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

Lu Mingzhao vaguely remembered hearing He Ling's name at the palace banquet that day. He Ling should have seen him being summoned to the emperor that day. How come he doesn't seem to recognize him?

As Zhou Shili watched He Ling stare at his mother, a growing unease began to rise in his heart.

Before he passed away, my father told me to always keep an eye on the people around my mother.

Especially Wang Wei.

But what's going on with He Ling in front of me?

"You..." He Ling's voice trembled slightly, and he unconsciously took a step forward, but was stopped by Zhou Shili the next moment.

"Lord He, I presume your visit is also for the purpose of making a deal?"

"Let's get straight to the point. What will it take for you to hand over Chu Yuan'er?"

He Ling then came to her senses and immediately looked away.

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure."

He took a deep breath and looked up at Lu Mingzhao again: "I'd like to ask Madam Lu, is your mother... surnamed Chen?"

Lu Mingzhao frowned slightly, but shook his head and said, "No."

He Ling quickly replied, "How could that not be? Your mother should have an older sister!"

"Why does Lord He ask about this?"

Lu Mingzhao paused in surprise.

Her mother did mention having an older sister, but that was a long time ago. Every time it was brought up, her mother would secretly shed tears, and over time, no one in the family dared to mention it anymore.

But even she found out about this by chance, so how could He Ling know?

Seeing Lu Mingzhao hesitate for a moment, He Ling became even more excited.

"My mother...my mother is your mother's older sister!"

"My mother's name is Chen Yueyun. Has Madam Lu heard of her?"

Lu Mingzhao was genuinely surprised.

Although her mother's surname was Lu, her given name was Yueyu.

Judging from their names... they really do seem to be sisters.

But if her mother really had an older sister who became the daughter-in-law of the He family and even gave birth to the head of the He family, why would Lu Mingzhao be completely unaware of this?

Seeing that she still had doubts, He Ling immediately explained, "The reason I came to find you is because my mother once left behind a portrait of my aunt. Before she passed away, she was worried about whether my aunt was doing well."

"I saw Ming'an at the Lin residence yesterday. She bears a striking resemblance to my aunt, so I dare to speculate on our relationship... Madam Lu, perhaps I am your cousin."

When He Ling said her last words, tears welled up in her eyes.

Lu Mingzhao was somewhat at a loss.

The man, rumored to be as ethereal as a banished immortal, was so disoriented in her presence, as if he had already firmly believed in her identity.

She didn't know what to do for a moment.

Zhou Shili, who was standing to the side, was also stunned for a moment, but fortunately he was not involved and quickly came to his senses.

"I know Lord He is eager to find his relatives, but to avoid disappointment, Lord He should not jump to conclusions too soon."

After Zhou Shili finished speaking, he saw He Ling turn to look at him, and a hint of doting affection appeared in his eyes.

It seems that after learning that Zhou Shili was his cousin, Zhou Shili became incredibly agreeable.

"I have come today to confirm this."

"I've been searching for my aunt all these years, meeting countless people and hearing countless stories. Now I realize that there's a connection when family members meet."

Lu Mingzhao thought this was true, and besides, given He Ling's status, there seemed to be no need for him to lie to her.

But there are still many things she doesn't understand.

He Ling sat down and patiently answered Lu Mingzhao's questions one by one.

Back then, Chen Yueyun and her younger sister Chen Yueyu were two martial arts masters who came out of the deep mountains to train.

By chance, Chen Yueyun met and fell in love with He Ling's father.

He's father fell in love with Chen Yueyun at first sight and was deeply in love with her. He hoped that Chen Yueyun would give up her life of wandering the world and stay by his side.

But Chen Yueyun refused.

At that time, He's father had already risen to the position of a powerful minister, second only to the emperor, and could not accept that the other party had rejected his true feelings.

So the selfish father pretended to give up, but tricked the two sisters back to the capital and took Chen Yueyu hostage.

He used Chen Yueyun's life as leverage to force her to marry him.

At that time, the two sisters wanted to kill He's father, only to find it was too late.

He held the lives of two people in his hands at the same time, and the two sisters were worried that their father would harm the other one.

For each other's safety, they had to take off their shoes.

After succeeding, He's father was worried that it wouldn't be difficult for Yueyun to escape with her martial arts skills, so he cruelly broke both of Chen Yueyun's legs.

Only after confirming that Chen Yueyun dared not escape again did He's father "mercifully" let Chen Yueyu go, sending her out of the capital and giving her a large sum of money and several courtyards.

But Chen Yueyu didn't believe that He's father would let her go. She thought that as long as she didn't run away far away, sooner or later, He's father would use her to blackmail her sister again.

So she ran away to a very, very far place.

After meeting Lu Mingzhao's father, she changed her surname, and the couple settled in a very remote village, where they lived for more than ten years.

Chen Yueyun had no idea how her sister was doing. Having been controlled by her husband for a long time, she was afraid that her sister would be found by her husband one day.

She only dared to tell these things to her children.

Fortunately, He Ling has the same heart and personality as her.

He Ling hates her father and the He family.

He knew that if it weren't for this man-eating mansion, his mother wouldn't have died so young from depression.

The He family turned a blind eye to the bride they had stolen, and He's father showed no remorse for his mistake.

In the entire mansion, only the mother and son huddled together for warmth.

After her mother passed away, He Ling was left all alone.

After his mother passed away, this hypocritical father held her memorial tablet for seven days without eating or drinking, and soon followed her in death.

The uncles and elders were eyeing him covetously, all wanting to devour this seemingly soft-hearted and easily bullied next head of the family.

But He Ling showed them with his actions that he truly had that person's blood flowing in his veins.

Like He's father, he showed no pity for the He family.

He quickly secured his position as the head of the He family, and then began searching for his aunt to fulfill his mother's last wish.

After so many years, he finally found his aunt's daughter.

He Ling could hardly believe her dream had come true.

He Ling explained, "At the beginning of the year, Chu Yuan'er sent someone to deliver a message to me, saying that she knew where my aunt was and provided some specific information."

Lu Mingzhao was silent for a moment: "So, that's why you saved Chu Yuan'er?"

He Ling nodded, then smiled somewhat awkwardly: "I'll have someone bring her over right now."

Lu Mingzhao did not refuse.

She quickly accepted that she and He Ling were cousins, but she always vaguely felt that she had forgotten something.

When the transmigrated woman took over her body, she seemed to be talking to herself a lot.

Unfortunately, it was so long ago that she doesn't remember it very clearly.

She could only give up for the time being and looked at Zhou Shili: "Call him cousin."

He Ling stood up abruptly, took off the blood jade ring from his hand, and stuffed it into Zhou Shili's hand: "I came in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare a gift beforehand."

"Keep this for now. Your uncle has some other things, and he'll send someone to deliver them later."

Zhou Shili was startled.

He had heard that this blood jade thumb ring was a symbol of the He family patriarch, so how could he dare to accept it?

Zhou Shili quickly turned to look at his mother for help.

Lu Mingzhao stood up, somewhat amused: "Cousin, please don't make things difficult for Li'er."

"Why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"