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

Zhou Ming'an had gotten used to her master coming to teach her martial arts every two days.

As a result, the master went to the Northwest without saying a word.

Every time Zhou Ming'an finished practicing martial arts, he would stare blankly at the bamboo chair where his master usually sat for a while.

In fact, she understood that her master was someone who disliked such sad farewells, and if he told her about this, she would definitely burst into tears.

So, for them, a farewell without saying goodbye was the best.

But Zhou Ming'an still couldn't help feeling sad.

To clear her mind, she often went out to banquets with her mother these days, and gradually got to know more and more ladies and young women. Her mother also gained a foothold in the circle of noblewomen in the capital.

The father sent a letter back, using one page to say that he had arrived in the Northwest and that everything was fine, and then using five pages to express how much he missed Lu Mingzhao.

However, there has been no news from my older brother.

It's been more than a month already.

My sister-in-law was visibly worried. She was seven months pregnant but hadn't gained weight; in fact, she had lost a lot of weight. You can imagine how anxious she must have been these past few days.

Lu Mingzhao and Zhou Ming'an had no choice but to spend more time with Liu Muqiu each day and send more letters to urge her to reply.

Lu Mingzhao even offered to help her find her younger brother, Liu Muyuan, and have him live in the mansion so that the two siblings could keep each other company, which might put Liu Muqiu at ease.

However, Liu Muqiu rejected this suggestion.

Liu Muqiu knew that it was because of her existence that the Marquis's mansion had been so tolerant and accommodating towards Liu Muyuan. Even though he had made such a big mistake, Liu Muyuan was only stripped of his Juren status on some pretext.

Liu Muqiu was a strong-willed person, and she could not allow such a thing to happen again.

Therefore, she would never allow her younger brother to enter the Marquis's mansion again.

Once Liu Muqiu made her decision, they stopped trying to persuade her.

That day, Lu Mingzhao and his daughter had just returned home from a banquet when, as they turned the last street corner, they were suddenly stopped by someone.

The driver cracked his whip and shouted angrily.

The woman blocking the road only cried and said she wanted to see the Lady Hou and her daughter.

Zhou Ming'an frowned slightly, lifted the curtain, and glanced outside.

She was a disheveled woman, dressed like a beggar, her face covered in filth.

Zhou Ming'an thought he was just a beggar and was about to turn around and give him some money when he suddenly realized that the man looked familiar.

She paused, then looked at him more closely.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the female beggar broke free from the coachman's grasp and ran to the carriage in a flash: "Miss Ming'an! It's me!"

Zhou Ming'an's eyes widened: "You... are Lan'er?"

Lu Mingzhao, standing to the side: "...Who?"

"Lan'er, Chu Yuan'er's personal maid!"

Zhou Ming'an quickly turned to his mother and explained, "Lan'er has been serving Chu Yuan'er ever since she entered the Marquis's mansion."

Tears streaming down her face, Lan'er nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Miss, I am Lan'er."

"..."

Zhou Ming'an couldn't help but recall the scene of Lan'er and Chu Yuan'er performing in front of her, and felt a pang of discomfort in her heart.

These two really made a fool of her, and she actually believed them.

Zhou Ming'an asked with a complicated expression, "What are you doing here?"

What she really wanted to ask was, "Why weren't you arrested?"

But seeing the other person's miserable state, she couldn't bring herself to mock them.

Lan'er cried, "Miss, you don't know, after Chu Yuan'er's plan failed that day, she went home, packed her valuables, and prepared to run away. Not only did she not leave me a single copper coin, but she didn't even leave a single word to remind me to run quickly. She just left all by herself!"

"What's even more hateful is..." Lan'er said, clenching her teeth in hatred, "She actually told the official who arrested her, 'If there really is a case, it might be the woman who shared a room with me who did it. I don't know anything about it.'"

Chu Yuan'er actually pinned everything on her!

Lan'er had already cried all her tears. She took a deep breath and said, "If I hadn't happened to be visiting my neighbor that day and overheard all this, I might have been forced to take the blame for her long ago!"

Lu Mingzhao and Zhou Mingan were stunned.

Zhou Ming'an looked at Lan'er with a hint of pity in his eyes, while Lu Mingzhao remained relatively calm and asked, "You come here to say these things to us, aren't you afraid I'll arrest you?"

Lan'er shook her head frantically, her eyes resolute: "I'm not afraid of being arrested, nor am I afraid of dying."

"My only fear is that I won't be able to meet with Madam and Miss before I die to say these words, and I won't be able to make Chu Yuan'er pay the price!"

Zhou Ming'an didn't know how to handle this situation and could only look helplessly at his mother.

Lu Mingzhao pondered for a moment, then beckoned to the coachman: "Later, take her in through the back door and have Zhao Xianglan bring her in to see me. Don't let anyone else know."

This is outside, after all, not the place to talk.

The driver quickly responded.

Before long, Lan'er was brought before the two of them.

Zhao Xianglan was very capable; she even took Lan'er to wash herself and change into clean clothes so as not to offend her master.

As soon as she entered the door, Lan'er knelt down with a thud. With tears in her eyes, she looked at the two of them and kowtowed heavily.

Lu Mingzhao said calmly, "There's no need for these empty tricks. Even if you said what you just said, I might not believe you."

"After all, you've done so many bad things for Chu Yuan'er, do you really think you'd choose to take revenge on her just because she's temporarily abandoned you?"

"I know that Madam and Miss won't believe me, but I swear," Lan'er suddenly raised her head, pointed to the sky, and swore with hatred in her eyes that it was almost tangible, "I was not acting under Chu Yuan'er's orders. I only want her to pay the price!"

"No one in this world hates her more than I do."

Zhou Ming'an couldn't help but feel a little curious.

When I first discovered that I had been deceived and fooled by Chu Yuan'er, I didn't hate her as much as Lan'er did.

Lan'er has served Chu Yuan'er for so many years, why would she hate her to this extent?

Besides... didn't Lan'er already know what kind of person Chu Yuan'er was?

Is being abandoned a very unexpected thing?

Lan'er saw the confusion and doubt in Zhou Ming'an's eyes, and she gave a wry smile.

"Miss, you don't know this, but I have served Chu Yuan'er since I was a child. I follow her wherever she goes."

"When my master passed away, my uncles, who wanted to exploit the family line, forced me to betray her. I would rather be strangled than do that."

"Fortunately, Chu Yuan'er arrived in time and saved my life."

Chu Yuan'er arrived with the Marquis's guards and rescued Lan'er. The two embraced and wept bitterly. Chu Yuan'er was moved by Lan'er's loyalty, while Lan'er was grateful for her master's unwavering devotion.

That day, Chu Yuan'er held Lan'er's hand tightly and cried, "Lan'er, you're all I have left."

In the years that followed, even if Chu Yuan'er harbored the most wicked thoughts, Lan'er would always feel that her mistress's true nature wasn't bad, whenever she thought of that day.

It's just that the young lady has too little and has lost too much, which is why she works so hard to strive for it.

As the maid who depends on her mistress for survival, Lan'er is the person the mistress trusts the most, and she should and must help the mistress complete any of her plans.

The young lady once said that in this world, only the two of them understood each other.

The young lady also said that once she becomes the wife of the Marquis of Zhongjing, she will definitely make Lan'er the housekeeper.

In short, wherever she goes, Lan'er goes too, and will never abandon her.

Lan'er firmly believed this.