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

It rained in the latter half of the night.

The rain in early spring is the most gentle and lingering, and even the rain in the middle of the night only leaves a thin layer on the ground.

Perhaps because he had talked things out with Feng Qingtan, Yuan Ge slept well for once. When he woke up in the morning, he found that the drizzle had not stopped, but the clouds were thin, and bright white light shone down from behind the clouds, making the grass and leaves look like they were covered with a bright halo, which was so beautiful that it was unreal.

Like a dream.

But this dream was shattered by Lin Mu's reckless intrusion: "Young Madam! People from Shengjing have arrived!"

Yuan Ge was taken aback at first, but then he was overjoyed. His worries finally subsided, and he asked as he walked outside, "Has Big Brother arrived?"

“Young Master Wen himself didn’t come. The person who came was someone who stayed with the young master at our residence for a while… Oh right, his name is A-Kun. He said Young Master Wen has been very busy lately and couldn’t spare the time.” Lin Mu walked beside him, speaking as they went. “Besides A-Kun, there were also several highly skilled guards who escorted a carriage. I rushed over as soon as I saw them. A-Kun said that Young Master Wen also sent you a letter, saying that it was written by the young master on his behalf.”

"Zhuozhuo?" Yuan Ge's expression softened as she thought of the lively, adorable, and lovable little boy. "I wonder how his calligraphy is going... I miss him a bit. It's been so long since I've been back, I reckon he'll be hard to coax..." It seems I'll have to find some treasures to bring back and appease him. That child likes playing with swords and spears, so perhaps I should pick out a few items from my grandfather's treasured collection... Although I am not Wen Qian, in terms of blood ties, I am indeed that child's distant aunt.

Perhaps relieved that the fruit had finally found a home, or perhaps thinking of the child far away in Shengjing, Yuan Ge's expression was unusually gentle, carrying a subtle doting affection.

"Young Madam likes children?" Lin Mu chuckled upon seeing Yuan Ge's expression. "You and Master are both so good-looking; your child must be as clever and adorable as the young master of the Wen family. Young Madam, do you prefer the young master or the young lady?"

Yuan Ge was taken aback and before he could speak, Lin Mu chuckled and began to plan, "I do think the young lady is cuter, but it would be great if we had a young master first, so that someone could protect our young lady..."

Yuan Ge glanced sideways at Lin Mu, who was frowning and nodding to himself, pondering whether or not he needed the young master. He silently rubbed his forehead and teased after a while, "You like young girls so much, why don't you have one yourself? You're not young anymore, don't you have a girl you like?"

Lin Mu scratched the back of his head, unusually shy. "No... all these years following my master in and out, I haven't even had a chance to meet any girls, let alone have a crush on one! Even if I did meet one or two, they were mostly people like Jian Shu, whose martial arts skills were so high that I couldn't even beat them." He then pressed down on the corners of his mouth and sighed helplessly.

"What's wrong with appraising books? She's such a lovely girl."

"It's quite good. But..." Lin Mu scratched the back of his head again, his ears turning red in the cool morning drizzle. He chuckled awkwardly, "It takes some courage to admit that my skills, which I'm so proud of, are inferior to a girl's. But what takes even more courage is to be subdued by a girl for the rest of my life... I really don't have that kind of courage."

After saying that, he chuckled again, "Besides, that brat Jian Shu wouldn't even look down on her defeated opponent."

Yuan Ge then asked, "So what type of girl do you like? Tell me, and I'll keep an eye out for her."

The spring rain drizzled down, and the wind picked up, carrying raindrops into the umbrella. Lin Mu lowered the oil-paper umbrella, standing outside it himself. Hearing this, he lowered his eyes, his honest and gentle demeanor softening. He said, "There's no specific type. She doesn't necessarily need to be gentle and sensible, nor does she need to be good at housework, or even have a dramatic life. As long as... you're attracted to each other, considerate and supportive of one another, raising children together, even if life is as calm as still water, that's perfectly fine."

The lowered umbrella blocked the view.

Yuan Ge couldn't see Lin Mu's expression as he spoke, but the sound of the rain falling beside his ear carried a gentleness that was unfamiliar yet not out of place. This young man, who often seemed careless, was showing such a gentle and peaceful longing for the future, revealing a kind of wisdom beyond his years.

It was unexpected.

“It will happen.” Yuan Ge raised his eyes and smiled lightly. “No rush.”

The rain hadn't stopped, but the sun stubbornly insisted on carving out a place for itself amidst the rain curtain, gilding the edges of every cloud with a layer of golden light, giving it a sacred feel.

The amount of jujubes Wen Peiji sent was far more than Yuan Ge had expected. A-Kun said he was worried it wouldn't be enough and that more would likely be sent later, thus resolving the crisis at Zhixuan Mountain. The fact that Wen Peiji could acquire so many jujubes in such a short time shows that his years of travel and study were far more extensive than what one might expect from a typical official's family. Although he was merely a "merchant," his connections and influence likely far surpassed those of an ordinary official's family.

Once Wen's father had secured a foothold in the court, Wen Peiji simply stayed out of officialdom, thus avoiding the emperor's suspicion due to his excessive power.

The jujube fruit had already been delivered to Feng Qingtan by the servant. Ah Kun, who was guarding the carriage, saw Yuan Ge and respectfully handed him a letter. "Young Master originally wanted to deliver it in person. He said that he had traveled for many years and visited many places, but he had never had the chance to see the scenery of Zhixuan Mountain, which was a great pity. However, some troublesome business suddenly came up before he left, and he really couldn't leave. He hopes you won't mind. This letter was written by the young master. It's a bit long, but you can read it when you have time."

Upon receiving the thick stack of papers, it was clear without being reminded that they were indeed "a bit long"... Yuan Ge's eyes were gentle, and he thought to himself that his older brother was as gentle and polite as ever. Fortunately, Zhuo Zhuo wasn't raised by his older brother in his early years, otherwise, if he had learned that mature beyond his years, he would have been much less adorable.

“Alright,” she replied, adding, “I have indeed been quite busy these past few days, and I’m afraid I haven’t been able to properly entertain you all. I’ll have Lin Mu take you to rest first, and we’ll host a banquet to thank you all once this matter is settled.”

"You're too kind, young lady. Even if you and the young master weren't involved, he would still have helped you if he knew about it."

That's the truth, but the former is a brother-sister relationship, while the latter is a business transaction—favors from Zhixuan Mountain can't be measured by gold and silver. As Wen Peiji said, he had traveled around studying over the years and had considered befriending people from Zhixuan Mountain, but he just lacked that one thing... opportunity. After several unsuccessful attempts, he had to give up.

“Miss, please go ahead with your business. We’ll do as we please and won’t cause you any trouble.” Ah Kun bowed again before leading the group away with Lin Mu.