After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

At that moment, Feng Qingtan felt as if the rabbit meat in her mouth was as dry as wood chips, impossible to chew and impossible to spit out. So, under the other person's smiling gaze, Feng Qingtan almost subconsciously swallowed it down with a "gulp".

There was quite a bit of rabbit meat in that mouthful, and it got stuck in his throat. Feng Qingtan swallowed hard a couple more times before he felt the strangely shaped wood chips finally slide down. He immediately felt a huge sense of relief and patted the area below his throat before scolding, "You scared me, you little brat... I had someone go down the mountain to buy that deer blood."

It suddenly got stuck, just like that big, tough piece of rabbit meat was still stuck in its throat.

In the utter silence of the night, Feng Qingtan seemed to hear his own heartbeat, thump, thump… one beat after another, irregular and weak, the heartbeat of an elderly man. In the past, a simple "I sent someone down the mountain to buy it" would have been enough to brush him off. But if pressed further about who he sent, with so many servants on the mountain, how could he possibly remember them all? Today he'd ask this one, tomorrow that one. And now, with the entire Zhixuan Mountain impassable, who could possibly go down to collect deer blood?

If it was hunted by someone... it would have to be sent to the kitchen to be processed. If it just so happens that it wasn't sent to the kitchen, then who processed it? These questions flashed through Feng Qingtan's mind like sparks, and he felt cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Once a lie begins, it is destined to be an endless process of covering it up. If the other party is a shrewd person like Yuan Ge, this process might not truly be endless; rather, it would likely end abruptly, as it is now.

"I..." He licked his dry lips, then fell silent—he couldn't hide it. He knew very well that even if he could fool anyone else, he couldn't fool Yuan Ge. Over the years, the books in his room had always been left there openly. The little girl didn't pick and choose her books; she would often just pick one that caught her eye and read it for a while. Therefore, Feng Qingtan really didn't know what she had read or how much she had remembered over the years.

Feeling insecure, even though she tried to cover it up, her mind was completely out of control. For a moment, her mind went blank, and she looked helpless with her head down, like a child who had done something wrong.

Xu Chengjin looked at this and that, his doubts growing stronger, but he also keenly sensed the strange atmosphere and chose to keep quiet.

Sometime later, the guards and servants in the courtyard had all disappeared. Granny Dou stood not far away, holding a plate of stir-fried snacks to go with the wine, watching the teacher and student with worry. In the end, she did not go forward to advise them. She had actually seen everything, but she did not stop them, nor did she tell Yuan Ge. She even quietly closed the door before leaving.

Although I have never regretted it, I believe I have lost the right to offer comfort and advice.

The night grew deeper, the last warmth of the day quietly dissipating. In the chilly night wind, Yuan Ge sighed deeply. She didn't get up, but looked up at Feng Qingtan a few steps away, and said softly, "Fourteen years ago, in winter, it snowed heavily. My mother was born in the south and didn't really like the winters in Zhixuan Mountain; they were always too cold and long for her. But that year she was very happy because her maternal grandparents were finally coming to visit."

Feng Qingtan suddenly looked up, revealing a deathly pale face and trembling lips. After a long while, she asked in a hoarse voice, "You...remember?"

A cool breeze blew by, and he swayed. One hand behind his back was clenched tightly, veins bulging and knuckles white. He used all his strength but still couldn't stop that hand from trembling. He gritted his teeth and gripped the wrist tightly with his other hand.

He said, “It’s my fault. I’ve practiced medicine for half my life and I forgot that for you, Wei Rui Zhi Huan is the most vicious poison…” The child, who had experienced separation and life and death and had once been on the verge of collapse, even though the most painful memories had been forcibly forgotten, was still a vulnerable soul to Wei Rui Sheng Xiang.

Xu Chengjin was startled, "You mean—then how could she…"

"Then how come I recovered so quickly, right?" Yuan Ge took over the conversation, finally got up and walked to Feng Qingtan. He gently but irresistibly pulled Feng Qingtan's left hand from behind his back to his front, rolled up his sleeve to reveal the gauze wrapped around his wrist and the blood that had seeped out from the gauze from gripping it too tightly.

Feng Qingtan instinctively shrank back, but couldn't quite manage it. So he raised his hand to stroke his beard, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the dried bloodstains on his fingertips. He chuckled sheepishly as he lightly rubbed them between his fingers before saying, "It's nothing... I just accidentally got it. It'll be fine in a couple of days."

Yuan Ge lifted his eyelids, his eyes slightly cold, and his tone was also cold, "Fourteen years ago, you protected me and didn't let me know anything. Fourteen years later, are you also planning to keep everything from me? Teacher... was it an accident, or... did you use human blood as a catalyst? You know I'm sensitive to blood, and no matter what medicine you use, you can't hide it, so you simply lied and said it was deer blood for health, right?"

Feng Qingtan remained silent.

Xu Chengjin was even more astonished. "Using blood as a catalyst?! Teacher, you're supposed to be a legendary doctor, with miraculous medical skills. How could you believe in these swindling trinkets? Unofficial histories often mention heart's blood and human blood as a catalyst, but how much of that is true..." He paused abruptly, slowly turning his head to look at Yuan Ge. The flickering campfire in the distance reflected in his eyes, and his gaze flashed. Suddenly, he raised his voice, questioning Feng Qingtan, "You didn't also believe in that damned girl Jin Su's ridiculous prescriptions, did you?!"

The oppressive atmosphere dissipated somewhat after this absurd interruption. Feng Qingtan rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You've practically deafened me! Do you think I'm some ignorant child who knows a few words and has written a few prescriptions for headaches and fevers and thinks I can cure the dead and heal the wounded? What did I say back then? That girl was wicked, scheming, and greedy. It's only because you, Xiao Ge'er... insisted that she was a pitiful person, and that it was normal for her to be a little hostile and wary of people. Ha... I see she's been chasing after Yuan Qi like a madwoman!"

The complaints eventually stopped at the name that couldn't be mentioned.

Feng Qingtan had only intended to change the subject, but she forgot to stop talking. Only after she finished speaking did she realize her slip of the tongue. Looking at Yuan Ge, whose face had turned pale in an instant, she finally sighed helplessly and said with a slightly tired bitter smile, "It's just a little blood... It's worth it for my little Ge'er."

"Worth it?! What do you mean, worth it?!" Yuan Ge roared in anger. "You're still trying to lie to me?!"