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

Zhou Ningchuan was helped up and sat on the couch, taking a sip of tea from his son's hand.

He clearly felt much better and reached out to take the teacup back.

"Have you found the antidote?" Zhou Ningchuan asked in a hoarse voice.

Zhou Shili nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with eagerness: "It's Mother! The antidote Mother brought back! This afternoon Mother asked me to bring the antidote for Father to take, and I've been staying with Father until now. Father has indeed woken up."

Zhou Ningchuan frowned slightly: "Her?"

"Does she know I'm about to divorce her?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shili's expression stiffened, but he quickly composed himself and said earnestly, "Mother has one more thing she wants me to convey to Father."

She said…

Zhou Shili paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak, but after a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke.

She said that if her father insisted on doing so, he should not dream of her again.

Zhou Ningchuan's hand holding the teacup trembled.

The teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"...What?"

Zhou Shili was also somewhat confused: "I'm not quite sure what Mother meant by that, but she only told me to pass it on, and that you would understand."

Zhou Ningchuan understood perfectly well.

Isn't this describing his dream that night? But how could that woman know what he dreamed about?

Could it be... could it be that it wasn't a dream at all, but that his Zhaozhao had returned and really come to see him?

Zhou Ningchuan suddenly felt that he was having some difficulty breathing.

He tugged at his collar, trying to control his breathing, before continuing with difficulty, "You said last time... what did your mother write? And you sent it to me?"

Zhou Shili nodded: "This is what my son mentioned before. If you saw the words, you would definitely recognize your mother's handwriting."

"Because my mother said that you taught her those words yourself, and she only knows those six words."

"But after I came back, I saw her handwriting," Zhou Ningchuan said in a hoarse voice. "The handwriting looks a lot like hers, but there are many differences."

As he spoke, he pulled out a note stained with large patches of blood from under his pillow; only his name was vaguely visible on it.

He handed it to his eldest son with trembling hands: "This is your mother's handwriting."

Zhou Shili took it and nodded, "That's right, Mother wrote the exact same words when she first came back."

Zhou Shili paused, thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized: "After Mother came back, she has been learning to read and read account books."

"Muqiu and I taught her a lot of characters, and I think that my mother also picked up our writing habits in the process of learning characters, so her handwriting is no longer exactly the same as before."

Zhou Ningchuan opened his mouth.

The truth was right before his eyes, yet he still couldn't believe it.

"But... Zhao Zhao has never liked learning these things."

“Mother does not like to study,” Zhou Shili said with a smile, “but I told her that the Marquis’s mansion is now very wealthy, and if she goes out and doesn’t know how to read, she will easily be cheated. If she is cheated, the loss will be more than just a few coins.”

"Perhaps it was also because my mother thought that as the wife of the Marquis of Zhongjing, she should learn to socialize and not be completely illiterate."

Listening to his son's explanation, Zhou Ningchuan could almost picture Lu Mingzhao struggling and persevering as he learned to read and read account books.

His eyes curved slightly, revealing a hint of a smile.

After a moment, he seemed to remember something and suddenly looked up and asked, "Did you teach him that martial art of that sequence?"

Zhou Shili was taken aback upon hearing this, then burst into laughter, "Me? How could your son know? Of course, it was Mother who taught us. Ever since An'an was in danger last time, Mother was worried that something like this would happen again, so she taught us martial arts..."

As he spoke, Zhou Shili expressed deep regret.

Yes! He should have told his father about this first.

He was so busy lately that he hadn't practiced martial arts and forgot about it.

Moreover, his younger brother had visited several times. He had assumed that his brother had already told their father about their mother teaching them martial arts, but he never expected that his father would only find out now.

"Father, where are you going?"

By the time Zhou Shili realized what was happening, Zhou Ningchuan had already gotten up, grabbed his coat, and staggered out of the room.

He quickly stepped forward to support his father.

Zhou Ningchuan's lips were slightly pale, but his expression was unusually firm: "I must enter the palace."

Zhou Shili paused, then remembered that his father's intention to divorce his wife had already reached the palace. If he didn't deal with it immediately, the emperor's decree would likely be issued soon.

Once the gate was opened, Zhou Shili immediately sent people to prepare a carriage.

Zhou Ningchuan waved his hand and ordered his men to prepare fast horses instead.

Hearing the noise, Chu Yuan'er had already dressed and rushed over.

When she saw Zhou Ningchuan wake up, she was initially delighted, but upon hearing that he wanted to ride a fast horse, she quickly advised, "What's wrong? Your Excellency's health has only just begun to improve; how can you withstand such a bumpy ride?"

"I know what I'm doing." Zhou Ningchuan said in a hoarse voice, raising his hand to interrupt everyone's attempts to stop him, determined to ride his horse into the palace.

Left with no other choice, the crowd had to make way.

Zhou Shili, supporting his father, turned to look at Wu Chenghao and Chu Yuan'er, saying, "I will stay with Father, so you don't need to worry."

Chu Yuan'er took a deep breath and watched the two walk further and further away. She closed her eyes and suppressed the restlessness in her heart.

"Miss Chu, it's late and the dew is heavy. You should go back and rest."

Wu Chenghao couldn't help himself and urged her to go back inside.

"I will send someone to tell you when the Marquis returns..."

"No need," Chu Yuan'er suddenly interrupted coldly.

Wu Chenghao was taken aback.

Perhaps realizing that her tone was too hasty and harsh, Chu Yuan'er paused for a moment, a bitter smile appearing on her lips.

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Wu, but I won't feel at ease until I see the Marquis return safely with my own eyes."

"It seems the Marquis's mind has changed again. I thought this time the Marquis would look forward."

Wu Chenghao sighed softly. Before the Marquis fell into a coma, he had specifically instructed him to convey the Emperor's intention to divorce his wife. Like Chu Yuan'er, he also thought that once the Marquis pulled through this time, everything would be different.

No one knows what the young master said to the marquis, but the marquis, who had finally made up his mind, suddenly changed his mind again.

For Chu Yuan'er, wasn't this just another shattering of her newly risen hope?

I don't know how much time passed.

The sky was just beginning to brighten when the gates of the Marquis's residence opened again.

Zhou Ningchuan is back, and he looks much better than before he left.

He returned to Hesongyuan, travel-worn, and the first thing he did was to have hot water prepared so he could bathe and change.

In addition, he even ordered his servants to scent the clothes he was going to wear.

The lord, who was usually careless about details, suddenly began to pay attention to his appearance. The servants in the whole courtyard were very surprised, and the steward even had to temporarily transfer old women and servants who knew how to dress up from other courtyards.

Only Zhou Shili understood that his father was preparing to see his mother.

On the way back from the palace, the father kept anxiously asking the mother if she was angry with him, and also asking about various details of the mother's life during this period.

Even though he's almost forty, he's as nervous as a clueless young man about to meet his sweetheart.

"You should go home first. You must be tired after working all night."

Zhou Ningchuan told his son to get some rest.

Zhou Shili tentatively asked, "Are you really not going with your son?"

He couldn't help but feel a little worried whenever he thought of the time when his mother would grab a stick and yell that she was going to give his father a good beating.

After all, given her personality, she certainly wouldn't just be saying it.

My father's health has only just started to improve; he can't withstand a beating.

Zhou Ningchuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, your mother knows what she's doing."

"They won't really kill me, at most they'll beat me half to death, but I can still handle it."

Before Zhou Shili could even catch his breath, he heard the second half of the sentence and his vision went black.

Is that the problem?

Even beating them half to death won't work!