Before Lu Guanyi could speak, Qi Ji hurriedly continued, “In terms of intelligence, strategy, and courage, who could be better than her? You investigated that Meng Chengwei, and he was a formidable character, yet he was defeated at Miss Ye’s hands.”
“The thing is,” he sighed, “Miss Ye’s background is too humble. Her family status not only offers you no advantage but would also hold you back.”
If not for this reason, he would have matchmade this couple long ago. After all, he truly admired Ye Yaming just as much as he admired Lu Guanyi.
In terms of both intelligence and appearance, these two were a perfect match.
Lu Guanyi remained silent.
Seeing that he didn’t immediately refute, Qi Ji was surprised: “You haven’t developed feelings for Miss Ye, have you?”
Lu Guanyi glanced at him, suddenly showing curiosity: “For someone as extraordinarily talented as her, haven’t you ever had such thoughts?”
“Me?” Qi Ji pointed at himself, immediately waving his hand like a fan. “I wouldn’t dare marry such a formidable wife. If I did anything wrong behind her back, my neck would feel chilled—I wouldn’t even dare to go home at night.”
Lu Guanyi was speechless: “What a lack of courage!”
Qi Ji leaned closer, his eyes wide: “You want to marry Miss Ye?”
Although he had brought up the topic, when Lu Guanyi didn’t deny it, Qi Ji immediately became flustered.
He said, “You’d better not. If those people in the Capital learn that you’ve married a merchant’s daughter, they’ll certainly mock you. And your stepmother would act against you with even less restraint.”
“I’m not afraid of being mocked. Over the years, haven’t there been plenty of people in the Capital looking down on me? I just feel that by marrying her, I would be harming her.” Lu Guanyi shook his head, “Let’s not speak of this matter again.”
Qi Ji stared at him steadily, slowly sitting back down.
Now knowing that his friend was serious, he began to carefully consider the pros and cons of this marriage.
Setting other considerations aside, Qi Ji knew how high Lu Guanyi’s standards were. For Ye Yaming to win Lu Guanyi’s affection was remarkable, so naturally, he should help his good brother pursue this match.
Lu Guanyi’s relationship with his father was as good as nonexistent, and his stepmother and her children treated him as an enemy. On his maternal side, after his uncle died on the battlefield, he had no one left. After his grandparents passed away, Lu Guanyi essentially had no family in this world.
If he were to marry a wife without any affection, what meaning would his life have? When he had seen Lu Guanyi discussing Buddhist philosophy with Master Zhineng at Chongshan Temple, he had been very worried that Lu Guanyi might become a monk.
Now that Lu Guanyi had developed feelings for Ye Yaming and was considering her wellbeing, this was something Qi Ji was very happy to see.
“Miss Ye is formidable, the most formidable young lady I’ve ever met,” he said. “Your stepmother, in terms of intellect and tactics, absolutely cannot compare to Miss Ye. If she enters the Lu family, who knows who would fear whom? Your claim that marrying her would harm her is incorrect.”
Lu Guanyi waved his hand: “Let’s truly not speak of this anymore. Haven’t you heard what the Ye family said? Miss Ye is looking for a husband who will marry into her family.”
At this point, he smiled bitterly: “I’d be willing to be a son-in-law who marries into her family, but in this world, except for Madam Shi and her children, no one would permit it. Don’t mention this matter between Miss Ye and me again.”
Qi Ji was greatly shocked: “You would be willing to marry into Miss Ye’s family as a son-in-law?”
His voice was so loud that it carried into the courtyard, where Ye Hongrong, who had just come to inquire about Lü Yan’s situation, overheard.
Ye Hongrong immediately dug at his ears.
What was happening? Had he misheard? Who was willing to be his niece’s son-in-law who marries into the family?
The servants standing in the corridor looked at Ye Hongrong, somewhat dumbfounded.
Young Master Qi’s voice was so loud that if Fourth Master Ye wasn’t deaf, he would certainly have heard it, right?
Should they inform the two young masters that Fourth Master Ye had arrived?
Qi Ji’s servant Yi Zhi was the most quick-witted, knowing that it wasn’t appropriate to let Ye Hongrong go in at this moment.
In matters of marriage, sometimes what is said privately isn’t final—it only counts when a matchmaker formally proposes the match. If Ye Hongrong were to go in and break through this thin paper window, would the marriage happen or not, would the other party reject the proposal or not?
So he quickly stepped forward to stop Ye Hongrong, whispering to him, “The two young masters have matters to discuss today. Fourth Master Ye, please return for now. Any matters can be discussed tonight.”
“Good, good, good.” Ye Hongrong repeatedly agreed in a whisper, then instructed, “Don’t tell them I was here.”
“Rest assured.” Yi Zhi nodded.
Ye Hongrong hurried away.
Inside the room, Lu Guanyi said helplessly: “Is that the main point? Isn’t the main point not to mention this matter again?”
“No, no, no.” Qi Ji, with a serious face, stared at Lu Guanyi. “You’re even willing to be her son-in-law who marries into her family, which shows the depth of your feelings for her. That being the case, why not strive for it? Without trying, how do you know she wouldn’t be willing?”
Seeing Lu Guanyi remain silent, he rolled up his sleeves: “Come, let me analyze this properly for you.”
“Why did the Ye family initially arrange for Miss Ye to marry that Song fellow? Wasn’t it because Song was educated and could pursue an official career in the future? This shows that the Ye family is willing to strengthen their position through marriage alliances. You are far superior to that Song character. Not to mention whether you’ll inherit the title, just the fact that you have the Crown Prince’s ear gives you ten times the power of those newly promoted scholars. From this perspective, your marriage to Miss Ye would benefit the Ye family.”
“As for Miss Ye herself, her desire to find a husband who will marry into her family is likely out of necessity, right? In this world, those willing to be sons-in-law who marry into their wives’ families are either those who cannot support themselves and thus cannot take a wife, or those who want to live luxurious lives without putting in effort. How could such men be worthy of Miss Ye?”
“Anyway, I think you should ask Miss Ye. You can tell her about your situation and your family’s circumstances. If she’s willing, everyone’s happy; if she’s not, we can pretend this conversation never happened.”
“That would be too awkward,” Lu Guanyi finally spoke. “If she’s unwilling, could our cooperation with the Ye family continue? Even if it did, it would be difficult for me to interact with her again.”
“I see Miss Ye as a magnanimous and open-minded person. Your worry seems quite unnecessary,” Qi Ji said.
The reason his evaluation of Ye Yaming was so high was not only because of her skill in making tea, brewing tea, and designing tea sets, and her quick, precise, and decisive handling of people like Meng Chengwei, but also because whether during their first meeting or their daily interactions over this period, Ye Yaming had never displayed any shyness, coyness, or other girlish mannerisms toward him and Lu Guanyi.
She had always been straightforward, calm, and composed when speaking with him and Lu Guanyi. Her gaze never wavered or avoided theirs; she looked at them with such composure, no differently than how she looked at Ye Chongming or Ye Jiaxing.
Because of his good looks, Qi Ji had been harassed by infatuated girls since childhood. Those girls could only think about romantic matters and nothing else.
So Qi Ji found Ye Yaming’s demeanor quite rare. Many well-bred young ladies from prominent families would still show some coyness when meeting handsome young men. Given Ye Yaming’s family background and age, achieving such composure was remarkably difficult.
Only someone with clear thoughts and a mind free from distractions could be so composed and magnanimous.