’Why be so secretive about it?’

But when he saw his mother-in-law start to cry as she spoke, he suddenly didn’t feel angry anymore.

Besides, what his mother-in-law had said made Lu Yuan feel pretty bad himself.

He could truly understand her difficulties.

Su Liyan was also by her side, helping to comfort her.

Once they had managed to calm his mother-in-law down and stop her tears, Su Liyan turned to look at her husband cautiously and said in a soft voice,

"Dear... you’re not angry anymore, are you?"

Lu Yuan hadn’t been that angry to begin with, and now his anger had long since vanished.

However, seeing his wife’s cautious expression, Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said,

"Of course I’m still angry!

I say that, but don’t you know what kind of person I am?

Am I really that sort of person? It’s not like you don’t know how much I treasure that special status of yours!"

Lu Yuan might have said that, but as his wife who had lived with him day in and day out for so long, Su Liyan could tell with a single glance that her husband wasn’t angry anymore. He was just teasing her.

She was about to say something, but when she heard the second half of his sentence, her pretty face flushed a deep red.

Su Liyan knew exactly what her husband was talking about.

’Of course.’

’He treasures it so much. Before I was pregnant, he couldn’t keep his hands off me every night...’

Of course, the most crucial part was that she wasn’t the only one who knew.

Her mother also understood what her husband was implying.

Mortified, she threw herself into her husband’s arms, whining coquettishly,

"Aiyah, Dear~"

Lu Yuan held his wife, smiling, but his tone became serious.

"Don’t hide anything from me in the future.

We’re family. After all this time, you still don’t know what kind of person I am?"

Nestled obediently in Lu Yuan’s arms, Su Liyan replied in a sweet voice,

"I know~

It’s just... I never planned to hide it forever.

It’s not exactly something to show off, so there didn’t seem to be much point in bringing it up~"

That was true.

Su Liyan really hadn’t planned to hide it from her husband for her entire life.

Not like her mother, who had hidden it so well that her own father still didn’t know.

From the very beginning, Su Liyan knew her husband was different from other men.

She was also perfectly clear that he cherished her and would never hold it against her.

It was just that there was no real need to bring it up.

After all, it wasn’t exactly a good thing.

So, it was better left unsaid if possible.

Beside them, Su Liyan’s mother immediately nodded and said,

"Yes, that’s what I thought before, too.

I never planned to hide it from Yuan’Er forever. I just figured it was better not to mention it if we didn’t have to.

After all, you don’t need these kinds of things for the trivial matters of everyday life.

We don’t use them to harm others, only to protect ourselves from being harmed."

Lu Yuan nodded without saying anything more. That much was true.

「For the next period of time」

Lu Yuan began learning the arts from his wife.

Lu Yuan also took out his copy of the *Celestial Master*.

However, to Lu Yuan’s surprise, neither his mother-in-law nor his wife could make much sense of the *Celestial Master*.

Lu Yuan had a good idea why.

’The one the system gave me is probably too advanced.’

Or, in his mother-in-law’s words, it belonged to a different school of thought.

It was different from their family’s school.

It seemed impossible to rely on his mother-in-law and wife to teach him the *Celestial Master*.

But that was fine.

He could start with the very basics.

The fundamentals were universal.

Once he learned the basics, Lu Yuan could study the *Celestial Master* on his own.

...

「That night, the group arrived at a county town.」

But they didn’t go inside.

They just pitched tents and such outside the walls.

There was no need to enter the town.

Although Lu Yuan wasn’t traveling in his official robes this time, if so many people with so much equipment went in, the local County Magistrate would likely feel obligated to pay a visit.

After all, who was Lu Yuan?

What was his status!

Never mind him being a County Magistrate in his twenties.

His relationship with the Governor was no secret within the province.

Wouldn’t the local official scramble to get an audience with him?

And if he came looking, could Lu Yuan refuse to see him?

Lu Yuan was actually quite averse to that kind of officialdom.

It was all fake and insincere, not to mention the nonsense they spouted was a complete waste of time.

So, staying outside the town was fine.

It wasn’t the dead of winter, anyway, so it didn’t matter.

...

Later that night, after everyone had gathered and eaten dinner, Su Liyan’s mother was tidying up inside the carriage, preparing to come out.

Seeing his mother-in-law, Lu Yuan quickly said,

"Aiyah, Mother, what are you doing? There’s plenty of room. You think there’s no place for you to sleep?"

Lu Yuan’s mother-in-law smiled and quickly waved her hands.

"Aiyo, it’s fine. I saw the tents they pitched are quite nice.

Besides, it’s more ventilated sleeping outside. The weather is getting hotter, and it’s stuffy in the carriage."

Lu Yuan knew why his mother-in-law was doing this.

’She’s probably afraid it would be awkward.’

Even though Su Liyan was pregnant and they couldn’t do much, it would still be uncomfortable for her.

But it wasn’t right for him to stay in the carriage while his mother-in-law slept outside.

Immediately, Lu Yuan said,

"Mother, I’ll sleep outside. You can sleep in the carriage with Liyan tonight."

When Su Liyan’s mother heard this, she thought, ’How can that be?’

She quickly waved her hands, about to refuse.

However, Lu Yuan didn’t give his mother-in-law a chance to say no.

He quickly ushered her back into the carriage and blocked the doorway.

"Mother, if you argue any more, I’ll get really angry.

Where is there a rule that the son sleeps inside while the mother sleeps outside?

There’s no such custom. Say no more, just stay here comfortably."

Seeing how filial her son-in-law was, Lu Yuan’s mother-in-law was incredibly moved.

She also considered that if she insisted on staying outside and others saw it, what if it started gossip?

’The County Magistrate of Taiping City travels, sleeping in his carriage at night while his mother-in-law sleeps outside?’

So, after some thought, Lu Yuan’s mother-in-law didn’t argue anymore.

She just couldn’t help but murmur about how wonderful her son-in-law was.

Lu Yuan didn’t listen, simply asking someone to set up a separate tent for him.

Once inside, Lu Yuan flopped down and went to sleep. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’What’s sleeping outside? When I was a kid, I could sleep anywhere, even curled up in a woodpile.’

...

「Night fell.」

The area where Lu Yuan’s party was camped was silent.

They were far from the main road.

The only sounds came from the chirping of insects.

The sky was dotted with countless stars.

Everything seemed peaceful and serene.

Lu Yuan was already fast asleep, snoring away.

’There’s no one next to me, so what else is there to do but sleep?’

Most of the Zhao Family members were also asleep.

Only a few patrolled, shouldering their firearms as they wandered about.

Inside the carriage.

Su Liyan and her mother, sharing a bed, were not yet asleep.

The mother and daughter had taken a nap that afternoon.

They weren’t very sleepy now.

Besides, it had been a long time since the two had slept together.

Now, they had endless things to talk about.

"Mother, why did you bring *them* out with you?"

Su Liyan, nestled in her mother’s arms, suddenly thought of something and whispered.

Su Liyan’s mother couldn’t help but sigh.

"These few are the restless ones.

The fierce ones.

We’ll be gone for a month or two. I was afraid that while we were away, they wouldn’t be able to hold back and would cause trouble.

After thinking it over, I decided to bring them along.

Don’t worry. Before we left, I placed a spell on them.

Even if they ran right up to an ordinary Celestial Master, he wouldn’t be able to sense their presence.

Nothing will go wrong!"

Hearing her mother’s words, Su Liyan nodded.

She hadn’t been worried in the first place.

Her mother had always been cautious and thorough in everything she did.

Su Liyan was about to say something but suddenly froze.

Then, Su Liyan’s mother abruptly sat up.

She got out of bed, opened the carriage window, and lifted the curtain to peer into the pitch-black darkness outside for a moment.

She couldn’t help but click her tongue.

"This place... it’s not peaceful..."

Su Liyan held her belly with one hand and opened the window on the other side with her other, then turned back and said,

"Mother, I’ll go shoo them away."

Hearing Su Liyan’s words, her mother frowned.

"Why shoo them away? They’re just curious and came for a look. It’s no big deal."

But Su Liyan shook her head.

"No. My husband is afraid of these things. What if they scare him?"

Her mother looked completely puzzled by this.

"Isn’t Yuan’Er learning the arts? Why is he still scared?"

In response, Su Liyan revealed a smile.

It was a smile of helplessness, yet also of fond indulgence.

"Mother, you don’t know my husband... he’s a bit of a coward~"