Early the next morning, Ye Yaming accompanied Ye Chongming to the teahouse.

Ye Chongming was still somewhat uneasy and asked, “Do you think he will come again?”

“Probably not,” Ye Yaming replied. “But he might send someone to say a word, after all, he was just gathering information and didn’t want to offend us. Or rather, doesn’t want to offend the people behind us.”

She nodded slightly to Bai Rui, who stepped forward and placed two carved boxes she was holding onto the table.

“What’s this?” Ye Chongming opened the top box and found two exquisite celadon tea canisters placed side by side inside.

“The top one contains two jin of Dragon Well tea, and the bottom one has six cakes of compressed tea,” Ye Yaming said. “If he sends someone to apologize later, you can offer these teas as our gift. We’re merchants, after all—harmony brings wealth.”

Ye Chongming understood that regardless of this eunuch Xiao Lizi’s situation, since he had visited Jixiang Pavilion, the Ye family should send some gifts. It was the same with officials who visited. This was called “plucking feathers from a passing goose.”

What could they do? Merchants had low status and couldn’t afford to offend anyone.

He had originally planned to prepare something after arriving at the teahouse, but seeing that Ye Yaming had already prepared everything properly, he was saved the trouble.

“Aren’t we sending other teas?” he asked.

“No, to avoid causing more complications.”

Ye Chongming nodded.

Concerned that the attendants downstairs might misspeak, he instructed Meng Ji: “Go down to welcome them.”

Since Zhou Xiang had become a manager, he had brought in another servant to fill Zhou Xiang’s position. But Meng Ji was experienced in handling matters, so he entrusted important tasks to Meng Ji.

Meng Ji went as instructed.

Xiao Lizi didn’t keep the grandfather and granddaughter waiting long. After Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming had been sitting in the teahouse for a while, Meng Ji came up and reported: “A servant who came with the eunuch yesterday is requesting to see you.”

Ye Chongming exchanged a glance with Ye Yaming and said, “Please invite him up.”

The servant appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old but conducted himself very steadily. Upon entering and seeing a young lady present, he didn’t even blink, simply bowing to Ye Chongming.

“Old Master Ye, yesterday, Eunuch Li learned from Prefect Qi that your business is in cooperation with the Marquis Xuanwu’s household and the Qi family. He sent me to inform you that he will not interfere in this business.”

Originally, seeing that the Third Prince liked Dragon Well tea, and since he was in Lin’an, he wanted to achieve some merit in front of the Third Prince by making inquiries. In truth, the Third Prince doesn’t know about this matter. Upon learning that you are cooperating with the Marquis Xuanwu’s household and the Qi family, he realized he had been presumptuous. I am here on behalf of Eunuch Li to offer his apologies.”

Ye Chongming quickly said, “It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. It’s our honor to have caught the attention of His Highness the Third Prince and Eunuch Li.”

He picked up the box of tea from the table and smiled at the servant: “This is tea produced by our family, sent for His Highness the Third Prince and Eunuch Li to enjoy.”

The servant accepted the tea, expressed his thanks, and then took his leave.

With his departure, Ye Chongming finally relaxed: “Ah, we’ve finally passed this hurdle.”

Ye Yaming nodded, wrote a letter on paper, sealed it, and handed it to Meng Ji: “Go to the Qi residence and deliver this letter directly to Young Master Qi’s hands.”

Seeing that Ye Chongming didn’t say anything, Meng Ji complied and left.

Ye Chongming knew that Ye Yaming was informing the Qi father and son about what had just happened, so he didn’t ask further. Now that the weight had been lifted from his heart, he had the leisure to concern himself with matters between Ye Yaming and Lu Guanyi.

He asked, “With such a significant event, didn’t you think about informing Zimou?”

To be honest, his granddaughter’s behavior these past two days had been puzzling to him.

Which woman wouldn’t immediately seek her man when trouble arose? Not just women—even he, after Xiao Lizi left that day, had first thought of sending someone post-haste to inform Lu Guanyi. After all, Lu Guanyi was his granddaughter’s fiancé and also the person with the strongest background among the three cooperating parties, with the closest ties to the Crown Prince.

In this matter, only he could make the decisions.

But Ye Yaming seemed not to have thought of Lu Guanyi at all. Instead, she directly analyzed the situation and circumstances, made judgments, and then found the best way to resolve the issue.

Ye Chongming thought that even without Prefect Qi, Ye Yaming could have handled this problem well. Her having Prefect Qi convey the message to Xiao Lizi was just to give face to both parties.

His granddaughter was indeed capable—impressively so. But wasn’t she a bit too distant from her fiancé, Lu Guanyi?

As a man, wouldn’t one hope that when his woman encounters trouble, she would seek his help first?

Ye Yaming was too tough and independent, which wasn’t good for a marital relationship.

Thinking of this, Ye Chongming worried for his granddaughter.

Ye Yaming looked at Ye Chongming with surprise and said, “He’s so far away. By the time we’d finished telling him, everything would already be over here. Besides, since we have both a business relationship and an engagement, his background is equivalent to my background. With this background in place, isn’t the way to handle matters the same? Why would I need to ask him?”

These words left Ye Chongming speechless.

The reasoning was indeed sound. But still…

He thought for a moment and said tactfully, “Yaming, men generally hope that women can be a bit more delicate; when they’re around, women should appear slightly less clever, giving men an opportunity to be heroes. If you’re too capable and never rely on him, he’ll have no chance to show his worth. Not only will he feel disappointed, but he’ll also feel that you don’t regard him as your closest person.”

Ye Yaming wasn’t someone who couldn’t take advice. She didn’t want to stand out alone in ancient times, constantly being pointed at and criticized, where even discussing serious matters with men would cause gossip—which meant she would need to marry in this lifetime.

As for the choice of marriage partner, she had been selective, but in the end, the most suitable person she had encountered was indeed Lu Guanyi.

She didn’t value status or position but rather upbringing, lifestyle habits, personality, and mutual feelings. She had been to Huizhou with Lu Guanyi, traveling together for nearly half a year, and they had come to know each other. She felt that if she missed out on Lu Guanyi, it would be difficult to find another suitable person.

Given that, as long as Lu Guanyi was still willing to continue and even marry, she wouldn’t change their engagement. So she also hoped to get along well with Lu Guanyi.

She said helplessly, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to tell him, but they can’t transmit letters where they are. And as for sending verbal messages, with Young Master Qi already in the picture, what need was there for me to say anything? Wouldn’t that have been redundant?”

Although at the time, she truly hadn’t thought of seeking Lu Guanyi’s help. She had always been independent and wasn’t accustomed to relying on men.

But she couldn’t say this to Ye Chongming.

Moreover, if she were to truly marry Lu Guanyi, perhaps she should change some of her behavioral habits. Marriage requires nurturing, and she couldn’t rely on Lu Guanyi’s affection for her to take without giving.

Hearing her explanation, Ye Chongming felt somewhat reassured.

He said, “As long as you have the right mindset, that’s good.”