At this time, on a mountain slope not far from Nanyun City, several people were standing. Among them was a woman wearing a lotus green brocade with added flowers and foreign silk crane cloak, who was none other than Gu Chen. She gazed at Nanyun City in the distance for a long time without moving. It wasn't until the maids felt their feet had gone numb that she finally turned around and slowly walked down the mountain.

  Yingying looked at Gu Chen's face, which clearly had tear stains, and let out a light sigh. She had been following Gu Chen for over a decade, but had never been able to see through the thoughts of this imperial concubine. Although she was the emperor's most favored concubine, she did not want to be empress, nor did she want to be a favored concubine. Instead, she spent her days carving jade with some tools, making her fingers rougher than those of men. Most of the time, she was not in the palace, but rather traveling around, teaching jade carving skills and sightseeing. This time, coming to this small town on the southern border, she was full of thoughts, and for no reason at all, would stare blankly at a tree or a boat and shed tears, even though this place was clearly not her hometown. What's more, she, who had always been indifferent to fame and wealth, actually took the initiative to intervene in the political whirlpool of the two princes competing for the position of crown prince.

  Sakura felt more and more unable to understand her master.

  She quietly followed behind Gu Chen, walking slowly, and caught a glimpse of two figures coming this way. The guards who were guarding not far away immediately came forward, and soon they all arrived together. She hurriedly called out: "Your Highness, look, Gao Yang and Wen Yuan are back."

  Gu Dun looked up and saw two men wearing yellow-green clothes flying towards her. She stopped in her tracks, waiting for the arrival of the two men.

  Before long, Gao Yang and Wen Yuan arrived in front of her, knelt down and paid their respects: "Your subordinates pay their respects to Your Ladyship."

  "Get up." Gu Chen and Yan Yue said with a smile.

  The two thanked and stood up. Gao Yang bowed again and said, "Reporting to Your Ladyship, I followed your orders and investigated the background of that Jiang young master. It turns out he is the son of a horse merchant from a small town over a hundred miles away, whose father had once received kindness from the Xie family. This time, he was bought off by Xie Yunfeng to come to Nanshan Town and stir up trouble between Yu Zhu Fang and Nie Jia Fang. Because last time when investigating Ye Gu Niang's case, Your Ladyship had doubts about why Xie Yunfeng spent so much money and effort to harm Ye Gu Niang. I got hold of this handle and went to press Xie Yunfeng for an answer. He actually spoke very frankly, saying that he originally wanted to marry Ye Gu Niang because he saw her gamble on stones, guessing correctly every time, and even gambled out top-grade jade material from the raw stones she had chosen but couldn't afford to buy. He suspected that Ye Gu Niang possessed the ultimate stone-gambling skill. But because of her bad luck, he couldn't marry her as his wife. So he thought of a way to make the Ye family go bankrupt, forcing Ye Gu Niang to gamble on stones again. If confirmed that she was skilled at gambling on stones, then he would use another method to bring her into the Xie family."

  "Does he have the ultimate skill of Gambler's Stone?" Gu Chen furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, then raised his head and instructed, "Release the news that Xie Yunfeng bought off Jiang Gongzi to the Nie family. Let them deal with him."

  "Could..." Gao Yang hesitated for a moment, "Isn't the princess afraid that Xie Yunfeng will leak the news of Ye's ability to gamble on stones to the Nie family?"

  "It won't happen," Gu Chen said. "The reason Xie Jizong was exiled, although it's related to the Ye family, is still mainly due to Nie Bowei and Du Haoran. Xie Yunfeng hates them, so he provoked a conflict between the two families, wanting to watch from the sidelines as they fight each other. Even if the Nie family pressures him again, he won't let the Nie family produce another top-notch gambler like that, giving them wings."

  "Gao Yang bowed his head and made a fist: 'Your Majesty's wise judgment.'"

  Gu Dun nodded slightly and stopped talking, turning around to head down the mountain.

  Wen Yuan stood behind Gao Yang and saw Gu Chen wanting to leave. What's next, the princess hasn't given any orders yet.

  Gao Yang didn't even look at him, and pulled back his own sleeve. He bowed his head and waited for Gu Chen to walk far away before standing up straight and saying to Wen Yuan: "If there's something to do, the empress will naturally instruct us; if she doesn't instruct us, it means we should just watch and not move, and be at ease." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go." He quickly flew towards the direction of Nan Shan Town.

  At this time, Nie Bowen, who had not yet left Nanshan Town, received a letter sent by Ye Jia's little servant. After a moment of thought, he instructed his servant, Nie Yun: "Send a horse-drawn carriage to take her home and tell my mother that she is the new apprentice my father has just taken in, and have her arrange for her accommodation."

  "About Du Gongzi..." Nie Yun hesitated. He knew that his own young master had always been worried that Du Gongzi liked Ye Gu Niang and was unwilling to become the son-in-law of the Nie family.

  "This bunch of useless things, spending their days idly at home, eating and dressing for free, but when it comes to the crunch, they're good for nothing." Nie Bowen cursed in annoyance.

  Nie Yun lowered his head and remained silent, but the slightly raised eyebrows revealed his thoughts.

  He knew that the young master was scolding his uncle's cousin sister. But with the favored Miss Nie Wei Yue around, who dared to get close to Young Master Du? Didn't you see that Fifth Sister Nie Xuan Rui, who had spoken a few words with Young Master Du, was "accidentally" scalded on the hand by Big Sister?

  But he dare not say this even if you kill him.

  Nie Bowen thought of the slap that Du Haoran had given him when he came out, and his heart felt even more uncomfortable. He waved his hand and said, "Don't bother with Young Master Du, it's not something you can control anyway. Just make sure to take good care of Miss Ye for Madam."

  "Yes." Nie Yun saw that the young master had no other instructions, so he bowed and went out to order someone to prepare the carriage.

  In Ye's house, Guan was helping Ye Zhuo pack her things while chatting: "Why are you leaving in such a hurry? The new clothes I ordered from the tailor haven't been delivered yet. Why not wait another day? After all, Nie Gongzi hasn't sent anyone to rush us, has he? If you wear shabby clothes and people look down on you, what will you do?"

  Ye Zhuo smiled and said, "The spring clothes I'm wearing were made just last month, they're still brand new. In the past few days, when I saw Yu Fei Niangniang, didn't I wear them like this? And Yu Fei Niangniang didn't think I was shabby either. Besides, I went to Nie's house to learn a skill, not to compare beauty. If I dressed up so meticulously and ended up outdoing the girls of the Nie family, wouldn't that cause trouble?"

  Just as they were talking, Autumn Chrysanthemum shouted at the door: "Old lady, young lady, the mistress has arrived."

  As soon as the words fell, Zheng's wife walked in, followed by her newly bought maid Xiaohua.

  Zheng's wife had overheard the conversation between Ye Zhuo and Guan's wife earlier, so she reached out and took a package from Xiao He's hand, opening it to say: "I originally made several sets of clothes for Zhuo'er, today is just the right time to use them."

  Ye Zhuo looked at the clothes in her hand, which were extremely delicate and beautiful in terms of materials and embroidery. She felt a warmth in her heart. Scolding, "Mother, you should embroider your dowry, why make clothes for me?"

  Zheng's daughter was very strong-willed, and after moving to Qingyun Alley, she would only spend her own earned money. This time, except for the set of jewelry that Ye Zhuo gave her as a dowry, she refused to accept anything else from the Ye family's main house. Originally, the dowry money was not much, and the time was tight. She even spent money and time making clothes for Ye Zhuo, which shows that in her heart, her daughter was still the top priority.

  Zheng sighed, stroking his daughter Xiumei's hair and said: "When you arrive at the Nie family, be careful and don't let others bully you. If you're not comfortable staying there, come back. Our family doesn't expect to rely on you to rise to prominence; living a simple life isn't necessarily a bad thing."

  "Yes, yes, your mother said it, exactly what I wanted to say." Guan Shi hastily replied.

  Ye Zhuo raised his head and gave a smile to Guan Shi and Zheng Shi: "Yes. I remember."

  Such family members are what she wants as relatives. Always putting people's safety and happiness first, rather than just focusing on benefits and money.

  "Miss, Old Master is back. He's brought Nian Gongzi's servant, Nian Yun, who says he's here to escort you to the Nian residence." Qiuju reported as she entered.

  "Let's go."

  At this time, Autumn Moon also took a bundle and walked in. She wanted to follow Ye Zhen to Nie's house.

  Although Guan and Zheng were reluctant, they both had a very optimistic personality and knew that this was not the time for sentimentalism. They couldn't cry or drag their feet, adding to Ye Zhuo's troubles. Seeing Ye Zhuo get up, they silently followed her out.

  At this time, Ye Yuqi had already taken Nie Yun to the main hall. Seeing his granddaughter bring over her luggage, he was also extremely reluctant to part with her. He took out a jade pendant from his sleeve and stuffed it into Nie Yun's hand: "My family's Zhu'er has arrived at the Nie family. No one recognizes her. At that time, please ask Brother Nie to take care of her more. If she does anything wrong, please point it out to her."

  Nie Yun made all sorts of excuses, but finally, under the persuasion of Guan and Zheng, he accepted the jade pendant.

  Ye Zhuo's sharp eyes had already seen that the jade pendant was made from a piece of jade material that Yu Zhuo Fang had recently purchased at a high price, worth around one to two hundred taels, equivalent to Yu Zhuo Fang's monthly profit. This was because the old man was afraid she would be humiliated in the Nie family, so he spent a lot of money to bribe people for her sake.

  She only felt a sour nose and walked over to support Ye Yuqi's arm, calling out in a low voice: "Grandfather."

  Ye reached out his hand and patted her head: "When we arrive at Nie's house, study hard with Master Nie."

  "Uh-huh." Ye Zhuo nodded.

  "Alright, it's getting late, let's go. Don't keep Niu Xiaoge waiting."

  "No rush, no rush." Nie Yun had just received a gift equivalent to his annual salary, and he was in a great mood. He smiled and said, "Nan Yun City is not far away, as long as we enter the city before the gate closes, Ye Gongniang can do whatever she wants. We can wait for two or three hours, it's no big deal."

  "Can't let people wait, can we? Besides, there's nothing at home that needs her to worry about. It's better to set off early. Mr. Nie is also inseparable from Young Master Nie, and after sending you to the other family, she'll have to come back to attend to Mr. Nie."

  Ye Zhuo naturally wouldn't let Nie Yun wait. She knelt down and kowtowed to Ye Yuqi, Guan Shi, and Zheng Shi separately, then followed Nie Yun out the door, bringing Qiu Yue onto the Nie family's carriage. To Guan Shi, Zheng Shi, and Zhao Shi, who finally couldn't help but shed tears, she said: "When I get married, I'll definitely come back. This time I'm only gone for over 20 days, in the blink of an eye I'll be back. Don't worry about me."

  "Yes, you're like this, making Zhu'er worry." Ye Yuqi's eyes were red, but he was still comforting his old wife and others, and waved to Ye Zhuo: "Go, don't delay."

  The coachman received Nie Yun's signal, "driving" with a whip, the carriage moved forward slowly. Guan Shi and Zheng Shi followed the carriage for several steps, wanting to send it off again, but were persuaded by Ye Yuqi to come down.

  Nie Yun rode his horse behind the carriage, leaving Nanshan Town and heading straight for Nanyun City.

  Because they weren't in a hurry, the horse carriage moved at a moderate pace. Nie Yun had accepted Ye's bribe and thought that after Ye Zhuo became Old Master's personal disciple, her status would be higher than his own; besides, she was a woman, beautiful and with an extremely subtle relationship with Du Gongzi. No matter who she married in the future, her prospects were boundless. He treated Ye Zhuo with great care. Riding on horseback by the window, he introduced himself to Ye Zhuo: "The old master of the Nie family passed away many years ago. Now the most respected person at home is Old Lady, but she's not in good health and doesn't manage much. The whole household is managed by my wife. My son is the eldest son, and there's also a younger sister and brother below him: the elder sister is about the same age as Ye Gongzhu; the younger son is only ten years old this year. In the Nie Manor, apart from Old Lady and Master's family, there are also Master's personal disciples living in the front courtyard. However, among the twelve disciples, all of them have been sent to various places to become chief jade carvers after they finished their apprenticeship, except for the eleventh and twelfth disciples who live in the manor. The eleventh is named Zhang Ziqing, eighteen years old; the twelfth is Zhao Song, seventeen years old, both were top-notch players in the previous Jade Carving Competition. Since they haven't been with Master for long, Master hasn't assigned them any tasks yet."

  Ye Zhuo knew that the most outstanding and talented people in the Jade Carving Competition would be favored by Nie Zhongkun and taken as his personal disciples. The rest would all be taken in as apprentices by other jade carving masters of the Nie family. It seemed that Zhang Zi Qing and Zhao Song were both exceptionally outstanding.

  "Doesn't Master Nie have a female disciple?" she asked.

  "There isn't." Nie Yun shook his head and smiled, "Women's strength is not enough, those who learn jade carving are already rare, wanting to find someone as excellent as Ye Gongniang is simply impossible."

  Ye Zhuo's face showed a curious expression: "Is Master Du living in his own residence or is he staying at the Nie Manor?"

  Nie Yun looked at her with a deep meaning and smiled: "My young master moved to the front yard when he was ten years old, and Du Gongzi's courtyard is not far from my young master. The lady deliberately arranged for Du Gongzi to live in the house next to Gongzi's, treating him like a son."

  As they chatted along the way, Ye Zhuo gradually became familiar with the situation of Nie's family. Unconsciously, the horse carriage stopped in front of a mansion with high walls and vermilion gates.

  "Master Yun, you're back? You must be tired. Here, let me take the horse for you." A gatekeeper saw Nie Yun dismounting and hurried over.

  Nie Yun, as Nie Bowens personal attendant, still had a certain status among the lower-ranking servants in the Nie household. He tossed the reins to that groom and walked up to the carriage, calling out: "Miss Ye, we've arrived."

  Ye Zhuo lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, then got down from the carriage with Qiuxue's support.

  The gatekeeper turned around and handed the reins over to a servant in the stable, looked at Ye Zhuo and asked: "Master Yun, who is this young lady?"

  "Take a good look, this is the old master's new apprentice, surname Ye. From now on, when Miss Ye enters and exits the Nie residence, don't be blind, block her outside the mansion."

  This chapter is 4,000 words long. Thank you to Qin Mu Jin for the fragrant sachet reward, thank you to Guang Han Gong Zhu a, dorothies, and He Xi for the peace amulet rewards, and thank you to Kuai Le Du Shu 123, Jia Yi Jia You, bonniekong, Qing Shui Bing Xue, and He Xi for the pink tickets! (Welcome your support, it's my greatest motivation.)

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