He didn't care about wealth and fame; all he wanted was for his family to be safe and sound.

"As the saying goes, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. Father-in-law, you lent me a helping hand when I was in trouble. I will never abandon Miaoyun and you. Otherwise, how would I be any different from an animal?"

As Qi Jiu spoke, he bowed to Ye Jinghuai again.

He could tell that Ye Jinghuai was very wary of him.

"To be honest with you, Father-in-law, I am the Ninth Prince of the current Emperor, formerly known as Prince Rui."

As soon as Qi Jiu finished speaking, Ye Jinghuai's eyes widened in shock, and he almost choked on his breath.

"Father." Ye Xianwen and Ye Xianzhang, who were standing behind him, were so frightened that they quickly reached out to support him and help him catch his breath.

"Father-in-law!" Qi Jiu called out hurriedly.

"Divorce! We must get a divorce!" Ye Jinghuai shouted after he recovered.

This is a prince! The Ye family can't possibly be worthy of him.

Even if his daughter had been married before, or even if she were a virgin of eighteen, it wouldn't work.

This mismatched couple is doomed to fail sooner or later!

"Father-in-law, please calm down. Although I was a prince before, I am now just a commoner with no money. All the expenses on this journey were given to me by my nephew because he felt sorry for me. Father-in-law, do you think I am too poor to divorce you?"

"No!" Ye Jinghuai quickly shook his head. He didn't have such thoughts. He just felt that Qi Jiu's identity was too terrifying.

Qi Chengshuo, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard his Ninth Uncle say the word "charity".

It seems that Uncle Nine has really taken a liking to Ye Xianya's mother, otherwise he wouldn't have said such shameless things and kept pestering her.

“My nephew can still help me secretly now, but once we get to the capital, he won’t dare to do anything. At that time, I will be a penniless commoner and will have to rely on my father-in-law and wife to make a living.”

“My father-in-law is a learned man and must be aware of the current state of affairs. My elder brother was the crown prince, but he was punished for treason. After his death, my mother also committed suicide. My father hates them intensely and is taking his anger out on me. I am destined to never recover in this life. If my father-in-law makes Miaoyun divorce me, I will never be able to find a wife again. What is the point of living then…”

Qi Jiu pitifully said a lot, even threatening to die, and Qi Chengshuo, who was standing next to her, wished he could just disappear on the spot.

Uncle Jiu was really going all out to keep his status as Ye's son-in-law.

My grandfather has already sent word that as long as the Duan Prince's Mansion exists, he can guarantee that Ninth Uncle will have no worries about food and clothing, and will enjoy wealth and honor.

Uncle Nine, however, pretended to be poor, acted pitiful, and even threatened to die in front of the Ye family...

How embarrassing!

In the end, Ye Jinghuai and his two sons were not only scared away by Qi Jiu and never mentioned divorce again, but they also unwittingly pocketed the hundred taels of silver notes.

"Something's not right. How did I end up with these silver notes? Quickly, take them to Young Master Qi," Ye Jinghuai said hurriedly to his sons.

"Father, I think we should find another opportunity to give it to him. That young master Qi is Qi Jiu... he's my brother-in-law's cousin. You can tell from the looks of it that the two of them have a very good relationship. With my brother-in-law there, young master Qi definitely won't accept this hundred taels of silver. If all else fails, we can send this hundred taels of silver to his residence after we get to the capital, or... we can send it as a gift!"

"That's all we can do!" Ye Jinghuai sighed and nodded slightly.

Just then, Ye Miaoyun and Ye Xianya, who had finished getting ready, pushed open the door and came out.

"Miaoyun, your father already knows Qi Yanchang's true identity. He was originally Prince Rui, the ninth prince of the current emperor." Ye Jinghuai glanced at his daughter and lowered his voice, "What exactly do you think? Do you want to divorce Qi Jiu, or do you want to be his wife?"

Ye Jinghuai had to remind his daughter: "Although he is now a commoner, he is still of royal blood. If you want to be his wife, the road ahead will definitely be difficult."

"Father, I have already agreed to Qi Jiu's request to be his wife," Ye Miaoyun said frankly.

She was almost drowned in a pig cage, what else is there to be afraid of?

Ye Jinghuai glanced at her upon hearing this, and after a long while, he sighed, "Whatever you say."

Although he knew this path would be difficult, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

He had already heard from his sons at the beginning of the year how miserable his daughter had been living in the Jiang family all these years.

Ultimately, it was because he was too old-fashioned, insisting that his daughter remain chaste for her deceased husband and refusing to take her back to her parents' home to remarry.

The Jiang family treated their daughter badly, making her work like a slave for many years. Wasn't he an accomplice in that?

He felt guilty towards his daughter.

"Thank you, Father!" Ye Miaoyun said with a smile.

"I was sorry for you before. Although I'm just an old man now and don't have much ability, I will do my best to protect you and your daughter," Ye Jinghuai said with red eyes.

If Qi Jiu decides he no longer wants his daughter after a few years, he will take her away from the capital and live in the countryside.

The world is vast, and there will always be a place for them.

Ye Miaoyun had no idea what Ye Jinghuai was thinking, and she was quite happy to see that he had agreed.

"Grandfather, don't worry. With me here, even if Father regains his title and becomes a prince, my mother won't suffer any grievances. At worst... I'll become a disciple of the Taiyi Sect. With my skills, who would dare to bully my mother?" Ye Xianya said with a smile.

Ye Jinghuai was a little excited when he heard this. He had been struggling with this for a long time, but he had forgotten about his granddaughter.

This girl is really something.

Inside the house, Qi Chengshuo was trying to persuade Qi Jiu.

“Uncle Jiu, I know you did all this to be with Aunt Jiu, but… Uncle Jiu, you didn’t have to make it sound so tragic. When you said that, I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.” Qi Chengshuo said speechlessly.

Can't his ninth uncle do something reliable?

Why can't you just show off your abilities properly? Instead, you have to play the victim and threaten suicide.

“You brat, you don’t understand people at all. Everyone in the Ye family is upright, especially Old Master Ye. Although he is just an ordinary scholar, he has been teaching for many years and is full of integrity. He is definitely not the kind of person who tries to climb the social ladder. If they knew that I could still live a good life by relying on your Prince Duan’s mansion after I returned to the capital, they would definitely force me to divorce Miaoyun.”

Qi Jiu patted Qi Chengshuo on the shoulder as he spoke: "You should learn from this, kid. Pretending to be stupid or pitiful is sometimes much more effective than being arrogant. The Ye family is kind-hearted and falls for this. I threatened to kill myself, and my father-in-law gave in. Let me tell you... if you don't learn from this and remain so rigid, boring, and stubborn, you'll never win the heart of a girl you like in the future."

After Qi Jiu finished speaking, he suddenly said, "I'm not going to waste any more time with you. I'm going to find Miao Yun."

Qi Chengshuo was about to speak when he heard a woman screaming and crying outside.

"Something's happened." Qi Jiu's expression changed drastically, and he immediately rushed out.