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

"Murong Zhixian?" Murong Weiming was taken aback, his hand that was rubbing his arm stopped, and his expression changed instantly. He sneered, "What's that kid doing here?"

Yuan Ge answered all questions patiently, explaining, "I'm not entirely sure about that. I only heard that he received medicine from Elder Feng years ago, and I came here to express my gratitude. However, the old man has indeed been unwell these past few days and is unable to receive guests... You know, he's getting old, so it's normal for him to have occasional headaches or fevers." He finished with a gentle smile.

Wen Qian's features were already more gentle, and now, with a faint smile, she looked completely devoid of any sharpness, appearing exceptionally good-natured and easy to handle.

Murong Weiming frowned, but didn't bother with the woman in front of him who seemed to have changed into a different mask. He just smirked unhappily. "Give medicine? Give what medicine? No wonder, I was wondering why this kid didn't stay at his own home and insisted on coming all this way to suffer and join in the fun... So these two are in cahoots! Tch! What bad luck!"

His face was full of disgust. At this moment, his arm no longer hurt, and he seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness from before. In the blink of an eye, his attitude changed. He stood with his hands on his hips and scolded imperiously, "It was the right thing to not see him! Tell that old bastard Feng Qingtan that if he still wants to drag his old bones around and eat a few more meals, he should stay on this mountain and not go anywhere! Especially An City. If he goes there, don't blame me for not letting him enjoy his little bit of leisure!"

Such arrogance and domineering attitude, such self-righteousness, the word "纨绔" (wan ku, meaning spoiled brat) is written on his head and toes, even on every single hair.

His eyes were long and narrow, with upturned corners, and a cunning, fox-like glint in them.

Even Yuan Ge was surprised by the other party's "frankness," truly showing no restraint whatsoever, a glimpse into his usual behavior. Thinking this, Yuan Ge smiled and casually said, "Although the old master is staying comfortably on this mountain and has no plans to travel far for the time being, Anshi is not something your Murong family can call the shots. Besides, even if Anshi is under the control of your Murong family, Murong... I'm afraid it's not up to a mere third son of a concubine to be in charge, is it?"

"you--!"

"Your elder brother just said that the old man gave him medicine, so he probably wouldn't just stand by and watch you bully his savior, right?"

The man, who had been furious, paused, and his expression changed the next moment. He stood leisurely with his arms crossed, and scoffed, "Savior? Do you really think that Murong Zhixian is some kind of good person? When you need him, you'll naturally rush to curry favor with him. Even if you just caught a cold and drank some medicine from him, you'll count it as a favor of giving medicine and saving your life. But if you don't need him... even if it really is a favor of pulling him back from the brink of death, you won't hesitate for a second when it's time to strike."

Murong Weiming curled the corners of his mouth, his smile revealing an increasingly arrogant and reckless disregard for the world.

"You want him to come and save you?" He stepped forward, closing the distance, and mocked Yuan Ge's naiveté. "What wishful thinking! Believe me, none of us... actually want that old bastard Feng Qingtan to go back to Anshi, back to the Murong family! So, I'm just giving you a few words of advice out of kindness: if you want to live a good life, don't get involved in this mess!"

"Wandering into muddy waters?" Yuan Ge smiled knowingly, then slowly feigned surprise, "You... have been lingering on Zhixuan Mountain for many days, are you after Elder Feng?"

Murong Weiming was suddenly stunned: Oh right, they were just "passing by and wanted to stay overnight halfway up the mountain, and were then taken up the mountain to stay for a few days," that's all! His expression shifted dramatically from surprise to realization to embarrassment. He opened his mouth, but racked his brains trying to figure out how to reconcile the story he hadn't taken seriously in the first place. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and utter a harsh remark in frustration before hastily turning away!

Their arrogant attitude back then has now turned into a near-flight of panic.

Looking at Murong Weiming's appearance, Jian Shu chuckled lightly, "These two brothers, one is like a wolf in sheep's clothing, hiding a knife in his smile, and the other is like a sheep in wolf's clothing, bluffing... Since these people are here for Elder Feng, there will definitely be other troubles later. But since Elder Feng is currently unavailable, why do you still want to leave them on the mountain?"

“Teacher, aren’t you here?” Yuan Ge lowered his eyes and chuckled, his gaze falling on the ground. He said softly, “Either way, they’re going to cause trouble, so it’s safer to keep them under our noses… I’d like to see what kind of medicine is in each of these gourds.”

……

That night, Yuan Ge and Song Wenyuan were having dinner with Yuan Junfeng when Lin Mu told them that Yu Wanyu had sent a maid over to say that she had something important to discuss.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Junfeng scoffed and cursed, "The Murong family is just so low-class. If they need something from someone, they should have the proper attitude... They didn't even bother to invite you to dinner earlier. Instead, they waited until this inconvenient time, after you'd finished eating, to tell you they have something important to discuss. If it's something important, they should have come to visit you personally, instead of sending a servant to inform you... Do they really think this is the Murong residence? I'm not going!"

Yuan Junfeng had been holding back his anger in the courtyard for days, and naturally couldn't say anything nice. He impatiently waved for people to leave while secretly pulling a small wine bottle from his pocket. He held the bottle while furtively eyeing Yuan Ge. Seeing this, Song Wenyuan used the wine to hide the smile on his lips and remained silent.

The wine jug, trembling with caution and hesitation, was only half-lifted when the old man, whose back was to Yuan Ge, suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. He abruptly turned around and saw Yuan Ge staring at him with a helpless smile. "Grandfather..."

The old man chuckled, his face impassive as he shoved the bottle back into his pocket, even patting it carefully before saying, "I didn't drink it, really I didn't drink it... I just couldn't resist taking a sniff... You can ask them if you don't believe me! These little bastards and old fogies have been treating me like a thief these days, watching me like I'm a 24-hour day!"

"It's always good to be careful. Your teacher repeatedly told you not to drink alcohol, to rest, and most importantly, that you have excessive liver fire."

As Yuan Ge spoke, he put down his chopsticks. The old man immediately became dissatisfied again and asked gruffly, "You're really going to see her? So obedient?! You go as soon as I call you? Why don't you come when I call you?"

“After all, she is a guest… Besides, even in terms of age, she is an elder. It’s not arrogant for me to go see her.” This old man wasn’t this childish before. Yuan Ge shook his head helplessly, bent down to pour him tea, and handed it to him with both hands, coaxing him, “Don’t worry, you will always be the most important person to me! No one can compare to you, even Song Wenyuan has to step aside!”

The old man was immediately pleased. "Go away, go away, you're in the way!"

Even as he said this, his face was etched with countless deep wrinkles from smiling...