Chapter 91: Young Master Song Arrives

Before Lu Guanyi could respond, she smiled and turned her gaze to Advisor Wu: “My idea only requires five thousand taels of silver. Do you think it’s worth it, Master Wu?”

Her question made Advisor Wu’s heart skip a beat. He realized that Ye Yaming had noticed his earlier slight and doubt.

Such a young girl, born into this family, and was able to say such things at such a young age. She was no ordinary person and might have great potential in the future. Offending her was definitely not wise.

Moreover, with Ye Yaming’s words, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji could directly have various tea sets made. Spreading her tea ceremony theory, how could the self-proclaimed scholars and nobles in the capital not chase after these tea sets?

Previously, people only needed one set of tea utensils to play with compressed tea. With Ye Yaming’s tea ceremony theory, who wouldn’t feel embarrassed to say they understood tea without owning ten or eight sets of tea utensils?

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji’s business wouldn’t need to go to great lengths to get tea leaves; they could make a fortune just from the tea sets.

He clapped his hands with his fan and praised, “Worth it, absolutely worth it.” Then he laughed heartily, showing great support.

His behavior made Madam Wu unable to look directly at him.

After being shocked, Ye Hongchang praised her but then felt regretful.

If Ye Yaming had said these things before cooperating with Lu and Qi, and their family had done this business alone, wouldn’t the Ye family have made a huge profit? Now, the idea came from their family, but the money earned had to be shared with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, which was quite a pity.

Ye Yaming beckoned to Bai Xin, who immediately took a nearby drawing tube and handed it to Lu Guanyi’s servant.

“Inside are some designs of tea sets I drew. Mr. Lu and Mr. Qi, please see if they are usable. If they are, it can serve as a starting point.”

“With my designs as inspiration, artists and students in the academy might also come up with their own tea set designs. You can buy them with some silver.”

Lu Guanyi personally took the drawing tube, poured out the drawings, and unfolded them. The first drawing showed a set of tea utensils, including a teapot, teacups, a fairness cup, a water vessel, and a tea canister. The most eye-catching part was that these tea utensils were all white, with various shades of peach blossoms, petals, and branches painted in an expressive style.

Individually, these tea utensils might not seem special, but as a set, they were captivating.

In spring, when peach blossoms bloom, setting up such a tea set in a small pavilion with budding willow leaves or simply sitting on the lawn, brewing a pot of spring tea in the gentle breeze, would be incredibly pleasant and fitting.

He looked up at Ye Yaming, his eyes bright: “Is this the theme of spring or peach?”

Ye Yaming smiled and nodded, “Yes.”

Qi Ji, who had already leaned over to look when Lu Guanyi unfolded the drawing, clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Wonderful, wonderful. I think with such a tea set, young ladies in the boudoir will definitely scramble to buy it. An elegant and spring-filled tea set, who wouldn’t love it?”

Lu Guanyi pulled out the first drawing and looked at the next one. He raised an eyebrow, “Pottery?”

“Yes,” Ye Yaming said, “Tea utensils don’t have to be fine porcelain. Pottery tea utensils have a rustic elegance. They can also be made into vases and water vessels, forming a set with corresponding porcelain.”

The tea utensils she drew were classic modern designs, very representative. Lu Guanyi could directly take them to the kiln and have them made.

Besides pottery, the next set was Ru kiln celadon.

When she had the tea utensils made last time, she specifically asked the kiln owner and learned that Ru kiln celadon existed in this era.

After looking through Ye Yaming’s five tea set designs, Qi Ji and Advisor Wu, who couldn’t help but lean over, kept exclaiming in admiration, making Ye Jiaxing eager to see. But he knew his status was different, and he couldn’t get close to Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji. He had to suppress his curiosity and wait for them to finish before looking.

After Lu Guanyi and the others finished looking at the tea set designs, Ye Chongming couldn’t help but join in, looking at them with Ye Hongchang and Ye Jiaxing.

Madam Wu felt itchy to see the highly praised tea sets, but Old Madam Ye was the only one whose mind wasn’t on this. She occasionally looked outside the door and then at Ye Yaming, worried that Song Yifeng wouldn’t come to the Ye family as expected.

At this time, the kitchen steward appeared at the door, indicating that the kitchen was ready and the banquet could begin.

She looked at Ye Yaming, seeking her opinion on whether to start the banquet now.

Ye Yaming nodded to her.

It didn’t matter when Song Yifeng arrived. When he did, Ye Chongming would handle the matter in the adjacent room where everyone was gathered. The wooden structure of the ancient house wasn’t soundproof, so their conversation would inevitably be heard by everyone present.

Seeing this, Old Madam Ye glanced at everyone, noticing that Lu Guanyi and the others were drinking tea while the Ye family members were still looking at the drawings. She was about to announce the start of the banquet when the gatekeeper hurriedly arrived and bowed to her, saying, “Old Madam Ye, Young Master Song is here and says he has urgent business with the old master.”

This gatekeeper was also the old madam’s confidant, specifically sent to guard the main gate. She had been instructed to openly report Song Yifeng’s arrival in front of the guests.

Although Ye Chongming was looking at the drawings, he was still half-focused on Song Yifeng’s matter. After all, this was the main event of the day.

If they didn’t cancel the engagement quickly, once Song Yifeng learned about the Ye family’s cooperation with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, and Ye Yaming’s favor with Master Zhineng, he would cling to them like a leech, impossible to shake off.

He naturally heard the gatekeeper’s report. Then, he handed the drawings to Ye Hongchang.

Advisor Wu knew who Song Yifeng was and that he was Ye Chongming’s grandson-in-law. Initially, he didn’t know which Ye family girl Song Yifeng was engaged to. But after hearing about Ye Yaming’s performance at Chongshan Temple and knowing that Lu Guanyi, Qi Ji, and even Master Zhineng highly praised the Ye family’s third young lady, he had someone inquire about Ye Yaming’s situation.

After all, both young masters were still unmarried. With Ye Yaming being so outstanding, it was important to know if they had any intentions towards her and what their elders thought about it.