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

"Xie Bohuai, why are you arguing with me?"

A roar made the servants outside the door tremble, startling the sparrows in the osmanthus tree, which chirped and flew to the roof.

Xie Bohuai's tone became even more forceful, "Why do you think I'm being stubborn?"

"If you weren't born into the Xie family, do you think you could have risen to the position of Commander of the Town Government? Would the Emperor have treated you differently? Without the Xie family, you're nothing!" Master Xie was furious. His two legitimate sons, on whom he had placed high hopes, were mediocre, while his illegitimate son was outstanding but refused to follow his arrangements. He didn't feel sorry for Xie Bohuai and his mother. If it weren't for him, Xie Bohuai's concubine might have been raped by rioters, let alone enjoy a peaceful life afterward.

"The Xie family?"

Xie Bohuai snorted, "In December, the eldest and second wives were studying with warm stoves, while I could only huddle under a tattered reed quilt. Madam Xie forbade me to say that I was a child of the Xie family. When I went to the academy, the eldest and second wives led the bullying against me. They treated me like a horse, so I bit off pieces of their flesh. People said I was like a madman. This is indeed the Xie family's doing."

"Later, I took the imperial examination all the way to the metropolitan examination, but it was Lady Xie who drugged me, making me look bad in front of the emperor and disqualifying me. It was only because I saved the emperor that he began to treat me differently."

"Without the Xie family, my life would be so much better!"

The teacher said that Xie Bohuai was an excellent student and would definitely pass the imperial examination with top honors.

Madam Xie was jealous of Xie Bohuai's talent. After all, her two sons were mediocre in their studies, and she did not want a son born out of wedlock to steal their limelight. So she bribed the people around Xie Bohuai and gave him a laxative, cutting off his path to the imperial examinations.

But no one could have imagined that Xie Bohuai had been secretly plotting for a long time in order to get ahead, and finally saved the emperor in the hunting grounds, thus entering the Zhenfu Division.

When he first entered the Zhenfu Division, no one knew that he was Xie Sanlang. But the Zhenfu Division relied on his skills to make a living. As long as his fists were strong enough and his skills were powerful enough, he could climb higher and higher.

The first thing he did after becoming the commander was to go home, get some laxatives, grab Madam Xie's chin, and force-feed them to her.

Madam Xie scolded him for his blasphemy and threatened to report him for disobedience to the government office, but by then Xie Bohuai had already obtained leverage over the first and second wives' families.

He stated bluntly, "I'm all alone, and I don't mind dying alongside your two sons. From this day forward, I want you to remember your current predicament whenever you see me. If you harm a single hair on my head or harm anyone around me, I'll have Xie Boyuan's two arms and legs broken, and then I'll come back to take your dog's life!"

"You're crazy, you're a madman!" Madam Xie was stopped by Xie Bohuai and relieved herself in public. She wanted Madam Xie to kick Xie Bohuai out of the house, but Master Xie knew that was impossible.

From then on, Madam Xie stayed indoors, only burning incense and praying to Buddha in the courtyard, hoping that Xie Bohuai would die soon.

In his early years, Madam Xie kept a tight rein on the inner quarters, so much so that Master Xie had no illegitimate sons or daughters. Xie Bohuai was an exception; it wasn't until after his birth that Master Xie brought the mother and son home.

When Master Xie realized that his legitimate son was incompetent and his illegitimate son was disobedient, he was powerless to do anything about it. He couldn't exert any influence over his wives and concubines, so he could only place his hopes on Xie Bohuai.

"Xie Bohuai, get out of here! I don't want to see you!" Master Xie's face turned red with anger.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xie Bohuai slammed the door and left.

Knowing his master was in a bad mood, Qingshan didn't dare to breathe too loudly. After returning to the courtyard, he heard his master order the door to be blocked before he asked in a low voice, "Then how will we get out from here?"

"Carve a gate in the wall, and use the new gate to enter and exit from now on. Tell the people in the yard that no outsiders are allowed to enter our yard. Anyone who disobeys will be killed." Xie Bohuai said this, then climbed over the wall and left the yard, not even letting Qingshan follow.

Before Qingshan could even process what was happening, Shuyan had already started working with his men. When Qingshan realized he should go find his master, Shuyan pulled him aside and reminded him, "Go look near the Ye family."

"Why?"

"Just listen to me. You're so dense, I could talk to you all day and you still wouldn't understand." Shuyan patted Qingshan's head and led the men to continue laying bricks to block the door.

Their yard was on the edge, with a narrow alley behind the wall. To put it bluntly, opening their own gate was no different from setting up their own household.

When the news reached Master Xie, his headache worsened. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have let Xie Bohuai into the town government office. Rather than letting things get out of hand, it would have been better to keep Xie Bohuai in check.

While Master Xie was sucking on a ginseng slice, Prince Hui sent someone to his door to invite him to be a guest.

The servant beside Master Xie, who had served him for many years, said gently, “The whole capital knows about Princess Zhaoyun’s feelings for Third Master. Actually, this is a good marriage. Once Third Master and Princess Zhaoyun are engaged, the relationship between Prince Hui and the Second Branch will be severed. I have served you for many years, and if I may be so bold as to say something that might be inappropriate, it would be better to let Prince Hui keep Third Master in check rather than let the Second Master take the lead.”

They all knew that Second Master Xie was narrow-minded and mediocre. If Prince Hui really wanted to seize the throne, Second Master Xie would likely become a pawn and be the first to die.

Xie Bohuai is different; he's capable and ruthless enough that Master Xie can't control him. Prince Hui, however, is different. He's the Emperor's most favored son besides the Crown Prince. No matter how arrogant Xie Bohuai is, he wouldn't dare kill Prince Hui, would he?

Since the Xie family has already stepped into the vortex, they might as well make more preparations, otherwise the Xie family will surely be doomed after Master Xie passes away.

"The third son won't agree," Master Xie sighed.

"It's man-made."

"what do you mean?"

“Master, Princess Zhaoyun is desperate to get married. We don’t need to do anything. Just send someone to remind her. If it works out, people will only say how skillful Princess Zhaoyun is. If it doesn’t, it’s none of our business.”

Master Xie's brows gradually relaxed. "Yes, it's none of our business."

Master Xie arranged for someone to give Princess Zhaoyun a hint, and after Xie Bohuai left the Xie family, he unknowingly climbed over the Ye family's wall.

In the pavilion, Ye Mingyue brought some ornaments that he had asked someone to buy from the Western Regions, and let his sisters choose from them.

The siblings chatted and laughed, and eventually the conversation turned to Ye Mingyue's marriage.

Ye Wanyu said with a smile, "Big brother said that the family he's set up for you this time is very particular about etiquette. We've all met the Jiang family girl; she's very tall and has a beautiful appearance."

"Come on, Lord Jiang is an old-fashioned man. I met him at the academy before, and he would lecture me for half an hour. I wouldn't dare to take his daughter." Ye Mingyue shook his head vigorously. "Don't worry, Second Sister, the Jiang family definitely wouldn't look at me. Lord Jiang definitely wants someone like my eldest brother."

Ye Wanning said it wasn't necessarily true, "The fact that my older brother mentioned the Jiang family to you means that someone in the Jiang family has revealed something."

She still remembered that in her previous life, her second brother married Miss Jiang. Miss Jiang fell in love with her second brother at first sight and insisted on marrying him. Lord Jiang loved his daughter, so he agreed to the marriage proposal.

Jiang is calm and composed, which her second brother initially disliked. However, after the Ye family was framed by Zhou Yu, they experienced hardship together and developed feelings for each other. Under Jiang's encouragement, her second brother also became more ambitious.

Unfortunately, before their child could be born, the Ye family was accused of treason and executed, including the pregnant Miss Jiang.

As her thoughts drifted back to her past life, Ye Wanning clenched her fists.

"Big sister?" Ye Wanyu noticed her sister's expression was off and went closer. "What's wrong?"

"I was thinking that when Second Brother was being lectured by Lord Jiang, he must have really wanted to run away." As soon as Ye Wanning finished speaking, the three sisters burst out laughing together.

"You can laugh all you want, but my marriage to the Jiang family is not going to happen!" Ye Mingyue pouted and popped a pastry into his mouth.

The Ye siblings got along well, and laughter could be heard from time to time. No one noticed that there was Xie Bohuai behind the rockery.