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

Everyone was stunned. After a long while, Zhou Shixu finally found his voice.

"What does this mean? You...you're not going to punish me?"

Lu Mingzhao smiled brightly and retorted, "You didn't say anything wrong, so why should I punish you?"

"But I have a question for you: in the past two months, am I really still the person you described?"

Lu Mingzhao bent down slightly, and the moment his eyes met his second son's, his gaze became serious and calm: "I understand how much resentment you have towards me from the past, but do you still think that way now?"

"I……"

Zhou Shixu hesitated for a moment, instinctively wanting to refute, but looking at that face, he felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

What is familiar is that this face has treated them, brother and sister, the same way for more than a decade.

What's strange is that the person in front of me seems to have truly changed their soul.

Fortunately, Lu Mingzhao did not intend to ask for an answer immediately. She reached out and rubbed her second son's head, then straightened up and handed the medicine bottle from her sleeve to Zhou Shili, who was standing next to her.

"This is the antidote. Take it and give it to Zhou Ningchuan."

Just as Zhou Shili was about to ask a question, his mother waved her hand.

"I'll explain everything to you in detail when you get back. Saving lives is the priority."

Zhou Shili naturally obeyed his mother's words without hesitation, and left with the medicine in hand.

Coming to his senses, Zhou Shixu panicked and called out from behind his elder brother, "Wait! Brother, you don't even know what kind of medicine that is! How could you dare give it to Father?"

Zhou Ming'an quickly followed. When she reached the door, she looked back at her mother with a complicated expression, but ultimately said nothing.

Zhou Shili walked very fast, but he didn't forget to send someone to stop the two of them.

By the time the two of them arrived, Zhou Shili had already been inside the main house of Hesongyuan for an unknown period of time.

Chu Yuan'er stood guard outside the door. Upon seeing this, Zhou Shixu quickly asked, "Aunt Chu, did you stop the medicine?"

Chu Yuan'er was taken aback, but asked in return, "What medicine?"

But as soon as she asked the question, she sensed something was wrong, her expression changed, and she quickly pushed the door open and went inside.

But they found that Zhou Shili had already helped Zhou Ningchuan sit up and was feeding him tea.

Chu Yuan'er anxiously stepped forward, quickly looking him over and checking his body and hands. She breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that there was nothing there. She then repeatedly advised, "Shi Li, I know you are worried about your father, but you can't just rush into anything."

"This poison is extremely dangerous. Even the Emperor's men couldn't find it. It's more important to stabilize the situation first. If the medicine makes things worse, it's better not to take it at all."

Zhou Shili didn't even turn his head, and said indifferently, "I've already fed it."

「!?」

The three people were utterly shocked.

Zhou Shixu was the first to recover, and he exclaimed anxiously, "Brother, what are you thinking? What if that woman had poison? Wouldn't you be putting Father in danger?"

Zhou Ming'an frowned and asked, "Was that medicine examined by the imperial physician? It should have been confirmed to be non-toxic before being taken."

Chu Yuan'er could no longer stand and took two steps back.

Zhou Shixu and Zhou Ming'an quickly came over to support her, only to hear Chu Yuan'er ask in a trembling voice, "Shili, tell me, where did this medicine come from? Was it really given to us by the old lady?"

"You know that the Marquis and the Old Madam have always been at odds, and the Marquis has already expressed his intention to divorce his wife to the Emperor. Now that the Old Madam is giving you medicine, don't you have any doubts about her motives?"

Chu Yuan'er stared intently at Zhou Shili's back, her resentful gaze almost tangible.

She gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "If anything happens to the Marquis, it will be because of you, his eldest son."

Chu Yuan'er always presented a smiling face, and she almost never even raised her voice at her servants, let alone at these three children.

Although Zhou Shili was the eldest of the three children, he was also the most distant from her.

But when she faced Zhou Shili, she was always kind and gentle, and had never been so stern and even hateful.

Zhou Shili's back remained unwavering, and his tone was frighteningly calm: "I said it was Mother who returned. I believe her, and I also believe that what Father just ate was the antidote."

"Shi Li, you're really obsessed."

Chu Yuan'er gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and said, "Now that you've given me the medicine, shouldn't I leave?"

Zhou Shili shook his head.

"No, I will stay here until my father wakes up."

"No one is allowed to come in without my permission."

He paused, turned his head slightly to reveal his profile, and glanced at Chu Yuan'er out of the corner of his eye.

"Including you, Aunt Chu."

Chu Yuan'er's eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief.

"Shi Li, do you not trust me? You even have to be wary of me? If I wanted to harm the Marquis, I would have had the chance to do so anytime soon, why wait until now?"

"You are the eldest son of the Marquis of Zhongjing's household. Now is the time when you should be out there taking charge. What kind of behavior is this, staying here?"

"Now that your father is in a coma, you should at least call me Aunt Chu. What I said..."

"Aunt Chu."

Zhou Shili interrupted Chu Yuan'er, raising his voice slightly, "As you said, I am the eldest son of the Marquis's mansion, and now the entire mansion obeys my orders."

"Then, within the Kasomatsu-in Temple, who would dare disobey my orders?"

"..."

The room was completely silent. Neither Zhou Shixu nor Zhou Ming'an dared to speak, and even Wu Chenghao, who was trying to come in at the door to ease the situation, paused.

Zhou Shili's calm and composed demeanor, coupled with his authoritative words, truly bears a resemblance to the Marquis of Zhongjing.

After a long while, Chu Yuan'er stiffly forced a smile.

"Shili...you've really grown up."

"Alright, since the young master has spoken, everyone should leave."

"However, young master, I still have to remind you that once the people from the palace arrive, you can no longer act as you please and disregard your father's safety."

The Marquis's intention to divorce his wife has already been submitted to the palace, and it should be soon that an imperial decree will be issued.

After everyone left the room, Chu Yuan'er wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, prompting the brother and sister to comfort her repeatedly.

Chu Yuan'er shook her head and said, "I am, after all, an outsider. I know that your eldest brother doesn't think much of me. Now, only you, my younger siblings, can offer some advice. Otherwise, what will become of the Marquis's mansion if this continues?"

Zhou Shixu hurriedly said, "Aunt Chu, please don't say that. My brother was just bewitched. He believed whatever that woman said, and he wouldn't listen to anything we said."

In the stillness of the night, Zhou Shili stood by the window, gazing out, the moonlight casting a lonely glow on his silhouette.

He wasn't sure if the medicine was effective.

The only thing he was certain of was that he was willing to believe his mother.

My mother would never harm my father.

Just then, a cough was heard, and Zhou Shili turned his head sharply to see that his father had opened his eyes.

"Father, you're awake!"