Chapter 2
Meng Chengwei

“Haha, it’s nothing, it’s nothing, just a cut on my leg. It’s not bleeding anymore, don’t worry,” Ye Jiaxing said with a smile.

“Still smiling! You scared me to death,” Mrs. Guan complained.

Following Meng Chengwei’s gaze, Old Master Ye had already seen Ye Yaming.

Seeing Meng Chengwei’s gaze lingering on Ye Yaming, Old Master Ye frowned slightly and said to everyone, “Why are you all still standing here? Hurry up and carry the eldest young master back to his room. What’s with all the crying and fussing?”

Madam Guan blushed and quickly called for someone to bring a sedan chair.

Before leaving, Ye Jiaxing thanked Meng Chengwei again and said, “Young Master Meng, since you don’t have a place to stay in Baiteng County, why not stay at our house if you don’t mind? We have plenty of empty courtyards, and you can stay as long as you like.”

“How could I impose? I’ll stay at an inn,” Meng Chengwei replied politely.

If Old Master Ye hadn’t noticed Meng Chengwei’s gaze on Ye Yaming, he would have warmly invited him to stay. But now, he followed Meng Chengwei’s words and said, “This is just a resting place for the tea garden. The houses are simple, the location is remote, and transportation is inconvenient. I’m afraid we might neglect our guest. The Rugu Inn in the county is run by Jiaxing’s uncle. I’ll have someone book a top room for you. You can stay as long as you like without worrying about food and lodging.”

Meng Chengwei was slightly taken aback. He had saved Ye Jiaxing, and the Ye family had many houses. Moreover, this place was seven or eight miles from the county, and it was already late afternoon. Shouldn’t the Ye family warmly invite him to stay? At the very least, they should offer him a meal. Why was Old Master Ye so eager to send him away after a polite refusal?

But since the host had said so, it was inappropriate for him to insist on staying. He had to bow and say, “Old Master Ye, there’s no need to be so polite. I’ll book an inn myself.”

Although Ye Jiaxing didn’t understand, he keenly sensed his grandfather’s coldness towards Meng Chengwei.

There were many houses near the tea garden, and the conditions were decent. The Ye family also had a house in Baiteng County, seven or eight miles away, which was well-maintained and ready for occupancy. If they were genuinely grateful to Meng Chengwei, they wouldn’t have let him stay at an inn. Clearly, his grandfather didn’t welcome this young man who had brought him back.

Ye Jiaxing trusted his grandfather’s wisdom. So he didn’t say more, thanked Meng Chengwei again, and left in the sedan chair, no longer mentioning letting Meng Chengwei stay at their house.

Ye Yaming naturally followed him, her sister-in-law, and her cousin out.

Once they left, only Meng Chengwei, Old Master Ye, and the servants remained in the hall. Having already exchanged pleasantries without intending to keep the guest, Meng Chengwei had no reason to stay and took his leave.

Old Master Ye, not wanting to owe a favor, prepared a generous gift and had someone escort Meng Chengwei down the mountain, booking a top room at the Rugu Inn for him.

Although Ye Jiaxing was startled by the horse, he was protected by his attendants and only got a cut on his leg from a stone after falling off the horse, bleeding a little. Meng Chengwei’s so-called rescue was just him stepping forward to inquire and then accompanying them back, not a life-saving grace.

The Ye family had done enough to repay this favor, showing great courtesy.

Ye Yaming followed the family out and saw them off at the main courtyard gate. She sternly told Ye Jiaxing, “Brother, that man just now, I think he looks shifty and doesn’t seem like a good person. You’d better not associate with him.”

Ye Jiaxing was stunned.

Although Meng Chengwei wasn’t particularly handsome, he was at least a refined and elegant young man with a noble demeanor, completely unrelated to the term “shifty.” He didn’t know where his cousin got this impression. If his grandfather hadn’t unceremoniously sent the man away, Ye Jiaxing would have dismissed his cousin’s words as childish. But now, he was starting to have doubts. Could there really be something wrong with Meng Chengwei that he hadn’t noticed?

After saying this, Ye Yaming returned to her courtyard without saying more to Old Master Ye. She knew that her brief appearance was enough.

The original owner had fair skin, delicate features, and gorgeous eyes. In the original owner’s memory, Meng Chengwei was immediately attracted to her. However, he was already married, and the Ye family was only a large landowner and tea merchant in Jiangnan with no power or influence. Meng Chengwei looked down on the Ye family and thought that if he proposed to take the original owner as a concubine, the Ye family would gladly agree. But Old Master Ye had arranged a marriage for the original owner with Song Yifeng, a scholar. They had been engaged since he was a child, and the family had invested a lot in him. Now that Song Yifeng had just passed the imperial examination, his future was bright. Even though Meng Chengwei’s aunt was a concubine of the current emperor, and his family was a royal merchant, they were still merchants. In Old Master Ye’s eyes, Meng Chengwei couldn’t compare to Song Yifeng. Not to mention, becoming a concubine would disgrace the family.

Moreover, the Ye family was not one to climb the social ladder or break promises. Old Master Ye immediately rejected the proposal.

Meng Chengwei, a scheming person, bore a grudge against the Ye family after being rejected, but he didn’t show it, making Old Master Ye admire him greatly. As a result, Meng Chengwei sets a trap for the Ye family, using them to escape while the Ye family is destroyed.

In this life, Ye Yaming would never let Meng Chengwei’s plot succeed.

The next morning, Madam Guan and Ye Yaqing planned to take Ye Jiaxing down the mountain. The Ye family’s ancestral home was in Lin’an Prefecture, in the opposite direction of Baiteng County. Although a doctor treated Ye Jiaxing’s wound, and he felt better after taking medicine, injuries were prone to infection. The doctors in the prefecture were more skilled. He had come up the mountain with Old Master Ye to learn how to fertilize tea trees. Now that he was injured and couldn’t do anything, he planned to return to the city.

“Qing’er and Ming’er will go down the mountain together tomorrow. Your brother and sister-in-law are leaving, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you two girls on the mountain. We’ll all go back together,” Old Master Ye said sternly during breakfast.

The Ye family had always doted on the girls. When Old Master Ye wanted to take his grandson up the mountain to see the tea garden, Ye Yaming insisted on going up the mountain for a change of scenery. Ye Jiaxing didn’t want to be separated from his newlywed wife, so he persuaded Madam Guan and Ye Yaqing to come along, and Old Master Ye agreed.

But now that Madam Guan and Ye Jiaxing were going down the mountain, leaving the two girls alone on the sparsely populated mountain, Old Master Ye was genuinely worried, especially after seeing Meng Chengwei’s infatuated gaze yesterday.

Ye Yaming’s family had large tea gardens and a team dedicated to researching tea tree cultivation and production. She had come up the mountain to see the tea garden of this era and the Ye family’s tea garden. She had seen enough of the Ye family’s tea garden in the past two days.