She patted Ye Yaming’s hand, “I’ve seen this young man with my own eyes, and he’s truly not bad.”

Ye Yaming responded indifferently, “Then I’ll meet him after I finish with my busy period.”

“When will you ever not be busy? When spring tea comes out, your father used to be so busy he couldn’t even sleep. Don’t delay; meet him tomorrow.”

Ye Yaming thought for a moment. The weather wasn’t warm enough yet, and it was still half a month before the Qingming Festival. The tea trees on the mountain probably hadn’t sprouted buds yet. Taking two or three days to handle this matter would be fine.

She said, “Alright then. I’ll meet him.”

“Good, good, good.” Seeing her granddaughter agree so readily, Old Madam Ye was beaming with joy.

Ye Yaming glanced at her, thought for a moment, and said, “Just have him come tomorrow, and I’ll arrange the specifics of the meeting.”

“Agreed,” Old Madam Ye said with a smile.

The next day, Ye Yaming accompanied Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye for breakfast. Seeing that the two elders had almost finished eating, she instructed Madam Yu, “You can go call them now.”

Madam Yu understood and immediately went out to notify the servants.

Seeing that Old Madam Ye was about to put down her chopsticks, Ye Yaming picked up a small steamed bun for her, “Doesn’t he live in the north of the city? It will take him quite a while to get here, so please eat slowly.”

Old Madam Ye said, “I had someone notify him yesterday, and he said he would come early and wait at the gate.”

Ye Yaming’s chopsticks paused, and she resignedly said, “Alright, then let’s go.”

Ye Chongming put down his chopsticks, “I’ll go with you.”

“Grandfather, haven’t you already met him?” Ye Yaming asked.

She had heard from the old lady that this person had been seen by both her and Ye Chongming together, and only after they thought he was satisfactory in all aspects did they arrange for her to meet him.

Otherwise, if she were to meet just anyone and the marriage didn’t work out, who knows how those people would talk about and belittle her afterward? Her reputation would be ruined.

Ye Chongming’s footsteps paused as he was heading toward the door, “If you feel uncomfortable, then I won’t attend.”

He had forgotten that no matter how capable his granddaughter was, she was still a young, unmarried lady. Having her grandfather present while she met a potential husband would certainly make her uncomfortable.

Ye Yaming didn’t mind, saying, “If you want to see, then see. I don’t mind.”

The reason Ye Chongming wanted to attend was that he had heard from the old lady that Ye Yaming had made arrangements for this meeting, and he was curious to see what she had planned.

Seeing that Ye Yaming was casual and didn’t seem particularly concerned, he, driven by curiosity, still followed the two of them to the outer courtyard.

Entering the outer courtyard, just as Ye Yaming was about to take out the key to open Ye Hongsheng’s study door, she saw that the door was wide open. Upon entering, she found Ye Hongsheng sitting behind his desk, writing something.

Ye Yaming raised her eyebrows, “Father, didn’t you go to the tea house?”

Because of the upcoming tea production, Ye Hongsheng had returned a few days earlier than Ye Yaming’s group.

Since the matter of bringing in a son-in-law was still very preliminary, Ye Yaming didn’t want to publicize it, so she had instructed Old Madam Ye not to tell anyone, not even Madam Yin.

For today’s meeting, Ye Yaming had asked Ye Hongsheng for the key to his study last night, saying she needed to find a book. Ye Hongsheng had always been accommodating to his two daughters and immediately gave her the key without question.

Unexpectedly, at this hour, Ye Hongsheng, who had said he would go to the tea house early, was still in his study.

Before Ye Hongsheng could speak, Ye Chongming laughed and said, “Haha, I mentioned the matter of Wang Fusheng to your father when he returned. Your father has been wanting to meet Wang Fusheng. I thought since you haven’t met him yet, and everyone is saying they want to meet him, we might scare him away. So I advised your father to wait. But since you don’t mind me watching, your father might as well join us.”

Ye Yaming was speechless.

This was just like modern-day blind dates where the couple arranges to meet at a café or restaurant, but then one side brings all their relatives. Her family was doing the same thing.

“Fine, let’s all go together,” she said straightforwardly.

Everyone entered the room, and Ye Yaming pointed to the window, explaining, “I chose this room because there’s a stone table and stone benches outside. This window is covered with a screen, so people outside can’t see inside. Let’s stay quiet for now and watch first. If he seems suitable, I’ll go out to meet him. You should all stay in the room.”

Hearing this, Ye Hongsheng hadn’t thought much, but Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye, who had lived most of their lives, seemed thoughtful.

After the maid brought tea, Zi Yuan came in and whispered, “They’re coming.”

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Ye Yaming stood by the window.

Ye Hongsheng hesitated for a moment, then also went over.

Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye exchanged glances, and each stood behind Ye Yaming and Ye Hongsheng.

Soon after, Fang Xing led a man of about 5’7″ wearing a short brown garment.

“Young Master Wang, please sit here for a while. I’ll have someone bring you refreshments and tea,” Fang Xing said to Wang Fusheng. “I’ll go to the inner courtyard to inform the young miss.”

Wang Fusheng nervously rubbed his hands, “All-alright.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “Thank you for your trouble, Manager Fang.”

Inside the room, Old Madam Ye frowned.

When she had previously met Wang Fusheng, he had also appeared very nervous. At that time, she didn’t mind.

Given her status and position, and the fact that the Ye family was seeking a son-in-law to marry into their family, it was normal for Wang Fusheng to feel nervous and uncomfortable in her presence.

But now, with Wang Fusheng and Fang Xing standing together, compared to the composed and confident Fang Xing, Wang Fusheng’s pettiness became particularly obvious. Facing a servant of the Ye family, he was humble, ingratiating, and even somewhat obsequious.

Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng also had displeased expressions.

Fang Xing left, leaving Wang Fusheng sitting there alone.

Shortly after, several maids came over.

Wang Fusheng, who had just sat down, immediately stood up awkwardly, giving the maids an uncomfortable smile.

The maids placed the snacks, fruit plates, and tea on the table, making the small stone table quite crowded.

“Young Master Wang, please help yourself,” the maid said politely before withdrawing.

“Th-thank you, thank you,” Wang Fusheng nodded and bowed. Only after the maids had walked far away did he sit down.

Looking at the table full of snacks and fruits, he swallowed his saliva, thought for a moment, and then turned to look around. Finally, having made up his mind, he grabbed a small piece of pastry and quickly threw it into his mouth, swallowing it with almost no chewing.

While doing this, he kept looking around nervously, afraid of being seen.

After eating this piece, he found that nothing had happened and no one was around, so he repeated the process, furtively eating two pieces of each snack. Then he rearranged the snacks to hide what he had done.

Feeling that time was running out and someone might come soon, he took a sip of tea, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then sat upright, pretending as if nothing had happened.