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

Chapter 181 Deep love and great righteousness

Inside the carriage, Ye Wanning took a deep breath. There had to be a resolution eventually, but not now.

It's too late. Who knows who might see it? Then I'll be unable to defend myself.

“Lord Zhao, we’re not exactly old acquaintances, there’s really no need to make such a fuss,” Ye Wanning sighed.

“How can it not count? Back then you were…” Zhao Chuan hadn’t finished speaking when he heard the sound of horses’ hooves in the distance. He changed his mind and said, “I will come to visit you tomorrow. If you don’t see me, you know my temperament.”

Before the carriage arrived, Zhao Chuan first entered a nearby alley, still mindful of Ye Wanning's reputation.

Ye Wanning was very upset after Zhao Chuan's antics. In the beginning, she didn't want to get entangled with Zhao Chuan, let alone now.

The carriage hurriedly returned to the Xie residence, Ye Wanning's brows furrowed the entire time.

When Yunzhi brought in the hot water, she closed the door as she did so. "Madam," she said, "Zhezhu asked if we should send someone to inquire about the master's opinion. If Zhao Chuan insists on bothering you, we can use some means to drive him out of the capital."

Zhe Zhu didn't know that Ye Wanning and Zhao Chuan knew each other before, but given today's situation, he could guess that the two had known each other before.

“Zhao Chuan is very stubborn; simply driving him away won't solve the problem,” Ye Wanning sighed. “He's really a headache. I'll wait for him to come tomorrow and then make him give up. Yunzhi, what do you think he likes about me?”

Appearance?

Even the most beautiful face will grow old eventually.

But Zhao Chuan was very stubborn and kept pestering him.

"Madam is young and beautiful. Most men in the world covet the beauty of a woman, and Zhao Chuan must be one of them." Yunzhi said, sounding quite annoyed when she talked about Zhao Chuan.

"Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's wait for him to come tomorrow." Ye Wanning told Yunzhi to go and rest first.

As dawn broke, Zhao Chuan arrived the next morning.

His eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating he hadn't slept all night.

Zhe Zhu led his men to the backyard, stepped forward and said to the lady, "I'm just a short distance away. If you need anything, just give me a shout."

Ye Wanning left Yunzhi behind and waited for Zhezhu to leave before looking at Zhao Chuan. "Lord Zhao, I told you before that I don't want to marry you. I never made any promises to you, nor have I had any dealings with you. I have nothing to say to you. So please have some self-respect. From now on, let's pretend we don't know each other and treat each other as strangers."

"But back then, you said you would never remarry and that you were deeply devoted to your deceased husband. Why did you change your mind when it came to Xie Bohuai? Did he threaten you to marry him?" Zhao Chuan had already inquired and everyone in the capital knew that Xie Bohuai had even opened a coffin and dug up a grave for Ye Wanning, and that he was very fond of her. "If he forced you, I will do everything in my power to help you escape this misery."

Ye Wanning said no, “My elder brother and my husband have known each other for a long time, and we are not ordinary strangers. Moreover, my husband is in a high position and has power, and he can have whatever kind of person he wants, so why force me? Lord Zhao, I am doing this voluntarily.”

"Why?" Hearing Ye Wanning say it was voluntary, his defenses suddenly crumbled. "Why would you be willing to marry him?"

"This is my business. You just need to know that my husband and I are deeply in love," Ye Wanning said coldly.

Zhezhu, standing some distance away, was somewhat surprised to hear the words "deep affection and loyalty." Normally, the lady and the master were always very polite to each other, barely more than courteous. In truth, at this distance, most people couldn't hear conversations in the pavilion, but he had exceptionally good hearing.

The phrase "deep affection and profound loyalty" weighed heavily on Zhao Chuan's heart like a mountain.

He almost blurted out that he was better than Xie Bohuai in every way, but the words caught in his throat because Xie Bohuai seemed to be better than him in every way.

In terms of official rank, Xie Bohuai is already the regent, a figure above all others. In terms of appearance, Xie Bohuai is indeed quite handsome. Needless to say, his wealth is immense; Xie Bohuai now wields unparalleled power and can have as much money as he desires.

Zhao Chuan is inferior to him in every way.

"So it turns out I didn't understand you." Zhao Chuan shook his head.

Ye Wanning assumed Zhao Chuan thought she was vain and only married Xie Bohuai for power, which was why he said those things. But she didn't want to explain anymore; as long as she could make Zhao Chuan give up, she didn't care what he thought.

"Lord Zhao, now that things have come to this, please forget the past. Now that you have achieved fame and success, you can find another good wife and live a good life from now on." Ye Wanning had said enough and gestured for Yunzhi to see the guest out.

Zhao Chuan didn't move. "Ye family, if one day I also hold a high position and wield great power, and I am above ten thousand others, will you look up to me?"

"From now on, whether you rise to a high position or return to your hometown to farm, I won't care. There's no such thing as valuing you more or less; you're not important in my life, so I won't pay attention to you. To put it bluntly, I just hope we never see each other again." Ye Wanning's words were the most ruthless, leaving Zhao Chuan with no hope whatsoever.

When Zhao Chuan walked out of the Xie residence, he was distraught. He laughed self-deprecatingly, then spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

He thought to himself, "One day, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with Xie Bohuai." Before he fainted, Zhao Chuan had this thought in his mind.

Meanwhile, Xie Bohuai and Minister Zhou had arrived at Xintian in Huaizhou. Normally, the rice seedlings would have been planted some time ago, but the fields were mostly empty and no one was cultivating them.

Minister Zhou found a passing farmer and asked, "Young man, why are all the fields here left uncultivated?"

"Who can afford to grow this? This place... You must be from out of town, right? I advise you not to be curious, just go do what you're supposed to do." The young man passing by looked around, seemingly afraid of being seen, and quickly ran away.

Minister Zhou wanted to ask someone else, but Xie Bohuai stopped him, saying, "It's no use asking anyone else."

How will you know why if you don't ask?

"We look like outsiders, who would trust us?" Xie Bohuai mocked without reservation. "Your Excellency is getting old, hasn't it been a long time since you've returned to your hometown?"

"You!" Minister Zhou glared at Xie Bohuai. "Fine, fine, then you do it yourself. I want to see how you're going to figure this out!"

Xie Bohuai didn't speak, but instead led Minister Zhou to a nearby village. They randomly entered a courtyard and said, "Hello, we're just passing through. Could we exchange two copper coins for some food?"

The old woman in the courtyard saw the copper coins and her eyes lit up instantly, but they quickly dimmed again. "I'm really sorry, my family only has some wild vegetables, it's not worth these two copper coins."

"It's alright, we haven't eaten all day and we're exhausted from traveling. Wild vegetables will do for us." Xie Bohuai handed over the copper coin. The old woman hesitated for a moment, but then took it and happily said that she would cook wild vegetables for them.

Qingshan looked around the courtyard and returned, saying, "There are three rooms in total, and there's only one bag of grain in the granary."

Xie Bohuai grunted in agreement, and when the old woman brought over a pot of boiled wild vegetables, he began to eat heartily.

Minister Zhou hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Xie Bohuai really looked very hungry, he finally picked up his chopsticks. However, the wild vegetables were unsalted and unoiled, making them quite bland and unpalatable. After a few bites, he turned to look at Xie Bohuai, who had already eaten quite a bit. He thought to himself that Xie Bohuai was quite capable, managing to endure this.

Soon, the pot of wild vegetables was empty. The old woman looked embarrassed as she watched Xie Bohuai drink the soup, "Is it not enough?"

"That's enough, thank you. I have a question for you, how do I get to Peach Blossom Village?" Xie Bohuai asked.

"You mean Peach Blossom Village, north of Huai Mountain? It takes seven or eight hours to get there. From our village, head north, and at the first fork in the road, take the one to the west. Then cross two more hills to get there," the old woman said.

Xie Bohuai looked troubled and said, "Does that mean we can't get there today?"

The old woman said yes, and then asked them what they were going to do.

"I'm going to visit my sister who married far away. She's been married for five years and we haven't heard from her. My father and I are worried about her and want to go see her."

While Xie Bohuai was speaking, Minister Zhou thought to himself that this man was really good at lying, able to fabricate such a lie without changing his expression.

The old woman then regarded Xie Bohuai and his group as a father and his two sons, seeing that they were getting along well. At this moment, her husband and son returned, and she went over to talk to them about the two copper coins.

The old man scolded the old woman for being greedy and for not accepting copper coins. Xie Bohuai insisted that it was right to give them and asked if he could stay for the night. The old man immediately agreed, thus establishing a good relationship.

In the afternoon, Xie Bohuai and Qingshan helped the family chop firewood and build a wall. They worked all afternoon, and when it was time for dinner, Xie Bohuai casually said, "I see that none of you have gone to the fields. Shouldn't you be out in the fields tending to the crops at this time of year?"

"Hmph, where do we have land to cultivate? Our original land was washed away by a flash flood, and the county magistrate led the laborers to dig canals and reclaim wasteland. We thought we had met a good official, but in the end, we are required to pay additional taxes on the new land that was originally our own. Two taels of silver per mu of good land, how can an ordinary farming family afford that?"

"Old man," the old woman gestured for the man to stop talking, fearing that someone might overhear.

"What are you doing? This is my own home. Do you expect me to hold my breath here?" The old man snorted, ignoring the old woman's reminder, and continued, "Not only do we have to pay taxes to buy back the original farmland, but we also have to pay money to buy the new farmland on both sides of the river for three years. It's not like it belongs to us just because we buy it. They say it's managed by an official surnamed Meng. Some people are dissatisfied and want to take back their land, but they get beaten up instead. We ordinary people can't fight against officials. So, those who can't afford it can only watch their land sit empty."

The old man got even angrier when he heard this, saying that the government would rather leave the fields empty than collect less tax.

Moreover, when the irrigation canals were being dug, every household contributed people as corvée labor, which they were employed for free at the time. In the end, however, once the fields were dug, they were forced to pay to buy them back and cultivate them.

At this moment, Minister Zhou couldn't help but ask, "Just who is this man surnamed Meng? How does he have such great power that he can control everything with one hand?"

"How would we know? We only heard that he has connections in the capital. He must have someone protecting him, otherwise how could he have such great abilities?" The old man realized he had said too much. "It's getting late, let's get some rest. We farmers don't have the habit of lighting lamps, and oil is expensive these days."

Minister Zhou wanted to ask more questions, but Xie Bohuai held his arm down.

Back inside, Xie Bohuai said, "If we ask again, people will start to get suspicious."

"People say it's because of connections in the capital," Minister Zhou said mockingly, looking at Xie Bohuai.

Xie Bohuai didn't argue with Minister Zhou. "Go to sleep early. We should meet Meng Feichi tomorrow."