Glory

Lu Guanyi smiled and said, "There's no need for you to ask so much. If I truly go to the military, please look after the Ye family for me."

Qi Ji felt both joy and worry.

He was joyful because, with his friend's exceptional martial skills and strategic acumen, achieving merit and establishing a career would not be difficult. Avenging his mother and escaping the shadow of the Shi family seemed within reach.

Yet he was worried—the Shi family held great influence, the border was a convenient place for them to strike, and with weapons being blind, it was hard to say whether his friend's life could be preserved.

"What about your marriage..." he looked at Lu Guanyi, "you must know that Miss Ye won't wait for you indefinitely. Perhaps by the time I return to Lin'an, I'll hear news of her engagement."

Lu Guanyi's Adam's apple moved, but he remained silent for a long time.

At that moment, Lu Guanyi's steward, Lu An, hurried in and whispered a few words into his ear.

"What did you say?" Lu Guanyi stood up, his expression changing drastically.

Qi Ji's eyes widened.

Since childhood, Lu Guanyi had always been composed in the face of adversity. Qi Ji had never seen him like this before.

Lu An glanced at Qi Ji and repeated, "The Third Princess suggested to the Duchess of Ying that she arrange for the Fifth Young Master Jiang to marry the granddaughter of the Jiangnan Tea Guild leader, Third Miss Ye."

Qi Ji's face also changed.

"What's going on? Why would this happen?" Qi Ji asked.

Lu An explained, "Our young master has always had us keep an eye on the Meng family. The day before yesterday, we saw the Meng family send someone to the Third Princess's residence. That same night, the Third Princess returned to the Duke of Ying's residence. I sent someone to investigate and only then learned of this matter."

"So, the Third Princess said this to the Duchess of Ying the day before yesterday, and you're only telling me now?" Lu Guanyi showed anger.

"Please forgive me, young master," Lu An bowed deeply.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Lu Guanyi forced himself to calm down.

He waved his hand, "It's not your fault."

The Crown Prince had his own intelligence network in the capital, and Lu Guanyi had his as well.

To avenge his mother, he had planted countless agents in the Duke Wei's residence over the years. Killing Shi Shi wouldn't be difficult—the challenge was that if she died, the Duke Wei's residence would likely suspect him, creating a rift with the Crown Prince and affecting the larger situation.

That's why he had endured the reputation of being pitiable, allowing his stepmother to marginalize him by sending him to Jiangnan for business, all while biding his time. He was waiting for the right moment.

After his trip to Lin'an, inspired by Ye Yaming, he had Lu An organize the loafers, ruffians, and beggars from the streets and alleys of the capital into an intelligence network.

Such people were everywhere, living at the bottom of society and uninvolved in political struggles, so no one guarded against them. Gathering information through them was more comprehensive than collecting intelligence in teahouses.

As soon as Meng Chengwei and the Third Princess made a move, their whereabouts were reported to Lu Guanyi. He immediately ordered an investigation into the Duke of Ying's residence.

Although the Duke of Ying had achieved great military feats, he was now old, and none of his sons were capable enough to hold military power. Thus, in recent years, the Duke of Ying's residence had gradually been marginalized.

Lu Guanyi's intelligence network was still new, and he hadn't prioritized the Duke of Ying's residence, making it difficult to infiltrate quickly. This was why it took time to gather clear information, only now becoming fully aware of the situation.

"Have you found out clearly? What did the Duchess of Ying say? What actions has she taken? Has she sent anyone to Lin'an?" Lu Guanyi fired off a series of questions."Young master must be aware that the Third Princess and the Duchess of Ying, being mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, hold mutual disdain for each other, their relationship quite delicate. The Third Princess suddenly brought up this matter, and while the Duchess of Ying expressed gratitude on the surface, she is actually suspicious and has sent people to investigate why the Third Princess is meddling in this affair and whether the Ye family has any enmity with her. She is still awaiting feedback, so she hasn’t dispatched anyone to Lin’an yet."

Lu Guanyi stood up and instructed An Tai, "Make preparations. We’ll head to Lin’an shortly."

It was already afternoon, and traveling to Lin’an at this hour would be inconvenient to arrange along the way.

But An Tai knew his master’s temperament and didn’t dare to advise against it. He acknowledged the order and went to make preparations. Qi Ji glanced at the sky and sighed, "I’ll go too." He signaled to his page to return and pack for the journey.

Before long, everything was ready. The two men, accompanied by their attendants and manor guards, rode out of the capital on horseback, heading straight for Lin’an.

...

Meanwhile, Ye Yaming was sitting in the main house of the Ye residence, listening to Old Mrs. Ye ramble on: "The Zhang family has three main rooms and thirty mu of medium-grade farmland. Licentiate Zhang’s parents are both still alive. His father and elder brother farm the land and work as hired hands during the off-season. His mother and sister-in-law run a small food stall. The elder brother and his wife have two children—one is three years old, and the other hasn’t yet reached six months."

"I had someone inquire carefully. Licentiate Zhang himself is quite commendable. His father, brother, and sister-in-law are all honest and straightforward people. The family is very harmonious."

After saying all this, seeing no expression on Ye Yaming’s face, Old Mrs. Ye felt uncertain.

Steadying herself, she continued, "Their family doesn’t look down on merchants. When the matchmaker went to sound them out, they were very pleased to learn that you are a well-educated, beautiful, and capable young lady. After all, given their circumstances, it’s not easy for them to continue supporting Licentiate Zhang’s studies and pursuit of scholarly honors."

She looked at Ye Yaming and asked, "So, what do you think? Will you meet him?"

Ye Yaming didn’t address the question directly and instead asked about something else: "Grandmother, since Dragon Well Tea came on the market, have many matchmakers come to propose marriages?"

"Oh, you were up in the mountains recently and wouldn’t know. It’s not just matchmakers coming with proposals—countless acquaintances and relatives have visited to seek your hand for their sons or nephews. It’s been nonstop since the matchmakers spread the word that you aren’t taking a live-in son-in-law but plan to marry out." Just thinking about it gave Old Mrs. Ye a headache.

She pursed her lips and added, "These people, do they think I don’t know what they’re after? They’re just coveting our family’s wealth."

At this point, she suddenly paused and asked Ye Yaming, "Why? Are you thinking of choosing someone from among these suitors?"

Ye Yaming waved her hand dismissively.

"Grandmother," she said seriously, "when Da Bo returned last time and Grandfather had all the family branches discuss whether to sell Dragon Well Tea, were you present?"

Old Mrs. Ye nodded. "Yes, I was."

"You know that Dragon Well Tea was praised by the Emperor and might become Tribute Tea in the future, right? Many people will try every means to uncover our tea formula?" Ye Yaming asked again.

"Yes, I know," Old Mrs. Ye nodded once more.

"Then, if my father and I run into trouble, offend powerful nobles in the capital, or even face targeting by them because of the tea, and if I marry one of the men you mentioned, would they resent me for bringing trouble upon them and divorce me?"

Old Mrs. Ye was stunned, speechless and wide-eyed.

The answer was naturally yes.Licentiate Zhang was someone striving for official rank—how could he allow his wife's family, or even his wife herself, to provoke the powerful nobility?

As for others, even if they weren't from humble backgrounds, they certainly weren't from prominent families either. Who wouldn't fear the influential nobles in the capital?

In the end, Ye Yaming's fate would be divorce!

P.S.

Last day of June, everyone with monthly votes please cast them now—don't let them go to waste~

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