Glory

Spending such a large sum of money all at once was a heavy blow for the Ye family, who urgently needed silver to reserve the Spring Tea.

But Ye Chongming couldn't afford to worry about that now.

If they couldn't overcome this immediate crisis, the Ye family would have no future. He couldn't even begin to think about next year's Spring Tea reservations at this point.

Ye Chongming glanced at Ye Yaming. "Be polite and speak kindly. Even if others say unpleasant things, we must endure it. If they make any requests, as long as they're not excessive, agree to them."

He said seriously, "Remember, only by calming this situation down will our family have a future. If we end up in a lawsuit, our family is finished."

"Yes, I understand," Ye Hongsheng replied.

Ye Chongming ignored him and instead looked at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming smiled at him. "Don't worry, Grandfather. I know what to do. However, the households you're visiting might be quite difficult to deal with. Why not assign a few of the more reasonable and kind-hearted ones to us? That way, we can resolve everything in one day."

Earlier, Ye Chongming had taken the three new customers and several difficult regular customers for himself.

Ye Chongming stroked his beard. "Alright." He then assigned a few more to Ye Yaming and her father.

One of them was the new customer whose identity even Ding Jian didn't know.

Initially, Ye Chongming had been extremely uneasy about his second son and had only called him in because there were no other suitable candidates. After all, as the Second Master of the Ye family, he could represent them. Any shortcomings would be compensated for by Song Dequan following along.

But now, with Ye Yaming present, he felt much more at ease with the father-daughter pair. If they couldn't handle that new customer, he could always step in later to visit them. In any case, these customers were to be dealt with first, while the regular ones would be handled afterward.

With Ye Yaming taking charge, Song Dequan could remain at the Tea House to keep an eye on Ding Jian and the two assistants. This would prevent them from running off while everyone else was busy outside, and avoid any further complications at the Tea House.

Moreover, he was starting to feel a bit uneasy about Song Dequan as well.

He stood up. "Let's get moving, then."

Ye Yaming tucked the list away and stopped him. "Grandfather, there's one more thing. I suspect Meng Chengwei is planning to attack us from multiple angles—weakening our strength while also trying to win our favor. So, I think he might have other schemes in play."

"Da Bo is on his way back from the capital with the Tea Silver. I'm worried that if Meng Chengwei's plan fails, he might send people disguised as bandits to rob them. If the Tea Silver is lost, we won't be able to reserve next year's Spring Tea. What do you think about hiring a Security Company to escort Da Bo and prevent any mishaps?"

The original host had never been involved in the family's business affairs. She only remembered one year when Da Bo was severely injured and nearly died, and the family's atmosphere had been very tense. During that time, her grandfather and father always returned home very late. When she asked her father about it, he simply told her not to worry.

Because the original host's memory of when Ye Hongchang was injured was somewhat vague, Ye Yaming hadn't recalled this detail at first. But now, after what happened with Ye Hongrong, she suspected that Ye Hongchang's injury might have occurred during this very trip back from the capital with the Tea Silver.

If the Tea Silver were stolen and Ye Hongchang were seriously injured, it would be a devastating blow to the Ye family. So, whether it was this time or not, it was better to take precautions early.

Ye Chongming's heart tightened.

He hadn't considered this possibility at all.No matter what, since Meng Chengwei was targeting Ye Jia, they had to take precautions. The tea silver must not be lost; otherwise, even if they resolved the immediate problem, Ye Jia would still fall into dire straits.

"Alright, after I visit those two new tea customers, I'll personally go to the Security Company to hire guards to escort your Da Bo," he said.

At this point, apart from the Ye family members, he no longer trusted anyone. Ding Jian, who had received great favors from Ye Jia, had still been bribed by Meng Chengwei; he truly didn't dare entrust such an important matter to Song Dequan. He had to go to the Security Company himself to feel at ease.

"Alright," Ye Yaming felt slightly reassured.

...

The first place she and Ye Hongsheng visited was the residence of the new customer.

In Lin'an City, there was a large lake where the wealthy and noble families congregated along the northern and southern shores of the eastern side, living by the lake.

Although Ye Jia wasn't particularly wealthy in Lin'an City and couldn't be considered noble, their ancestors had lived here for generations. Ye Chongming's father had spent a fortune to buy their current residence in this area to live near the powerful families.

The new customer named Lu Guanyi lived in a house not far east of the Ye residence.

The Tea House was located on Qinghe Street, not far from there. Ye Yaming and Ye Hongsheng took a carriage and arrived in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Seeing the tightly closed vermilion gate of the residence, Ye Hongsheng felt both disappointed and anxious. "Why isn't he home?"

In this era, households with servants didn't usually keep their gates closed; instead, they would have servants guarding the entrance. Servants were checked when entering and exiting to prevent them from smuggling things out or escaping, while the masters could come and go freely. When guests arrived, someone would be there to announce them, so there was no need to knock for a long time with no response.

Therefore, seeing the Lu family's gate closed, Ye Hongsheng thought it likely that the person had gone on a long journey and wasn't in Lin'an City.

As a modern person, Ye Yaming didn't see any particular meaning in a closed gate. She tilted her chin, signaling to Li Fu, who was standing there somewhat dumbfounded, "Go knock on the door."

Li Fu shared Ye Hongsheng's opinion. However, since Ye Yaming had given the order, he didn't dare disobey and hurried forward to knock.

After several knocks with no response, Li Fu was about to turn back and report to Ye Yaming when suddenly the gate creaked open, and a round head popped out. "Who is it?"

Li Fu saw that the person was a slightly plump page, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a round head, round big eyes, and dimples that appeared on his cheeks when he smiled, giving him a very cheerful appearance.

He quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Our master and young lady are the owners of Jixiangfang. The other day, your master bought several cakes of Pressed tea from Jixiangfang. There was a problem with that Pressed tea. Our master and young lady have come to apologize to your master and retrieve the Pressed tea. We hope you can go in and announce us."

As he spoke, he handed over the visiting card.

In polite households, it was customary to first send a servant to deliver the visiting card. The host would receive the card, and then the guests would visit at the agreed-upon time.

However, given Ye Jia's situation, they couldn't afford to adhere to such etiquette and had no choice but to be uninvited guests.

Upon hearing Li Fu's words, the plump page glanced toward the carriage and saw a man in his thirties wearing a blue silk robe standing beside it, next to an exceptionally beautiful young lady.

When he saw Ye Yaming, the smile vanished from his face, his brows furrowed, and a flicker of impatience flashed in his eyes.

He lowered his head, looked at the visiting card in his hand, and then said to Li Fu, "Wait."After saying this, he slipped inside and slammed the door shut with a bang, followed by the distinct click of the bolt sliding into place.

Not only Li Fu, but everyone standing by the carriage was stunned.