Watching Qi Ji rush off in a hurry, Ye Yaming gazed at his retreating figure with a meaningful smile. Ye Chongming’s heart stirred, and he asked in a low voice: “Do you plan to let Prefect Qi handle this matter first?”

Ye Yaming nodded.

“Originally, I thought this matter was aimed at us, so I hadn’t planned to push it to Prefect Qi. But now, although it’s directed at us, it’s Wang Kuan’s handiwork. As for whether that young eunuch is eager to achieve merit and was fooled by Wang Kuan, or if he has some other purpose, that remains unknown. Anyway, on the surface, this matter doesn’t seem difficult to handle, but if the higher-ups learn about it, they may direct their anger at Prefect Qi.”

“In any case, having Prefect Qi speak to them about the situation now is like doing him a favor. Our Ye family has lived in Lin’an for generations, so who the governing official is becomes very important. If Prefect Qi completes his three-year term and leaves, and someone who dislikes us comes, or simply a troublemaker arrives, that would be problematic. We have some background, so they wouldn’t dare to truly move against us, but occasionally causing us trouble and making us pay tributes would still be annoying.”

“If Prefect Qi privately warns the young eunuch, he would be doing the Third Prince a favor while also performing a small service for the Crown Prince, which would benefit his reappointment. Our current development is crucial—if he stays for three more years, our cooperation with the court will be established, and we’ll have a foundation in Huizhou and Minzhou. Then it won’t be easy for officials in Lin’an to pressure us.”

Cooperation with the court couldn’t be established just based on the dozen or so tea bricks she had sent. The court would still need to evaluate the Ye family’s production capacity and the consistency of the tea brick quality. Like tribute tea, this wouldn’t be settled in less than a year or so.

If Prefect Qi were reassigned at the end of the year and a new prefect came with different intentions and created obstacles for the Ye family, their affairs might face setbacks.

So Prefect Qi’s reappointment was very important.

Ye Chongming didn’t think Prefect Qi’s reappointment would be a problem.

He said: “Since we’re cooperating with Young Master Qi and Young Master Lu, wouldn’t they both strive to ensure Prefect Qi’s reappointment? Isn’t their backing His Highness the Crown Prince? Now that the Fourth Prince has fallen, who would dare not give face to the Crown Prince? If the Crown Prince says a word, wouldn’t Prefect Qi’s reappointment be a simple matter?”

Ye Yaming shook her head: “Lin’an is a prosperous place, and how many people have their eyes on Prefect Qi’s position? Marquis Xuanwu is a frontier military commander, while a prefect is a local civil official. It’s not easy for the Lu family to exert influence here.”

“And according to what I’ve learned from Young Master Qi, the Qi family seems to be neutral, not aligning with anyone. Prefect Qi is not the Crown Prince’s man, so why would the Crown Prince use an outsider instead of his people?”

“This matter happened to come up today. If Prefect Qi resolves it well, it counts as showing his face and performing a small service for the Crown Prince. As for the outcome, that still depends on what His Highness the Crown Prince thinks.”

Ye Chongming had never considered this issue before. Now that Ye Yaming brought it up, his worries instantly increased by one more.

Could Prefect Qi be transferred away?

Seeing his brows furrowed into the shape of a ‘chuān’ character, Ye Yaming quickly comforted him: “If our dark tea can truly be sold to the court and transported to the Great Jin, then we need not fear whoever becomes the prefect. The court would not dare let anything happen to us.”

Ye Chongming thought this made sense. His brows relaxed, and he said to Ye Yaming with satisfaction: “Fortunately, you brought out the dark tea; otherwise, who knows what would happen.”

The main issue was that the Ye family’s tea had become famous, and their yearly profits were visibly increasing. This was a juicy piece of meat that everyone wanted to bite. Things were still manageable in Lin’an because people were wary of the Ye family’s supposed “background,” but those in the capital wouldn’t be so considerate; after all, they were the “background.”

But with the imperial court as their backing, there would be nothing to fear.

As for His Highness the Crown Prince, after Ye Yaming analyzes Prefect Qi’s situation, Ye Chongming suddenly felt he might not be reliable. There were too many interests involved, and the Crown Prince didn’t seem to be participating in their business. Since he wasn’t making any money from it, why would he help them in everything? So they still needed to establish business with the court.

“Miss…” Zan’er’s voice came from outside the door.

Ye Yaming called out: “Come in.”

Zan’er entered, gave a salute, and then shared the information he had gathered with Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming.

Ye Chongming was surprised to discover that the information he had found was very similar to what Qi Ji had said. Moreover, he had uncovered some details that Qi Ji hadn’t mentioned.

“…They arrived in Lin’an yesterday afternoon and even met with Prefect Qi. While everyone was resting at the post station after their tiring journey, the eunuch called Xiao Lizi took a guard and went out to wander the streets. They went to a restaurant and happened to sit next to Wang Kuan, hearing his complaints about our family. He seemed very interested and revealed his identity. Wang Kuan and he hit it off, and today he brought him to the teahouse to find the Old Master.”

“How do you know such details?” Ye Chongming asked.

The details were so specific, it was as if Zan’er had personally witnessed their meeting.

Zan’er replied: “By giving some money to the beggars at the restaurant entrance and asking the restaurant waiters, I was able to find out.”

This was half-true and half-false. Money was indeed given, and beggars and waiters were involved. But this wasn’t a temporary inquiry; rather, they had developed them as long-term informants. That waiter was a clever little beggar whom Zan’er had found and raised for a period, teaching him to read and count before sending him to work at the restaurant.

Ye Chongming couldn’t help but praise Ye Yaming: “Zan’er is capable.”

Ye Yaming smiled: “Go to the accounting room later to collect ten taels of silver.”

Zan’er quickly saluted in gratitude.

Ye Yaming asked: “So you suspect that Xiao Lizi deliberately went to ‘coincidentally’ meet Wang Kuan, leading to what followed?”

Zan’er nodded: “I do have such suspicions.”

“And…” Ye Yaming’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Xiao Lizi must have revealed ill intentions toward us. Otherwise, Wang Kuan wouldn’t have connected them. He wouldn’t want us to establish ties with the Third Prince and gain more backing.”

Ye Chongming and Zan’er both nodded: “Indeed.”

“So all those people from the capital are staying at the post station? Did Xiao Lizi and Wang Kuan go anywhere together after leaving Jixiang Pavilion today?”

Zan’er shook his head: “No. After leaving Jixiang Pavilion, they separated. Xiao Lizi hurried to meet the Imperial Household Department officials at the post station entrance to go shopping together. Wang Kuan returned to his shop.”

Ye Chongming added: “I’ve been going to the teahouse early these days. When I just arrived at the teahouse, they had also just arrived.”

As the Ye family’s business grew larger and there were more and more matters to attend to, Ye Chongming was full of energy. Additionally, being older, he slept less, so after finishing breakfast in the morning, he would go directly to the teahouse when he had nothing else to do.

In the past, he would arrive at the teahouse quite some time after it opened, but now he arrived early, even before the teahouse began receiving customers.