Glory

Ye Hongsheng was utterly obsessed with the research and development of tea making.

Upon hearing this, he couldn't wait to give it a try.

Silverware conducts heat differently from ironware, and Ye Yaming explained this to Ye Hongsheng. He then began pan-firing the tea.

As an experienced tea-making master who had nearly perfected the craft of pan-fired green tea over the past two years, Ye Hongsheng quickly mastered the use of the silver pot after just one explanation from Ye Yaming. Remarkably, he succeeded on his first attempt, and the tea he produced was comparable to his highest standard achieved with an iron pot.

"It really works!" he exclaimed in delight.

From then on, he immersed himself in the joy of producing better and better batches with each attempt.

Ye Yaming also took a silver pot and began pan-firing tea nearby.

However, she paid close attention to balancing work and rest, taking breaks after each batch. By the end of the day, the amount of green tea she had produced was only a quarter of Ye Hongsheng's.

As a seasoned tea-making master, he could discern the subtle differences in the tea he produced simply by brewing and tasting it.

So, even though the freshly pan-fired tea still had what was called "fire energy," while last year's Pre-Qingming Tea had already become "aged tea," Ye Hongsheng, during his breaks, brewed cups of his own tea from last year, the tea he had just pan-fired, and the tea made by Ye Yaming. He could still perceive the differences among them.

He sighed with emotion, "Ming'er, your father still can't compare to you."

If he used a silver pot, he would naturally outperform Ye Yaming using an iron pot. But if both used either an iron or silver pot, he always fell short of Ye Yaming.

Then, he broke into a cheerful smile, "But with the silver pot, no matter how talented that Qin Sixiang is, he can't surpass me, let alone you."

Ye Yaming said, "We still need to recruit apprentices widely. Only by recruiting more can we select the talented ones. With so many tea mountains, if we don't train more tea-making masters, the two of us will be worked to death without producing much tea."

In Huizhou and Minzhou, she had directly recruited over two hundred people to learn tea making, but only a little more than a hundred were successfully trained.

In this line of work, the five senses are crucial.

Ye Hongsheng nodded in agreement.

After half a month on the mountain, when the Pre-Qingming Tea was nearly finished, Yiwu requested an audience with Ye Yaming.

"Is there news from Ma Yun?" Ye Yaming asked.

Yiwu replied, "The young master has sent a message."

After saying this, he did not continue.

Yiwu was originally a young beggar who had collapsed on the street in a heavy snowstorm. Lu Guanyi had saved him and arranged for him to learn martial arts with a master. Gifted in martial arts and deeply grateful, Yiwu earned Lu Guanyi's utmost trust, which was why Lu Guanyi had sent him to Ye Yaming's side.

Over the past year or so spent with Ye Yaming, she had come to understand his character well. She trusted him deeply.

Understanding his implication, Ye Yaming said to Ziyuan and the others, "All of you, step outside."

After Ziyuan and the others had withdrawn beyond the door, leaving only the two of them in the room, Yiwu finally spoke, "Princess Consort Zhennan's son is dead."

Ye Yaming's pupils contracted, and she frowned, waiting for Yiwu to continue.

Princess Consort Zhennan was likely a formidable figure—this was evident from her attending a banquet without showing any change in expression the day after her son fell critically ill.

And her son was her very life.

With her son dead, Princess Consort Zhennan was bound to go mad."Although the Duke Wei's mansion had power and influence in the past, the only person who truly cared for Chu Zonghua and his two siblings was Shi Shi. Shi Shi had repeatedly made things difficult for Princess Consort Zhennan on various occasions before. Therefore, Princess Consort Zhennan had once tried every means to bribe an old maidservant close to Shi Shi. That maidservant's son is now in Princess Consort Zhennan's hands."

Ye Yaming's expression changed slightly.

Yi Wu continued, "The young master said that Princess Consort Zhennan is no simple character to have established her footing in the prince's mansion. With her son dead, she will surely seek revenge. She has to consider her maternal family, and with her own strength insufficient to bring about the death of Chu Zonghua and his siblings, she might very well stir up conflict between you, the young master, and Shi Shi and the second young master."

Ye Yaming asked, "How has the young master been at the border recently? Has he had any conflicts with the second young master?"

Besides Yi Wu and Chen Xiu, Lu Guanyi had also dispatched a ten-man team to protect her in secret.

She believed these people must have their own means of communication to relay messages to each other. Ma Yun could only gather information from the streets; matters like the situation in the border army were known only to Yi Wu and his men.

Sure enough, Yi Wu said, "The young master is doing well. He has had two conflicts with the second young master, both times initiated by the second young master bullying him. The marquis has grown increasingly displeased with the second young master."

At this, he smiled slightly.

Ye Yaming understood that this was likely Lu Guanyi deliberately feigning weakness in front of Lu Zhongyong.

A great hero like Lu Zhongyong would inevitably sympathize with the vulnerable.

Originally, between the two sons, Lu Guanyi had always been the pitiable one. Whether considering his background or Lu Zhongyong's feelings for his first wife, Lu Zhongyong was emotionally inclined toward Lu Guanyi.

But Lu Guanyu had overnight gone from an arrogant young master of a noble family to a homeless stray. His maternal family had been executed, his mother divorced, and he became someone everyone avoided, with no future prospects. As a father, Lu Zhongyong would surely feel pity for this son.

If Lu Guanyi, who had been bullied by Lu Guanyu in the past, now sought revenge and kicked him while he was down, Lu Zhongyong would find it hard to accept. Conversely, if Lu Guanyu, having fallen to such a state, remained unrepentantly arrogant and bullied his elder brother, that would be unforgivable.

Given Lu Guanyi's intelligence and Yi Wu's demeanor, his "being bullied" was certainly an act.

Ye Yaming nodded, "So the young master is reminding us to be careful?"

"Correct," Yi Wu said. "The young master said that no matter what news comes from the border, it cannot be trusted; it must be part of the young master's strategy. He asks you not to worry, to take good care of your health, and not to panic and fall into someone else's trap."

"Additionally, he suggests you respond to changes by remaining unchanged. There's no need to do anything; just wait quietly for the outcome. He will handle everything. You only need to protect yourself."

"Alright, I understand," Ye Yaming nodded.

In the past, when she had no one to help her, she naturally had to rely on herself for everything. Now, Lu Guanyi was intelligent and capable, the pieces placed everywhere were his people, and he had more convenient access to news from the capital and the court than she did. Moreover, she was pregnant, so there was really no need for her to push herself too hard.

Protecting herself and the child in her womb was what mattered most.

"There's one more piece of news. The emperor intends to bestow a marriage between Princess Yu'an and the marquis. The imperial decree should be issued after the Qingming Festival."

Ye Yaming raised an eyebrow and smiled, "The emperor really is impatient."Princess Yu'an had completed her year of mourning and had just emerged from the mourning period when the Emperor arranged a marriage for her.

She sighed and said, "This is probably for the best."

Without this arranged marriage, it was likely that neither Princess Yu'an nor Lu Zhongyong would have remarried. To spend one's later years without a companion would ultimately be a lonely existence.