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

Yunzhi went to sleep, leaving only Ye Wanning in the room.

After her rebirth, she developed the habit of carrying a dagger with her at all times. Anyone who would break into the Ye family in the middle of the night was definitely not a good person. As she moved behind the door and slowly pulled the bolt, a blood-covered man staggered out from behind the screen.

"Clap."

The door opened, and Ye Wanning turned to run without thinking, only to bump into a hard chest. "Thank you..."

Before Ye Wanning could finish speaking, Xie Bohuai pulled her behind him, drew his sword to block the spy's attack, and then casually closed the door.

The spy was severely wounded and at his last gasp, yet he still put up a stubborn resistance.

Xie Bohuai originally intended to capture them alive, but seeing the spy rushing towards Ye Wanning, he stabbed the spy in the chest with his sword.

In an instant, blood splattered all over the ground, and Ye Wanning's white skirt was also stained with red spots. She was so shocked that she leaned against the door and forgot to breathe.

Someone died, and it was Xie Bohuai who did it.

This wasn't the first time Ye Wanning had witnessed murder, but no matter how much she had experienced, she couldn't remain calm at this moment.

"Thank you... thank you, sir. What... what is this?"

She tried to remain calm, and as she took a deep breath, her chest rose and fell, forgetting that she was only wearing an undershirt.

Xie Bohuai frowned slightly. "We were just trying to catch a spy, but we ended up here with Miss Ye." He carried the corpse to the window, then stopped. "I've disturbed you tonight, Miss. I'll repay your kindness another day."

Ye Wanning wanted to say no, she wished no one knew about this. The spy Xie Bohuai had arrested must be someone of great importance. It wouldn't look good for a young woman like her to have two men break into her room in the middle of the night; if word got out, it wouldn't do her any good.

Xie Bohuai came quickly and left quickly.

After a while, Ye Wanning calmed down and called Yunzhi to help clean the floor.

Yunzhi was terrified when she learned that Lord Xie had just killed someone in the young lady's room. "That Lord Xie is terrifying; he truly lives up to his name as a living Yama. Thankfully, the young lady is alright, but will he help cover this up?"

Thinking of Xie Bohuai's parting words, Ye Wanning sighed, "Probably."

"From now on, I will still sleep in the outer room and guard you. This spy deserves to die. Why did he have to hide in your boudoir when he could hide anywhere else?" The more Yunzhi spoke, the angrier she became. Seeing that her mistress's undergarments were dirty, she silently prayed that Lord Xie would not tell anyone.

That night, Ye Wanning slept very restlessly.

She dreamt that Xie Bohuai led his troops into battle, finally standing atop a mountain of corpses, covered in blood yet refusing to lay down his sword. Above him, a flock of vultures circled, eager to devour the bodies. The oppressive atmosphere woke her up, leaving her gasping for breath.

Yunzhi brought in tea. "Did you have a nightmare, young lady?"

"It's nothing, I'll be fine after a while." Ye Wanning finished half a cup of tea before she felt a little better.

The household affairs of the Ye family were all managed by Ye Wanning's sister-in-law, Lin. Lin was gentle in nature, but fortunately, the Ye family was not large, so it was relatively easy to manage.

When Ye Wanning went to pay her respects to her grandmother, she happened to meet Madam Lin with her daughter, Xuan'er. Xuan'er was only three years old, a beautiful little girl, and she smiled when she saw Ye Wanning.

"Let your aunt hold her and see if Xuan'er has lost weight." Ye Wanning picked up her niece and they went into her grandmother's main room together.

Grandmother was still washing up when Ye Wanning sat with Madam Lin. Madam Lin smiled and talked about Ye Wanning's dowry.

"Although Mother has made arrangements for you, younger sister, Zhou Yu is different now. Your elder brother and I have discussed it, and we'll take another eight hundred taels from our household as part of your dowry." Madam Lin spoke gently, her face beaming with smiles. This eight hundred taels was from her dowry. Her younger sisters in the family were all kind people, especially Wan Ning, who had helped her a lot when she was managing the household. She wanted to help her sister-in-law.

Ye Wanning immediately understood what was going on. Her elder brother was only a minor official of the sixth rank, and he had already contributed enough to the family over the years. How could she possibly use her sister-in-law's dowry? "I appreciate my brother and sister-in-law's kindness, but the dowry given by my mother is enough for me. Zhou Lang is not the kind of mercenary person. I cannot accept this eight hundred taels of silver."

"Your older brother and I have both agreed..."

“I know you feel sorry for me, but life is something we have to manage ourselves. We’re family, so let’s not stand on ceremony. We all know what’s going on in the family. When I got married, my sister-in-law gave me eight hundred taels of silver. When my second brother and my sisters get married, will my sister-in-law have any left?” Ye Wanning put Xuan’er down and took her sister-in-law’s hand. “Besides, you all know the Zhou family’s situation. If you bring too much dowry, people will say that Zhou Lang is a freeloader.”

With many siblings in the family, Lin was able to scrape together 800 taels, which was already a great achievement, and she couldn't come up with anything else.

She was thinking that her husband's only sibling was his younger sister, so it was normal for her to give him a little more.

Hearing Wan Ning's concern for her, Madam Lin felt distressed. Their Ye family had once been prosperous, but it was ultimately because she was not good at managing money and had no way to make money grow, which made life increasingly difficult.

As the two were talking, Ye Wanyu and her sisters arrived. Lin Shi couldn't bring up the dowry again, so they all had breakfast together. Ye Mingyue then mysteriously pulled Ye Wanning out the door.

"I found a few brothers and told them about Zhou Yu using the Lin family's monthly allowance. Doesn't he pride himself on being high and mighty? He goes to the bookstore every month to copy calligraphy and give it away. I specially arranged for someone to do this today. Just get ready to watch the show, little sister." Ye Mingyue raised his eyebrows with a grin, looking forward to it.

Ye Wanning put on a veil and followed her brother to the bookstore's private room. Not long after, she heard laughter coming from downstairs.

Through the crack in the wooden window, she saw that as soon as Zhou Yu sat down, several people surrounded him. Ye Wanning recognized two of them; they were her second brother's friends, the playboys her eldest brother had mentioned.

"Zhou Hanlin has such refined tastes, he sends out invitations every month. You are so lucky to have a family like the Lin family as your in-laws."

Zhou Yu looked up, puzzled.

"Hey, I heard that the Lin family has been giving you a monthly allowance since you arrived in the capital. No wonder you never lack money. I'm so envious of you. Miss Lin is beautiful and can also help the Zhou family. A fiancée like that is hard to find even with a lantern."

They were speaking loudly, which attracted the attention of other curious onlookers.

Everyone knew that Zhou Yu had stayed at the Lin family's place and that the Lin family had been helping Zhou Yu, but they didn't know the specifics of how they helped or how much money they had given.

Now that Zhou Yu has become the top scholar in the imperial examination, he is a prominent figure in the capital. Everyone wants to hear some interesting stories about his secret dealings with the Lin family.

Zhou Yu's face immediately turned red. He usually wanted to establish the image of a noble scholar and always presented himself as someone who would not accept charity. Now, being told in public that he was living off the Lin family's monthly allowance was tantamount to saying that he was a gigolo.

"Brother Jin, where did you hear such nonsense? The Lin family has been kind to me, but to study and pass the imperial examinations, I still have to work hard myself." This means that he owes his success mainly to himself.

Jin Ziguan and the others were all considered good-for-nothing playboys in the eyes of the world, and were often compared to Zhou Yu. Today, they were all eager to embarrass Zhou Yu. Especially Jin Ziguan, whose father was Zhou Yu's colleague. Whenever he saw him, his father would shake his head and sigh, using Zhou Yu to belittle him.

“Zhou Hanlin is right, but you live off the Lin family. Without the Lin family, you wouldn’t be able to find a famous teacher and you’d have to worry about making a living. It would take a lot of effort. Don’t be angry. I’m just envious of you and wish I had the chance to be a kept man.” Jin Ziguan chuckled.

There are some things that everyone understands, but no one will say them to your face, to save face for you. To speak so directly, like Jin Ziguan said, is clearly picking a fight.

But everyone was curious and wanted to hear more from Jin Ziguan, while also feeling that Jin Ziguan was disrespectful to scholars and was indeed a spoiled brat.

Zhou Yu lowered her expression and asked, "Jin Ziguan, what do you mean?"

"Calm down. I'm just a spoiled brat with no official rank. I'm just a bit gossipy. What could I possibly mean?" Having achieved his goal, Jin Ziguan turned and left. "Everyone, disperse. We're not as capable as Zhou Hanlin. We can't learn his skills by following him. My father has declared that even if I starve to death, I'm not allowed to covet women's money."

"Jin Ziguan!" Zhou Yu blushed from his cheeks to his neck. Although the waiter tried to smooth things over and told him not to take it to heart, so many people had heard him take the Lin family's monthly allowance. How could he shut everyone up?

Unable to stay any longer, Zhou Yu could only uphold the pride of a scholar, leaving behind the words, "Fine, I won't bother with such a spoiled brat," and gritting his teeth as he left.

Ye Mingyue, watching from the second floor, thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle and chuckled as he boasted to his sister, "My brother knows how to talk, right? Look at Zhou Yu's face, it's redder than a monkey's bottom! I guarantee, within two days, this story will be all over the capital!"