Glory

Ye Yaming, seeing Old Mrs. Ye and Yin Shi's enthusiastic expressions, had no choice but to follow them to the main house.

After selecting two shops and a manor according to the family's allocated share, and personally choosing two more shops and another manor, Ye Yaming said, "That's enough. I also plan to buy some tea mountains myself and purchase two shops in the capital."

With her modern mindset, she never kept money idle but invested it to generate more wealth. Over the past year or so, all the money she had earned had gradually been converted into land deeds and property titles.

In Tongxiang, she bought two more manors to cultivate chrysanthemums, as well as two others for osmanthus and jasmine. In Huangshan, Qimen, and Minzhou, she independently purchased tea mountains.

When she bought these tea mountains, they were still barren hills, and the land prices were extremely cheap—ten thousand taels of silver could buy one or two hills.

Not only would these tea mountains bring her substantial annual income from tea production, but once the local tea gained fame, the tea gardens on these hills would inevitably multiply in value, just like those in Baiteng County.

Assets that could appreciate severalfold or even more than tenfold were what she most preferred to invest in. Moreover, such assets were discreet and less likely to attract envy. In times of trouble, they could also serve as an excellent fallback.

As for the shops that generated monthly rent—which everyone else favored—and the manors used for farming, Ye Yaming didn’t think much of them. She casually bought a few to keep in plain sight, partly to reassure her elders and partly to diversify her investments, not putting all her eggs in one basket.

Since Ye Hongrong had accompanied her to Huizhou and Ye Hongchang to Minzhou, Ye Yaming had openly purchased the tea mountains without any intention of hiding it. Ye Chongming also knew that most of her money had been converted into land deeds.

He nodded and said, "Alright, handle it as you see fit. Your grandfather trusts your judgment."

His words stifled the advice Yin Shi had been about to offer.

In Yin Shi’s conventional thinking, farmland and shops were the safest investments, while everything else was unreliable.

Ye Hongsheng said guiltily, "Your father and I aren’t capable, and the silver we have was given by you, Ming'er. We can’t offer much else, so we’ve prepared a few thousand taels as your dowry for personal use."

Noticing Yin Shi’s discomfort, Ye Yaming smiled and said, "A few thousand taels is already very generous. The greatest gift you’ve given me is your love and trust, allowing me the freedom to do as I please."

She knew what was troubling Yin Shi.

Tao Shi had a substantial dowry of her own and had given her daughter, Ye Yaqing, a shop, several sets of jewelry, and a few hundred taels as a dowry for personal use when she married.

In comparison, Yin Shi had nothing to offer. The shops and the little silver she had were all given by Ye Yaming.

Over the past two years, Ye Yaming’s accomplishments had made Old Madam Ye dote on her even more than her favorite youngest son. For Ye Yaming’s wedding, Old Madam Ye naturally intended to give her some gifts.

However, out of consideration for Yin Shi and the eldest branch, Old Madam Ye decided not to display these gifts openly, planning to give them to Ye Yaming privately before her wedding.

As a family elder, the most important thing was to treat everyone fairly.

After Ye Yaming selected the jewelry, silk, and other items from the Ye family’s common treasury to include in her dowry, Old Madam Ye asked, "Which servants do you plan to take with you as part of your dowry?""Those from my own courtyard will do, if they're willing to follow me," Ye Yaming said. "As for the others, you and Grandfather are already accustomed to them. If I take them away, you'll have to find replacements, which would only cause you unnecessary trouble. So I plan to select some from the servants I purchased."

Among the servants managed by Sun An, some came from wealthy families, while others, though from farming backgrounds, were quick-witted. As long as they had good character, were clever, diligent, and hardworking, they were candidates Ye Yaming intended to train.

Once trained, she wouldn't place them in the Ye family's Tea Factory or Tea House. Instead, she planned to take over their Indentured Servant Contracts and make them her accompanying retainers, who would later become her right-hand assistants.

She not only had dowry Manors and shops to manage but also oversaw the extensive affairs of the Ye family. The Lu family might seem small in number, but there would surely be no shortage of troubles. All of this required capable people.

She explained this clearly to Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye: "I plan to select over thirty people to keep by my side for training. To manage both our family and the Lu family's affairs well, I need helpers—at the very least, people to run errands and deliver messages. Some matters they can handle on my behalf, so I won't be so exhausted. Therefore, I must have my own people."

Ye Chongming fully supported her approach: "That's exactly how it should be. Otherwise, how could you manage everything?"

Old Mrs. Ye grew worried when Ye Yaming mentioned the Lu family: "What is the situation over there? Will you be mistreated after you marry?"

Yin Shi also looked at her daughter with concern.

They weren't very clear about the Lu family's circumstances, only knowing that Lu Guanyi had a stepmother who treated him very poorly.

Since there were no outsiders present, Ye Yaming explained the Lu family's situation to them.

Upon hearing that Lu Guanyi's stepmother had been divorced, Old Mrs. Ye chanted Buddha's name, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart.

She asked, "That younger brother of Zi Mo—won't he hate Zi Mo terribly? After all, Shi Shi is his birth mother. With Zi Mo away, might he target you? Also, is he engaged?"

Ye Yaming shook her head: "Whether he hates him or not, I don't know. I'll have to interact with him to understand what kind of person he is. He is engaged—he was betrothed before Zi Mo and I were."

According to the information she had gathered, Shi Shi had engaged Lu Guanyu to the granddaughter of Prince Zhennan, County Lord Qingrong, when he was just twelve. If not for Lu Guanyu being newly of age and having Lu Guanyi as an elder brother blocking the way, Shi Shi would likely have had him marry long ago.

Now, with the rebellion incident, and Lu Guanyu being a grandson of the Shi family, it was uncertain whether Prince Zhennan had broken off the engagement.

Zan'er had accompanied her to Minzhou and, since returning, hadn't had time to organize the news from the capital.

Setting aside the blood ties to the Shi family and considering only Lu Zhongyong's side, it seemed Prince Zhennan would be quite willing to maintain this marriage alliance. After all, Lu Zhongyong now held military power, comparable to the former Duke Wei's influence, and was less distrusted by the emperor.

Thinking of this, she sighed: "Fortunately, Zi Mo managed to have the emperor bestow our marriage. With the imperial decree, no matter how high anyone's status or position, they wouldn't dare to bully me arbitrarily."

Although the imperial marriage bestowal had partly been due to Chen Zhen's attempt to suppress the price of the Ye family's Dark Tea, it was more likely that Lu Guanyi, anticipating how difficult Ye Yaming's position in the capital would be, had specifically facilitated it.With the Emperor's edict providing the final judgment on Ye Yaming, who would dare say she was unworthy of Lu Guanyi? Who would dare label her with the term "seductress"? Under the authority of being the eldest sister-in-law and the wife of the heir, coupled with the Emperor's arranged marriage, even the County Princess of Qingrong would not dare put on airs in front of her.