Yang Jianxu looked up and down at Ye Zhuo, saw that there was indeed no flaw, nodded: "Okay, it's fine to go like this."

  "But I'm going out alone with Uncle Yang, my mother won't be at ease." Ye Zhuo pouted and adjusted her sleeve, "Just now when I went back to change clothes, my mother scolded me for a while, saying that I must not be reckless."

  "Oh?" Yang Jianxu gazed at Ye Zhuo, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  Ye Yiqi smiled and said to Yang Jianxu, "General Yang, don't worry, I'll get my old lady to persuade her. You can't be delayed from your important tasks."

  Ye Zhuo didn't make a sound, but instead raised her eyes and looked at Yang Jianxiu.

  Yang Jianxiu withdrew his gaze, picked up the teacup and lifted the lid, took a sip, then looked at Ye Zhuo with a slight smile: "Your mother's worries, I can understand. Don't forget, I'm also a father. It just so happens that on that day, I'll take you to Nanyun City for a day trip. Since Zhihui is left in the old house and I'm not at ease, I'll bring him over and trouble your mother to take care of him. With someone around, perhaps she won't have time to worry about you."

  Ye Zhuo's face broke into a smile: "It can't get any better than this."

  It's not that she's narrow-minded, but rather that she's cautious and doesn't dare to easily trust anyone. With examples like Luo Jing Sheng and Wang Cheng Dong, she really can't afford to be careless. So from the moment Yang Jian Xiu appeared, she had Tang Shun Gui and others investigate Yang Jian Xiu's experiences growing up in Nan Shan Town and working in Nan Yun City. However, it's unclear whether Yang Jian Xiu is truly problem-free or if Tang Shun Gui and others just didn't have access to high enough levels of information, but so far they haven't found any issues with Yang Jian Xiu.

  But this does not mean that Yang Jianxiu is problem-free.

  A centipede's corpse doesn't stiffen. Although the Xie family had been plagued by internal strife since Xie Jizong was exiled, with the two houses of wives and children constantly at odds, she also had Tang Shungui's friends keeping an eye on their every move. But if Xie Yunfeng had a mind to take revenge on them, he would be even more determined to get his hands on her special abilities, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Ye Zhuo and the others were still unable to guard against it. Although Yang Jianshu was someone she had deliberately befriended, rather than actively pursuing, how could one know a person's true nature just by knowing their face?

  But suspicion is suspicion, and she can't let go of the opportunity to get close to Yang Jianxiu just because she's being cautious. If Yang Jianxiu really doesn't have any problems, then she'll be scaring herself for no reason and won't dare to make a move, thus missing the chance to pull out the poisonous tooth that is the Gong family, something she can't forgive herself for.

  So she decided to take a risk and make a bold move.

  So, that day she volunteered to tell Yang Jianxiu that she would gamble on stones. If Yang Jianxiu was sent by the Xie family to investigate her, then she would naturally tell Yang Jianxiu during the stone-gambling process that her level of skill in gambling on stones was not very good, and even if she occasionally gambled out a jade material, it was just due to luck. No matter what, as long as she could make Gong Shuban lose a large sum of money from gambling on stones, and dispel Xie Yuntian's suspicions about her ability to gamble on stones, then taking a risk would be worth it.

  But she wouldn't joke about her own safety. Fortunately, during this period of time, she had been practicing the "split incense" technique without realizing it, and had unknowingly developed a kind of kung fu skill. As long as she had a dagger in her hand, with just one swing, the accuracy and force would be enough to kill someone. Moreover, no one knew about this skill of hers, so when used unexpectedly, it could have a very good effect. With this self-defense ability, she felt that her personal safety was guaranteed to some extent. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare follow Yang Jianxiu alone to Nanyun City either. As for whether Yang Jianxiu would use her reputation as leverage, this wasn't something she considered at all. In this lifetime, she really hadn't planned on getting married, so unless it involved life safety, she wouldn't take it to heart.

  Yang Jianxiu agreed to bring Yang Zhihui over as a hostage so readily, Ye Zhuo was still very satisfied with him. Regardless of whether Yang Jianxiu would become her collaborator or her enemy in the future, at least he was an intelligent person. Dealing with intelligent people is always better than dealing with foolish ones. The thinking of foolish people often goes beyond common sense, and you never know what actions they will take next. On the other hand, with intelligent people, you can usually guess some of their thoughts and make corresponding countermeasures.

  Of course, she had investigated. Yang Zhihui was indeed the biological son of Yang Jianxiu.

  Jian Ye showed a smile and Yang Jian Xiu nodded slightly. The two of them discussed the details of the stone gambling again that day, before Yang Jian Xiu left.

  After a few days, after breakfast one day, Yang Jianxiu's servant Yang Yuan brought Yang Zhihui to the Ye family and said that Yang Jianxiu would follow Yan Xiancheng and Gong Shuban to Nanyun City soon, so she should hurry up and dress up to go to the Yang family.

  Ye Zhuang hastily returned to her room, put on the clothes that Zheng Shi had specially made for her, and reapplied her makeup. She hid several thin-bladed daggers in her sleeves and pockets, letting Autumn Moon check again to make sure there were no flaws. Then she instructed Autumn Moon that if she hadn't returned by nightfall, Autumn Moon should take some measures against Yang Zhihui. After finishing these arrangements, Ye Zhuang finally came out of the house and got into the carriage with Yang Yuan.

  After Ye Zou left, Qiu Yue warmly invited Yang Zhihui to have some refreshments and then sent him to the mansion in Qingyun Alley. Zheng Shi had added some furniture to the mansion in Qingyun Alley and had moved there ten days ago. Guan Shi asked Wang Pozi to buy a reliable servant for her - an old couple in their fifties who were physically strong, signing a lifelong contract.

  Ye Zhuo didn't stay at home to practice jade carving, but instead had Wei Daxiang take her on a horse-drawn carriage ride through Nanshan Town for two days, getting familiar with the roads. At this point, she saw Yang Yuan driving his horse-drawn carriage towards Wanjiefang, and finally stopped in front of the mansion left behind by Luo Jing Sheng. She let out a slight sigh of relief, got off the carriage, and followed Yang Yuan into the mansion.

  Yang Jianxiu was waiting for them in the hall at this time, and when he saw Ye Zhuo come in, he looked her up and down, seeing that the clothes she wore were similar to Yang Yuan's, nodded in satisfaction: "Remember, you are now called Yang Shuo."

  "I remember," Ye Zhuo replied. Although she had raised her voice that day, Ye Yuqi and Yang Jianxiu did not raise any objections to her tone, but in order not to reveal a single flaw, she had deliberately eaten some spicy food over the past few days, making her throat much hoarser. At this time, even if it were Zheng Shi in front of her, she might not be able to recognize her.

  "Let's go."

  Ye Zhuo and Yang Yuan followed behind, got on the horse carriage together, and headed towards the city gate. Yesterday, Yang Jian had already made an appointment with Gong Shu to meet at the city gate today.

  "Mr. Yang, today is a holiday, I'll follow you to Nan Yun City to broaden my horizons, you won't mind an old man like me tagging along with you young people, will you?" As soon as they got off the carriage at the city gate, they saw a man in his forties, tall and sturdy, with some stubble on his face, walking towards them with big strides; while Gong Shuban stood still, stroking his beard and smiling, without saying a word.

  "Mr. Yan, you've also arrived?" Yang Jianxiu was surprised, then smiled all over his face, "Where did Mr. Yan say that? I wanted to invite Mr. Yan to go together, but I was afraid it would be too abrupt. I was thinking of asking Gong brother on the way, when Mr. Yan has time, please come out and have a meal with me. Now being able to travel with Mr. Yan is my honor. Moreover, I don't understand anything about gambling stones, this time I still need to rely on Gong brother's help to make a fortune, Mr. Yan's relationship with Gong brother is much better than mine. If Mr. Yan wants to go, can I say half a word of refusal?"

  Yan Qingchun burst out laughing and walked forward, warmly patting Yang Jianxiu's shoulder. In a loud voice, he said: "Mr. Yang, you're not right about this. Calling me Lord Yan is embarrassing for my old face! What kind of 'Lord' would I dare to be in front of you? If you don't mind, just call me Old Yan."

  Yang Jianxiu smiled wryly and cupped his hands, saying: "Lord Yan, I am now an ordinary citizen of Nanshan Town, without any official position. You are my superior, so it is only proper that I address you as Lord Yan."

  "Ah, come on! With your talent and so many years of experience, Yang sir, getting a government position is an easy task. In the future, we'll all be relying on you to help us out. Alright, let's not be polite anymore, I'm older than you by a few years, just call me Big Brother Yan."

  "How dare you disobey orders?" Yang Jianxiu and Yan Qingchun both bowed their heads, and the two of them burst out laughing.

  Yang Jianxiu chatted with Gong Zhimin for a couple of sentences before saying, "It's getting late, let's get on the bus."

  "All aboard! All aboard!" Yan Qingchun waved his hand generously and boarded the train first.

  Three carriages slowly set off and headed towards the official road leading to Nanyun City.

  Ye Zhuo took a stealthy glance outside the carriage and saw Wei Daxiang's carriage following far behind, and she secretly let out a breath of relief. In Wei Daxiang's carriage were also Tang Shungui brothers. With these three people following behind, if anything unexpected happened, she would have someone to rely on.

  Nan Yun City was only fifty or sixty miles away from Nan Shan Town, and the horse-drawn carriage had been traveling for more than an hour before it entered the city and stopped in front of a magnificent two-story building. Yeh Zhuo looked out the window and saw that the sign above the door read "Nie Family Building" in bold letters. She nodded slightly and followed Yang Jianxiu out of the carriage.

  This was what she had discussed with Yang Jianxiu. Invite Gong Zhimin to gamble on the stone, and he must come to Nie's gambling den. This way, even if Gong Zhimin loses money, he can only borrow from others and cannot default - relying on Nie's power, whoever wants to default on Nie's account would have to be tired of living. Otherwise, even if they lent him a few more guts, they wouldn't dare default.

  And today, Yan Qingchun also ran into the muzzle, which is the best thing that could happen.

  However, Ye Zuo did not plan to follow what he had discussed with Yang Jian today.

  Yang Jianxiu and Yan Qingchun, Gong Zhimin yielded a bit, and they entered Nie's building in an orderly manner.

  "Hey, isn't that Niece Gongzi? Du Gongzi is also there." Yan Qingchun followed Yang Jianxiu here, with a hidden intention. Firstly, he wanted to get close to Yang Jianxiu, and secondly, he hoped to use Yang Jianxiu's connections in Nan Yun City to meet people from the Nie family, so that he could push Yuan Chaolin aside and become the number one person in Nan Shan County. So as soon as they entered the Nie family building, he looked around eagerly. At this moment, he saw Nie Bowen and Du Haoran walking out of a room, and he was overjoyed. He asked Yang Jianxiu: "Yang Gongzi has been in Nan Yun City for so many years, shouldn't you know Niece Gongzi?"