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

The carriages lined up in a long queue at the palace gate. Ye Wanning led her sisters off the carriage. She had told her third sister that she didn't need to try to remain calm when she met the nanny later.

Today is the palace's preliminary selection, and all the girls who made it here are good-looking.

They lined up in groups of six, and the matrons watched first.

Ye Wanhua was able to avoid making it to the second round as she had hoped, and upon hearing this news, Ye Wanning secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She spent some money to share a room with her second sister, Xie Lingyi (the third daughter of the Xie family) and Wang Chuchu (the second daughter of the Wang family).

Xie Lingyi, the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Xie family, was of noble birth. She looked up and glanced at everyone before walking up to Ye Wanning. "You must be Ye Wanning. Please move aside. This place is sunny. I want to sleep here."

"What's wrong with you? We were here first," Ye Wanyu retorted.

Xie Lingyi glanced at the maid beside her, who tossed out a money pouch. "Is that alright now?"

Ye Wanning smiled faintly, "When the nanny brought us here, we had already arranged the beds with her. If Miss Xie insists on changing, why don't you go find the nanny?"

To maintain a good reputation, Xie Lingyi naturally wouldn't seek out the old nanny. She held the Ye family in contempt, which explained her attitude towards the Ye sisters.

"Fine, since you insist, I hope you won't regret it later." Xie Lingyi knew it wasn't good to cause trouble right after entering the palace, so she swallowed her anger for now, planning to settle accounts with Ye Wanning after she became the Princess Consort.

Ye Wanning patted her sister's hand, signaling her not to say anything more. It was only her first day in the palace, and it wasn't a good time to argue.

They tidied up on their own until a commotion broke out in the courtyard. Some people muttered that Princess Zhaoyun had no manners, while others who flattered her went out.

Ye Wanyu asked if they wanted to go out, and Ye Wanning whispered, "Let's just go with everyone else and not stand out. Princess Zhaoyun is not a good-tempered person, and it will be difficult to clean up the mess if we anger her."

When everyone arrived in the courtyard, Princess Zhaoyun looked at each of them one by one, selected two young ladies, and kept the Ye Wanning sisters behind.

Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat. They had never had any dealings with Princess Zhaoyun. What did Princess Zhaoyun want with them?

When Princess Zhaoyun asked if they were acquainted with Xie Bohuai, Ye Wanning answered before her sister could speak, "Your Highness, Lord Xie is only a distant relative of ours, we can't be considered acquainted."

"Oh, you must be Ye Wanning?" Princess Zhaoyun looked her over. "Then how come I heard that Xie Bohuai was also there when you drove Xu Zhuling away?"

"Coincidentally, I had an argument with Xu Zhuling at the gate that day. Lord Xie was on business at the town government office and thought someone was causing trouble, so he stopped to maintain order." Ye Wanning knew that Princess Zhaoyun was infatuated with Xie Bohuai, and she could tell that Princess Zhaoyun was taking her anger out on them.

"You better not lie to me, or you'll regret it." After questioning Ye Wanning, Zhao Yun went to interrogate the others. Ye Wanyu was quick-witted and, after hearing what her sister said, echoed her words.

After all that commotion, it was already dark. The other two girls had grievances in their hearts, but dared not say anything, and could only grope their way back in the dark.

Ye Wanning held her sister's hand, her heart pounding in her throat.

Unexpectedly, they encountered Xie Bohuai on the way.

At this hour, Xie Bohuai should be preparing to leave the palace. He stepped aside to make way for Ye Wanning and her sister, muttering to himself, "Not exactly familiar?"

Ye Wanning's eyebrows twitched. While marveling at the omnipresence of the Town Government Office, she didn't dare to respond to Xie Bohuai's words and quickly pulled her sister back.

The second election was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Ye Wanning didn't sleep well that night. The next day, she was summoned by a eunuch. As she wondered what was going on, she saw Xie Bohuai leaning against the red wall.

"Master Xie, please speak freely. This servant will go and keep watch for you." The little eunuch bowed his head.

Ye Wanning looked at Xie Bohuai, puzzled.

"Miss Ye has a way to make your third sister fail the selection, while she herself stays. It seems you have great ambitions." Xie Bohuai looked up at him.

Ye Wanning didn't understand why Xie Bohuai had summoned her. Afraid of being discovered, she could only hurriedly explain, "If the three of us sisters were to enter the palace at the same time and all of us were to fail for the same reason, it would be really unreasonable."

"So, do you want to be selected?"

Do you want to?

Of course not.

Ye Wanning didn't understand whose instructions Xie Bohuai had given to ask her questions. He was the Emperor's man, but the Ye family wasn't enough to attract the Emperor's attention.

Was this Xie Bohuai's own idea?

However, she and Xie Bohuai hadn't met many times, so they weren't really familiar with each other.

“Miss Ye, do you remember? I said I owe you a favor,” Xie Bohuai said. “If you don’t want to be selected, I can help you.”

Hearing this, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief. "Does Your Excellency have any ideas?"

Ye Wanning decided to take a gamble, "I want to, but could you please..."

"Okay." Xie Bohuai agreed before Ye Wanning could finish speaking.

"Thank you, sir. I thank you again on behalf of my second sister." With Xie Bohuai's promise, Ye Wanning felt much more at ease. "I owe you a favor this time. Princess Zhaoyun has a lot of affection for you. She seems to be looking for someone. If you are willing to protect her, you should make preparations in advance."

Just then, the young eunuch reminded her that it was getting late, and Ye Wanning followed him back.

Their every move here was being watched. As soon as Ye Wanning sat down, Xie Lingyi snorted, "So you're the one who's been hiding your true abilities all along. You were gone for so long, did you meet some important person?"

With Xie Bohuai's help, Ye Wanning was in a good mood. She didn't have to take risks with her sister anymore, and she found Xie Lingyi more agreeable. However, she couldn't lose in words, "No matter what, I still can't compare to Miss Xie. Today, the Empress summoned you. In the future, Miss Xie will rise to a high position and have great fortune. You shouldn't bother with a nobody like me."

Although it was meant as a compliment, Xie Lingyi felt extremely uncomfortable. Before entering the palace, her parents had specifically told her not to be temperamental, but Ye Wanning had repeatedly contradicted her, and Xie Lingyi had taken Ye Wanning's words to heart.

However, their time living together was short-lived. Ye Wanning and her sister were not chosen in the second round of selections, just as Xie Bohuai had said, which resulted in their elimination.

Having received such a great benefit, Ye Wanning really wanted to thank Xie Bohuai in person, but there were too many people and too many eyes in the palace, so she suppressed her excitement and only breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the palace.

Ye Wanyu hadn't reacted yet, and her sister just told her to rest assured. Now she couldn't help but ask what was going on.

Before Ye Wanning could speak, the carriage suddenly stopped. She asked the driver what happened, and the driver said the carriage had suddenly broken down.

Left with no other choice, Ye Wanning and her sister went to a nearby teahouse to wait.

Unbeknownst to them, several men were parked in the distance, watching the Ye sisters. One of them asked curiously, "This is a carriage from the palace. Today is the day of the second selection. How come such beautiful women were not chosen?"

"In response to the Crown Prince, the selection of a concubine involves more than just appearance; there are many other considerations," the eunuch beside him replied.

"What a pity," the Crown Prince thought with regret.