Ye Yaming ignored her and turned to instruct Wen Xiu: “Cancel and take back the membership card we just gave to Madam Tang. From now on, we cannot afford to entertain these two ladies.”

Madam Tang was the elder sister, and her scheming was more vicious than Madam Song’s. Because of her close relationship with Madam Shi, her husband’s position at court was precarious, as if walking on thin ice. He could be demoted by the Emperor at any moment, which was why she came to diminish the prestige of the Lu family, the newly ennobled military family, to gain favor with officials of humble origins.

After all, civil officials and military generals, commoners and nobility had never gotten along well. And the Emperor would likely be pleased to see someone challenging the rising power of the Xuanwu Marquis’s Manor.

However, she hadn’t expected Ye Yaming to seize upon her sister’s single comment, causing her scheme to fail, and now even her membership card was being revoked.

Without the membership card, how could she engage in diplomatic affairs on behalf of her husband?

“Madam Lu, I—” She had no choice but to personally intercede.

But Ye Yaming still wouldn’t give her a chance to speak, staring at her and saying: “Will you leave on your own, or shall my servants escort you out and then spread what was just said throughout the entire Capital? Madam Tang, Madam Song, don’t take others for fools. Everyone knows why you came to make trouble today. It’s simply because you’re close to Madam Shi and came to vent anger on her behalf.”

“The Duke Wei’s Manor plotted treason and attempted to usurp the throne, yet you still want to defend Madam Shi. What a touching friendship indeed.”

Hearing these words, not only did Madam Tang and Madam Song turn pale, but even Baroness Yong’an, who was listening to the commotion outside, blanched.

This Madam Lu really dared to put any blame on others. The Duke Wei’s affair was now a taboo subject in the Capital that no one dared mention.

Yet not only did Ye Yaming dare to bring it up, she also claimed that Madam Tang and Madam Song were standing up for Duke Wei’s Manor. If this were to spread, not only would the Tang and Song families be ruined, but Baron Yong’an’s Manor would suffer as well.

After all, these two ladies were the nieces of Baron Yong’an’s Manor.

Baroness Yong’an could no longer care about saving face; life was at stake.

She rose and quickly rushed over, shouting at her two nieces from outside the door: “You two fools! You have no brains, yet still act stupidly everywhere. It would be one thing if you only got yourselves killed, but you’re dragging down your maternal family too. Someone, seize these two!”

The maids and servants of Baron Yong’an’s Manor immediately stepped forward, working in pairs to capture the two women. Despite being in her late fifties, almost sixty, Baroness Yong’an still moved with remarkable agility. She stepped forward and “slap, slap, slap” gave each of Madam Tang and Madam Song several strikes across the face. Red handprints immediately appeared on both their cheeks.

This series of actions happened so quickly that the maids and servants of the Tang and Song families hadn’t even reacted before it was over.

Even if they could have intervened, they wouldn’t have dared.

In this world, apart from the royal family, only the elders of Baron Yong’an’s Manor had the right to slap their mistresses. It was a proper elder disciplining juniors—how could mere servants interfere?

Still not satisfied after the slapping, Baroness Yong’an gave each of them a kick, cursing: “Disgraceful creatures! Making a scene here over a membership card, how shallow can you be? I really must ask how incompetent your husbands must be to have you come out and embarrass yourselves like this! Hurry up and apologize to Madam Lu, then get out of here!”

The Tang and Song women had only targeted Ye Yaming because of her low birth and youth, and because she had married up into the Xuanwu Marquis’s Manor. They thought that when facing officials’ wives from the Capital whose backgrounds she didn’t know, she would tread carefully, making her an easy target to bully. They hadn’t expected her to be such a tough opponent, and a venomous one at that.

Madam Tang regretted her actions the moment Ye Yaming mentioned “Duke Wei’s Manor” and “Madam Shi.”

Ever since they had curried favor with Madam Shi and gotten married, they hadn’t given Baron Yong’an’s Manor much thought. But now they saw Baroness Yong’an as their salvation. The stage was set—when would be a better time to climb down from their high horse?

Madam Tang pushed her sister hard.

Madam Song nearly bit through her lip.

But she understood the gravity of the situation and bowed to Ye Yaming: “Madam Lu, I apologize for my careless words earlier. I was wrong and I’m asking for your forgiveness. Please be magnanimous and spare me this once for my aunt’s sake.”

Ye Yaming stared at them for a moment, her lips curling slightly: “Don’t you want to ask how Madam Qian got here? I anticipated that you would make trouble on Madam Shi’s behalf, so I specifically invited her to come.”

Madam Tang and Madam Song stared wide-eyed at Baroness Yong’an.

Ye Yaming continued: “Since I could notify her to come, I could also summon others. How do you know there isn’t someone else listening next to this room?”

Madam Song’s legs weakened, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. Baroness Yong’an and Madam Tang also turned pale.

“However, I’m not one to press my advantage when I’m in the right. If you stop targeting me in the future, I won’t speak of this matter. But if you ever do anything to wrong me, I won’t be polite, and I will certainly reveal today’s events.”

“We won’t speak of it, we won’t,” said Madam Song.

…

That evening when she returned home, Ye Yaming told Lu Guanyi about the incident.

Lu Guanyi asked curiously: “Did you have someone eavesdropping outside?”

“How could that be possible? Who could guarantee they wouldn’t spread what they heard? Although the Song family would suffer if word got out, we wouldn’t fare well either. If the messenger twisted the story even slightly, we’d all be finished.”

Lu Guanyi was relieved and laughed: “So you were deceiving them.”

“People like them hold grudges the longest. Unless I had initially yielded to all their demands pleasantly, they would spread rumors about me outside.”

Lu Guanyi noticed Ye Yaming was about to remove her hairpins and reached out to help her: “Aren’t you worried others will say you’re formidable?”

“One must be formidable when necessary. Didn’t you see Minister Li’s wife and Madam Tang and Madam Song all testing me? If I had shown even a hint of weakness, they would have pressed their advantage.”

Lu Guanyi agreed: “That’s exactly right.”

In the following days, Ye Yaming continued to busy herself at the teahouse. Fortunately, the two hundred membership cards were quickly distributed. Those top aristocratic families who received invitations would send their stewards to obtain a card even if the masters themselves didn’t come. It was also a way of showing respect to the Xuanwu Marquis’s Manor.

Because Ye Yaming was adept at dealing with people, knowing when to be firm and when to be accommodating, maintaining a frank personality and witty speech, the Capital’s aristocratic circle quickly accepted her, and their impression of her was extremely favorable.

Once things at the teahouse settled down, Ye Yaming specifically sent a calling card to Princess Imperial Yü’an and took Madam Yin to visit the Princess Imperial’s residence.

Before going, Madam Yin was trembling with anxiety, repeatedly asking Ye Yaming: “What if I say something wrong? Will I bring a capital offense upon our family?”

When she met Princess Imperial Yü’an and saw that Yü’an was even easier to get along with than Madam Tao and Madam Zhang, she finally relaxed. With Ye Yaming mediating between them, the two women conversed pleasantly, discussing where to produce pastries and how large to make the shop.