The temperamental white moonlight is back, and the entire Marquis's family obediently calls him

"When His Majesty learned of this, he was furious, feeling that he had been fooled, and thus ordered the confiscation of the property."

Zhou Ming'an: "...I see, Shu Hui, you know a lot."

Her gaze towards Lin Shuhui was filled with undisguised envy.

Lin Shuhui's parents only had this one daughter, and they raised her like a boy from a young age, often taking her out to see the world.

Not to mention, Lin Shuhui also had a maternal uncle who was the Grand Tutor and the head of the He family. Every time they met, he would bring Lin Shuhui a lot of things and information, so Lin Shuhui knew even more.

"Don't just be envious, you should go out and explore more."

"Your mother was worried about you going out, but you didn't want her to come with you, so you stayed at home."

"Isn't it nice that you're going out together now?"

Hearing this, Zhou Ming'an felt much better: "You're right, I'll go out more often in the future."

"That's right!"

Lin Shuhui smiled, then seemed to remember something and hesitated to speak.

Having been together for many years, Zhou Ming'an had rarely seen her like this.

Lin Shuhui never had any major worries. When she showed this expression, it was usually because she was afraid of saying something that would hurt her feelings.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Ming'an guessed what was going on, took a deep breath, and asked, "Is there any news about Liu Muyuan and Cuilan?"

Lin Shuhui had a "I knew I couldn't hide it from you" look on her face: "I found out the other day that Liu Muyuan has been stripped of his Juren status and is no longer allowed to participate in the imperial examinations."

When his father found out, he was so angry that he kicked him out of the house.

"I heard that he left all alone."

As she spoke, Lin Shuhui observed her expression, afraid that she might be upset as well.

Zhou Ming'an simply lowered his eyes.

"In that case, I have to go see my sister-in-law; she must be feeling terrible."

"How about we go for a spring outing in a couple of days? I heard there's a really nice park in the north of the city. I'll ask my mom to come along..."

Lin Shuhui secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay..."

*

On the other side, Zhou Shixu, having watched the play with Miss Yu, presented her with a brocade box, blushing slightly as he said, "I was grounded by my father before, and breaking my promise was not my intention. Here, take this as my apology."

Yu was slightly taken aback. She opened the brocade box and took a look. Inside was a pair of red jade earrings of excellent quality.

"This...is too valuable, I can't accept it."

"Just accept it," Zhou Shixu said hesitantly. "It's not worth much money. If you don't accept it, I'll feel even more uneasy."

Upon hearing this, Madam Yu had no choice but to accept the earrings.

Zhou Shixu escorted her home. When they reached the courtyard gate, Madam Yu stopped and turned to look at him.

Zhou Shixu understood and waved to Chao Junshan, telling him to go further away.

Then, Madam Yu said in a very soft voice, "Young master, there seemed to be some strange noises coming from my bed last night. Could you... take a look?"

Zhou Shixu was taken aback, and visibly tensed up: "You... in bed?"

Despite his shock, he kept his voice down so that others wouldn't hear him.

"This...this isn't appropriate, it's against etiquette."

Madam Yu smiled gently: "It's against propriety, and it's also against common sense. Even you, young master, are unwilling to help me?"

Yu's eyes sparkled, captivating all who beheld them, and it took Zhou Shixu a while to regain his senses.

Just as Madam Yu thought he was about to nod, she heard him speak with utmost seriousness:

"That won't work either."

"Miss Yu, perhaps you are too young and do not know these things. You are not married and I am not married. It is not appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together."

"The teahouse is outside. If I were to enter your bedroom, I would be far too promiscuous. If my father found out, he would beat me to death."

Yu Shi: "..."

"If you don't tell, I won't tell either. Only the two of us know about this. How could your father know? Or... do you find my humble abode unworthy, which is why you refuse to set foot here?"

Yu's eyes gradually welled up with tears.

Zhou Shixu quickly shook his head: "Really, no, I... I won't say anymore, see you next time..."

Zhou Shixu was completely unable to defend himself and turned to run away.

Yu was completely unprepared for him to run away. She chased after him for a few steps, but saw that Zhou Shixu was running too fast and was not paying attention to his footing, and almost tripped and fell flat on his face.

Yu stopped in her tracks and couldn't help but chuckle.

This person is really...

Then she thought of something, her smile gradually faded, and she sighed softly.

Never mind, next time, next time she definitely will...

After a long while, she turned around and went back. She pushed open the courtyard gate, and the moment she looked up, she froze.

"Long time no see, Yu Shuang."

Lu Mingzhao sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, took a sip of hot tea, and smiled broadly.

"You seem to be doing well; you look much better than when you were at the manor."

"..."

Yu Shuang's face was ashen. She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.

She knew that Lu Mingzhao's presence here meant he must already know everything, not to mention what he had overheard outside the courtyard earlier... Lu Mingzhao must have heard everything.

Lu Mingzhao already knew what she wanted to do.

Yu Shuang gave up struggling: "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you."

Lu Mingzhao laughed and said, "Don't be in such a hurry."

She got up and looked around the yard.

"That explains why you wouldn't let us help you buy a courtyard when you left the manor. At least the Marquis's manor would have paid for it, which would have reduced your troubles in the future."

"So you had your own ideas."

Lu Mingzhao nodded: "The yard is very clean, not bad."

Seeing Lu Mingzhao like this was even more painful for her than killing Yu Shuang directly.

"Madam Lu, just give me a quick death."

"That won't do," Lu Mingzhao laughed, "I need to know who instigated you."

"Chu Yuan'er?"

Yu Shuang smirked, "Doesn't Madam Lu already know everything? Why ask me again?"

Lu Mingzhao raised an eyebrow: "So, she just wanted to create chaos within our family?"

"You were once Shi Li's concubine. Now that you've left the manor, you're entangled with Shi Xu again. If this gets out, it will not only affect Shi Li's career, but it will also create a rift between the two brothers."

"It's remarkable that she thought of starting with such a small thing and achieving great results with a small investment. You are indeed beautiful; it's hard to say what would happen if it were someone else."

"Unfortunately, you're facing Zhou Shixu... She probably didn't expect Shixu to still be so childlike, did she?"

Yu Shuang clenched her sleeves: "Madam Lu is right, you know everything now, so what do you plan to do with me?"

Lu Mingzhao shook his head: "It's not about what I can do with you, it's about what you want to do with me."

Yu Shuang frowned slightly.

Lu Mingzhao patiently explained, "According to Chu Yuan'er's plan, I have two choices: either get rid of you or pretend nothing happened. If you die or disappear, she will definitely take this opportunity to sow discord between me and Shi Xu. But if I don't get rid of you, I won't feel at ease."

"I imagine you're struggling with the same dilemma, aren't you?"

Lu Mingzhao stretched out his hand, holding a medicine packet between his fingertips.

Yu Shuang's pupils contracted.

Lu Mingzhao: "This medicine packet was found in your room. It had been opened many times and there were tea stains on it."

"You should have had many opportunities to drug her and force the issue. You could have chased after her just now, but you didn't."

"You'd also find it difficult to choose between 'drug administration' and 'abandoning the plan,' wouldn't you? The former would get Zhou Shixu into trouble, while the latter would get you into trouble yourself."

"so……"

Lu Mingzhao smiled slightly: "I'll give you a third option."