Yeh Yuqi expected to see Mrs. Gu leave, and immediately returned to the inner room to ask Ye Zhuo about what had just happened. He was not present earlier, firstly because Mrs. Gu was a female guest, and secondly because he trusted Ye Zhuo wholeheartedly, believing that she would definitely handle the matter perfectly. At this moment, after hearing Ye Zhuo's words, he immediately nodded in approval, putting his mind at ease.

  After a while, Mrs. Guo returned with Qiuyue, and this time, Ye Yiqi did not avoid her. Earlier, pretending to be unaware was one thing, but now that he knew about the matter, if he still didn't show up, it would make people look down on Ye Zhuo. Now, he had to back up Ye Zhuo.

  Mrs. Gu saw Ye Yuqi was also present, greeted him and then sat down. However, she didn't rush to speak, instead took the teacup and slowly sipped a few mouthfuls of tea. Seeing Ye Zhuo's face still wore a smile, quietly sitting there without urging her, she nodded in satisfaction before speaking: "Just now, I repeated your words verbatim to Nie Gongzi."

  She paused and glanced at Ye Zhuo: "Nie Gongzi didn't say anything, but looked at Nie Shifu and asked him what he meant. Nie Shifu seemed to be very angry after hearing your last sentence, saying that since you are so confident and made such a statement, he would like to try it out with you, but he is doing it in his personal capacity, and the win or loss has nothing to do with the Nie family."

  "This reply was within Ye Zhen's expectations. She nodded: "I don't know when the trial will be scheduled, and where it will take place?""

  Mrs. Guo praised Ye Zhen more and more, saying: "Three days later at Si time, at the Guo family's house by Lüdang Lake. At that time, I will send a carriage to pick up Miss Ye."

  "It's a trouble for Mrs. Gu then." Ye Zhuo stood up and gave her a salute.

  "Miss Ye is going to take on the challenge?" Mrs. Gu asked, turning her head to glance at Ye Yuqi again. "Don't you need to discuss it with your grandfather first?"

  Ye Zhuo hadn't spoken yet, but Ye Yuqi waved her hand and said, "There's no need to discuss it further. Whenever my family encounters a big problem, it's always my granddaughter's idea that turns the crisis into safety. So, her meaning is my meaning. Since Master Nie insists on competing, then we'll accept this challenge."

  Mrs. Gu nodded in agreement with Ye Yuqi's words and stood up, saying: "Alright, let's do it that way. Three days later, I'll be waiting for Miss Ye's arrival at my home." She also said, "Don't worry, Mr. Nie has promised that regardless of the outcome, the Nie family won't blame Miss Ye or take their anger out on Yu Zhuo Fang. Please don't worry, Old Master Ye and Miss Ye."

  Yue Yuxi let out a sigh of relief and said: "That's good, that's good."

  After sending Mrs. Gu out the door, Ye Zhuo finally had a chance to ask Qiu Yue: "Did Mrs. Gu really repeat my words verbatim in the past?"

  "Yes. However, when she said it, she emphasized the girl's last sentence and showed a very disdainful attitude towards Nie Shifu, which finally provoked Nie Shifu to jump up and say that he must compete with the girl."

  Ye Yuxiu's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this: "Why does it seem like Mrs. Gu is eager for you to fight with Nie Shifu? Who exactly is she? What does she want?"

  Ye Zhuo gazed out of the window at the swaying bamboo trees in a trance, and only after a while did she withdraw her gaze, smiling faintly: "..."

  "Having a falling out with the Nie family?" Ye Yuxiu was shocked upon hearing this. "The Nie family's power is overwhelming, who would dare to be at odds with them?"

  Ye Zhuo didn't say another word. In the eyes of the people in Nanshan Town, this Nie family was like heaven, with the ability to cover up the sky and the sun. But in the eyes of the powerful officials in the capital, if the Nie family wasn't related to the Crown Prince, they would just be a group of artisans. And this Mrs. Gu, obviously came from the capital. If she wasn't on good terms with the Nie family, it was normal for her to want to watch the Nie family's show out of boredom.

  "Look, should we talk about this with your stepfather?" Ye Yuqi asked again.

  Ye Chou shook his head: "No need. Spreading this out won't be beneficial to anyone. The fewer people who know, the better."

  "You're still being cautious." Ye Yuqi sighed and fell silent.

  By the time they reached Chapter 131, it was warm and quiet, with a beautiful landscape. The house didn't take up much land, only about three or four mu, and only two buildings were built. The rest of the place was either used to bring in running water, plant flowers, grass, and trees, or build pavilions and kiosks, all arranged in a very elegant way. Even Ye Zhuo, who had seen the big world before, couldn't help but praise it highly, thinking that when he had money, he would also come here to build a house and arrange it like this.

  Zhu Po led them through the gate, along a path lined with flowering trees, through an archway, and into a large hall. At this time, it was still early, and none of the Nie family members had arrived yet, but Mrs. Gu was already seated.

  She saw Ye Zhuo and Ye Yuqi coming, and she hurriedly welcomed them. She asked someone to serve good tea to Ye Yuqi, and then took Ye Zhuo to take a look at the two side rooms, saying: "After a while, you will be carving separately here, with the time limit of one incense stick. Miss Ye, do you have any objections? If so, please speak up. I'll help if I can. We're all women, and it's really not easy for us to get things done."

  Ye Zhuo pondered the intention behind Mrs. Gu's friendly gesture, smiling as she said: "It turns out someone went to Yu Zhuo Fang to make trouble for me. I brought Autumn Moon to the room where you sat that day and carved two jade carvings. Later, people kept suspecting that those carvings weren't made by me. Today, competing with Master Nie, I don't want to be doubted again. Why don't we both carve in the main hall, in front of everyone? What do you think, Mrs. Gu?"

  Mrs. Gu looked at Ye Zhuo deeply and nodded: "If the Nie family agrees, I naturally have no problem."

  As they were speaking, an old woman came to report that the Nie family had arrived.

  "Please come in," said Mrs. Gu. After saying this, she not only didn't go out to greet them, but instead walked back into the hall and sat down on the main seat. It wasn't until Nie Bowen, Nie Boyi, and Du Haoran entered the hall with their servants that she slightly inclined her head and smiled, "Everyone's here? Please sit down." She then called out, "Ah Yuan, serve tea."

  Ye Yiqi was grateful for Nie Bowen and Du Haoran's help to the Ye family last time, and warmly greeted them with enthusiasm.

  Everyone exchanged greetings, chatted for a few words, and Nie Bowen spoke up: "I think Mrs. Gu has something to attend to later, so I don't dare take up too much of her time. Let's get started now."

  "Alright, let's begin." Mrs. Gu turned her head and glanced at the maid named Ah Yuan, who clapped her hands, and two little maids came out from inside carrying two identical brocade boxes.

  "Mrs. Gu pointed to the two brocade boxes and said, 'Inside these boxes are two pieces of jade material that no one has ever seen before. Miss Ye arrived half a stick of incense earlier than you all, so I had Master Nie choose first to avoid any suspicion that I showed her the jade material. Whichever box he chose will be used for carving. To prevent cheating, the competition will take place right here in this hall, and the time limit is one stick of incense. Do any of you have any objections?"

  Nie Boyu furrowed his brow: "Can't Mrs. Gu find two rooms for us to carve separately?" In his opinion, the Nie family's carving techniques were extremely valuable, and although it was impossible to learn everything from just a few glances, letting others see them was not good in the end.

  Madam Gu looked at him with a seemingly amused yet serious expression: "Isn't Master Nie afraid that I have a skilled jade carver hidden in the house, helping Miss Ye cheat to win against you?"

  Nie Bao's face turned red, he opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything, and instead turned to look at Nie Bao Wen.

  Before Nie Bowen could speak, Mrs. Guo said calmly: "How about this? I'll find a room, Master Nie and Miss Ye each bring their own servants in, and the two of you share one room to carve. This way, your carving techniques won't be seen by outsiders, and you can also prevent each other from cheating. What do you think?"

  "This is for the best." Nie Bao answered hastily. Although this way, he had to carve in front of Ye Zhuo, but Ye Zhuo was too busy to even look at him carving. So, it wasn't like he was afraid that Ye Zhuo would learn his techniques.

  Mrs. Gu nodded and was about to instruct Ah-yuan to bring up the brocade box for Nie Bo to choose from, when a servant woman rushed in and reported: "Madam, County Magistrate Yuan of Nanshan County and the father of Minister of Personnel Feng, Old Master Feng, request an audience."

  As soon as these words came out, several people in the house changed their faces.

  Director Yuan, naturally refers to Yuan Chaolin; and that old man Feng, his son is the one who graduated from Nan Shan Academy and now serves as the Minister of Personnel in the imperial court, he is the most powerful person in Nan Shan Town besides Nie's family. This represents the two most prestigious people from both official and civilian sides coming together, and using the words "requesting an audience" can only explain one thing, that is, this Mrs. Gu has a status far beyond ordinary people.

  "How did they come?" Mrs. Gu frowned, but still said, "Please come in."

  Nie Bowen saw the shadow of his mother-in-law quickly disappear at the door, and without guessing the identity of Mrs. Gu, he said: "Mrs. Gu... Mrs. Gu, this trial is just a private discussion between my brother and Ye girl, if it's known to others and involves the two family workshops, it's really not good. What do you think? Should we arrange another place for Mrs. Gu to receive Mr. Yuan and Old Lady Feng?"

  "This...," Mrs. Gu's face showed a difficult expression, "This house of mine is only two sections, the back section is not suitable for Mr. Nie to enter. Moreover, I am a woman living alone in this house, if today I hide Mr. Nie and others in the house, and accidentally let Lord Yuan and Old Lady Feng and the servants know, my reputation will be ruined. Therefore, please forgive me, I cannot satisfy Mr. Nie's request."

  She continued, "Actually, Lord Yuan and Old Man Feng are both people of status, and their relationship with the Nie family should be good. Even if they knew about this matter, they absolutely wouldn't spread rumors. We're just having a jade carving competition, not doing anything shameful, so why hide? Why don't we invite them to come and be judges instead? What does Young Master Nie think?"

  The footsteps outside had gone from far to near, and were now almost at the door. Nie Bowen smiled wryly and cupped his hands together, saying: "It's all up to Madame." Today's events seemed to have fallen into Madame Gu's carefully laid trap. At this point, he felt that no matter what he did, it was already too late.

  "Junior official Yuan Chaolin (commoner Feng Chengzeng) requests an audience with the Jade Maiden." Suddenly, two loud voices came from outside the door, and then two people stepped inside and knelt down, kowtowing three times to the superior.

  "Princess Jade?" Nie Bowen was shocked and stood up from his seat. Not just him, everyone else also stood up, looking at Mrs. Gu in astonishment, then under Nie Bowen's lead, they knelt down one after another: "Greetings to Princess Jade."

  "Everyone get up. Outside, there is no Yu Fei Niang Niang, only Master Gu." Madam Gu raised her hand slightly.

  "Master Gu?" Ye Zhu's eyebrows slightly furrowed. She had heard of Yu Fei, this person. In her past life, she was the daughter of a noble family and often entered the imperial palace. She had met all sorts of consorts, big and small, but this Yu Fei was always secluded in a corner of the palace, never seeing outsiders. But the title "Master Gu" seemed familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

  "Ah!" She almost let out a soft cry, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She remembered that when Autumn Moon introduced her to Jade Carving, she had mentioned a very skilled female jade carver named Gu Chen, who was as famous as Nie Da Shi in the jade carving world. Because her style of carving was different from the Nie family's, and she was based in the capital city, people referred to her school as the Northern School.

  But Master Gu, why is it Yu Fei again? And can the concubines in the imperial palace run around and wander all over the world at will? Also, why is she so enthusiastic about helping Zhang Luo and even promoting this competition between herself and the Nie family?

  Ye Zhuo raised her eyes and looked at Gu Chen, her heart full of surprise and doubt.

  Everyone stood up, Gu Chen said: "Let's sit down. If Mr. Yuan and Old Master Feng have no urgent business, let's sit for a while. Nie Shifu from Nie Family Lane wants to privately discuss jade carving skills with Ye Niang from Yu Zhuo Lane, let's watch their competition first."

  "Yes." Yuan Chaolin and Feng Chengzeng didn't have much to do, they just heard that Yu Fei was here, so they made an appointment to come and pay their respects. Seeing her say this now, who dared to have any opinions? After making some excuses, under Gu Chen's insistence, they sat down.

  (This chapter is 4,000 words. Thank you for the reward, I'm a lucky charm!) (Welcome your support, it's my greatest motivation.)

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