Glory

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Seeing Shen Zhongyi leave without even looking back, ignoring his calls, Wen Tao trembled with rage, deeply regretting having brought him into this in the first place.

Shen Zhongyi had always been timid, embezzling only a small amount of silver each year and panicking at the slightest sign of trouble. If he hadn’t run to Wen Tao upon hearing rumors of an audit, Third Miss might never have suspected him.

As for Wen Tao and Xu Shen, Ye Yaming showed no mercy. When the government officers arrived, she handed them over directly.

After Shen Zhongyi left, Wen Tao and Xu Shen grew frantic. Wen Tao tried to appeal to Ye Chongming’s emotions, but Ye Chongming, disgusted by their deceit right under his nose, was in no mood to be swayed. He silenced Wen Tao with a sharp retort.

In the end, Wen Tao and Xu Shen were imprisoned, while Shen Zhongyi, after testifying and returning all the embezzled money, was expelled from Ye Jia.

As the accountant of Gathering Fragrance Pavilion, he was recognized by everyone in Lin’an City who had ever visited for tea. His appearance in court alongside Wen Tao and Xu Shen, accused of falsifying accounts and embezzling from Ye Jia, became public knowledge, spread by the officers even without the Ye family’s input.

Eventually, no one in Lin’an dared to hire him as an accountant, forcing him to relocate his entire family to an unknown place to start anew.

Of course, that was later.

After Wen Tao and the others were taken away by the officers, Ye Chongming asked Ye Yaming, “Aside from these three accountants, are the two in the capital also problematic? What about the other housekeepers?”

Ye Yaming replied, “The issues with those two in the capital aren’t as severe, but we’ll need the authorities to interrogate Wen Tao to know for sure. As for the other housekeepers, while they’ve made mistakes, it’s clear they weren’t intentional, so the problems are minor.”

Ye Chongming breathed a slight sigh of relief but then frowned again. “Do you have any suitable accountants in mind? Besides Mr. Jiang, we need two more to fill the vacancies.”

Ye Yaming shook her head. “I can’t interfere in this, or it will truly look like I’m replacing your people with my own confidants.”

“There’s no one among the servants capable of handling such responsibilities independently. If we hire from outside, I’m worried we might end up with another Wen Tao or Shen Zhongyi,” Ye Chongming sighed.

He didn’t need to ask why Wen Tao and Shen Zhongyi had embezzled—it was clear that wealth had tempted them.

The flow of money in Ye Jia was substantial, and even a small leak could sustain an ordinary family comfortably.

“We should assign two people to each position—one to manage the money and another to handle the accounts. The money and accounts must match, so they can supervise each other and reduce the risk of errors,” Ye Yaming suggested.

Having just transmigrated, she had known that places like Gathering Fragrance Pavilion and the Tea House, where accountants managed both money and accounts with large sums involved, were bound to have problems.

However, without evidence and the timing not being right, she had kept silent.

Now that the issues had surfaced, it was time to assign both cashiers and accountants.

Ye Chongming thought for a moment, then slapped the table. “That’s an excellent idea.”

“Additionally, I plan to implement job rotations for them. They’ll rotate annually—for instance, the accountant from Gathering Fragrance Pavilion in the capital will swap with the one in Lin’an. When a new accountant takes over, they must thoroughly review the previous accountant’s records. Otherwise, if any issues arise, the current accountant will be held responsible. Once our other two tea houses open, we’ll rotate among all four locations.”"If Zi Mo and Qi Gongzi are willing, we can also include the teahouses in Huizhou and Minzhou, and have them rotate positions as well. As for issues like location and family dependents, we can discuss those later."

Ye Chongming thought for a moment and greatly appreciated the idea: "This is an excellent suggestion."

This way, the successor, fearing they might take the blame for someone else's mistakes, would naturally check the previous person's accounts before taking over. Meanwhile, the predecessor, worried that any issues might be uncovered and lead to their dismissal, would be extremely careful in their accounting and conduct self-audits afterward.

In this manner, even without a dedicated auditor, everything would be secure. Any problems could be detected promptly, preventing major disasters.

After handling the accounting matters, Ye Yaming was about to visit the soon-to-open teahouse the next day when she received an invitation. Qi Furen had asked her to come to the Qi residence for a chat.

She went to the Qi residence and paid her respects to Qi Furen: "Qi Furen."

"Rise, please rise," Qi Furen said with a smile. "Why call me Furen? Just call me Aunt."

Ye Yaming didn't hesitate and promptly changed her address: "Aunt."

"Come, have a seat," Qi Furen said, pulling Ye Yaming down beside her and studying her for a moment.

Previously, although Ye Yaming was engaged to Lu Guanyi, Qi Furen hadn't known whether her nephew had agreed to this marriage to resolve a difficult situation or because he genuinely wanted to spend his life with Ye Yaming. Even if he did like her, who knew how long that affection would last? It was possible that after his time at the border, his feelings might change.

She had been afraid that Lu Guanyi might change his mind after two years. To avoid complicating matters, she had never invited Ye Yaming to meet.

However, Ye Yaming had always been very proper in her etiquette, sending gifts during festivals. The gifts were appropriate—neither too casual nor overly extravagant—striking just the right balance. Moreover, Qi Ji was a great admirer of Ye Yaming and often praised her abilities to his parents, so Qi Furen felt both curious and naturally fond of her.

Now that the Emperor had bestowed the marriage, she naturally wanted to meet her.

Seeing Ye Yaming's striking beauty, outstanding demeanor, and poised, graceful composure, Qi Furen nodded inwardly in approval.

"I was very close to my sister and have always regarded Zi Mo as my own son. Now that he's about to marry, I'm truly happy for him."

She looked at Ye Yaming: "Currently, both Zi Mo and his father are at the border. For the wedding arrangements in the capital, Zi Mo has entrusted Third Master Lu and Third Madam Lu to handle them. They aren't familiar with your preferences, so they sent someone to ask me to communicate with your family."

She smiled slightly: "This matter should really be discussed with your mother. But I thought it would be better to ask you directly rather than going through your mother and having her ask you."

In ancient times, marriages were arranged by "parental orders and matchmaker's words," so it was natural for female elders from both sides to discuss and manage the wedding preparations. Since Lu Guanyi had no biological mother, his stepmother had been divorced, and Third Madam Lu was too old to travel to Lin'an, nor was it appropriate to ask Yin Shi to go to the capital, it made sense for Qi Furen to step in.

Ye Yaming said, "I don't have any particular preferences. Aunt and Third Madam Lu can just follow the usual customs."

In her own view, she would have preferred a simple wedding. But noble families cared about face, and since this marriage was bestowed by the Emperor, the ceremony was bound to be elaborate, so she didn't mention that idea.She paused for a moment before continuing, "I don't know if Zi Mo has mentioned this to you. Since I bear the court's responsibility for producing Dark Tea, I cannot remain in the capital for long. I must return to Lin'an to teach people tea-making techniques. Therefore, after Zi Mo departs for the frontier, I will likely return to Lin'an. Zi Mo has already given me the keys to his residence, allowing me to decorate the house according to my preferences."