Glory

"Mm." Without standing on ceremony, Ye Chongming mounted his horse and soon disappeared around the corner with his attendants.

Ye Yaming's carriage wasn't far behind. By the time Ye Chongming had gathered the Tea House staff, she had arrived as well, accompanied by her nominal father, Ye Hongsheng.

Ye Hongsheng was a man of refined, scholarly demeanor. In this era, people married and had children early; at thirty-three, he was only two years older than Ye Yaming had been in her modern life.

Fortunately, Ye Yaming possessed the original host's memories and emotions, so addressing this handsome young man as "Father" didn't feel particularly jarring.

What mattered most was that this man had never shown any dissatisfaction toward Yin Shi for bearing only two daughters, always saying that having sons didn't matter. He treated his wife and daughters exceedingly well, and now he was fussing over her with genuine paternal concern the moment he saw her.

"...This is truly reckless. The family's affairs should be left to the men. You were ill just a few days ago—what are you doing here causing trouble? How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?"

Ye Yaming: "..." Who said the second son of Ye Jia was dull and inarticulate? He was more talkative than she was.

"Shh." She gestured to Ye Hongsheng. "We can discuss this later. Now that I'm here, I'm not going back. If others overhear you saying such things, what will they think of me? I have my pride, you know."

Her childish retort nearly made Ye Hongsheng laugh in exasperation.

"Fine, fine, you can tag along," he said irritably.

Then, with a doting expression, he added, "If you get tired, tell your father, and I'll have someone escort you back."

Ye Yaming rolled her eyes inwardly but nodded obediently. "Alright."

As father and daughter entered, the head manager, assistant manager, and two clerks who were aware of the Illicit tea incident had also arrived.

Ye Chongming lifted his gaze and asked the head manager sternly, "Manager Song, what do you have to say about the Illicit tea matter?"

Song Dequan bowed slightly and forced a bitter smile. "It was my negligence. I beg the proprietor to punish me severely."

Before he could finish, the assistant manager, Ding Jian, bowed deeply. "This has nothing to do with the head manager. I concealed this matter from both the proprietor and the head manager."

With that, he lifted the hem of his robe and knelt. "If any tea customers file a complaint with the authorities, the proprietor need only shift the blame onto me. The proprietor truly had no knowledge of this—it was I, resentful and wishing to bring disgrace upon the proprietor, who acted behind his back in violation of the court's laws. I am willing to bear full responsibility."

Ding Jian, in his thirties, had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an upright posture—an appearance that inspired immediate goodwill. His words were impassioned and righteous, giving the impression that he had only acted out of helplessness, pressured by the status of the fourth proprietor, Ye Hongrong.

Now, he was courageously taking responsibility, bearing all the blame alone. Those present saw only his loyalty and bravery, feeling moved and grateful rather than resentful.

Sure enough, Ye Chongming, who had been filled with rage toward him, now felt his anger largely dissipate, replaced by self-reproach and helplessness.

He had spent his life busy making a living and, aside from his eldest son Ye Hongchang, had no time to discipline his other children.

He knew his wife doted on their youngest son. Thinking she had raised several children well enough, he hadn't intervened much. By the time he learned that Ye Hongrong was rather unpromising, his eldest grandson had already been born.Considering that the family business would naturally be inherited by the eldest branch, Ye Hongrong didn't need to be particularly capable. With his elder brother managing things, he could idle away his life and still live peacefully. Moreover, once a personality is formed, the time and effort required to correct it would be considerable.

Rather than spending that time and energy, it was better to focus on carefully nurturing the eldest grandson.

Therefore, Ye Chongming only scolded Ye Hongrong when they met, usually had people keep an eye on him to prevent him from doing anything bad, and didn't bother with much else.

By the time Ye Hongrong married and had children, Ye Chongming had aged a few more years and had even less energy to manage him.

Now that his fourth son had caused trouble, how much fault could Ding Jian, who was solely devoted to following his employer's orders, truly bear? That he was willing to take full responsibility for the offense already showed his loyalty and righteousness. What right did Ye Chongming have to resent him? "Alas, I failed in teaching my son properly," Ye Chongming said wearily, waving his hand as if he had aged considerably in an instant.

Ye Yaming gave Ding Jian a deep look and nudged Ye Hongsheng, signaling him to help Ding Jian up from the ground.

To protect the Ye family, Ye Chongming had no choice but to sacrifice Ding Jian, so he tacitly accepted Ding Jian's explanation. However, he couldn't explicitly show his agreement and had to maintain this posture. It was most appropriate for Ye Hongsheng to step forward at this moment to express gratitude and appreciation.

Following Ye Yaming's cue, Ye Hongsheng stepped forward and helped Ding Jian up: "Manager Ding, please rise. We are all aware of your loyalty and righteousness."

Such a serious occasion was not suitable for a young girl like Ye Yaming, who had never been involved in management, to interfere. But seeing that her father hadn't addressed the core issue, she grew anxious.

She stepped forward, pretending to also help Ding Jian up, and said, "Indeed, although this is such a significant matter, Manager Ding should have informed my grandfather and Da Bo at the time, rather than allowing my fourth uncle to act recklessly. But since the matter has already occurred, assigning blame is meaningless. Manager Ding has already demonstrated his loyalty with this statement. Let's set aside the issue of responsibility for now and focus on discussing how to resolve the situation. That is what's most urgent."

Her words instantly pulled everyone back from the atmosphere of supreme loyalty that Ding Jian had created. As rationality returned, the way everyone looked at Ding Jian became peculiar.

Wasn't that true? Although Ye Hongrong bore responsibility for this matter, Ding Jian, knowing full well that Ye Hongrong was unreliable, had still followed him in his recklessness. Why? His fault was not only no less than Ye Hongrong's but even greater, wasn't it?

Yet with just a few words, he had shifted all the blame onto Ye Hongrong and put on a show of loyalty and righteousness, earning the Ye family's gratitude. This fellow's methods were formidable—these old foxes had almost been deceived by him.

If Ye Chongming had said a few words in this atmosphere about not holding Ding Jian accountable but instead expressing gratitude, the matter would have been settled. No matter the final outcome, Ye Chongming would have found it difficult to go back on his word. After all, merchants place the highest value on keeping their promises.

For such a shrewd person to allow Ye Hongrong to act recklessly and plunge the Ye family into crisis—who would believe there was no trickery involved?

Ye Chongming had frowned when Ye Yaming first spoke, but now he was immensely grateful that he had brought her along.

This young girl, who usually kept a low profile, had proven more capable than her father at this critical moment, making Ye Chongming view her in a completely new light.

Seeing that Ding Jian had been helped up, Ye Chongming said, "Alright, Ding Jian, first tell us who you sold that tea to."He had already questioned Ye Hongrong, and that fellow was a complete fool who knew nothing at all. He only made major decisions, while all the specific matters were handled by Ding Jian alone, and the customer information was all in Ding Jian’s hands.

Thinking of this, Ye Chongming felt even more frustrated.

"Grandfather, time is tight. Why don’t we question them separately?" Ye Yaming chimed in again. "If there are many customers, one person’s memory is bound to have omissions. You and Manager Ding stay in this room, while my father and I question the two assistants separately. Later, we can compare notes, and the total number of customers will be complete."