She stood up and gave Ye Yaming a deep bow, saying: “Thank you, Third Sister.”

When she looked up, she smiled with sincere gratitude: “Truly, Grandmother spoke my heart. Third Sister, you don’t know how grateful I am to you. If it weren’t for you, who knows what would have happened to me? How could I possibly be marrying into the Xie family?”

At this point, her eyes dimmed.

If not for Ye Yaming, she would have been ruined by that despicable man Yang Chuzhi long ago. She might have been in her grave with grass several feet tall over it by now, rather than being alive and well, with a family like the Xies seeking her hand in marriage.

Over the past six months, Xie Guizhou had occasionally sent her gifts and invited her to go shopping with his cousin. She had become quite familiar with Xie Guizhou and his cousin. She had also met Xie Guizhou’s mother and aunt twice.

The more familiar she became with them, the more satisfied she was with Xie Guizhou and his family.

They were a wealthy, harmonious, and proper family. Xie’s mother was kind and gentle, and Xie Guizhou’s eyes would light up when he talked about business. In their words and actions, there wasn’t the slightest hint of looking down on merchants.

After experiencing the Yang Chuzhi incident, Ye Yaqing was no longer the unworldly girl who didn’t care about or think about anything.

Seeing how Ye Yaming, at such a young age, had supported the Ye family and led them to unprecedented prosperity, Ye Yaqing felt ashamed of her incompetence and foolishness.

Previously, she had always thought that doing business and revitalizing the family were men’s affairs. With her father and brother at the forefront, she could think about nothing, just stay in the inner quarters and enjoy life.

But Ye Yaming had shocked her too deeply, and she began to contemplate life and wanted to become stronger.

Especially after Ye Yaming wrote more than a dozen pastry recipes, and Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu followed Madam Yin to open a pastry shop and start their own business, this feeling grew even stronger in her.

She began consciously reading and studying, and occasionally sought advice from her brother and the stewards.

Because of this, along with her daily observations, when she discussed business with Xie Guizhou, she was quite knowledgeable, making him increasingly satisfied with her.

So Ye Yaqing was full of confidence about the future.

She decided that after marriage, she would do business with Xie Guizhou, rather than staying in the inner quarters like her mother and sister, with eyes only for trivial matters. Over time, such a view would become short-sighted, and the heart would grow narrower.

Prompted by Ye Yaqing, Madam Tao and Old Lady Ye also recalled the Yang Chuzhi incident.

Although Ye Yaxiu hadn’t returned to her maiden home in these years, she would send gifts to the Ye family on festivals and holidays through servants, and they would exchange news to know whether her parents and siblings were well.

Therefore, she also knew about what had previously happened to Ye Yaqing.

Ordinarily, Old Lady Ye would certainly have brought up the old matter to remind the first branch to remember Ye Yaming’s kindness. But today was Ye Yaqing’s special day, and such words would be inappropriate, so she remained silent.

She didn’t speak, but Madam Tao couldn’t act as if nothing had happened.

Her feelings toward Ye Yaming were now very complicated. She was furious and resentful that Ye Yaming had taken the inheritance rights of family head from her husband and son. So she would seize opportunities to needle Ye Yaming.

But her husband and son had repeatedly reminded her that “Yaming is formidable” and “not to provoke her.” Moreover, the Ye family had indeed gained enormous benefits thanks to Ye Yaming. Even if they only received twenty percent of the Ye family’s property, this twenty percent was more than seventy percent of what the Ye family had originally owned.

Not to mention that Ye Yaqing’s marriage was entirely due to Ye Yaming’s influence.

She hurriedly smiled at Ye Yaming and said: “Qing’er is right. Not just Qing’er, but your eldest aunt is also very grateful to you.”

Ye Yaming smiled: “Second Sister is a blessed person. Her days will only get better.”

Madam Tao felt genuinely grateful hearing these words: “Thank you for your kind words, Yaming.”

Ye Yaming gestured behind her, and Bai Rui and Lu’E opened the boxes they were holding.

Ye Yaming took out two differently colored tiles from the box in front of Bai Rui and placed them on the red silk-covered table where wedding gifts were displayed.

“This is the gift from our second branch.” She pointed to the slightly yellowish glazed tile, “This is a shop in the capital, located on East Peace Street, about half the size of Ji Xiang Lou.”

Then she pointed to another greenish glazed tile and said: “This is a shop in Lin’an, just behind Ji Xiang Lou on Front Relay Street, about the same size as the one in the capital, with two floors.”

She looked at Ye Yaqing: “I’ve heard that Second Sister will also do business with her husband after marriage. I wish Sister and Brother-in-law’s business prosperity and abundant wealth.”

Ye Yaqing was on the verge of tears.

Shops in good locations in the capital were extremely hard to find and expensive. The situation in Lin’an was slightly better than the capital, but to buy a shop in the area of Ji Xiang Lou was also extremely difficult, not to mention one of such size.

This wasn’t just about money—more valuable than money was this rare thoughtfulness. Ye Yaming must have put in considerable effort to buy these two properties.

Yes. Even though Ye Yaming said it was a gift from the second branch, Ye Yaqing knew that neither her second uncle nor her second aunt could have made such a grand gesture, nor would they have gone to such lengths to buy these shops for her.

Only Ye Yaming could have done this.

Ye Yaxiu’s mouth was slightly open, her eyes as round as saucers.

Having lived in Lin’an for several years after her marriage, and later gone to the capital with her husband’s family, she knew all too well how rare and expensive these two shops were.

The two shops together would cost more than ten thousand taels of silver. And one would need connections to get timely information. After all, those aristocratic and official families were all eyeing shops in good locations.

Although the Ye family was wealthy, they had many grandsons and granddaughters, so everyone couldn’t have a large dowry. For her and Ye Yaqing, the money from the family fund for their dowries was fixed at twenty thousand taels.

As for what additional gifts their parents and brothers gave, that was separate.

But Ye Yaming, just a cousin, presented shops that would be difficult to buy even with over ten thousand taels of silver—a gesture that even Ye Hongchang and Madam Tao probably couldn’t match?

But this wasn’t all. Ye Yaming also took out two sets of head ornaments and jewelry from the box in front of Lu’E, placed them on the table, and smiled: “Little Sister also wishes Second Sister a hundred years of good marriage, growing old together in harmony, and bearing noble sons soon.”

Ye Yaxiu’s eyes were about to pop out, and her face burned.

As her parents’ first child, when she married, besides the twenty thousand taels of silver from the family fund, she also received over ten thousand taels of silver in additional gifts from her parents.

But this was her foundation in the world, with a long life ahead and children to raise. When her sister got married, she would have the Ye family fund and her parents providing money, so naturally, she was reluctant to give too valuable gifts. Therefore, she had only sent two sets of head ornaments worth about eight hundred taels.

She thought this gift was already quite generous. But with Ye Yaming’s grand gesture, she felt completely overshadowed.