Glory

Ye Yaming's marriage arrangement was not fabricated after all, but genuine—she was actually betrothed to Lu Guanyi. Now, Lu Guanyi had even managed to request the Emperor to bestow the marriage upon them.

While Zhang Shi was astonished, she felt only delight and admiration. In contrast, Tao Shi's shock was mingled with intense envy and jealousy.

How could Ye Yaming be so fortunate as to marry into a prestigious noble family like Lu Guanyi's? Not only was Lu Guanyi capable, holding a fifth-rank official position, but he was also tall and handsome, matching Ye Yaming perfectly in age and appearance. This was a match the Ye family wouldn't have dared to dream of aspiring to, yet Ye Yaming had obtained it so effortlessly.

Originally, with Ye Yaqing married into the Xie family and Ye Yaming's supposedly fictitious engagement, Tao Shi had secretly relished the thought that Ye Yaming might end up marrying someone beneath her after facing another broken engagement.

Ye Yaming had snatched the family head position from her husband and son, wielding great influence within the Ye family. But no matter how capable a woman was, without a happy family, it all meant nothing. In old age, she might end up in misery.

However, this imperial decree shattered the last vestiges of Tao Shi's smug satisfaction.

Ye Yaming had secured a husband ten times better than Ye Yaqing's. Lu Guanyi's status far surpassed Xie Guizhou's, his future prospects were much brighter, and even his looks were superior.

Back when the Yin family had arranged Ye Yaming's engagement to Song Yifeng, Tao Shi, determined to ensure her daughter's marriage would outshine Ye Yaming's, had delayed finalizing Ye Yaqing's match until she was sixteen. She had always believed that as the eldest daughter of the main branch, Ye Yaqing's marriage must be superior to Ye Yaming's.

Yet, after all her careful selections, she had ended up with a crushing defeat.

"Mother," Lady Guan said, noticing that everyone else had risen while her mother-in-law remained kneeling motionless, and hurriedly helped her up.

She was well aware of her mother-in-law's petty grievances.

Ever since Ye Yaming became the next family head, Tao Shi had been simmering with resentment. But aside from Lady Guan and her own maternal family, she had no one to confide in—even Ye Hongchang and Ye Jiaxing, the very parties involved, would admonish her when she complained, insisting that Ye Yaming deserved to be the family head.

Thus, whenever Tao Shi felt aggrieved, she would vent to her daughter-in-law, ranting about the hypocrisy of the second branch couple and Ye Yaming's faults.

Now, with Ye Yaming being betrothed to Lu Guanyi, the heir of the Xuanwu Marquis and a fourth-rank Mingwei General, it was nothing short of a thunderbolt to her mother-in-law.

Over there, Chen Zhen, the Ministry of Revenue official, seeing that Ye Yaming had accepted the decree, smiled and asked, "I heard that the Dark Tea was developed by Third Miss Ye?"

"Replying to Lord Chen, the Dark Tea was jointly developed by my father and me," Ye Yaming responded.

It wasn't that she insisted on sharing the credit with Ye Hongsheng, but rather a strategic consideration.

If the Dark Tea were solely her invention, now that she was to become a member of the Lu family, the honor might not be attributed to the Ye family. The court could simply bestow some title upon Lu Guanyi as a reward for her, and she would stand to lose greatly.

To outsiders, husband and wife were one entity—the husband's glory reflected on the wife. But Ye Yaming, who had always been independent, was unwilling to attribute her achievements to Lu Guanyi and tie her entire life's honor and disgrace to this man.

By claiming the Dark Tea was jointly developed with Ye Hongsheng, the court would have no choice but to involve the Ye family. To appease them, the court would likely grant the Ye family the title of Imperial Merchant.

Imperial Merchants were not ordinary merchants. In the future, when she socialized in the capital, no one would look down on or mock her for her merchant background.Upon hearing her words, a flicker of disappointment passed through Chen Zhen's eyes.

He turned to Ye Chongming and said, "Very well. The journey has been tiring today, so let everyone rest for half a day. Tomorrow, Old Master Ye should come to the post station, and we'll discuss the matter of Dark Tea."

"Thank you, Lord Chen. This old man will certainly come to trouble you tomorrow," Ye Chongming replied promptly.

Chen Zhen and the others then took their leave, but Lu Guanyi remained behind.

The matter of the imperial marriage decree had left everyone greatly astonished, and they had many questions they wished to ask. However, seeing that Lu Guanyi appeared to have matters to discuss with Ye Chongming, they could only exchange greetings with him before departing at Ye Chongming's signal.

Only Ye Chongming, Ye Yaming, Lu Guanyi, and their servants remained in the front courtyard.

The three of them entered Ye Chongming's study and sat down.

Only then did Ye Yaming get the opportunity to observe Lu Guanyi closely.

If two years ago, Lu Guanyi had carried a hint of youthful innocence in his appearance despite his mature demeanor, now he had completely transformed into a fully grown young man.

His fair complexion had turned wheat-colored, his face had slimmed down slightly, and his features had become more defined. He was already tall before, but now he had grown even taller, estimated to be around six feet two or three inches. His previously somewhat slender build had now become quite sturdy. In the thin summer clothing, the muscles in his arms were visible with every movement he made.

His voice, compared to the clear brightness of his youth, had also deepened into a more resonant and low tone.

As Ye Yaming studied Lu Guanyi, he appeared to be strictly observing propriety by not looking directly at her, yet his peripheral gaze still took her in.

In Ye Yaming's eyes, Lu Guanyi had changed significantly, but how much had she herself changed in Lu Guanyi's eyes?

When she first transmigrated, Ye Yaming had been cautious about maintaining the original host's personality and behavior, aligning her demeanor, speech, and attire with the original host. Gradually, she had let go and returned to being herself. Combined with her intentional physical training, the original host's delicate fragility had completely vanished.

The current Ye Yaming was radiant, poised, confident, and free-spirited. Her manner of conduct and bearing actually bore some resemblance to Princess Yu Ning—who held a high position, had been pampered since childhood, and had grown even more confident and composed after marrying the unrestrained and wild Fan Yu.

Ye Yaming was the first to speak: "How goes the matter of Dark Tea? What is the court's stance?"

Lu Guanyi collected his thoughts and said, "The Great Jin Emperor is very fond of it and wishes to purchase large quantities. We need to know how much Dark Tea you can supply annually. If the supply volume is substantial, the court will issue commendations."

Upon hearing there would be commendations, Ye Chongming's face immediately filled with anticipation. If the court could grant Ye Jia the title of Imperial Merchant, that would be ideal.

But since Ye Jia was already doing business with the court, wasn't the title of Imperial Merchant practically assured?

Ye Yaming considered the population and economic situation of Great Jin that she had learned about and said, "Once the tea plants in Huizhou and Minzhou mature, we can stably supply two hundred thousand jin annually. That means to achieve this output, we must count from the year after next."

Even though Ye Chongming already knew that Dark Tea was made from old leaves and stems, and had roughly estimated the output based on the tea mountain areas Ye Yaming mentioned after returning from Huizhou and Minzhou, he was still greatly surprised by the number she reported.

"Ming'er, isn't that number a bit high? What if we can't deliver that much tea? Wouldn't we be punished? Perhaps we should report a lower figure—any excess we can sell here.""This is a relatively low figure," said Ye Yaming.

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