Her hands couldn't move, so she used her feet to kick. But Qiu Ju had already reacted and stepped forward, hugging her waist and pulling her backward with all his might, making her kick into thin air. The woman couldn't hit or kick, and the words from her mouth became even more vicious.

  Ye Zhuo listened to her scolding and carefully examined her for a while, then exclaimed in surprise: "Gong Shi?"

  That woman heard these two words, the scolding words in her mouth stopped abruptly, tears gushed out, her body softened, and she sat down on the ground with a thud, pounding the ground with her hands, wailing loudly: "Ye Zhuo you little slut, you owe me my father, you owe me my son. You owe me my father, you owe me my son..."

  "Is this Gong's?" Guan heard these words and hastily walked closer, looking at the woman sitting on the ground with a face full of surprise.

  The former Gong Shi, though not very beautiful, was not ugly either. At the prime of her youth, adorned with elegant and beautiful clothes, she still looked pleasing to the eye. However, the woman sitting on the ground now wore a coarse brown linen garment like those worn by servants who did rough work. Her hair was carelessly tied up with a piece of cloth, but it had already become disheveled from her struggles. What was most astonishing was that her face was gaunt to an extreme degree, the bones of her cheeks protruding early on, and there was even a scar at the corner of her left mouth. Her complexion was as pale as paper. If one didn't look carefully, it would be hard to recognize this as Gong Shi.

  Miss Guan was about to speak when a woman's voice suddenly came from the gate: "Old Lady Ye, what's going on here?"

  Guan and Ye Zhuo looked up to see Yang Jianxu's stepmother, Pan Shi, walking in from the open gate with two daughters-in-law and a group of slaves. Although she had a smile on her face, her eyes were sizing up the humble courtyard of the Ye family. Looking again at Gong Shi crying and throwing a tantrum on the ground, her eyes were filled with disdain and disgust.

  Yang Jianxiu's parents are still alive, so even if he is dissatisfied with them, he cannot avoid them in this matter of marriage. Therefore, when sending the betrothal gifts, Yang Shen and his wife Pan had gone to Zheng's residence in Qingyun Alley once before. And Ye Yuqi and Guan as Zheng's elders had received Yang's family together with Zheng Pengju and Liu, so they had met each other. At that time, Zheng said in front of everyone that she would entrust the marriage matters to Zheng. So Pan came today to discuss some matters related to the wedding.

  Miss Guan had long heard that Mrs. Pan was selfish and narrow-minded, and she had a bad impression of her the last time they met. This time, seeing her bump into this situation without saying anything to get on the carriage to avoid it, and instead rushing in straightly, she was extremely displeased in her heart, and said lightly: "Madam Yang is coming. Why didn't you send someone to deliver a card to announce? Those who know say that our two families have a good relationship, and we don't need to be formal; those who don't know will think that Madam Yang doesn't understand the etiquette of visiting as a guest."

  Madam Pan didn't expect Madam Guan's words to be so sharp. However, she had never agreed with Yang Jianxu marrying Zheng Shi, and instead wanted to marry him off to one of her own relatives. But Yang Jianxu had grown up and become an official for over a decade, and was no longer someone she could control. This marriage was something she couldn't stop even if she disagreed. As a result, she harbored resentment towards Zheng Shi, and by extension, looked down on Guan Shi and Liu Shi. At this moment, being rebuked by Guan Shi, she didn't leave any face for her, sneering as she said: "Delivering the wedding invitation? That's the custom of our scholarly and official families, I didn't expect Old Lady Ye to know about it too. I was worried that you people from the artisan and merchant classes wouldn't be used to this sort of thing. Later on, when the invitation is written, Old Lady Ye won't even be able to read what's on it, and will have to go outside to ask someone to read it for her, isn't that a hassle? So I came myself."

  After finishing speaking, she looked at Ye Zhen and climbed up to tear off the leaves. Gong's family said: "Old Lady Ye doesn't need to bother with us, wait until you've dealt with this matter before talking."

  At this time, Guan's family couldn't care about her anymore. Gong's family rushed towards Ye Zhuo like a madman, with those two pairs of long-fingernailed hands scratching straight at Ye Zhuo's face. It seemed as if she wanted to disfigure Ye Zhuo. How could she bear to hurt her own precious granddaughter? She didn't care about age or status anymore and hurriedly went forward to help Qiuju stop Gong's family.

  Pan's family was in front, and Ye Zhuo didn't want to let her watch the excitement. Seeing Gong's rush over, she didn't dodge or evade, raised her hand and gave a slap, "pa" sound crisp, Gong's face instantly appeared five fingerprints, feet also stumbled for a moment, Qiuju and Guan's family quickly pressed her down firmly, while Qiuyue also took the rope to tie her up randomly.

  Gong didn't struggle, but with great force spat a mouthful of blood and saliva at Ye Zhuo, cursing unclearly: "Ye Zhuo you little prostitute, you're so young yet you go around seducing men, do you have any shame? Seduction isn't enough for you, you also collude with men to scheme against others, setting traps that lead to families being torn apart and people dying. You are despicable, shameless, vicious and poisonous. I curse you to not die a good death, and not only will you die a bad death but you'll also drag everyone around you down to hell with you, forever unable to turn over...

  Guan's brow furrowed and he shouted loudly: "Yu Sao, bring a cloth to gag her mouth, then send her to see the official."

  "Hahaha……" Gong was not only unafraid, but instead threw her head back and laughed loudly, "What's wrong? You dare to do it but don't dare to listen? Ye Zhuo, you little prostitute, at such a young age, you're so vicious. What did I ever do to you that you want me dead? My conversation with my cousin in the house has nothing to do with you, why do you need to send someone to catch us in the act and let your stepfather watch the excitement? Are you and your stepfather Yang Jianxiu having an affair, so you're working together to plot against us? Why don't you marry him instead of letting your mother marry him? Do you plan on sharing a man with your mother? Aren't you afraid of killing your stepfather with your cruel heart? You little prostitute who's hard-hearted and cruel to her parents, the second wife doesn't dare to take you in, so you come to harm the Yang family. How vicious is your heart?"

  It's fine that Ye Chou is still okay. In her past life, she had stayed in a large mansion and heard words ten times more unpleasant than this from Gong Shi, so this was nothing to her. Moreover, if she wasn't allowed to speak, no one would know why she came to the Ye family to cause trouble, where the root of the problem lay. As for Pan Shi's reaction, she didn't even consider it. Pan Shi thought herself superior and looked down on others, but in Ye Chou's eyes, she was nothing. The marriage between Zheng Shi and Yang Jian Xiu also couldn't be controlled by her, so this person could be completely ignored. But Guan Shi was different. First, she scolded her precious granddaughter, then splashed dirty water on her granddaughter, insulting her innocence, and dragged in all sorts of messy relationships. It was unbearable, and with a burst of energy, Ye Chou slapped Guan Shi's face, instantly making Guan Shi's ears ring and stars appear above her head, and the scolding stopped abruptly.

  "Stinky old woman, you yourself had an affair with a man before marriage, got pregnant and then married into another family, emptied their wealth and ran back to become someone's concubine. You're the lowest of the low, yet you dare to spout nonsense here, slandering others' innocence. My good daughter is exceptional in every way - talent, virtue, character, and ability. How dare you splash dirty water on her? You're truly asking for a beating. Your father embezzled and took bribes, your daughter had an affair and stole other people's money, your whole family has done nothing but evil deeds, it's only fitting that you'd be thrown into prison and abandoned."

  "Scolded her and then waved his hand: 'Yu Sao, Qiu Ju, take her to the carriage and send her to the yamen.'"

  "Yes." Qiu Ju responded and was about to pull Gong's wife away.

  "Wait." Pan suddenly spoke up while watching the play with great interest.

  Everyone was stunned and looked at her.

  "Mrs. Ye, isn't this Zheng's daughter, Ye Zhuo?" asked Mrs. Pan, looking at Ye Zhuo.

  "That's right." Gu didn't know what kind of medicine Pan was selling in his gourd, but this question wasn't hard to answer either.

  "I've also heard about the grudges between your family and the Gong's. I won't ask who's right or wrong, or how much truth is in her words. But there's one thing I must get clear: is it true that you're a hard-luck girl? Why didn't you tell me about this before? If we become relatives and my son Jianshu gets harmed, who will I hold accountable? What's the intention behind your family hiding this from me?"

  "Gu's face changed: 'My granddaughter lives and eats with us, and hasn't seen anyone being harmed. Our family's life is getting better and better, this is a blessing, where does the bad luck come from? Besides, she has been adopted into our main house, so she is our child. Her mother remarried, it has nothing to do with her. Yang will not live with us in the future, even if she wants to harm someone, it won't be Yang. What are you trying to say, Old Lady Yang?'"

  "I won't argue with you." Mrs. Pan waved her hand, "I just want to tell you that this marriage, we still need to consider it again. Goodbye!" She turned around and walked towards the gate of the courtyard. The two daughters-in-law who were supporting her still stared at Gong Shi and Ye Zhuo for a couple of seconds before following Mrs. Pan out of the door.

  Guan's anger caused her whole body to tremble, and she chased after him for two steps before wanting to reason with Pan. Ye Zhuo stopped her with one hand and shook his head, just about to speak when he heard a surprised voice from the entrance of the courtyard: "Nie...Young Master Nie."

  The two of them turned their heads and saw a group of people standing at the door, led by an extremely handsome man who was none other than Nie Bowen.

  Nie Bowen Li walked in with a calm pace, looked at Gong Shi who was pressed to the ground, and waved his hand towards the back: "Send him to the yamen."

  "Yes." Then two old women came up and grabbed Gong Shi, pulling her out. At this time, Gong Shi had already come to her senses and knew that the people who came were Nie's young master, so she didn't dare make a sound and cooperated extremely well with the two old women as they walked away.

  Although Guan's personality is straightforward and fearless of the powerful, she still feels a bit tense when facing someone like Nie Bowen. Seeing Nie Bowen turn around to look at the courtyard, she can only force herself to go forward and greet him: "Nie Gongzi, our home is simple, if you don't mind, please come in and sit in the hall."

  "No, I just have a few words to say to Miss Ye." Nie Bowend retracted his gaze and looked at Ye Zhuo. "Miss Ye, when I returned, I told my father about your performance yesterday. My father thinks that since you are a good talent, we should not be limited by convention and cultivate you more. There's no need to wait until the competition is over before becoming an apprentice. Miss Ye, please consider when it would be convenient for you to go to Nanyun City to pay respects."

  Thank you, Guang Han Gong Zhu A, for the peace charm. (Welcome your support, it's my greatest motivation.)

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