“Alright, let’s put this matter aside for now and see how Prefect Qi responds. If there’s no other news, I’ll accompany you to the teahouse early tomorrow to meet with them,” Ye Yaming said to Ye Chongming, then instructed Zan’er: “Find a way to inquire about the background of the Third Prince’s soon-to-be bride.”
“Yes.” Seeing Ye Yaming wave her hand, Zan’er bowed and withdrew.
When Zan’er collected intelligence, Ye Yaming required him to report what he saw and heard objectively, without mixing in any of his subjective judgments.
Now she had her conclusions, but chose not to tell Zan’er to avoid influencing him.
So after Zan’er left, she lowered her voice and said to Ye Chongming: “Grandfather, this matter appears quite complex. Xiao Lizi seems to be from the Third Prince’s residence on the surface, but internally, he’s probably the Second Prince’s man or belongs to some other prince or lord. His purpose is to use the Third Prince’s name to probe us.”
“If we express eagerness to cooperate, it would indicate we have no master, and his true master would then bring us into his fold. Such a large piece of meat would be too delicious to pass up.”
“If we directly invoke the Crown Prince and tell them not to provoke us because we have the Crown Prince’s backing, they still lose nothing and will have clarified our relationship with the Crown Prince. As for what plans they might have afterward, that’s beyond our ability to discern.”
At this point, she shook her head and sighed: “It seems that the Third Prince truly has no backing or ability. Others aren’t afraid of offending him, which is why they so blatantly use his name in their actions.”
“For Xiao Lizi to dare act this way, he must have someone protecting him from behind. Even if the Third Prince knows others are using him as a scapegoat, he can’t do anything to Xiao Lizi. In the end, he can only swallow this grievance.”
As she said this, her gaze fixed steadily on Ye Chongming, and she spoke each word deliberately. Though her tone was light, her words carried tremendous weight: “If we hadn’t partnered with Lu and Qi, if we didn’t have the Crown Prince behind us, what do you think our fate would be? Who would respect us as Lu and Qi do? And who else holds such a high position and power as the Crown Prince, making everyone except the Emperor somewhat wary?”
“In the end, we would be devoured completely, with not even bones remaining. First, there was Meng Chengwei, now this person of unknown identity. Unless we remained obscure like Master Jin or Wang Kuan. But then, how could we bring glory to our ancestors? How would the titles of tribute tea supplier and imperial merchant fall upon our heads?”
Ye Chongming’s pupils contracted, and he instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
This cold sweat was half due to what Ye Yaming said and half because of her piercing gaze and words that struck straight to the heart.
When Xiao Lizi stood before him and uttered the words “Third Prince,” in his moment of panic, he had indeed harbored some resentment and regret. He resented Ye Yaming and regretted following her advice to expand their business, which had invited trouble.
Later, when Ye Yaming returned and analyzed the situation, saying the trouble wasn’t significant, he still felt irritated, wondering if they hadn’t expanded their business, would these troubles have found them? Could he have continued living peacefully as he had for the past decades?
But these negative emotions lasted only a moment before he suppressed them.
There’s no medicine for regret in this world. Things had come to this point, and regret was useless. Rather than resenting Ye Yaming, making her unhappy, and allowing the situation to develop in the worst direction, it was better to suppress these feelings, face the situation positively, and work to solve the problem.
Yet even this slight emotion had been detected by Ye Yaming, and she directly pointed it out to his face.
At this moment, Ye Chongming felt both fortunate to understand the meaning behind Ye Yaming’s words—fortunate that he had listened to her and found two good partners—and also embarrassed and annoyed that his insecurity and dark psychology had been exposed.
Ye Yaming naturally observed the changes in Ye Chongming’s micro-expressions.
She didn’t give him much opportunity to dwell on these emotions and continued: “Grandfather, I’m telling you this because I want you to understand that when Meng Chengwei set his sights on us, we had no retreat path, only the way forward. We can only go higher, standing at a height others cannot reach, to have the ability to contend with others and even negotiate with the court and imperial power.”
“And we’ve achieved that now. No matter who comes, with our tribute Dragon Well tea and the dark tea we’re about to supply to the court, we have nothing to fear. You needn’t regret or be afraid. I tell you, even the Crown Prince cannot take us into his fold as private property. Because we’ve caught the Emperor’s eye, the court’s eye.”
The hint of guilt and annoyance in Ye Chongming’s heart completely dissipated with Ye Yaming’s words, replaced by excitement, elation, and a sense of security.
“Really? Can we truly fear no one?” he asked.
Ye Yaming nodded: “There will naturally be many troubles along the way. After all, there are fools everywhere who think too highly of themselves, misjudge the situation, and want to target us. But once our dark tea’s cooperation with the court is confirmed, such troubles will essentially disappear. So don’t worry, I guarantee everything will be fine.”
“Good, very good.” At this moment, Ye Chongming felt not just happiness but even more shame.
He felt ashamed of the slight resentment he had once harbored.
After thinking for a moment, he asked: “Does Prefect Qi know all this? He won’t make mistakes, will he?”
Ye Yaming smiled: “Rest assured, someone navigating official circles who can’t see through this—how could he climb higher? If he truly can’t see through it, staying at the fourth rank isn’t bad either. We’re mere merchants; there’s no need to worry about a fourth-rank official.”
Ye Chongming thought she was right: which official isn’t shrewd?
“Then we’ll wait for news from Prefect Qi before deciding how to respond tomorrow?” he asked.
“Correct.”
Ye Yaming touched her growling stomach: “Well, it’s getting late. I’m going back for lunch, and you should eat soon too, Grandfather. Even if Prefect Qi is anxious, he wouldn’t disturb others during lunchtime, and those people need to go out for purchases too. News from Young Master Qi probably won’t arrive until evening. Please rest easy after your lunch.”
She had ridden back quickly after hearing the report, which had arrived just as noon approached. Judging by Ye Chongming and the others’ situation, they had been so worried that they hadn’t eaten lunch at all.
Ye Yaming had a fast metabolism and was already starving. She just wanted to return to her courtyard and eat food that suited her taste.
Hearing this, Ye Chongming relaxed.
He also knew that when his granddaughter ate with them, she always accommodated their tastes, and even when the kitchen sent her portion separately, the flavor would still lean toward their preferences.
He waved his hand: “Go quickly, go quickly, don’t starve yourself.”