The ultimate Valkyrie has fallen for me

After breakfast, the butler was already waiting outside the door. According to custom, the newlyweds had to pay their respects to their elders, namely Shen Fuyue and his second and third wives, in the morning.

Although Lu Yuan wasn't a son-in-law who moved into the family home, this was still the Shen family home, and as a junior, he should show proper respect.

After handing Lu Bei over to the nanny, Lu Yuan and Shen Humeng changed their clothes and came out.

"Master said that there is no need to go to his place, just visit the second and third wives for a while."

"Okay, which one should we go to first?"

Lu Yuan nodded, showing no objection.

Shen Humeng remained silent. A woman follows her husband after marriage, and Lu Yuan was her husband, so he was in charge of making all the decisions.

"Let's go to the second wife's place first, according to the order."

The butler said something and then asked Lu Yuan and Shen Humeng to get into the car.

The Shen family home is very large. It would take at least twenty minutes to walk from the fourth house to the second and third houses.

In fact, there are shuttle buses in various parts of the Shen family's residence, making it convenient for people to travel back and forth.

A moment later, there was another villa located by the lake, opposite the main house across the lake; this was the residence of the second wife.

"The second wife said that the newlyweds were tired after a long day yesterday, so they should rest well today and not be bound by these formalities. They can come and play again when they have free time."

At the door, a middle-aged woman relayed a message.

Although they were being polite, they didn't even let Lu Yuan and his group in through the door.

Lu Yuan glanced at it, then turned and left.

"How is the second wife doing?"

In the car, Lu Yuan suddenly asked a question.

"The eldest wife and eldest brother passed away one after another, leaving only Bingbing in the first wife's household. Before, Bingbing was young and had almost no presence, so naturally the second wife's household became the eldest."

Shen Humeng paused slightly before continuing.

"Although my father favored his third wife and her children more, he always brought his second wife along to occasions where he needed to bring his wife."

"so."

Lu Yuan nodded slightly and couldn't help but smile.

If we compare the various branches of the Shen family to the imperial harem, the second wife is like a concubine. With the empress gone, she is now the most powerful and in charge of managing the harem.

Although the third wife's rank as a concubine was not as high as the second wife's, she was currently enjoying the emperor's favor.

So it's really hard to say whether the second or third wife is more powerful.

They're all elderly people, yet they've turned this into something like a soap opera. The Shen family is quite interesting.

"What about the children of the second wife?"

"Two men and one woman. The younger son died outside the city a few years ago, leaving only the older son. The daughter is already married and lives in Dijiang Base City."

Immediately afterwards, Shen Humeng told Lu Yuan the details of the second wife's situation.

For example, military force, and the main industries involved.

After we had covered most of the basics, we arrived at the third wife's side.

Below a mound was a courtyard.

Although it doesn't look as grand as the villa with two bedrooms, it occupies a larger area and is clearly more in line with Shen Fuyue's preferences.

"The third wife said she has other matters to attend to today and will not be receiving guests."

The same middle-aged woman blocked Lu Yuan and his group from entering the room.

However, compared to the second wife's side, the third wife's side was much more direct in their speech.

"That saves trouble."

Lu Yuan smiled and beckoned Shen Humeng to get back into the car.

In fact, he didn't like the empty formalities of exchanging pleasantries with his elders. The absence of the second and third wives suited him just fine.

"How are things going for all three parties?"

On the way back, Lu Yuan asked another question.

Shen Fengxing had more information about the third wife's situation from his side, but he hadn't discussed it in detail with Shen Fengxing.

"Let's talk about offspring first. The third branch also has three children, but they are all sons. You are already very familiar with Shen Fengxing, the third son, then there is the eldest son Shen Shanli, and the second son Shen Huaiwo."

No wonder.

"Hmm? No wonder."

"No wonder Dad spoils you so much."

Lu Yuan smiled and counted on his fingers: Shen Fuyue had a total of eight children, six boys and only two daughters.

The daughter born to the second wife got married early, and even married to someone from another base city, leaving only Shen Humeng, the youngest daughter. No wonder Shen Fuyue dotes on her so much.

However, two of Shen Fuyue's eight children have already passed away, and it is a bitter experience for an elderly person to bury their children.

"As for strength?"

"It's actually similar to the second wife's situation."

Then, Shen Humeng gave a detailed account of the situation of the third branch of the family.

In terms of both military strength and economy, it is not much different from the second wife.

Although Shen Fengxing lost to Lu Yuan, causing some losses for the third branch of the family, which put them slightly behind the second branch, the second branch's overall situation did not decline significantly because Shen Fengxing's assets were divided up by Shen Shanli and Shen Huaiwo.

"From what you're saying, it seems the third branch of the family isn't very united either."

"It's more than just a lack of unity."

Shen Humeng snorted and said with a cold laugh.

"The three brothers of the third branch have been fighting each other since childhood. It is only because the third wife is still alive that they can unite against outsiders. But this time, Shen Fengxing was defeated by you, and Shen Shanli and Shen Huaiwo did not hesitate at all and directly divided up the resources of their younger brother."

"In that case, the third wife is easier to deal with than the second wife."

Lu Yuan nodded slightly, pondering to himself.

He and Shen Humeng are married, and he has officially become a member of the fourth branch of the Shen family. Conflicts between him and the second and third branches are now inevitable.

In fact, the attitude of the second and third wives towards them today is enough to illustrate this point.

Although the fourth and first branches of the family have joined forces, in the end, it's just him, Shen Humeng, and Shen Qiubing. Moreover, compared to each other, the power of the first and fourth branches is much smaller, or even negligible.

After all, before Lu Yuan appeared, the first branch of the family had declined, and the fourth branch was practically invisible.

Therefore, it is probably unrealistic to think that one can defeat the second and third wives by relying on sheer strength.

Since the hard way doesn't work, we'll have to resort to underhanded tactics.

On the way back, Lu Yuan had already come up with many underhanded tricks: befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, stirring up trouble, and sowing discord.

But we haven't figured out exactly how to use it yet.

He wasn't in a hurry, after all, he and Shen Humeng had just gotten married, and even if he simply didn't want to upset Shen Fuyue, the second and third wives probably wouldn't make any moves for the time being.

"By the way, how are the grandchildren of the second and third branches? I saw quite a few people from both branches at the birthday banquet that day, and they were even holding several children."

"Most of them are still young, only a few are already adults, but there are two or three who are quite good."

Shen Humeng thought for a moment, and then recounted the situation of the grandchildren of the second and third branches of the family.

Just as Shen Humeng said, although two of them were not bad and had some talent, after all, they were Shen Fuyue's offspring, but they were too young and posed no threat to Lu Yuan and the others.

The power struggle among the different branches of the Shen family is currently focused on the generation of Shen Humeng and Shen Fengxing.

"Let's talk about ourselves instead of them. How many properties does our fourth branch of the family currently own?"

After returning, Lu Yuan asked another question.