After returning from the teahouse, Ye Yaming put the matter aside and went to the tea garden in Baifeng County to teach the people selected by Sun An how to make black tea.

Meanwhile, Ye Chongming and Qi Zhipei remained anxious for a while, until half a month later when the Imperial Household Department officials completed their purchases and Little Li returned with them to the Capital. Only then did the two men finally feel at ease.

The pace of life in this era was already slow, and the efficiency of the imperial court was nothing to boast about. Ye Yaming had thought that the matter of black tea would have to wait until after the New Year to see any results.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she had trained her apprentices to make black tea independently, people arrived from the Capital. Besides several officials from the Ministry of Revenue, there was also Lu Guanyi and several imperial eunuchs.

Upon receiving the report from the guards at the city gate, Qi Zhipei hurriedly went to welcome them, and amid his busy schedule, he also sent someone to notify the Ye family.

At this time, Ye Yaming was still up in the mountains of Baifeng County. Ye Chongming immediately ordered someone to ride quickly up the mountain to summon Ye Yaming.

Fortunately, since Ye Yaming had “learned” to ride a horse, she rarely took carriages anymore and often rode up and down the mountain herself.

Thus, in less than half a day, Ye Yaming rode back to the Ye residence with her entourage.

When the doorman saw her, he hurried forward, taking her horse’s reins while reporting, “Miss, officials from the imperial court have arrived. They and Master Lu are waiting for you in the main hall. They say they’re here to announce an imperial decree.”

Bai Rui and the others were all startled upon hearing this and looked toward Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming asked, “When did they arrive in Lin’an? And when did they reach our home?”

The doorman was a clever person who had inquired about the situation, knowing that the Third Miss would return shortly.

He said, “They arrived at noon, and after Magistrate Qi treated them to a meal, they came to our residence. Judging by the expressions of Magistrate Qi, the Old Master, and Master Lu, it should not be bad news.”

Ye Yaming nodded and gestured to Lu’E before entering the main gate and heading directly toward the study.

Lu’E took out money to reward the doorman, while Bai Rui quickly stepped forward and grabbed Ye Yaming: “Miss, would you like to go to your room first to freshen up and change clothes?”

Ye Yaming looked down at herself and shook her head, “No need.”

The ancient idiom “covered in dust from traveling” existed precisely because the roads were all dirt, with extensive dust. If you weren’t riding at the front when on horseback, you would be “eating dust,” becoming covered in dirt after just half an hour of riding.

Because of this, she had developed a habit when going to Huizhou: before riding, she would wrap her hair, wear a self-made mask, and put on a dust-proof covering. After dismounting, she would remove the headscarf, covering, and mask, then wipe her face with a damp cloth and pat down her pants and shoes, and she would be good to go.

There was no choice; when traveling, it wasn’t possible to change clothes several times a day.

Later, whenever she rode a horse, she dressed this way.

At the moment, she felt her appearance was still acceptable. Walking from here to her courtyard would take some time, and washing up and changing clothes before walking back would take at least twenty minutes.

She imagined those imperial officials would not be patient enough to wait that long.

She said, “When we reach the shade of those trees over there, you can help tidy me up a bit.”

Upon reaching the shade, Bai Rui moistened a cloth to wipe Ye Yaming’s face and patted her front and back. Seeing nothing amiss, Ye Yaming entered the front courtyard.

The news of Ye Yaming’s return had already been delivered to the front courtyard by another doorman.

As soon as Ye Yaming entered, she saw an incense altar set up in the courtyard. Seven or eight people were standing in front of the main hall veranda, laughing and talking about something. The female members of the Ye family were standing in the side wings.

Ye Jiaxing was already waiting for her at the entrance. Seeing her come in, he gestured, “Come quickly to receive the imperial decree. Everyone’s been waiting for you.”

Ye Yaming followed him down the stone path to the front of the main hall steps.

The group of people who had been talking now saw Ye Yaming in her red riding clothes, looking spirited and valiant.

Ye Jiaxing bowed: “Gentlemen, my sister Ye Yaming has arrived.”

“So this is the Third Miss Ye?” An elderly man in his fifties, who stood at the front, looked at Ye Yaming with interest as he asked Ye Chongming.

“Yes, she is my third granddaughter, Ye Yaming.”

“This humble one, Ye Yaming, greets all the officials,” Ye Yaming curtseyed to everyone.

The elderly man nodded and commanded loudly, “Set up the incense altar.”

Immediately, people came forward to light incense and candles, while others summoned all the Ye family members to the courtyard.

Shortly after, the Ye family knelt in front of the incense altar, with Ye Yaming kneeling at the very front as indicated by the officials.

It seemed that this imperial decree concerned her, not the Ye family. Could it be about marriage?

While Ye Yaming was pondering, she saw a tall figure walk beside her and kneel next to her. Ye Yaming turned to look and saw a tall, handsome man—who else could it be but Lu Guanyi?

Lu Guanyi also turned his head.

But before Ye Yaming could see his face, a somewhat shrill voice sounded from above. She quickly lowered her head and listened carefully to the content of the imperial decree.

“By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: We have heard that the daughter of the Ye family, Yaming, is both talented and beautiful, respectful and intelligent. Hereby, we specially bestow her in marriage to the heir of the Xuanwu Marquis, Lu Guanyi. Additionally, an auspicious date shall be chosen for the wedding. So it is decreed.”

Indeed, this was a concise and clear imperial marriage decree.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Yaming understood the court’s intention.

The imperial court wanted to negotiate with the Ye family about the black tea business. If the Ye family were simply merchants, or if there was clear evidence of cooperation between the Ye family, Lu Guanyi, and Qi Ji, this would be easily handled.

Merchants had low status, so naturally, whatever the court said would go; if their cooperation with Lu and Qi was openly acknowledged, as imperial officials, Lu Guanyi and Qi Zhipei would naturally have to benefit the court, or else face impeachment by the censors.

Unfortunately, this business was considered collusion between officials and merchants, and the contract they had signed hadn’t been registered with any government office. The court couldn’t produce any evidence that Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji had a stake in this business.

Lu Guanyi had participated in the border negotiations and knew the importance of the Ye family’s black tea for stabilizing the border regions. Therefore, the Ye family might receive instructions from the Lu and Qi families to raise prices or make demands.

On the other hand, the court wanted to lower prices and control the Ye family, but also had to consider that the Xuanwu Marquis’s mansion and the Crown Prince stood behind the Ye family.

So for officials who wanted to successfully acquire black tea at a low price and control the Ye family, the Ye family’s situation was quite troublesome.

The breakthrough point was her engagement to Lu Guanyi. They were already betrothed, so the Emperor issued another imperial decree bestowing marriage, directly making her a daughter-in-law of the Lu family. This way, as the natal family of an imperial official’s family member, the Ye family would change from active to passive in the negotiations, having to consider Lu Guanyi’s career prospects at every turn, not daring to raise prices or make demands.

Understanding this point, Ye Yaming couldn’t help but think that the imperial court was truly cunning.

While she calmly analyzed the pros and cons, calmly thanked the Emperor for his grace, and received the imperial decree together with Lu Guanyi, everyone behind her—except for those who knew the inside story and Ye Hongchang, who had guessed the truth—was nearly dumbfounded.