Only after being reborn did I realize that I was the white moonlight of a powerful minister.

"I am Ye, a commoner." Ye Wanning lowered her eyelids and knelt on the ground.

The dim light from the tinderbox only revealed half of Ye Wanning's face, revealing rather frightening skin, yet Xie Bohuai stared intently at her.

Chunxi hurriedly said, "Sir, these are our travel permits. We are truly ordinary people, absolutely not thieves. It was these two villains who attacked first, and we were forced to fight back."

"Ordinary people?" Xie Bohuai scoffed. "They have ill intentions, but you are not necessarily ordinary people, are you? What woman would dare to attack so viciously? An ordinary woman would have been paralyzed with fear if I pointed a sword at her, but you, my master, still stand up straight."

Ye Wanning hadn't expected Xie Bohuai to observe so closely. She hadn't thought much about it; she just didn't dare look at Xie Bohuai. She explained, "My lord, I was just too scared to move. I... I used all my strength just now. I was really terrified. You are an upright and just official; you will certainly not wrong the innocent."

"That's not necessarily true. People in the capital say I'm a ruthless killer." Xie Bohuai still found it strange; no matter how he looked at the other person, there was something suspicious about them. After looking at the travel permit Chunxi had given him, he asked, "You're from Jiangzhou, what are you doing here all this way?"

Even at top speed, it would take four or five days to travel from Jiangzhou to the capital. How could two women dare to come to the capital like this?

Ye Wanning explained in a low voice, "We came to visit relatives. Our family used to run a shop, but the local magistrate was a traitor to the king and led the way in committing all sorts of evil deeds. We couldn't make ends meet, so we had to sell our property and set off with our maids and family. Unfortunately, we were unlucky and encountered bandits, and we got separated from our family halfway through the journey."

"Since you're visiting relatives, what's your relative's surname and given name?" Xie Bohuai pressed for details.

Ye Wanning pursed her lips, not expecting Xie Bohuai to be so difficult to deal with.

As she approached the capital, she heard more and more people discussing Xie Bohuai, saying that he had been ruthless and heartless over the past three years, offending all the princes.

I never expected Xie Bohuai to become so difficult to get along with.

"Reporting to you, sir, we're going to find the Ye family in the east of the city." As soon as Ye Wanning mentioned the Ye family, Xie Bohuai suddenly frowned.

"What is your relationship to the Ye family?" Xie Bohuai asked.

"Just a distant relative." Ye Wanning didn't dare to say more, for fear that Xie Bohuai would see through her lie.

Upon hearing that they were distant relatives of the Ye family, Xie Bohuai put down his sword. "Since you are distant relatives of the Ye family, come into the city with me tomorrow. I want to see if what you're saying is true or false."

Xie Bohuai still harbored doubts about the two people in front of him.

Ye Wanning frowned slightly. She was going back, but with Xie Bohuai coming along, it would be difficult to keep many things from her.

Isn't this person very busy?

Ye Wanning mentally grumbled a couple of times, but with Xie Bohuai around, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief; at least she could get to the Ye family safely. Originally, she wanted to go to Princess Longyu's place to pick up her child, but that wasn't possible now, so she had to return to the Ye family first.

I just don't know what the situation is like at home after all these years.

As Ye Wanning's thoughts drifted away, Qingshan suddenly rushed in, "My lord, something's happened!"

"You're asking for it!" Xie Bohuai grabbed Ye Wanning's wrist. He thought her hand was incredibly thin. How could it be so small?

He pushed Chunxi to Qingshan, asking him to take Chunxi into the city, and the two mounted their horses.

Ye Wanning quickly said, "Sir, I can go to the Ye family by myself. You can go ahead if you have something to do!"

"Do you think those people would spare your life if they saw you with me?" Xie Bohuai sensed Ye Wanning's guilty conscience. "If it weren't for the fact that you're a distant relative of the Ye family, I would have already abandoned you to them like a wandering ghost! You better not lie to me, or you'll regret it!"