Ye Yaming nodded. “He has some.”

Otherwise, how could he be so arrogant? And to threaten her before even understanding her background, his official backing might be quite substantial.

When she said this, Ye Hongrong snorted derisively: “No matter how powerful, could it be greater than Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi’s background?”

Qi Ji was the Prefect’s son, and the Prefect was the highest official in the prefecture. For Lu Guanyi to have Qi Ji as his follower, his status must be even higher than Qi Ji’s.

Lin’an was a prosperous major city, and Ye Hongrong had some hometown bias. Therefore, in his view, this backwater Xin’an couldn’t compare to even half of Lin’an.

Because of this, he believed no one’s status and position could be higher than Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji’s, except for the Prefect himself.

“That’s not how it works,” Ye Yaming said. “Even a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Despite Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi’s high status, it probably won’t help much here. Even if they know officials in Huizhou, there would be several layers of separation. From how Master Wu behaved, I suspect he has relatives or cooperative relationships with these officials.”

“Then what should we do?” Ye Hongrong frowned.

Before coming, he had heard Ye Yaming discussing with his father and elder brother that once they decided to buy tea mountains in Huizhou, they would open a teahouse in Xin’an.

Opening a teahouse would not only facilitate business networking and manage the tea mountains, but also allow them to sell some tea locally—achieving multiple goals at once.

But now, Ye Yaming had offended Wu’s family, a local power, as soon as she arrived. It might not be easy for them to buy tea mountains and open a teahouse.

“We would have to offend them eventually. Once our teahouse opens, both Pin Ya Pavilion and Wangjiang Tower would be competitors. Let’s first see how things develop with Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi, and then investigate Master Wu’s background before deciding,” Ye Yaming said without concern.

Relationships could sometimes be cultivated.

She said to Fang Xing: “Go investigate quickly.”

Fang Xing, who had just returned to report the situation and hadn’t left yet, immediately acknowledged and hurried away.

He didn’t return until after Ye Yaming and Ye Hongrong had finished dinner.

He reported: “Deputy Magistrate Liao of Huizhou is forty years old and childless. Two years ago, Master Wu sent his granddaughter to become his concubine, and I heard she’s already pregnant this year.”

Ye Yaming and Ye Hongrong exchanged glances.

No wonder he was so arrogant—he had such backing.

“Wangjiang Tower used to be the largest teahouse in Xin’an. After Master Wu sent his granddaughter to be Deputy Magistrate Liao’s concubine, Pin Ya Pavilion surpassed it,” Fang Xing continued.

“Who is the head of the tea guild in Xin’an?” Ye Yaming asked.

An elder surnamed Song. Although Huizhou produces tea, it isn’t famous, and trading isn’t frequent. Therefore, the tea guild here doesn’t have much influence. Elder Song is quite old and good-natured. He was recommended for the position when the tea guild was newly established some years ago and has remained there since.”

Ye Yaming nodded.

In previous years, the Wu family hadn’t had such backing; otherwise, given Master Wu’s way of doing things, an outsider wouldn’t have had the chance to become the guild leader.

At this moment, voices came from outside. By the sound of it, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji had returned.

Sure enough, shortly after, a servant came to announce them.

Ye Hongrong said, “Please invite them in,” and rose to welcome the two.

After sitting down, Lu Guanyi spoke first: “Things didn’t go well on my end. After hearing that I wanted to buy tea mountains, Deputy Magistrate Liao advised against it, saying Huizhou’s tea wasn’t as good as Lin’an’s.”

“Mine went better. At least Magistrate Zhao gave me a brief introduction to the tea mountains in Huizhou,” Qi Ji said.

Ye Yaming knew why Lu Guanyi had encountered resistance, so she explained about Master Wu.

Upon hearing that Master Wu had threatened Ye Yaming, that he was the grandfather of Deputy Magistrate Liao’s concubine, and that this concubine was pregnant with Deputy Liao’s only child, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji frowned.

“We also went to Wangjiang Tower. From what the owner and manager introduced, this is a good place for growing tea. I also tasted their tea. Although their processing techniques are somewhat inferior, the tea itself is good, no worse than that from the tea mountains in Baifeng County,” Ye Yaming added.

“Leave this matter to us,” Lu Guanyi said. “Since we’ve all found out that this place is suitable for growing tea, we’ll proceed according to the original plan the day after tomorrow.”

Ye Yaming nodded.

Even without Lu Guanyi’s words, she wouldn’t give up on this prime location in Huizhou.

Liao Zhi was only a Deputy Magistrate; above him was still the Prefect. Moreover, the Tea Monopoly Bureau operated under a different system, not subordinate to local authorities. She didn’t believe the Prefect and the Tea Monopoly Bureau would have objections to Deputy Liao’s actions.

Taking a local wealthy merchant’s daughter as a concubine was a way to integrate with locals and leverage their wealth—this was competing for power with the Prefect. And by marrying a tea merchant’s daughter while blocking outsiders like them from buying tea mountains and building teahouses, he was interfering with the Tea Monopoly Bureau’s affairs and blocking their path to wealth.

How could they not object to this?

So even if Deputy Liao fully supported his convenient grandfather-in-law, with the influence of the Prefect and the Tea Monopoly Bureau, she could still forge her path in Huizhou.

However, with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji present, she didn’t need to worry about this; it was better to leave it to them.

Lu Guanyi’s ability must be exceptional for him to be valued by the Crown Prince.

“If you want to open a teahouse here, why do you also plan to sell osmanthus tea to other teahouses? Wouldn’t it be better to keep it for building your reputation?” Qi Ji asked curiously.

Opening a teahouse was the Ye family’s venture, outside the scope of their cooperation. Qi Ji’s question was purely out of curiosity.

“Even if other teahouses sell osmanthus tea, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s produced by my Ye family. If all the teahouses in the city sell osmanthus tea, but after tasting it at another teahouse, do you think people will go to the Ye family teahouse to buy it, or buy from other teahouses?”

Qi Ji realized: “Naturally, they would go to the Ye family teahouse.” That would be the authentic source.

As for other teahouses, who knew if they were selling counterfeits?

“And by selling tea to Wangjiang Tower now, haven’t I gained an ally? Isn’t that better than having all the established teahouses in Xin’an unite against me as a newcomer?”

Qi Ji couldn’t help but give a thumbs up: “Brilliant.”

Ye Yaming smiled and continued: “Besides, we’ll have other new teas in the future, which we can use exclusively to build our reputation. Giving up osmanthus tea and chrysanthemum tea to pave the way makes our path smoother.”

Qi Ji clapped his hands in admiration and asked curiously: “Who taught Miss Ye all this? Could it be that Old Master Ye has been grooming Miss Ye since childhood?”

Hearing this, Ye Hongrong raised his eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Lu Guanyi frowned and glanced at Qi Ji.

How was she supposed to answer such a question?

“That’s not it,” Ye Yaming said. “My grandfather is busy enough grooming his grandsons; how would he have time to groom me? I suppose it’s because I’m somewhat intelligent, so my ancestors took notice and enlightened me.”