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

When Ye Wanning arrived in the courtyard, her second brother had already been brought in by someone holding his hands down.

"Ye Mingyue, do you think everyone in the capital is blind and no one recognizes you?" Ye Mingde shouted. "Kneel down before me!"

As Ye Mingyue's business grew, he met more and more people in the capital. When someone mentioned Ye Mingde, Ye Mingde didn't believe it. He went to the academy himself and found out that he had been deceived for a long time.

He held up the family law and struck Ye Mingyue twice, causing Ye Mingyue to howl in pain.

"I asked you to lie to me, I went to so much trouble for you, and you, in return, lied to me while pretending to be compliant. Do you really think I'm a fool, that I can keep this from you forever?" Ye Mingde was very disappointed. "I'm so disappointed in you!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingyue stopped crying out in pain.

Seeing Ye Mingyue's reaction, Ye Mingde became even angrier. "You don't even try to dodge? Do you think I'm reluctant to hit you?"

Seeing her eldest brother's fierce expression, Ye Wanning ran over and blocked his hand, "Big brother, let second brother explain."

"And you, Wan Ning, I've always thought you were the most reliable one, how come you joined in this nonsense?" This was the thing Ye Mingde couldn't understand the most. "Your second brother's behavior is one thing, but tell me, did he instigate you?"

“No, elder brother, it was a solution I came up with for my second brother,” Ye Wanning said. “I know it’s not easy for you. You’ve taken care of the family all these years and also had to attend court. Every one of your brothers and sisters needs your care. I also wanted my second brother to be able to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom like you. But elder brother, everyone has their own destiny. Not everyone has to take the same path, and not everyone can succeed in the imperial examination.”

Some people take the imperial examinations until they are forty or fifty years old and are still only a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar). Even if Ye Mingyue studies hard and spends five years catching up on what he learned before, can he really do well if he has no interest in it?

"Brother, don't blame Wanning. If you want to hit someone, hit me instead." Ye Mingyue crawled forward on his knees. "I know you're doing this for my own good. I've thought about studying hard, but I just can't concentrate. I only want to do business. Wanning is right, everyone has their strengths. I'm not good at studying, but look, in just a few months, I've already earned tens of thousands of taels of silver."

"Who cares if you go out to make money?" Ye Mingde said irritably.

“We need money for everything at home. My sister-in-law is using her dowry to help out. Even if she doesn’t complain, how can we keep doing this?” Ye Mingyue said. “My younger sisters are all of marriageable age. If we don’t earn money, how will we prepare dowries for them?”

Ye Mingde frowned. "Are you saying I'm incompetent and can't provide you with a decent life?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant that you work so hard in the court, brother. Someone has to do something else. I'm good at this. We can divide the work and work together to make our family's life better. Wouldn't that be better? Why do we all have to study?" Ye Mingyue didn't understand this. They could live a wealthy life right now, so why did they have to study for the imperial examinations?

Moreover, passing the imperial examination is only the first step; the subsequent official career and management are the more important matters.

"You're a big boss now, and you really know how to talk. I can't argue with you." Ye Mingde still thought the imperial examination was better, and everyone took pride in it.

"Brother, why are you still so stubborn? Even Jiang Si understands me, so why do you insist that I take the imperial examination?" Ye Mingyue didn't understand. Studying is good, but that doesn't mean other things are bad.

Hearing that Jiang Si knew about this, Ye Mingde was stunned for a moment, then laughed self-deprecatingly, put down the family discipline stick in his hand, and walked out dejectedly, "So it turns out I was meddling in other people's business, and I'm the one who's not being understood."

Seeing Ye Mingde leave like that, Ye Wanning knew her older brother was heartbroken. She wanted to chase after him, but her brother told her not to get close.

"Second brother, how could you say that?" Ye Wanning returned with a sigh. "This time, we really hurt eldest brother."

“I know he means well, but has my brother ever considered whether this is the kind of good he wants?” Ye Mingyue rubbed his back as he got up. “If I don’t say anything harsh, my brother will still insist on letting me study. You shouldn’t have stopped him just now. You should have let him beat me up badly, beat me so badly I couldn’t get out of bed. Then my brother would have softened.”

Over the years, Ye Mingyue has come to know his elder brother inside and out, and he's even become experienced at getting beaten up.

"So it was my fault?" Ye Wanning wanted to roll her eyes at him. "They say you can't hide the truth forever. You go kneel down to your older brother first thing tomorrow morning. If once doesn't work, try twice. He'll soften eventually."

“I know, we’ve been keeping this from him. Tomorrow you go to your sister-in-law and ask her to plead for me. Ouch, that really hurts! Brother, those few blows will keep me on my stomach for days.” Ye Mingyue thought this was a good idea, to save him from living in fear every day. It was better to come clean sooner rather than later.

The next day, before Ye Mingde got up, Ye Mingyue was kneeling in the courtyard of the main house. However, Ye Mingde ignored Ye Mingyue and didn't even glance at him when he passed by.

Soon the whole family found out about it.

Madam Ye was equally angry, but she couldn't bring herself to hit him. She punched Ye Mingyue a few times, but when she heard him say that he had been severely beaten, she felt sorry for him. However, she didn't let up on the surface. "Go kneel in the ancestral hall and think carefully about where you went wrong!"

"Grandmother is right. I shouldn't have lied to you about going to school." Ye Mingyue was about to kneel in the ancestral hall when Jiang Si said she also had a responsibility and should go with him.

Old Madam Ye was willing to punish her grandson by making him kneel in the ancestral hall, but she had to give face to her granddaughter-in-law. "Never mind, I'm too old to manage you. Let Mingde come back and take care of you."

Upon hearing that he didn't have to kneel in the ancestral hall, Ye Mingyue immediately went over and acted coquettishly, "Grandmother is still the best to me."

"Get out of here, just looking at you gives me a headache." Old Madam Ye was exhausted. Her son and daughter-in-law had left, leaving her alone as an old woman with so many children to worry about. "I'm only letting you off the hook because of your wife. Go back and stay there. If you don't appease your elder brother, you'll still have to kneel in the ancestral hall."

Ye Mingyue sighed inwardly. Given his elder brother's stubborn temperament, it might take quite a while.

Ye Mingde had a sour face all morning. He was always serious and not a smooth person. He only had two or three close friends among his colleagues, and he didn't keep in touch with most of the others.

The man who spoke to Ye Mingde about Ye Mingyue yesterday was Zhou Feng. They usually disliked each other. "Brother Ye, am I right? Your younger brother is a notorious playboy. He secretly skipped the academy and instead engaged in some disreputable activities. He's a disgrace to scholars."

"What my brother does is none of your business. He's my own brother, and I'll raise him myself." Ye Mingde was still being tolerant. He had just been promoted, and there were many people like Zhou Feng who didn't like him.

“It’s your brother, that’s true, but he’s also from a prestigious family. He’s disgraced the family. I won’t dare to associate with your Ye family anymore,” Zhou Feng said disdainfully. “However, Ye Mingyue is born out of wedlock, so you don’t really need to worry about him. Maybe he can even make some money and help you climb the social ladder.”

Zhou Feng was one of the candidates for this promotion, but Ye Mingde was promoted in the end. Zhou Feng was unhappy about this and is now subtly criticizing Ye Mingde for giving gifts.

“Zhou Feng, you are at least a sixth-rank official. You need evidence to support your claims. If you have any doubts about my promotion, you can impeach me. As for my brother, whether he is born of the principal wife or a concubine, I have taken great care in raising him. Even if my brother is not good at studying, he is still a person of upright character, which is better than someone like you who has a dark heart but dares not speak out!” Ye Mingde was usually very patient. He knew that his situation was not easy. He could endure many things and let them pass. He could not argue with people. His whole family depended on him for survival.

But Zhou Feng said it wouldn't work if it was his younger brother.

Zhou Feng was stunned for a moment, then his face quickly turned red. "Ye Mingde, who are you calling shady?"

"You!" Ye Mingde stared straight at the other person.

Everyone else was stunned; Ye Mingde wasn't like this before.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Zhou Feng raised his fist, but was stopped by someone shouting, "Fine, fine, you've got guts, I'll let you have your way. But I'll wait and see what your spoiled brat brother can do. Don't let him get caught stealing chickens and dogs, then I'll definitely give him a good pat on the back!"

Ye Mingde was in a terrible mood that day. When he returned home with a dark face, Ye Mingyue didn't dare to breathe and knelt down to apologize.

Ye Mingde looked down at his younger brother, who was already married, and felt a surge of emotions. "Get up and come in with me."