The Nie family is the most powerful and influential family in Nanshan Town. The mining rights of the jade mine near Nanshan Town, which is also the largest and best quality jade mine in the country, are held by the Nie family; at the same time, the Nie family owns the largest jade carving workshop in the country. In each generation of the Nie family, there will be one person who inherits the Nie family's knife skills and becomes a master jade carver, then widely accepts apprentices and selects the most qualified disciples to cultivate. As a result, the most powerful jade masters in the Great Zhou Kingdom all come from the Nie family; the jade ornaments of the royal family and nobles of the Great Zhou Kingdom are all produced by the Nie family. However, these are not the most important things. The most important thing is that after three generations, the Nie family has become a new noble family in the Great Zhou Kingdom, starting from being a royal merchant; the current head of the Nie family, Nie Zhongkun's younger sister, is the imperial concubine who is most favored by the emperor; the eldest son born to the imperial concubine is the prince with the highest voice for inheriting the throne.

  Ye Yuzhang's eyes lit up when he heard this, stroking his beard, carefully calculating for a moment, nodding: "Alright, 300 taels is 300 taels." Then he raised his voice again, "However, we can't let them off so easily. First, lock up Zhuo'er and wait until Zheng Shi wakes up and begs us before we'll consider it." After finishing speaking, he closed his eyes.

  Three hundred taels of silver, it's really heart-wrenching.

  Ye Jiaming originally wanted to say more, but just as he was about to open his mouth, he felt Jiang's tug on his sleeve and knew that there was no room for further discussion, so he shut his mouth.

  Ye Yuzhang was very skilled at playing the abacus, but soon after, he heard that Jiang's maid had returned to report that Jiang had woken up and learned that Ye Zhuo had been locked up. Not only did she refuse to take medicine, but she also knocked over the medicine bowl and used a shard of broken porcelain to cut her neck. Fortunately, Qiuju was quick-witted and quick-handed, and managed to stop her just in time.

  After hearing this, the upstairs room was quiet, and no one spoke. Ye Jiaming stole a glance at his father, seeing that although he still had his eyes closed, his whiskers were shaking.

  "Old lady, let Cuier out, let her go and persuade Zhengshi. You prepare the silver, Jiaming will write the divorce letter, after Cuier has persuaded, hurry up and send Zhengshi out of the door." Ye Yuzhang finally spoke up.

  "Yes, I'll go write it now." Jiang didn't even have a chance to speak before Ye Jiaming quickly responded, feeling a sense of relief in his heart. This matter was most afraid of unexpected twists and turns, delaying his marriage to Gongshi. Since Ye had already spoken up, he should take advantage of the momentum and hurry up with it. But Father insisted on making things more complicated. Look now, even after giving her the silver, they still lost this round. Zhengshi that woman has always been someone who yields to softness but not to force.

  "Wait, you go and watch her pack up. Except for her dowry and clothes and jewelry, nothing else is allowed to be taken out of the Ye family." Ye Yuzhang said sternly to Jiang Shi.

  "Alright." Jiang Shi replied, while calling out to Chun Cao to release the person, and at the same time busily opening a box to take out silver notes.

  Deng Ye Zhuo brought Autumn Hui back to Bi Yu Ju, and saw Autumn Moon rushing out of the room, sizing herself up from head to toe. She smiled and said: "It's just that I've been sitting in the ear chamber for an hour, neither being beaten nor scolded, nor losing a single hair." And asked, "Is my mother all right?"

  "Zhou Ayi came and said that the old master had locked you up, so the mistress got anxious...... I tried to stop her but couldn't." Qiu Yue recounted what had just happened.

  "Zhuo'er......" A worried voice came from inside the house, belonging to Zheng's wife.

  "Mother, I'm fine." Ye Zhuo knew Zheng Shi was worried about him and hurriedly entered the door. Seeing Zheng Shi was just about to get out of bed, he quickly went forward to support her and comforted her, saying: "Mother, I really am fine. Look, isn't this good?"

  Zheng saw that Ye Zhuo's hair was tidy, her face was rosy, and her clothes were not disheveled at all, so she knew that she had not suffered. Only then did she put down her worries and helped Ye Zhuo lie back on the bed.

  Ye Zhuo saw that the cloth strip on Zheng's neck seemed to have fresh blood seeping out again, and her heart was moved. She grasped Zheng's hand and said softly: "Mother, you also know about Old Master's temperament, he is stingy and stubborn, what he says goes. If he says no to taking me out, he won't change his mind. Even if you force him to agree, he will send someone to trouble Uncle later, and we can't stay in the Zheng family anymore. Besides, if he agrees to take me away, he definitely won't let you bring dowry or clothes and jewelry when leaving. In that case, we'll have no money, just two mouths to feed, and Uncle and Aunt will not be happy about it. Even if we work day and night doing needlework, we can't change our situation as dependents. So, you should leave alone, Old Master agreed to give three hundred taels of silver in addition to clothes and jewelry. You can take this money, buy a small house, and some land, and live a good life. Anyway, I won't be able to stay in this family for long, I'll get married eventually, you don't need to continue fighting to take me away."

  Zheng looked at Ye Zhuo quietly: "Zhuo'er, tell Mother the truth, are you unwilling to go with Mother?"

  "No." Ye Zhuo hastily shook his head.

  "That's good." Zheng's face relaxed, and she patted Ye Zhuo's hand. "Don't be afraid, I'd rather risk my life than not take you away. As for your uncle's place, don't worry about it either. All these years, I've been giving my dowry to your aunt. This time, we'll just go back and eat their food, they won't dare say anything. Besides, mother and daughter can still do needlework, right?"

  "For the sake of freedom, you're willing to risk your own mother's life. Mother, are you trying to make me unfilial? Do you really want me to become a child without a mother?" Ye Zhuo hugged Zheng Shi and said with a sob, "Even if you risk your life, I still can't live in this house, can I? Without a mother, that woman will just enter the house and perform the concubine's rites, and won't she take it out on my daughter? Mother, you can't risk your life to compete with others, it's not worth it, really not worth it..."

  "Yu'er......" Zheng's family tightly hugged Ye Yu, tears falling like rain.

  Ye Zhen persuaded Zheng Shi, waited for her to take the medicine, and then Jiang Shi came with a stern face, took out the divorce papers and 300 taels of silver tickets, saying: "I won't say anything extra. Your dowry, clothes, and jewelry I also asked Xia Ge and Xia He to help you pack up, take a look if there's nothing missing, then leave."

  Ye Zhuo was about to go forward and beg his mother to rest for a night before going out, but was stopped by Zheng Shi. He stood up without saying a word and swayed away.

  "Mother." Ye Zhuang hurriedly said. However, she knew that Zheng's mind was made up and her temper was stubborn, so it would be useless to persuade her. Seeing Qiu Yue following behind to support her out, she turned around and said to Jiang: "Grandmother, my mother is like this, I'm afraid she'll faint before reaching the gate. Why don't you let me, Qiu Yue, and Qiu Ju send her back?"

  If Zheng was to faint at the gate or die before returning home, it wouldn't be over yet. Only by having Ye Zhuo deliver it and hand it over to Zheng Peng would the matter be fully resolved from start to finish. Jiang thought this way, furrowed her brow in hesitation for a moment, then agreed, instructing: "Deliver it and come back right away, don't delay."

  "Yes." Ye Zhuo responded and hurried out to chase after Zheng Shi. Autumn Moon was quick-witted and had already called Autumn Ju to inform the carriage driver. By the time they supported Zheng Shi, carrying things and slowly walked to the side door, the carriage driver had already driven the horse-drawn carriage there waiting for them.

  "Why is there only this? Where are the other things?" Ye Zhuo saw Xia Shi carrying a three-foot square bamboo box onto the carriage, and her eyes widened involuntarily.

  "Miss, over the years, Auntie often came to complain about her hardships, and all of Madam's dowry was sold to support Auntie. Only a few pieces of jewelry were left, which were meant for you as part of your future dowry. This trunk contains Madam's clothes and jewelry." Xia Jin hastily opened the trunk, letting Ye Zhuo inspect it.