This was exactly what Qi Ji meant to say.

He nodded and said, “It’s better to have Master Ye return first. There are shop managers there, and overseers from both my family and Zi Mo’s family looking after things, so nothing major should go wrong.”

After hearing his words, Ye Yaming became somewhat nervous.

If there wasn’t a military rebellion brewing, Qi Ji wouldn’t ask Ye Hongchang to return. After all, he was just a merchant, and although Ji Xiang Tower’s business was good, it wasn’t so good that it would provoke envy. Moreover, since Dragon Well tea had become a tribute tea, everyone had guessed that there were powerful backers behind Ji Xiang Tower’s proprietors. Without serious trouble, no one would bother Ye Hongchang.

Now that Qi Ji was asking Ye Hongchang to return, it was evident that the situation in the capital was critical and had already reached a very dangerous point.

Seeing that his words had greatly frightened the Ye grandfather and granddaughter, Qi Ji hurriedly said, “I’m only suggesting this as a precaution. The situation shouldn’t reach that point. Also…”

He looked at the two of them seriously: “What I just said leaves my mouth and enters your ears only. Don’t let it reach a fourth person’s ears. If you tell anyone, I will deny it.”

If not for the fact that Ye Yaming was valued by Lu Guanyi and respected by Qi Ji himself, and that her ideas could bring great benefits to everyone, plus the fact that despite the immense honor of becoming engaged to Lu Guanyi, the Ye family hadn’t leaked even half a word of information and had allowed others to speculate maliciously—clear evidence that the Ye grandfather and granddaughter were extremely tight-lipped—he would never have mentioned this at all.

Although the developments in the capital were merely his speculation, and he hadn’t received any actual intelligence, he alone knew that Lu Yongzhong was loyal to the Cao camp while serving in the Han camp, and that the Lu father and son were planning to deal with the Duke Weiguo’s household alongside the Crown Prince.

If the Ye family were loose-lipped and let the news spread to the capital, even though the Crown Prince and the Lu father and son’s plans wouldn’t necessarily fail, his Qi family would surely be blamed by the Crown Prince.

“Rest assured, my grandfather and I will keep this matter to ourselves and won’t say a word to anyone else,” Ye Yaming promised.

No wonder Qi Ji had strictly ordered all servants to keep their distance before discussing this matter, and had his trusted attendant guard the door. It turned out he wanted to speak about such an urgent matter.

She stood up and bowed deeply to Qi Ji: “Thank you for the warning, Mr. Qi.”

Qi Ji quickly rose to avoid her bow, waving his hand, and resumed his usual smiling demeanor: “No need for formalities, Miss Ye. You only need to come up with more good ideas to help us make more money.”

“Of course,” Ye Yaming returned to her seat and personally poured him a cup of tea, smiling, “When you make more money, I also make money. It’s mutually beneficial, so how could I not be enthusiastic?”

After Qi Ji sat down, she also took her seat and continued, “However, haste makes waste. I can only produce new teas when there are fresh leaves from Huizhou and Fujian.”

After thinking for a moment, she said, “If you’re in a hurry, perhaps you could buy existing tea gardens locally. I can first produce a small quantity of new tea and train tea masters. Once the tea trees on our tea mountains grow larger, we can produce new tea in greater quantities.”

Thinking about how Dragon Well tea was valued for its rarity in spring, with a catty of pre-Qingming Dragon Well selling for dozens of taels of silver, both Qi Ji and Ye Chongming were excited by her suggestion.

“Is that possible?” Qi Ji asked.

“I’ve visited the place in Huizhou, so buying tea gardens there would work,” Ye Yaming said, “But since I haven’t been to Fujian, I can’t be certain.”

Qi Ji then turned his gaze toward Ye Chongming.

His meaning couldn’t be clearer—he wanted Ye Yaming to make a trip to Fujian.

If Ye Yaming’s presence wasn’t necessary, she could avoid going for propriety’s sake. But since this was for business purposes, he believed his brother would agree to Ye Yaming’s going. After all, Ye Yaming wasn’t the type to be content staying in the women’s quarters, and she needed to interact with various people for her business. Since Lu Guanyi had known this from the beginning and was still willing to get engaged, he probably wouldn’t mind these matters.

Ye Chongming looked at Ye Yaming: “The journey to Fujian is long and quite arduous.”

“Hardship isn’t a problem,” Ye Yaming smiled, “But I might not make it back for the New Year.”

On this journey, she didn’t want to rush like she had when going to Huizhou. She wanted to stay in Fujian until the spring tea emerged, produce a batch of tea, and train oolong tea masters before heading back. Since she was going anyway, she might as well thoroughly handle all the important matters in one trip.

“Additionally, I’d like my First Uncle to accompany me. You can call him back from the capital on the pretext of having him accompany me to Fujian, which won’t arouse suspicion. Once he returns, we’ll depart immediately. If we wait for Fourth Uncle, sending someone to fetch him and waiting for his return would take half a month. Besides, a lot is going on in Huizhou, and they need a master there.”

This arrangement was indeed the most appropriate solution.

After all, the capital was close to Lin’an, so he or Ye Hongsheng could make a trip to handle any issues if needed. Moreover, Huang Yaozu had been a manager for ten years, so even without a master present, he could manage affairs in the capital well.

As for Ye Jiaxing, neither Ye Chongming nor Ye Yaming had considered asking him to go.

First, he was young and inexperienced. Previously, when they went to Huizhou, Lu Guanyi was present, so Ye Hongrong didn’t need to take the lead. But for this Fujian trip, although Qi Ji was the same age as Lu Guanyi and from a similar aristocratic background, he was inferior to Lu Guanyi in dealing with people and making decisions. Without someone experienced overseeing things, it wouldn’t be appropriate. Should they expect Ye Yaming to handle matters herself? Even if she had the ability, why would locals respect a young girl?

So they needed someone mature and experienced.

In this case, Ye Hongchang was more suitable than Ye Hongrong.

“Very well, let’s do it that way. Yaming, you’ll go with your First Uncle and Mr. Qi,” Ye Chongming said with great reluctance.

He doted on his granddaughter, and besides, they didn’t need tea mountains in Fujian. The tea from Lin’an and Huizhou was enough to ensure the Ye family’s prosperity for generations. Moreover, for the Ye family, the amount of money earned wasn’t important; improving their social status was what mattered most.

It would be better for Ye Yaming to stay at home, safe and sound, methodically producing new teas and then methodically marrying Lu Guanyi—this was what mattered most to the Ye family.

This was far better than risking her life going to Fujian to earn money that the Ye family didn’t particularly care about.

It was well known that travel was arduous, with risks from bandits and various dangers—even a cold could be fatal. There were countless examples of scholars who went to take the imperial examinations and never returned, dying on the way.

Ye Chongming truly didn’t want Ye Yaming to go.

But going to Fujian to buy tea mountains was Ye Yaming’s idea, and she was willing to go. The trip would greatly benefit all the partners, and if that noble young Mr. Qi was willing to endure the hardship, if he didn’t allow Ye Yaming to go, he would be a complete villain and would deeply offend Qi Ji.

Seeing that Ye Chongming had agreed, Qi Ji was very pleased. Having finished discussing the matter, he took his leave.

After Qi Ji left, Ye Chongming still shared his concerns with Ye Yaming, saying, “Why don’t you reconsider? The journey to Fujian is far, and if something were to happen to you…”

At this point, he choked up and couldn’t continue.

He couldn’t imagine what life would be like for the Ye family without Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming was not an inexperienced young girl; she naturally understood the hardships of long-distance travel.

But for Fujian to develop, she would inevitably have to make the trip. If not this year, then it would have to be next year or the year after. Rather than going later and finding that the tea mountains they bought were unsuitable and the tea trees they planted weren’t the varieties she wanted, it would be better to go this year, lay a solid foundation, and introduce Tieguanyin tea first. Later, she could make another trip to introduce Wuyi Rock tea, Fuding white tea, and Zhengshan Xiaozhong black tea, among other famous teas.