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

In her life, she loved one person, resented another, and had three children, but lost one of them. She hovered on the brink of death for several years, even stepping into it at one point, but ultimately returned, barely clinging to life in this state of being neither human nor ghost.

She thought that she must have been extremely wicked in her past life, which was why she was living in a tomb in this life, thinking of her three children who were gone forever, unable to live well or die.

The young girl walked gracefully in front of her husband and naturally took the seat of honor. Most importantly, her gentle demeanor was tinged with a familiar playfulness.

Shao Rou.

At that moment, just a quick glance made her heart pound and she was terrified. She hurriedly lowered her head and dared not look again. Not only did she dare not look, but every breath she took afterward felt like an ordeal.

Her fingertips trembled as she reached out to take the handkerchief. She glanced awkwardly at Murong Chuan, then quickly withdrew her eyes, stammering as she tore at the handkerchief, "I...I..." She couldn't utter a complete sentence. Even with her head down, the gazes upon her felt tangible, heavy and suffocating.

Murong Chuan stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "Replying to the young mistress, my lady has been traveling day and night and is tired. She needs to go back to her room to rest as soon as possible. I'm afraid she cannot keep you company."

Yuan Ge's expression remained unchanged, but she didn't let them go, insisting, "It's just a few words of women's private conversation, it won't take much time, and cleaning the guest rooms will take some effort anyway. What do you think, Madam?"

"I……"

Murong Chuan's expression turned cold. Before the other party could speak, he stepped forward and stood silently in front of Yu Wanyu. "I'm sorry, young madam. My wife caught a cold a few days ago and is still recovering. It's really inconvenient for her to talk to you."

"Caught a cold?" Yuan Ge was somewhat surprised, then suddenly laughed, "Steward Murong is too polite. I might not be of much help in other areas, but this is Zhixuan Mountain, and the divine physician is right there on the mountain. Asking him to treat a headache or fever is a piece of cake, isn't it? Lin Mu..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yu Wanyu suddenly raised her voice, "No, no need!"

The words that came out were short, sharp, and even a little embarrassed—it was her subconscious exclamation. After she finished speaking, she felt awkward and covered it up with an embarrassed laugh, saying, "It's...it's something that happened a long time ago. Now it's all better, so...I won't trouble the doctor. The young mistress invited me sincerely, and it would be too impolite to refuse repeatedly. You go ahead first, I'll stay and talk with the young mistress for a while before I go."

Murong Chuan's expression darkened. "You..."

"Mu, Rong, Chuan!" The old lady gripped her handkerchief tightly, fearless of everyone, her head bowed as she stared at a small mud stain on the hem of her dress. She clenched her teeth and hissed, "I told you, you all get out! What, even when we're out in the world, I can't order you around?!"

The other person paused for a moment, then slowly lowered his head and bowed, saying, "Yes. This old servant takes his leave." After saying that, he looked up at the other person again before gesturing for everyone to leave.

Song Wenyuan led Lin Mu and Yan Huo out, leaving only Yuan Ge and Old Madam Murong in the room.

The imposing manner she had displayed when reprimanding the steward vanished as quickly as a fleeting moment. Now, facing this woman who looked so much younger than herself, she displayed an almost humble and timid helplessness. She glanced at Yuan Ge again and again, cautiously asking, "I wonder... what brings the young mistress to see me?" A woman's private conversation? She certainly didn't believe it.

"Sit down and let's talk. It's just the two of us here, so don't be shy." Yuan Ge patted the small table beside him, gesturing for the other person to sit down next to him.

Yu Wanyu was still very nervous.

She looked like a frightened animal, her nerves stretched for so long that she had forgotten how to relax. From the moment we met, her hands were clenched tightly, and she seemed to habitually look down at people, instantly looking away if our eyes met.

Yuan Ge also noticed that Murong Chuan used honorifics when addressing him, but used "you" when addressing his own wife... a master who was not even respected by his servants.

What kind of life did her maternal grandmother lead in the Murong family? She was cautious, timid, and easily frightened.

Yuan Ge poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards her, his gaze sweeping over her pale fingernails and poorly maintained hands before he looked away. She smiled with her brows furrowed, "Does Madam Murong know Murong Yuxuan?"

Her smile was faint, her voice soft, like a gentle breeze on a spring afternoon brushing across a lake, creating ripples that sparkled like scattered gold.

The old lady turned her head to look, then suddenly lowered it again. "Yuxuan... he is my adopted son. How could the young mistress know him?" Her voice was low, as if she was deliberately suppressing it.

“He’s actually an adopted son… It was quite a coincidence. At that time, the household was short of manpower and needed to hire workers, and he happened to be short of travel expenses. The manager saw that he was reliable and hardworking, so he sent him to my courtyard.” Yuan Ge explained, and then said, “But it’s strange, once he told me about the past, saying that he was looking for his sister who had run away from home, and that it was his mother’s… dying wish?”

The old lady's teacup trembled as she picked it up, spilling tea onto the back of her hand. She steadied the teacup before wiping it with her crumpled handkerchief, leaving a bright red stain on the back of her hand, but she didn't even flinch.

Even in its slow and deliberate manner, there is a touch of elegance.

After wiping away the tea, she folded the handkerchief and held it in her hand, her eyes lowered as she smiled bitterly. "Yes... he probably really thought I was gone. I was very ill the year he left, and the doctor said I wouldn't survive... I also thought I would soon see my two children, so I begged Yuxuan to promise me that I would find Shaorou... she was my last biological child. He was gone for many years. At first, he did write back quite a few letters, but I doubt anyone deliberately told him in their replies that I was still alive?"

"Not to mention Yuxuan, even Anshi..." The self-deprecating words that came out were ultimately suppressed by last bit of reason.

Murong came from a merchant family and deliberately kept a low profile, so not many people knew about them over the years. However, they were a leading family in Anshi. Yet, when it came to the wife of the head of the Murong family, many people still insisted that she had passed away.

She was the first wife who was not allowed to leave the house, had no voice, no sense of presence, and lived her whole life in a tomb, thinking of her three children who were gone forever... Shao Rou should be gone by now, right? Back then, her Shao Rou was also this age, young, beautiful, vibrant and playful.