Meng Fan's courtyard was given to him by Dongfang Luotian. Originally, he wanted to build him a very spacious mansion, but Meng Fan refused.

There were only four people in his family, including Cao Zhengchun. He preferred quiet, so he asked the emperor for this small courtyard.

The courtyard has eight rooms and occupies a considerable area. The materials used inside are all of the finest wood, and the interior decoration is extremely luxurious, no less than that of the imperial palace.

Of course, this was also built under the personal supervision of the emperor, and he used almost all the rarest materials available in the dynasty.

Meng Fan had just returned from the palace. During this time, he was forced to become the Imperial Advisor. The moment he agreed, the Emperor immediately issued a document to announce it to the whole country.

It could be said that Dongfang Luotian wished he could worship him and treat him as an ancestor.

Undeterred by the winter chill, Lianxing, still dressed in a thin blue robe, remained a foot away from the icy wind and snowflakes.

"Young master, you possess extraordinary abilities, why do you still allow the ice and snow to fall upon you?"

When Lianxing saw Meng Fan return, she ran over happily.

"Heaven creates all things to nourish man, but man has nothing to repay heaven with. That is not ice and snow, but a gift from nature."

"Lianxing doesn't understand."

She blinked her bright, large eyes, her beautiful face showing confusion as she looked into Meng Fan's deep eyes.

Meng Fan chuckled softly.

"It's just a feeling about the universe, you don't need to delve into it."

Where is your sister?

"I heard there's a poetry gathering at Guangdelou, and my sister has been invited to be a judge."

Why didn't you go?

"What's so good about their poems? After listening to the young master's poems, I can't listen to anyone else's poems anymore."

"My poems were all created by my seniors in the sect; I merely borrowed them."

Lianxing, however, looked completely unconvinced.

"I don't believe it. You always say that. Elder Cao is also a member of our sect, but I've never seen him compose any amazing poems."

Cao Zhengchun, who was meditating in the outermost room, did not want to eavesdrop, but Lianxing, that girl, did not shy away from talking badly about others. Even if he did not want to hear it, he could still hear it. He was immediately unhappy and thought to himself, "It's not that I don't know how, but do I dare to steal the spotlight from the young master? This little girl doesn't understand any social etiquette."

At this moment, Lian Yue opened the door and returned to the courtyard.

"Hey? Where did your cloak go, young master?"

Lian Yue wore a blue brocade dress and carried a green umbrella. With her stunningly beautiful face, she looked like a lady from a noble family from behind, and from the front, she could easily be mistaken for a fairy from heaven.

Lian Yue was the most observant; she noticed Meng Fan's cloak was missing as soon as she entered.

“There was a mother and daughter who were about to freeze to death in the alley across the street. I saw that she had nothing, so I gave her my cloak and a few taels of silver.”

"Oh? It takes skill to get a few taels of silver from you, young master. That woman must be very beautiful. You must be after her body."

Lianxing is outspoken and says whatever comes to mind.

Meng Fan was displeased and pretended to be angry, saying, "Do you think I'm just a greedy and lustful person?"

Lianxing thought for a moment and said seriously, "Greedy for money? That's for sure. Lustful? I think my sister and I both have the right to say that. You even made us look at those... those obscene books... something called Jin Mei."

Meng Fan quickly interrupted her. Thinking about it, it made sense. Being greedy and lustful didn't seem to be a fault of his, so he smiled bitterly.

Another month of peaceful days passed. Chu Di, who had returned from the Yun Sheng Dynasty, arrived at Meng Fan's residence and was greeted by a woman with a graceful figure.

"And you are?"

Chu Di dared not underestimate anyone in this small courtyard, because it was the residence of his senior brother Meng Fan.

The woman remained polite and said, "My name is Yu Min. You must be here to see the master. Please tell me your name so I can inform him."

Chu Di observed that the woman was in her thirties, not very tall, and not exceptionally beautiful, but her features were distinct and combined to give her a protective quality. Her face was very approachable and pleasing to the eye.

Chu Di couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, but suddenly remembered something and quickly looked away, saying seriously, "I'm here to see Senior Brother Meng Fan. Please inform this sister of my presence."

Yu Min was the woman Meng Fan rescued that day. Lian Yue found her and brought her back that same day. After learning about her family background, Meng Fan took her in as a cook. Her daughter took her surname and was named Yu Qiu. She is now ten years old.

I must say, Yu Min's culinary skills are truly remarkable; she is proficient in recipes from various states.

During the questioning, Meng Fan and the others learned that her cooking skills were passed down from her family, and that her father was Yu Sheng, the imperial chef of the Fire Maple Dynasty ten years ago, but he had long since retired to his hometown.

Some time ago, at the beginning of the dynasty's turmoil, many officials levied exorbitant taxes and levies, and her father died tragically in the process. She and her child were forced to wander and end up in the capital.

Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem for her to support herself and her daughter with her own abilities, but when people asked about her background, they all refused to help her. She was penniless and didn't even have a place to live, so she could only wander the streets and alleys, not knowing where she and her daughter could be taken in.

As for why this happened, it's not the fault of the merchants, because her husband is a notorious devil!

The Ji Yuan Empire once issued a proclamation to the world, announcing that a man surnamed Fei had slept with a princess, causing her to become pregnant. After fleeing, he joined the demonic path, changed his name, married, and had children. For some unknown reason, he killed his wife and children, and even massacred more than 10,000 people in a city before escaping from the Ji Yuan Empire.

Later, he caused constant rebellion in various dynasties, and every few years he would cause devastation to the region. The empire repeatedly besieged and suppressed him, but he escaped. Only then did he issue a proclamation to inform the world.

That's right, Yu Min's husband is this wicked man. Ten years ago, he forced her to have sex with him and warned her that she was pregnant with his child and that if she dared to ruin the child, he would destroy her family!

Yu Min's father couldn't help but tell the emperor of the Fire Maple Dynasty about this, requesting that the empire be ordered to capture this evil villain. However, the empire's messengers were killed one after another by the villain.

Even the emperor of the Fire Maple Dynasty at the time was killed by him and disappeared without a trace. The empire was helpless and the matter was left unresolved.

Her affair with the villain spread far and wide, becoming common knowledge. Her father was forced to retire and return to his hometown, but fortunately, the family had enough assets to support the three of them.

In recent years, that ruthless man has been popping up from time to time and committing major crimes. Countless people have died at his hands!

People also know that this murderer first killed his own relatives and children, and then he would not stop until he had killed 10,000 people. Therefore, wherever Yu Min and her father went, people avoided them like the plague, for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.

Until Meng Fan saved her...

She didn't want to bring disaster to Meng Fan, but Meng Fan didn't care.

This was the first person she had ever met who was willing to take her in!

When Meng Fan saw Yu Min after she had washed up, he said that he would feel at ease cooking for her from now on. As for that ruthless man surnamed Fei, he would take responsibility for him even if he brought the entire Demonic Path with him!

Yu Min admired this kind of magnanimity even more!

From then on, she devoted herself to doing his laundry and cooking, but whether she would keep him warm, dress him properly, or make his bed was still up for debate...