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

"I... I didn't mean that." Yu Wanyu shook her head repeatedly, hesitated for a long time before tentatively asking, "It's just... it's just that we haven't seen each other for so many years, Doctor Feng, could you talk to me alone?"

Before Feng Qingtan could speak, Yuan Junfeng, his face stern, scolded, "What are you talking about! What's there to talk about with someone you haven't seen for over a decade! He's a blind man now, unable to lift a finger or carry anything. Whatever your plans or purposes, he can't help you. As for reminiscing... what old feelings do you two have to reminisce about?"

His glaring and domineering manner, radiating an air of self-righteous arrogance, was no match for Yu Wanyu, who was used to leaving room for maneuver in her words. After a single sentence, her mind was filled with his words, "There has never been any past affection," and her face grew even paler. "What... what are you saying? Besides, this is ultimately a matter between me and Doctor Feng. He himself has not objected. Why are you being so aggressive, Elder?"

There was a step between them. She clenched her fists and looked up at him, a hint of anger brewing in her eyes, making her look like a determined rabbit.

A woman who seems fragile even when she's angry.

Feng Qingtan couldn't see or imagine what the other person looked like now. More than a decade had passed, enough to blur their former appearance. So much so that when he "looked" in the direction of the voice, all he could imagine was a white blur. He sighed softly before saying, "Alright."

Everyone clearly disagreed and spoke up in unison to stop her, "Qingtan!"

"teacher……"

Yu Wanyu was startled and looked over. The voice that uttered "Teacher" was very low and urgent, coming out and disappearing in an instant, so much so that even Yu Wanyu wondered if she had misheard... Teacher? If she hadn't found out too much, Feng Qingtan had only taken in two disciples, one was Yuan Ge, and the other was a boy named Nan Yin. As for the previous one... he hadn't lived on the mountain for very long. Although he was indeed quite favored by Feng Qingtan, he was, after all, the young mistress of the Earl's mansion, and there was no reason for her to take him in as a disciple and keep him by her side...

On the other hand, Feng Qingtan lowered his eyes and patted the back of his hand in his arm, his expression softening considerably. He gently comforted the young woman who was frowning, "It's alright, it's just a matter of saying a few words. You can help me over there, and then stay by my side. It won't take up much time, is that alright?"

They were not related, yet they were so intimate… On the contrary, no one present seemed uncomfortable at all, not even surprised… In a flash, it was as if some very important information had passed through their minds, but they couldn’t grasp it when they tried to investigate it, so they had to give up in the end. She bowed slightly, “In that case, please lead the way, Xiaoqian… just find a quiet place nearby.”

……

In a secluded spot, a cool breeze caresses the face, and sunlight is dappled by the branches and leaves, creating soft, fragmented shadows that blend into the eyelids.

The two stood facing each other without speaking. After a long while, Feng Qingtan broke the silence and said, "Madam Murong, please speak your mind."

She had so much to say. She wanted to ask him why he had become like this, why he had never returned to Anshi all these years, and what had happened back then… But after a long silence, all she could say was a bland, indifferent question: “How… have you been lately?” She thought he probably wasn’t doing well. Where was the man before her now, with even a trace of his former vigor?

He calmly nodded and simply said, "It's fine." His smiling demeanor was gentle and polite, yet it also carried a sense of unfamiliar distance. His concise words seemed more like polite formalities.

How could it be alright? How could it possibly be alright? Yu Wanyu pursed her lips. Even after so many years, bringing it up again was still difficult to say. She was also relieved that the other person couldn't see her current disheveled state. She pinched the area between her thumb and forefinger and hesitated before speaking, "Back then... back then..."

She hesitated, each word she almost uttered becoming difficult to say after careful consideration. Yet, the other person had already guessed what she wanted to say and comforted her before she could speak, "I know that what happened back then was just a cruel twist of fate, not your fault." He used the same words Yuan Ge had used to comfort him. Even though he was blind, his eyes and brows were full of sincerity, and one could still vaguely see his appearance from back then.

Feng Qingtan was just like that back then. In all the years she had known him, she had never seen him angry. When his family fell into decline, when he was bullied, when his friends became distant, and even when she had stolen two bottles of poison and framed him, he still just smiled faintly and then disappeared without a trace.

She had thought he had simply left in disappointment, but when she heard that he was on Zhixuan Mountain, Yu Wanyu clearly understood that he already knew everything about what happened back then.

He knows everything, yet he says nothing.

Now they're saying it wasn't her fault...

"How can it not be my fault?" She gripped the web of her hand tightly, as if only by doing so could she suppress the trembling in her body, and choked out, "I can't forget the dead child, nor can I save my daughter who was forced into a distant marriage. I was determined to die with Murong Zhen, but when I was exposed, I pushed all the blame onto you, kneeling and crying, begging for a chance to live... Brother Feng, it's my fault. I'm the one who caused you to be beaten, I'm the one who caused you to leave your home, I'm the one who caused you to end up like this. I... I even have the nerve to come and beg you to come back with me to save him... It's my fault..."

She sobbed and cried, her voice muffled as she held her face in her hands.

Feng Qingtan remained standing opposite him, maintaining the same expression as before, appearing somewhat detached and indifferent, as if the old stories the other man spoke of were merely someone else's experiences. However, unseen by others, his clenched fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh. "I'm really doing well here. Someone like me, all alone, would be fine anywhere, but here I've found excellent disciples, excellent family, and excellent friends. Truly, it's much better than in Anshi… Madam Murong, you did nothing wrong here. If that beating had landed on you, you probably would never have been able to stand up again. But…"

He lowered his voice and said softly, "It's just that fate is cruel. My disciple lost his loved one because of you. I can't bring myself to treat you with enthusiasm, and I certainly can't go back to Anshi with you to save a culprit."

“I am a doctor, but also a poison doctor. My methods of using poison are no less effective than my methods of saving lives, and I do not have the kind of compassionate heart that forgives past grievances… I’m afraid I will disappoint you.”