Chapter 80

As the eccentric monk Ji Dian said, there is no absolute in the universe. The existence of anything must have its own reason. The fact that the myth and mysticism have been passed down for thousands of years might be due to their unique qualities.

Although Ye Yu wanted to understand the poem left by the monk Ji Dian, he could never grasp its meaning. Was it the superficial meaning of the poem or did it have deeper implications? This left him in deep thought.

As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a bone fracture, let alone Ye Yu's leg, which had been broken and then reconnected. To avoid the jolting of the carriage affecting the healing of his leg, Ye Yu decided to stay at the inn temporarily and return home once his condition improved.

From his brief interaction with the monk Ji Dian, Ye Yu felt that the mad monk Guo Xiaotian had encountered must have been none other than Ji Dian. The thought of his legs healing in a year filled Ye Yu with indescribable joy.

Although a year of recovery seemed long, Ye Yu understood that it was inevitable. After all, being able to walk upright from being paralyzed was something to be hoped for but not easily achieved.

When Qiulan learned about the treatment for Ye Yu's legs, she stayed by his side to take care of him. Ye Yu thought this was fine, as he was now wearing iron boots on both feet, making it inconvenient even to bathe and change clothes.

Although Shetongcheng was also by his side, he was not as meticulous as Qiulan. Moreover, Ye Yu wanted to ask Qiulan about the girl Chelian from Xianyun Pavilion. When Qiulan heard the name Chelian, she pouted and became very angry.

After much questioning, Ye Yu learned that this woman named Chelian had indeed had a romantic relationship with the former Ye Yu. The former Ye Yu had even fought with Ye Mingzhi at Xianyun Pavilion over Chelian, making it a laughingstock in Lianfu.

Thinking about the ambush in the forest, Ye Yu understood why Ye Mingzhi had been so impulsive and tried to kill him. It must have been the meeting with Chelian at Jing Shui Pavilion that night that fueled Ye Mingzhi's jealousy.

When Chelian heard about Ye Yu's attack, she had come to the inn to visit him but was blocked at the door by Qiulan. According to Qiulan, every time her young master got involved with Chelian, something unfortunate would happen.

Ye Yu did not have a deep impression of Chelian, even though they had once been deeply in love. Since it was not something he had experienced after his rebirth, he followed Qiulan's advice and refused to meet Chelian, citing his serious condition.

However, Ye Yu did not forget what had happened at Jing Shui Pavilion that night. He still remembered Chelian's request to be redeemed. Although the authenticity of this promise was uncertain, thinking of the past, Ye Yu still paid to redeem Chelian.

When Chelian came to thank him, Ye Yu did meet her. However, he did not agree to her request to stay and serve him. He had paid to redeem her from her lowly status out of a sense of duty and help, not for any other reason. Although Chelian was beautiful and elegant, having Qiulan by his side was enough, and he did not want to add to his troubles.

During this time, Ye Yu did not pursue Ye Mingzhi's assassination, but that did not mean he took no action. With the completion of the Yixing pottery kiln, Gong Hong, following Ye Yu's instructions, took away 90% of the workers from the Ye family's porcelain kiln within three days.

Not only that, on the night these workers resigned, a fire caused a collapse. Although no one was injured, it became the most puzzling event in Lianfu. Everyone could see that Ye Yu was behind the workers' departure and the kiln's collapse, but without any evidence, it could only be treated as an accident. The Ye family's porcelain business, which had lasted for over a decade, came to an end with the kiln's collapse.

The loss of one of the two main businesses was a significant blow to Ye Mengxin, but this was just the beginning. Soon after, the tea Ye Yu had presented to the court was designated as tribute tea, its reputation gradually surpassing Longtuan Shengxue.

The blockade Ye Mengxin had set up in Chuzhou had no effect on Ye Yu, as the source of the Maofeng tea was not in Chuzhou but in Huizhou's Huangshan. The tea trees on Huangshan continuously supplied tea to various regions. Ye Mengxin did not expect Ye Yu's Maofeng tea to be designated as tribute tea so quickly. Originally, Ye Mengxin intended to block Ye Yu's tea sales channels, but instead, Ye Yu formed a包围圈 around Chuzhou.

As a result, Ye Mengxin's tea business gradually shrank. With Ye Yu's deliberate suppression, using cloth to promote tea sales, not only did the major tea shops sell Maofeng, but many silk and cloth stores and clothing shops also joined the marketing efforts.

Although Longtuan Shengxue was still a tribute tea, it was no longer the dominant force in the Jianghuai region. Under Ye Yu's vigorous efforts, Ye Mengxin, though still able to hold his ground, was no longer as glorious as before.

Faced with this outcome, Ye Yu felt some regret, but he had also severely weakened Ye Mengxin. Ye Yu knew that everything needed a process, and to completely crush Ye Mengxin, who had the tribute tea brand, would take time to gradually infiltrate and merge.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. Not long after, an imperial edict made Ye Yu smile for the first time in over two years. Shortly after the imperial examination, Emperor Zhao Shen, to mourn Crown Prince Zhuangwen Zhao Xian, specially opened an imperial examination for special candidates. This special examination was open to all scholars, regardless of appearance, disability, or age.

This special examination was a great piece of news for those who had recently failed the regular examination, and for Ye Yu, it was no less than a great piece of news. Because of this news, the usually confident and steady Ye Yu was unable to sleep the entire night.

The weather at the end of summer was still unbearably hot. After learning that he could also participate in this special examination, Ye Yu often studied late into the night in his study. Although his combined knowledge from his past and present life should make it easy for him to pass the autumn examination, Ye Yu did not take it lightly. Others had the opportunity to retake the exam in three years, but for him, missing this special examination would mean no more chances. Therefore, he was extremely cautious about this examination.

During this period, Ye Yu's nominal master, Yang Hui, came to visit and selected many examination books from the Imperial Academy.

Ye Yu was deeply moved by his nominal master's kindness and indeed needed these books urgently. From Yang Hui, Ye Yu learned the reason why Emperor Zhao Shen had opened the special examination.

He did not expect that he, an insignificant person, would be known to the current emperor. The opening of this special examination was, to some extent, due to him.

Everything seemed to be happening naturally, which made Ye Yu suddenly think of the words Ji Dian said when he left. It seemed that his time had truly come, and he was no longer a broken-winged phoenix.

Just as Ye Yu finished reading all the classics, the sound of a baby's cry came from Yushan. Ye Yu knew it was time for him to visit Yushan.

Liping gave birth to a son, a cause for celebration, so Ye Yu brought many gifts to Yushan. However, when Ye Yu asked what name the child should have, Li Danyin's suggestion surprised him.

"Brother Ye, in my opinion as the uncle, let's name him Guo Jing. If my sister has another child, we'll name him Guo Kang! In memory of the Jingkang Incident!" Li Danyin held the newborn, smiling and playing with his nephew.

"Hmm... Guo Jing? That's a real name..." Ye Yu immediately thought of Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" when he heard the name Guo Jing.

Seeing Ye Yu lost in thought, Li Danyin asked, puzzled, "What, Brother Ye, do you think the name is not good?"

"Hmm... No..."

"Brother, didn't we agree that you would name the child? You, an illiterate brute, what right do you have to argue?" Li Ping, seeing her brother's loud voice scare her son, glared at Li Danyin and said angrily, "Look at you, scaring the child!"

Seeing his nephew cry, Li Danyin hurriedly handed him to his sister and sat down next to Ye Yu, saying loudly, "So what if I'm a brute? I'm his uncle! What's wrong with an uncle naming his nephew?"

As soon as the child was back in his mother's arms, he stopped crying. Li Ping comforted the baby and said to her child, "Son, we won't let Uncle name you. Let Uncle Ye name you, okay?"

The baby laughed, which made Li Danyin a bit jealous. He smacked his lips and pointed at his laughing nephew, scolding, "Look at this little brat, siding with others! By the way, Brother, what name do you think we should give him?"

"Didn't Brother Li already name him?" Ye Yu smiled and turned to Guo Xiaotian, who was silent, "Xiaotian, as the father, do you have any suggestions?"

Guo Xiaotian scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Um, Master is learned, I'll follow Master's decision..."

"Ahem, Brother, don't ask him. I don't know what my sister sees in this wooden head! If he doesn't speak, you can pretend he doesn't exist..." Li Danyin clearly was not satisfied with his brother-in-law, Guo Xiaotian.

Ye Yu joked, "So, Brother Li, do you want a refund?"

"Hmph! I do want a refund..." Li Danyin glanced at Guo Xiaotian and then laughed helplessly, "But with a family, how can I return him?"

"Brother, what are you talking nonsense? Since Guo Xiaotian came to Qingfeng Fort, he has helped you a lot. Are you still picky?" Li Ping glared at Li Danyin, indignant.

"Look, look! As our father always said, a grown daughter is hard to keep! You haven't even said anything, and you're already defending your husband, completely ignoring my feelings as an older brother!"

Seeing the aggrieved Li Danyin, Ye Yu shook his head and said, "Brother Li, stop complaining. I think the name Guo Jing is very good. We Song people should make our descendants remember the Jingkang Incident. Brother Li, as the uncle, you've given your nephew a good name!"

"Brother, you have good judgment. How could the name I, the uncle, gave be bad..." Hearing Ye Yu's praise, Li Danyin grinned widely.