Glory

These four individuals were not only meticulous but also possessed considerable martial skills. They conducted daily inspections for potential safety hazards and would step forward without hesitation should any danger arise.

Wen Xiu, who had previously managed the silk fabric shop for Qi Furen, was well aware that the food business required extra attention to hygiene and food safety. However, she had not considered personnel and environmental factors. After Ye Yaming pointed this out, she was startled and remained on high alert.

It was only after Ye Yaming assigned these four individuals that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Yaming added, "In the beginning, you will be vigilant and conduct thorough inspections. But over time, complacency may set in, and you might assume everything is fine. That is precisely when accidents are most likely to occur. Therefore, I will periodically send people for random checks. If negligence is found, penalties will range from light punishments to dismissal. I hope you will adhere to the regulations."

The group tensed up and responded in unison, "Yes."

Ye Yaming waved her hand and then walked inside.

People in ancient times lived at a slower pace, and moreover, the lady of the house had many household affairs to arrange in the morning. Although Ye Yaming had set the opening time at the beginning of the Si hour, which was nine in the morning, she did not expect anyone to arrive so early.

To her surprise, shortly after the firecrackers at the entrance had been set off, the gatekeeper came to report that Princess Yu Ning and her party had arrived. She hurried out to greet them.

Princess Yu Ning was stepping down from the carriage, holding Fan Yu's hand. Spotting Ye Yaming, she waved and smiled, "Yaming."

Ye Yaming went forward to welcome them, "Your Highness, Princess Yu Ning, Imperial Consort Fan, welcome to our establishment."

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Guanyi's tall figure appeared behind her and echoed the same greeting.

Princess Yu Ning couldn't help but clap her hands and laugh, "Oh my, I never expected General Lu to also come out to greet guests. Truly, newlyweds cannot bear to be apart for even a moment."

"Haha, young General Lu, I didn't expect you to dote on your wife as much as I do. It seems we both follow our wives' lead," Fan Yu said, patting Lu Guanyi on the shoulder.

Lu Guanyi blushed at their teasing and was about to respond when another woman alighted from a carriage behind them. Princess Yu Ning had already moved toward her.

"Come, Yaming, let me introduce you. This is my elder sister, Princess Yu'an. She's been cooped up at home all day, so I dragged her out for a change of scenery."

Ye Yaming and Lu Guanyi exchanged a glance.

Just yesterday, they had mentioned Princess Yu'an, and now they were meeting her in person.

She quickly stepped forward to pay her respects.

Members of the royal family, having undergone generations of genetic refinement, were rarely unattractive. Princess Yu'an was also a beauty, with a gentle and graceful demeanor. Despite being forty-six years old, she appeared no older than thirty-six, and in terms of appearance, the age difference with Lu Zhongyong did not seem significant.

She reached out to help Ye Yaming up and said with a soft smile, "Please, no formalities, Madam Heir. We are intruding upon your hospitality today." Her voice was gentle.

As a daughter-in-law assessing a potential mother-in-law, Ye Yaming felt quite satisfied on her father-in-law's behalf.

If the Emperor were to arrange a marriage with Princess Yu'an, Lu Zhongyong would not be at a disadvantage in marrying her.

Just as Ye Yaming was about to escort them into the teahouse, several more carriages arrived one after another, and a group of men and women stepped out. Some had accompanied Fan Yu to Lin'an, while others were unfamiliar faces.

Princess Yu Ning stepped forward and introduced them all to Ye Yaming.Those who could while away their time in a teahouse at this hour and were invited by Princess Yu Ning and Fan Yu to join them for tea were all individuals without official positions in the court, hailing from either wealthy or noble families, and having some achievements in literature and art.

These people held less rigid views on social status and behaved more casually. They had all read Ye Yaming’s works Tea Arrangement, Tea Art, and The Way of Tea, and upon learning that teas like Dragon Well were also her creations, they held her in high regard in the realm of tea.

When they met her now, everyone was courteous and showed no trace of disdain toward Ye Yaming.

Seeing this, Lu Guanyi felt relieved and led everyone into the teahouse.

“This teahouse is truly well-built.”

The scenery in the garden was similar to what they had in their own gardens, so they didn’t find it particularly novel, only noting the different style—this one leaned more toward the Jiangnan aesthetic. But upon entering the rooms and seeing each elegantly arranged space, with tea arrangements of varying styles placed on the central tables, complementing the view outside the windows, their eyes lit up, and they were utterly delighted.

“I love this room,” Tan Xuan exclaimed as soon as he stepped into one of the tea rooms.

The theme of this room was “Solitude.”

Outside the window stood withered trees with gnarled branches, a moss-covered stone staircase extending into the distance. On one side of the staircase were rounded stones and sand, while the other side featured a few unevenly pruned small trees, shrubs, grasses, and moss. The entire scene embodied the design philosophy of a “dry landscape” garden.

Naturally, the tea arrangement inside the room followed a Zen style.

Tan Xuan, being a painter and deeply fond of Buddhist and Daoist philosophies, fell in love with the room at first sight. He asked Ye Hongsheng, “Hongsheng, may I drink tea here later?”

“Of course,” Ye Hongsheng replied cheerfully. “Everyone may choose their preferred room, whether to drink alone or with friends.”

Tan Xuan was overjoyed. He walked to the table and sat down on a floor cushion. “I’m not leaving. I want to drink tea here.”

Fan Yu looked at him disdainfully. “Aren’t you going to see the other rooms? There might be one you like even more.”

Tan Xuan thought this made perfect sense and quickly stood up. “Then let’s go take a look first.”

The group moved to another room.

The theme of this room was “Clarity.”

The room was much larger than the previous one, yet it contained very few furnishings. On the east and west white walls, only three black frames each were hung, enclosing white porcelain plates with sparse ink-wash landscape paintings.

In the center of the room stood a large desk, with a single floor cushion facing the window. Three green silk lanterns hung from the beam above the desk, illuminating a set of snow-white tea utensils on the redwood surface. A black-glazed vase held a single branch of phoenix flowers, and aside from these, the room was bare.

Outside the window, a flowing stream meandered through a cluster of maple trees, winding past jagged, oddly shaped rocks before emptying into a distant pond. Half of a pavilion’s upturned eaves peeked out from beyond the pond, and further in the distance lay the famous Thunderclap Mountain of the capital, with the pagoda of Thunderclap Temple faintly visible.

Without needing further explanation, everyone felt a sense of openness and mental clarity upon entering this room.

“Ah, I love this room too,” Tan Xuan said.

Fan Yu, forgetting his earlier disdain, asked Ye Yaming curiously, “This room is just a few steps away from the previous one. How is it that the scenery outside the window is so completely different?”"This is a landscaping technique. The previous room employed the framing method, using a cluster of trees and bamboo fences to block peripheral views, directing everyone's focus to the immediate scenery. This room, however, utilizes borrowed scenery, incorporating the views of Leiyin Mountain and Leiyin Temple, thus creating a sense of vast openness, capturing the infinite within the finite," said Ye Yaming.