Hu Xing and the others hurriedly withdrew upon hearing this.

Pei Yan raised his hand, gesturing for Yu Wen and the others to sit down and talk.

Yu Wen sat down somewhat anxiously. A’Ming helped them close the door and walked out.

“What matter does Third Master have in keeping us here?” Yu Wen asked, puzzled.

Pei Yan paused as if organizing his thoughts, then said, “Just now, Fourth Master Song came to see me—that’s the head of the Song family. Their family head is the fourth master of the third branch. He somehow learned about the map and also wants a share, and proposed cooperating with our Pei family. As you know, my father just passed away, and none of us brothers has any interest in doing this business. But Fourth Master Song has some connection with our family—his mother and my mother were maternal cousins. His mother was the elder, nearly twenty years older than my mother. Though the old lady has already passed away, our two families still maintain contact. So I thought, if your family is interested in taking this opportunity to participate, you might as well partner with the Song family. I wanted to ask your thoughts on this so I can make arrangements.”

Upon first hearing this, Yu Wen was overjoyed.

Pei Yan hadn’t mentioned this matter before, which showed he didn’t think highly of their family participating in such business. Afterward, he had carefully explained to them the capabilities and backgrounds of the families participating in the auction, also implicitly warning them that maritime business brought enormous profits but also great risks—not something families like theirs could meddle in. But now, he was acting as intermediary to connect their family with the Song family, which showed he felt the two families might successfully cooperate. This meant either the Pei family had the prestige and confidence to protect the Yu family’s interests before the Song family, or the Song family conducted themselves honestly and reliably, worthy of trust.

Whether the former or the latter, their family would be relying on the Pei family’s protection.

Yu Wen was extremely grateful for this.

But should they seize this opportunity?

Yu Wen habitually looked toward Yu Tang.

Yu Tang’s mind was in turmoil.

She did indeed have this thought—wanting to keep a copy of the map so that if their family had the opportunity in the future, they could invest in maritime business. But she had never thought of cooperating with families like the Tao family of Guangzhou.

When two families had vastly disparate power, the weaker side had no voice. Such cooperation would be unequal, and moreover, they could easily be devoured by the other party.

Her first choice had been the Jiang family.

The Jiang family that produced that Jiang Ling.

According to her memories from her previous life, their family hadn’t yet made their fortune, but judging from events that occurred in her past life, they had the capability.

Recognizing someone during their humble beginnings made for the best cooperation.

But at this moment, Yu Tang had to admit that Pei Yan’s proposal was like placing a bowl of braised pork before their family, making them drool.

Fortunately, she quickly calmed down under her father’s gaze.

Being tempted and wavering never led to good results.

Yu Tang couldn’t help but cough lightly and said gently, “Third Master, thank you for looking after our family. But our family is ultimately just a small, humble household. This kind of business isn’t something we can control, nor something we should covet. I think we should forget about this matter.”

Pei Yan’s enthusiasm was like being doused with ice water on the coldest day of winter, thoroughly chilled to the core. His face immediately showed embarrassment.

Didn’t she desperately want to get rich?

Such a good opportunity—he had rarely softened his heart, thinking that as a young lady she wasn’t having an easy time, only to end up like this.

“As you wish!” Pei Yan’s entire demeanor turned cold, even the atmosphere becoming stifling. “I only thought that if you cooperated with the Song family, for our Pei family’s sake, they wouldn’t do anything underhanded behind your backs. Since you’re not interested, just pretend I never mentioned it.” Finishing, he picked up his tea bowl.

This was a gesture to see them out.

Yu Wen felt extremely uncomfortable.

Anyone could perceive Pei Yan’s goodwill, yet Yu Tang had unexpectedly refused.

Of course, this decision was indeed what they had already discussed, but nothing was set in stone.

Yu Tang had been too disrespectful of Pei Yan’s face.

Yu Wen glared at his daughter. His lips twitched slightly, wanting to overturn Yu Tang’s decision—no matter what, they should accept Pei Yan’s favor, especially since Pei Yan had their family’s best interests at heart.

Before saying these words, Yu Tang had anticipated Pei Yan might feel some embarrassment, but she hadn’t expected him to turn hostile so quickly. Her father had even less backbone—seeing Pei Yan unhappy, he immediately wanted to accept this favor, without considering what situation this favor would plunge the Yu family into.

“Third Master!” She hurriedly spoke before Yu Wen could: “This past half year, many things have happened to our family. If not for your help, never mind living peacefully—even my mother’s illness could have plunged us into dire straits. That the Yu family has today is entirely your achievement. What you just proposed was also entirely for our family’s benefit. It’s just that our family precepts have always been thus—relying on heaven and earth is not as good as relying on ourselves. The Song family is one of Suzhou’s premier great households. Apart from a lacquerware shop, our family has never done any other business. Even if the Song family could include us, it would be out of respect for you, respect for the Pei family. Others may not be clear about it, but we ourselves know how many bowls of rice we can eat. Doing business together with the Song family is one thing, but we can’t just contribute a map to join the partnership, can we? Even if we only contribute a map, how would we join? How many shares would we hold? Would we form a fleet or not? How many ships should go to sea each time? How many people should each ship carry? What cargo should we transport? Where should we dock? Our family doesn’t understand any of these things. Should we come ask you about everything? What help could we offer the Song family? What benefit would the Song family gain from partnering with us? If the benefits remain unequal long-term, on what basis would we continue cooperating with them? How would that be any different from relying on you?”

Now that their family had already put the map up for sale, the Song family could certainly afford the auction price. Why would they need to cooperate with the Yu family over a map that could be resolved with money?

All things considered, it was still out of respect for Pei Yan’s face.

Wouldn’t Pei Yan still have to repay this favor?

Even if Pei Yan felt it didn’t matter, their family couldn’t accept it so easily.

Yu Wen and Yu Yuan listened and nodded repeatedly. Whatever slight wavering they’d felt had now completely dissipated.

As for Pei Yan, he still felt displeased.

All things considered, her words seemed reasonable, but in the end, hadn’t she still refused him?

“As you please!” Pei Yan raised his tea bowl again.

Yu Tang hadn’t expected Pei Yan’s temper to be so great. No matter how much she tried to explain, she couldn’t make him let it go.

If Pei Yan had ulterior motives, that would be one thing, but he had purely good intentions. Though Yu Tang clearly knew her decision was the most correct and beneficial choice for the Yu family, she still felt quite guilty toward Pei Yan.

Pei Yan was proud by nature and didn’t much understand mundane affairs. He had rarely meddled in others’ business, yet she had refused him. She truly didn’t know what was good for her.

Yu Tang wanted to make him feel better, so she simply pretended not to see him raising his tea bowl. She stepped forward several paces, humbling herself as she said, “Third Master, after we return home, we’ll definitely work hard at our business, striving to one day be able to receive your generous gifts.”

Seeing her bowed head, her smooth forehead warm and lustrous like jade, her long lashes motionless like phoenix feathers resting on her eyelids, appearing submissive and docile, Pei Yan’s heart softened. He felt that nameless fire gradually dissipating somewhat.

At least she knew his generous gifts weren’t something just anyone could receive—she had some self-awareness!

“Forget it!” He heard himself say with a slightly clearing tone, “It was also my lack of thorough consideration. Let’s just forget about this matter.”

Yu Tang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She had finally placated this ancestor somewhat.

Should she continue placating him a bit more?

She still wanted to know why Pei Yan had planted sea buckthorn in their family’s mountain forest in her previous life.

Yu Tang’s mouth moved faster than her brain.

She heard herself say respectfully, “No matter what, we must still thank Third Master. If Third Master doesn’t mind, my mother made some spring dumplings at home a few days ago. I’ll have Steward Hu bring some for Third Master to try. Our family doesn’t have anything else presentable, just these ordinary foods made a bit earlier than other families, allowing Third Master to taste something fresh.”

By rights, spring dumplings wouldn’t be made by households for another month or two. But this year Chen Shi’s health had improved and her spirits were high, so she had made some early. There weren’t many, but they were skillfully made and ahead of others by over a month, making them presentable as a gift.

Hearing this, the gloom in Pei Yan’s heart dissipated further.

He wasn’t particularly fond of eating spring dumplings, but he was in mourning—during the mourning period, he should eat such things. Yet many people didn’t seem to know what was going on, constantly forgetting he was in mourning. They were always inviting him to drink wine or enjoy flowers. Only gifts from the Yu family were appropriate.

It was as if those people had all forgotten his father had died not long ago.

What made him most uncomfortable was that many of these people had received favors from his father.

Clearly the saying “those who kill and burn wear golden belts, while those who build roads and bridges leave no corpse” had its truth.

Pei Yan snorted coldly several times in his heart, but his speaking voice softened somewhat: “No need to be so polite! Then please thank Madam Yu for me.”

This meant he would accept.

Yu Tang was delighted and hurriedly said, “As long as you like them.” She also thought that he had come in a hurry and didn’t know how the meeting with the Song family had gone. Not wanting to delay his proper business, she curtsied and said, “Then we’ll take our leave first. We’ll come disturb Third Master again after the auction ends.”

Fourth Master Song had indeed been temporarily settled in a guest room, and later Pei Yan would need to host a banquet for him. He couldn’t linger here long. Very satisfied with Yu Tang’s understanding of propriety, he gave a few more instructions: “These next few days, the heads of various families will all come to Lin’an. When you have no urgent business, it’s best not to go out, lest someone discern something and cause trouble.”

Was he afraid that if people knew the map belonged to their family, someone might forcibly seize it before the auction?

Those were all families the Yu family couldn’t afford to provoke.

Yu Yuan’s face paled.

Pei Yan glanced at him and said, “You needn’t worry too much. I’ve already given orders—all families coming to Lin’an will have their movements restricted before the auction, and I’ve also sent people to watch your home in secret. What I mean is, just in case…”

Yu Tang immediately said, “Yes, yes. Everything requires guarding against the unexpected. Our family definitely won’t run around before the auction. You can rest assured.”

Only then did Pei Yan’s expression return to its original aloofness.

Yu Tang’s anxious heart also completely settled.