Yang Jianxiu's original stone was taken away by someone, he didn't care about winning or losing, but no one made more money. Yang Jianxiu gambled and got a big rise, so he naturally wanted to take advantage of his good luck.

  "Rumble, rumble......" The machine started up again.

  However, to everyone's disappointment, the stone was cut into several pieces of rock, without any jade material in sight. Finally, under Yan Qingchun's orders, Master Shi cut it into small blocks like cutting tofu, still without seeing any jade material.

  "Lost? One thousand eight hundred taels of silver gone just like that?" Even Ráo Cìng Chūn, who didn't care about winning or losing, was stunned by this complete defeat. He stared at the scattered stones on the ground, muttering to himself.

  "I'm sorry, I made some money today, so I'll treat everyone to dinner at Zui Xian Lou." Yang Jianxiu's goal was achieved, and he made a lot of money, feeling refreshed and joyful. However, he still had to pretend to be ashamed and invited Yan Qingchun and Gong Zhimin to dinner. After finishing speaking, he leaned in close to Yan Qingchun and said in a low voice, "I've also invited two former colleagues who are relatively close to me to join us, and I'll introduce them to you later."

  Yan Qingchun immediately forgot the unpleasantness of losing the bet and smiled, "Good!" After finishing speaking, he raised his head and glanced at the house where Du Haoran was, regretfully saying, "What a pity, Young Master Du refused to go."

  "You'll have plenty of chances to come to Nanyun City in the future." Yang Jianxu comforted, turning his head to look at Gong Zhimin, "It's just that Brother Gong seems to be in a not-so-good mood."

  Gong Zhimin was just a subordinate of Yan Qingchun, and because they were related by marriage, he was quite capable in his work. Yan Qingchun usually took good care of him, but now seeing Gong Zhimin with a sorrowful face, he found him to be unlucky. He waved his hand at Gong's servant: "Your master doesn't look well, take him back to Nanshan Town first. Be careful on the way, and if it gets worse, ask for a doctor."

  "Yes." Gong Zhimin's servant saw that his master was still sitting there with a wooden face, as if he hadn't heard Yan Qingchun's words. He didn't dare to linger and quickly supported one side of Gong Zhimin and escorted him out the door.

  "Are we leaving now?" Yan Qingchun raised an eyebrow.

  "Mr. Yan, please."

  A few people got off the floor. Out of Nie's building, each got on their own carriage and rushed to Drunken Immortal Building.

  "Miss Ye, you did a great job today." As soon as they got in the car, Yang Jianxiu praised Ye Zhuo. Today's performance was flawless. Although Ye Zhuo made some mistakes at first, she turned them into advantages, and the effect was even better than the original plan. The direct loss of 2,900 taels of silver for Gong Zhimin and Yan Qingchun was a heavy blow, and it didn't show any signs of weakness. These losses completely knocked Gong Zhimin down, and although Yan Qingchun's foundation wasn't shaken, 2,000 taels was not a small amount, which would play a significant role in the execution of future plans.

  "I... I never thought that actual gambling would be like this, it's completely different from what I learned." Ye Zhuo's face didn't have a hint of smile, he lowered his head and twisted the hem of his clothes with his fingers, looking like he was admitting his mistake.

  "This gamble is not something that can be learned by reading two books. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone become rich? Although I won 2,500 taels of silver today, it's just a coincidence; if luck doesn't favor me, my 2,000 taels would have been lost. You should also understand the danger involved. Therefore, you must not come to gamble with a lucky mindset, Miss Ye, please remember." Yang Jian warned, fearing that Ye Zhi was too young and might be tempted by today's incident and become addicted to gambling.

  This remark made Ye Zhuo have a very good impression of Yang Jianxiu. Good medicine tastes bitter but is beneficial to the illness, faithful words are unpleasant to hear but are beneficial to one's actions. Yang Jianxiu wasn't anyone special to her, and she had just lost money betting on rocks. Yang Jianxiu wouldn't lose even a single cent, yet he didn't fear offending her, painstakingly instructing her with bitter words, showing that his intentions towards people were truly sincere.

  "Uncle Yang, don't worry, I won't go gamble on stones again," said Ye Zhuo.

  Yang Jianxiu nodded and said, "The county magistrate of Miancheng County has fallen seriously ill and won't be able to hold on to his position for long. I'll tell Yan Qingchun the news later and explain the benefits to him, he should be tempted. However, the wine house is a mixed place, not suitable for you to stay, so I'll let the carriage driver send you back first, and then I'll follow with Yan Qingchun in another carriage."

  "Alright." Ye Zhuo readily agreed. She also knew what kind of behavior it was for a group of men to drink together. With her by his side, Yang Jian would feel very uncomfortable socializing, so it's better if she didn't go and get in the way. Besides, she wasn't a real man, and if they stayed together for too long, who knows when she might reveal her true nature, so it's better to be careful.

  The carriage arrived at the Drunken Immortal Building, and Yang Jianxiu made an excuse that he had something to tell his family members, sending a servant back to pass on the message, and sent Ye Zhuo away. Yan Qingchun did not suspect anything, and the two of them went up to the Drunken Immortal Building together.

  Ye Zhuo didn't stay in Nanyun City for long, and had the carriage driver buy a few baked buns on the side of the road. They ate them at a roadside tea stall before heading back to Nanshan Town directly.

  Returned to Nanshan Town, passing by the county government office, saw a large crowd of people gathered at the gate of the county government office, each stretching their necks to look inside. Ye Zhuo didn't know if it was another plot that had taken effect, and hurriedly called the carriage driver to get down and ask around.

  Before long, the carriage driver returned and reported: "It's Young Master Yan and Young Master Gong, as well as the son of Tao Shan Zhang. They set up a trap to extort money from a family in town, causing them to lose everything, and were reported to the authorities. Now they're being dragged out of their homes and will be put on trial."

  "Great." Ye Zhuo's mouth curled up slightly.

  This is exactly one of the tricks she and Yang Jianxu had planned.

  When Yan Qingchun returned, he learned that his son had been put in a big prison, and the one who was handling the case was his arch-nemesis Yuan Chaolin. He didn't know how to contain his anger. However, no matter how angry he was, spending a lot of money to bribe people and get his son released on bail was the only way to save him. At this time, when he was seeking a new official position, it was a time when money was being spent like flowing water. Even with his family's wealth, could they withstand the continuous rainstorms?

  "Let's go home." Ye Zhuo instructed.

  The carriage drove around the crowd and sped quickly towards the Ye family in Zǐ Yī Xiàng.

  What happened in the next half month was all within expectation.

  After the three wives' crying and making a scene, Yan Qingchun, Gong Zhimin, and Tao Yujin finally bailed out their son. As a result, only Tao Yujin's family still had several hundred taels of silver left. Meanwhile, news came from Nanyun City that the county magistrate had passed away, and the prefectural governor was considering who to appoint as the new county magistrate.

  Things don't wait for people, Yan Qingchun had no choice but to start going around with Gong Zhimin and others to make money.

  At this time, Yuan Chaolin was waiting for them. He deliberately relaxed some joints, leading Gong Zhimin to be even more daring, and in half a month, he had embezzled two or three thousand taels of silver. On the other hand, Yang Jianxiu prepared a nouveau riche for them, buying a large house. When going through the house transfer procedures, he deliberately pretended to be a wealthy fool, and was extorted by Gong Zhimin. After the rich man was extorted, taking advantage of Yan Qingchun's absence from the county while visiting the prefectural government, he immediately drummed up a complaint and reported Gong Zhimin to Yuan Chaolin. Yuan Chaolin interrogated Gong Zhimin overnight, forcing him to confess that Yan Qingchun was his backer, and with the confession bearing Gong Zhimin's fingerprint, together with Gong Zhimin, they were sent to the prefectural government early the next morning. As a result, Yan Qingchun never returned to Nanshan Town but was directly imprisoned in Nanyun City.

  On the fourth day of Yan Qingchun's imprisonment in Nanyuncheng, Wei Daxiang came to Yejia and avoided Ye Yiqi and Guan Shi. He whispered to Ye Zhuo: "Miss, Tang Da said that Gong Shi just went out. Looking at her dress and direction, she should be going to the house outside the city to see Tao Changsheng. Her maid was holding a large package."

  Gong Zhimin was taken away to the government office, Tao Changsheng helped him deal with it on behalf of Gong's family and should have just returned. It's normal for Mrs. Gong to go see him.

  Ye Zhuo nodded and thought for a moment, then said to Qiu Yue: "You go to the corner gate and tell Zhang Po that we've often seen people around Gong Shi taking things to pawn shops. And Gong Shi has been using the excuse of visiting her mother's home to secretly meet her cousin Tao Changsheng outside the city. The child in her belly is also Tao Changsheng's. I really can't bear for Father to be kept in the dark, so I want her to tell Father about this. Gong Shi has gone to meet her cousin again, don't believe me? Just catch one of her maids and ask them thoroughly. If Zhang Po can make this trip and keep a tight lip, not letting the news leak to Old Master and Old Mistress, I'll reward her with two taels of silver."

  "Yes." Akizuki hurriedly took out the silver and left.

  Ye Zhuo called in Qiu Ju again, told her what had happened, and said: "You follow Wei Da Ge's carriage, tell Yang Xiang Gong to hurry up and find a few people, find an excuse to let them go to the suburbs that courtyard nearby. Once my uncle Ye Lao Ye makes trouble, let them go watch the excitement, they must not let Ye Lao Ye and Gong Shi quietly handle things."

  "Yes." Qiu Ju followed Wei Da Xiang in a hurry.

  Ye Zhuo watched them leave the courtyard, and let out a sigh. Autumn Chrysanthemum was not as clever as Autumn Moon, and she had some misgivings about asking her to do this task. However, it was inconvenient to buy someone off at this time, fearing that they might be people planted by the Xie family or the two men Gong and Tao; even if they seemed extremely reliable and knowledgeable, she didn't dare tell them such an important matter. So, she could only reluctantly let Autumn Chrysanthemum run this errand. But it was just a matter of passing on a message, which should be easy to explain.

  As for Wei Daxiang and his men, except for Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi, Ye Zhuo did not intend to let others know that they were being used by her.

  After a meal, Autumn Moon returned and said that Zhang Po had already told Ye Jiaming about the matter. Ye Jiaming was stunned for a while after hearing it, then beat up the woman brought by Gong Shi again, forcing her to confess that the child in her belly was indeed Tao Changsheng's. Only then did he leave with an iron face.

  And Autumn Moon also returned and reported back.

  It was almost evening when Tang Shun came, and he told what had happened today: "After Gong's wife entered the house for a meal, Ye Lao came over and kicked open the door with one foot. He rushed in and started beating Tao Changsheng. Yang Xiang and others also arrived just in time, and as soon as they heard the commotion inside, they went in pretending to mediate but actually blocked them off. Ye Lao was furious and wrote a divorce letter to Gong's wife on the spot, demanding that she return all the things she had taken out. During the quarrel, Gong's wife got upset and had a miscarriage, so they also called for a midwife. After writing the divorce letter, Ye Lao left, and Yang Xiang and others were driven out too. I was squatting outside listening to them for half a day, and it seemed that Gong's wife had given birth to a son, and Tao Changsheng was very happy."

  (Thanks for having a car to marry you, The Count of Monte Cristo - Maple Leaf, I am Nang Nang Tou, Pink ticket for the daughter who chases the day!)