He understood that in many matters, he couldn’t match Ye Yaming’s depth of thought or foresight. For such important decisions, he’d better listen to his granddaughter.

Ye Yaming shook her head. “It’s not necessary. The status gap between us and them is too great. Taking the initiative to invite them might appear like we’re currying favor or trying to climb socially, which could affect the relationship Father has carefully built with them.”

Though somewhat disappointed, Ye Chongming accepted this reality. “Alright then.”

He turned to ask Zan’er, “What did Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi say?”

“They were full of praise,” Zan’er replied.

“Nothing else?”

Zan’er said, “Young Master Qi asked if this tea was made from semi-processed tea. Before this servant could answer, Young Master Lu gave him a stern look and told me to ignore him.”

Ye Yaming couldn’t help but laugh.

Ye Chongming gave Ye Yaming a puzzled look.

Seeing that his father hadn’t understood, Ye Hongsheng explained, “Where would we get semi-processed tea at this time of year?”

“Exactly,” Zan’er also smiled. “That’s what Young Master Lu said to Young Master Qi. But this servant also explained that it was made from fresh leaves, as it couldn’t be made from semi-processed tea. Young Master Qi was quite disappointed.”

Hearing this, Ye Chongming’s face showed a hint of pride.

Of course! The tea garden was the Ye family’s property, and the secret tea-making formula came from Ye Yaming. Young Master Qi could only envy this Longjing tea.

“How did Young Master Lu praise it after drinking it?” Ye Yaming suddenly asked.

“He said it was the finest tea in the world,” Zan’er replied. “He said that regardless of how much of this tea is available or its price, he wants to pre-order ten catties.”

A broad smile blossomed on Ye Yaming’s face.

She tempered her smile slightly and said to Zan’er, “Go to him and tell him that I will reserve ten catties for him. Also, tell him that when we sent tea to him yesterday, we also sent a jar to Master Zhineng. Coincidentally, Princess Yuning, Prince Consort Fan, and the renowned Tan Xuan were all present and tasted this tea.”

When Ye Chongming heard about giving ten catties of tea to Lu Guanyi, he became anxious. “Yaming, our tea quantity is so limited—isn’t ten catties too much? One catty for each young master would be sufficient.”

He had heard Ye Yaming say that for this Pre-Qingming Longjing, it took fifty thousand tea buds to pan-fry one catty. His few hundred mu of tea gardens could probably produce only fifty or sixty catties.

Giving ten catties to Lu Guanyi at once, then sending one catty to Master Zhineng, and letting Fan Yu and his group buy twenty or thirty catties—they’d have no tea left.

If just a few people bought all the tea, how could he use it to build the Ye family’s reputation? What if Prefect Qi wanted to buy some as gifts?

According to his thinking, this tea should be like osmanthus tea, with purchase limits of one catty per person.

Ye Yaming first said to Zan’er, “Go deliver the message to Young Master Lu first.”

After having all the servants leave, she then said to Ye Chongming, “Grandfather, would you like our Longjing to become tribute tea?”

“Wh-what?” Ye Chongming’s eyes widened.

“Young Master Lu is not a rash person. He should also know that Pre-Qingming tea has an extremely low yield. Why do you think he wants these ten catties of tea? Can’t you guess?”

Thinking about how the Crown Prince stood behind Lu Guanyi, and who stood behind the Crown Prince…

“Hiss…”

Ye Chongming was startled by his thought. “You, you mean…” he pointed upward toward the sky.

Ye Yaming nodded.

Ye Chongming excitedly rubbed his hands together and said resolutely, “Give it to him. Not just ten catties—we’ll give him twenty.”

After his excitement subsided, recalling what Ye Yaming had told Zan’er to say, he suddenly had a realization. “You mean that with Prince Consort Fan…”

Ye Yaming nodded. “I don’t know which faction they belong to. If they stand with the faction opposing Young Master Lu and send tea to the palace first, it would certainly cause trouble for Young Master Lu.”

“But it’s not a problem. Since Young Master Lu now knows, if he wants to prevent this, he can simply tell us. The tea hasn’t been sent yet, right? We can give it to him first and then delay giving it to Prince Consort Fan and the others by a day or two. That would solve the problem.”

“But, but this way, wouldn’t we become pawns of the Crown Prince’s faction and offend Prince Consort Fan and the others?” Ye Chongming listened with trepidation, not daring to say the words “Crown Prince” aloud, only mouthing them.

“As long as Longjing tea reaches the Emperor’s presence, and the tea-making secret remains undisclosed, no one would dare to touch us,” Ye Yaming reassured him.

“Grandfather,” she said seriously, “when we initially chose to cooperate with Young Masters Lu and Qi, we had already taken a side. Having chosen a side, we cannot be indecisive or try to please both parties.”

Ye Chongming remained uneasy.

He was just a small merchant, suddenly involved in the struggles among imperial princes for the throne—matters that could lead to the extermination of entire families. How could he not panic? All his life, he had only sought stability.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have cooperated with Young Master Lu and the others in the first place?” he murmured.

Ye Yaming looked at him and suddenly felt apologetic. “Grandfather, I’m sorry.”

Ye Hongsheng frowned from the side. “Yaming, what have you done wrong that requires an apology?”

His tone was very stern.

His daughter had been working diligently for this family, pan-frying tea until her hands were swollen, unable to hold chopsticks steadily while eating. How could she possibly have done anything wrong?

Ye Chongming had been absorbed in his own emotions and didn’t immediately react. Now understanding that his second son’s words seemed to contain some reproach toward him, he quickly waved his hand and said, “Yaming, how is this your fault? Why are you apologizing?”

Ye Yaming smiled bitterly and shook her head. “Perhaps we shouldn’t send this tea to the capital.”

She had the habitual mindset of a business person from her previous life—always aiming to expand and strengthen. As a former strong and independent woman, after transmigrating, she wasn’t content to be a mere housewife, idle and leading an unremarkable life.

She wanted to leave her mark on the Great Jin.

So she had been eager to share the tea-making techniques she knew, allowing the people of Great Jin to enjoy these teas. She had acted according to her ideas, neglecting Ye Chongming’s feelings.

While Ye Chongming wanted the Ye family to flourish and prosper, he desired stability even more.

Although they had already introduced pan-fired green tea and even let Princess Yuning and her group taste it, making it difficult to retract, they could still claim that the production process was particularly complex and that the finished product was unstable—whether they could produce it each year and how much they could produce were both uncontrollable factors.

This way, they wouldn’t spread word about it, let alone think of presenting this tea to the Emperor. Thus, the tea’s influence would be diminished, and the Ye family would avoid involvement in the factional struggles of the capital.

Seeing that Ye Chongming didn’t understand, she explained all of this to him in detail.

Finally, she said, “Grandfather, the tree that stands out in the forest invites the wind to break it. If we want Ye family tea to become tribute tea, we must take risks. If we want stability, we can only conceal our brilliance and blend in with the crowd. How should the Ye family develop? You decide.”