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

Cuilan rolled her eyes and whispered something in Zhou Ming'an's ear.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ming'an's eyes widened instantly, and he quickly took a few steps back.

"Cuilan, what nonsense are you spouting? How could you come up with such a plan? Not only would I never do it, but what would happen to me if even someone else found out about this plan?"

Cuilan quickly looked around, grabbed her mistress's hand, and whispered, "Miss, I was just suggesting a possibility, not actually asking you to do it."

"Besides, we don't necessarily have to do anything. We can just use this to scare the master and mistress. Maybe that will work right away?"

Zhou Ming'an frowned: "...Scare her? You know how my mother treats me. Do you think I can scare her? Maybe when she finds out about this, she'll have even more ways to control me."

Cuilan said, "It's one thing for the Madam, and another for the Marquis. Even though the Marquis and Madam are close now, it doesn't mean he doesn't care about you, Miss."

Zhou Ming'an raised his hand to interrupt her, shaking his head as he walked away: "No, no, if we really did that, I'm afraid Father would grab a knife and kill Liu Muyuan the moment he finished listening."

"Rather than this, it would be better for Young Master Liu and I to each go our separate ways."

"I don't think so," Cuilan followed Zhou Ming'an and coaxed, "When you told the Marquis that you were in love with Young Master Liu, we saw the Marquis's attitude. He wasn't as resistant as the Madam. On the contrary, he seemed to like Young Master Liu."

"If the Marquis finds out about this, the young lady can simply say that she couldn't control herself at the time, and if she puts in a good word for Young Master Liu, maybe things will work out?"

"Do you really want to marry someone you have no feelings for and live a hasty life? You don't care about yourself, but I do."

"..."

Zhou Ming'an bit his slightly pale lower lip and glanced at Cuilan with a complicated expression.

Even if you truly mean well, you shouldn't say things like that...

Seeing Zhou Ming'an walking forward with her head down, Cuilan finally couldn't help but block her path, her eyes filled with utmost sincerity: "This servant is just worried about you, Miss!"

"Can't you see clearly, young lady? The old lady put on a kind and gentle appearance, first winning over the young master, and now she's getting the Marquis and the eldest mistress involved."

"In a few days, the entire Marquis's mansion will have to listen to the Old Madam. How will the young lady survive? Who will care whether she lives or dies?"

"That's enough!"

Zhou Ming'an clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, and for the first time showed a serious expression to Cuilan: "If you still want to stay by my side, don't say things like that again."

"No matter how outspoken you are normally, I'll just think you're innocent and naive. But if even one person hears about this and it gets out, it will completely ruin both of our reputations, do you understand?"

Disappointment flashed in Cuilan's eyes. She slowly lowered her gaze and nodded after a long while: "This servant understands, and will never dare to do it again."

*

For the next two weeks, things were unusually quiet in the Marquis's residence.

Liu Muqiu was peacefully resting in her courtyard, and occasionally Lu Mingzhao would come to see her to ask about the accounts.

Zhou Ming'an and Liu Muyuan met several more times, but unlike the previous times when they had pleasant conversations, each time Zhou Ming'an would end the conversation as soon as possible and leave, not giving Liu Muyuan much of a chance to speak.

Since Zhou Ningchuan's words last time, Chu Yuan'er rarely appeared at Hesong Courtyard anymore, but she would still send people over to deliver things like soup, clothes, and purses.

After finishing his military affairs, Zhou Ningchuan would immediately return to Lu Mingzhao's side.

Even if Lu Mingzhao was busy looking at the account books and didn't have time to pay attention to him, he would still stay by her side. Even if he didn't say anything, just quietly watching his wife made him happy.

Lu Mingzhao, however, kept thinking about what Li Xuanzhou had said during their last meeting.

To keep her promise and repay Li Xuanzhou for the life-saving medicine, she had to teach him martial arts.

But how should we teach it?

Although Li Xuanzhou said he would find a way, Lu Mingzhao was really unsure, fearing that the other party might cause some uncontrollable trouble.

Unexpectedly, before she received any news from Li Xuanzhou, she was greeted by her second son.

That day, she was under the eaves, looking at the account book with a worried expression, repeatedly checking the calculations.

Why did she calculate that the combined revenue of more than ten shops last month was a negative three cents?

Zhao Xianglan couldn't help but want to remind her master, but then she remembered her master's instructions—she could not remind him unless he asked for help.

Zhao Xianglan had no choice but to shift her gaze with difficulty.

Looking up, I saw the second young master acting suspiciously at the door.

Zhao Xianglan rolled her eyes, pretending to be surprised to see Zhou Shixu, and called out, "Second Young Master! What brings you here?"

Lu Mingzhao immediately looked towards the door, somewhat surprised, put down the account book, and got up to greet his son.

Zhao Xianglan took the opportunity to draw a noticeable but seemingly unintentional mark on the incorrect account with a brush, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I was just passing by and stopped by to say hello."

Zhou Shixu looked left and right, but wouldn't look directly at Lu Mingzhao.

Lu Mingzhao could tell at a glance that her second son had something to say, so she narrowed her eyes and waited for a while.

Zhou Shixu, however, hesitated and refused to give a straight answer.

Lu Mingzhao lost her patience and turned to leave: "Now that you've finished paying your respects, you can go back. You don't want to talk to me any longer anyway."

"Wait!" Zhou Shixu, enraged, blocked his mother's path in a few steps.

"Why are you so impatient now? I finally came all this way, shouldn't you have guessed what I wanted to say?"

Lu Mingzhao raised an eyebrow: "Do I have to guess? I remember our young master Zhou Shixu is always very outspoken and says what he thinks. I didn't expect him to be a child who needs his mother to coax him to speak."

"Otherwise... you can beg your mother, and she'll coax you a little."

Zhou Shixu's face flushed red, and after a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "You're dreaming!"

He turned to leave, but the next moment he heard Lu Mingzhao's voice rang out: "Don't be shy, you just want to learn martial arts from me, right?"

Zhou Shixu paused in his steps.

Damn it, she was right.