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

Lin still held some hope for Zhou Yu.

During the years Zhou Yu lived in the Ye family, he was humble and polite, and didn't seem like the kind of person who would do something outrageous.

Perhaps there was some misunderstanding. Outsiders only said that the wet nurse from the concubine's family took the child to Zhou Yu's residence, and that they were just acquaintances.

Lin didn't want the rumors to be true. Her younger sister and Zhou Yu's wedding was imminent. If it were true, what would her younger sister do?

A girl who has broken off her engagement can only look for someone lower down the social ladder, not to mention that the Ye family doesn't have any powerful figures in the court to back them up.

Catching a glimpse of her younger sister out of the corner of her eye, Madam Lin felt a pang of heartache. Before entering the house, she whispered comforting words, "Don't worry, little sister, your older brother and I are here for you." As the eldest sister-in-law, she might not be able to do much on ordinary days, but she had to uphold the Ye family's reputation at a time like this.

Seeing her sister-in-law trying to remain calm, Ye Wanning sighed inwardly. She needed to resolve these troublesome matters concerning the Zhou family as soon as possible.

The two entered the main hall. Zhou's mother looked up and saw Lin Shi bowing formally, while Ye Wanning gave a perfunctory bow beside her.

Zhou Yu wouldn't let his mother come over, saying he would come to the Ye family himself to explain things. But Zhou's mother felt sorry for her son, so before Zhou Yu left, she quickly had a carriage prepared.

She found fault with Ye Wanning at every turn. What kind of well-bred lady was she? Anyone who could chase someone away from their mansion was clearly not well-mannered.

Before the Ye family could speak, Zhou's mother put on airs and said, "I just arrived in the capital yesterday and heard something. It's not that I'm petty, but our two families are going to become in-laws. Today, in front of Wan Ning, I'll just say it directly. Can't you talk about this behind closed doors? Why make a scene? Zhu Ling is a daughter of the Xu family. If the Xu family loses face, what face do you have left?"

Madam Lin thought that Mrs. Zhou had come to explain the rumors and apologize, but to her surprise, Mrs. Zhou immediately criticized her younger sister. Even with her good temper, Madam Lin had to swallow her pride and said, "Madam Zhou, what do you mean by that? My younger sister is just following the rules. How could she be ashamed?"

"According to the rules? If we really followed the rules, she shouldn't have made a scene. Even if there was something between my son and Zhuling, she should have been more magnanimous and accepted Zhuling. A girl who hasn't even been married yet, being so jealous—what else is that but a lack of upbringing?" Zhou's mother didn't think her son and niece had done anything wrong. "I'm here today to make things clear to you. Don't pay attention to the rumors. This is the only niece I have left in my family. I can't send Zhuling away. If Wanning can't accept it, then this marriage is off."

She thought the Ye family would be frightened upon hearing this.

These days, if a girl's engagement is broken off before her wedding, her reputation is ruined. Her son became the top scholar in the imperial examination; the Ye family should be currying favor with them. Even without Ye Wanning, they can still benefit her son and niece—what a wonderful thing!

Zhou's mother looked down on Ye Wanning from the bottom of her heart, and her tone was no longer respectful.

Lin blushed and then turned pale. Their Ye family hadn't even mentioned breaking off the engagement yet, but Zhou's mother brought it up first.

"Madam Zhou, are you serious?" Madam Lin was holding her breath, but annulmenting the engagement was a serious matter, and she dared not agree rashly. "Is this your idea, or Zhou Yu's idea?"

"Is there a difference?" Zhou's mother snorted. If Ye Wanning didn't apologize to the Zhou family today, she would absolutely not accept Ye Wanning as her daughter-in-law.

Lin: "You!"

"I never imagined the rumors would be true." Seeing her sister-in-law give up, Ye Wanning sighed softly. "Madam Zhou said I have no manners. I don't understand. Keeping a mistress before marriage, what kind of manners is that?"

"What mistress? Didn't I already say that?" Zhou's mother denied it.

"Then what are you making a scene for?" Ye Wanning continued to ask. "Normally, when ordinary people have something bad to say, they would apologize immediately. Instead, you came to my house to make a scene. Is it because you're guilty and want to put pressure on the Ye family first, forcing us to accept your apology?"

As long as the Ye family declares publicly that Zhou Yu has not kept a mistress and that the Ye family is still willing to form a marriage alliance with the Zhou family, the rumors will be nothing and will soon be replaced by new topics of conversation.

"What are you saying? What do I have to be ashamed of?" Zhou's mother quickly stood up, habitually looking up to point at Ye Wanning, but realizing they weren't in the village, she snorted and sat down again.

Ye Wanning sneered, "You know perfectly well what you're feeling guilty about. You say I'm jealous, but I don't agree with that. You won't allow anyone to question the upbringing of our Ye family. Since Madam Zhou thinks the Ye family is not good enough for the Zhou family, let's call off this marriage. A forced marriage won't be happy. I'll make sure Zhou Yu has been eating and drinking at my Ye family all these years and send someone to deliver him to the Zhou family."

"Wanning!" Madam Lin exclaimed anxiously, quickly giving her younger sister a meaningful look.

Ye Wanning patted her sister-in-law's shoulder reassuringly, "I know you feel sorry for me, but you've seen it too. Madam Zhou is protecting her niece from her own family and looks down on me in her words. Even if I marry into the family, do you think I'll have a good life? Also, from beginning to end, Madam Zhou has never explicitly stated that Zhou Yu and Xu Zhuling have no children. You see, not denying it is tantamount to admitting it, isn't it?"

Lin was speechless, frowning in deep thought.

Zhou's mother couldn't help but stand up, "Ye Wanning, don't make false accusations!"

"Then does Madam Zhou dare to swear, on Zhou Yu's future and descendants, that if Zhou Yu and Xu Zhuling have a child, Zhou Yu will be unsuccessful in his official career and die without descendants!" Ye Wanning said with hatred, looking at Zhou's mother, thinking of the wasted days in her previous life.

In her previous life, Zhou's mother was equally critical of her.

She believed that time would reveal true character, and that as long as she persisted in being filial, she would eventually be able to influence Zhou's mother.

As it turned out, she was wrong.

Summer days were spent making Ye Wanning stand as punishment, her mother constantly poured cold water on her, and would frequently lose her temper and force her to kneel. Whenever Ye Wanning tried to defend herself, Zhou's mother would use filial piety to pressure her.

Back then, Zhou Yu would always offer hindsight advice, saying, "Wan Ning, don't hold it against your mother. She only has one son, so she has high expectations for you. She's doing this for your own good."

For her own good?

Looking back now, it's all a joke.

Seeing the murderous look in Zhou's mother's eyes, Ye Wanning raised her voice defiantly, "Madam Zhou, do you dare?"

"Ye Wanning, I'll tear your mouth apart! How dare you curse my son!" With that, Zhou's mother lunged at Ye Wanning, but was held back by several old women.

At this point, Zhou's mother was completely enraged. Ye Wanning had achieved her goal and ordered the servants to throw Zhou's mother out.

Zhou's mother came to put on airs, but ended up feeling very angry. After being thrown out at the entrance of the Ye family mansion, she pointed at the Ye family plaque and cursed, "Do you think you're still the same as before? A whole family of impoverished people, and you dare to curse my son? Don't you even take a piss and see what kind of person you, Ye Wanning, are! Even if my son has a mistress, he's still better than you. He's the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination. Not a single one of you in the Ye family is any good!"

After finishing her tirade, Zhou's mother realized that people were surrounding her.

Many people had heard about Zhou Yu keeping a mistress, and some even said that Zhou Yu's mistress was his cousin who had been kicked out of the Ye family a few days ago. Now, hearing what Zhou's mother said, everyone believed it without a doubt.

"What are you all looking at?" Zhou's mother hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation. She was used to throwing tantrums in the village, especially in the past year, ever since her son became the top scholar in the imperial examination. She had always acted like she owned the place.

Someone who couldn't stand it anymore spoke up, "How can you be so shameless? Your son is a gigolo and keeps a mistress, and you still have the nerve to curse here? As expected, like mother, like son. With a mother like you, it's no wonder Zhou Hanlin could do such a thing."

"That's right, it's really pitiful for the eldest daughter of the Ye family. She is a woman of both talent and beauty, yet she was married to a heartless man like Chen Shimei."

"The Ye family is unlucky to have such in-laws. In all my life, this is the first time I've ever seen a shrew yelling in the street. It just goes to show that marriages should be between equals. The Ye family was too kind back then. They should have broken off the engagement when Zhou Hanlin's father died!"

……

The crowd grew increasingly excited as they talked, but the Ye family's gate remained tightly shut—this was exactly the effect Ye Wanning wanted.

No matter how loud Zhou's mother's voice was, it couldn't drown out a group of people. Just as she was about to catch her breath, Zhou Yu arrived.

Before Zhou Yu even got close, he almost fainted from anger upon hearing what everyone was saying. This was the reason he hadn't allowed his mother to come to the capital so early; her humble origins and lack of worldly experience had indeed caused her trouble.

He forced himself to squeeze into the crowd and grabbed his mother to leave, but she cried out to him, "My son, you've finally come! If you hadn't come, I would have been bullied to death by that bitch Ye Wanning! This marriage is off, Ye Wanning is not good enough for you!"

Zhou Yu's vision went black, and he stumbled. If Feng Ran hadn't caught him, he would have fallen to the ground.

My mother announced the annulment of the engagement in front of so many people. It's over. This marriage is really over.