Lu Guanyi frowned slightly, looking directly at Ye Yaming, and said earnestly, “You’ve been continuously making tea, then made a trip to Huizhou, and now you’re planning to make jasmine tea. It’s too exhausting.”

After returning from Huizhou, Ye Yaming had immersed herself in the intense tea-making process, with no time to attend to other matters.

Upon their return, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji discussed with Ye Chongming, which concluded with Lu and Qi each assigning two capable managers to accompany Ye Hongrong to Huizhou to establish teahouses and develop tea plantations.

Ye Chongming, not entirely trusting Ye Hongrong, promoted Zhou Xiang to manager and sent him to Huizhou with Ye Hongrong to assist and also serve as a supervisor. If there were any unreliable behaviors, Zhou would immediately dispatch someone to report to him.

Ye Hongrong had been feeling deeply guilty for bringing great trouble to the family with the private tea incident. He wanted to do something to make up for his mistake. He had been grateful when Ye Yaming took him along on the trip initially.

Now, given this task, and with the managers from Lu and Qi as a comparison, he didn’t want to bring shame to the Ye family. Thus, he worked diligently and tirelessly, performing exceptionally well.

After Ye Yaming finished making Mingqian tea in Lin’an and taught Ye Hongsheng tea-making until he reached the point where he could teach disciples, she went to Huizhou in disguise with Guan Canghai and his daughter.

There, she found the best mother tea trees in the area, directed workers to make cuttings, and wrote down methods for cutting and planting for Ye Hongrong, instructing him to care for the tea trees according to these steps.

She traveled on horseback, going directly to her destination and back, taking less than half the time compared to when she went to Huizhou with Lu and Qi in the first month of the year.

To prevent anyone from ambushing her on the road, even Old Lady Ye didn’t know she had gone to Huizhou during this period, believing she had been at the tea garden in Baifeng County making tea all along; meanwhile, the people at the tea garden thought she had returned to her home in Lin’an city during that time.

Lu Guanyi had returned to the capital after arranging matters in Huizhou, but the managers there regularly wrote to him reporting the situation.

Therefore, he knew about Ye Yaming’s rushed travels back and forth, which led to his comment.

After speaking, Lu Guanyi said to Ye Chongming in a slightly joking tone, “Logically, your Ye family’s affairs shouldn’t concern outsiders like us. But Miss Ye’s abilities are too important to us, Old Master Ye, you can’t exploit her alone just because she’s capable.”

Before Ye Chongming could respond, Ye Yaming smiled and said, “My grandfather also cares deeply for me and always advises me to rest more. But time waits for no one. If I slow down, it would delay an entire year’s income. Making Longjing tea, planting tea cuttings, and making jasmine tea—these tasks must be done by me. At least this year, I must personally oversee everything. Next year, once people are trained, things will be better.”

Due to the propriety between men and women, it would be impolite to constantly stare at a young lady. Usually, when Lu Guanyi discussed matters, he tried to avoid direct eye contact.

But at this moment, while Ye Yaming was speaking, he carefully observed her and noticed that she appeared vibrant, showing no signs of fatigue or weight loss, which put his mind at ease.

“Still, you must remember to rest,” he said. “Nothing is more important than your health.”

In the past, Ye Yaming wouldn’t have thought much of such a statement. After all, her role in their cooperative business was indeed crucial, especially after she had just mentioned that she could produce many specialty teas.

But knowing Lu Guanyi’s feelings, Ye Yaming could sense the concern hidden in his words.

Ye Chongming didn’t think deeply about it and repeatedly said, “Yes, yes, rest more. I always tell her to rest more, but this child never listens; she’s very stubborn.”

Wanting to dispel the slightly strange atmosphere created by Lu Guanyi’s words, Ye Yaming changed the subject and asked, “Have you finished your business in the capital?”

At the mention of the capital, the slight smile that had been on Lu Guanyi’s lips disappeared.

He turned serious: “We rushed back to Lin’an because we have something to tell you.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Qi Ji.

Lu Guanyi wasn’t much of a talker, while Qi Ji was somewhat chatty. Because of this personality difference, the two had developed a habit since childhood: lengthy explanations were always delivered by Qi Ji.

Qi Ji then told Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming about Meng Chengwei’s situation.

When Ye Chongming heard that Meng Chengwei, after being released from prison, instead of reflecting on himself and starting anew, was again scheming about Ye Yaming’s marriage, and had chosen someone like the Fifth Young Master Jiang, he trembled with anger.

“Outrageous, beast. They tried to harm the lives of our family’s men, then served time in prison—that was karmic retribution. Now he’s out of prison, and instead of reflecting, he still wants to harm others. It’s utterly unconscionable.”

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were sitting across from Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming, observing their reactions.

Upon hearing this news, Ye Chongming burst into curses, his emotions running high. But this, apart from venting his dissatisfaction, did nothing to help the situation.

Ye Yaming, on the other hand, merely furrowed her brow slightly upon hearing the news, then sank into thought.

She was contemplating how to resolve this issue.

“What do you plan to do?” Lu Guanyi fixed his gaze on Ye Yaming and asked.

Ye Yaming tilted her head and shrugged slightly, saying, “Finding someone to marry immediately would solve this problem. No matter how powerful the Duke of Ying’s family is, they can’t disregard the law in broad daylight. If I’m not married, they can use various means to make me agree to this marriage; but if I’m already married, they have no recourse.”

“After all, the families of the Fifth Young Master Jiang’s previous two wives are watching closely, looking for opportunities to bring the Duke of Ying’s family down. Therefore, the Duke’s family can only employ their methods in the shadows, not openly.”

“What about the Meng family? Are we just going to let them bully us?” Ye Chongming said resentfully.

“The Meng family…” Ye Yaming smiled, lifted her teacup for a sip, and said nothing more.

When she had Meng Chengwei sent into exile, she knew the matter wasn’t over. Once Meng Chengwei returned to the capital, there would inevitably be another wave of retaliation.

So after returning from Huizhou, she had sent Fang Xing to the capital to thoroughly investigate the Meng family.

The Meng family’s position in the capital was indeed not very strong. Consort Min’s high regard for Meng Chengwei was also due to a lack of alternatives. The biggest backers of Meng Chengwei and Consort Min were probably the Third Princess and her consort.

Knowing this, Ye Yaming had set aside most of her worries.

She had produced Longjing tea and was about to make jasmine tea, with Huangshan Maofeng and the grand plan she had just outlined—her value and importance were self-evident.

Even so, if Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji allowed Consort Min and the Meng family to harm her, she would find another partner, one who could protect her.

The reputation of Longjing tea had spread, and recently many capital elites had approached Ye Chongming expressing interest in cooperation.

Based on her previous interaction with Princess Imperial Yuning and Prince Consort Fan, Ye Yaming believed that when she was schemed against by Consort Min’s faction, Princess Imperial Yuning and Fan Yu would be quite willing to extend a helping hand.