“Mm.” Ye Chongming didn’t stand on ceremony with her. He mounted his horse and quickly disappeared around the corner with several attendants.

Ye Yaming’s carriage wasn’t slow either. By the time Ye Chongming had just finished gathering the people at the tea house, Ye Yaming had also arrived. Entering with her was her adoptive father, Ye Hongsheng.

Ye Hongsheng was a man of scholarly elegance. In this era, people married and had children early. He was only thirty-three years old, just two years older than the modern-day Ye Yaming.

Fortunately, Ye Yaming had the original owner’s memories and emotions, so calling this handsome young man “father” didn’t feel particularly strange to her.

Mainly, this man had never expressed any dissatisfaction with Madam Yin, who had only given birth to two daughters. He always said it didn’t matter whether they had a son or not, and he treated his wife and two daughters extremely well. At this moment, he had the worrying demeanor of an old father, and began fussing as soon as he saw her.

“…This is truly foolish. Family matters are for the men to worry about. You were ill just days ago. Why are you joining this commotion now? How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?”

Ye Yaming: “…” Who said the second son of the Ye family was taciturn and poor with words? His mouth was even more capable than hers.

“Shh.” She made a gesture to Ye Hongsheng. “We can discuss these matters when we return. Since I’ve come, there’s no reason for me to go back. If others heard what you just said, what would they think of me? I have my dignity too, you know?”

This childish remark nearly made Ye Hongsheng laugh despite his irritation.

“Fine, fine, fine. Then you may come along,” Ye Hongsheng said with annoyance.

Then, with a doting expression, he added: “Tell Father if you get tired, and I’ll have someone take you home.”

Ye Yaming secretly rolled her eyes but obediently nodded: “All right.”

As father and daughter entered, the head manager, the second manager, and the two shop assistants who knew about the private tea incident had all arrived.

Ye Chongming looked up and asked the head manager in a deep voice: “Manager Song, what do you have to say about this private tea matter?”

Song Dequan made a bow and smiled bitterly: “It was my failure to notice. I request that the proprietor punish me severely.”

Before his words had fallen, the second manager, Ding Jian, made a deep bow: “This has nothing to do with the head manager. I did all this behind the proprietor’s and head manager’s backs.”

With that, he lifted the hem of his robe and knelt: “If any tea customers file complaints with the yamen, the proprietor need only place all blame on me. The proprietor truly knew nothing of this matter. It was I, harboring discontent, who wished to implicate the proprietor in wrongdoing, and therefore committed such acts in violation of imperial law behind the proprietor’s back. I am willing to bear all responsibility.”

Ding Jian was in his thirties, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a straight posture—features that gave people a very favorable impression. His speech was passionate and righteous, making listeners feel that he had only done this under duress because of Fourth Master Ye Hongrong’s position, and had acted out of helplessness.

Now he was bravely taking responsibility, shouldering all the blame. Those present only felt that he was loyal and brave, and their hearts swelled with nothing but gratitude and appreciation, without resentment.

Indeed, Ye Chongming, who had been full of anger toward him, now found his rage subsiding, replaced only by self-reproach and helplessness.

He had spent his life busy making a living. Apart from his eldest son Ye Hongchang, he hadn’t had time to discipline his other children.

He knew his wife favored the youngest son. Thinking that his wife had raised several children who were all decent enough, he hadn’t interfered much. By the time he learned that Ye Hongrong wasn’t very capable, his eldest grandson had already been born.

Thinking that the family business would be inherited by the eldest branch anyway, and that Ye Hongrong didn’t need to be very competent—with his eldest brother looking after him, he could safely live a life of idleness—and considering that once a person’s character was formed, the time and energy needed to correct it was considerable.

With that time and energy, it would be better to carefully nurture his eldest grandson.

Therefore, regarding Ye Hongrong, he would only reprimand him when they met, and have people watch him to prevent him from doing bad things, but otherwise didn’t manage him much.

By the time Ye Hongrong married and had children, Ye Chongming had aged further and had even less energy to manage him.

Now that his fourth son had caused trouble, how much blame could Ding Jian, who was merely following the proprietor’s orders, bear? His willingness to take full responsibility already showed loyalty and righteousness. What right did he have to resent him?

“Alas, I have failed in teaching my son.” Ye Chongming waved his hand wearily, seeming to have aged many years in an instant.

Ye Yaming gave Ding Jian a deep look, then pushed Ye Hongsheng, indicating that he should help Ding Jian up from the ground.

To protect the Ye family, Ye Chongming had no choice but to sacrifice Ding Jian, so he had tacitly accepted Ding Jian’s explanation. Since he couldn’t explicitly express this, he could only assume such a posture. It was most appropriate for Ye Hongsheng to step forward now to express gratitude and appreciation.

At Ye Yaming’s prompting, Ye Hongsheng went forward and helped Ding Jian up: “Manager Ding, please get up. We all know of your loyalty and righteousness.”

Such a serious occasion was not suitable for intervention from Ye Yaming, a young lady who had never managed affairs before. But seeing that her father hadn’t addressed the key point, she became anxious.

She stepped forward, making as if to help support Ding Jian, while saying: “Indeed, although this is a major matter, and Manager Ding should have informed my grandfather and eldest uncle at the time, rather than indulging my fourth uncle’s recklessness. But now that it has happened, assigning blame has no meaning. Manager Ding has already demonstrated his loyalty with this statement. Let’s set aside the matter of accountability for now and discuss how to resolve the situation, which is more urgent.”

These words instantly pulled everyone back from the atmosphere of overwhelming loyalty that Ding Jian had created. As rationality returned, the looks everyone gave Ding Jian became strange.

Wasn’t that so? Although Ye Hongrong was responsible for this matter, Ding Jian knew that Ye Hongrong was unreliable, yet went along with his recklessness—why? His fault was not only no less than Ye Hongrong’s but greater, wasn’t it?

Yet with just a few words, he had pushed all responsibility onto Ye Hongrong while presenting himself as loyal and righteous, gaining the Ye family’s gratitude. This fellow’s tactics were formidable! These old foxes had almost been deceived by him.

If Ye Chongming had said a few words in this atmosphere about not pursuing his responsibility and instead expressing gratitude to him, the nature of this incident would have been settled. No matter the outcome, Ye Chongming couldn’t go back on his word. After all, merchants valued keeping their promises above all else.

For someone so formidable to indulge Ye Hongrong’s recklessness and place the Ye family in danger—who would believe there wasn’t something fishy going on?

Ye Chongming had frowned when Ye Yaming first spoke, but now he was extremely grateful that he had brought her along.

This little girl usually kept a low profile, but at critical moments, she was more capable than her father. This made Ye Chongming see her in a new light.

Seeing that Ding Jian had been helped up, Ye Chongming said: “All right, Ding Jian, first tell us who all those teas were sold to.”

He had already questioned Ye Hongrong, but that fool knew nothing. He had only made the major decisions; all specific matters were arranged by Ding Jian, and customer information was all in Ding Jian’s hands.

Thinking of this, Ye Chongming felt even more vexed.

“Grandfather, time is of the essence. Perhaps we should question them separately,” Ye Yaming interjected again. “If there are many customers, one person’s memory may be prone to errors and omissions. You can stay in this room with Manager Ding, while my father and I can question the two shop assistants separately. Afterward, we can compare notes, and we’ll have a complete count.”