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

Lu Mingzhao had just put away her daughter's clothes and was about to sew boots when she heard the shouts outside. She jumped up and looked nervously toward the door.

Zhao Xianglan opened the door, and Zhou Shili followed closely behind, walking in quickly.

Lu Mingzhao's gaze fell on the letter in his hand.

Zhou Shili was so excited that the envelope was crumpled.

"Did you read it? What did it say?" Lu Mingzhao took a few steps closer, feeling his heart pounding like a drum.

Li'er said that on the afternoon of the day she returned, Li'er sent out the note she had written as an express mail.

and so……

Did Zhou Ningchuan recognize her handwriting?

It definitely can.

The calligraphy was taught to her by Zhou Ningchuan himself; every stroke was full of Zhou Ningchuan's style.

"I haven't read it yet. Butler Sun just delivered the letter," Zhou Shili said with a smile. "I thought Father would definitely want you to be the first to read it."

A sweet feeling spread through Lu Mingzhao's heart. She took the letter with trembling hands, then hurriedly stuffed it back into her hands: "I can't understand it, Li'er, please read it to me quickly."

Zhou Shili responded and opened the letter, but his smile froze when his eyes fell on the line of text on the letter.

Lu Mingzhao was nervously clutching his sleeve when he saw his son's expression and immediately realized something was wrong.

"...What's wrong?" she asked tentatively, walking around to her son's side to take a closer look.

But as soon as she glanced at it, Zhou Shili suddenly hid the letter in his pocket.

Lu Mingzhao was taken aback.

Zhou Shili's smile was a little stiff: "Mother, please sit down first, I'll read it to you."

"..."

Lu Mingzhao pursed her lips and held out her hand to him: "Give it to me, I won't ask you to read it anymore."

Zhou Shili did not move.

Lu Mingzhao's expression turned slightly cold: "What did the letter say? It certainly wasn't anything good, right?"

"Is Zhou Ningchuan injured? Sick? Or what happened?"

"...I'm a grown man, what news could I be afraid to hear? Speak up."

Even with his strong heart, Zhou Shili couldn't withstand his mother's expressionless stare.

He pursed his lips, unfolded the letter again, and slowly read: "I caught a cold on the way and was delayed for a while. I am rushing back. Please wait for me, my lady. Don't worry about me. Try to eat well and don't fret."

Lu Mingzhao stood to the side, watching Zhou Shili read it word by word.

But after hearing the last sentence, Lu Mingzhao's face turned completely grim: "You're lying."

Zhou Shili paused for a moment: "I didn't."

"You're still lying to me?" Lu Mingzhao pursed her lips, tears welling in her eyes. "Zhou Ningchuan never calls me 'Madam'."

He always called her Zhaozhao.

Zhou Shili was speechless; of course, he was unaware of the unspoken agreement between his parents.

Lu Mingzhao's voice choked with emotion: "You're such a good child, how could you lie to me... Something must have happened to Zhou Ningchuan, right?"

"I need to go find him. I can't let him shoulder this alone..."

Lu Mingzhao started to walk out as he spoke.

Zhou Shili quickly stopped his mother, opened his mouth, and said in a strained voice, "Mother, don't worry, Father is fine. It's... something else that caused the delay."

"Please sit down first. I won't lie to you; I'll read it to you carefully."

After much persuasion, Lu Mingzhao was finally coaxed into submission.

She wiped away her tears and sat down with red eyes.

"But Mother, no matter what you hear later, you must remain calm."

Zhou Shili held the letter, looked at his mother again and again, took a deep breath, and read aloud in a low voice:

"Chu Yuan'er is ill and will be delayed for some time. An'an's marriage will be handled by your Aunt Chu and me when we return. Keep her occupied and don't let her be... deceived."

"..."

After Zhou Shili finished reading, he immediately looked at his mother's expression.

But Lu Mingzhao was staring blankly at the letter, lost in thought.

Zhou Shili was racking his brains trying to figure out how to comfort his mother when he heard her softly ask, "Chu Yuan'er?"

"Who is that?"

Zhou Shili paused for a moment: "...A few years after Mother disappeared, Chu Yuan'er appeared by Father's side."

According to her father, she was his comrade-in-arms's younger sister, and the comrade-in-arms entrusted Chu Yuan'er to him before he died.

Over the years, wherever her father went, he took Chu Yuan'er with him, even when he went as far as the Northwest, he never left her behind.

"As a sign of respect, Father told us to call her Aunt Chu."

Not knowing what his father's letter meant, Zhou Shili simply decided to ignore it and cut ties with his father first.

The title "Aunt Chu" was given to him by his father, not by Zhou Shili himself!

Lu Mingzhao lowered his eyes and pondered.

This Chu Yuan'er is probably the "female brother" mentioned in the letter the time-traveling woman wrote before she left.

Lu Mingzhao noticed it the day she returned, but she didn't take it to heart.

Even if such a person really existed, she didn't believe Zhou Ningchuan would do anything excessive.

As a young couple, she still had some trust in Zhou Ningchuan.

But upon hearing this letter… she suddenly felt that something was beyond her expectations.

She had considered that Zhou Ningchuan might have been delayed because of an injury or something else, but she never imagined it was because of a woman.

A woman she had never met, yet who had been by Zhou Ningchuan's side for over a decade.

"Is she...a very nice person?"

After a long while, Lu Mingzhao asked in a very soft voice.

But as soon as she said it, she laughed.

"Forget it, what's the point of asking these questions? Back when Zhou Ningchuan and I were together, the villagers didn't approve either. They thought I was too domineering and fierce, and they also thought Zhou Ningchuan was a jinx and bad luck."

"But we just happen to like each other."

It's clear that liking someone is uncontrollable. No matter how bad the other person may seem in the eyes of the world, once you fall in love, that person becomes the best of everyone.

Although she was uneducated, she still understood these principles.

Seeing his mother's disappointed expression, Zhou Shili felt a pang of anxiety and quickly said, "Mother, don't worry. Although Chu Yuan'er has been by Father's side all these years, as far as I know, the two of them haven't had any overly intimate interactions."

"Mother knows Father's character. That woman was lawless because she was taking advantage of your body, but Father never gave up hope and kept waiting for you."

"Over the years, no matter how many people have tried to put women in Father's life, they have all failed. This is enough to show that Father has you in his heart and only you. You will always be number one."

"Perhaps... Father didn't receive that note, or even if he did, he didn't recognize you?"

Lu Mingzhao's expression shifted, and he smiled.

"Li'er, you're so good at comforting people."

But she paused, and her smile faded slightly: "But those six words... he taught me to write them himself."

Li'er said that before this, even though the time-traveling woman had acted many times, she had never written a single word.

In other words, the time-traveling woman had no idea that she could write these characters, let alone how to imitate them.

Therefore, when Li'er saw these six words, she was almost certain that it was her who had returned.

So, did Zhou Ningchuan not receive the note, or was he unable to recognize his handwriting?

If he hadn't received it, he wouldn't have said something like "Don't be fooled."

If he received it...

That means that Lu Mingzhao's return and An'an's marriage combined are not as important as that woman named "Chu Yuan'er".

He even wanted to stay with her until she recovered.

"Zhou Ningchuan..."

Lu Mingzhao murmured, then suddenly stood up, turned around, and rushed out of the room.