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

Yuan Ge took out a white chess piece from his chess box and played with it, his eyebrows slightly lowered, his long, thick eyelashes covering the coldness in his eyes.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Grandfather, you insist that martial arts practitioners must follow the way of a martial artist, and that real swords and spears, bloodshed and death are acceptable, but you never deign to play these scheming tricks… But I am different, I am just a petty person who holds grudges.”

Yuan Junfeng was stunned. He dropped the white chess piece, but after a closer look, he hurriedly withdrew it. "Wrong, wrong! It's all this little girl's fault for talking nonsense and delaying my performance... Girl, these past years, whenever the Murong family is mentioned, you get angry and even refuse to eat. I don't know if you're angry with yourself or with them. Even if you starve to death on this mountain, have those Murong bastards been affected in the slightest? Girl, it's not that I don't resent or hate them. My son and daughter-in-law have both been ruined by them, and my granddaughter lives in fear day and night. All of this is thanks to them!"

How could he not hate? But his son and daughter-in-law were gone, leaving only his two children who had not yet grown up. One was born weak, and the other had nightmares every night. How could he not worry about them? Once a person has something to worry about, he has a weakness.

Despite not being afraid of death, he was still afraid of getting sick, getting old, and dying, and afraid that his two orphaned children would lose their grandfather.

The thought of his two children being left alone in the world terrified him, making it difficult for him to move.

Yuan Ge stroked the white chess piece in his hand, his eyes growing colder, his voice equally icy. "I understand what you mean. They are far away in Anshi, while we are in Zhixuan Mountain. If we simply left it at that, it would be fine. But this time is different, Grandfather..."

When blood relatives come to the point of turning against each other, no matter the final outcome, there are no winners... Thinking of that cautious, timid, and shrinking old woman, Yuan Ge sighed softly, his white chess piece lightly landing on the board, his eyes gentle but his attitude firm, "They have overstepped their bounds."

On the chessboard, the originally one-sided situation has been reversed, and a state of evenly matched strength is emerging.

Yuan Junfeng frowned and scolded, "The saying goes, 'A true gentleman observes chess without speaking,' but you're doing the opposite, using both words and actions... A little girl should act like a little girl. Why are you always acting so mature and serious? Even if it comes to fighting, there's this old man with a tough bone to stand on, not you! Girl, now I don't hope for anything else, I just hope you're well, healthy, and happy, that's enough..."

Let it be!

He didn't believe in the cycle of heaven and earth, nor in gods and Buddhas punishing demons, but what if... Killing one's own family is a grave crime, and he was afraid that retribution would fall on his little Ge'er.

Song Wenyuan, who had been quietly playing chess the whole time and seemed oblivious to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, smiled and said casually, "It's alright. With me here, I'll handle the bloody and dirty work. I'm not a member of the Murong family, so I don't have many taboos. Even if people criticize me, it doesn't matter. There are already plenty of people who criticize me, so a few more words won't make a difference."

The old man was taken aback, raising his eyes to look intently at the man opposite him, whose smile was radiant and refined—young, handsome, from a good family, and with a promising future. He was, by all accounts, a satisfactory marriage prospect. But his young daughter, Ge'er, needed neither fame nor power, and shouldn't have entered the treacherous city of Shengjing. Who would have thought that an accident and a coincidence would bind these two completely different people together, and his young lady seemed quite satisfied… Since that was the case, he couldn't very well separate them now.

However, it was still acceptable to play a game of chess with him to test his character. He deliberately cheated and stole or destroyed pieces, but the young man showed no impatience whatsoever. His temperament and demeanor were much better than his own wretched daughter's. He wasn't stupid, so he naturally couldn't believe that Song Wenyuan would not notice his little tricks.

Hearing him say this, she was slightly taken aback but felt a bit more appreciative. She couldn't help but smile, put the few black pieces she had been holding in her hand on the table, and asked, "Why didn't you point them out?" It was fine that she didn't point them out, but this person didn't even change his expression.

They acted quite convincingly.

Song Wenyuan smiled faintly, "When playing chess with you, I don't care about winning or losing; I just want you to be happy."

"What a fine 'not seeking victory or defeat' statement!" The old man laughed heartily. "Come on, let's continue!"

It was rare to see him so engrossed in something like this. Even when Yuan Ge advised him to rest, the old man simply waved his hand, saying, "Rest? What rest? If I rest any longer, mushrooms will grow on my body. It's one thing for you not to let me practice martial arts, but why do you even have to interfere with my chess game?" Thinking about how everyone had been using this trivial matter as an excuse these past few days, constantly saying things like "Young Madam Song said" or "Miss Wen said," even though they didn't know who these people were, they were all unanimously using this brat to pressure him. It was infuriating!

The old man, his face stern, huffed and puffed, "The Murong family sent people, but I'm not seeing them... They're not worthy! You go about your business, let this kid play a few rounds with me, I haven't had enough yet! Go, go, don't bother me... I'm almost losing the game just talking to you."

Yuan Ge couldn't help but feel embarrassed and rub her forehead. She really wanted to tell the old man that with his petty mind and incompetent abilities, he wouldn't be able to beat Song Wenyuan, let alone beat him. Even if she banged on the sidelines and danced, it probably wouldn't have much of an impact... But the old man was concerned about his reputation, so she decided to let it go.

"Alright... but you still need to recover soon. If the Murong family causes too much trouble, I won't be able to handle it with my current status. You'll have to take charge, don't you think?" Yuan Ge stood up with a smile and added, "You can't possibly appear in front of them looking sickly, can you? If that gets back to the Murong family, they'll laugh at you, won't they?" After saying that, she looked at her grandfather's face, which suddenly puffed up, smiled to herself, and left as if she hadn't seen anything.

Don't be fooled by the old man's seemingly eloquent words; he's actually quite petty. What he's most proud of is his improved health and more harmonious relationship with his children. Yes, "more"—he's secretly comparing himself to that other person!

Although the Murong family members had come up the mountain, Yuan Ge did not want to be too enthusiastic. She left all the arrangements for the guest courtyard to Lin Mu, and the servants who served her were also selected by Lin Mu. She didn't even know where these people lived... Lin Mu had mentioned it, but she hadn't quite figured it out yet.

On my way back to the herb garden, I passed a messy artificial hill and suddenly smelled a faint burnt smell.