“Alright, you may go. No matter who we cooperate with, we must secure things with the government officials and obtain more tea licenses. As long as we have plenty of raw tea in our hands, we needn’t worry about others not wanting to cooperate with us.”

“Yes,” Meng Liang quickly lowered his head and withdrew. Only when he was outside the door did he wipe the sweat from his forehead, feeling as though he had come back to life.

Just moments ago, he had almost dropped to his knees and begged for mercy, ready to confess everything.

Meng Chengwei’s guard hurriedly approached, cupped his hands in greeting to Meng Liang, and went directly into the room.

Meng Liang watched his retreating figure and inwardly spat in contempt. He looked up at the attendant standing guard by the door, and seeing the man’s eyes looking outward, he straightened his body, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to leave.

Although Meng Chengwei had brought him along, he wasn’t the only one handling affairs. The guards and managers were all capable people. Everyone gathered information according to their abilities.

And Meng Liang, apart from his family status and his ability to flatter, couldn’t compare to the capable servants Meng Chengwei employed in terms of competence and methods.

Inside the room, the guard reported to Meng Chengwei: “Master, I’ve found out about the Tao family collecting osmanthus flowers in the city recently. The Tao family’s servants said it was because someone from the Ye family wanted to make osmanthus honey and asked their family to help with the purchase.”

“Osmanthus honey?” Meng Chengwei frowned.

This was an excuse at first hearing.

If the Ye family truly wanted to make osmanthus honey, they could have openly purchased it. Why would they need to go through the Tao family? There had to be something suspicious about this.

But if the Ye family wasn’t collecting osmanthus for honey, what were they planning to use it for? Could it be related to tea?

He asked, “What about tea leaves? Has the Ye family’s tea supply decreased?”

The guard was indeed capable and replied: “I pretended to be an ordinary tea customer visiting their tea shop, buying various teas. I discovered that the Ye family is short on loose tea.”

Loose tea?

Meng Chengwei’s eyes suddenly widened.

Could it be that the Ye family was creating some new tea using loose tea and osmanthus flowers?

With this thought, he couldn’t sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth several times, then instructed his servant: “Go see how Master Five is doing with delivering the note. That matter cannot fail. Go supervise it personally.”

Meng Liang was the fifth son in the family lineage, so the Meng family servants referred to him as Master Five.

The servant promptly acknowledged and left.

…

Meng Chengwei was drinking tea at the Ye family’s Ji Xiang Lou teahouse. Ye Jiaxing had been managing affairs at the teahouse during this period. Therefore, delivering the note was quite convenient for Meng Liang; he simply went from the second floor down to the first, found the teahouse manager, gave him the note, and asked him to deliver it to Ye Jiaxing.

He had wanted to go up to the third floor directly from the other staircase, but Ye family guards were posted there and wouldn’t let anyone up.

When Ye Jiaxing saw the calling card that Lin Zhensheng handed him, which stated that it had been many days since they last met on the mountain and that he wished to meet again, he was stunned by Meng Chengwei’s thick skin: “He still has the nerve to send me a calling card?”

Having arrived at the teahouse early that morning, he was unaware that Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng had returned from the mountain and Tongxiang, respectively, nor did he know about Meng Chengwei sending people to poach tea growers. Otherwise, he would have been even more shocked.

Lin Zhensheng had been repeatedly instructed by Ye Chongming to watch over Ye Jiaxing and prevent Meng Chengwei from getting close to him, fearing that he might unwittingly fall into Meng Chengwei’s trap. For this reason, an additional guard had been posted at the staircase leading to the third floor.

With a tense expression, he said: “We don’t know what this is about yet. Young Master, you should go home and ask the Master about this. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and by my calculation, if all went well, the Old Master should have returned today. You’d better consult with them before responding to Meng Chengwei.”

Ye Jiaxing was also a bit nervous and nodded, “Alright.”

Just as he was about to send a servant back to the mansion to ask Ye Hongchang, Lin Zhensheng said: “Young Master, there isn’t much happening at the teahouse now. Why don’t you go home earlier? It’s best if you discuss this matter personally with the Master. There are some things the Master wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing with servants.”

If Ye Jiaxing went home, he would feel more at ease, not having to constantly worry, which interfered with his work.

Ye Jiaxing found this reasonable and said, “Good, I’ll head back now.”

He had his attendant pack up, went downstairs through the back door, and directly boarded the carriage home.

Having visited Ji Xiang Lou multiple times in hopes of encountering Ye Jiaxing, Meng Chengwei naturally knew that the Ye family used a separate staircase at the back, not sharing the one used by tea customers.

Meng Liang, aware of Meng Chengwei’s anger and being tasked with this mission, dared not be careless. After delivering the calling card, he went to a window on the other side and kept watch on the staircase used exclusively by the Ye family. He witnessed Ye Jiaxing going downstairs and boarding the carriage.

He hurriedly returned to report to Meng Chengwei.

Meng Chengwei finally smashed his teacup.

He had originally planned to exploit the time before Ye Chongming returned from the tea mountain to win over Ye Jiaxing, find an excuse to explain the matter of poaching tea growers, and see if he could salvage the situation. This desire grew stronger, especially after suspecting that the Ye family might be using osmanthus to make tea.

Who would have thought that Ye Jiaxing wouldn’t give him even the slightest opportunity?

Meanwhile, Ye Jiaxing returned home, initially intending to seek advice from his father. Upon disembarking from the carriage, he heard from the gatekeeper that Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng had returned one after another. Delighted, he hurried to the main courtyard.

After several days of exhaustion for Ye Chongming and travel fatigue for Ye Hongsheng, everyone dispersed after a brief conversation. Ye Chongming, having bathed and just about to lie down, heard a maid report that Ye Jiaxing had returned with an urgent matter. He promptly dressed and went out.

“What’s the matter?” he asked his grandson.

Ye Jiaxing handed over the calling card and said, “Meng Chengwei sent me a calling card.”

Ye Chongming almost dropped the card, his eyes widening as he asked, “Who did you say?”

“Meng Chengwei.”

Ye Chongming’s heart tightened, and he turned to instruct the maid: “Go invite the Third Young Lady here.”

Ye Jiaxing was momentarily stunned. Watching the maid acknowledge and leave, he finally reacted and opened his mouth to say something, but seeing that his grandfather was already intently examining the calling card, he could only close his mouth.

He had heard about his third cousin’s performance from his grandfather and father many times, and his father had repeatedly enjoined him to maintain a good relationship with her. He also acknowledged that his third cousin was formidable, more so than he, and he admired her greatly. His father had analyzed the pros and cons with him, advising him not to be jealous of her, even if her position in the family surpassed that of father and son, and to avoid harboring negative thoughts.

He had agreed at the time. He respected strength and felt that if his third cousin was more capable than he, he certainly wouldn’t mind.

But now that a family matter had arisen, and his grandfather’s first instinct was to call for his third cousin rather than his father, he suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Ye Chongming finished reading the calling card, raised his head about to ask Ye Jiaxing something, saw his expression, and immediately guessed what he was thinking.