Madam Qi nodded: “I know about this. Zi Mo mentioned it before he left. Your black tea is too important, so naturally, the court’s affairs take precedence. As long as Zi Mo can achieve military merit at the border and your black tea is produced well, no one can take the Xuanwu Marquis Manor away from you.”

If Ye Yaming had been an ordinary woman of such low family status, Madam Qi would certainly have imposed more restrictions.

After all, the Xuanwu Marquis Manor was in the Capital. Once Ye Yaming married into the Lu family, regardless of whether Lu Guanyi was in the Capital or not, as the heir’s wife, she should remain in the Lu household. She should socialize with the noble ladies of the Capital to secure the home front for Lu’s father and son, expand their connections, and also assume the authority of the heir’s wife. This would prevent Madam Shi from leaving behind an illegitimate child to behave tyrannically in the Lu mansion, or even allowing his wife to become the mistress of the Xuanwu Marquis Manor.

But Ye Yaming had her work to do. The black tea she produced was too important to the Great Jin, and the other teas were also crucial for the three collaborating parties. This business venture included not only Lu Guanyi’s share but also the Qi family’s portion. Naturally, Madam Qi would not use secular rules to constrain Ye Yaming.

Hearing this, the taut string in Ye Yaming’s heart finally relaxed.

Madam Qi was Lu Guanyi’s aunt and Qi Ji’s mother. If she had been an unreasonable person who insisted on imposing various restrictions, putting on airs as an elder, and demanding her nephew’s wife to behave in certain ways, it would have been problematic. Although Ye Yaming wasn’t afraid of her, having such a strained relationship would be unpleasant.

Madam Qi asked: “The wedding is on the eighth day of the tenth month. You’ll need to go to the Capital in advance, right? Do you have a place to stay? If not, the Qi family has a separate courtyard you could use, though it’s in a rather remote location.”

“Thank you, Aunt, for thinking of us.” Ye Yaming slightly bowed in gratitude, then sat down again. “We have a place to stay. My family has a three-courtyard residence in the Capital. As for when we’ll arrive, my grandparents have discussed it and plan to depart on the sixteenth day of the ninth month.”

Hearing this, Madam Qi was relieved.

She asked further: “Will you need to go to the Capital residence to measure for furniture? Whenever you go, just send word, and I’ll have someone accompany them to make sure you don’t get lost.”

Ye Yaming smiled: “I was just about to mention this to you, Aunt, but you spoke first. Thank you for your concern. If it’s convenient for you, shall we depart the day after tomorrow? I’ll send some maids, servants, and guards.”

“That works. We’ll go the day after tomorrow. By the way, are your grandmother and mother free tomorrow? I’d like to invite them to Wei Xiang Residence for a meal. We should meet face to face.”

“They should be available. I’ll ask them when I return home, and if confirmed, I’ll send someone to inform you,” Ye Yaming replied.

Upon returning from the Qi mansion, Ye Yaming relayed Madam Qi’s words to Old Lady Ye.

Old Lady Ye was delighted: “That’s wonderful!”

For instance, when Ye Yaqing got married, after the betrothal formalities were completed and the wedding date was set, the women from both families frequently interacted. They needed to measure the dimensions of the new home, determine the gifts for the groom’s family, confirm the sizes for clothes, shoes, and socks made for the groom’s family members… In short, there were many trivial matters to discuss.

However, Lu Guanyi had simply left a wedding date and then disappeared. There were no elders from the Xuanwu Marquis Manor, only a brother who had just come of age and might even hold a grudge against Lu Guanyi.

By rights, the Ye family should now send someone to the Xuanwu Marquis Manor to confirm the new home and measure its dimensions. Yet they didn’t know whom to approach. They couldn’t simply send someone to the Xuanwu Marquis Manor and tell the doorkeeper that they were relatives of the future heir’s wife, come to take measurements.

They might well be driven out.

Old Lady Ye had been worrying about this for days.

Meanwhile, Ye Yaming had been acting as if nothing were wrong, even going off to deal with the accountants, showing no concern for her affairs.

Now, knowing that Lu Guanyi wasn’t so unreliable after all—having entrusted distant uncle and aunt, as well as his aunt Madam Qi, to arrange these matters—the Ye family knew whom to consult when they needed to discuss something. Old Lady Ye’s suspended heart could finally rest.

With Madam Qi, Old Lady Ye, and Madam Yin taking care of the wedding arrangements, Ye Yaming left it to them. She had one last task before the wedding: the new teahouses in the Capital and Lin’an had been built according to her specifications, and she needed to choose an auspicious day to open them.

These teahouses weren’t located in bustling areas but rather in slightly more remote places with beautiful scenery. They weren’t housed in a single building but in a residential compound. The entrance led to a garden, with buildings scattered among flowers, trees, and waterside pavilions. Each room was set at some distance from others. Inside, tea settings were designed according to the four seasons, and specialized tea masters were available to brew tea.

After the Lin’an teahouse was completed, except for Ye Hongchang, who had already gone to the Capital, all the Ye family members came to tour it.

“Isn’t this location a bit remote? Why build it here?” Ye Hongrong asked in confusion.

It was known that Ye Yaming had considered many locations for this teahouse before finally settling on this one. But Ye Hongrong couldn’t see what advantages this place had over others.

“There’s a well here with exceptionally sweet water,” Ye Yaming explained.

For tea to taste good, besides the tea itself, water was equally crucial. If water came from saline-alkaline soil, even the best tea brewed by the most skilled tea master couldn’t produce a good flavor.

The best water for brewing tea was “heavenly water,” meaning snow or rainwater. Among “earth waters,” mountain spring water was best, followed by river and lake water, with well water being the least desirable. Not all well water was bad; some could be quite good, but the situation was complex, and most well water was of poor quality due to environmental issues.

In modern times, transporting water from snowy mountains or springs to cities for brewing tea wouldn’t be difficult. But in ancient times, it was problematic. Water could be contaminated during transport, and storing it for long periods wasn’t ideal either.

Therefore, Ye Yaming had initially sought high-quality water wells, and if she couldn’t find any, she would have had water brought down from the mountains daily.

Fortunately, Lin’an was decent in this regard, and she managed to find a well with excellent water quality.

Ye Yaming led everyone on a tour of the garden, then entered a room and had tea brewed using water from this well and from wells elsewhere.

The Ye family women rarely had opportunities to go out, so this time Ye Yaming had taken the opportunity to invite them all.

Old Lady Ye took a sip from each of the two teacups and nodded: “Indeed, this cup is sweeter than the other one, and the flavor is better.”

Ye Hongrong tasted it and admitted that tea brewed with good water did taste better.

But he still had questions: “If we’re talking about distance, it’s not that far from our place. You could simply transport the water over. This location is truly somewhat remote; I fear not many people will come here for tea.”

Ye Yaming shook her head: “I’m not targeting the general public but rather some wealthy households. Wealthy families all have carriages; this distance means nothing to them.”

“But why would they choose to come here for tea instead of going to the bustling Jihong Tower?” Ye Hongrong still couldn’t understand.