Ye Chutang went out to greet him.

A smile graced her lips at the sight of the spirited old man, hale and hearty in his umber brocade robes.

"Elder Yin, you’re here."

Yin Shaoting glanced around and couldn’t help but let out a soft "tsk."

"You’ve been staying here all this time? Don’t you find it boring?"

Feiyun Temple was no ordinary place. Emperor Taizhong had once prayed and offered sacrifices here, and its successive abbots had all been highly respected and revered masters.

An ordinary person couldn’t necessarily even gain access to these rear living quarters.

Yin Shaoting’s words were bold, to say the least. But he was a carefree and unrestrained soul by nature, the type to care least about rules and etiquette. Ye Chutang was long accustomed to his ways, so she simply smiled in response to his comment.

"The Buddhist Sect is a place of purity and tranquility. It’s a rare chance to quiet my mind."

Yin Shaoting chuckled, as if a thought had just occurred to him, and teased, "True enough! These must be the most peaceful days you’ve had since returning to the capital, right?"

His lighthearted tone made it clear that he knew everything about what Ye Chutang had been through since her return, and he even seemed to be taking a little pleasure in her misfortune.

"What did I tell you before? I told you not to come back, to save yourself from getting dragged into this mess! But you didn’t listen. Now look at the state you’re in."

Ye Chutang invited him to take a seat. A tea set was already laid out on the table, emitting the faint, fresh fragrance of tea leaves.

Knowing he would visit today, she had prepared the tea early in the morning.

Yin Shaoting glanced down, a look of great pity on his face. "You just had to come to a place like this. They don’t even have proper tea leaves. What a waste of your excellent skills."

He had been wanting to drink tea personally brewed by Ye Chutang for a long time, but she had always been busy, so he hadn’t found a good opportunity to visit.

Now that he finally got to see her, the conditions were so spartan! ’How infuriating!’

Ye Chutang didn’t seem to mind at all. She poured him a cup of tea, her gaze falling on the tender leaves floating in the clear liquid, before she finally spoke in a slow, unhurried tone:

"Did you come all this way today just to complain about the tea?"

Yin Shaoting was at a loss for words.

He looked up at Ye Chutang again and huffed. "To say you’re smart, you’re also stubborn enough to charge headfirst into a wall, insisting on wading into these muddy waters. But to say you’re foolish... well, you were born with an exceptionally sharp mind. Nothing gets past you!"

The first time he met Ye Chutang, he knew she was an exceedingly intelligent woman.

She understood things with a single hint and could draw countless inferences from one example. It was as if nothing could fluster her; everything was always within her control.

This was true of the timing of her return to the capital, as well as everything that had happened since.

Ye Chutang smiled without a word, patiently waiting for him to continue.

Yin Shaoting finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He picked up his teacup. "Those shops of yours are gradually starting to take off."

"Oh?" Ye Chutang’s voice rose at the end as if in surprise, yet her eyes were as calm as still water, clearly showing she had anticipated it all.

Yin Shaoting didn’t beat around the bush, either, and proceeded to tell her about the recent situation in the capital.

"The tea house goes without saying. With Tang Zhongli leading the charge, there’s no shortage of scholars and literati following suit. But it’s your other shops that are doing much better than expected."

Speaking of which, Yin Shaoting clicked his tongue in amazement. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Although he had known Ye Chutang for a long time, he had never really noticed before that she was such a master of business.

Ye Chutang smiled warmly. "Speaking of which, I have you to thank for recommending those shopkeepers. Without their diligent management, my shops would probably still be losing money."

Not even Yan and A Feng knew that when she posted the recruitment notices, it was merely for show.

——She already had capable people in mind.