Just as Du Wan was hesitating, "Bang!" Zhan Boling hurriedly pushed open the door and strode in.

"Mother—" The words he was about to say stopped abruptly when he saw Liu Ru kneeling with her head bowed.

When Du Wan saw that it was her proud "son," she quickly wiped away the tears on her face with a handkerchief and tried to put on a smile. "Bo Ling, why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?"

Zhan Boling stepped forward and, instead of answering, asked, "Why did Mother make Aunt Liu kneel? Did Aunt Liu do something to upset Mother?"

Du Wan ignored Zhan Boling's first sentence and only heard him asking her if she was unhappy. She felt that she had not wasted so many years of hard work. Zhan Boling was not only so well-educated by her, but also very filial to her.

"Mother isn't upset. It's just that Liu Ru did something wrong, and Mother is just trying to teach her a lesson." Du Wan had just made up her mind that she would keep this a secret forever, and that the three of them would continue to live happily as before.

However, she did not know that Zhan Boling had known about her background for ten years and had been secretly calling Liu Ru "mother".

Seeing his own mother kneeling on the ground without any dignity, her forehead red from kowtowing, he felt extremely dissatisfied.

However, he knew that now was not the time to break ties with Du Wan.

So he casually advised, "Mother, no matter what, Aunt Liu is still your head maid, and she came with you from your maiden home as part of your dowry. If you embarrass her like this, how will she stand in front of the servants of the Prince of Zhan's mansion in the future? I'm afraid that the little maids will not listen to her orders anymore."

If Zhan Boling had said this before Du Wan knew his true identity, she would definitely have thought he made sense. She couldn't let the maid she brought from her maiden home lose face in front of the maids in the Zhan Prince's mansion.

Deep down, Du Wan still believed that those maids were trained by the old lady of the Zhan Prince's Mansion and were her adversaries. Even though the old lady had passed away many years ago, this feeling had not disappeared.

However, now that she had just learned Zhan Boling's true identity, her subconscious reaction to his words was that he was protecting his biological mother.

Could it be that Bo Ling... already knew all along?

Du Wan looked at Zhan Boling with surprise and uncertainty.

When Liu Ru heard Zhan Boling's words, her heart skipped a beat, and she knew she was in trouble. Now, seeing Du Wan's suspicious look, Liu Ru could no longer kneel down.

She kowtowed several more times, "Bang bang..." "Young master, I did something wrong, it is only right for me to kneel."

Zhan Boling looked at Liu Ru, and Liu Ru took the opportunity to give him a wink.

Zhan Boling immediately realized what was happening, and his face immediately showed dissatisfaction. "Aunt Liu, you've been by my mother's side since you were little. You know her personality best. How could you do something to make her unhappy?"

"Yes, yes, it was my fault. Please forgive me this time, Your Highness. I have followed you since I was a child and always put you first. And... this is the only time I acted on my own initiative. But I did it all for your own good."

With Zhan Boling and Liu Ru working together, taking turns to say something, Du Wan gradually dispelled her doubts. However, in order to give her a warning, Liu Ru did not wake her up. Instead, she turned to Zhan Boling and asked, "Boling, did something happen that you rushed in just now?"

"It's true, Mother. The sect leader of Qingyun Sect sent word that Lin Yue may have fallen into the Goddess River and entered the wild and mysterious realm that appeared a thousand years ago."

Du Wan's face also showed anxiety upon hearing this, "Ah, is there any possibility of saving her?" Du Wan was quite satisfied with Lin Yue as Zhan Boling's wife. She was the daughter of an elder of the Qingyun Sect and had good talent and strength. She was already known as Fairy Yue in the Shenya Dynasty.

"I don't know. Qingyun Sect has already sent people to Shennvjiang to search. Mother, I came to you so that you could talk to Father and ask him to send some people with me to search."

Zhan Aotian is currently in seclusion, and no one except Du Wan is allowed to enter and disturb him. This is also the reason why Zhan Boling came to find Du Wan.

Du Wan immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll go find your father right away and have him send you a team of the most elite soldiers."

"Thank you, Mother. And Aunt Liu..."

Du Wan stopped smiling and turned to Liu Ru, saying, "What are you still kneeling here for? Go see a doctor yourself."

"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Your Highness. This servant will now leave." Liu Ru retreated with an expression of deep gratitude.

Zhan Boling also left the house under the pretext of needing to cultivate.

After composing herself, Du Wan had her maid come in again to help her dress up before heading to the place where Zhan Aotian was in seclusion.

As soon as Zhan Boling left, he went to visit Liu Ru. As Du Wan's head maid, Liu Ru lived a life almost like a mistress in the Zhan Prince's mansion, and even had her own independent courtyard.

Inside the room, Zhan Boling asked anxiously, "Mother, why did the Princess suddenly punish you today?"

Liu Ru looked at Zhan Boling with affection, "Because I really can't wait any longer. I want you to call me Mother in a proper and respectable way. You know, every time you call Du Wan Mother in front of me, my heart aches like it's being torn apart. You are clearly my son..." Liu Ru seemed to be in so much pain that she couldn't speak. Seeing this, Zhan Boling didn't dare to question her anymore and could only hug Liu Ru with a face full of guilt.

"Mother, it's not the right time yet. Let's wait a little longer..." Only when even Zhan Aotian has to be wary of his strength can he both acknowledge his biological mother and obtain everything from the Zhan Wang Mansion.

Thinking of this, a calculating glint flashed in Zhan Boling's eyes. Now was the most crucial period for Zhan Aotian's cultivation. Du Wan's entry would definitely disturb Zhan Aotian. He didn't need to ruin his cultivation, he just needed to prevent him from successfully advancing to the next stage.

Zhan Aotian is already a Grandmaster. If he successfully cultivates to the next stage, it will probably take him at least ten years to catch up.

Unless... by forcibly breaking through using rare and precious materials.

However, in the past hundred years, the natural resources for martial arts cultivation in the Shenya Dynasty have been almost completely exhausted. The appearance of a single immortal herb on any mountain can alarm half of the martial arts practitioners. Natural treasures are not so easy to obtain.

At the same time, Du Wanru and Zhan Boling arrived outside Zhan Aotian's secluded training area at the time they had calculated.

Zhan Boling was completely unguarded around Du Wan; only a jade pendant in Du Wan's hand could open the door to his seclusion.

Du Wan opened the door and walked in with a smile on her face.

A moment later.

"ah!"

A scream rang out.

As Zhan Aotian's blood surged wildly, his mind trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He was consumed by rage and stared at them with bloodshot eyes.

Du Wan, pale-faced, half-covered her mouth, staring at him with frightened eyes...

Zhan Aotian suddenly felt incredibly exhausted.