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Edited on October 28, 2020.
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The Yue Qin Tea House is currently one of the most popular tea houses in the center of Luo Yang City.
Ten years ago, it was only a deteriorating and old tea house.
When the business was about to declare bankrupcy, no one expected the owner's daughter, Chu Zhu Yu, to spend years of her life trying to make the business successful again.
Aside from the excellent taste of Chu Zhu Yu's tea, the aspects that made the Yu Qin Tea House different from other tea houses wete because of the store's fresh supply of materials everyday.
Just a while ago, they even introduced a new flavor of tea. The taste of the tea was similar to freshly plucked flowers, causing many scholars to come and gather there.
Their frequent visits quickly highlighted the tea house and differentiated it from other similar businesses.
———
Just outside the Chu family's entrance hall, many people saw Chu Zhu Yu feeling devastated because her yellow chiffon dress made her "well-developed" body look even more rounded.
Ay, ay, it's just a bit of plump.
I am definitely not fat.
Her angry black eyes glared at the two people in front of her, "Big uncle, what do you mean?"
" Zhu Yu, it doesn't matter how much effort you put into the Yue Qin Tea House because the Tea House is also one of the Chu family's business. Your surname is Chu, but in the end, you are a woman. In the near future, you'll get married and your children will no longer have the Chu surname. How about you just hand over the business to your family who has the Chu surname? "
The person who was referred to as 'big uncle' was called Chu Xiang. He was currently stroking his mountain goat-like mustache.
Chu Xiang's son, Chu Mu Cai, had a high-pitched voice and spoke while standing beside his father.
"Cousin sister, my father is willing to pay one thousand silver taels in order to take over your tea house. It's an extremely profitable offer on your side, so what makes you hesitate on the opportunity?"
"Hmph." Chu Zhu Yu scoffed. Her tea house is much more valuable than that small offer.
" When grandfather passed away, you guys were the ones who wanted to separate first. Grandfather had so many businesses, but the only business that you left to me and my father was this Yue Qin Tea House. Now, when the tea house business is finally earning money, you guys are plotting to take some of the profits for free! If I, hypothetically, tell people that I'm willing to sell the tea house for a thousand silvers, tell me, how many people will come to my door and buy the tea house from me? "
Chu Mu Cai's expression turned ugly, "The Chu family's business isn't something that you can sell on a whim!"
"The contract is still in my hand. It's my choice if I want to sell it or not." Chu Zhu Yu looked at him impassively.
She saw many shameless people in her life, but never had she met people who are more shameless than her cousin brother and big uncle.
"Cousin sister, do you really want to meet us at the court room?" Chu Mu Cai threatened. "As the saying goes, normal civilians won't pick a fight with a government officer. Cousin, have you forgotten my status? If so, I ask second uncle to remind her."
The person whom Chu Mu Cai called as his second uncle is Chu Zhu Yu's father, Chu Sheng.
Chu Sheng had a timid personality. He pulled his daughter to his side and whispered,
"Yu Er, your cousin brother is an imperial scholar who is also a seventh ranked officer. Not to mention, he is currently a student of the supreme court. We can't piss him off."
(E/R: Yu Er = Little Yu, a form of endearment used mostly by older men to younger ladies)
"Father!" Chu Zhu Yu said with an exasperated tone. She knew well enough about Chu Mu Cai's status and overall achievements.
" It's not like I'm greedy for more money. I just feel dissatisfied. When grandfather passed away, mother also passed away. Big uncle and the rest didn't even help us, they just left us alone. At that time when the tea house was facing a crisis, we were the only ones who handled the problem, and now they suddenly come to take advantage of us. I won't allow it! "
"Then Yu Er, do you have any other ideas?" Chu Sheng knew that his daughter might have a plan.
Chu Zhu Yu smiled and turned her head. Looking at Chu Xiang and Chu Mu Cai she said,"Big uncle, cousin brother, are you worried that if one day I get married, my children would have a different surname and that the Chu business will be managed by someone who's not a Chu?"
Both the father and son nodded their heads and replied, "Yes."
"Then it's a simple matter to solve." she smiled.
"...What do you plan to do?" they asked.
"I'll just find a man who wants to get married into this family. Isn't that enough?" she smiled.
Chu Zhu Yu believed that if she just announced to the public that she wanted someone to marry into her family, she will find many men who are willing to do so.
But after looking for four days, she finally came to an understanding that convincing a man to agree to her terms of getting married and taking up her last name was something more difficult than she'd expect.
On the first day, she visited twenty-seven matchmakers. Once they heard that the miss from the Chu family was searching for a man who was willing to marry into her family, none of the matchmaking experts wanted to take on the job.
Chu Zhu Yu didn't even set that high of a standard. Frankly speaking, her requirements were simple.
She just wanted a man who can do accounting, who can enter the kitchen and serve the guests, who can understand the essence of tea and its quality, and the most important requirement was that he should be very healthy...
(E/R: Girl, men like that are extinct in your time. 😂)
But before she could finish listing all of her requirements, the matchmaking experts kicked her out of the door.
On the second day, Chu Zhu Yu tried to find a few poor literate men in the city. Those kind of people usually have ambition and are fast-learners, but because they don't have any money to spend, they just wander the streets.
With a lot of effort, she managed to talk to 13 people. But even then, the moment she talked about her situation, the scholars rejected her.
With a righteous look, the first scholar said, "I am an imperial scholar, why should I ruin my reputation and do such a dishonorable thing when I marry?"
Please big bro, she didn't ask for murder or theft. This had nothing to do with degrading his honor, she just wanted him to marry into her family.
"I am able to pay for your exam. In the future, I can also make sure that you will bring honor to your ancestors someday."
"Is a person still a man if he does such a thing for money?!" he fumed and stormed off.
"................."
This conversation was more or less similar to the conversation she had with the other 12 people before him.
On the third day, Chu Zhu Yu decided to find some martial arts men. Those who practiced martial arts must probably be generous and kind.
She imagined that marrying into her family probably wouldn't be a big deal to them.
She was roaming around the streets, and once she found a suitable candidate, she tried to walk up to him in order to start a conversation.
But what she didn't notice was that the candidate was in the midst of a fight. The man made a single movement with his hands, and dozens of people immediately got thrown into the sky.
Chu Zhu Yu's face paled. Before her knees would give up, she hurriedly fled in a panic. She never wants to experience being hit like that one day if she had an arguement with her husband.
On the fourth day, she boldly went inside a host house (something similar to a brothel where men would serve women) and found one host that was not selling his body but was instead selling his talent and skills.
"I will give you money for compensation if you get married into my family, will you agree to my terms?"
The host suddenly knelt down, but what he said was different from the happy gesture that Chu Zhu Yu had thought. It was far from a grateful act of kneeling.
"Miss Chu, I beg you to let me off. I don't want to die early. I still wish to continue my family line one day, living a life similar to that of normal people."
"Are you saying that you won't have a normal life if you marry into my Chu family?"
"Don't you know what your big uncle said at the center of Luo Yang City? He said, the one who will marry into your family and let you bear a son will immediately die without ever having a family!"
The man was crying miserably. He was crying until she was the one who felt embarrassed.
While walking out of the host house, Chu Zhu Yu felt her head throb because of the frustration.
Is it really this hard to make a man marry into her family? She only wanted children who would have the surname 'Chu'. Even the father's background didn't matter to her anymore.
"Hey, have you heard the rumor? The Landlord Sun's maid shamelessly seduced her master, and what's worse is that she's currently pregnant with his child!"
"Really shameless!"
"However, I don't know if this maid is unlucky or not. When Landlord Sun's wife found out about the affair, the maid was dragged out to be beaten, but by coincidence she was found to be pregnant. They said Landlord Sun will marry her as his seventh concubine."
That is the gossip currently being spread by those middle-aged aunties. After hearing such a conversation, it gave Chu Zhu Yu an idea and it raised her hope.
"If a woman becomes a maid, will it be easier to seduce the master and bear a child?" She got closer to them and asked a shameless question.
"What? I can see that you're a lady. Why are you asking such a question?" the middle-aged auntie lectured her.
"Aiya~ young lass, it's normal that you don't know," said another middle-aged auntie who was looking at Chu Zhu Yu.
"This is what they call as the proximity between the master and his maid. In the past, there were plenty of servants who bore their master's baby and became his concubine."
Chu Zhu Yu's eyes were sparkling after hearing the gossip. So there is an advantage in becoming a maid.
Alright! She decided to become a maid. Now she will work hard... bear a child, and pass the role of a concubine to someone else!
The next day, Chu Zhu Yu stood in front of one of the middle-aged housekeepers.
"Age?"
"18."
"Married?"
"Not yet."
"In this residence, there are many regulations. Eveything should be done with detail and care. Even though you are a maid, you should be responsible and not hold any delusions."
"Yes! Yes!" Chu Zhu Yu nodded her head, feeling as if the head housekeeper knew her intentions. It sounded like a warning to her.
"However, seeing that your body has more meat, maybe the general won't mind it." The head housekeeper continued.
"General?" She came to be a maid so why is he mentioning her body meat?
"It's decided. You will become the general's maid. Every month you will get two silver liang."
The head housekeeper of the Xiao Household gave her the working contract, urging Chu Zhu Yu to make a thumb stamp.
What? Isn't she going to work in the Kang residence? How could it be changed to the general's residence?
Chu Zhu Yu got confused, but she nodded her head. Running back to the entrance of the residence, she looked at the plank with three big words...
"The General's Residence"
Then she looked at the neighboring residence and was speechless. The next residence's planks were written with two big words...
"Kang Residence"
What the hell! This is impossible ah!
(E/R: Girl, how can you make such a mistake?! 😂😂)