Glory

She rose and took a few steps forward to greet her, just as Qi Furen entered.

“Please, sit down. Today is your joyous occasion—you are the most important person here. We dare not trouble the bride to greet us with her noble feet,” Qi Furen joked.

She then explained, “I’ve been busy entertaining guests at the front and haven’t had a moment to come over. It’s just that Guanyi was worried you might be hungry and concerned the kitchen might not be clean, so he specifically asked me to bring you some food.”

As she spoke, she gestured to the elderly woman beside her. The woman stepped forward and handed a food container to Lve E.

“Thank you for taking the trouble to come, Aunt,” Ye Yaming said with a smile, then called for Bai Xin to pour tea.

“No need, there are still many guests at the front who need attending to. I don’t have time to stay here,” Qi Furen waved her hand.

Before leaving, she added with a smile, “Ming’er, are you acquainted with Princess Yu Ning? Princess Yu Ning and Imperial Consort Fan came in person today and repeatedly praised you in front of everyone. When you have time after your return visit, be sure to thank her properly.”

Princess Yu Ning was of noble status. While all prominent families in the capital invited her to their weddings, she only attended those of particularly close acquaintances, otherwise merely sending a gift.

Now, she had actually attended the wedding of Lu Guanyi and Ye Yaming, and her words made it clear she had come out of respect for the bride. Everyone was astonished, and their attitude toward the bride shifted accordingly.

Initially, there had been various speculations about Lu Guanyi marrying a merchant’s daughter. Later, when those who had teased the newlyweds in the bridal chamber described Ye Yaming as breathtakingly beautiful, people assumed he was captivated by her looks.

Regardless, everyone had inwardly looked down on Ye Yaming, never imagining a merchant’s daughter could earn their regard.

But Princess Yu Ning and Imperial Consort Fan spoke highly of Ye Yaming’s talents in their remarks. Upon further inquiry, they learned that the widely circulated works Tea Arrangement, The Art of Tea, and The Way of Tea were all authored by the bride. This revelation left everyone genuinely amazed.

The reason people looked down on merchant’s daughters was not only due to the low status of merchants but also because the term “merchant’s daughter” implied a lack of family background, education, refinement, and an obsession with money.

Yet Ye Yaming’s books displayed remarkable talent in every line, with their underlying Buddhist and Daoist philosophies earning admiration from scholars and officials.

Compared to so-called noblewomen who only knew a few characters, she was truly brilliant. To claim she had “no education or refinement” now would be laughable. Before mocking others, one ought to produce a few books of their own to have the confidence to speak derisively.

“Ah?” Ye Yaming expressed surprise, then smiled and said, “Alright, Aunt, I understand.”

Qi Furen glanced around the room and, finding the furnishings no different from those in other households, nodded in satisfaction.

The day before, after Ye Jia had prepared the bridal bed, she had come to check, worried. Seeing everything was arranged properly, unlike the unconventional style of the Lin’an residence, she had felt somewhat reassured.

The reason she was only partially reassured was her concern that Lu Guanyi might cause trouble—she had witnessed firsthand how devoted he was to his wife.

It wasn’t until Lu Guanyi mentioned that Ye Yaming had specifically instructed him to follow the rules and not make any changes that she felt fully at ease.

Because of this, her satisfaction with Ye Yaming grew even more.

After Qi Furen left, Lve E opened the food container and arranged the bowls and dishes on the table one by one. Turning to Ye Yaming, who was washing her face, she said with a smile, “Miss, it’s all your favorite food.”Ye Yaming turned to look and indeed—it seemed as if the dishes had been specially prepared according to her tastes, unlike the typical wedding banquet fare from the kitchen.

She had assumed Lu Guanyi had simply mentioned it to Qi Furen, who then casually picked a few dishes from the kitchen.

The guests of the Xuanwu Marquis Household were all either wealthy or noble, so the kitchen wouldn’t dare tamper with the banquet dishes. At most, something might be added during the delivery to her. The journey from the kitchen to the bridal chamber wasn’t short, and it would be easy for anyone with ill intentions to slip something in along the way.

That was why she hadn’t felt comfortable eating any food delivered by just any servant from the Xuanwu Marquis Household.

Not only had Lu Guanyi remembered that she hadn’t eaten, but he had also considered this detail, specifically ordering dishes she liked and having Qi Furen, a familiar face, deliver them.

Ye Yaming thought he was remarkably thoughtful and considerate. She took off her wedding dress, changed into a red everyday outfit, and then sat down at the table to eat.

Lu Guanyi had likely realized that the maids in the bridal chamber needed to stay with Ye Yaming and couldn’t move freely around the marquis’s residence, so he had sent enough food for six or seven people.

In any household, the quality of the master’s meals and the servants’ were naturally different. It would be wasteful to discard the master’s leftovers, and the servants didn’t mind eating them.

Coming from the modern era, Ye Yaming, despite adhering to the norms of the time and the impracticality of hiring servants due to unreliable identity records, would purchase servants and sign lifelong contracts to ensure their loyalty. However, in her interactions with them, she treated them with the respect she would afford modern subordinates.

Thus, when she ate, she would use serving chopsticks to place the dishes she wanted into her own plate before eating with her personal chopsticks, ensuring her maids wouldn’t have to eat her leftovers. In colder weather, after serving herself, she would let the maids eat without waiting for her to finish.

By the tenth month of the lunar calendar, the capital was already quite chilly, and everyone was wearing layered clothing. After serving herself, Ye Yaming said, "Alright, you may eat now."

Xia Momo quickly waved her hands. "Miss, we’ve just arrived at the marquis’s residence. We can’t be so informal. Please eat first; we’ll eat after you’re done."

"Very well." Ye Yaming didn’t argue further. She finished her meal and then allowed the others to eat.

Bai Xin set aside portions for Hongye, and she, along with the other senior maids and Xia Momo, ate first. Then, Qingzhi was sent out to relieve Hongye, who came in to eat.

Ye Yaming had no objections to this arrangement.

Rules were still necessary.

Soon after, Qingzhi came in to report, "Miss, Jialin and Jiayun have brought hot water."

Ye Yaming had taken over the group of accompanying maids and pages from Sun An, and they all needed to be given names.

She found it tedious to name each one individually, especially since this might not be the only batch—there could be a second or even a third.

So, she took a shortcut. First, she assigned them the generation name "Jia," and for the subsequent characters, she randomly wrote down some for females and some for males, folded the papers, and had them draw lots to determine their names.

Originally, she had thought "Jia" wasn’t elegant enough and considered using "Yi" or a homophone, but Lu Guanyi’s name contained "Yi," which was similar. In this era, people were careful about avoiding names that resembled their masters’, as it was considered disrespectful. Thus, Ye Yaming settled on "Jia."

"Alright," Ye Yaming said. "First, reward them, then note down their names and ask them why they’ve come to deliver water.""Yes," Qingzhi replied.