No matter what the Ye family thought, on the second day at noon, the matchmaker invited by the Xie family still came to the door. However, since it was not a marriage but a concubine, the person who came to the door was not a professional matchmaker, but an old acquaintance of both families, Old Master Xu.

  "What? Be a concubine?" Ye Yuzhang's eyes widened in shock.

  "Yes, I know your second daughter is a legitimate child. But think about it, the eldest son of the Xie family married a girl from the Pan family. Even if your second daughter is also a legitimate child, can she still be on an equal footing with Miss Pan? Giving her the title of noble concubine would already be quite good. Think about it, once you become in-laws with the Xie family, won't your business immediately flourish? In the future, I'm afraid even I will have to curry favor with you just to buy good jade materials." Xu Lao Ban has also been friends with Ye Yu Zhang for many years, so he naturally knows his temperament and what kind of words can move him.

  Ye Yuzhang looked at Xu Laoban, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "If that's the case, our eldest daughter is quite suitable. It's not like we've discussed the marriage of our eldest daughter and then settled on our second daughter, right? Xu Laoban, don't you think so?"

  "Sly old fox." Mr. Xū cursed under his breath, taking out the killer move given by the Xiè family, "Madam Wén said that if you agree to this marriage arrangement, from now on, you can directly select the original stones from the Xiè family; and if there are good jade materials, they will also be sold to you first. Yè old brother, these conditions are not bad. I even resent myself for not having a suitable granddaughter to marry into the Xiè family as a concubine. You, just don't pretend anymore. It's almost enough!"

  The Xie family's conditions made Ye Yuzhang very moved. If it wasn't for Xie Yunfeng coming that one time, letting him know about Xie Yunfeng's thoughts, he would have definitely agreed to this marriage. To think about it, directly going to select the raw jade increases the chances of getting good quality jade, and on top of that, they can prioritize buying jade materials, so the Ye family's jade carving workshop can expand its scale. Once the scale is expanded, wouldn't they earn more silver? The benefits of this marriage are real and tangible compared to the Gong family's empty promises of power. Furthermore, with Xie Yunfeng's love for his own granddaughter, plus Ye Zhuo's intelligence and abilities, it's likely that Ye Zhuo will be favored in the future. Later on, if they have a boy and a girl, who knows, maybe the Xie family's second household's property will even become part of the Ye family.

  However, now that I know Xie Yunfeng's thoughts, there is still room for negotiation in this marriage. Even if he can't promise the position of wife, promising some other benefits would be fine too!

  "Director Xu, you also know that I'm a man who loves wealth. The benefits you mentioned are indeed tempting to me. However, my beloved granddaughter is not only beautiful but also intelligent, and she has won my heart. I had promised her a good marriage, and I'm reluctant to let her become someone's concubine. So, I can only say sorry about this matter."

  Mr. XU tried to persuade him with countless words, but Ye Yuzhang remained unmoved, and the meaning of his words was: if you want Erniang, you must make her your wife; if you want to make her a concubine, you can only agree to marry Dagu out. Mr. Xu had no choice but to bid farewell and return to the Xie family to report back.

  Xie Yunfeng was anxious as soon as he heard it, and couldn't care about Wen's thoughts. He found his father Xie Jizong and told him about Ye Zhen's performance that day. Xie Jizong listened, stroking his chin, saying: "If Miss Ye is really good at guessing jade, marrying her would be no problem. But don't you think she was just lucky when choosing those two pieces of jade? Look, she didn't even buy the first piece, did she? If she really understood jade, there's no reason why she wouldn't buy that piece with top-quality jade material, but instead chose that bean-green one. And if she really had this skill, the Ye family wouldn't have to run to our jade shop and fight with others for those inferior jade pieces. So, we need to be cautious about this matter."

  "It's said that Old Man Ye is not good to them, the mother and daughter. Just a while ago, her own birth mother was even driven out of the Ye family. So, it's also possible that she doesn't want the Ye family to know about this skill." Xie Yunfeng explained.

  Xie Jizu nodded: "Originally, I wanted your mother to invite her over to play and try her out, it's the best. But hearing you say that, this girl has a pretty good temperament, just afraid that your mother's attitude is not good, she will be unhappy. If she doesn't want to marry in, this matter will have more twists and turns. Moreover, if she doesn't want to show off her skills, trying again is also useless. Let's not rush, let's wait a bit longer. If she really has the skills, she will inevitably get impatient and go gamble on stones again. You send someone to keep an eye on the few stone shops on Jade Street, once she goes to gamble on stones, we can know the situation. When the time comes, it's not too late to discuss marriage. Taking this opportunity, just test that Ye old head, see if he is anxious or not. If he can't bear it and loosens his mouth, it's even better. Just taking a concubine, with or without skills, doesn't have to be taken seriously, bring her in first."

  "Good." Xie Yunfeng had no objection. His father was doing this, it was the most mature and steady approach, he had no reason to disagree.

  Ye Yuzhang waited at home for two days, and when he saw that the Xie family was quiet, he became a bit restless. Meanwhile, Gong heard that the Xie family had come to propose marriage, although this matter had nothing to do with her, but what Ye Zhuo said that day was like slapping her in the face, making her grit her teeth with hatred. So she vowed not to let Ye Zhuo have an easy time. Therefore, on the second day of the return visit, she went to the upper house and said to Ye Yuzhang: "Father-in-law, I heard that someone came to propose marriage to Zhuo?"

  Ye Yuzhang now had a strong sense of vigilance towards Gong, and upon hearing that she was inquiring about Ye Zhuo's marriage, he immediately became alert and replied indifferently: "Hmm, yes, there is such a thing."

  Gong's mouth twitched, and he said disdainfully: "That Xie family is just a merchant family, only slightly richer, with a few relatives who are officials. A family like that still dares to think that our family's legitimate daughter would be their concubine? Does he really think they're some kind of high-ranking aristocratic family?"

  Ye Yuzhang looked at her but didn't say a word.

  Gong saw Ye Yuzhang not speaking, also didn't mind, put his hand on his own bulging belly, slowly and calmly said: "Uncle, I can actually talk to Zhu'er about a good marriage."

  "Oh?" Ye Yuchen's spirits lifted, "Tell me, what kind of family is it?"

  "The county magistrate of Le Ping County is a close friend of my father's. Yesterday, when I returned home, I heard my father say that he was over 40 years old and had no children, so he intended to take a concubine. That county magistrate is also from a wealthy family, and his family background is many times better than the Xie family. According to my mother-in-law, it would be better for Zhuo'er to marry into the Xie family as a concubine rather than marrying that county magistrate. If she gives birth to a son in the future, she will become an official's wife."

  Since hearing that Xie Yunfeng was coming to the Ye Mansion, Gong Shi had been thinking of ways to ruin this marriage. But it's not easy to find a way to move Ye Yuzhang and make Ye Zhuo have a hard time getting married and going overboard without being able to take revenge on the Gong family. After much thought, Gong Shi finally came up with this marriage. Although the county magistrate is not very old, he has a mother-in-law who is a tigress at home. It's likely that Ye Zhuo will have a hard time after marrying him. Moreover, the county magistrate is from another county, so even if Ye Zhuo's pillow wind is effective, it won't easily affect Gong Shi's father's position, which suits Gong Shi's intentions.

  Jiang's family listened on the side and said discontentedly, "How come you always think of Zhuo'er when you come and go? Our family's Lin'er is the elder one, her marriage is what matters."

  Gong turned his head and smiled: "Isn't this just right? Zhuo'er will marry that county magistrate; Lin'er will marry into the Xie family." After finishing, he glanced at Wang Yiniang who was massaging Jiang's legs, "If it's not to your liking, isn't there still Xing'er? I heard that eldest sister is thinking of making a marriage alliance."

  The queen's face sank.

  "I'll consider it," said Ye Yuzhang. Whether it's the Xie family or the Jiang family, they all want to marry Ye Zhuo. This matter isn't something that can be decided by the Ye family alone.

  Moreover, he wasn't very interested in the County Magistrate mentioned by Mrs. Gong either. The two words "County Magistrate" sounded quite impressive, but it didn't matter since he wasn't from this county. What's the point of having a title that doesn't bring any benefits to the Ye family? Just like now, Ye Ming married into the Gong family, but even though Gong Shuban knew the steward of the Nie family, they couldn't have a decent conversation. If it weren't for the sake of the grandson in Mrs. Gong's womb, he would regret letting his son marry her. This kind of wife who came from a somewhat powerful family and was full of calculations had already taken over half of their family business after marrying into the Ye family.

  Jian Ye and Gong's relationship was not close, and there was nothing Gong could do about it. After being exposed by Ye Zhuo, now everything she said and did would be suspected by Ye's father and son. Wanting to intervene in Ye Zhuo's marriage was probably not that easy.