The snow was still falling. Beside the stone mill in the garden, Fan Sizhe finally finished his fifty turns. He leaned on the stone mill, panting, feeling soreness all over his body and unable to straighten his back. The sweat on his face turned into hot steam, which rose and turned white in the cold air, making him look like he was smoking.

"Wipe yourself off, then change into some dry clothes, lest you catch a cold." Haitang handed him a neatly folded stack of clothes.

Fan Sizhe shook his head miserably, went inside to change, and came out a moment later, complaining, "There's no place to take a bath. What am I supposed to do about this sweaty stink?"

Haitang glanced at him and smiled. "It's the middle of winter. That stuff your brother made hasn't been shipped to Shangjing yet."

Fan Sizhe couldn't help shaking his head again. "My brother sent me up north... it wasn't so you could torture me."

"Jade must be carved to become a useful vessel." Haitang said calmly, "I remember Fan Xian once said something while chatting in the palace that I think makes a lot of sense."

"What is it?" Fan Sizhe asked curiously.

"Therefore, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it always first frustrates his spirit and will, exhausts his muscles and bones, starves his body and skin, impoverishes and confounds his undertakings. In this way, it stimulates his mind, tempers his nature, and enhances his abilities."

Actually, when Fan Xian quoted Mencius, he was thinking about the Haitang blossoms among the reeds by the North Sea. However, Fan Sizhe and Haitang didn't know his wicked thoughts. Hearing these words, Fan Sizhe felt a chill rush to the top of his head. He trembled and said, "Tonight... there won't be no food again, will there?"

Haitang smiled slightly and said, "We're not eating here tonight."

As she spoke, someone outside the garden respectfully added, "Second Young Master, this subordinate will host tonight."

Fan Sizhe was greatly surprised by how naturally this person chimed in. He turned around and saw that it was Wang Qinian! Meeting a relative in a foreign land, thinking about the hardships of the past few days, and realizing that he might soon escape this sea of suffering, Fan Sizhe was excited. He wailed and rushed towards the fence.

"You still have to come back after dinner." Haitang lightly tossed the words behind him. They pierced through the blizzard and into Fan Sizhe's ears, causing him to shudder and feel utterly disappointed.

When he reached the fence, he turned around and roared fiercely, "I came to Shangjing to make money! Not to be a coolie!"

Haitang had already sat back on the reclining chair, her face expressionless. "How can one thousand taels of silver easily become ten thousand taels? I just think Fan Xian is pushing you too hard. Don't forget, your money is in my hands now."

Wang Qinian outside the fence winked at Fan Sizhe, indicating that the young master had better not offend Miss Duoduo. Even Lord Fan hadn't escaped unscathed in her hands. Why were you doing this?

Fan Sizhe grunted in annoyance and pushed open the fence gate.

Wang Qinian smiled and bowed to Haitang under the eaves. "Miss Haitang, then I'll be going now."

Haitang glanced at him, suddenly fell silent, and after a long while, said, "Lord Wang, are you really planning to let him take over the Cui family so quickly?"

Wang Qinian's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe that she even knew about Fan Tisi's arrangement. Unsure of how much understanding there was between Fan Xian and Haitang, he could only force a smile and reply, "What are you talking about, Miss?"

Haitang was, of course, aware of the plans for Fan Sizhe. She smiled slightly and said nothing more, only reminding him, "You've only just started. Don't be too hasty."

Wang Qinian had his subordinate fetch a bamboo hat and snow cloak for Fan Sizhe, both to shield him from the wind and snow and to conceal his appearance. Then he bowed to Haitang and prepared to leave the garden next to the palace.

"Did you read that recent letter as well?" Haitang leaned against the chair, looking at Wang Qinian outside the fence with a half-smile.

Wang Qinian was startled by her words and smiled bitterly. "It's my duty. Please forgive me, Miss Haitang, and please say a few good words on behalf of this old man in the letter, so that Lord Tisi won't bully my daughter."

Haitang chuckled, thinking that this Qing Kingdom Honglu Temple resident in Northern Qi, Wang Qinian, was indeed an interesting person.

————————————————————————

The garden grew quiet. Haitang fell asleep on the chair with her clothes on. The wind and snow mixed in Shangjing today, howling and bone-chilling. The village girl slept peacefully in such a harsh environment, with a faint smile on her lips. With her amazing cultivation, she naturally didn't mind the cold invading her body. Instead, she could connect with nature more easily than ordinary people, be it the gentle nature of spring or the harsh world of winter.

Snowflakes, one by one, gradually danced in the sky. The girl in the flowered cotton coat under the eaves slept very comfortably.

After an unknown amount of time, Haitang slowly opened her eyes. Her clear eyes reflected the snowflakes falling outside the eaves and the growing icicles along the edge. A hint of joy and satisfaction flashed across them.

"Teacher, you've arrived."

……

……

On the stone path by the Jade Spring River outside the garden, the thick snow had long since settled. At this moment, a person was slowly walking through the snow. The wind and snow seemed to disappear in an instant, and only the rustling sound of each step falling on the snow could be heard.

The person's feet were bare, stepping firmly and sincerely on the snow. Soon, he reached the front of the garden, reached out, gently pushed open the fence gate, walked straight under the eaves, reached out his palm, and gently stroked the head of the delighted Haitang, saying, "Just came to see you."

One of the Four Grandmasters of the World, the revered Guru Ku He of Northern Qi, whom the people regarded as a deity!

If Fan Xian were to see this scene, he would definitely mutter to himself that the other party looked so ordinary and unremarkable, far inferior to Commander Zhu, and not even as impressive as Ye Liuyun riding the waves on half a boat.

Especially when he took off the bamboo hat on his head, revealing his bald head, he lost all sense of otherworldly detachment and was just a very simple and common old man. Only his pure white, simple clothes and bare feet showed his identity as an ascetic, although he had never practiced asceticism once since returning from the Temple.

Haitang respectfully bowed deeply to her teacher, then invited this top figure in the world into the house, offered tea, and sat beside him on the ground like a little girl, her face full of innocence. Only in front of this Grandmaster would Haitang be so naturally submissive.

Ku He had a gaunt face, thin lips, and deeply sunken eyes, but his gaze was even more profound. He looked at his true closed-door disciple with a hint of love and smiled, "Your teacher came from West Mountain."

Haitang looked surprised and asked in shock, "Did you find Lord Xiao En's remains?"

Ku He slowly put down his teacup, a smile in his eyes, and said, "We found the remains of this old friend in a cave in the cliffs."

Haitang frowned. "The cliffs of West Mountain?"

After returning from the South, Ku He had been in seclusion. Some in Northern Qi guessed that the Grandmaster must have been injured, but they didn't know who the other party in that terrible duel that took place in a place no one knew about... Some guessed it was Si Gu Jian, some guessed it was Ye Liuyun, and some guessed it was the deepest hidden Grandmaster in Qing Kingdom. No one thought it was Wu Zhu who had seriously injured him.

After Ku He recovered from his injuries, the first thing he did after ending his seclusion was to carefully inquire about Xiao En's movements after returning to the country. Although the Grandmaster was somewhat annoyed by the squabbles of the mother and son in the palace, the Heavenly Dao followed the ways of the Temple and rarely interfered in politics, so he didn't say much. However, the Grandmaster, who seemed to have long been free from external worries, cared a great deal about Xiao En's life and death.

The cliffs of West Mountain had been searched many times, but Xiao En's body had not been found on the mountain or at the foot of the mountain. This became a most difficult problem for the Northern Qi court. If the old man was still alive, Shang Shanhu, who was being held under house arrest, might become active again.

However, as far as Haitang was concerned, since her Senior Brother Lang Tao had asserted that Xiao En's life was extinguished after being stabbed by the curved blade, she would naturally believe it.

Guru Ku He had never doubted his chief disciple's judgment either.

So, the people of Northern Qi were only thinking about one question - where was Xiao En's body?

……

……

No one knew how much effort was spent on searching. West Mountain was turned upside down, but Xiao En and the mysterious man were still not found. After all, the people of Northern Qi could never understand how someone could climb the smooth cliffs of West Mountain like a gecko.

Later, Guru Ku He spoke, and the people of Northern Qi reluctantly stopped searching. No one expected that the Grandmaster would lower his status and personally investigate. No one knew how much effort Ku He had spent before finally finding Xiao En's body in a cave in the cliffs in this heavy snow.

Haitang looked at her teacher in surprise and noticed a small wound on the ankle of her teacher's feet. She asked with concern, "How can you get down from that cliff?" Not waiting to ask about Xiao En, the thing she most cared about was Ku He's health. After all, her teacher was old now, and he had just recovered from his injuries.

Ku He gently shook his head and sighed with a smile, "It was a bit troublesome to get down, but not impossible. Just tie a rope. It was just that I didn't expect that the person Lang Tao forced off the cliff... could escape so easily."

Haitang lowered her head slightly and said, "Perhaps he had a grappling hook or something similar."

"There was no place to gain leverage with a grappling hook either." Ku He looked at her with a smile. "You were so surprised earlier, of course, you also remembered the appearance of the West Mountain cliffs."

Haitang sighed and said, "I really can't understand this matter. But several months have passed. Haven't the eagles in the mountains eaten Lord Xiao En's remains?"

Ku He's snow-white eyebrows fluttered slightly, and he said gently, "That cave was very shallow. Logically speaking, fierce birds should have helped Mr. Xiao ascend to heaven long ago. I didn't expect that when I went down the rope, I saw Mr. Xiao's remains were intact. Several dead birds were lying beside him. The birds had already turned into withered bones, but his body, except for some dehydration, had not decayed."

Haitang was stunned when she heard this, and then smiled calmly, "What a powerful poison."

Ku He nodded lightly and changed the subject very casually, "Let's talk about Fan Xian, this young man. I'm very curious about him."

Haitang's heart skipped a beat, but her expression didn't change at all. She smiled and told him everything Fan Xian had done in Shangjing. Knowing that she could no longer hide anything for Fan Xian at this time, she said softly, "The night Xiao En left the capital, Fan Xian stayed in the delegation all the time, but no one saw him with their own eyes. When I went the next day, he was lying in bed... Senior Brother initially believed that the black-clothed man who fell off the cliff with Xiao En was him, and he is indeed very good at using poison."

In this world, the only people who had been in contact with the Temple were Xiao En and Ku He. Now that Xiao En was dead, only Ku He remained. The Emperor had painstakingly rescued Xiao En back to Northern Qi, but Ku He insisted on killing him. Now that he knew that Fan Xian might have been the last person Xiao En saw before his death, given Ku He's cautious attitude towards the secrets of the Temple... Haitang didn't know what trouble her words would bring to Fan Xian, but she knew that the teacher in front of her, who seemed gentle, was actually a very wise man who had everything under control. The reason he had changed the subject earlier was naturally to prompt her.

To Haitang's surprise, Ku He didn't continue on this topic, but instead looked at her with a meaningful smile, took another sip of the clear tea in his cup, and said, "Duoduo's tea is getting better and better."

"You flatter me, Teacher," Haitang replied gently.

……

……

"I think I know who Fan Xian is." Ku He suddenly said very gently. These words were disjointed, making Haitang a little confused. She looked at her teacher blankly.

Ku He slowly stood up, a very mellow smile on his face, "Before this young man came to Northern Qi, I went out for a trip and got injured. I think you must be very curious about who in this world could hurt me."

Guru Ku He represented the spirit of Northern Qi, so the fact that he was injured had been kept secret. Although Haitang knew about it, she had never heard the detailed process from her teacher's mouth. At this moment, she immediately focused her attention.

"It was a blind man." Ku He turned around, looked at the wind and snow outside the garden, and said leisurely, "A blind man that I had met many years ago, and have never forgotten."

Haitang was shocked. She thought that it was already shocking that someone in this world could hurt her teacher, but she didn't expect that the other party wasn't a Grandmaster known to the world, but a... blind man!

Ku He continued to say leisurely, "The strange thing is that this blind man with terrifying strength... seems to have forgotten some things, forgotten that I had met him many years ago."

Haitang listened quietly.

"This blind man has disappeared for many years." The smile on Ku He's face returned. "I didn't expect him to suddenly appear in this world again, and the first person he looked for was me. Speaking of which, my heart, which has long been as still as an ancient well, is actually a little bit proud."

Haitang became even more confused.

"This blind man once taught Si Gu Jian that idiot a lesson, once beat Ye Liuyun until he abandoned his sword, and finally became a Grandmaster." Ku He sighed, "I guessed it was him back then, but I didn't expect him to take the initiative to come to me this time. This is completely different from his secretive style in the past."

Haitang suddenly asked, "Could this blind man be the most mysterious Grandmaster?"

Ku He shook his head. His eyes, which seemed to be able to see through everything, also showed a trace of confusion. "No, the blind man never needed this kind of false name. As for the most mysterious one among the four of us... he should still be in the palace of Qing Kingdom."

Haitang didn't understand. Since no one had ever seen the mysterious Grandmaster, why were the people of the world so sure that that person existed and that he was in the palace of Qing Kingdom?

"The reason is very simple." Ku He smiled. "Many years ago, Si Gu Jian had tried to assassinate their emperor in the Qing Kingdom palace three times."

Haitang exclaimed softly in surprise. Only now did she know that Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City had done such crazy things. However, if a Grandmaster was going to be an assassin, even if the Qing Kingdom emperor was the most powerful person in the world, it would probably be difficult to resist.

As if guessing what she was thinking, Ku He said softly, "Those who knew about this thought the same way as you, believing that Si Gu Jian had a high chance of success... Unfortunately, he failed four times in a row within a month. Although he wasn't injured, he didn't achieve any results either."

Haitang frowned. "Was that blind man... in the Qing Kingdom palace at that time?" She always believed that the blind man who could hurt her teacher was most likely that mysterious Grandmaster.

Ku He shook his head with a smile, "At that time, the blind man was with the Ye family's young lady in Jiangnan, Qing Kingdom, building that internal treasury."

"The Ye family's young lady?" Haitang was even more shocked. Although she was the most famous figure in the younger generation in the world today, she also knew how remarkable and how much each of these secrets that her teacher was talking about today had changed the world.

Ku He very gently and naturally brought the topic back and turned to look at Haitang and said, "Now do you understand?"

Haitang opened her bright eyes and shook her head.

"Who is Fan Xian?" Ku He looked calmly at his female disciple.

"Fan Xian is Ye Qingmei's son... the son of the Ye family's mistress."

……

……

In addition to shock, Haitang was even more confused. Fan Xian... the illegitimate son of the Southern Qing Ministry of Revenue's Vice Minister, how was he related to the Ye family? The Ye family? The Ye family that used commerce to control the world? The Ye family that established the Supervisory Council, built the internal treasury, and whose enduring influence continues to this day?

Ku He rubbed his hands, sat down, and sighed, "Xiao En was later imprisoned by Chen Pingping, so he didn't know the identity of the Ye family's young lady, but I happened to know. The blind man could only be a servant of the Ye family's young lady. This time, he transferred me out of Shangjing, naturally to facilitate Fan Xian's actions. Fan Xian's identity was revealed, he is a descendant of the Ye family's young lady."

Haitang shook her head, daring to express her opinions in front of her teacher, "Although this reasoning is credible, it is a bit far-fetched. What if that blind... master just couldn't bear the loneliness in the mountains and came out to challenge Teacher, and it has nothing to do with Fan Xian's trip north? Besides, wasn't the Ye family exterminated back then?..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ku He had already laughed, "One thing can't explain too many problems, but think about Fan Xian's current official position in the Southern Dynasty, and then think about the changes in the Southern court since he came out of Danzhou. Too many details combined together, and the truth of the matter is very clear. Don't say anything about extermination. The shopkeepers of the Ye family are still alive and well. It wouldn't be surprising for those in the Southern Qing court to preserve a trace of the Ye family's young lady's bloodline."

Haitang laughed in despair. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Her teacher was right. Even if Fan Xian was the illegitimate son of Fan Shangshu, even if he had the reputation of a poet immortal and the strength of a master, given his status, he would never be able to reach his current height, let alone hold the Supervisory Council in his left hand and the internal treasury in his right hand - the Supervisory Council and the internal treasury, aren't these the most powerful things that the Ye family left to the world!

Could it be that the gentle young man who often corresponded with her had such a complex and pitiful background?

"You just repeated the short Ci that Fan Xian recited in the restaurant..." Ku He gently patted his female disciple, who was still in contemplation, and said with a smile, "You only discovered from this short Ci that the other party was the author of *The Story of the Stone*, but if you carefully consider it, you might discover that Fan Xian is also expressing some other emotions through this short Ci, such as anger, such as unwillingness."

One summer day in Shangjing, at the Hundred-Year Pine Residence, Fan Xian and Haitang were drinking wine, and in their drunkenness, he recited a short Ci.

"Leaving blessings, leaving blessings, suddenly meeting a benefactor; fortunate mother, fortunate mother, accumulating virtuous deeds. Advise people to help the poor and relieve the needy. Don't be like those ruthless uncles and treacherous brothers who love money and forget flesh and blood! It is precisely multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction; there is a blue sky above."

Haitang in the garden in winter silently recited it in her heart and finally realized the emotions that her teacher was talking about. She suddenly raised her head, incredibly shocked.

At this time, Fan Xian, who was soaking in a hot spring in the Cangshan Mountains in Southern Qing, if he knew that this pair of teachers and disciples were so careless and determined his origin based on this short Ci, would definitely jump out of the hot spring in anger, run naked to Shangjing, scold them, and then explain that this was written by Old Cao, and it just happened to be similar to his own background.

Before long, Haitang had regained her composure and asked softly, "This matter can be big or small." Now that she knew Fan Xian's background, she could naturally think of many problems he would definitely have with the Southern Qing royal family. How to use it was something that needed to be carefully considered.

"Let the whole world know... that Fan Xian is a descendant of the Ye family."

Guru Ku He said very gently.

"The blind man?" Haitang felt a little bit lost, not knowing how to protect Fan Xian's interests as much as possible.

Ku He sighed leisurely, "Although the blind man... doesn't seem to recognize me, I think that since he wants to deliberately make a move and leave these clues, perhaps... he hopes that through my mouth, he can tell this interesting news to the people of this world."

The Grandmaster finally came to the conclusion, "The blind man doesn't want to wait any longer. He wants to urge Fan Xian to speed up his pace."