The next morning, before dawn, a thin mist floated in the mountain hollow. The moon of the previous night had moved over the square field across the way. The Fan manor's carriages, not disturbing anyone in the farmstead, set off towards Kyoto. At the small courtyard gate behind them, Teng Zijing leaned on his crutch, standing with his wife, seeing them off. Beside them, their little daughter rubbed her eyes, seemingly not fully awake.

The carriages arrived at Kyoto's city gates again, but this time was different from their arrival the other day. The Fan manor's carriages were now conspicuously marked. The city guard soldiers, who had just opened the gates, inspected them briefly before allowing the carriages into the city. After all, the previous head of the city guard, Jiao Ziheng, had been stripped of his position because of the assassination attempt on the eldest son of the Fan family. Now, the city guard soldiers, seeing the circular and square mark on the Fan family's carriages, avoided them like the plague, daring not to cause any trouble.

Upon arriving at the Fan manor, Fan Sizhe yawned as he stepped out of the carriage. He instructed the approaching servants, "There's some preserved game in the carriage. Take it to the back and store it carefully. Don't you dare steal any! That's a gift prepared by my elder brother!" He then glared and roared, "If Lin's sister finds that the roe deer only has three legs when she eats it tomorrow, watch out, I'll personally chop off one of your legs to make up for it!" The servants were long accustomed to this young master's overbearing temper, and dared not utter a word, obediently unloading the mountain produce from the carriage.

The guards also alighted from the carriages behind. Wang Qinian walked to the side of a carriage, waiting for Fan Xian to disembark, but after a while, he realized there was no movement. He opened the curtain and was startled to find the carriage empty. Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo were nowhere to be seen. He quickly ran to Fan Sizhe and asked, "Young Master, where is Lord Fan?" Fan Sizhe turned to look at him and scolded, "Look at how nervous you are. My brother and sister got off the carriage on the way. They probably went for a picnic. They don't like you guys following them."

Wang Qinian was scared half to death. He owed his return to the Overwatch Council entirely to this Lord Fan. When Director Chen Pingping personally met with him, he had repeatedly instructed him to ensure Lord Fan's personal safety and not let him out of his sight. He never expected that Lord Fan would sneakily abandon them on this trip outside the city. Seeing his nervous expression, Fan Sizhe frowned and said, "He said he'd be back in the afternoon. You don't need to be so anxious." He didn't actually know the true identities of Wang Qinian and the others. At first, he thought they were experts sent by his father to protect Fan Xian, but later he vaguely sensed something was off, but he couldn't be bothered to think too deeply about it.

Wang Qinian ignored the second young master, exchanged a glance with his subordinates, and got back into the carriage, heading out of the city.

…

…

The summer heat was so oppressive that even the cicadas' chirping sounded weak and listless. Fan Xian was leading Ruoruo on a stroll along the Liujing River on the outskirts of Kyoto. Fortunately, it was still early, and the riverbank was lined with shady green trees, making it bearable. Fan Xian had already unbuttoned his collar, revealing a large patch of skin on his chest, but Ruoruo didn't have such liberties and had to fan herself with a handkerchief. Seeing her struggling, Fan Xian smiled slightly, took the handkerchief, soaked it in the Liujing River, and handed it back to her to cool down.

"Do you know why this river is called the Liujing River?"

"According to the Kyoto Records, the name existed even before our dynasty. It's said that the river winds around Kyoto and flows west into Cangshan Mountain. The terrain rises and falls, causing the water to flow very quickly in some places, while in others it's as calm as a mirror, like still crystal, so it got the name Liujing River."

Fan Xian nodded, thinking of the calm sections of the river where pleasure boats often floated, and he thought of the Sili Li girl who was still imprisoned in the heavenly prison. He wondered what the woman's final fate would be. After walking a bit further, they could finally see a house faintly visible among the green trees on the opposite bank of the river, a refined and elegant small courtyard. Several bamboo stalks stretched out from the courtyard wall, reaching towards the sky, exuding an aura of standing aloof from the turbid world in this hot summer.

"Is that the Taiping Residence?" Fan Xian frowned as he looked at it, asking softly. Fan Ruoruo replied, "Yes, I heard that the master of the Ye family lived here many years ago. Later, the Ye family's assets were confiscated into the Imperial Treasury, and this courtyard became the imperial family's residence. But when I often chatted with Roujia, I never heard of any concubine coming here to live."

Fan Xian hummed and nodded. Suddenly, a smile bloomed on his face. So, this was where his mother had once worked, fought, and lived. Seeing the smile on her brother's face, Ruoruo felt inexplicably cheerful and asked, "What's making you so happy?" Fan Xian rubbed his sweaty fingers and shook his head, saying nothing. Bringing his sister here today was already a very bold move. Although, from what he had seen since arriving in Kyoto, the Ye family didn't seem to be such a big taboo, he should still be careful since his father and Wu Zhu were so cautious. He decided to keep it to himself for now.

He had come here today specifically to take a look and pay respects to his mother in this courtyard, but since it had become an imperial residence, it was naturally inconvenient to go in. He just didn't know where his mother's grave was, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

After coming to this world, he had never seen the woman who gave birth to his body, but inexplicably, he recognized her as his mother. Perhaps it was because his parents had died early in his previous life, leaving nothing behind, so he hadn't had time to develop a attachment to his mother. After coming to Qing Yu Nian, whether it was the escape at the beginning of his rebirth, everything in Danzhou, or the many wonderful encounters after coming to Kyoto, all of it seemed to be indicating the power, authority, and determination that the woman once possessed, reminding him that his mother was that woman, that woman named Ye Qingmei.

Ye Qingmei, looked down on all men.

Fan Xian even wondered if his mother hadn't died at all, but was hiding far away in some corner, watching his every move, every struggle, and every liberation in this world with a gentle but cold smile.

But the Count of Sinan coldly interrupted all these fantasies and said that his mother's grave was in an extremely hidden place in Kyoto, and when the time was right, he would naturally let him go to pay respects.

Fan Xian sighed and knelt down, kowtowing towards the small courtyard across the river. Fan Ruoruo was slightly stunned, not understanding what her brother meant, but as intelligent as she was, she immediately guessed something, and her face turned slightly pale with fright. However, she quickly composed herself and knelt down, bowing towards the other side of the river with Fan Xian.

Sheltered by the green trees, it would be difficult for anyone on the other side to see that a pair of snow-like beauties were kneeling on the ground, paying their respects from afar. The scene was quite interesting.

Fan Xian was a little surprised and pulled her small hand to stand up, asking gently, "Why did you kneel with me?" Ruoruo forced a smile: "What should I call her? Aunt?" Fan Xian chuckled and said, "Knowing that you could guess, I didn't want to hide it from you when I brought you here today. Some things are really depressing when you only know them yourself and can't tell anyone else." Fan Ruoruo sighed, "No wonder brother always lived in Danzhou when he was little."

Fan Xian said, "I only know that mother was that Ye family woman. Didn't you ever hear father or Aunt Liu mention this when you were little?" Fan Ruoruo thought for a moment and shook her head helplessly. Fan Xian sighed, guessing that it was probably because the palace hated the idea of the Ye family having descendants, so his father had always kept this a secret. However… with the imperial court's capabilities, if the Count of Sinan had had an affair with the Ye family's mistress in the past, how could this relationship have escaped the palace's notice? Unless the Overwatch Council had been concealing it for his father all along, but even if Chen Pingping respected his mother, he shouldn't have been able to keep this a secret without leaving any trace, just to protect his own little life.

Various questions surged into his heart, making him extremely annoyed. It was bad enough to be a child without a mother, but now he was even starting to doubt the other part of his origins. This psychological trend was really quite unpleasant.

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The brother and sister didn't dare to get too close to the residence. They walked through the woods and came to the main road, heading towards Kyoto, intending to find an inn further away and ask a waiter to bring a carriage over. They hadn't walked far when they noticed a small path leading to the left on the main road. Every few steps, there was a bluestone hidden in the grass, covered in moss and very difficult to spot. It looked quite unique, as if very few people used it.

Fan Xian had excellent eyesight and could see a small wooden bridge at the end of the path, which he guessed led to the Taiping Residence. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, forcibly turning his gaze away and smiling, "The handkerchief is already dry. Are you too hot?"

There was always a hint of coldness between Fan Ruoruo's brows that seemed impossible to melt, but she didn't feel that way in front of Fan Xian. Now, beads of sweat seeped out from the hair on her forehead, slowly trickling down her slightly red cheeks, adding a touch of radiance, but it made Fan Xian pause slightly. She gently said that she was fine and continued walking forward with her brother.

Before long, they came to a tea stall. The stall was made entirely of bamboo, providing ventilation and shade, making it very cool. Fan Xian was delighted to see it and pulled his sister's hand as he rushed inside, calling out, "Two cups of tea, please."

He was met with a chilling silence. There weren't many people in the tea stall. At the innermost table stood a middle-aged man who slowly turned his head after hearing Fan Xian's voice. The man had deep-set eyes and a hooked nose. Although he was full of sinister aura, he seemed to be trying hard to restrain himself today. The middle-aged man looked at Fan Xian with a very unfriendly expression, as if he were looking at a little white rabbit.

Fan Xian was shocked and recognized the man as the guard leader, Lord Gong Dian, who had exchanged a palm strike with him outside the Qing temple, causing him to vomit blood! Wang Qinian had been kicked out of the Overwatch Council because this man had been trying so hard to capture him!