Upon hearing the name “Meng Chengwei,” Ding Jian’s face changed dramatically.

Ye Chongming’s heart tightened, and he looked at Ye Yaming in disbelief: “You’re saying all this was Meng Chengwei’s doing?”

“Yes,” Ye Yaming smiled at him, then turned to Ding Jian with a frost-covered expression. “If you don’t tell the truth now, we’ll send you to the yamen immediately.”

Ding Jian’s lips trembled, and with a “thud,” he knelt before Ye Chongming: “Young Master Meng said he arranged this to establish a relationship with you, not to harm the Ye family. I also knew he had no malicious intent, especially since I saw that the tea customers he selected were all honest and kind-hearted people. That’s why I went along with the Fourth Master’s wishes and took on this business. Old Master, I beg you, considering that two generations of the Ding family have served the Ye family, please don’t send me to the yamen.”

So it was true?

Ye Chongming closed his eyes forcefully.

Ding Jian was Old Manager Ding’s son. Given the friendship between the Ye and Ding families, he had never imagined Ding Jian would betray the Ye family. That’s why he had never really suspected Ding Jian. He had believed Ding Jian’s earlier explanation.

He never expected the truth to be like this.

“Tell us everything you know. If you can redeem yourself, I might consider not sending you to the yamen.” Ye Chongming opened his eyes, his voice ice-cold.

“Yes, I’ll talk.” Ding Jian knew that concealment would not benefit him in any way. He immediately recounted how Ye Hongrong had ordered him, how he had initially wanted to dissuade him, but then Meng Chengwei found him and promised great benefits. Since he was certain Meng Chengwei truly meant no harm to the Ye family, he had been bewitched into indulging Ye Hongrong’s foolishness.

As for how much of what he said was true and how much was false, only he himself knew.

These matters, Ye Chongming would naturally verify later. Now, the most important thing was to obtain the customer list.

“Who did you sell the tea to? Which ones are most likely to cause trouble? Speak quickly. I’m telling you, if anything happens to the Ye family, not a single member of your family will escape.” Ye Chongming said coldly.

“There’s Master Liu from East Street, Master Wu from Ganquan Lane…” Ding Jian began listing names.

Ye Chongming frowned, about to tell Ding Jian to pause so he could ask Ye Yaming to get paper and pen to record the names. Turning his head, he saw that Ye Yaming had already produced a sheet of paper from somewhere and was holding a small wooden stick.

She coldly interrupted Ding Jian: “Stop. Don’t just say ‘Master Liu’ or ‘Master Wu.’ Give us their specific names.”

Not only could there be people with the same surname on one street, but even in the same household, there could be several “Old Liu” and “Young Liu.” If they had to go around asking, even without customers making trouble, the news would spread throughout the prefecture.

Ding Jian’s face stiffened, and he smiled awkwardly: “I’m used to calling them that way; I didn’t notice this point.”

With that, he quickly reported the specific names of those he had mentioned earlier.

Ye Chongming gave Ding Jian a heavy look, then shifted his gaze to Ye Yaming.

It seemed Ye Yaming had already recorded the list from Liu Chunxin and was now comparing each name with those Ding Jian was reporting. Occasionally, she would interrupt Ding Jian to ask a few questions, and her small wooden stick would occasionally make a mark on the paper, writing a few characters.

Ye Chongming’s expression softened, and he could not have been more satisfied with his granddaughter’s performance.

Sharp, calm, intelligent, articulate, and thorough in her actions. It was just a pity that she was a girl.

Meanwhile, Ye Yaming had finished cross-checking the list.

This time, Ding Jian dared not play tricks. The names he provided matched those from Liu Chunxin, and he answered all questions, being very cooperative.

The only thing was that he did not specifically mention the one person who needed special attention.

Ye Yaming’s eyes cooled slightly. She raised her head, about to say something, when she heard Ye Hongsheng’s voice from outside the door: “Father, Mingzi.”

Bai Rui promptly went to open the door at Ye Chongming’s signal.

“How did it go?” Ye Chongming asked.

“At first, no matter how we questioned him, he wouldn’t talk. Fortunately, Mingzi sent Li Fu over. After mentioning the name ‘Meng Chengwei,’ Tian Pengyi confessed honestly.” Ye Hongsheng waved the paper in his hand. “I’ve recorded all the names.”

He then looked curiously at Ye Chongming: “Who is Meng Chengwei?”

Ye Chongming’s face darkened instantly as he recalled their first meeting on the mountain, when he had thought that young man was decent. Little did he know that while he was setting a trap for the Ye family, he was also pretending to be a good person. The injury to Ye Jiaxing back then might well have been his doing.

Ye Yaming took advantage of their conversation to stand up and call in Ye Chongming’s and Ye Hongsheng’s attendants. Pointing at Ding Jian, she said: “Take him out and lock him up. If you let him escape, all the damage he’s caused to the Ye family will be on your heads.” Turning her head, she also instructed Li Fu, “Steward Li, go and watch him as well.”

Li Fu and the others verbally agreed with “Yes,” but their eyes remained fixed on Ye Chongming.

Ye Chongming wasn’t displeased that Ye Yaming had given orders without consulting him; on the contrary, he admired her even more.

He was just about to discuss with his son and granddaughter how to handle this matter. Ding Jian’s case would have to wait until all those customers were placated. What his granddaughter was doing was exactly what he would have done. She had saved him the trouble of giving the orders.

Whether Ye Yaming was a girl or young, having someone in the Ye family with strong opinions, capable of taking charge, and handling matters in the same way as himself was a good thing. He wouldn’t have to split his attention and become exhausted.

“Do as the Third Miss says,” Ye Chongming said. “Song Dequan, stay.”

Li Fu and the others immediately took action, efficiently taking Ding Jian away.

Only then did Ye Chongming speak to Ye Hongsheng: “Most of the names on the list just now are our regular tea customers, only three are not.”

He picked up the paper Ye Yaming had placed on the table, then picked up the small wooden stick beside it and examined it. He discovered that this small stick was made of two halves glued together with a piece of charcoal in the middle. He tried making a mark on the paper and found it quite effective, producing clear writing.

He marked some of the names on the list.

“I will visit those I’ve marked; you will go to the others. I’ve already told Song Dequan to prepare the gifts. Since each of them bought ten or dozens of cakes, we will compensate with silk worth twice the value of the tea, plus a box of four-colored pastries for each household.”

The Ye family did have tea. If they used this tea for compensation, it would be most economical. The cost of the tea would make the compensation price seem not so high; and since the Ye family was short on cash, using tea for compensation would eliminate the need to spend money on gifts.

However, to raise the silver needed for autumn tea orders, the Ye family was trying to sell off their tea before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and now there wasn’t much tea left in the tea house and tea shops.

Additionally, the tea remaining in the tea house now was summer and autumn tea. These teas could not be compared to the meticulously crafted, expensive, and prestigious compressed tea cakes. Using them as gifts would not be an apology but an insult to the recipients.

Moreover, these teas were purchased with a large sum of money and many connections to obtain the tea permits. It was best to keep them in the tea house and tearooms to sell gradually. The Ye family’s tea establishments needed to operate normally; they couldn’t close down because of compensating for this one business.

So the Ye family could only spend cash to purchase silk for compensation.