Glory

Initially, he had sent someone to the capital to inquire, and the higher-ups only instructed him to summon Meng Chengwei for a warning. After all, Meng Chengwei's causing trouble in Lin'an was an affront to Qi Zhibei's dignity.

If Meng Chengwei showed a cooperative attitude, he would be allowed to leave Lin'an and cease targeting the Ye family, without needing to be imprisoned. It was unnecessary to antagonize the faction behind the Meng family over a minor family like the Ye family.

However, if Meng Chengwei remained obstinate and continued to disrespect Qi Zhibei, Qi Zhibei would not let him off lightly. Instead, he would have him imprisoned for a couple of days until he yielded, apologized, and offered some concessions before releasing him.

As for whether Meng Chengwei would seek revenge against the Ye family after leaving Lin'an, Qi Zhibei had no intention of intervening further, as long as no major disturbances occurred that affected Lin'an's tea industry.

But now, with Lu Guanyi seeking to collaborate with the Ye family, the situation had changed.

In the capital, the Lu and Qi families were neighbors. Lu Guanyi's grandfather, the old Marquis of Lu, and Qi Zhibei's father, Old Master Qi, shared a close friendship, often spending time together playing chess and enjoying leisurely activities. As a result, their children grew up together and became childhood companions.

While the old Marquis and his wife were still alive, Lu Guanyi lived comfortably under their care. With an eye to his grandson's future, the old Marquis had strategically encouraged Lu Guanyi to build a relationship with the Crown Prince.

However, after the old Marquis and his wife passed away one after another, and the current Marquis of Xuanwu was stationed at the border with little concern for his eldest son, the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Lu Guanyi found himself suppressed by his stepmother, and his circumstances grew difficult.

Fortunately, the young man was clever. Leveraging his connection with the Crown Prince, he managed to counter his stepmother's influence. Upon reaching adulthood, he began working for the Crown Prince.

Reflecting on Lu Guanyi's capability and maturity, and then thinking of his own somewhat simple-minded son, Qi Zhibei chuckled and shook his head.

If he could use Qi Ji's friendship with Lu Guanyi to establish ties with the Crown Prince, it would benefit their faction as well. His son might be simple, but he certainly had his share of luck.

Although the Qi family were civil officials rather than military nobles, they were still an established scholarly clan. Under normal circumstances, Qi Zhibei would not have felt the need to flatter Lu Guanyi. However, since Lu Guanyi was now representing the Crown Prince's faction in the tea trade in Jiangnan, his status had changed significantly.

The Crown Prince was, after all, the legitimate heir, with commendable character and ability. Although his mother had passed away early and his maternal clan was weak, he still enjoyed the support of many court officials.

The Fourth Prince, a few years younger than the Crown Prince, had only just come of age this year and had not yet undertaken any independent assignments, so his capabilities remained unclear. Despite the backing of the Empress Dowager and her maternal clan, the Emperor still appeared to rely more heavily on the Crown Prince.

Although Qi Zhibei's faction was loyal to the Emperor and reluctant to take sides prematurely, they were quite willing to foster goodwill with the Crown Prince.

Min Fei, though not favored by the Emperor, had been with him since his days as a prince and had borne him a son. If the Crown Prince's faction had not emerged, Qi Zhibei's group would have had no reason to oppose her. But if they could gain the Crown Prince's favor, Min Fei's faction would pale in comparison.

Having reasoned this through, Qi Zhibei stood up. "I will send someone to arrest Meng Chengwei immediately."

With that, he strode out.

Upon returning to the yamen, he did not dispatch anyone right away. Instead, he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before summoning Master Wu and giving him a few instructions.

Delighted by his superior's words, Master Wu immediately sent his trusted aide to the Tea House. Under the pretext of purchasing tea, the aide relayed the message to the Ye family.

Given the constant flow of people at the tea house, it was inconvenient to approach Ye Chongming directly. Therefore, Master Wu took a roundabout approach, first contacting the tea house's chief manager, Song Dequan.After the incident with Ding Jian, Ye Chongming thoroughly investigated Song Dequan and, upon confirming he had no connection to Meng Chengwei, felt reassured to employ him.

The news quickly reached Ye Chongming's ears.

Upon hearing it, Ye Chongming was extremely excited and very much wanted Ye Yaming to come out and witness the spectacle. However, fearing that Meng Chengwei might act desperately like a cornered dog, he restrained himself and hurriedly went out to make arrangements.

Since the day Yang Hong caused trouble at the Gathering Fragrance Pavilion and was forcibly removed, Meng Chengwei had never returned to the pavilion.

The spring tea from Jiangnan for the next year had already been fully reserved. Although Liu Qilin had made some arrangements at the Tea Monopoly Bureau, they could only obtain a portion of crude tea. Without direct contact with the estate holders, the quality was unreliable, and the quantity was insufficient. Meng Chengwei had little interest in such tea.

Fortunately, although Yang Hong's attempt to humiliate Ye Chongming had failed, making Meng Chengwei—who already looked down on him—even more disappointed, Meng Chengwei was not one to return empty-handed after coming all the way to Jiangnan.

Thus, Meng Chengwei patiently continued to feign cooperation with Yang Hong.

Meng Chengwei shared the same idea as Lu Guanyi. The estate holders in Jiangnan were already dominated by various tea merchants, large and small, making it impossible to seize their resources. The only option was to expand outward and purchase tea from other regions. His cooperation with the Yang family involved investing a certain amount of silver and using their tea-making recipes to produce premium tea for sale.

This was the overt plan.

Covertly, he also intended to leverage the Yang family's connections to illicitly smuggle tea to the border regions and reap huge profits.

If things went smoothly, this operation would continue indefinitely; if exposed, the Yang family would serve as the perfect scapegoat, allowing Meng Chengwei to remain completely uninvolved.

For this latter reason, Meng Chengwei did not sign the cooperation contract with Yang Hong under his own identity. Instead, he pushed forward a young man named Gu Jie, whom he had brought along, to sign the contract with the Yang family.

Gu Jie was the illegitimate son of a minor noble family and had lived with his mother since childhood. When he was fourteen, his mother fell seriously ill, sent him to the Gu family, and passed away shortly after.

The mistress of the Gu household was jealous. While she presented a tolerant front to Gu Jie's father, allowing him to return to the Gu family, she secretly instructed the servants to mistreat him. As a result, after entering the Gu residence, Gu Jie's living conditions were worse than those of the servants.

Meng Chengwei was a man of deep foresight. In addition to relying on clansmen like Meng Liang, he also sought out useful individuals outside his circle. Gu Jie caught his eye.

Gu Jie was sixteen years old and capable of earning a living on his own—even carrying loads at the docks would be better than enduring humiliation in the Gu family. However, the mistress of the Gu household was unwilling to let him go.

Thus, when Meng Chengwei offered to support him, ensuring that Madame Gu could no longer bully him, and promised to buy him a house, transfer his household registration, and help him establish a new independent household, Gu Jie was profoundly grateful and willing to do anything for him.

This time, Meng Chengwei brought Gu Jie to Lin'an but did not keep him by his side. Instead, he arranged for someone to accompany Gu Jie, allowing him to enjoy the city and eat well every day.

When Meng Chengwei summoned Gu Jie to sign the contract, Gu Jie asked no questions. He signed where he was told to sign and stamped his fingerprint where he was told to stamp.

Gu Jie was a clear-headed person. He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Meng Chengwei's kindness to him surely meant he was being used for tasks Meng Chengwei could not undertake himself.

As for whether these tasks were illegal or could lead to confiscation of property or execution, Gu Jie did not care.Without Meng Chengwei, he would rather die than live—how could he enjoy such good days as now? Every day like this is a bonus. As for the family being purged, he actually welcomes it. He would be delighted to see the Gu family members beheaded one by one. He once thought about simply ending it all, but then it occurred to him that dying like that would be too lenient on Madame Gu and her children.