Not only had the events come so suddenly that the Song mother and son were caught unprepared, but even Ye Chongming and the Old Madam were dumbfounded when they heard Zhou Xiang’s report, all turning to look at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming first recited a section of the Jin Dynasty legal code, then explained: “To completely defeat Song Yifeng, damaging his reputation alone is not enough. Even if his poor reputation prevents him from passing the Metropolitan Examination, he would remain a Provincial Graduate. So we needed to see if he had committed any illegal acts.”

“Originally, I had planned to play the long game, having Zi Jin keep an eye on Song Yifeng to find areas we could exploit. I never expected he would dare write such treasonous poetry. Even if we hadn’t acted, he would have eventually ruined himself because of this. We merely hastened what was bound to happen.”

Ye Chongming, who in all his years had never stabbed someone in the back like this, felt fearful just thinking about it. Now, given this reasoning from Ye Yaming, he quickly sought to reassure himself.

“Yes, yes, yes,” he agreed repeatedly. “We didn’t tell him to write such poetry. He brought this upon himself; it’s not our fault.”

“Indeed, we’ve eliminated a threat to the Emperor and the court,” the Old Madam also chimed in.

After comforting themselves in this way, the elderly couple finally calmed down.

The Old Madam asked, “Madam Yu won’t do anything to us, will she?”

Just as her words fell, a servant woman came to report: “Old Master, Old Madam, Madam Yu requests an audience with the Old Madam.”

Concerned that they might not know who “Madam Yu” was, the servant woman glanced at Ye Yaming and carefully added, “That is, the Madam Yu from the Song family.”

The Old Madam and Ye Chongming looked at each other in surprise.

It was truly a case of “speak of a person by day, and they appear; speak of a ghost by night, and it arrives.” They had just mentioned Madam Yu, and she had come.

Ye Chongming looked toward Ye Yaming. “Yaming, what do you think…”

“She is now the relative of a criminal, and Song Yifeng has been charged with treason against the Emperor. Since our family no longer has any connection to the Song family, there’s no need for further entanglement,” Ye Yaming said.

“Yes, yes, yes,” the Old Madam agreed repeatedly.

She turned to the servant woman: “Tell her we won’t see her.”

The servant woman left, and Ye Yaming stood up to take her leave. Before departing, she said to Ye Chongming: “Grandfather, it would be best to have someone keep a close watch on the teahouses in the capital. If Uncle’s health has improved, he could be sent there. The Meng family has suffered a great loss at our hands, and I worry they might create obstacles for us in the capital. We must be vigilant.”

Ye Chongming grew serious and nodded: “Very well, I understand.” Ye Yaming bowed slightly before leaving the main courtyard.

The Old Madam, watching her retreating figure, asked her husband: “What do you plan to do about what Yaming mentioned?”

Ye Hongsheng had gone to the capital after the Mid-Autumn Festival and had remained there without returning.

Regarding Ye Yaming’s broken engagement with Song Yifeng, Ye Chongming and the others, considering that he would certainly be preoccupied upon learning of it and might not be able to stay focused in the capital, had decided after consulting with Ye Yaming not to tell him anything.

So he still didn’t know that Ye Yaming had broken off her engagement with Song Yifeng.

Ye Hongchang’s injuries had healed, and according to their usual practice, Ye Chongming would certainly have sent Ye Hongchang to the capital to replace Ye Hongsheng.

However, the private tea incident, Ye Hongsheng’s performance during the chrysanthemum tea purchase, and the fact that there had been no problems with the business in the capital during his time there made Ye Chongming realize he had previously overlooked his second son. He had always felt his second son was dull and unremarkable, not giving him opportunities, which hindered his second son; this was unfair to him.

Moreover, given Ye Yaming’s great contributions to the Ye family, Ye Chongming would only favor the second branch more, and Ye Hongsheng couldn’t continue being neglected as before.

So when Ye Hongchang’s wounds healed, he never mentioned sending him to the capital to replace Ye Hongsheng.

And Ye Hongchang, due to Ye Yaming’s outstanding performance, knew that his father was rebalancing the status of the first and second branches within the family. At the same time, aware of Ye Yaming’s formidable abilities, he was unwilling to offend her over this matter, so he also did not mention going to the capital.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yaming had brought it up herself.

Ye Chongming sighed with admiration: “Yaming is truly a person of great magnanimity.”

The Old Madam also nodded, strongly agreeing with her husband’s words.

Many children from wealthy families focused only on their family’s property, fighting like roosters among siblings. What did the overall interests of the family matter in the face of personal gain?

But Ye Yaming did not concern herself with personal gain or loss, putting the overall interests of the Ye family first. How could one not admire such a magnanimous, reasonable, and far-sighted child?

“I’ve been concerned about the capital, so I’ve been sending people to keep an eye on things there. Fortunately, nothing has happened so far. Now that Yaming has brought it up, I’ll have the eldest prepare his luggage and set off for the capital,” Ye Chongming said.

The Old Madam had never previously interfered in business matters, but recently, due to Ye Yaming’s influence, Ye Chongming had realized that women were in no way inferior to men, and he had started consulting with the Old Madam on business affairs.

So now the Old Madam actively participated in the discussion: “Since you’re sending the eldest there, let the second son stay there too. The brothers have both been busy with their affairs and rarely have time to sit down and communicate. Why not let them develop their relationship there? Besides, there’s no fresh tea leaves now, so the second son has nothing to do if he returns.”

Ye Chongming nodded: “That’s exactly what I had in mind.”

Ye Yaming didn’t know that the elderly couple had gained even more respect for her because of her words.

Her suggestion to send Ye Hongchang to the capital wasn’t as noble as Ye Chongming had described; she simply felt that since Ye Hongchang’s injuries had healed, he could work again. She was truly concerned about the situation in the capital. Ye Hongchang had managed the business for many years and was naturally much more capable than Ye Hongsheng.

As for her so-called father, he was purely a technical expert. He was willing to devote his energy to tea production and enjoyed it. How could such a technical talent be forced to do management work he wasn’t good at?

Although nothing had gone wrong in the capital during this period, that was merely because no issues had arisen. If something serious happened, she suspected Ye Hongsheng wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Each person has their strengths. The best leader places various talents in positions that suit them best, making full use of their abilities and stimulating their potential.

So it was better for Ye Hongsheng to return and continue making his tea.

In the future, she would teach Ye Hongsheng the methods for producing various types of tea. Tea production techniques were core technology, the most crucial element of the tea business. Even if the second branch didn’t compete for power, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang couldn’t possibly disregard the second branch.

Moreover, with Ye Hongsheng overseeing quality control in the future, she would be at ease.

As Ye Yaming was thinking about these matters while leading Bai Rui toward the second branch’s quarters, she suddenly heard a male voice calling “Third Miss” from a distance.

Ye Yaming turned to look and saw Ye Hongrong, leaning on a cane, supported by a servant boy as he stood at the intersection of two paths. Another servant boy was running toward her—clearly, it was this running servant who had called out “Third Miss.”