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

Before Ye Wanning could speak, Yunzhi exclaimed anxiously, "Xu Zhuling actually has a child?"

The errand boy was named Fusheng. He was also shocked, but when he got to this point, he hesitated and looked at his master.

Ye Wanning already knew about this, "Go on."

"That...that child even called Lord Zhou 'Father'!" Fusheng was terrified and almost lost his footing. The eldest daughter had entrusted him with keeping an eye on Xu Zhuling, but who would have thought he'd hear something like this? Next month was the eldest daughter's wedding to Lord Zhou, and the Ye family had already been busy preparing. Now that this had happened, what was the eldest daughter supposed to do?

"What father?" Yunzhi thought she had misheard. After confirming with Fusheng that she hadn't misheard, she immediately went to find her eldest brother and ask them to stand up for their daughter.

Ye Wanning called out to Yunzhi, "If I make a scene, my elder brother and grandmother will definitely break off the engagement for my sake. But if we come to their door like this, who can prove that the child is Zhou Yu's? What if Zhou Yu denies it? Without solid evidence, if we make a scene like this, the Ye family's reputation will also be affected."

She knew Zhou Yu; he wouldn't give up the fight unless he was on the verge of death.

Her grandmother, feeling sorry for her, would surely break off the engagement for her, but her grandmother's health couldn't withstand such strain. If the engagement were broken off directly, given Zhou Yu's character, he would definitely turn around and blame the Ye family. After all, this marriage was very important to Zhou Yu, and he wouldn't give it up easily.

She knew about Feng Ge'er's situation from her past life. Initially, Zhou Yu brought him back, saying he was the orphan of her benefactor and wanted to adopt him. Ye Wanning had no children of her own, but seeing how well-behaved and adorable Feng Ge'er was, she registered the child under her name and carefully taught him.

Little did she know, Feng Ge'er was Xu Zhuling and Zhou Yu's illegitimate son. While she was imprisoned, Feng Ge'er spat at her, saying, "You're not my mother! All you do is force me to study and write all day. The teacher you found for me is even more detestable. My mother said you're a vicious woman and told me to be patient with you for a while before I called you 'mother.' Now that you've been divorced, I'm not going to put up with you anymore!"

Feng Ge'er, wielding a tree branch he had picked up, disregarded their past mother-son relationship and viciously whipped Ye Wanning.

She has a deep memory of this child.

Yunzhi was speechless, stunned for a long time, and then burst into tears. "But Miss, what will you do? If Lord Zhou really has a child with Xu Zhuling, will you still marry him?" She felt sorry for her mistress. She had finally looked forward to getting married, but this happened. How could she not feel wronged?

"Of course I won't marry him." Ye Wanning patiently wiped Yunzhi's tears. "I didn't even cry, why are you crying? Now that I know in advance, it's a good thing. You should be glad for me. I've always been devoted to Zhou Yu, but he betrayed me like this, which means he's not worth my continued devotion."

Over the years, Zhou Yu has been supported by the Ye family, using their resources and connections to gain access to renowned teachers. The Ye family's willingness to make these sacrifices indicates that they consider Zhou Yu their future son-in-law.

But Zhou Yu is using her money to support other women and children, which is really outrageous.

Ye Wanning told Fusheng to continue keeping an eye on Xu Zhuling, "You don't need to do anything, just record what she does every day. Yunzhi, wipe your tears and call my second brother over."

Zhou Yu is already the top scholar in the imperial examination. To deal with Zhou Yu, we can't rely on Ye Wanning alone. Her second brother has made a lot of friends in recent years, which will come in handy.

On the other side, Zhou Yu and Xu Zhuling were talking behind closed doors.

Feng Ge'er was taking a nap. Xu Zhuling looked at her son sleeping soundly and felt very sorry for him. "I can't appear in the Zhou family anymore. My cousin wants to register Feng Ge'er under Ye Wanning's name. When will I be able to see Feng Ge'er again?"

As she spoke, Xu Zhuling burst into tears. She had suffered a lot of grievances today. When she saw Zhou Yu coming over, she leaned into his arms.

“Don’t think so much. You are Feng’er’s biological mother, and that’s an unchangeable fact. Didn’t I promise you that I wouldn’t let Ye Wanning have a child? Since she doesn’t have her own child, she will definitely treat Feng’er as her own. Although Ye Wanning is rigid and boring, she comes from a prestigious family, and with her upbringing, Feng’er will definitely benefit greatly.” Zhou Yu hugged Xu Zhuling and gently comforted her. “As for you and me, we’ve waited so long, let’s be a little more patient.”

"But I... I'm afraid Ye Wanning won't give up."

"No, Ye Wanning has the pride of a noble family in her bones, and she trusts me the most. If I say I'll send you back to your hometown, she will definitely not send anyone to investigate." Zhou Yu was very confident in his ability to control Ye Wanning.

Xu Zhuling was still unwilling to accept it, but her whole family had died at the hands of thieves, and apart from Zhou Yu, she had no one else to rely on. She knew that Zhou Yu liked obedient people, so she nodded obediently, "I'll listen to you. I'll take good care of Feng-ge'er these days."

Seeing how compliant Xu Zhuling was, Zhou Yu was very satisfied and began to cuddle her tenderly.

In truth, he had also fallen for Ye Wanning, but there always seemed to be an insurmountable chasm between them. His friends said it was because of his inferiority complex, because of his poor background, that he couldn't relax around Ye Wanning and always had to keep a facade, afraid that Ye Wanning would see through his true nature.

However, he disagreed with his friend's words, saying that the Zhou family had once prospered, and with his own abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to revive the Zhou family.

He was very confident in himself; the Ye family hadn't broken off the engagement precisely because they saw his potential. In the end, the Ye family wasn't all show and no substance; they were actually quite hypocritical.

With the warm, soft body in his arms, Zhou Yu still preferred the posture of a superior. No matter what he said or did, Xu Zhuling would agree, because she could only rely on him for survival. This reverence gave him immense satisfaction.

Soon, sounds of lovemaking came from inside the room, but no one noticed that two figures flashed past the window.

Qingshan followed his master into the alley, muttering to himself, "So Lord Zhou and Xu Zhuling really are having an affair. Lord Zhou swore this morning. You really can't trust a man's words. You're right, sir. Miss Ye really misjudged people. If she marries Lord Zhou, she'll suffer in the future."

His family was truly kind; they cared for him and didn't actually make him run laps to chop wood, instead taking him out instead. It was just an unexpected coincidence that they overheard Zhou Yu talking behind the wall.

"My lord, do you think we should inform Miss Ye?" He had barely asked when Qingshan shook his head again. "Let's not. Miss Ye and Lord Zhou's wedding is imminent. Even if we told them, firstly, the Ye family wouldn't believe us, and secondly, even if they did, they wouldn't break off the engagement. They're childhood sweethearts, their bond is very strong. At most, they'd separate the mother and keep the child; many wealthy families do that. Hey, Third Master, why did you suddenly stop...stop?"

Seeing his master looking over, Qingshan's heart skipped a beat. Had he said something wrong again? Why did a murderous intent flash in his master's eyes?

"You also think that she and Zhou Yu have a deep relationship?" Xie Bohuai suddenly stopped.

“Of course! Lord Zhou lived in the Ye family's house for the years he studied in the capital. They were engaged, so they didn't need to be too careful about appearances. Even if it were Shi Tou, after spending so many years together, they would have a good relationship, right?” Qingshan answered matter-of-factly.

Xie Bohuai turned around and quickened his pace, "Go to the camp and run twenty laps right now."

"Ah? No, Master, I... Okay, Third Master, I'll go right away." Qingshan felt very wronged. His master clearly said that he didn't need to run anymore, so why did he suddenly add ten more laps?

But since his master had given the order, Aoyama dared not disobey and treated it as training.

After seeing his master off, Qingshan belatedly realized something: his master was not a busybody, so why was he staying at the Ye family mansion to watch the excitement today?

No, he had to ask Shuyan when he got back; he was smart enough to know better. He needed to get to the bottom of it to avoid saying the wrong thing again.

After Qingshan finished running twenty laps and returned to the Xie family, he didn't see his master. Shuyan patted his head and said, "Silly boy, you should talk to him later. Go find your master first."

At this moment, the sunset glowed like fire, and Xie Bohuai was standing on the roof of the tavern, looking in the direction of the Ye family.