Chapter 100 -

Chapter 100: Chapter

The three-story pavilion sat right at the corner of the busy East Market street. Even though the wooden sign above the door was dirty and old, the building itself was big, strong, and looked very grand against the cold sky.

Yimei, Qinqin, and Lin Fang stepped out of the carriage and looked up at it.

"It really is huge," Lin Fang said, her eyes wide as she looked at the high roofs and detailed windows. "With a bit of work, this place will look better than any tea house in the city."

Yimei smiled and walked up to the heavy front doors. She pulled out the brass key Zhengyu gave her, put it into the lock, and turned it with a loud clack.

She pushed the big double doors open.

Inside, sunlight poured through the tall carved wooden windows, lighting up the huge main hall. Big wooden pillars held up the high ceiling, and a wide, pretty staircase went straight up to the second and third floors. It was dusty and cold, but the building was built solid.

Soon, heavy footsteps sounded outside, along with the noise of wooden carts.

A tall man with big shoulders stepped through the doors, leading twenty workers carrying ladders, saws, ropes, and buckets of water.

"Young Madame Bai?" the head builder asked, bowing politely. "Young Master Xiao sent us. My name is Master Chen. He said we should take all our orders from you."

"Welcome, Master Chen," Yimei said clearly as she walked to the middle of the hall. "We have a lot of work to do. I want this whole building washed clean and fixed up by sunset today."

Master Chen looked around the dusty three-story hall and raised an eyebrow. "By sunset, Young Madame? That is very fast."

"I will pay you three times your normal daily money," Yimei said smoothly. She pulled a heavy bag of silver coins from her coat and set it on a table. "Half now for your men, and the rest when the cleaning is done tonight."

The workers’ eyes lit up when they saw the silver coins. Master Chen turned to his crew right away, his loud voice filling the hall. "You heard the Young Madame! Bring in the carts! Get the water buckets! Let’s get to work!"

Yimei didn’t just stand around watching. She walked through all three floors while Lin Fang followed close behind, using a brush and paper to write down the plans.

"Listen carefully, Master Chen," Yimei said as they walked around the first floor. "This first floor will be our main tea room, eating area, and stage. I want these middle floorboards replaced with smooth, dark wood. Build a low wooden stage right in the middle for musicians and storytellers."

"Got it," Master Chen said, marking it down on his wood board. "What about the tea counters?"

"Build two long counters on the left side using smooth stone and dark wood," Yimei explained. "One counter will be for brewing our top teas, and the other will serve fresh hot food and sweet cakes. Make sure the kitchen in the back has good stone chimneys so the smoke goes straight out the roof."

They walked up the big stairs to the second floor.

"The second floor is for private dinners, business talks, and meetings," Yimei continued, pointing down the long hallway. "Divide this floor into eight nice rooms. Use thick wooden walls covered in fine silk paper so rich guests can talk without anyone hearing them."

Lin Fang wrote quickly, her eyes bright with excitement. "Young Madame, what kind of tables and chairs should we put in the private rooms?"

"Low rosewood tables, soft silk floor cushions, and small heaters in every corner," Yimei said. "Every room must feel warm, quiet, and fancy."

Finally, they went up to the third floor. This was the highest part of the building, with small balconies that looked over the busy streets and river below.

"This top floor will be for our most important guests," Yimei said, looking out over the city. "We will have three large halls up here, one for private auctions, one for big party dinners, and one just for rich noble families. Put thick silk curtains over the big wooden balcony windows so guests can enjoy the view while staying warm inside."

While Yimei laid out the design, the workers moved fast.

Buckets of hot water splashed everywhere as men scrubbed years of dirt off the high pillars and stone walls. Carpenters checked every piece of wood, replacing weak ceiling beams, fixing creaking floors, and taking down broken window frames.

Qinqin and Lin Fang worked hard right alongside them, telling workers where to put things, opening boxes of fresh wood, and lighting oil lamps as the sun started to go down.

By the time the sky turned dark and cold, the building looked completely different.

The whole three-story pavilion was spotless. The air smelled like fresh wood, clean wax, and washed stone instead of old dust. The broken floorboards were gone, replaced with strong new wood, and the frame for the big center stage was already built on the first floor.

Master Chen wiped sweat from his face, looking around the clean room in total surprise. "Young Madame... I have built houses in this city for twenty years, but I have never seen a building change this fast in just one day!"

Yimei looked around the big, bright room, feeling very happy with their work. "You and your men did great work, Master Chen."

She handed him the rest of the silver coins, plus extra money for his workers. "Tomorrow morning, we start the nice wood carvings and setting up the private room walls."

Master Chen bowed low. "We will be here before the sun comes up, Young Madame!"

Yimei pulled her warm fur cloak close, taking one last look at the high ceiling before walking outside. The cold night air hit her face, reminding her of the time.

The sun was gone, and the street lamps were lit.

"Qinqin, get the carriage ready," Yimei said, her eyes sharp. "It is time to go back to the house."

Yimei turned to Lin Fang before stepping into the carriage.

"I will come a little late tomorrow morning," Yimei told her clearly. "Make sure the men do their work properly. If Young Master Xiao sends more workers, let them help, but send a message to me right away."

Lin Fang nodded quickly. "Understood, Young Madame. Leave everything here to me."

The three of them climbed into the carriage. As they drove through the quiet streets, the carriage stopped near Lin Fang’s home to drop her off first. Once she was safely inside, the carriage set off again, taking Yimei and Qinqin straight back to the Bai manor.

Meanwhile, back at the Bai manor, the atmosphere inside the First Branch study was suffocating.

Wenliang sat stiffly at his desk, staring with bloodshot eyes at the towering pile of study books stacked in front of him. His hands trembled slightly from exhaustion and stress.

Suddenly, Yulan walked into the room carrying another heavy stack of thick books. She marched over and slammed them down right on top of the pile with a loud thud.

"Read all these as well," Yulan ordered, her tone sharp and demanding. "I used almost half of the small money my father sent me last week to buy these for you! Make sure you read every single page. If you fail the spring scholar exams, all my money and effort will be wasted!"

The more she talked and bossed him around, the more Wenliang’s blood boiled with intense frustration. He was tired of being treated like a useless tool. He was sick of her constant nagging and cold demands.

Clack!

Wenliang slammed his ink brush onto the desk, leaving a dark black blotch on the paper.

He jumped up from his chair, his face twisted with rage, and grabbed Yulan tightly by her wrist, squeezing so hard her knuckles turned white.

"You wench..." Wenliang growled, pulling her close as his eyes burned with anger. "Who do you think you are ordering around?!"

Yulan gasped, her eyes widening in shock as she struggled to pull her arm back. "Wenliang! Let go of me! How dare you lay a hand on me after I spent my own money to help your future?!"

"Help my future?!" Wenliang sneered, dragging her closer. "You don’t care about my future! You only care about your own pride! You want me to become an official so you can show off to the other wives in the capital!"

"So what if I do?!" Yulan yelled back, her face turning red with anger. "Look at you! You sit in this room all day doing nothing while Zhengyu and Yimei are out there taking control of the family’s farm estates and tea businesses! If you don’t pass the imperial exams, we will be forced to bow down to a cripple and his low-born wife for the rest of our lives!"

Her words hit him like a poison dagger. Mentioning Zhengyu’s name instantly snapped the last string of Wenliang’s control.

"Shut up!" Wenliang roared, shoving her away so hard that Yulan stumbled backward, her dress catching the edge of the table and knocking the heavy stack of books straight onto the floor.

Paper and ink pots crashed onto the rug, creating a total mess.

Yulan held her bruised wrist, her chest heaving as she glared at him with pure hatred. "You useless fool! You take out your anger on me because you are too weak to fight your own brother! Just wait... when Grandmother hears how you treat your own wife, we will see who gets punished!"

"Go ahead and run to Grandmother!" Wenliang screamed back, his hands shaking. "See if she cares about your noisy complaining while the Second Branch is actively plotting against us!"

Before Yulan could scream back, a servant girl rushed to the open doorway, bowing nervously with a pale face.

"Young Master! Young Madame!" the maid stammered out, shaking in fear. "Old Madame Bai has called for a family gathering in the main hall! First Young Master Zhengyu and Young Madame Yimei have just returned from the farm, and Grandmother commands everyone to attend dinner immediately!"

Wenliang and Yulan both froze, the bitter air in the room turning dead quiet.

Yulan smoothed down her rumpled dress, shooting one last cold, vicious glare at her husband. "Clean up your mess. We have a dinner to attend."

Outside in the main courtyard, the evening lantern light reflected off the cold, white snow.

Yimei helped push Zhengyu’s wheelchair up the wide stone steps toward the grand dining hall. Behind them, Liu Feng walked silently, carrying a thick wooden box containing Manager Zhao’s real account books and Second Uncle’s private bribe receipts.

Zhengyu looked straight ahead, his jaw set firm, his dark eyes like frozen steel.

Yimei leaned down slightly, her voice a quiet, calm whisper near his ear. "Are you ready, husband?"

Zhengyu didn’t look back, but a faint, dangerous smirk touched the corner of his lips.

"Let us tear them down," Zhengyu replied smoothly.

The heavy wooden doors of the grand hall were pushed open, and the two of them stepped inside to face the entire Bai family.