Glory

"When Jiaxing's horse suddenly bolted, Young Master Meng happened to pass by. He came forward to inquire and accompanied the page to send Jiaxing home. For this act, I am truly grateful. But having been in business my entire life, dealing with people daily in teahouses, I believe I have some discernment in judging character. I feel that Young Master Meng is not someone to be closely associated with."

Although Meng Chengwei had only shown a fleeting moment of admiration and covetousness upon seeing Ye Yaming—something most might consider insignificant, since it's understandable for men to be captivated by a beautiful woman—Ye Chongming believed that one could perceive a person's entire character from a single glance.

A person with good upbringing and moral character would not stare at another man's female family members, let alone display such a disgusting, lecherous expression.

Perhaps he was just old-fashioned and stubborn, but he simply disliked people like that.

Because of his integrity, although his refusal to flatter the powerful had cost him many opportunities, he had earned the respect of his peers, who elected him as the guild leader. This further reinforced Ye Chongming's commitment to his principles.

"If you say that person is unsuitable, then he must be unsuitable," Tao Liyang said with an ingratiating smile.

The Ye family's business was larger than the Tao family's. As the head of the household, Ye Chongming was over sixty years old—he had eaten more salt than Tao Liyang had eaten rice. He was also the tea guild leader, possessing both capability and insight. Naturally, Tao Liyang trusted the old man's judgment.

As it was nearly noon, Ye Chongming invited him to stay for a meal.

Having confirmed that Meng Chengwei was not worth cultivating a close relationship with, Tao Liyang saw no need to rush back to curry favor with him. He stayed for a meal at the Ye family's villa before leisurely riding his horse down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Meng Chengwei waited anxiously at the inn. Not only did no one from the Ye family appear, but even the Tao family, owners of the Rugu Inn, failed to show up.

"What do you think they mean by this?" he asked Meng Liang.

He genuinely couldn't understand why these people would act this way after learning he was an Imperial merchant.

Only then did Meng Liang realize what Meng Chengwei had been waiting for. He was equally puzzled.

But he couldn't show his confusion. "I suppose," he said, "the innkeeper is simply ignorant and doesn't understand what being an Imperial merchant signifies. That's why he didn't inform the Tao family, let alone send word to the Ye family. Otherwise, the Taos and the Yes would have swarmed around you like flies to honey, scrambling to flatter and please you, sir."

This somewhat improved Meng Chengwei's expression.

After much thought, he concluded that being too eager wasn't good for business. "Let's go to Lin'an," he decided.

They would go to the Ye family's teahouse in Lin'an, make their presence known, and reveal their status. Once word reached the Ye family, combined with the connection from his rescue of Ye Jiaxing, if the Ye family encountered any trouble, they would surely come seeking his help.

He hadn't used this approach earlier because he didn't want to make a big scene.

After all, his Meng family wasn't the only one eyeing the Jiangnan tea market.

Although the titles of Min Fei and Imperial merchant sounded impressive, those in the know understood that Min Fei was not favored by the emperor and had only given birth to a princess, not a son. Because of her, the Meng family could only engage in minor trade on the fringes of the imperial court.

Thus, while the Meng family's status as Imperial merchants placed them slightly above ordinary merchants, in the capital, few people truly respected them.Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to scheme against the Jiangnan tea market. Tea was an official commodity bought and sold by the court; as long as one had connections with the Ministry of Revenue, they could intercept it directly at the source, with no need to deal with the tea merchants downstream.

It was only mid-afternoon, and since Baiteng County was not far from Lin'an City, the group immediately set off for Lin'an.

...

Meanwhile, the carriage carrying Ye Yaming and the others slowly came to a halt in front of the main gate of the Ye family ancestral residence.

"Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Mistress, Second Young Lady, and Third Young Lady have returned?" Steward Li Fu and Head Maid Mama Lu came forward to greet them, accompanied by pages and maidservants.

Since the manor guards had ridden ahead to deliver the news, soft sedan chairs had already been prepared and were waiting for them.

The pages carefully lifted Ye Jiaxing onto a sedan chair and carried him inside.

Madam Guan and the Ye sisters, having endured a bumpy journey, chose not to ride in sedan chairs and instead followed the procession slowly on foot.

When they reached the main hall inside the second gate, everyone sensed that something was amiss in the household.

Given Ye Jiaxing's injury, considering both the elders' affection for him and his status as the eldest grandson, Old Madam Ye, Madam Tao Shi, and the women of the second and fourth branches should have been waiting in the hall to inquire about his condition and send for a Herbalist.

Yet at this moment, only the original host's mother and younger sister—Madam Yin Shi of the second branch and Fourth Young Lady Ye Yayin, also of the second branch—were present in the hall. Both wore unpleasant expressions. Old Madam Ye and Tao Shi, as Ye Jiaxing's grandmother and biological mother, who had always doted on him, were conspicuously absent.

"What happened?" Ye Jiaxing asked.

Yin Shi first inquired about his injury before replying, "It seems something has happened to your Fourth Uncle. They are all at your grandmother's courtyard now with your mother."

As expected, misfortunes never come singly, Ye Yaming sighed inwardly.

Upon hearing that his Fourth Uncle was involved, Ye Jiaxing's heart tightened. Among the entire family, the fourth branch was the most unreliable.

He ordered solemnly, "Carry me to Old Madam's courtyard."

Thus, the group changed direction and headed toward the main courtyard.

The maids and elderly servants in the main courtyard, seeing Madam Yin Shi and the Eldest Young Master arriving, dared not stop them to announce their arrival and simply let them enter.

Upon entering the room, they saw Old Madam Ye, née Mei, sitting stiffly in the seat of honor, her face dark. Fourth Master Ye Hongrong knelt on the floor, while his wife stood beside him with her head bowed, nervously twisting her handkerchief.

Madam Tao Shi sat below Old Madam Mei, her face filled with anger.

When Old Madam Ye saw Ye Jiaxing being helped into the room, her expression softened slightly. She rose and approached him, examining the bandaged wound on his leg with concern. "Is it serious?" she asked.

"It's nothing major," Ye Jiaxing replied, not in the mood to discuss it.

He turned to Ye Hongrong. "Fourth Uncle, what happened?"

At the mention of this, Old Madam Ye's face darkened again. She glanced around the room and said, "Jiaxing may stay. The rest of you may leave."

Yin Shi's expression immediately soured.

Among the four branches of the Ye family, the third branch had withdrawn from worldly affairs after Third Master passed away from illness at eighteen, shortly after his marriage. His widow lived in seclusion with their posthumous daughter. But the master of the second branch—her husband—was still alive.

Now that something had happened in the fourth branch, what did it mean for Old Madam to keep the matriarch and eldest son of the first branch while excluding the second branch?

It was all because she had borne no sons—the second branch had only two daughters.

With the memories of the original host, Ye Yaming naturally understood what Yin Shi was angry about.Back when Ye Chongming arranged marriages for his four sons, he had given it considerable thought.

Although he had good relationships with the tea merchants from the tea trade and they knew each other well, considering that being in the same industry was neither stable nor conducive to expanding social connections, he engaged matchmakers to find daughters-in-law from various trades and professions for his four sons.