Glory

He understood that in many matters, he couldn't think as deeply or see as far as Ye Yaming. For such important affairs, it was better to listen to his granddaughter.

Ye Yaming shook her head: "There's no need. Our status is too far beneath theirs. Taking the initiative to invite them would seem like we're trying to curry favor, which might harm the relationship Father has worked so hard to build with them."

Although Ye Chongming felt somewhat regretful, he accepted this reality: "Alright then."

He turned to Zan'er and asked: "What did Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi say?"

"They praised it highly," Zan'er replied.

"Nothing else?"

Zan'er said: "Qi Gongzi asked if this tea was made from Crude Tea. Before I could answer, Young Master Lu glared at him and told me to ignore him."

Ye Yaming couldn't help but laugh.

Ye Chongming gave Ye Yaming a puzzled look.

Seeing that his father still didn't understand, Ye Hongsheng explained: "How could there be Crude Tea at this time?"

"Exactly," Zan'er also laughed. "That's what Young Master Lu said to Qi Gongzi. But I explained that it was made from fresh leaves, not Crude Tea. Qi Gongzi was quite disappointed."

Hearing this, Ye Chongming showed a hint of pride on his face.

Of course! This Tea Garden was the Ye family's property, and the Secret tea-making recipe came from Ye Yaming. As for this Dragon Well Tea, Qi Gongzi could only look on with envy.

"How did Young Master Lu praise it?" Ye Yaming suddenly asked.

"He said it was the finest tea in the world," Zan'er replied. "He said regardless of how much tea there is or what the price might be, he wants to reserve ten jin first."

A bright smile bloomed on Ye Yaming's face.

She composed her expression slightly and said to Zan'er: "Go to him and tell him I'll definitely save ten jin for him. Also, tell him that when we sent him tea yesterday, we also gave a tin to Master Zhineng. Coincidentally, Princess Yu Ning, Imperial Consort Fan, and Tan Xuan were also present and tasted the tea."

When Ye Chongming heard they were giving Lu Guanyi ten jin of tea, he immediately became anxious: "Ming'er, our tea is so scarce. Isn't ten jin too much? One jin each for the two young masters would be enough."

He had heard Ye Yaming say that for this Pre-Qingming Dragon Well Tea, it takes fifty thousand tea buds to produce one jin. With his few hundred mu of tea garden, they could probably only produce about fifty to sixty jin.

If Lu Guanyi took ten jin at once, then they'd need to give one jin to Master Zhineng, and Imperial Consort Fan and the others would probably buy twenty to thirty jin. Basically, there would be no tea left.

If just a few people bought up all the tea, how could he use it to build the Ye family's reputation? What if Qi Zhifu wanted to buy some for gifts?

In his opinion, this tea should be like Osmanthus Tea - with purchase limits, one jin per person would be appropriate.

Ye Yaming first said to Zan'er: "Go deliver the reply to Young Master Lu first."

Then she had all the servants leave before saying to Ye Chongming: "Grandfather, do you want our Dragon Well to become Tribute Tea?"

"Wh-what?" Ye Chongming's eyes widened.

"Young Master Lu isn't the reckless type. He should know that Pre-Qingming Tea yield is extremely low. Can't you guess why he wants these ten jin of tea?"

Thinking about how Lu Guanyi was connected to the Crown Prince, and who stood behind the Crown Prince...

"Hiss..."

Ye Chongming was startled by his own thought: "You, you mean..." He pointed upward.

Ye Yaming nodded.

Ye Chongming rubbed his hands excitedly, his tone firm: "Give it to him. Don't say ten jin, we'd give twenty jin!"After the excitement subsided, recalling what Ye Yaming had Zan'er say, he suddenly jolted: "You mean at Imperial Consort Fan's place..."

Ye Yaming nodded: "I don't know which faction they belong to. If they're aligned against Young Master Lu's side and manage to present the tea to the palace first, it will definitely cause trouble for Young Master Lu and his group."

"But it doesn't matter. Since Young Master Lu knows about it, if he wants to prevent this, he just needs to tell us. The tea hasn't been delivered yet, right? When the time comes, we'll give it to him first, then delay delivering to Imperial Consort Fan's side by a day or two. That should resolve the issue."

"But... but wouldn't that make us pawns of the Crown Prince's faction and offend Imperial Consort Fan's side?" Ye Chongming trembled with fear, not daring to even utter the words "Crown Prince" aloud, only mouthing them silently.

"As long as the Dragon Well Tea reaches the Emperor and the secret tea-making recipe doesn't get leaked, no one would dare touch us," Ye Yaming reassured him.

"Grandfather," she said seriously, "when we chose to cooperate with Young Masters Lu and Qi, we had already taken sides. Since we've chosen a side, we can't be half-hearted or try to please both parties."

Ye Chongming remained uneasy.

He was just a minor merchant who had suddenly become involved in the struggle between princes for the throne - a situation that could easily lead to the extermination of one's entire clan. How could he not panic? All he had ever sought in life was stability.

"Should we not have cooperated with Young Master Lu and his group from the beginning?" he murmured to himself.

Ye Yaming looked at him and suddenly felt remorseful: "Grandfather, I'm sorry."

Ye Hongsheng, standing nearby, frowned: "Ming'er, what have you done wrong that requires an apology?"

His tone was particularly stern.

His daughter had been working tirelessly for the family, her hands swollen from pan-firing tea all this time, to the point where she could barely hold chopsticks steady during meals. How could she possibly have done anything wrong?

Ye Chongming, initially lost in his own emotions, didn't immediately grasp the situation. But now understanding, and sensing a hint of reproach in his second son's words, he quickly waved his hand: "Ming'er, what does this have to do with you? Why are you apologizing?"

Ye Yaming smiled bitterly and shook her head: "Maybe we shouldn't send this tea to the capital after all."

Her thinking was influenced by her corporate background from her previous life - once you start something, you aim to make it big and strong. Moreover, as a former career woman, having crossed over to this world, she wasn't content to become just a housewife, idle all day and living an ordinary, uneventful life.

She wanted to leave her mark in this Great Jin dynasty.

That's why she was determined to share her tea-making knowledge so that people in Great Jin could also enjoy these teas. She had acted according to her own ideas, overlooking Ye Chongming's feelings.

Although Ye Chongming wanted Ye Jia to prosper and flourish, he valued stability and security more.

Even though they had already introduced pan-fired green tea and served it to Princess Yu Ning and others, making it difficult to retract, they could still claim that the production process was particularly complex and the final product unstable. They could say that it was uncertain whether they could produce it every year, and if so, in what quantities.

This way, others wouldn't talk about it openly, nor would they think of presenting this tea to the Emperor. Thus, the tea's influence would remain limited, and Ye Jia wouldn't get involved in the capital's factional struggles.

Seeing that Ye Chongming didn't understand, she carefully explained all this to him.Finally, she said, "Grandfather, the tallest tree catches the strongest wind. If we want Ye Jia's tea to become Tribute Tea, we must take risks. If we seek only safety and stability, we can only hide our edge and fade into obscurity. How Ye Jia develops is for you to decide."

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