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

If she remembered correctly, the dress her mother sewed for her was pale yellow.

The day before yesterday, Zhao Mama came to deliver some things. When she heard that she was going to a banquet today, she smiled and mentioned that dress, saying, "If Miss can wear the dress that the old lady made, the old lady will be very happy."

Therefore, she originally intended to choose that dress today, but after hesitating for a moment, she only chose the same color.

The purse that lady gave her today was also in the same color family, and she said, "This color matches your clothes perfectly."

...If it were any other color, perhaps Zhou Ming'an wouldn't be so sensitive.

However, the most fashionable sachets in Beijing right now are pink and green, so this kind is not very common.

If the sachet wasn't specially made to match the color of her clothes, it would be difficult to give it to her alone among a group of women.

Could it be that the person who wants to harm her...?

Is it the mother?

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it grows wildly, nourished by fear.

"...Miss?" Cuilan didn't get a reply for a long time and thought she had fallen asleep.

But when he turned around, he saw Zhou Ming'an with his eyes wide open, his eyes filled with fear.

"Girl!" Cuilan was startled and quickly knelt by the bedside, taking Zhou Ming'an's hand.

"Don't scare me, young lady! I'll go find a doctor!"

"Don't go!"

Zhou Ming'an grabbed Cuilan's arm, his voice trembling.

If it really was her mother who wanted to harm her, then she would never have a peaceful day in the mansion.

"What if someone in the manor wants to harm me? If you go there, won't everyone know how terrified I am?"

Cuilan, puzzled, asked, "Miss, are you terrified? This is the Marquis's residence, your home. How could anyone possibly want to harm you?"

"The Marquis isn't here, but the Old Madam is. It can't be the Old Madam..."

Cuilan paused, as if realizing something, and looked at Zhou Ming'an in disbelief: "You mean...?"

She paused, then said softly, "Didn't you have someone use witchcraft on you, young lady? The old lady has also changed a lot. How could this be something she did?"

Zhou Ming'an closed his eyes.

Now, she can only hope that her father will come back soon to save her.

.

The main courtyard was brightly lit.

The maids and servants were all sent out, leaving only Lu Mingzhao and his two sons in the room.

Zhou Shixu, who was usually spoiled and lawless, was as docile as a quail at this moment, glancing at his mother from time to time before quickly looking away, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhou Shili then tentatively asked, "Mother, about what you said you wanted to tell us... should we wait until An'an is feeling better tomorrow so we can hear it together?"

Lu Mingzhao shook his head: "An'an is still very resistant to me. I'm afraid that once she knows the truth, she won't be able to keep it from outsiders."

Lu Mingzhao loved his daughter dearly and had been quietly observing her these past few days, gaining a certain understanding of her temperament and character.

An'an is just like Lu Mingzhao when he was a child: stubborn, inflexible, and never willing to admit defeat.

Just as Lu Mingzhao struggled to support her family after her parents' death, Zhou Ming'an is now striving to break free from his mother's control.

She also vaguely heard Liu Muyuan's voice when she was in the woods today.

In other words, An'an probably heard both her and Liu Muyuan's voices at the same time.

But in the end, she chose to go to Liu Muyuan—a man she had only known for half a day.

In Zhou Ming'an's mind, even a stranger is more reliable than his biological mother.

This shows just how much harm the time-traveling woman has caused her daughter over the years.

And this view of her daughter was something that Ren Lumingzhao could not change immediately, no matter how hard she tried.

She can only proceed gradually.

Therefore, she couldn't tell Zhou Ming'an what she wanted to say right now.

Lu Mingzhao glanced at his two sons, took a deep breath, and slowly said:

"I started practicing martial arts with my parents as far back as I can remember."

"Your maternal grandparents were very capable; they weren't ordinary farmers. But they never told me their true identities, only that I should keep this a secret."

"Later, your father, Zhou Ningchuan, came to live with us after his parents died."

"My parents treated Zhou Ningchuan as their own son and started teaching him martial arts."

Thinking of this, Lu Mingzhao chuckled softly.

Zhou Ningchuan has a talent for martial arts, but he is far less skilled than Lu Mingzhao, who started practicing martial arts at the age of three.

Every time they sparred, Zhou Ningchuan would be defeated by her.

Zhou Ningchuan refused to admit defeat, so she sat on his back and asked him repeatedly, "Do you give up?" until he begged for mercy before she got up.

Later, her parents passed away due to illness, and she married Zhou Ningchuan and had children.

Lu Mingzhao's body, having given birth, was gradually not as strong as before.

Lu Mingzhao insisted, "My body is perfectly fine," and only drank the cheapest herbal medicine, which was bitter and had so much dregs that it hurt her teeth.

Zhou Ningchuan was always unusually silent when filtering the dregs of the medicine.

The couple had enough money from farming, but it wasn't enough to support them after having two children.

To make ends meet for their children, they tightened their daily expenses.

There was hardly any extra money left for Lu Mingzhao to recuperate.

It wasn't until a friendly match that Zhou Ningchuan finally defeated her.

But there was no smile on his face.

He silently helped his wife up, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and whispered, "I'll go join the army."

"When I get back with the money, I'll treat you to a good meal."

At that time, the Northwest was in turmoil, and the whole country was recruiting soldiers. The silver and military pay for joining the army were more than double what they used to be.

But Lu Mingzhao refused.

The battlefield is so dangerous! A single sword can be ruthless, and her two children might end up without a father.

Zhou Ningchuan laughed: "Even if you die, you'll still get a pension."

This angered Lu Mingzhao, who beat him up.

Despite the setbacks, Zhou Ningchuan was determined to join the army.

"The martial arts my parents taught me will surely come in handy someday; perhaps it was all for this very day."

"I don't have any other skills, and you don't look down on me, but I always feel guilty."

"Zhaozhao, please, at least give me a chance to live a good life."

All the tenderness was hidden in those dark, silent eyes.

Lu Mingzhao was always moved by him, and that time was no exception.

Lu Mingzhao sniffled and demanded that he swear, "You're not allowed to die."

Zhou Ningchuan smiled and made a pinky promise: "If you don't allow it, I will never die."

Later, Zhou Ningchuan went to the Northwest and indeed made great contributions in battle.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingzhao stayed at home taking care of the children and, with the money Zhou Ningchuan sent back, her life improved.

They lived in opposite directions, one in the south and one in the north, and kept that secret forever.

Lu Mingzhao believed that even today, even if Zhou Ningchuan had truly changed his mind, only the two of them knew that she knew martial arts.

As the two brothers listened to their mother's story, they seemed to see their young parents in the same way.

Zhou Shili was very surprised.

His mother had been "missing" for many years, and since only his father and he remembered her in the whole world, his father would always talk to him about his mother and their experiences and life when they were young.

But my father never revealed that my mother knew martial arts, not even a single word.

The father's unwavering commitment to keeping his promise protected the mother's secret and also upheld his vow: "I will never die without my mother's permission."

Zhou Shixu listened, completely bewildered.

His mother, whom he deeply hated, suddenly became gentle and kind, and even gained martial arts skills... even his father couldn't beat her.

How is that possible!

Utterly absurd!

He didn't want to believe it, but then he remembered the corpses of the three bandits and had no choice but to believe it.

When he came to his senses, he realized something else.

"Why...why are you telling me this?"

Zhou Shixu's relationship with his mother has never been good. Even though it has improved somewhat this month, it is still far from the point where they can share secrets.

Even this secret was known only to her and her father.

Is she really not afraid to tell others?