Lu Mingxiu watched as his younger sister and her family, along with a group of exiled people, were dragged away, their shackles growing fainter until they disappeared from his sight.

The people who had come to see them off had already left, leaving him standing there, motionless.

“Master, let’s go back,” said Mo Zhu, looking up at the sun. He couldn’t help but worry. Earlier, the young mistress had instructed him to take good care of the master, and he couldn’t let her down.

Lu Mingxiu didn’t respond. He closed his eyes, allowing his slightly sore eyes to rest, and reached out to rub his temples, only to remember the package his sister had given him before she left.

He returned to the rented carriage and opened the package, examining its contents.

Inside the package was a square box made of woven straw. He lifted the lid to reveal a neatly folded piece of paper, faintly stained with ink.

A slight smile touched his lips as he took it out and unfolded it. It was a letter from his sister.

He scanned the letter quickly, then focused his attention on the box.

Inside the box were two small animals made of woven straw, a cow and a rabbit, the zodiac animals of Haohao and Yuye.

His sister wrote in the letter that the two children had made them themselves. They had nothing to do in the prison, so they practiced weaving and finally made two that they were satisfied with.

Besides the two animals, there were also several silver ingots, which his sister left for him.

He pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and reread the letter from beginning to end.

His sister said that she wouldn’t be able to stay by his side anymore, and hoped he could find a soulmate who would care for him. He sighed wryly, knowing he would probably disappoint her.

Finally, she expressed her reluctance to leave him in the letter, hoping he would take care of himself and wait for their reunion.

His eyes welled up.

His little sister, already a mother, was still like a child.

He closed his eyes, hiding the tears in them.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again, and his usual coldness returned.

Unmoved, as if nothing could affect him.

“Mo Zhu, let’s go back,” he said calmly.

Mo Zhu was sitting on the carriage shaft, guarding. Hearing that the master was finally going back, he hurriedly responded, calling the carriage driver who was sitting in the shade of a tree nearby to drive back to the city.

The carriage started slowly, and Lu Mingxiu in the carriage raised the curtain, looking back at the road that was already empty, his eyes more determined.

“Master, are you alright?” Mo Zhu was a little worried.

Lu Mingxiu shook his head and asked, “What are your plans for the future?”

“Of course I’m going to follow you, Master,” Mo Zhu answered without hesitation.

Lu Mingxiu saw that he didn’t understand what he meant, so he continued, “You’re not young anymore. Have you thought about your future? Like getting married and having children?”

“Master!” Mo Zhu was shy and confused, with a hint of worry and fear. Did the master not want him anymore?

Lu Mingxiu was helpless and had to explain, “I’m probably going to leave the capital. What about you?”

Mo Zhu still said the same thing, “Wherever you go, Master, I’ll go.”

“I’m going somewhere very far away,” Lu Mingxiu emphasized again.

“Do you think I can’t handle the hardship, Master?” Mo Zhu was very upset, “It must be because I’m too stupid and useless, and the Master doesn’t want me…”

“Stop,” Lu Mingxiu sighed and interrupted him, “You’ve been with me for six years, you know my situation. I don’t want you to regret it later.”

“If it weren’t for the Master and the young mistress, there probably wouldn’t be Mo Zhu in this world,” Mo Zhu said earnestly, “From that moment on, Mo Zhu made up his mind to follow the Master for the rest of his life.”

At this point, he paused for a moment before continuing, his voice tinged with a hint of pleading and anxiety, “Master, no matter where you go, don’t leave Mo Zhu behind.”

Lu Mingxiu sighed softly and reached out to rub Mo Zhu’s head, “As long as you don’t regret it.”

Of course Mo Zhu wouldn’t regret it.

In his heart, he had already regarded the master as family.

Since Mo Zhu wanted to follow him, Lu Mingxiu didn’t need to consider anything else, especially after hearing the news Mo Zhu had mentioned, he couldn’t sit still.

After entering the city, they went straight to another place. After finishing their business, they went back to their home in the south of the city.

The Lu family was a two-courtyard house. He lived in the back courtyard, while his elder brother’s family lived in the front courtyard.

Usually, one had to pass through the front courtyard to reach the back courtyard, but Lu Mingxiu didn’t want to have too much contact with his elder brother’s family, so he had a door opened in the back courtyard, making it convenient for him to come and go freely.

Back in the courtyard, they had just sat down to rest for a while when someone came to the door.

Needless to say, it was his elder brother’s family.

“Oh, so you’re back after sending your unlucky little sister away?”

Wu Shi, his elder brother’s wife, began to gloat as soon as she saw him.

Lu Mingxiu glanced at her coldly and ignored her.

Lu Qian, his elder brother’s second daughter, was immediately dissatisfied when she saw his attitude, “That’s how you treat your elders?”

“That’s right,” Lu Chao, his elder brother’s youngest son, also chimed in, “We heard that Lu Yao had an accident, and my mother was worried about you. It seems we were being sentimental.”

He looked at Wu Shi, “Mother, I told you, Big Brother is not the kind of person who gets anxious and loses his mind over a little thing. You’re just worrying too much.”

Lu Qian agreed, “Exactly, not only does he not appreciate it, he’ll say you’re nosy.”

Lu Qian and Lu Chao were the second daughter and youngest son of his elder brother.

Both of them were older than Lu Mingxiu. Lu Chao was only a year younger than him, so they should have been able to get along, but the opposite was true.

 These two siblings would always intentionally or unintentionally compare themselves to him and his sister. Lu Mingxiu didn’t want to be entangled with them, so he usually avoided them.

It was the same today.

He waited for them to finish speaking before calmly saying, “Thank you for your concern, but I’m not feeling well, so I won’t entertain you.”

He gave them a polite smile, pretending to be weak.

Mo Zhu was quick-witted and stepped forward to support him, not forgetting to mutter, “Master, you really are, always trying to be strong. If the young mistress knew, she would definitely scold you.”

He kept muttering as he helped Lu Mingxiu into the room, leaving the three troublemakers to do whatever they wanted.

Anyway, the Master said they were clean and honest, so they weren’t afraid of losing anything.

Wu Shi was about to be driven mad by their attitude.

Thinking of her plan, she changed her tone from her previous harshness to concern, “If you’re not feeling well, then get some rest,” she said, sighing softly, “You’re not young anymore, and your health isn’t good.

It’s not enough to have servants taking care of you. Chao’er is only a year younger than you, and the eldest is almost eight years old.”

Lu Mingxiu knew what she was up to, but he pretended not to understand and thanked her for her concern, “Mo Zhu takes very good care of me.”

“How can that be the same?” Wu Shi was a little anxious, “There’s a difference between a wife and a servant.”

Mo Zhu immediately protested, “The Master is Mo Zhu’s savior, Mo Zhu will take care of the Master wholeheartedly for the rest of his life.”

“Well,” Lu Mingxiu smiled, “I believe you.”

He turned to Wu Shi and the others, “I think things are fine as they are now, there’s no need to change anything.”

He finished speaking and didn’t give Wu Shi and the others another chance, entering the room with Mo Zhu.

Looking at the closed door, Wu Shi spat, “Hmph, he really thinks he’s some kind of hot commodity!”

If this house wasn’t in his elder brother’s name, and if the second branch hadn’t been an official for so many years, with many close friends, this little brat must have hidden a lot of good stuff. She wouldn’t care if this sickly boy got married or not, whether he lived or died.

Oh no, it would be better if he died, then all the things left by the second branch would be theirs.

Thinking of this, her eyes rolled, and she decided to think about it carefully.