Glory

Helpless as her daughter liked him, and with her father single-mindedly seeking a backer in official circles—while Song Yifeng had been particularly outstanding in this regard—the entire Ye family had pinned their hopes on him passing the imperial examinations to become a Presented Scholar, so that the Ye family could operate freely in the business world without restraint. With no other choice, he had held his nose and accepted this marriage alliance.

Hearing Ye Yaming's words now, even his exceptionally good-tempered father flew into a rage.

"That boy is truly an ungrateful wretch. How could he have studied, how could he have become a Licentiate and a Recommended Man? If not for our family's support, where would he have gained his current glory? He hasn't even become a Presented Scholar yet, and he's already looking down on you. If he were to advance further, how much worse would it get? This engagement must be broken off immediately."

Finally, he added with relief, "Ming'er, it's truly wonderful that you've come to your senses in time. I always said that boy wasn't a good match. You've always given your all to him and his mother, but how many smiles has he ever given you in return? Even while using our family's money, he treats you like this. Once married, if he becomes a Presented Scholar, who knows what kind of life you'd have to endure?"

He snorted coldly, "As for that Yu Shi, I don't think she's any good either. Hidden daggers behind her smile—she's always been good at putting on an act and even better at scheming."

In truth, Yu Shi's acting skills were passable. Without the memories from the original host's previous life, based solely on their brief encounter earlier, Ye Yaming might not have seen through her deceptive smile.

Old Mrs. Ye and Tao Shi, who had spent their lives navigating the inner quarters and had frequent dealings with Yu Shi, hadn't seen through her true nature either. Of course, perhaps they had glimpsed it but were blinded by Song Yifeng's "talent" and their hopes for the future.

Yin Shi, as the original host's birth mother, doted on her immensely, yet she too was deceived by self-interest. She preferred to believe that the Ye family's wealth could suppress and restrain Yu Shi, so even if she noticed something amiss, she deceived herself, unwilling to trust her own eyes.

Thus, Old Mrs. Ye and Tao Shi's actions were understandable.

Although Ye Hongsheng's words were filled with his own emotions, it had to be said that he hit the nail on the head. Compared to Yin Shi, he was clearer-headed and more devoted to his daughter.

Who said her cheap father was dull and incompetent? Wasn't he quite perceptive in seeing through issues?

"Father, please don't speak of this matter openly yet. As for Mother, you can gently hint at it but don't explicitly tell her I want to break off the engagement. Dealing with the Song family isn't as simple as just calling off the engagement. I'll discuss this properly with Grandfather and make sure the Song family returns all the silver they've received over the years," Ye Yaming said.

"Good, good, good." Hearing that Ye Yaming intended to tell Ye Chongming about breaking off the engagement, Ye Hongsheng finally believed she was sincere.

He quickly added, "Everything else is secondary—we must absolutely not let your reputation suffer."

"Mm, I know. Don't worry," Ye Yaming said with a smile. "Let's go, we have important matters to attend to."

Next, the father and daughter visited all the remaining customers.

Since Ye Chongming had selected honest and reliable families for them, the tea exchanges went very smoothly.

Although they had taken on more customers, Ye Chongming's side dealt with more difficult clients, so both sides achieved similar completion rates. When they returned to the Ye residence, they happened to meet Ye Chongming just alighting from his carriage at the entrance.

"Grandfather, did everything go smoothly?" Ye Yaming hurried forward to ask.Seeing Ye Yaming, Ye Chongming’s gaze softened unusually, and a smile appeared on his face: "It went well. Although there were some twists and turns, it was resolved in the end. How about your side?"

"Smoothly as well." Ye Yaming asked curiously, "What kind of twists and turns? Are there any hidden dangers?"

Noticing that his second son had also followed, Ye Chongming stepped through the main gate. Only when they were farther away from the entrance did he speak: "Hmph, they were just clamoring to report it to the authorities. I bluntly told them I would sue them for colluding with Ding Jian to counterfeit Ye family tea and even sent someone pretending to invite Master Wu to mediate. That finally shut them up."

After all, if this illicit tea hadn’t been labeled with the Ye family’s name, and if they had only collected pressed tea from others, these two individuals alone wouldn’t have been able to stir up trouble. In that case, Ye Chongming could simply accuse them of false charges.

It was a common occurrence for local ruffians to extort merchants with counterfeit goods. The Ye family had been operating in Lin'an City for generations, amassing considerable wealth, and naturally, they had connections with the local authorities.

Whenever Prefect Qi Zhipei needed funds for building bridges, repairing roads, or disaster relief, had the Ye family ever failed to provide substantial support? His subordinate, Master Wu, received annual tributes from the Ye family. As for whether Master Wu kept these tributes for himself or handed the bulk over to Qi Zhipei—those in the know understood.

The factional struggles in the capital were extremely complex. Meng Chengwei’s roundabout interference in the Jiangnan tea market indicated that he and Qi Zhipei belonged to opposing factions in the court. His influence couldn’t reach the Tea Monopoly Bureau.

Therefore, as long as the Ye family’s illicit tea incident didn’t become public knowledge, they had nothing to fear from the authorities.

Unfortunately, that fool Ye Hongrong, deceived by Ding Jian, had labeled all the illicit tea with the Ye family’s tea mark. Those two saw this as an opportunity to threaten him. But it was merely an empty threat. Without support from others, they couldn’t cause any real trouble.

The moment Ye Chongming mentioned the name "Meng Chengwei," the two backed down.

They were locals and still had to live in Lin'an. Secretly assisting Meng Chengwei, an outsider, was one thing, but openly confronting the Ye family would bring them no benefits.

Thus, after Ye Chongming offered them some incentives, they not only agreed not to pursue the matter but also promised to keep it quiet.

And so, this potential crisis was resolved.

"I’m curious, how did you know Meng Chengwei was behind this?" Ye Chongming asked.

After smoothly handling the matter, he had returned to the tea house, sent Ding Jian and the two workers to the authorities, and filed a lawsuit accusing them of colluding with Meng Chengwei to set a trap for the Ye family.

He did this for two reasons: first, to register the case with the authorities and prevent Meng Chengwei from causing further trouble; second, to indirectly inform Qi Zhipei that the Lin'an tea market was being targeted.

On the way, he had separately questioned Li Fu and Liu Chunxin and learned about Ye Yaming’s interrogation of Liu Chunxin.

Ye Yaming had already prepared an explanation for this.

"Elder Brother fell off his horse, and it was such a coincidence that Meng Chengwei happened to be nearby. Even though Elder Brother had attendants with him, Meng Chengwei insisted on escorting him home. Unsolicited kindness always hides ill intentions. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a trap. Then, as soon as we returned, trouble erupted at the tea house. So, I used Meng Chengwei’s name to test Liu Chunxin, to see if my suspicions were correct—and unexpectedly, he confessed."

Hearing this, Ye Chongming fell silent for a long moment.

He didn’t know whether to praise the child for her sharp intelligence or to say she was overly suspicious of others.Generally, children of this age who have never experienced any troubles and grow up in such a worry-free environment with no concerns about food or clothing should see everything as beautiful and be full of trust in others.

Not to mention Ye Yaming, even he, a sixty-year-old man, would not have doubted Meng Chengwei, who was full of goodwill when they first met. He didn't know whether Ye Yaming's attitude was good or not.

But no matter what, thanks to her keen insight, Ye Jia managed to escape a disaster.