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

Yunding Villa was meticulously designed by skilled craftsmen over three years by its first owner, aiming for exquisite and unique design.

Three miles from the gate of the mountain villa, there is already a carefully arranged landscape. Guests are led by servants along the winding path to enjoy the fun of the mountain and wild plants, as well as exotic flowers, rare herbs, rocks and flowing water.

Guests arrived at the gate amidst a flurry of activity, only to realize that the garden of Yunding Villa was located outside the gate, and before they knew it, they had already toured the entire garden.

Upon entering, they discovered that the small houses that had appeared in the distance were actually separated, with a very spacious area in the middle. There was even a sandy area for horse racing on the south side. The area was separated by a stream that was drawn down from the mountain. The women walked across a small bridge to the banquet.

Just two days ago, Lu Mingzhao was a country woman, but when she opened her eyes, there were endless new and interesting things to see and appreciate in the Marquis's mansion every day.

Now that she's inside the heavenly Yunding Manor, she feels lightheaded and lightheaded. It was only because Liu Muqiu helped her all the way to her seat that she didn't get lost.

Princess Wenyu made her appearance after everyone was seated.

It was indeed the woman from the Duke of Huguo's mansion yesterday.

Liu Muqiu stared nervously at her mother-in-law, only to see her perform the greeting with natural and practiced ease, as if she had done it countless times before.

She remembered that before she left home, her mother-in-law only watched her do it once and then tried to do it herself.

They actually remembered it perfectly.

Princess Wenyu sat down gracefully, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present. Whether it was Lu Mingzhao's imagination or not, she felt that the other person's gaze seemed to linger on her for a few more seconds.

"I am returning to the capital from the north, and due to family matters, I will have to stay in the capital for a while."

It has been ten years since my last stay in the capital, so I invited you all here today to get to know each other better. I would be delighted if you could visit my home more often in the future.

Everyone laughed and agreed.

It was noon, and Princess Wenyu nodded. The servants then began to set out the banquet, which included wild game and mountain delicacies.

After lunch, the servants brought over some tables and chairs to the eaves.

"What are you doing?"

Lu Mingzhao held back for half an hour before finally finding an opportunity to ask Liu Muqiu while everyone was changing clothes.

Liu Muqiu: "These are some games for everyone's amusement. This is pitch-pot, this is flower-patterned stationery for writing poems, and that..."

Several ropes were placed on the platform in the very center, and the prizes for those ropes were the most generous.

But Liu Muqiu had never seen any game that required ropes.

People gradually tried the other games, but the platform in the middle remained untouched; people went up and left, and no one could understand what it meant.

Lu Mingzhao and Liu Muqiu also left their seats and went forward. When they got closer and saw the prize, Liu Muqiu gasped in surprise.

"This is... a fragrant pill?"

"What is Ningxiang Pill?"

Lu Mingzhao followed her gaze and looked over, his eyes landing on an exquisite mother-of-pearl inlaid sandalwood box.

The mother-of-pearl inlay design is indeed beautiful and unique, but I already have similar boxes at home.

Lu Mingzhao was puzzled, as the scenery along the way did not surprise Liu Muqiu.

How could Liu Muqiu lose her composure over a box?

Before Liu Muqiu could explain, the princess's voice came from behind: "This is the wisdom of women from the North for hundreds of years."

"Made with a secret recipe using a variety of medicinal herbs unique to the North, such as dragon's breath and white ink, it is very beneficial to women after childbirth. Legend has it that the queen of a small northern kingdom was saved from severe postpartum hemorrhage by this one fragrant pill."

"The small country pays tribute once every ten years, and only three pills are given each time. This fragrant pill was bestowed upon us by His Majesty two years ago."

Upon hearing this, the women gradually gathered around.

"How could the princess bear to use such a treasure as a prize?"

While everyone maintained a composed demeanor, their eyes gleamed with a shrewd glint.

Such a miraculous medicine is priceless and hard to find; who wouldn't want it?

The princess laughed and said, "I've come all this way back to the capital, so if it weren't something good, it wouldn't be worth offering as a prize."

"The family that comes out on top in each category today, please take this Fragrance-Condensing Pill."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly dispersed to play the game. Liu Muqiu was also in high spirits, eager to give it her all for the elixir.

Liu's father was a famous scholar in the capital, and Liu's mother was also a renowned talented woman. Liu Muqiu was talented in composing poems from a young age, and writing poems on flowery paper was naturally a piece of cake for him.

As she finished writing the last stroke, Princess Wenyu appeared beside her without her noticing, praising her repeatedly: "A masterpiece, written in one go, truly outstanding, worthy of being the best."

Lu Mingzhao didn't understand, but he still raised his chin with a sense of pride.

When it came to pitch-pot, Liu Muqiu wasn't very good at it, and after only two out of six attempts, he couldn't hide his disappointment.

The woman who won first place bowed to the princess, but glanced at her with a half-smile: "I come from a merchant family, so naturally I can't compare to those ladies from noble families who know poetry and songs, but I'm quite good at playing these little trinkets."

Liu Muqiu's face stiffened, but she forced a smile.

Before she could speak, her mother-in-law asked, "Is she your stepmother?"

Liu Muqiu nodded slowly.

Unexpectedly, her mother-in-law took her hand in the next instant.

Lu Mingzhao held her tightly clenched fist in his hands, smoothed out each finger, and then rubbed the nail marks that she had dug into her palm.

"Don't do that."

"If you're unhappy, you can curse or hit others, just don't hurt yourself."

Liu Muqiu was slightly taken aback, never expecting her mother-in-law to notice her little actions.

When her mother was alive, she cared for her with the same tenderness.

After her mother passed away, nothing in the world changed, but she knew that no one in the world would ever love her like that again.

In that moment of daze, she seemed to see her mother's image in her mother-in-law.

Princess Wenyu had arrived at the ropes and announced the final game—

"Since I've come back from the North, I wanted to bring back some of the unique local customs to share with my sisters, so this last item is the lasso."

"For safety's sake, no one needs to mount their horses. I've also replaced the horses on the other side with foals. The more horses you can lasso within half an incense stick's time, the more you win."

The light in Liu Muqiu's eyes vanished instantly, and she gave up completely.

Even if she replaced them all with ponies, she knew she wouldn't be able to catch a single one.

She sighed softly, as if trying to comfort herself: "Oh well, a little prize is good too..."

"I can do this!"

Lu Mingzhao stepped forward with shining eyes.

Liu Muqiu was taken aback. Seeing that her mother-in-law had already started binding her arms, she quickly dissuaded her, "Madam, this is no joke. Horses from the north are all spirited. What if they hurt you?"

Lu Mingzhao waved his hand: "Aren't you standing here lassoing the horse? It won't hurt me, don't be afraid."

Liu Muqiu was about to persuade her again when she heard Cui sneer, "Old Madam Lu, what kind of madness are you going to unleash this time? Don't lose your composure in front of the Princess."

Behind her followed Liu Muqiu's stepmother, Madam Wang. Perhaps because they didn't get along with the women in the Marquis's mansion, the two of them were able to get along well.

Seeing Cui's sarcastic remarks, Wang also gave Liu Muqiu a forced smile and glanced at her: "Muqiu, you are, after all, a girl who was married off under my care. It's good that I taught you how to serve your mother-in-law, but you can't just do whatever your elders want."

"Otherwise, wouldn't we just be making ourselves a laughingstock...?"

Before the words were even finished, a rope flew towards the two of them.

Two screams rang out, and the two were found locked together.

"Oh dear," Lu Mingzhao exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise and laughing apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, I was putting the rope on with my eyes closed, and it was so noisy that I threw it this way."

"I thought it was a horse."