Glory

Since her arrival, Ye Hongchang had been in the capital and later stayed at the eldest branch's residence due to his injury. Although Ye Yaming had visited him with her sisters and met him a few times, she hadn't had the chance to deeply understand Ye Hongchang, unsure of what kind of person this heir of the Ye Family was.

After a moment of thought, Ye Hongchang asked, "Is that all he said? Did he mention anything about the court or even the Crown Prince?"

Ye Chongming shook his head. "No. Most of the information about Young Master Lu's family came from Qi Gongzi. Young Master Lu doesn't seem talkative—he only spoke briefly when Qi Gongzi asked him about his family matters."

"Even if she's a stepmother, she's still his mother. It's not appropriate for him to say much," Ye Hongchang remarked.

Ye Chongming nodded and said to his eldest son, "I'm also curious about what you're concerned about. I tried to probe indirectly, but both of them brushed it off. It seems Young Master Lu's involvement in the tea trade is truly just his own desire to establish himself."

Ye Hongchang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's for the best."

As an ordinary commoner, Ye Hongchang was deeply fearful and resistant to the idea of being dragged into court disputes or struggles for the throne. If Lu Guanyi's cooperation with the Ye Family truly had nothing to do with court conflicts or the Crown Prince, it would be ideal.

Seeing that his eldest son had nothing more to say and that his grandson Ye Jiaxing, as usual, was just listening without offering any opinions or suggestions, Ye Chongming turned to Ye Yaming and asked, "Ming'er, do you have anything to say?"

Ye Yaming replied, "Grandfather, you could send someone to investigate the residence where Young Master Lu is staying. Is it an old property the Lu Family previously owned? Or is it part of Qi Furen's dowry? Or perhaps it's a newly acquired property by Young Master Lu? If it was purchased recently, we might find some clues."

Ye Chongming's eyes lit up, and he slapped the table. "You're right!"

The Ye Family's residence was on the same row as Lu Guanyi's, not far away. Ye Chongming was well aware of the value of such properties.

The Ye Family's residence was a three-courtyard compound with a garden, worth fifty thousand taels of silver. In contrast, Lu Guanyi's residence was closer to the government office and, according to Ye Yaming who had visited, was more spacious with pavilions and towers even more exquisite than the Ye Family's, worth at least eighty thousand taels or more.

Even if the Xuanwu Marquis Household was wealthy, with a stepmother in charge, it was unlikely they would give such a large sum to Lu Guanyi. Even if they did, he wouldn't likely spend so much on a property and still have leftover funds for the tea business.

He was alone with just a few servants, without a family or a large staff—why would he need such a large residence?

The only explanation was that the money came from the Crown Prince's investment, or the property originally belonged to the Crown Prince's faction.

"Regardless of whether he has connections to the court, are we already cooperating with him?" Ye Yaming asked.

"Yes," Ye Chongming said. "And with the magistrate's family as well. The magistrate's third son also plans to take a share and join us in the tea business."

Hearing this, Ye Hongchang was puzzled. "Isn't the third son preparing for the imperial examinations?"

The Ye Family, being merchants, were barred from participating in the imperial examinations—which was why their status remained low and they always sought to marry into scholarly families.

But since Qi Zhifu could serve as a magistrate, he must have been a Presented Scholar. His son, Qi Ji, appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen, an age when he should be focusing on studying for the examinations.

Why would the Qi Family allow him to engage in commerce instead of concentrating on his studies at home?Ye Chongming's lifelong obsession was having a Presented scholar in the family as a backing, making him even more concerned about this matter than Ye Hongchang.

He said, "I've inquired. The Qi Family's eldest son is a Presented scholar, the second son is a Recommended man. This third son claims he was a premature baby, frequently ill since childhood. His grandmother forbade his parents from pressuring him to study. He himself isn't clever and isn't cut out for scholarly pursuits, so after a few years in school, he gave up. His family doesn't expect him to follow the imperial examination path."

Hearing this, the Ye family members could understand.

Although none of them had taken the imperial examinations themselves, due to Song Yifeng's presence, they were quite familiar with the exam conditions.

The county-level exams were manageable, but the provincial and metropolitan exams involved three consecutive sessions of three days each. During these three days, candidates ate poorly, slept little, and endured the foul smells from everyone living and relieving themselves in the confined space. In such conditions, they still had to nervously write essays and solve problems. Those emerging from the examination hall were invariably pale-faced.

When Song Yifeng took his county and provincial exams, the Ye family had sent people to assist him. According to the Housekeepers and attendants who returned, many candidates fell ill immediately after leaving the provincial exam venue. Some severe cases even died.

This didn't even account for the usual extreme studying methods like "hanging one's hair from a beam" or "pricking one's thigh with an awl."

In short, a decade of arduous study truly required robust health. Since the Qi Family already had an eldest son to uphold their reputation and a second son showing promise, they naturally went easier on their frail youngest son.

"So what's their share? And ours?" Ye Yaming brought the discussion back on track.

This was the most crucial point. As for Qi Ji wanting a stake in this venture, it was likely to help Lu Guanyi secure shares. If their combined shares exceeded the Ye family's, the Ye family would be at a disadvantage.

However, the Ye family held the Secret tea-making recipe, plus her nominal father Ye Hongsheng with his golden tongue and quality control, and herself as a time-traveler capable of creating many new teas—even with minority shares, the Ye family wouldn't be without a voice.

She wanted to know if Lu Guanyi was a greedy person, as this would determine how much effort the Ye family should invest.

If the Ye family's share was small, then forget it—living a leisurely life would be preferable to working hard for others with little benefit.

"Young Master Lu is investing ninety thousand taels for a thirty percent share, Qi Gongzi thirty thousand taels for ten percent. Our Ye Jia is contributing with the Crude Tea purchased from Jiangnan Estate Holders and the Tea-making recipe, taking sixty percent. The Tea Factory and teahouses aren't included. If our Tea Factory is used for tea processing, we'll additionally receive processing fees."

"Of course, this is the general idea. The exact percentages are negotiable if we find Young Master Lu's proposal unreasonable," Ye Chongming added.

Ye Yaming nodded inwardly.

This ratio was quite reasonable.

From what she knew, the Ye family typically invested about seventy thousand taels annually in tea reservations, with profits of twenty to thirty thousand taels. Currently, this twenty to thirty thousand taels profit wasn't yet realized; according to cooperation norms, it should belong to post-cooperation shared profits. But now, Lu Guanyi and his partner were counting it toward the Ye family's investment, which first demonstrated their generosity and integrity.

Even including these profits plus the intangible assets of the Tea-making recipe and Estate Holders, Ye Yaming estimated the total value at around one hundred ten to one hundred twenty thousand taels.

Now, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were investing one hundred twenty thousand taels but only taking forty percent—this was their second display of generosity and fairness.