The person in the moonlight was Sima Yi.
Zhao Luoning let down her guard and smiled.
"What's this, Young Master Sima? Are you playing the role of a thief on my roof?"
Sima Yi jumped down and landed steadily in front of the mother and daughter, still holding a wine flask in his hand.
His excellent lightness kung fu left Jun Zhaoshu stunned.
It took her a while to remember to clap her hands in admiration.
"Is Uncle a celestial being? He's so amazing!"
Zhao Luoning smiled and stroked little Zhaoshu's head, instructing her,
"You mustn't let your elder brother hear you say this, or he'll be jealous again."
The little fellow Bai Zhaomo had a fiery temper and a narrow mind. Before he failed the imperial examination for the juren degree, he quite disliked his little sister and was eager to live in the academy permanently to get away from this little crybaby. But when he finally came back from living in the academy, seeing Zhaoshu having a great time with Zhaoyan, he felt jealous and made quite a fuss about it.
Sima Yi took a gulp of wine and replied, "I saw that your mansion was built quite nicely. The view from the roof is even better."
"Then you'd better not let my elder brother know that you climbed over the wall."
"Why?"
"This White Mansion was built by my elder brother himself. It took him several years, and he comes to maintain it once a year. He once grumbled that Guisu and Jingsu liked to climb over the wall the most, and if he caught them, he'd punish them severely."
Now Zhao Luochun cared more about this courtyard than his younger sister Zhao Luoning. He wouldn't even bother if Zhao Luoning fell or got hurt, but if a tile fell off or the paint was chipped in the White Mansion, he'd feel heartbroken for a long time.
After hearing this, Sima Yi burst into laughter.
"Who would have thought that the eldest young master of the Zhao family had such talent?"
"He's a very busy man now. I heard that the emperor even wants to invite him to renovate the imperial palace."
When Zhao Luoning mentioned the emperor, she glanced at Sima Yi. Seeing his low spirits, she apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"We're the rebels. There's no reason for you to apologize to a rebel."
Zhao Luoning sighed. No matter what Sima Yi had done, from her perspective, he had saved her life, so she should respect him.
"How are your people now?"
"What? Are you here to spy on us?" Sima Yi laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry. They've all dispersed."
"Dispersed?"
"Yes." When he mentioned the events of that year, Sima Yi still felt a bit sad. "Back then, when we established the Sima Mountain Villa, not many people really wanted to go to war. It was just that our adoptive father had an obsession at that time, and the princess hadn't been rescued yet, so everyone got together to start an uprising. Later, after our adoptive father and the princess passed away, there was no need for everyone to continue."
Zhao Luoning nodded and said, "Actually, Qingyun just wanted to live her own life back then."
"Yes. When I sent people to rescue the princess from the Ji family, the princess was very reluctant. If it weren't for our adoptive father, the princess would never have left with us. I also advised our adoptive father that after rescuing the princess, he should retire to the mountains with her, but he didn't listen. At that time, he seemed to have changed completely. Later, after our defeat, I led the remaining troops to retreat. Thinking of our adoptive father and looking at the brothers who followed me, I felt that I couldn't let them continue to follow me."
"Is it because you're afraid that you'll be hunted down by the court?"
Sima Yi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that I'll become like our adoptive father. Once a person has power, they'll change. If this person has power and desires, then it'll be even more out of control."
When he said the last sentence, Sima Yi looked deeply into Zhao Luoning's eyes.
Zhao Luoning lowered her head.
Just as she didn't read his letters back then, now she wouldn't respond to his feelings either.
"Time has passed so quickly. It feels like a lifetime ago."
"Who says it isn't?"
Sima Yi was extremely smart. He knew that Zhao Luoning was deliberately changing the subject, so he wisely kept silent.
Just as the two were sighing about the past, they didn't realize that behind them, three heads were stretching out to look in their direction.
Jun Zhaoyan looked at the scene under the corridor that resembled a family of three and sighed, "Dad, you have quite a few love rivals."
Jun Zhaoqi also nodded in agreement.
"I think that man's lightness kung fu is better than Dad's. I don't know how his martial arts are. It seems that Dad might not be able to beat him."
Before Jun Zhaoqi could finish her sentence, she got a flick on the forehead from Ji Shisu.
Jun Zhaoyan looked at his younger sister sympathetically and advised her earnestly,
"Look, how many times has your second brother taught you? You should be more careful when you speak."
Ji Shisu nodded and chimed in, "Yes, learn more from your second brother."
Jun Zhaoyan continued, "How can you just blurt out your innermost thoughts like that?"
Ji Shisu: "… Your father is about to fall out of favor. Shouldn't you go up and disrupt the cozy moment between your mother and that strange man?"
Jun Zhaoyan hit the nail on the head: "Mom would never find a strange man. It's Dad who has a narrow mind."
Jun Zhaoqi nodded repeatedly. "Yes, what the second brother said is the truth. Humph, when I wanted to sleep with Mom when I was a kid, Dad didn't allow it. Dad has a narrow mind."
"How can I allow someone else to snore beside my couch? You don't understand now. When you all get married in the future, you'll understand."
"Then we definitely won't be like Dad and be jealous of our own children."
"Hey, you little rascals."
It seemed that these naughty kids needed a good spanking.
"What's Dad jealous about again? Let me hear it too."
At this moment, an unexpected guest joined the three people who were secretly watching the gossip.
Jun Zhaoyan turned around and his eyes lit up when he saw Zhao Luoyu dressed as a man.
"Auntie!"
Jun Zhaoqi also liked Zhao Luoyu. She quickly grabbed Zhao Luoyu's sleeve and said, "Auntie, you're back from your travels. Do you have any interesting stories? Zhaoqi wants to hear them."
After Zhao Luoyu comforted the two little kids, she said with a smile, "Okay, wait until I go and see your mother, and then I'll come to your room. I've been out doing business recently. I not only went to Buda to see your Aunt Caixue and their little prince, but I also heard a lot of stories."
"Okay, okay."
Hearing that there were stories, the two little kids completely forgot that they were secretly peeping and clapped their hands and cheered.
Their noise alerted the two people under the corridor.
Sima Yi smiled bitterly: "It seems that Ji Shisu doesn't trust me at all."
"He doesn't trust anyone. He treats everyone the same."
Zhao Luoning also saw them. When she saw that Zhao Luoyu had returned, she waved to her and said, "Luoyu, come here."
Zhao Luoyu walked over.
She looked exactly like Zhao Luoning, but their ways of doing things were quite different.
After Zhao Luoning had several children, her maternal nature became more and more prominent, which made her look less like Zhao Luojing when she pretended to be him.
In theory, Zhao Luoyu was also the mother of several children, but she was completely different. She still looked like a boy. So over the years, it had been Zhao Luoyu who had pretended to be Zhao Luojing and fled outside.
When Sima Yi saw Zhao Luoyu, he was stunned.
"Who is this…"
Only then did Zhao Luoning remember that when Sima Yi left the Ji family, Luoyu was still Ning Ruonian and had never taken off her veil, so he didn't know her identity.
Zhao Luoning introduced her,
"This is my twin sister, Zhao Luoyu."