On the other hand, Ye Hongrong was still Ye Yaming’s male elder. With him present, people couldn’t gossip about Ye Yaming working together with Lu Guanyi.

This solved multiple problems at once.

Old Lady Ye’s eyes also glistened with tears as she held Ye Yaming’s hand and said, “Good child, only you still think of your Fourth Uncle.”

She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and continued, “But it’s cold out there, and traveling far is both dangerous and tiring. Your health isn’t strong, why not wait until the weather warms up?”

“When the weather warms up, we’ll be busy with other matters,” Ye Yaming said, then turned to Ye Chongming. “Grandfather, when we have fresh tea leaves, I want to try the tea-making secret method I learned in my dreams. That tea tastes even better than Father’s loose-leaf tea, and the method isn’t difficult.”

“Really?” Ye Chongming was overjoyed.

After the osmanthus tea and the “Tea Classic” and “Tea Setting,” he had long regarded Ye Yaming’s dreams as divine revelations and no longer doubted the skills she learned in her dreams.

Since Ye Yaming said the tea made with this secret method was good, it must be good. How could something given by immortals not be excellent?

Thinking of this, his heart surged with excitement.

Their Ye family truly had ancestors smiling upon them—they couldn’t help but prosper now.

Ye Yaming smiled.

If she weren’t collaborating with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, and if she hadn’t seen their capabilities during the recent promotion of tea ware and tea setting concepts, she wouldn’t have brought up stir-fried green tea.

The Capital was full of powerful nobles, yet despite Jixiang Tower selling such expensive tea ware, no one caused trouble or tried to take advantage of the business, all because of the protective forces behind Lu and Qi.

She brought the topic back: “That’s why I need to go see the tea mountains now, while I have the chance.”

She looked at Old Lady Ye: “Grandmother, don’t worry. Haven’t you seen me having carpenters work on my carriage lately? I’ll arrange the carriage to be comfortable and warm. Plus, we won’t rush our journey. If the weather turns bad, we’ll rest at inns.”

Ye Chongming said to his wife: “We’ll bring a physician along.”

Old Lady Ye could no longer object and said to Ye Yaming: “You must explain this well to your mother.”

“I will,” Ye Yaming nodded.

Madam Yin naturally didn’t want Ye Yaming to go out and suffer hardships. But since Ye Yaming insisted on going, and it was for the family’s benefit, Madam Yin couldn’t voice her objections even if she was unhappy.

As for Ye Hongrong, he had been cooped up at home for too long. Before, his father hadn’t bothered to discipline him. Now that his father was strictly controlling him, he was completely confined at home.

When he heard he could go out, even in the bitter cold, he was delighted.

Lu Guanyi had returned to the Capital just before the New Year, stayed there for less than half a month, and came back to Lin’an before the Lantern Festival, still staying in that large mansion.

After arriving in Lin’an, he had sent New Year gifts to Ye Chongming and mentioned that he would go to look at tea mountains after the Lantern Festival.

Now, upon learning that Ye Yaming and Ye Hongrong would accompany him, he had no objections, but Qi Ji found it strange.

He whispered to Lu Guanyi: “Miss Ye is indeed an extremely intelligent young lady. If she said she wanted to follow me to make tea ware, I could understand, since she’s quite skilled at drawing tea ware designs. But she’s never left Lin’an city in her life, right? Oddly, she wants to go with you to buy tea mountains.”

“Besides, the Ye family’s Fourth Master is unreliable. I don’t know what the Ye family is thinking by sending him and Miss Ye with you.”

Lu Guanyi said nothing, but instructed his servant An Tai: “Go send a message to Old Master Ye. Tell him that if it’s convenient, I’ll visit the tea house in half an hour to discuss where to buy tea mountains.”

An Tai acknowledged and left, returning shortly to report: “Old Master Ye says he humbly awaits your arrival at any time.”

Half an hour later, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji went to Jixiang Tower.

Qi Ji was quite surprised to see Ye Yaming present, but no sign of Fourth Master Ye, while Lu Guanyi wasn’t particularly shocked.

After exchanging greetings and sitting down, they chatted briefly before Lu Guanyi said: “Before the New Year, I traveled around Lin’an but couldn’t find any good tea mountains for sale. After the New Year, I plan to go further. Do Old Master Ye and Miss Ye have any suggestions about which direction to go?”

Ye Chongming didn’t speak but glanced at Ye Yaming.

Since Lu Guanyi spoke straightforwardly and hadn’t objected to her going along to buy tea mountains, Ye Yaming also didn’t beat around the bush.

She said directly: “Let’s go to Huizhou.”

“Huizhou?” Lu Guanyi was slightly surprised and asked, “Why does Miss Ye suggest Huizhou?”

“Mr. Lu probably knows that tea trees grow best on the middle slopes of warm climates, preferably with abundant rainfall and morning and evening fog,” Ye Yaming explained.

“I’ve been studying geographical records lately and found that Huizhou has many mountains but little flat land. Its high mountains are shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, the climate is mild, and rainfall is plentiful—perfect for growing tea.”

After a pause, she added: “Besides Huizhou, Minzhou is similar. But since Minzhou is farther away, let’s go to Huizhou first.”

Ye Yaming had mentioned these two places to Ye Chongming before, but as it concerned his granddaughter’s biggest secret, and there wasn’t enough time before the New Year for Lu Guanyi and Ye Jiaxing to travel far, Ye Chongming hadn’t mentioned it to them.

Hearing Ye Yaming’s explanation now, Lu Guanyi found it very reasonable and became increasingly impressed with the Ye family’s granddaughter.

He didn’t know much about tea cultivation, and Ye Jiaxing, though born into a tea family with tea gardens and workers in Baifeng County since birth, also had vague knowledge about which areas were suitable for growing tea trees. That’s why they had just wandered aimlessly before the New Year without any clear plan.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yaming, a sheltered young lady who rarely left home, could provide such useful advice.

As a young man, Lu Guanyi should have been more restrained, but he couldn’t help praising Ye Yaming: “Master Zhi Neng always praised Miss Ye for her refined intelligence, and it’s true.”

Ye Yaming smiled and continued: “The weather is cold and the journey long. My grandfather and others have warned me about the hardships, so I’m mentally prepared. I have my Fourth Uncle to look after me on the road, so I won’t trouble Mr. Lu. If I truly can’t continue due to health reasons, my uncle and I will stay at an inn along the way and won’t delay your journey.”

In these words, Ye Yaming had arranged everything properly and considered everyone else’s needs, which further increased Lu Guanyi’s good impression of her.

“Miss Ye, there’s no need to be so polite. Since we’re partners, we should take care of and be considerate of each other. If you need any help on the road, please don’t hesitate to ask,” he said.

“Very well,” Ye Yaming agreed with a smile.

“When does Miss Ye think would be convenient to depart?” Lu Guanyi asked.

“I need to return in time for pre-Qingming tea processing,” Ye Yaming said. “Counting the round trip, we have less than two months at most, so it’s better to leave early. After the Lantern Festival, my uncle and I can depart anytime.”