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

After listening to what was said, Zhou Shili looked puzzled, but still nodded.

He and his wife left the courtyard together. His wife looked him over cautiously: "Husband, you... haven't told Mother yet?"

Zhou Shili remained silent.

He didn't dare tell his mother that his father was now seriously poisoned.

The antidote hasn't been found yet, and telling my mother won't do her any good; it will only make her worry.

Liu Muqiu: "But if the Marquis keeps dragging this on, it's not a good situation. Besides, it seems the Marquis intends to divorce his wife once he has evidence. What about my mother?"

Zhou Shili pursed his lips.

"Even so, I have no right to persuade my father not to divorce his wife, after all... my father did it for us."

Zhou Shili spent the most time with his father and was the person who understood him best.

He knew that his father's belief in living was to take good care of his three children.

If before, the father still clung to the hope that the mother might return, and stubbornly refused to divorce or separate from his wife.

Now, the father has collapsed from poisoning and fears he will soon die, so he has to start making plans for his three children.

The first thing to do is to find a pretext to divorce his wife.

After all, in the father's eyes, the mother's body was still that of the wicked woman.

If he doesn't divorce his wife, she will remain in the household. With her father dead, the burden of filial piety will be too heavy, and the three children will not have a good life.

Hearing her husband's explanation, Liu Muqiu's eyes reddened.

Before my birth mother passed away, she was also racking her brains to plan for herself and my younger brother.

But as a woman confined to the household, there was little she could do, and she could never change the inevitable outcome—her father would remarry sooner or later, and they would have a stepmother sooner or later.

Liu Muqiu wiped her eyes and tentatively asked, "If the Marquis really divorces his wife, will Chu Yuan'er...?"

Zhou Shili silently shook his head.

he does not know.

If it were the father from before, even for the sake of his three children, he would never remarry.

But this time when he returned to the capital, his father seemed to be much closer to Chu Yuan'er than before. Zhou Shili was also unsure whether his father would want to give Chu Yuan'er a proper status before he died.

But that's a story for another time.

Now all he can do is try his best to find out the real culprit and protect his mother.

Zhou Shili sighed deeply and looked towards the horizon.

Actually, he and his wife both knew.

The father had already considered divorcing his wife; the evidence was merely a pretext.

Even without evidence pointing to the mother, the father had a thousand reasons to divorce his wife.

The emperor would even intervene whenever his father needed to express his wishes.

How exactly should Zhou Shili save his family?

.

After everyone left, only Ren and Yu Shuang, whom Lu Mingzhao wanted to stay, remained in the courtyard.

Yu Shuang stood quietly outside the door, waiting for Zhao Xianglan to come out and call her before following her inside.

She was about to kneel down as soon as she entered the room, but Lu Mingzhao interrupted her and gestured for her to sit down.

"I heard that you've been in the household for over a year and have a good relationship with Aunt Qing?"

Yu Shuang lowered her head: "Yes, but I only found out about Aunt Qing's matter after she had done it."

"It was my fault for not informing Your Majesty in time. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Yu Shuang admitted her mistake without hesitation.

Lu Mingzhao raised an eyebrow, stared at her for a long time, and then chuckled softly, "Never mind, it was just an embroidery pattern anyway. Who would have thought it would frighten An'an?"

"I'm keeping you here today to ask if you'd like to leave?"

Yu Shuang was startled, raised her head to meet Lu Mingzhao's gaze, and then immediately lowered her head again.

"I... have been a member of the Marquis's household since I was chosen by the matriarch."

Lu Mingzhao: "But Zhou Shili has never touched you. As Aunt Qing said, if you continue to stay, your future days may not be so easy."

Even if I verbally promise to treat you well, you'll still be worried in your heart.

"Instead of doing that, we might as well let you go. Our country has an open-minded culture, and the court has shown its favor. There are quite a few households that have been established with women."

"With the connection to our Marquis's mansion, no one will dare to bully you. You are also of marriageable age, and the Marquis's mansion will arrange your marriage in the future. What do you think?"

Yu Shuang opened her mouth, seemingly not expecting Lu Mingzhao to give her such an opportunity, and it took her a while to find her voice.

"I...don't know."

She suddenly stood up, lifted her skirt, and knelt down, her tone becoming somewhat urgent: "Grandmother, your kindness and virtue are immense, but I am truly terrified. May I have three days to consider this?"

Lu Mingzhao smiled slightly and nodded: "Alright, give me an answer in three days. Go ahead."

Yu Shuang got up, holding onto a stool, and walked out with much more unsteady steps than when she came in.

Lu Mingzhao watched her departing figure before softly calling out, "Aunt Zhao."

Zhao Xianglan hurriedly entered the house and asked in a low voice, "Should we send someone to keep an eye on Yu Shuang?"

Lu Mingzhao paused, then shook his head: "No need. Just prepare some things for her to use when she leaves the manor, and let Mu Qiu choose the house."

Zhao Xianglan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "The old lady has truly shown kindness."

Lu Mingzhao remained noncommittal.

Does she really believe that Yu Shuang has nothing to do with this?

it's not true.

Especially when she said she would set Yu Shuang free, she clearly saw the excitement and surprise in Yu Shuang's eyes.

But it was only for a moment.

Those emotions were quickly suppressed by Yu Shuang.

There must have been something that prevented her from immediately nodding in agreement.

The reason she called Zhao Xianglan in earlier was actually to have someone keep an eye on Yu Shuang.

Observe who she associates with and whether she is acting on someone's instructions.

But Zhao Xianglan's question made Lu Mingzhao change his mind.

If Yu Shuang was indeed acting under someone's orders, then what Zhao Xianglan could think of, the meticulous person behind Yu Shuang could naturally also think of.

Sending someone to keep an eye on things would only alert the enemy and potentially ruin Yu Shuang's only lead.

Rather than...

Let her truly show kindness this once.

She wanted to see whether Yu Shuang would choose to stay or leave.

Thinking of this, Lu Mingzhao yawned.

Living in Beijing is really tiring.

Even without leaving home, she can fight on several battlefields simultaneously.

She still prefers to resolve everything with force.

Taking things one step at a time like this is really mentally taxing.

And that damned Zhou Ningchuan actually made her shoulder everything alone.

By the time Zhou Ningchuan realized he was back, she was ready to give him a good dressing down!

"Madam, a letter has arrived from the Princess."

When Zhao Xianglan entered the room with the letter, Lu Mingzhao was dozing off while looking at the account book.

Lu Mingzhao took the letter, glanced at it, and his eyes suddenly cleared.

The above is not Princess Wenyu's handwriting.

The strokes are deep and the brushstrokes are sharp, almost like... a man's handwriting.

"Mrs. Lu, it's been a long time."

"Want to know why your husband won't see you? Come to Yunding Manor, and I'll answer your questions."