Chapter 13: Qi Ji

Thinking about the house he lived in and his capital accent, it was clear he came from the capital. This person must be from a wealthy or noble family!

A noble young man from the capital, handsome and elegant, with a mix of heroic and noble aura. Such a young man would surely attract the attention of the young ladies in the neighborhood. It’s no wonder that many have found various excuses to visit him recently, leading to his house being tightly closed and unwelcoming to young women.

With this guess, Ye Yaming felt relieved. It wasn’t trouble caused by someone who looked like her.

In modern times, she had seen all kinds of handsome men. Coming from a wealthy family, young and rich, and exceptionally good-looking, she had been pursued by countless people since childhood. Those who weren’t good-looking or wealthy didn’t even dare to approach her. Even so, she hadn’t found anyone she liked and was still unmarried at thirty. In this ancient era, where women were greatly restricted, if she had to marry, she preferred to find a live-in son-in-law. This way, she would be the head of the family and wouldn’t be oppressed by an incompetent man in terms of status and finances. So, although this young man was good-looking, to her, he was just a pretty face.

Feeling relieved, she also lost interest in expanding the business and keeping this quality customer. She stood up and said calmly, “We still have to collect tea from other places, so we won’t disturb you any longer. Goodbye.”

Seeing her about to leave, Ye Hongsheng quickly stood up and cupped his hands to Lu Guanyi, “Goodbye.”

Lu Guanyi stood up and returned the gesture, “Please wait, Mr. Ye.”

He pointed to the silk on the table and said, “The price I paid for those tea cakes was very low, and I don’t deserve such high-quality silk. I’ll keep half of it, and you can take the rest back.”

He didn’t know how many moldy tea cakes the Ye family had sold. If there were many, compensating like this would be a heavy burden for the Ye family.

Ye Yaming glanced at Ye Hongsheng, who seemed to want to speak but couldn’t find the words.

Dragging it out would only make things awkward. Besides, it was better to explain some things clearly to avoid customers having a bad impression of the Ye family.

She said, “Thank you for your kindness. However, our tea shop was set up and sold that batch of tea due to a mistake. Although my grandfather severely punished the culprit and plans to recall the tea, it still caused trouble for our customers. The silk is our apology gift, and we can’t take it back. Unless you still blame our tea shop and plan to hold us accountable?”

Lu Guanyi understood why Mr. Ye had brought his daughter to exchange the tea. Mr. Ye probably wasn’t good at socializing, but his daughter was articulate and witty. She was trying to tell him that Jixiangfang didn’t intentionally sell the tea but was set up. Now, they were offering silk worth several times more to hope the customers wouldn’t hold the Ye family responsible and to keep them quiet.

Explaining things clearly was better than letting people guess.

He had no intention of making things difficult for the Ye family. Not accepting the silk would make the Ye family overthink. He cupped his hands and said, “Thank you very much.”

“If Mr. Lu has no other matters, we’ll take our leave,” Ye Yaming said.

Ye Hongsheng bowed to Lu Guanyi and turned to leave, with Ye Yaming following behind.

An Tai escorted them out, his attitude much better than before, no longer showing the initial hint of hostility.

As they reached the door, Shi Mo opened it, and they heard a young man’s voice from outside, “What a coincidence, I don’t have to wait at the door.”

He then complained, “I say, your master loves peace and quiet too much. In such a big house, can’t he hire more servants? At least have someone guard the door.”

As the door opened, a young man’s face appeared.

Seeing this person, Ye Yaming couldn’t help but marvel at the number of handsome men and beautiful women in ancient times. The Ye family members were all good-looking, and the two people she met today were exceptionally attractive.

The man in front of her was about 1.8 meters tall, with slightly upturned peach blossom eyes and features even more delicate than Lu Guanyi’s. However, while Lu Guanyi had a masculine aura, this man was more refined and gentle.

Ye Hongsheng, who was walking in front of her, exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Qi?”

Mr. Qi was initially surprised to see guests at the Lu residence. Hearing Ye Hongsheng call him, he was momentarily stunned before exclaiming, “Mr. Ganquan?”

Mr. Ganquan was a respectful title given to Ye Hongsheng by tea enthusiasts, praising his tea as the best in the world.

Ye Hongsheng smiled and cupped his hands, “Yes, it’s me.”

“What brings you here…” Mr. Qi asked in confusion, then suddenly realized, “Zimo bought your tea!” His tone was very certain.

Ye Hongsheng knew that Zimo was probably Lu Guanyi’s courtesy name and smiled, “Yes, there was a problem with the tea, so my daughter and I came to apologize to Mr. Lu.”

Seeing Ye Hongsheng so relaxed and not showing any signs of nervousness when meeting a stranger, Ye Yaming became curious.

Given Ye Hongsheng’s obsession with tea, Mr. Qi must have a deep understanding of tea and earned Ye Hongsheng’s recognition. Otherwise, her somewhat socially awkward father wouldn’t have such an attitude.

Hearing the words “my daughter,” Mr. Qi finally looked at Ye Yaming, smiling with a friendly, clear gaze and a hint of curiosity. He cupped his hands and greeted, “I am Qi Ji. Nice to meet you, Miss Ye.”

“Mr. Qi,” Ye Yaming returned the greeting.

Ye Hongsheng then introduced, “Mr. Qi is the third son of Magistrate Qi and a tea enthusiast. Last year, I made a good tea, and Mr. Qi highly praised it when he drank it at Jixianglou. We had a pleasant conversation at that time.”

As expected.

“Hahaha, indeed. Mr. Ganquan’s tea has a perfect balance of aroma and flavor, unlike other teas where the aroma overpowers the tea’s taste, losing its essence. Truly worthy of being called Mr. Ganquan,” Qi Ji said with a smile. “Because I liked that tea so much, I bought twenty chests in one go.”

He then asked Ye Hongsheng, “Mr. Ganquan, have you made any good tea recently?”

Ye Hongsheng shook his head but then remembered the osmanthus tea made by Ye Yaming and nodded.

“My skills are limited, and I haven’t made any good tea. But my daughter has surpassed me in skill and has been working on a good tea recently. When it hits the market in a few days, I’ll have the tea house staff send some to Mr. Qi and Mr. Lu to taste.”

Qi Ji looked at Ye Yaming in surprise and praised, “Truly, a tiger father has no dog son. At such a young age, Miss Ye can make tea praised by Mr. Ganquan. What a talent. I am very much looking forward to tasting this tea.”

He said to Ye Hongsheng, “We have an agreement then. When the tea hits the market, you must have someone send some to us.”