Meng Chengwei—these three words were what Ye Hongchang had heard when Ye Chongming was speaking with Prefect Qi. He knew that outside wasn’t the place to talk about it, so he had been holding back the whole time.

Upon returning home, he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He followed Ye Chongming to the outer study and immediately asked, “Father, who is Meng Chengwei? From what you said, was he the one who sent people to ambush and kill me? Why would he want me dead? Does our family have a feud with him?”

Ye Chongming gave a bitter smile. He saw that although his son was pale and looked exhausted, he could at least still hold himself together. Moreover, if this matter weren’t cleared up, Ye Hongchang probably wouldn’t be able to rest easy and recover from his injuries.

He then told Ye Hongchang everything about the matter from beginning to end. Of course, he inevitably mentioned Ye Yaming’s name repeatedly.

Ye Hongchang was completely shocked. “Are you saying that he wanted to cooperate with our family, and that’s why he tried to harm us?”

Ye Chongming nodded.

Ye Hongchang was speechless.

What kind of logic was this?

If Meng Chengwei wanted to cooperate with the Ye family, shouldn’t he have been nice to them? Why would he harm them instead?

However, he had to admit that if they hadn’t seen through Meng Chengwei’s scheme from the beginning, if they had allowed Ye Jiaxing to befriend Meng Chengwei, and if they had let Meng Chengwei “help” them each time something happened, the entire Ye family would probably have regarded Meng Chengwei as their benefactor by now and would have imparted all their tea-making skills to him.

Meng Chengwei’s methods, though despicable, vile, and vicious, were much better than if he had shown goodwill to the Ye family from the start and deliberately sought their friendship. Had he done the latter, the Ye family would certainly have thought, “One who renders service with ulterior motives must be either a swindler or a thief,” and would have been fully on guard against Meng Chengwei. In that case, Meng Chengwei would have needed three to five years of painstaking effort to gain the trust of the Ye family.

Thinking about how the Ye family had foiled Meng Chengwei’s scheme all thanks to Ye Yaming, Ye Hongchang felt both grateful and curious about his niece.

“Was it Yaming who warned us? Did she come up with so many ideas and even create the osmanthus tea?” Recalling these things his father had mentioned, Ye Hongchang found it hard to believe.

Was this still the third niece he remembered?

In his opinion, Ye Yaming was a smart girl who knew her place and had been well-educated by his second brother and his wife. But she was still just an ordinary girl living in the household, not much different from his daughter Ye Yaqing.

This was completely different from the almost supernatural Ye Yaming, full of wisdom and strategies that his father had described.

Perhaps, as his father had said, when nothing was happening in the family, she didn’t want to stand out, so she hadn’t revealed her abilities?

“Yes. If I hadn’t personally experienced these things one by one, and heard her analyze all these matters and suggest so many good ideas with my ears, I would have doubted whether I had heard correctly, just like you.”

Ye Chongming smiled, leaned back slightly, and his whole body relaxed.

Although Meng Chengwei had not yet been brought to justice, with Ye Hongchang’s return, that worry was settled. The tea money hadn’t been robbed, and Meng Chengwei was now on the government’s blacklist. It was only a matter of time before he would be brought to justice. The tight string that had been strung in Ye Chongming’s heart suddenly loosened.

But in an instant, he sat up straight again, and his expression when looking at Ye Hongchang became serious.

“It was Yaming who warned me that Meng Chengwei might target you and the tea money, and it was she who suggested I ask Guan Canghai and others to meet you. Worried that if the tea money was robbed, we would have big problems with the tea orders we took during the Mid-Autumn Festival, she also suggested that I find your maternal uncle to borrow money from the bank and issue tea currency.”

“Now that you’re back and the tea money hasn’t been robbed, I still need to consult with her about whether we should still borrow money from the Mei family and whether we should still issue tea currency.”

As he spoke, Ye Chongming observed his son’s expression.

If Ye Hongchang showed any sign of displeasure, feeling that his position and voice in the family had been taken by Ye Yaming, then he, as the head of the Ye family, would be in a difficult position.

One was his granddaughter, whom he regarded as his main pillar of support. He felt that Ye Yaming was stronger than Ye Hongchang both in her keen perception of issues and in the depth of her thinking. When encountering problems, he wouldn’t dare to act without consulting her first, fearing that his considerations might not be thorough enough and might bring great misfortune to the Ye family.

The other was his heir, the next head of the Ye family, the son he had carefully nurtured and placed great hopes on.

No matter how capable Ye Yaming was, the family name of Ye still needed to be upheld by the adult male heir, Ye Hongchang.

If the two couldn’t get along harmoniously and work together, he really wouldn’t know how to balance the relationship between them.

Fortunately, Ye Hongchang’s character was beyond doubt.

He had also noticed his father’s seemingly “secretive” but intentional “observation” of him.

He smiled and said, “Father, could it be that you’re worried I might be jealous of Yaming, thinking she’s taken my spotlight?”

Ye Chongming frankly replied, “I am indeed worried.”

Some things needed to be said. He didn’t hide or conceal anything, and he repeated Old Lady Ye’s concerns to Ye Hongchang.

Ye Hongchang shook his head and smiled, “Father, I was raised by you. How could my character be so poor?”

“Rest assured. Let alone the fact that if it weren’t for Yaming’s warning, prompting you to send Guan Canghai to meet us, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you now. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Yaming is my life-saving benefactor. How could I be unhappy about her excellence?”

“Moreover, Hongsheng and I are brothers born of the same mother; we are one family. I am foolish, and Jiaxing is also not outstanding. Whenever I think of this, I feel anxious, worried that I might not be able to maintain the Ye family’s current status and prosperity, becoming a sinner to the Ye family. Now that our family has produced such a formidable younger generation, I couldn’t be happier. How could I harbor resentment?”

Ye Chongming believed these words. His son had always been kind and generous. This should be his true feelings.

“I’m not worried about you. I’m only worried about your wife and Jiaxing,” Ye Chongming said. “You need to guide them well. After your mother and I pass away, even if you separate from the second branch of the family, you will still be one family, watching out for and helping each other. Isn’t that better than standing alone?”

“Also, Yaming has helped the family through difficult times and has created osmanthus tea. When we divide the family property in the future, or when she gets married, I will give the second branch or her more property. You don’t have any objections, do you?”

“No objections,” Ye Hongchang shook his head. “Father, rest assured, though I’m foolish, I understand what’s important. I’m well aware of the importance of Second Brother and Yaming to the Ye family. However, regarding Fourth Brother, I trouble Father and Mother to guide him more, and not let him cause trouble again.”

“I will,” Ye Chongming also planned to carefully discipline his fourth son once these matters were settled.

Now that Ye Hongrong had been beaten and was recovering in the back courtyard, there was no need to worry about him causing trouble for the moment. But what about later?

Even if they didn’t let him manage the family business, if someone like Meng Chengwei or anyone else had ill intentions and wanted to manipulate Ye Hongrong, they could still create trouble.

Ye Hongrong could be considered the weakest link in the Ye family. This shortcoming must be addressed.