Shu Yun's tone was not as casual as usual, but rather stern. Feng Ziyi was momentarily stunned, as if for a moment he felt as if his teacher was sitting behind him.

Just as he was about to obediently sit down, the person he disliked so much walked to the table and whispered, "Master."

Feng Ziyi retorted, dissatisfied, "What nonsense are you spouting? Her name is Wan Yang."

"Wan...Yang?"

These two words were slowly uttered by Jiang Yan, tinged with doubt and confusion.

Did he mistake someone for someone else?

The next second he rejected the idea in his mind. He could never admit his mistake. He could make mistakes with anyone in this world, but not with his master.

He pursed his lips, his bright black eyes, just like when he was a child, fixed on her, his tone slightly questioning with a hint of trepidation, "Why doesn't Master want to acknowledge me?"

Shu Yun couldn't swallow those few bites of wontons no matter what she did. She was secretly shocked. How could Jiang Yan have identified her as "Shu Yun" at a glance?

She said, "My name is Wan Yang. I am a friend of your master, not your master."

“Master’s friend…”

Jiang Yan's dark eyes were deep, and he remained silent.

Feng Ziyi glanced at Jiang Yan's profile. This guy had a lot of tricks up his sleeve and wasn't a decent person. His only redeeming quality was that he genuinely respected his teacher. After his teacher passed away, this guy was unwilling to give up and searched everywhere. Even when he had given up, Jiang Yan was still continuing.

Unfortunately, they were unable to find their master's remains in the end. Because of this, Feng Ziyi still had some leeway in his opinion about Jiang Yan's character.

After a long pause, Jiang Yan suddenly asked, "If he is Master's friend, why is he appearing next to Feng Ziyi?"

This question is easy to answer.

"I've come to take care of him at the request of your teacher."

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Yan persisted, her tone indifferent, "Didn't the teacher ask you to look after me?"

Feng Ziyi sarcastically remarked, "What do you have to take care of?"

Shu Yun tapped the table with her index finger. "Hurry up and eat your wontons."

Feng Ziyi sat down unwillingly, and Wan Yang spoke up for Jiang Yan.

Seeing Shu Yun remain silent, the dark mist in Jiang Yan's eyes grew thicker and thicker, and his voice was slightly hoarse, "It seems there is nothing left. That's right. My master only gave me three words in her last letter. I was just a child she took in on a whim. How can my affection compare to that of the young master of the Feng family?"

Feng Ziyi felt strange upon hearing his words. What was wrong with Jiang Yan today? Had he taken the wrong medicine? Why did he speak with a self-pitying tone? Wasn't he usually quite arrogant?

Shu Yun quickly retorted, "Nonsense, of course your master also asked me to take care of you."

"Yeah……"

"certainly!"

"Then I'll be waiting for you at Pingjie Jiangyuan tomorrow."

"Okay... um?"

Jiang Yan curved her beautiful eyebrows and eyes, a slight smile appearing at the corners of her mouth, her dimples faintly visible. "I knew Master still cared about me."

Shu Yun opened her mouth weakly, "Of course your master cares about you."

Jiang Yan gave her one last, deep look before turning and walking out of the store. "I hope you can arrive as promised."

After finishing his wontons, Feng Ziyi gave her a strange look. "You're not really going, are you?"

Shu Yun quickly composed herself and continued enjoying her wontons. "What's wrong with going?"

"That Jiang Yan is cunning and ruthless."

Shu Yun disagreed, "How else can people survive in this world?"

Feng Ziyi looked down on Jiang Yan's underhanded ways of making money, wondering what other shady things he had done. "I would never use such methods," she said.

"That's because you were born into a wealthy family. With the Feng family as your backing, you grew up without worrying about food or clothing. Jiang Yan, on the other hand, grew up in an environment where he wasn't very shrewd and would have died long ago." Moreover, you, Feng Ziyi, have your father, Nanpu, backing you. Comparing yourself to Jiang Yan with that is shameless.

"Even though Jiang Yan is extremely wealthy, his business exploits the people and his methods are not clean, which really tarnishes the teacher's reputation."

After finishing the last wonton, Shu Yun gave the shopkeeper some extra money, left Feng Ziyi behind, and walked ahead alone.

Feng Ziyi followed closely, saying, "The teacher once said, 'A gentleman sits and discusses the Way, while we rise and put it into practice,' and 'A gentleman is magnanimous and open-minded; without detachment, one cannot clarify one's ambitions; without tranquility, one cannot achieve far-reaching goals.' Jiang Yan's virtues are contrary to every single one of these."

Shu Yun suddenly stopped, lifted her veil, and looked at Feng Ziyi with her clear eyes. "That's what your teacher taught you. It varies from person to person, you know? When Shu Yun named Jiang Yan, she only hoped that he could survive well in this chaotic world. It would be better if he could live as naturally as a surging river. If not, at least she hoped that he would no longer have to be subservient."

Feng Ziyi still disagreed, "But..."

Shu Yun interrupted him, "Do you know what Shu Yun taught Jiang Yan? It was 'The Mirror of Prosperity and Decline' and 'The Treatise on the Mind,' teaching him how to discern and manipulate people's hearts. Furthermore, let me ask you, what kind of gentleman is the Lan Dynasty emperor you serve? The Wang family, relying on the Empress Wang's nepotism, has become increasingly arrogant as an in-law. During this time, His Majesty has continued to feign madness and let the Wang family run rampant, all so that they might fall from grace."

She spoke slowly, each word like a heavy hammer blow to his heart, leaving him dizzy.

"In that case, the deaths of the Wang family scions during this period were merely evidence he accumulated to destroy the Wang family in order to praise them to death. In comparison, Jiang Yan's exploitation of the people is much kinder than that of the emperor of the Lan Dynasty. Moreover, in business, as long as it is not by force or coercion, it is a matter of mutual consent. How can he be so heartless?"

She glanced at Feng Ziyi, whose face was pale and whose thoughts were in disarray, and then lowered her veil to cover her face. "Think it over carefully yourself. I'm not going back with you. I'm going to buy a house and I'll let you know the address."

The sky is vast and the clouds are low; the twilight deepens over the vast expanse of Chu.

It was from this day that the stubborn Feng Ziyi began to face his own problems squarely, and seriously analyze the world and people's hearts, laying the groundwork for his later rise to the position of prime minister.

The long-awaited reprimand was very satisfying for Shu Yun.

It's just that this house is hard to find right now, so let's find a hotel to make do for today.

As soon as she stepped out of the alley, a carriage stopped in front of her. Jiang Yan lifted the curtain and gazed at her with his dark, lustrous eyes, filled with innocence and ingratiation, just like when they were young.

Before tomorrow, Shu Yun went to Jiangyuan with others.

It was all because of Jiang Yan's smiling remark, "My family has hired a chef who can cook famous dishes from all over the country."

The carriage was incense-filled, but the scent was not strong; rather, it was refreshing and subtle. The interior was spacious and covered with thick brocade rugs, making one want to lie down instead of sitting—it was truly comfortable.

The person she longed for was right beside her, yet she refused to acknowledge it and even fabricated a false identity.

She could fool the foolish Feng Ziyi, but not him.

He didn't know why she was unwilling to acknowledge him, so he could only carefully keep her by his side, lest she fly away again like a startled sparrow, leaving him alone in this world.

The road was filled with the fragrance of BMWs and carved carriages. Shu Yun was lured into Jiang Garden by her own disciple. It was from here that she was slowly coaxed and deceived by Jiang Yan, who was disguised as a well-behaved girl. In the end, she had no choice but to stay in his cage willingly.