quickly? A few more winds, and he'll be all grown up."

Xu Yuejia asked seriously, "How many winds would that take?" Wen Ye couldn't help but think that spending too much time with someone who often spoke whimsically had rubbed off on him.

The recipe from the Marchioness stated that the mask needed to be left on for at least half an hour, but not too long, or it would be difficult to wash off. Wen Ye looked at her red face in the mirror and turned to Xu Yuejia, "You go ahead and sleep, Husband."

Xu Yuejia had also read the recipe, which included detailed instructions on the proportions, amounts, and precautions.

So he reminded her, "Remember to wash it off before bed."

Wen Ye confidently replied, "I know that better than you, Husband."

However, in the middle of the night.

Wen Ye suddenly woke up and instinctively touched her face, feeling something odd—it was bumpy. She stepped over Xu Yuejia, who was sleeping on the outer side of the bed, lit a candle, and looked in the mirror. Sure enough, the mask had dried completely. She had been so engrossed in reading a novel last night that she had forgotten to wash it off before going to bed.

The commotion woke Xu Yuejia.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up.

Wen Ye pointed to her face, and Xu Yuejia paused before asking, "Forgot?" Wen Ye nodded.

Xu Yuejia got out of bed and lit all the lamps in the room. Seeing her face more clearly now, he said with a slight smile, "I'll get you a basin of hot water."

Wen Ye tried to scrape off the dried mask with her fingers, but it was tough.

When Xu Yuejia returned with the hot water, he used a warm towel to help her wipe it off. It took nearly an hour.

Finally, after cleaning her face, a faint red mark remained. Wen Ye looked at herself in the mirror and thought, "I'm done for."

The next morning, Xu Yuxuan came to pay his respects.

Seeing only his father at the head of the room, he asked, "Has Mother not risen yet?"

Just as his words fell, the inner chamber's door opened from within.

Hearing the sound, Xu Yuxuan turned his head to look. Before he could clearly see who it was, he instinctively asked, "Who are you? Why are you coming out of my mother's room?"

Wen Ye, her face flushed, decided to brazen it out. She deliberately covered her face with her hand and lowered her voice, saying, "I am your father's newly wedded wife."

By now, Xu Yuxuan had a vague understanding of what "newly wedded wife" meant.

He immediately turned his head and glared at Xu Yuejia, exclaiming, "Father! You're so wicked!"

Xu Yuejia, who had been innocently dragged into this, said nothing. He silently glanced at the woman standing at the inner chamber's door.

Wen Ye met his gaze and was about to smile when she heard Xu Yuxuan shout at Xu Yuejia, "I want the original, beautiful one to be my mother! This one... this one looks nothing like Xuan'er's mother!"

Wen Ye: She wasn't angry. She maintained her smile. At least he had called her beautiful, hadn't he?