Chapter 49

Since the banquet at Tianxiang Tower, the competition between the Pan and Ye families in the textile business has gradually subsided. After this incident, Pan Yue even specifically proposed a collaboration between the two families.

For Pan Yue's unusual proposal, Ye Yu did not feel surprised but readily agreed after some consideration.

This collaboration was beneficial to both parties. The Pan family's textile business needed Ye Yu's formulas and equipment, and for Ye Yu to rapidly expand in the short term, he needed the support of the Pan family, a giant in the industry!

He was never a person who was content with the status quo and did not have the arrogance to believe that he could achieve great things on his own.

In this era without patent protection, his formulas and dyeing equipment would eventually be imitated by others. Therefore, instead of being overly cautious and difficult to guard against, it was better to openly share and gain greater benefits.

As the weather turned cooler in late autumn, Qiulan had already added several autumn clothes for Ye Yu. This made Ye Yu feel that having a woman by his side was truly comforting.

Otherwise, with his casual nature regarding daily life, he would never have thought of these things. He would only think of adding clothes when he really felt cold.

Today, just as Ye Yu was about to leave for the dyeing workshop to inspect, a book boy from Pan Zhi's place arrived.

After the book boy explained his purpose, he respectfully turned and left. Ye Yu, however, shook his head helplessly, thinking that today's important matters would be delayed again. He then informed Qiulan and Uncle Sun and, with She Tongcheng driving the carriage, headed for the Qingliu River outside the city.

Since Guo Xiaotian went to Yushan Mountain for his wedding, more than two months have passed. Although Ye Yu missed Guo Xiaotian, he understood the newlyweds' reluctance to part.

In fact, Ye Yu always regarded Guo Xiaotian as a friend. Now that his friend had a stable home, it was what he had always hoped to see.

Due to Guo Xiaotian's departure, the task of pushing the wheelchair fell to She Tongcheng. Although She Tongcheng and Guo Xiaotian were master and apprentice, their personalities were vastly different.

She Tongcheng, having long been immersed in the city, still retained a bit of his rogue nature, making his personality much more outgoing than Guo Xiaotian's.

For She Tongcheng, after Ye Yu had brought Lu Kun to justice, he had already pledged his loyalty to Ye Yu.

Although Lu Kun did not die by his hand, he received the punishment he deserved, which was also a way to avenge his elder sister!

She Tongcheng drove the carriage out of the city. Ye Yu did not speak inside the carriage until they left the county, then he sighed and said solemnly, "Tongcheng!"

"What does Big Brother need?" She Tongcheng thought Ye Yu had an urgent matter, so he pulled the reins to stop the carriage and turned to ask inside the carriage.

Ye Yu thought for a moment and then asked softly, "If someone betrays you, how would you deal with the person who betrayed you?"

She Tongcheng was taken aback by this question, as he did not expect Ye Yu to suddenly ask such a thing.

However, he only hesitated for a moment and then said without hesitation, "If it was out of necessity, perhaps a small punishment to serve as a warning! If it was due to personal gain, according to the rules of the underworld, the traitor would either lose their limbs or pay with their life!"

Ye Yu nodded silently, lightly lifted the curtain to reveal a small gap, glanced at She Tongcheng, and then let the curtain fall. He then said solemnly, "Forget it, since Da Huang is your brother, I won't pursue this matter. Have him leave Qingliu County and never return... Let's go!"

"Um... Yes!"

Ye Yu's words left She Tongcheng stunned, but he would still follow Ye Yu's instructions. Although he did not know the reason behind Ye Yu's words, he believed that Ye Yu would not drive Da Huang away without cause.

However, all the questions would only be answered by asking Da Huang himself.

The carriage moved forward slowly and steadily, and Ye Yu, sitting inside, sighed softly.

He originally did not want to bring up this matter again, but he could not tolerate betrayal, which was like a thorn in his throat, hard to swallow.

Ye Yu knew that She Tongcheng had two brothers, Da Huang and Fatso, so he considered whether to punish Da Huang for his betrayal.

At the time of the harmful shampoo and soap incident in Shouzhou, although it was Pan Chengfeng who was behind it, Ye Yu did not believe that the new products he had developed could be easily imitated by the people of that time.

The only explanation was that there was a mole in his workshop. Since he placed great importance on these new products, he would conduct multiple inspections on each batch sold.

This way, the mole had no opportunity to tamper with the products, so the only way was to leak the soap-making process.

After returning from Shouzhou, he had been secretly observing. After several days of investigation, he confirmed that Da Huang was the mole.

However, Ye Yu did not expose Da Huang immediately. Apart from considering She Tongcheng's feelings, he also had his own plans.

Although he had already shown tolerance towards Pan Chengfeng's repeated tricks, to prevent Pan Chengfeng from causing trouble again, he not only did not move against Da Huang but also secretly protected him.

This way, as long as Pan Chengfeng had any ulterior motives, Da Huang would become a pawn to control Pan Chengfeng. Now that the Pan and Ye families had entered the collaboration stage, Ye Yu felt it was time to address the issue of Da Huang.

Although he found it difficult, he could not tolerate betrayal.

...

Today, on the boat on the Qingliu River, besides Pan Zhi, there were two young scholars. One was dressed in a blue silk robe, tall and graceful.

The other was dressed in a gray-white satin robe, not tall but held a folding fan with a certain style.

The musicians played stringed instruments, and from time to time, melodious music could be heard from the boat. The three men sat at the table, drinking and chatting, enjoying themselves.

Occasionally, they would recite and admire some excellent poems, discussing them with great enthusiasm.

After a long conversation, the blue-robed scholar asked Pan Zhi, "Pan brother, is it true that the talented Ye Yu you mentioned is as outstanding as you say?"

Pan Zhi put down his wine cup and was about to speak, but the white-robed man beside him spoke first, gently waving his fan, "Shen brother, you don't know, I know this Ye Yu! Although he has some talent, he is not as praised as you say!"

"Oh? Li brother knows this person?" The blue-robed man seemed interested and tilted his head to ask.

"Of course! Speaking of Ye Yu, he has had a very unfortunate fate. His large family business was completely taken over by his uncle, and he was even beaten until his legs were broken!"

At this point, the white-robed man sipped his wine and sneered, "I heard that this person is very successful in business, but he is just a merchant, not someone who can be considered high-class!"

The white-robed man's evaluation did not provoke a rebuttal from Pan Zhi, who only smiled and drank his wine. The two men sitting with him were the other two candidates from Chuzhou in this year's examination.

The blue-robed man named Shen Jinchuan was from Quanjiao County and ranked first in this year's provincial examination, making him the top scholar! The white-robed man named Li Mo was from Lai'an Prefecture and ranked third in this year's provincial examination!

Pan Zhi was not surprised that Li Mo knew Ye Yu, as he knew that Ye Yu originally lived in Lai'an Prefecture.

If he had not been driven out of the Ye family by his uncle, he would not have ended up settling in Qingliu County. Therefore, it was natural that Li Mo knew Ye Yu's background.

Today, Pan Zhi specially invited the two to enjoy a boat ride on the lake, not only to talk about their school days but also to invite Ye Yu to join them. He originally wanted to invite Ye Yu to discuss poetry and literature together.

Since Pan Zhi admired Ye Yu in this area, he did not want to miss this opportunity to gather. However, after hearing Li Mo's dismissive words, Pan Zhi already regretted sending his book boy to invite Ye Yu.

He did not know whether today's invitation was right or wrong...

Just as Pan Zhi was lost in thought, the book boy at the bow of the boat hurried in, "Young Master, Mr. Ye has arrived!"

Pan Zhi, upon hearing this, did not delay and walked out of the cabin. Shen Jinchuan, seeing this, quickly stood up and followed.

However, Li Mo in the cabin did not move a bit, still sipping his wine as if nothing had happened. If Shen Jinchuan had not patted him after standing up, he would have remained seated like a rock.

At this moment, Ye Yu had already gotten off the carriage, and She Tongcheng was pushing his wheelchair towards the boat.

Ye Yu looked up and saw three people approaching, and before they got close, he politely greeted them, "I am Ye, and my legs are not convenient, so I have delayed your refined gathering. I am truly sorry!"

"Brother Ye, you are too polite. It is still early, how could it be a delay?" Pan Zhi said with a smile.

Shen Jinchuan glanced at Ye Yu and then bowed, "I did not expect the outstanding person Pan brother mentioned to be so young!"

"This is..." Ye Yu looked at Shen Jinchuan and then turned his gaze to Pan Zhi, indicating that Pan Zhi should introduce him.

Pan Zhi slapped his forehead apologetically, "In my excitement, I forgot to introduce you. Brother, this is Shen Jinchuan, the top scholar of this year's provincial examination!"

"Oh? It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ye Yu did not expect the blue-robed man to be the top scholar of this year's provincial examination, which made him look at him more carefully.

"This one you should not be unfamiliar with..."

Ye Yu followed Pan Zhi's gaze and smiled, "Of course, I am not unfamiliar. Li brother and I had a good relationship in the past! It seems that Li brother also ranked high in this year's provincial examination, which is truly commendable!"

As the saying goes, "A smile can defuse any tension." Although Li Mo, like many scholars, looked down on merchants, he could not lose his manners and casually said, "Brother Ye is skilled in business and has built a fortune from nothing. We should both be congratulated!"

The four of them exchanged pleasantries, and Pan Zhi, citing the strong wind by the river, invited everyone to enter the boat to continue their conversation.

However, just as Ye Yu was about to enter the boat, Li Mo stopped him, "Wait! If Brother Ye wants to enter this boat, you must do so in the manner of a scholar. Otherwise, such a refined gathering might be tainted by the smell of copper. What do you think, Brother Ye?"