Chapter 29 -

Chapter 29: Chapter

Before leaving for her teahouse, Yimei stood in the cold courtyard and gave firm instructions to Xiao Yue and two other maids.

"Take four big baskets of high-quality coal straight to the First Young Master’s room," Yimei ordered. "Light the fire right away, put warm silk bedding on his bed, clean every corner, and assign two extra maids and a guard to stay outside his room."

Xiao Yue hesitated. "Young Madame... what if the First Young Master gets angry and sends us away?"

"He won’t," Yimei replied with a calm smile. "If he says anything, tell him it is his wife’s order." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Inside the quiet bedroom, Bai Zhengyu sat in his wheelchair, his long hair falling over his simple inner robes. He watched in silence as his cold room completely transformed. Maids swept the floors, spread soft sheets over his bed, and built a crackling fire. Within minutes, rich warmth filled the room and chased away the winter chill.

Lin Feng stood near the door while two extra maids waited respectfully in the corner. Feeling the warm air around him, Zhengyu looked at the flames with a slight twitch on his face. He didn’t know whether to be happy about the comfort or annoyed that his new wife had taken over his room so easily.

Meanwhile, Yimei and Qinqin arrived at their teahouse in the East Market.

A large wooden wagon was parked outside as workers unloaded crates of fresh spices, sugar bricks, and aged tea leaves, all delivered on time by Xiao Jun’s men.

Inside, Shopkeeper Liu greeted Yimei with a huge, excited smile. "Young Madame, you’re here! The quality of these tea leaves and dried dates is wonderful. Now that we have all the ingredients, we can finally begin!"

Yimei looked at the supplies with a confident smile. Without missing a beat, she tied back her long sleeves, rolled them up, and walked straight to the large copper pots in the kitchen, ready to get to work.

A rich, sweet smell of ginger, red dates, and dark sugar filled the kitchen as the pot boiled. Yimei carefully lifted the heavy copper pot and poured the hot, golden tea into two small cups.

She placed them on the wooden table. "Try it," Yimei said, smiling at Liu Fang and Qinqin.

The other tea house workers gathered around in a circle, watching with curious eyes, but none of them dared to step closer to take a taste.

Liu Fang blew softly on the hot steam and took a slow sip. Her eyes went wide with shock. The spicy ginger taste quickly turned into a smooth, cozy sweetness that warmed her entire body from the inside out.

"Young Madame!" Liu Fang gasped, staring down at her cup. "This... this is amazing! It is so warm and sweet. The rich people in the city are going to love this!"

Qinqin took a sip from her cup and smiled brightly. "Miss! It tastes even better than the one we made at home!"

Yimei smiled, glad that they liked it, and then looked over at the quiet workers standing nearby.

"Don’t just stand there," Yimei said kindly. "Bring cups for everyone. I want all of you to know how our tea should taste."

The workers looked at each other in surprise before quickly grabbing their own cups.

Yimei wiped her hands on a clean cloth and looked around the kitchen. "Now, we will make more batches," she said calmly. "We need to send a portion to Young Master Xiao Jun to show our thanks, and the rest will be brought out as free samples for the people outside."

Liu Fang and Qinqin nodded quickly, leading the kitchen workers to start brewing larger pots. Everyone worked together, grinding spices, slicing red dates, and carefully stirring the heavy copper kettles.

Once the fresh tea was fully cooked and cooled slightly, Yimei had a batch poured into a fine jar and handed it to one of the tea house workers.

"Take this to Young Master Xiao Jun," Yimei instructed the worker. "Tell him it is a personal gift from me to thank him for delivering the ingredients on time and he also would want a taste of the tea so so gloriously invested in without even tasting first."

The worker bowed and hurried out the door to deliver the package.

Meanwhile, Liu Fang and Qinqin helped set up a long wooden stall directly outside the tea house entrance. They laid out small cups, hot pots of tea, and a large sign announcing free taste tests for anyone passing by.

It did not take long before the sweet, spicy scent of hot ginger tea drifted into the cold morning air, drawing the attention of curious shoppers in the market.

As the crowd grew around the wooden stall, a man stepped forward, pushing his way through the gathering people with an arrogant sneer on his face. He wore expensive silk robes, but his clothes were stained with grease and dirt around the hem, and his posture was loud and pushy.

He picked up one of the free cups without asking, took a single sip, and immediately spat it onto the ground with a loud, dramatically disgust sound.

"Pui!" the man spat, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he glared at the wooden stall. "What kind of garbage drink is this? It tastes like dirty water mixed with cheap spices! Are you trying to poison the people of this market?"

The crowd went silent, looking back and forth between the angry man and Yimei.

Yimei didn’t look flustered at all. In her mind, she called out softly, ’Nine, who is this?’

[Host, that is Mr. Gu,] Nine’s voice chimed in her head. [He owns the Fuji Teahouse across the street. He is one of your business competitors.]

Yimei’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

Mr. Gu slammed the small wooden cup down onto the counter, looking around at the gathered crowd with a loud, fake laugh.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Mr. Gu shouted, raising his arms. "This tea house has been struggling for months! Now they bring out this weird hot juice and call it ’tea’ just to trick you out of your hard-earned silver!"

Liu Fang stepped forward, her face red with anger. "Mr. Gu, you haven’t even tried a full cup! You are just here to make trouble because you see people liking our tea!"

Yimei raised a hand to stop Liu Fang, stepping forward with a cool, calm expression, her eyes fixing directly on Mr. Gu’s arrogant face.

"Mr. Gu," Yimei began, her voice calm and smooth, easily carrying over the murmurs of the crowd. "If our tea is truly as terrible as you claim, why do you look so frightened?"

Mr. Gu’s face turned red, his voice rising in anger. "Frightened? Of this cheap water? Don’t be ridiculous! I am looking out for the people of this market!"

"Is that so?" Yimei asked with a light, amused smile. She picked up a fresh cup, filled it with hot, steaming ginger tea, and held it out toward him. "Then prove it. If you truly believe this tea is poison, drink a full cup right here in front of everyone and tell us exactly what ingredient is wrong with it. As a seasoned tea house owner, surely you can name every spice in this cup by taste alone."

The crowd immediately began to whisper, all eyes turning toward Mr. Gu.

"Yeah, drink it, Boss Gu!" a customer called out from the back. "Tell us what’s wrong with it!"

Mr. Gu’s jaw tightened. He glared at the steaming cup, then at Yimei’s fearless, smiling face. He knew very well that if he drank it, he wouldn’t be able to point out a single flaw, the rich scent alone was already drawing people toward the stall. But if he refused, he would look like a coward who came only to throw mud.

"I won’t waste my time drinking trash!" Mr. Gu spat, taking a step back and waving his hand in disgust. "You can fool these common folk, but you won’t last a month in this market!"

He turned on his heel to leave, but Yimei’s sharp voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Mr. Gu, before you go," Yimei said smoothly, her eyes glinting with a cool, sharp light. "Since you are so concerned about quality, I will make sure to send a fresh tea brick directly to your teahouse across the street. Consider it a gift from us... so you can learn how a real winter brew is made."

The gathered crowd burst into loud laughter, praising Yimei’s sharp wit. Mr. Gu’s face burned with shame as he hurried away through the scoffing onlookers, his hands clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

Liu Fang let out a deep breath, her face brightening into a triumphant smile. "That showed him, Young Madame!"

"Focus on the stall," Yimei said calmly, turning back to the table with a serene smile. "Our tea speaks for itself. Pour another round for our guests."