She continued, “That’s right. Although the rumors about Young Master Jiang aren’t widespread, and only a small circle knows about them, the Ye family has now aligned with the Crown Prince’s faction. They might learn this information and refuse the marriage proposal.”

Duke Ying had achieved illustrious military merit, and even the Emperor wouldn’t easily disregard his face. Let alone a small merchant family?

But the ignorant are fearless—perhaps the Ye family would dare refuse this marriage?

“It’s fine even if they refuse,” Meng Chengwei revealed a cruel smile. “A small merchant family daring to reject Duke Ying’s marriage proposal—that would be truly audacious.”

Madame Meng also began to smile. “Indeed. Even if the Ye family has connections to the Crown Prince, would the Crown Prince risk offending Duke Ying over a merchant’s daughter?”

“Duke Ying’s household appears powerful, but they’re short on funds. Marrying a tea merchant’s daughter from Jiangnan would bring countless riches, which I imagine the Duchess would be quite pleased with,” she added.

“Excellent, let’s proceed with this plan,” Meng Chengwei stood up. “I’ll go visit my cousin immediately and suggest this idea to the Duchess.”

…

In the northern part of the city, in the Lu family villa, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji sat drinking tea together.

Qi Ji remarked, “Miss Ye’s tea is truly exceptional.”

Lu Guanyi asked, “At Jixiang Pavilion, this tea must be selling like crazy, right?”

“Indeed it is,” Qi Ji nodded. “Once people heard that the Emperor’s proposal to abolish tea cakes in favor of loose tea was inspired by this tea, curiosity was piqued, and everyone wanted to try it.”

He sneered, “Fortunately, Miss Ye is cautious in her business dealings and remembered to go through the proper procedures with the Tea Monopoly Bureau and obtain a tea license. Otherwise, the Fourth Prince’s faction could have used it against her.”

Lu Guanyi nodded without speaking.

Qi Ji looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong? You seem distracted.”

Lu Guanyi said, “Meng Chengwei has been released, hasn’t he? With his character, I fear he will seek revenge against the Ye family.”

Mentioning this made Qi Ji feel gloomy.

They had intended to find someone to eliminate Meng Chengwei at the border, preventing him from returning and targeting the Ye family again. But the Meng family had taken strict precautions, sending many people to secretly protect Meng Chengwei, and their people couldn’t find an opportunity to act.

“What should we do? Should we each assign a guard to protect Second Master Ye and Miss Ye?” Qi Ji asked.

“That’s a good idea,” Lu Guanyi said. “The Ye family’s guards are just household servants with no martial arts skills; the escort agency’s people are too complicated and easily bribed, making them dangerous to rely on. I plan to send Yi Wu and Chen Xiu to serve as Miss Ye’s guards.”

Qi Ji gave him a look. “Yi Wu is your most skilled bodyguard. If you reassign him, won’t your stepmother have more opportunities?”

“Yi Wu is no match for me,” Lu Guanyi said. “I can protect myself.”

Qi Ji simply stopped talking.

Lu Guanyi was indeed formidable, but one fist couldn’t fight four hands. If he encountered several skilled opponents, what good would his prowess do? Without a capable guard by his side, the risk factor increased significantly.

But Ye Yaming was the woman Lu Guanyi cared for, and he was willing to place himself in danger to give Yi Wu to Ye Yaming. He truly placed her above himself.

Besides, Lu Guanyi’s judgment was usually sound. After their trip to Huizhou, Qi Ji also considered Ye Yaming a friend. If, because of his advice, Lu Guanyi kept Yi Wu and Ye Yaming from meeting a tragic fate as a result, not only would Qi Ji feel terrible, but his friendship with Lu Guanyi would likely end as well.

“Sigh, if only I had skilled guards too. It would be good if they stayed with you or were sent to protect Miss Ye,” he lamented.

The Lu family had military prestige, and Yi Wu had been trained by Lu Guanyi’s grandfather and had fought enemies at the border. The Qi family was civil officials, and their guards were about the same caliber as the Ye family’s.

“Since you’re sending one, I’ll also assign a guard to Second Master Ye,” he said.

“That’s fine.”

Qi Ji glanced at Lu Guanyi. “Miss Ye’s danger isn’t limited to her safety. Now that Longjing tea has gained fame, and it’s rumored that Second Master Ye created it, he has no son, and Miss Ye herself has a notable reputation and is unmarried. There are probably many people with designs on her marriage prospects.”

To protect Ye Yaming, they publicly attributed the creation of Longjing tea to Ye Hongsheng.

After a long silence, Lu Guanyi said, “Chuyang, before long, I may be going to the border.”

Qi Ji was greatly surprised. “What for?”

“To join the army,” Lu Guanyi said, “under the Northern Defense General.”

“This…” Qi Ji’s eyes widened, “How could this be?”

Actually, as the grandson of General Lu Min and the son of Marquis of Xuanwu Lu Yongzhong, Lu Guanyi should have gone to the border at fifteen or sixteen to establish military merit under his father’s guidance.

Instead, he had traveled south alone to engage in merchant affairs, which had its reasons.

Lu Guanyi’s birth mother, Lady Fang, had died in childbirth. Duke Wei, Shi Yi, using the excuse of caring for his beloved general’s subordinate and relieving his worries by looking after his infant son, had requested that the Emperor grant a marriage between his fourth daughter and Lu Yongzhong.

Fortunately, Lu Guanyi’s grandmother, Lady Qiu, was unwilling to entrust her grandson to Lady Shi’s care and raised him herself, allowing Lu Guanyi to grow up safely.

Over the years, Lady Shi’s true nature gradually emerged. Not only did his grandparents and Lu Guanyi himself suspect that Lady Fang’s death was connected to Lady Shi, but even Lu Yongzhong doubted it.

After all, Lu Yongzhong was handsome and valiant, a brave warrior who had repeatedly achieved military merit, becoming a general in just a few years. When he returned to the capital, many young women would secretly go to see him because of his handsome appearance.

Perhaps Lady Shi had been attracted to Lu Yongzhong’s looks and abilities, and with Duke Wei wanting Lu Yongzhong to become his man to consolidate his position, they had taken advantage of Lady Fang’s labor to harm her. Knowing that Lu Yongzhong and Lady Fang had a strong relationship and he wouldn’t easily remarry, she had sought the Emperor’s decree for marriage.

Over the years, the Lu family had investigated from multiple angles and finally tracked down the family of the midwife who had delivered Lady Fang’s baby. They confirmed that someone had indeed bribed the midwife to cause Lady Fang’s death during childbirth.

As for whether it was Duke Wei or Lady Shi who was behind it, that remained unknown.

Lady Fang was the daughter of old Marquis Lu Min’s comrade-in-arms. The elderly couple treated her like their own daughter, and Lu Yongzhong had grown up with her as childhood sweethearts, their feelings deeply rooted. Everyone wanted to avenge Lady Fang.

Unfortunately, Duke Wei was too powerful. Not only could they not avenge her, but they also worried that Lady Shi might become desperate and attempt to harm Lu Guanyi. Lu Yongzhong didn’t dare show obvious affection for his son or apply for the position of heir for him. Lu Min and Lady Qiu kept their grandson by their side at all times, not daring to let him train in the military.

After all, the military was full of Shi family confidants.

For many years, Lu Min and Lu Yongzhong had been determined to bring down Duke Wei and protect Lu Guanyi. Now that Lu Min had passed away, how could Lu Yongzhong feel comfortable sending his son to the border? And why would he send him under the Northern Defense General?

The current military of Great Jin was divided into two factions—one led by the Northern Defense General and the other by Duke Wei’s son Shi Kun and his son-in-law Lu Yongzhong. The two factions had long been at odds with each other.