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

After being turned away several times, Yu Wanyu quieted down for two days. She didn't go to see Yuan Ge, nor did she look for Feng Qingtan. She took Cui'er for a walk near the guest courtyard and heard that she was unexpectedly bumped into by a clumsy little maid. The old lady was in a good mood and didn't make things difficult for the girl. Instead, she took her to her own courtyard to sit for a while and gave the little maid some tea and snacks, saying that "it would be a waste if no one drank them cold anyway."

That was a young maidservant of Madam Ma, lively and innocent by nature. She went back and told Madam Ma about the matter. Madam Ma didn't say anything after hearing it, but turned around and went into the kitchen. She personally made a dessert and asked the maidservant to send it over. Then she reminded this Lady Murong that she was of very noble status and that the young lady should not lose her manners and disgrace Zhixuan Mountain.

The maidservant readily agreed, but upon arriving at the guest courtyard and seeing the gentle and somewhat friendly Yu Wanyu, she completely forgot Madam Ma's instructions. Finally, after being repeatedly persuaded by the other party, she sat down once again to have some refreshments with the esteemed Old Madam Murong—the very refreshments that Madam Ma had personally made.

The two sat for about half an hour and talked a lot, mostly about everyday things. Yu Wanyu talked about interesting things in Anshi and chatted about the maid's own affairs. Occasionally, when the topic of Zhixuan Mountain came up, Yu Wanyu did not ask any questions, but instead asked about Wen Qian.

Wen Qian had only been at Xuanshan for a short time, and besides, one of them belonged to the Second Elder's side, while the other mostly stayed with the First Elder. The maid knew even less, only that the First Elder and Elder Feng both adored this young mistress. Everyone on the mountain knew that Elder Feng was very strict and preferred quiet. In recent years, only Miss Yuan and Young Master Nan Yin had been able to freely enter and leave the herb garden. This young mistress had only been there a few days before becoming the third.

Yu Wanyu casually asked a few questions, including why this young mistress had come to Zhixuan Mountain.

"Perhaps she came with Young Master Nan Yin..." the maid said uncertainly, then grinned and said, "Young Madam is indeed amazing. A while ago, many people on our mountain were poisoned, and she and Elder Feng were busy helping us detoxify! I heard that Young Madam even tested the poison on herself, otherwise we wouldn't have recovered so quickly... I didn't expect that Young Master Nan Yin's friends are also knowledgeable in medicine. No wonder Elder Feng likes Young Madam so much."

His smile was innocent and carefree, his eyes sparkling, and there was a hint of pride in his expression.

Yu Wanyu couldn't manage a smile... Testing poison on herself? She knew about this incident. When news of Yuan Ge's death reached An City, Murong Zhen was furious, immediately vomiting blood and falling into a coma for several days. Although she didn't understand why, she couldn't convince herself that Murong Zhen truly cared for Yuan Qi and his sister. After Murong Zhen woke up, he immediately began arranging to deal with Zhixuan Mountain.

She watched the whole thing, but never uttered a single word of dissuasion. She couldn't stop them when they were still alive, let alone now that they're gone...

She never imagined that Shao Rou's daughter would be on Zhixuan Mountain! Testing the poison on herself... She had seen what had happened to Murong Zhen because of the poison. So many tonics, so many treasures, and even so many famous doctors were poured into him, but in the end, he was only barely hanging on by a thread. She knew better than anyone how dangerous and vicious the poison was, and naturally, she was more afraid than anyone else at this moment.

But why Xiaoqian...? There are so many people on Zhixuan Mountain, why is it Xiaoqian, this guest, who has to test the poison on herself? She felt as if a huge stone was weighing on her heart, but her expression remained unchanged. She chatted with the maid for a while before getting up and personally seeing her to the door.

That evening, Yu Wanyu invited Yuan Ge to dinner again. Cui'er said that the old lady thought that the young mistress must miss home after being away for several months, so she learned a few dishes from Shengjing and wanted to invite the young mistress to taste them.

At that time, Yuan Ge was performing acupuncture on Feng Qingtan. Before he could even deliver these words to her, he was rejected. Jian Shu only said that the young mistress had important business to attend to that night—such a reason seemed particularly perfunctory and lacked sincerity, given the groundwork laid in the previous two days.

Cui'er reported this to her mistress in a sullen mood. Yu Wanyu could only smile bitterly after hearing it, and then wrote a letter and instructed Cui'er to deliver it to Yuan Ge personally.

The letter was still in Yu Wanyu's rambling style, from the idea that women shouldn't travel far from home for long periods, to how her in-laws would surely be displeased, and how her father and brothers would definitely suffer from gossip in the clan. In short, she was emphatically advising Yuan Ge to return to Shengjing and preferably set off down the mountain that very night.

Jian Shu, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded and couldn't help but interject, "This old lady of the Murong family is really..."

After much hesitation, she chose a more pleasant-sounding word to describe her: "eloquent and articulate."

Yuan Ge turned to look at her, the slight discomfort brought on by the letter completely dissipating. She smiled and said, "You want to manage everything, yet you don't understand anything... right?"

Jian Shu nodded, "Perhaps."

Yuan Ge pointed to the letter on the table. "That's how she's lived her life. Even when her own husband wanted to kill her own daughter, she could shut herself in and turn a deaf ear. She always said that she never left her home, and even the people of Anshi didn't know whether the old lady of the Murong family was alive or dead. Wasn't that her own choice? It was as if as long as she covered her eyes and ears and hid, those things that happened thousands of miles away never happened."

"She has retreated from Murong Zhen again and again, until now she has nowhere left to retreat. Even if Murong Zhen pushes her to the brink of death, she has no choice but to step in."

Jian Shu nodded to himself, but said, "Stubborn to the end... She's already reached that point, yet she still wants to turn other women into her. If she comes looking for you again in the future, I'll just refuse her, so as not to disturb your mood, young mistress."

“No need for that,” Yuan Ge said with a smile, turning around. “She was advising us to go back, and I’ve been thinking the same thing these past few days, but I haven’t been able to find a legitimate reason. Now, she’s really helped me out. Here’s what you do: you go and tell Song Wenyuan that we’re setting off tomorrow, and have someone pack up overnight… Make a big fuss, but don’t overdo it, just keep it under control.”

In short, the commotion must reach those people's ears, but it cannot appear exaggerated or deliberate.

Jian Shu was slightly taken aback, but immediately understood. He smiled and nodded, "Yes, I will take care of it right away. The young mistress can wait for my return to tidy up." After saying that, he bowed and left.

It was only late afternoon, and most people were still awake when the news of the young mistress's sudden decision to return to the mansion spread quickly.