As autumn moon chased to the gate, she saw Ye Zhuo holding Qian's hand and saying something. Her originally pale face was now even more bloodless; her body swayed as if a gust of wind could blow her away. Especially with that pleading and terrified gaze on her face, her expression seemed to be on the verge of tears, making people feel like their heart had been crushed, feeling an overwhelming sense of sorrow and pity, only wanting to hold her in their arms and comfort her thoroughly.

  Qian's aunt seemed to be getting more and more annoyed, shouting loudly: "Shut up! If you keep pestering me like this, I'll advise the mistress to drive you out today..." While speaking, she used force to pull her hand back and forth, trying to get it out of Ye Zhuo's grasp. It was unclear how much strength she had used in the struggle, but suddenly a loud "ah" was heard, and Ye Zhuo was pushed down, falling to the ground.

  "Girl..." Autumn Moon shouted and rushed over, helping Ye Zhuo up. She saw that the white dress she was wearing was all muddy, and her hand had been scratched by something, and blood was oozing out. Autumn Moon's heart was filled with bitterness, sadness, injustice, and pain from what had just happened, and she yelled at Qian Mama without caring: "What are you doing? It's just a bowl of ginseng soup! My girl didn't have the strength, and she accidentally spilled it. Is this a big deal? Can a servant like you trample my girl underfoot? Weren't we told that our girl was going to be Master Nie's personal disciple? What is this now? A slave can hit and scold at will? Is there such humiliation and bullying? If you look down on us, we'll leave. There's no need to drive people away in such a roundabout way." By the end of her words, tears were streaming down her face.

  The commotion took place right at the entrance of Yingfengyuan, and it not only startled the women on duty at the gate but also attracted the attention of passing maidservants in the nearby area. They all rushed over to see what was happening. Seeing Qian Mama standing there like a teapot, while Ye Zhuo lay pitifully on the ground, Autumn Moon's face streaming with tears and sobbing uncontrollably, they all sighed in sympathy. The scene didn't need any explanation; it was clear that the wealthy family's servants were bullying an outsider who was weak. These housekeepers were not easy to deal with; they were usually strict and stern but lacked warmth. Even though they were also servants of the Nie family, the onlookers almost all sympathized with Ye Zhuo while despising Qian Mama.

  Qian's aunt was already furious from Ye Zhuo's previous words, and now she felt that Ye Zhuo had intentionally spilled the ginseng soup, making her even angrier. At this moment, she was being pulled and dragged by the master and servant at the door, shouting that they were bullying her, which made her even more irrational. Ye Zhuo didn't dare to hit her, but Qiu Yue was also a slave, and a small household's slave at that, so even if she hit her, it wouldn't be a big deal. As soon as Qiu Yue finished speaking, "slap" - Qian's aunt slapped her face with a loud noise, pointing at her nose and saying: "Is this a bowl of ginseng soup? That was the mistress's good intentions. I think you're intentionally spilling it. What are you pretending to be innocent for? You don't need to threaten me by taking things away. Our Nie family's threshold is high, those people would break their heads to get in, and my master wouldn't have trouble finding apprentices. Do you think that without you, the Nie family can't survive? Bah, self-righteous thing!" After finishing speaking, she turned around and left, throwing down a contemptuous sentence: "Really doesn't know what's going on!"

  "Alas, such a beautiful and capable girl. I wonder how she was doted on at home. But as soon as she arrived at our estate, she was drugged yesterday and nearly lost her life, and today she's being bullied by the servants and humiliated in public. It's really cruel!" The old woman at the second gate shook her head and sighed. Although she had gone to inform Nie Weiyue of the news, it didn't stop her from sympathizing with the weak girl at the right moment.

  In the big mansion lived over a hundred maidservants who were enthusiastic about gossip, and even if Mrs. Nie was very strict, she couldn't stop the spread of rumors. Yesterday's commotion was so great that some informed servants still knew about Niu Weiyue giving Ye Zhuo medicine. Seeing Ye Zhuo's miserable state now, their sympathetic hearts surged, and they all started discussing in hushed tones.

  And Ye Zhuo had already been helped up by Qiuyue, seeing that there were no less than ten servants watching, she glanced around and said to Qiuyue: "Let's go back."

  Qiu Yue looked at the sympathetic glances of the people below, and seemed to understand something. Supporting Ye Zhuo back to the house, serving her change clothes and lie down, only then asked in a low voice: "Miss, what I said earlier, didn't it harm you?"

  Ye Zhuo gave a thumbs up and whispered: "Well done."

  Qiu Yue smiled happily and took Ye Zhuo's dirty clothes out.

  But Nie's wife, listening to the nurse adding oil and vinegar to describe Ye Zhuo's words and deeds, also had a servant hastily come in and whisper to her for a while, telling her about the private discussions of the people below. With a "ding" sound, she smashed the tea cup into powder.

  "What a troublesome thing! She's been here for less than two days and has already stirred up trouble in our Ning Manor. Yue'er said she was a troublemaker, and I think it's absolutely right." She gritted her teeth and scolded, then lifted her head to look at Zhu Mama, "Go tell Qian Mama that whatever Miss wants to do, let her do it, don't stop her. Also tell her that Miss is 15 now, and soon Father and I will be arranging a marriage for her. Those self-defense skills in the inner courtyard should be taught, and I want to see results within six months."

  Originally, Nian Weiyue returned from the Bamboo Institute's entrance and couldn't help but want to take action again. However, Madame Nian didn't know how her husband would handle Ye Zhuo when he returned. If he really wanted to accept her as a personal disciple or even decided to adopt her as a daughter-in-law and marry her off to Du Haoran for the benefit of the family, then she needed to tame her properly and shouldn't let their relationship become awkward. So on one hand, she sent Tang Yayi to stew nourishing dishes to show comfort and kindness; on the other hand, she had Qian Yayi keep a close eye on Nian Weiyue, not letting her cause any more trouble. This was the reason why nothing had happened with Nian Weiyue for two days.

  But today's farce thoroughly irritated Mrs. Nie, especially since the public opinion in the mansion had begun to sympathize with Ye Zhuo, affecting the reputation of the Nie Mansion, which was what Mrs. Nie could not tolerate the most. So she decided not to stop Nie Wei Yue anymore and let Ye Zhuo taste some bitter fruit. For someone from a humble background like this, perhaps they need to suffer a bit before they will be respectful and know what is important. Compared to comforting and showing kindness, this might be more effective.

  "Yes." Zhu's nanny bowed and responded, turned around to pass on the order. At the same time, she sighed in her heart, it seems that Ye girl is going to suffer again.

  The undercurrents in the Ning Mansion were all stirred up by Ye Zhuo, and she herself was naturally aware of it. When Qiu Yue returned to her room, she instructed: "I think that ginseng soup that Nurse hadn't finished using is still there, and the kitchen utensils they used to stew the soup haven't been moved away yet. Now go to the kitchen and stew a bowl of ginseng soup for me." She wanted to drink a bowl of ginseng soup to nourish her spirit and prepare for the upcoming battle.

  Qiu Yue responded with a sound and went to the kitchen. Just now, when Tang's nanny instructed the little daughter-in-law to stew the tonic, she was also listening on the side and knew what to do. So although she had never stewed ginseng soup before, after a short while, she still brought out a bowl of ginseng soup that was no worse than the previous one.

  Ye Zhuo slowly drank it, then lay on the bed with his eyes closed, resting and sleeping well.

  A night without words.

  The next day after breakfast, Zi He came to report: "Miss Ye, Master Zhang and Master Zhao have arrived, saying they've come to visit your illness."

  Qiu Yue turned her head, looking at Ye Zhuo with some confusion. If she wasn't mistaken, when they met Zhang Zi Qing and Zhao Song yesterday, the two were quite cold, completely different from their enthusiasm when they entered the mansion. And if they wanted to visit the sick, they should have come yesterday, why wait until today?

  Ye Zhuo's eyes lit up like stars, but the next moment, she reined in her sharpness and said to Zi He: "Take them to the hall and have them sit down, I'll be there in a bit."

  As soon as Zihua left the door, she turned her head and instructed Qiuyue: "We have anything valuable, all collected and put away. Probably today, we can go home." After confirming that Mrs. Nie despised and ignored her, Ye Zhuang's speech was no longer as cautious as it was at first. This kind of small person, the Nie family wouldn't even notice. Of course, they won't send a master to spy on her.

  "Really?" Akatsuki exclaimed in surprise. She didn't ask any further questions, and quickly put Ye Zhuo's jewelry box and good clothes back into her luggage. If the girl said she could go home, then she must be able to go home. She had immense faith in Ye Zhuo.

  Ye Zhuo saw that those washing utensils and old clothes were still untouched by Qiu Yue, nodded in satisfaction, stood up and said: "Let's go."

  Autumn Moon had also finished packing and had a taste of it. The cold-attitude Zhang Zi Qing and Zhao Song, who were considerate of Nie Fu Ren and Nie Wei Yue's dislike for Ye Zhuo, actually took the initiative to come over, which was problematic in itself. It was clear that they were sent by Nie Wei Yue, but what their purpose was, no one knew, but it was definitely not good intentions. Thinking of this, Autumn Moon decided to take a step back and not leave Ye Zhuo's side for a while, still uneasy, she reminded her: "Miss, you must be careful."

  "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Ye Zhuo smiled at her and the two of them supported each other as they walked out the door.

  "Miss Ye, are you feeling better?" Zhang Zi Qing and Zhao Song were sitting in the hall drinking tea when they saw Qiu Yue supporting Ye Zhuo as she came in. They quickly stood up and asked after her health with a bow.

  "It's okay, I'm not as tired from walking today." Ye Zhuo smiled and bowed slightly, "Thank you two brothers for remembering me and taking the trouble to visit me."

  Zhang Zi Qing smiled dryly, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then said: "I thought that by now you've fully recovered from your illness. Since you've been cooped up in the house for so long, I was thinking of inviting you to take a look at Master's jade carvings. It's not far, just in Pu Yuan, only a few steps away."

  "Great, I was just thinking of checking out Nie's work!" Ye Zhuo exclaimed happily, getting up impatiently, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

  Zhang Zi Qing glanced at Zhao Song and was the first to leave the door.

  The courtyard was very large, extremely large. As soon as they entered the gate, Ye Zhuo discovered that this wasn't a single courtyard, but rather a collection of courtyards, consisting of over ten smaller ones. Zhang Zi Qing and Zhao Song each had their own separate courtyards. Those disciples who had gone out to manage businesses in various regions, although they were no longer present, still had their courtyards reserved for them, and would occasionally return to stay for a while - this place had become their home, the only rule being that they weren't allowed to bring their families to live here.