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

Yuan Ge understood what Song Wenyuan meant.

It's said that Tong Yuhan, the eldest daughter of the Tong family, left the family shortly after that incident. Rumors say she went to a small town and became a teacher under an assumed name. This certainly suits Tong Yuhan's personality, but the Tong family has lost two daughters at the same time, completely eliminating any possibility of marrying into the powerful and influential.

The Tong family naturally resented Wen Qian for getting involved in the matter.

However, Wen Changling is deeply favored by the Emperor and is his purse, so he cannot be easily touched. Wen Qian is also well protected by Song Wenyuan, and Jian Shu and Lin Mu are always by her side. Wen Qian herself rarely goes out, so even if someone wanted to target her, they wouldn't find an opportunity in time.

Therefore, Tong Mingru approached Xu Yi, the young mistress of the Wen family, who seemed to have no background or connections and whose appearance was shrouded in mystery.

“In that case, it is indeed because of me…” Yuan Ge sighed softly, and after a long while, as if he had made up his mind, he looked at Song Wenyuan, “Once everyone on the mountain has recovered, let’s go down the mountain… I’m a little worried.”

For some reason, she felt that things were far from simple... Zhuo Zhuo's letter mentioned everyone, even Wen Xiaobai, and naturally Wen Changling as well. But what was Wen Changling doing? She was lamenting that she'd eaten too much in winter and her waist and abdomen had gotten bigger... as if she knew nothing about it. It was clearly a family matter, but the tone of her words gave Yuan Ge the feeling that it was her sister-in-law's own secret.

Not right.

She should go back to the Wen family home for a visit.

However, Song Wenyuan shook his head, "I'm afraid that won't work. There's another reason I came to find you..."

His face looked as if he had stood in the cold of a deep winter night all night, his whole being radiating chill. He said, "The Murong family... has arrived."

Yuan Ge was taken aback, and his expression changed instantly.

……

People from the Murong family have arrived.

Yuan Junfeng had given an order more than ten years ago, strictly forbidding any Murong family members from going up the mountain. Naturally, he couldn't have opened the gates to welcome them happily this time—the Murong family members were escorted up the mountain by Yan Huo.

There were six people who came: Murong Chuan, the head steward of the Murong family; Yu Wanyu, the matriarch of the Murong family; Murong Zhixian, the eldest son of the second branch of the family; Murong Weiming, the second son of the third branch of the family; a maidservant serving the matriarch; and a guard accompanying her. According to Yan Huo, this group of six had been lingering suspiciously in front of the small wooden house halfway up the mountain for a long time. They certainly didn't seem like good people. Because they were worried that they might harm the people of Zhixuan Mountain, they took it upon themselves to "invite" them back.

Although it was called an "invitation," the person being invited clearly seemed reluctant.

One of the young men, appearing to be in his early twenties, wore a long, moon-white robe adorned with intertwined crabapple blossoms. Several jade pendants hung from his waist, jingling as he walked, creating a lively commotion. He stood there with his arms crossed, utterly impatient, chin held high, arrogantly berating Yuan Ge who had just arrived, "Where did this country bumpkin come from, daring to arrest us? Do you know who we are?! I am—"

"Shut up." Another young man raised his hand to stop them, stepped forward, and bowed politely. "My name is Murong Zhixian, and this is my younger brother, Murong Weiming. We are just merchants passing through. It happened to be late at night, so we stayed overnight in the cabin. We meant no harm... If we have disturbed you, please forgive us. We will leave now."

Yuan Ge looked at the group of people in front of him...

Her maternal grandmother stood demurely to one side, her hands clenched tightly, her face paler than usual, her breathing weak. While everyone else spoke, she remained silent, not even raising her head. This matriarch of a prominent family seemed less capable than the maidservant beside her… Murong Zhixian possessed striking features, a refined demeanor, and could tell lies with effortless ease.

On the other hand, Murong Weiming, with his sinister and suave air, took advantage of Murong Zhixian's speech to scan Yuan Ge from head to toe with his narrow eyes. His sidelong glances were quite unsettling.

This is her maternal clan.

These are her blood relatives.

This realization was somewhat unpleasant. Yuan Ge suppressed a smile, entered the room, sat in the main seat, took a sip of the tea Yan Huo offered, and then looked at the people in the room. His eyes were slightly cold, and his voice was also cold. He said, "Murong. If I remember correctly, the Grand Elder once said that the Murong family is not allowed to go up the mountain... The Murong family should know this. Besides, even if you pass through here, and it is late at night and inconvenient to travel, there are inns at the foot of the mountain for you to rest. Why go through all the trouble of going to this mountain?"

She slowly put down her teacup, smiling calmly and gently, "This doesn't make sense."

Yu Wanyu quickly looked up at her, then quickly lowered her head again. Her hands, clasped together in front of her abdomen, intertwined even more tightly, each fingernail turning a pale white from the force.

Murong Zhixian remained calm and composed. "Although it sounds a bit illogical, it is indeed the truth... We apologize for the intrusion, we will leave now."

He once again proposed leaving.

Yuan Ge suddenly smiled.

Wen Qian's features were already gentler than Yuan Ge's, and her smile dispelled all her previous coldness. She said with a smile, "It's alright, since you're already here, there's no rush to leave... Sit down and have a cup of tea to warm yourself up. This rule was set by the Grand Elder, and as an outsider, I can't make the decision. Whether to stay or leave, we'll have to wait for the Grand Elder's instructions... Don't worry, I sent someone over before I came, and I'm sure we'll have news soon. It shouldn't delay you all." As she spoke, she sat down to drink tea, but there was neither a chair nor tea in sight.

As soon as he finished speaking, Murong Weiming was stunned, and his voice suddenly rose, "That old thing is awake?"

"Wei Ming!" Murong Zhixian couldn't stop him in time. She saw the woman, who had been smiling just moments before, turn her gaze, the smile slowly fading, her dark pupils seeming to pierce the heart, making one's heart tighten. Murong Zhixian thought to herself, "This is bad," and quickly explained, "I'm so sorry, my younger brother was rude and spoke disrespectfully. You... don't know how to address him?"

He used honorifics.

She looks like a girl in her teens, but the way she sits in the main seat as if it's her right, suggests that she holds some status on Zhixuan Mountain.

Yuan Ge glanced at him and said succinctly, "Young Master Murong can call me Madam Song."

Song? If I remember correctly, none of the three elders in charge of Zhixuan Mountain have the surname Song... Murong Zhixian looked at Song Wenyuan. Although he didn't know the other party's identity, his demeanor was definitely not that of an ordinary person. He immediately bowed slowly and readily, "Young Madam, my younger brother spoke rudely. As his elder brother, I apologize to you on his behalf."

The other person clearly didn't appreciate it, saying, "Tch, he really thinks he's the older brother."