He turned to another maid and said, “Go invite the First Master and Second Master to come here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hearing this, Ye Jiaxing realized his grandfather had seen through his thoughts. He quickly said, “I know Grandfather is being considerate of my father’s injuries and Second Uncle’s travel fatigue. I wasn’t thinking much about it, truly. Third Sister is formidable; Grandfather can just discuss this matter with her. I have no objections.”
This was a case of protesting too much. Ye Chongming could hardly bear to look at him.
How had he never noticed his grandson was so foolish? Without any subtlety at all—he hadn’t even said half a word, yet this fellow had already revealed everything on his mind.
He patted his grandson’s shoulder. “No, it’s not about being considerate. When I heard the name ‘Meng Chengwei,’ my first thought was to find your cousin to discuss the matter. I’m afraid of falling into a trap set by Meng Chengwei. In our entire household, only your Third Cousin has the sharpest eyes. None of Meng Chengwei’s current schemes can escape her notice. Neither I nor your father can match her.”
Well, these words were so direct that they completely shattered that little bit of discomfort in Ye Jiaxing’s heart.
Wasn’t it so?
Even his grandfather felt inferior to Third Cousin, and his father surely thought the same. Why should he feel awkward about it?
Before long, Ye Yaming and Ye Hongchang arrived one after another. The First Branch lived closer to the main courtyard, while the Second Branch was farther away, so Ye Hongsheng was the last to arrive.
Ye Chongming showed them the visiting card and asked Ye Yaming, “Yaming, what do you think?”
Ye Yaming replied, “Just find an excuse to refuse him directly.”
Meng Chengwei was now under Magistrate Qi’s scrutiny—he was like a grasshopper after autumn harvest, with nowhere to go.
Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall. Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the day after they would need to go to the Tax Office to pay taxes and receive the tea permit, then go with the village head to the government office to process the red deed. There was no need to directly confront him at this time.
The final strategy was to stall.
Fearing that Ye Jiaxing wouldn’t understand her meaning and foolishly fall into Meng Chengwei’s trap, she patiently explained her analysis to everyone.
If the Ye family hadn’t faced major challenges, Ye Jiaxing could have managed to maintain the status quo. But compared to Meng Chengwei, three Ye Jiaxings wouldn’t be enough for Meng Chengwei to play with.
Ye Chongming shared the same opinion. Now, with Ye Yaming’s confirmation, he decided: “Let’s do it this way.”
Although it was just a reply letter, the recipient was Meng Chengwei, and Ye Chongming didn’t dare to be careless. He drafted a reply in Ye Jiaxing’s voice, saying that after returning home, he had caught a cold and had been coughing severely lately. Though he had been to the teahouse these days, he dared not interact with people for fear of passing on the illness. Finally, he thanked Meng Chengwei for his concern and said he would visit after recovering.
Ye Chongming wrote that last sentence merely to appease Meng Chengwei; he had no intention of actually letting Ye Jiaxing visit him.
After writing it, he had Ye Jiaxing copy the reply.
“Anyway, it’s getting late. Send this reply tomorrow—delay it by a day whenever possible,” he said.
Ye Jiaxing nodded.
Seeing that the two had settled this matter, Ye Yaming said, “Grandfather, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Ye Chongming quickly put down his teacup and sat up straight. “Go ahead.”
“Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the day after that we will order the tea. If Meng Chengwei wants to spread rumors, he will certainly do it tomorrow. I think there’s no need to clarify these rumors.”
Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang were stunned and asked in unison, “Why?”
“Because when rumors come out and you don’t clarify them, people around you will behave differently. As the saying goes: ‘True friendship is seen in times of adversity.’ We don’t need to wait until we’re in trouble to see people’s true colors. Taking this opportunity to distinguish between good and bad can turn a bad situation into a good one.”
Saying this, Ye Yaming gave them a meaningful look.
Not only Ye Hongchang and Ye Jiaxing, but even Ye Chongming had never experienced major setbacks. They had inherited the family business and sailed smoothly through life, receiving nothing but flattery. They couldn’t tell if those around them were genuine or false—how could they not fall into traps set by others?
If Meng Chengwei spread rumors, it would actually be beneficial for the Ye family. It was similar to celebrities testing their fans in modern times. Those who could still believe in and support you when negative news was flying around were true fans. Those who still cared about the Ye family despite the rumors, or even extended a helping hand, were true friends.
The Ye family, especially Ye Jiaxing, desperately needed such a “lesson.”
After understanding Ye Yaming’s good intentions, Ye Chongming once again felt grateful that the Ye family had Ye Yaming.
At this moment, he even particularly hoped that Meng Chengwei would spread rumors, and the more widespread, the better.
As for whether these rumors would affect future business, he hadn’t even considered it.
If they didn’t have the osmanthus tea, he might have worried. But once the osmanthus tea hit the market, countless people would crowd into the Jixiang Pavilion to buy tea. By then, the Ye family’s reputation would soar, business would flourish, and the rumors would collapse on their own. What was there to worry about?
Moreover, allowing his descendants to experience a storm and improve their judgment of people by filtering out those with ill intentions around them was worth it, even if it somewhat affected their business.
“Good, let’s do it this way,” Ye Chongming said.
He glanced at his sons and grandsons, his gaze finally resting on Ye Jiaxing. “You will go to the teahouse with me tomorrow.”
Fearing that Ye Jiaxing might fall into Meng Chengwei’s trap, he had originally planned to keep Ye Jiaxing at home tomorrow until Meng Chengwei was brought to justice. But now, Ye Chongming felt it necessary to let his grandson face the storm, and it had to be the first wave.
Seeing that they had finished discussing the matter, Old Lady Ye called Ye Yaming to her room. “Regarding the matter of breaking off the engagement, what are your plans? Do you need Grandmother’s help with anything? Just tell me. I may not be able to do much else, but I do have some people under me who can gather information or handle certain matters more conveniently.”
Ye Yaming said, “I was too busy making tea these past few days and had no time. Today, most of the loose tea has been made, so I sent Nanny Xia to deliver some gifts to the Song family and, while there, to gather some information about their situation.”
It was just the day before yesterday that she had discovered in the original owner’s wardrobe that she had made autumn padded clothes for both Madam Yu and Song Yifeng. However, one piece was only half-finished.
Using the excuse that she needed to make tea and had no time to finish the clothes, and that the clothes were Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, she had asked the elderly woman from Madam Yin’s courtyard to complete the remaining portion. Today, she sent Nanny Xia to deliver them.
She didn’t actually want to send anything to the Song family, but Mid-Autumn Festival was a major holiday, and not sending gifts would certainly arouse suspicion. The matter had not yet been settled, so they couldn’t alert their target prematurely.
By sending Nanny Xia to deliver the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, she also intended for Nanny Xia to gather information from the Song family’s maid, Xiao Xiang.
The Song family had few servants: the manservant was dedicated to attending to Song Yifeng; the cook was busy in the kitchen all day and had to clean the house, basically staying at home; only Xiao Xiang, who served Madam Yu and went out with her every morning to buy vegetables, occasionally ran errands to purchase things, had the most opportunities to go out.
Among the Song family’s three servants, the manservant was fiercely loyal to Song Yifeng; the cook remained neutral, staying out of affairs but could be swayed by personal interests.
Only Xiao Xiang, due to Madam Yu’s harsh treatment of servants—frequently beating and scolding them—disliked both Madam Yu and Song Yifeng. She liked Ye Yaming.