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

The smell of cooking wasn't strong, but it was still quite noticeable behind the artificial hill surrounded by mountains and water.

Yuan Ge went around to the back of the artificial hill and saw that the other person had also looked up when she heard footsteps. She revealed a gentle and graceful face in her twenties or thirties, with only a slight tremor in her eyes. She hurriedly stood up and bowed, "This servant greets the young mistress." As she spoke, her little movements of hiding things were very obvious, but no matter how she hid what was behind her, the embers of her footsteps were still burning.

"It's you..." The trembling woman in front of him was none other than Yu Wanyu's maid. Yuan Ge was slightly taken aback, his brows furrowing immediately, his displeasure almost undisguised. "What are you burning here?"

The remaining piece of fabric on the ground appears to be shredded cloth, dark purple in color, with a pattern that looks somewhat familiar, though I can't quite place where I've seen it before.

Perhaps it was because Yuan Ge's emotions were too obvious, or perhaps it was because she followed her mistress's temperament, but the maid became increasingly at a loss. She cautiously explained, "This...this servant...this servant's name is Cui'er, and I am a servant of Old Madam Murong. This time, it was...it was on the Old Madam's orders. She said this dress got dirty while traveling..." Her voice grew softer and softer, and her head drooped lower and lower until her chin was almost buried in her chest.

The hand that had been behind his back slowly fell, revealing the shards of clothing that hadn't been completely burned. It was the same deep purple brocade that Yu Wanyu had been wearing earlier, embroidered with intricate cloud patterns in gold thread. It should have been an extremely elegant and wealthy outfit, but Yuan Ge hadn't even noticed her attire when she stood before him, so now he only felt that she looked vaguely familiar.

Yuan Ge stared at the shredded fabric and frowned. "If it's dirty, just wash it clean. Why burn it?"

Seeing that Yuan Ge did not make trouble, Cui'er smiled awkwardly and explained, "This is the First Madam's habit. She does this all the time. If there are stains on her clothes that are difficult to clean, such as tea stains or oil stains, she will not wear them no matter how clean they are... So I found a corner where no one would notice to burn these clothes. I did not expect to disturb the Young Madam. Please do not be offended."

Yuan Ge suddenly remembered the handkerchief under the eaves outside the house... She pressed down the corners of her mouth, a hint of mockery in her smile. Back then, her teacher had said that Yu Wanyu was a proper eldest daughter of a noble family, and she wondered whether this kind of behavior came from the Yu family or the Murong family. She kept saying how she was mistreated and even treated unfairly, yet her food, clothing, and daily necessities were far more exquisite and particular than those of ordinary ladies. Such things as cutting up and burning anything stained with tea or dirt were probably rare even in Shengjing City.

Looking back now, those words of lamentation seem rather affected and pretentious, like someone forcing a new poem to express sorrow.

Despite these thoughts, Yuan Ge had no habit of pointing fingers at others. She simply gestured towards the pile of ashes on the ground, saying, "There are many plants and trees here, and few people pass by. A slight mistake could cause an accident. From now on, we should burn them in our own yard."

Cui'er responded hesitantly and left with the remaining scraps of fabric.

Yuan Ge watched her leave. The woman, in her early twenties, seemed to be aware of the gaze on her back or had simply developed a cautious habit. Even when no one was watching, she kept her head down and walked quickly. Yuan Ge withdrew his gaze, smiled to himself, and turned to hurry back to the herb garden.

However, Yuan Ge soon discovered that the Murong family members were indeed all pampered and never knew how to behave properly on other people's turf.

Compared to Zhan Yanfeng's fate, Madam Ma felt that her own daughter had been treated better. Recently, she has been helping out in every way, both inside and out. Before, she was busy preparing and delivering medicine. Today, upon hearing that the Murong family had arrived, although she didn't know why these in-laws of the Yuan family, who had never spoken to each other before, would choose this juncture to climb the mountain, Yuan Junfeng clearly wouldn't show up. She was worried that a young girl might be overlooked, so she took the initiative to help take care of her. Needless to say, she provided for her food, clothing, and daily necessities. It is said that even the old nanny who served her personally was sent out.

This demonstrates their sincerity.

However, this sincerity was met with a cold shoulder from Murong Weiming. This young master was extremely arrogant and disdainful of the meal prepared by Madam Ma herself. He criticized the guest courtyard from the inside out, and even the decades-old sycamore tree in the courtyard was criticized as a "crooked tree" because it was not straight enough. It was said that it affected the young master's mood and might even ruin his luck.

With such a son in the Murong family, their fortune doesn't even need a decades-old phoenix tree to lend a hand.

These things were naturally not something Madam Ma would gossip about. Although Madam Ma was unhappy, the other party was, after all, a guest and a junior in age. She felt it was not worth getting angry with a child, so she didn't make a fuss at all and continued to take care of the child as before, only recalling her personal nanny to her side.

These events were naturally relayed by Lin Mu.

Guard Lin was extremely busy, running between Murong Zhixian and Murong Weiming, and after those two, he still had to check on the old steward, Murong. However, he couldn't very well go and spy on Yu Wanyu. Guard Lin lamented this repeatedly, clicking his tongue in amazement, "What kind of people are in the Murong family? They're either brainless and naive, or they seem to be covered in cunning. Their smiles are sinister…it's chilling!"

The person he described as "wishing he could be covered in cunning schemes" was Murong Zhixian.

Yuan Ge watched him deftly serve tea and water while simultaneously rambling on and on, and couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. But as she laughed, she sensed something amiss. Resting her chin on her hand, she murmured to herself, "Four people. Two are Murong Zhen's men, from the eldest branch. Murong Zhixian, the second son of the second branch. Murong Weiming, the second son of the third branch… The first two are roughly equal, but just as you said, the third branch sent someone brainless and naive… Why?"

The internal strife within the Murong family had already reached a fever pitch. Some hoped that their teacher would come and turn the tide, while others naturally hoped that their teacher would never arrive at the Murong family.

Therefore, this trip to Zhixuan Mountain became particularly important for the entire Murong family.

If that's the case, would the third branch of the family really send such a brainless playboy? Could it be that they sent him to fish in troubled waters? Or... to reap the benefits of the situation?

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Lin Mu handed her tea and tentatively asked, "Could it be... that this kid is faking it? If he really is faking it... then he's probably much more difficult to deal with than the second wife."

"Who knows..." Yuan Ge sipped his tea and said with a smile, "Let them make a fuss for a while, it's best to let the waters get a little muddier. At that time, on Zhixuan Mountain's territory, it won't be up to them to decide who the shrimp is and who the fisherman is."