My stepmother is here, all the rebellious sons and evildoers should kneel down!

Wen Qiqi walked over and took the ruler from Lu Xingcheng's hand.

The ruler was very heavy. Wen Qiqi weighed it twice and looked at Lu Xingcheng coldly.

At this time, Lu Xingcheng was so frightened that his body was shaking. He didn't dare to look his mother in the eye, nor did he dare to avoid her...

My mother shouldn't dare to hit me.

She has no children of her own, so it is important to cherish and treat her adopted son well. If her mother hits her, she will definitely be afraid that there will be a rift between mother and son in the future.

"You are the one who should be punished!"

"Yes!"

The room was so quiet that Lu Xingcheng's heart was beating wildly with fear.

Wen Qiqi raised the ruler high and he closed his eyes tightly.

it's over...

"never mind!"

Wen Qiqi put his arm down and casually threw the ruler aside.

"Xingcheng, get up!"

Lu Xingcheng took a deep breath, and his nervous expression returned to calm.

What mother said was right. Mother was just pretending to make the Lu family pay more attention to her.

Being furious with myself before was just a warning to others!

My mother is too scheming!

"I won't hit you today because..."

She stared into Lu Xingcheng's eyes and said word by word, "Because you are no longer my son. I punished you because you were disrespectful to my mother's family. Now I don't beat you because from now on, the fate between you and me is over, and we no longer have any relationship."

Lu Xingcheng was horrified, desperately grasping Wen Qiqi's arm, begging repeatedly: "Mother, you have punished me, and Xingcheng knows he is wrong. What should I do with my son so that he can be forgiven?"

"Do you really want me to forgive you?"

Wen Qiqi raised an eyebrow and asked.

Lu Xingcheng nodded repeatedly, stammering anxiously: "Of course...if mother can forgive son, son will be willing to die. Son cherishes the mother-son relationship with mother in this life, far more than his own life!"

Ha ha!

Wen Qiqi was really moved by Lu Xingcheng's "sincerity".

"Okay! In that case, as your mother, I should give you a chance."

She turned around and sat on the bed, looking at the eldest son whom the Lu family valued the most with a distant and noble look!

"Xingcheng, you also know that my mother's family is a family of meritorious officials who have made great contributions to the court. I heard that my family members are brave and loyal, and are highly valued by the emperor!"

"Xingcheng knows. Mother's family has always been the one Xingcheng looks up to. Mother, you really misunderstood Xingcheng. Xingcheng only has respect for your family, and he regards your father and brother as lifelong role models!"

He speaks perfectly and with sincerity!

Wen Qiqi nodded, the anger on her face subsided, and Lu Xingcheng lowered his eyes, thinking that what his father always said was indeed true. His mother had been married to his father for many years, but she still cared about the glory of the Lu family.

In the days that followed, since I knew my mother's mind, I knew how to speak and behave in front of her. I just had to say good things about the Wen family.

"Mother, have you forgiven your son?"

"Of course it depends on your performance."

Wen Qiqi picked up the teacup and took a sip of the cold tea.

When tea gets cold, it becomes tasteless and can only be thrown away.

If you heat it again, it will no longer have the same fragrance as before...

"My son will never let his mother down again."

Lu Xingcheng came over and gently rubbed Wen Qiqi's shoulders. Wen Qiqi's brows suddenly frowned, but she did not push him away.

"Xingcheng, since you want to be my son, you should know that your mother is from a military family. In the past, I didn't have any requirements for you because you were young. Now you are fourteen years old..."

She held Lu Xingcheng's hand and looked into his eyes: "I want to test you once. If you can pass this test from your mother, it means that you really want to be my son and cherish the mother-son relationship between you and me. If not... I can't do anything about it and I won't be your mother anymore."

"Mother said frankly that Xingcheng would definitely do it."

Lu Xingcheng agreed without saying anything.

His mother was giving him a way out. He was not stupid. If he missed this opportunity, he would probably never be able to get rid of his illegitimate status.

"it is good!"

Wen Qiqi immediately showed a look of relief.

"Next month, the sons of ministers in the capital will hold a martial arts competition. In addition to some young people who want to serve the court, the participants are also the sons of ministers in the court. The emperor attaches great importance to this youth martial arts competition and wants to select future military rookies from it!"

Wen Qiqi's eyes were full of expectation: "You go and participate!"

When Lu Xingcheng heard this, he was speechless.

The Lu family considers themselves as scholars. Lu Zhanyao and his father both relied on their eloquence and good writing skills to get the opportunity to become officials.

He was originally just a small sixth-rank official. Every time he attended court, he kept his head down and dared not speak.

Later, Lu Zhanyao was lucky enough to marry Wen Qiqi, and the emperor promoted him to the fourth rank.

Lu Zhanyao was very good at seizing opportunities. Seeing that the emperor knew him, he wrote many articles to show himself off. Most of them were praising how wise the emperor was and how the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

He has excellent writing skills, which are romantic and poetic. The emperor, for the sake of the Wen family, also appreciated his talent and promoted him to the third-rank official last year.

As a result, the Lu family became well-known among the high-ranking officials in Kyoto. Lu Xingcheng was good at making friends with the powerful and wealthy, and he used Wen Qiqi's dowry to give gifts everywhere. As a result, some people in the court gave him some face.

"Father...Father has always taught his son that everything is inferior except studying! Mother, Xingcheng...Xingcheng studies hard, but is not...not good at martial arts."

When Lu Xingcheng heard about participating in the Kyoto Youth Competition, he couldn't help but tremble and quickly declined.

"Mother, can you test Xingcheng in a different way?"

"Everything is inferior? Only reading is superior! Are you saying that military generals like my mother's family who fought bloody battles for the court are inferior to civil officials?"

Wen Qiqi suddenly became furious, and Lu Xingcheng was so scared that he shook his head hurriedly: "No! No, mother! Son didn't mean that!"

She nodded and patted his shoulder.

Lu Xingcheng looked at Wen Qiqi's hand nervously, and felt that this hand was no longer the gentle hand that used to wipe away his tears.

"Xingcheng, it would be best if you don't mean that. Mother has always believed that only those who are good at both civil and martial arts are truly promising. Mother has never looked down on civil officials, and you can't look down on military officials either. So, from the day you became my son, I hired a master to teach you martial arts."

The care she gave to Lu Xingcheng in the past really exceeded that of an ordinary biological mother.

He had to use all his connections to invite a master from the best martial arts school in Kyoto to come to the Lu family and teach Lu Xingcheng in person. Not only did he spend a lot of money, he even had to use the Wen family's face.

"The master who taught you is also my brother Wen Xiaoliang's teacher. Tell me, since your mother treated you like this, shouldn't you repay her with your sincerity?"

Giving without expecting anything in return was how she used to treat Lu Xingcheng.

But in the end!

Lu Xingcheng saved up all these efforts, and at the last moment, he returned the favor and repaid her as a mother and the Wen family!