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

Zhou Shixu turned his head with a dark face, his neck stubbornly hunched: "Who wants to learn martial arts from you? I just wanted to ask you a question."

Lu Mingzhao sat down leisurely, straightened his collar, and said slowly, "Alright, then go ahead and ask."

"..."

Zhou Shixu hesitated and struggled for a while before taking a few steps forward.

"Last time you said you could teach me martial arts without pain, but what you taught me was all just for show. I've practiced for so long and haven't learned anything real."

"You...you wouldn't be deliberately teaching me useless fancy moves just to fool me, would you?"

"All show and no substance?"

Lu Mingzhao twitched the corner of his mouth, picked up the shoulder straps beside him, quickly tied the sleeves, and walked to the middle of the courtyard.

When Zhou Shixu entered, Zhao Xianglan had already dismissed all the servants in the courtyard, leaving only the mother and son inside.

Lu Mingzhao no longer needed to hide it and performed a whole set of boxing techniques in front of his son—the same set he had taught his son before.

Zhou Shixu watched helplessly as the boxing techniques he had practiced for so long were completely different when used by Lu Mingzhao.

It was the exact same move, but his attack was weak and feeble, while Lu Mingzhao executed it with such fluidity and grace, as if every light and effortless movement contained immense power.

After finishing the routine, Lu Mingzhao packed up, turned to look at his dumbfounded second son, and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you still think it's just all show and no substance?"

Zhou Shixu opened his mouth: "But why can't I type like you?"

"That's because you want to achieve everything at once. You can't expect to learn techniques before you've even learned the basics; it's not that easy."

Zhou Shixu grew anxious. "But you clearly promised me that I could learn martial arts without having to work so hard. Why are you changing your story now?"

"I did make a promise, but I promised you that you could learn martial arts, not that you would definitely learn them well," Lu Mingzhao said seriously.

Seeing her second son so angry, she smiled and said, "But after this experience, haven't you figured out what you really want?"

Zhou Shixu paused, "...What do you mean?"

"If all you wanted to learn were fancy moves, then you wouldn't have come to me in the first place. The fact that you've come to me now means you want to learn something real, doesn't it?"

"The real thing should come at a price, don't you think?"

Zhou Shixu paused for a long time before finally speaking, his face flushed and his voice heavy with reluctance: "You mean, as long as I'm willing to work hard, I can learn something real?"

Lu Mingzhao did not answer directly, but turned and went into the study, then waved to him.

Zhou Shixu hesitated for a moment before following, but he was stunned as soon as he entered the house.

The walls, desk, and even the bookshelves of the study were covered with writing, mostly numbers and densely packed names.

Zhou Shili, Zhou Shixu, Zhou Ming'an.

Those are the names of the three siblings.

"I can write all three of your names now, although they're a bit ugly, but at least I remember what they look like and I can write them out."

Lu Mingzhao looked around before turning to his second son.

"If I can do it, you're my son, what can't you do?"

Zhou Shixu silently walked to the wall, took down a piece of paper, and found his name on it.

He had heard his father and older brother say that his mother was illiterate and very unwilling to learn these things.

He had seen his mother learn to write numbers like 123 before, and he thought that his mother was just trying to understand the account books when managing the household. But he never expected that his mother would specifically learn the names of the three of them.

If it were really just for show, would my mother have gone to such lengths?

Lu Mingzhao patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot. If you want to learn, come with me. I'll teach you slowly from the beginning."

"If you want to learn real skills, I can't guarantee it will be easy for you, but I can guarantee you will definitely learn something."

As he spoke, Lu Mingzhao narrowed his eyes.

"You've probably heard that your sister has started learning martial arts, though not with me. But you've probably heard of General Duan Tianyin's reputation, haven't you?"

"You're two years older than your sister, and you learned martial arts before her. Don't let your sister outshine you in a competition between you two in a while."

Zhou Shixu quickly retorted, "That's impossible! I'm the older brother, how could I be inferior to my younger sister!"

"Really?" Lu Mingzhao deliberately dragged out the sound. "We'll see then."

"Fine, I won't lose. Teach me any moves you have, but if you complain about being tired, you're not An'an's brother!"

Lu Mingzhao taught Zhou Shixu the basics for an entire afternoon.

Zhou Shixu was sweating profusely, but just as he said, he didn't complain of being tired at all. He only agreed to rest after Lu Mingzhao called him to.

Before dinner, Zhou Shixu prepared to leave. The two agreed that once Zhou Shixu had mastered the basic skills she had taught them, they would come back to learn from her again next time.

Although their attitude wasn't exactly respectful, it was much more familiar and natural than when they first arrived.

Watching Zhou Shixu leave, Lu Mingzhao couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

The second son is indeed not as smart and calm as the eldest son, and sometimes he even makes stupid mistakes.

But his strength lies in his straightforwardness; he says what he thinks, and even if there is a misunderstanding, the second son won't keep it bottled up for too long.

Aside from this personality trait, the second son was a hardworking and patient child.

Lu Mingzhao added extra time to these basic skills training sessions today; even if she were doing it herself, she would need to rest several times.

But Zhou Shixu actually gritted his teeth and persevered, without ever uttering a word of retreat, which surprised her a little.

However, after the initial surprise, she felt a deep sense of pride.

Her son was indeed remarkable; even though he only started learning martial arts in his teens, he was still willing to practice and learn.

A few days later, Lu Mingzhao received another invitation from Princess Wenyu, inviting him to a gathering at Yunding Manor.

Lu Mingzhao gladly accepted the invitation.

But when they arrived at the destination, Lu Mingzhao only saw Prince Wei, Li Xuanzhou.

Looking at the other person's familiar smile, she realized that this was the method that Prince Wei had mentioned—to meet Lu Mingzhao under the name of Princess Wenyu.

Indeed, with Princess Wenyu's identity as a cover, and being in a private area like Yunding Manor, no one else would know.

However, Lu Mingzhao still had some strange feelings.

This feeling was amplified after she finished teaching Li Xuanzhou the basics.

Because Li Xuanzhou had no intention of practicing at all.

He had only been in a horse stance for less than fifteen minutes when he complained that he was too tired and leaned against the bamboo rocking chair next to him, refusing to get up.

Lu Mingzhao's face darkened: "My second son can hold a horse stance for longer than you."

Li Xuanzhou curled his lip: "I don't care, I'm a good-for-nothing."

Lu Mingzhao: "..."