Ye Zhuo was taken aback and quickly followed after him. Qiu Yue and others naturally also closely followed behind.

  Two people went into the backyard, one in front and one behind, and found that there was no firelight in the backyard, only thick smoke coming out of the kitchen. It seemed that it hadn't started burning yet. Ye Zhu took a breath of relief and stopped in her tracks to catch her breath, when she saw Liu Shi coming out of the kitchen with someone behind her - who else could it be but Zheng Shi?

  All that could be seen was Zheng wearing a set of old clothes, with disheveled hair and some straw stuck to it, her face covered in black soot marks, her eyes probably irritated by smoke, red and streaming with tears, and coughing repeatedly.

  "Look at you, Liu scolded Zheng loudly: "What did I tell you originally? The firewood can't be stuffed that full, there must be gaps left. And the hay can't be stuffed in desperately either. How come you just won't learn?! Does my kitchen have to be burned down by you?!"

  "Cough, cough... I'll be more careful next time..." Zheng wiped away her tears and suddenly saw three girls standing in the courtyard. The one at the front was none other than her beloved daughter Ye Zhuo. She couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment before forcing a smile and walking over to say: "Zhuo, how did you get here?"

  "Mother..." Looking at Zheng Shi like this, Ye Zhuo felt a mix of emotions. The original Zheng Shi, although she didn't usually wear beautiful clothes or accessories and couldn't get the favor of her husband and in-laws, could always dress herself up elegantly and beautifully, sitting in the spacious and elegant house drinking tea and doing embroidery with servants surrounding her. Now, however, she had made herself look like this and lived such a life, he didn't know if she felt very uncomfortable in her heart.

  "My daughter is fine, she just wanted to help her aunt with some chores, but couldn't even light a fire properly." Zheng said with a smile, stretching out her hand to pull Ye Zhuo's hand, seeing the blackness on her own hands, hastily withdrew them and said, "You go sit in the hall first, I'll wash my hands and face then come over." Turning around to see Chun Yu also standing beside Qiu Ju, the smile on her face stiffened for a moment.

  "Good." Ye Zhuo responded obediently and returned to the hall with three maids.

  Zheng's personality was tough and stubborn. Since she chose to leave the Ye family, she probably didn't want Chunyu to see her in this state, after all, Chunyu represented the old lady. Thinking of this, Ye Zhuo couldn't help but blame herself a little. Today, bringing Chunyu over, she should have let Qiuju come over and inform Zheng beforehand, so she could be prepared. However, who would have expected that Zheng would run to the kitchen to cook and end up in such a state?

  It wasn't until a whole incense stick's worth of time had passed that Zheng arrived in the hall. She not only washed her face and hands, but also re-combed her hair and changed into a new set of clothes. However, Ye Zhuo noticed that the pin on her head was not the silver one she usually wore.

  "Mother, I'll go to your room and sit for a while." Ye Zhuo stood up, then turned to look at the three maids, his eyes gleaming with severity. "I'm going to talk to my mother, you all just wait here." As he spoke, he pulled Zheng Shi along into the room.

  "Spring Rain was just about to speak when Autumn Moon grabbed her arm and said with a smile, "Sister Spring Rain, although the old lady asked you to follow our young mistress, it's not like she doesn't allow you to talk to her mother at all, right? Sister Spring Rain, I'm not saying this because I'm being nosy, but as servants, we're just doing our job and getting our monthly salary. We can't interfere with the relationships between masters. You know how things change over time - thirty years ago it was one way, thirty years later it's another. Although our mistress has returned to the Zheng family, you see that the old master and mistress still love our young mistress just as much; even Wang Yiniang doesn't dare to do anything to her. Why is that? You're such a clever person, Sister Spring Rain, surely you can understand?"

  "I didn't say anything!" Chun Yu smiled awkwardly and didn't insist on following her. Anyway, the old master had instructed that girls were not allowed to come into contact with strange men, but he hadn't said they couldn't talk to their mothers, so this wasn't considered dereliction of duty.

  "Daughter, what happened to the silver hairpin you used to wear?" Ye Zhuo asked as soon as he entered the room.

  "Your aunt has been saying that Fangzi is going to be married soon, and she doesn't have any decent jewelry. She even praised my silver hairpin as beautiful. I thought, since they want me to stay here, I should give them some accommodation fee, so I gave her the hairpin." Zheng Shi said with a smile.

  After saying this, she leaned in close to Ye Zhuo and whispered: "Don't worry, I've hidden that golden hairpin and the silver note safely." After finishing speaking, she playfully winked her eyes.

  Looking at the lively and vibrant Zheng, Ye Zhuo suddenly felt a great improvement in his mood. His original worries and concerns instantly vanished. He took a deep breath and reached out to hold onto Zheng's arm.

  "Of course, your aunt is good to me, and even if she's not, she wouldn't dare be too excessive. So far, apart from occasionally hinting that I should give her money, she's been okay with me. Even when it comes to doing chores, I'm the one who volunteers to help out - otherwise, just sitting around all day would be unbearable. And you know my temper, who can make me lose face? This is my brother's house, and this house was even bought with my own money - if anyone dares to look down on me, I'll have to point at their nose and scold them loudly! Then, it's either she leaves or I do. I have silver in my possession, who am I afraid of?"

  When she heard this, Ye Zhuo couldn't help but laugh. Before, she always thought that Zheng Shi's personality was too rigid and inflexible, neither knowing how to curry favor nor compromise, so when dealing with Jiang Shi and Wang Yiniang, she would often end up at a disadvantage. But now, she actually thinks Zheng Shi's personality is quite good. At least, she lives simply and freely, and isn't afraid of being bullied because she won't swallow her anger. If someone really provokes her, who knows who will be the one to get bullied? Besides, having silver in hand gives her confidence.

  "How are you doing at Ye's house? Have they bullied you?" Zheng gently stroked her daughter's rose-like beautiful face, with a warm and gentle gaze.

  "It's okay." Ye Zhuo then told her about his situation in the mansion and his guesses about Lao Taiye, also mentioning the matter of the eldest branch.

  After being with him for over a decade, Zheng Shi was well aware of her former father-in-law's selfish nature, so she didn't suspect that Ye Zhuo's words were meant to comfort her. Putting her mind at ease, she sighed and said: "Although I haven't spent much time with your great-grandfather's family, they are indeed very good people. After being married for a year without getting pregnant, I was scolded by your grandmother every day, but your great-grandmother even asked someone to ask about my well-being, she is a very kind-hearted person."

  Everything was fine when they saw Zheng, and the wound on her neck had started to scab over. Ye Zhuo felt relieved. The two of them chatted for a bit longer, then she estimated that it was about time and bid farewell before leaving.

  She got off the horse-drawn carriage at the entrance of Ye's big house, and saw that the courtyard gate was wide open. Ye Yuxiu was sitting alone under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, staring intently at something in her hand. Just as she was about to walk up and greet her, she saw Ye Yuxiu take out a carving knife from the stool beside her and start slowly carving the thing in her hand. She stopped in her tracks.

  The autumn sun at noon, through the thick foliage of the Osmanthus tree, scattered spots on the old man with white hair. One ray of sunlight shone on his left hand, reflecting the pure white jade stone in his hand, emitting a layer of soft and warm light, as if it had quietly settled in people's hearts. His right hand held a knife, slowly carving the jade, his eyes focused and fascinated, as if the jade in his hand was his beloved woman who was about to leave him, he wanted to use his fingers to caress every inch of her face, deeply imprinting her appearance in his heart.

  Ye Zhuo didn't move or speak, she just stood quietly in place, looking at the old man under the tree who was deeply absorbed in his jade carving, feeling his intense infatuation with jade and his knife. Her heart, which had been dormant and emitting a dead air, slowly began to stir and revive.

  Ye Yiqi's left hand, which had been severely injured, was atrophied and unable to exert force. When carving, his hand trembled constantly. Finally, he had no choice but to stop, putting the jade stone into the water to rinse it clean, then holding it up against the sunlight to examine it carefully.

  Ye Zhuo saw this and slowly walked over, leaning in to take a closer look at the jade stone in his hand.

  This jade stone, strictly speaking is now a jade plaque, extremely fine, smooth, glossy and white, without any blemishes. The upper right corner and lower left corner have been carved into rounded frames; while the middle part uses hollow carving techniques to carve out the outline of a Buddha's profile; at the mouth and nose of the Buddha, a blooming lotus flower is shallowly carved in relief. Under the reflection of the pure white and warm jade material, the Buddha and the lotus appear so sacred that one dare not have any irreverent thoughts.