CH 78

Actually, she’s my wife! (Furious)

Houshengtang was not far from the bustling streets of Hua Street and Liu Lane.

Although Zi Yan always kept a low profile and stayed in her lane while working at the teahouse, her exquisite features still made a small number of people feel familiar and recognize her as the former top courtesan of the Chunfeng Tower.

Although most of the customers who came to Houshengtang to enjoy tea didn’t care about who the owner was.

But there were always some inexplicable people who would frown and disdainfully take the tea brick that Zi Yan respectfully handed over or accidentally spill tea on her sleeve when receiving the teacup.

Even in the face of such subtle contempt, Zi Yan’s spirit remained calm and she would only silently lower her head and retreat to the counter to help Cao Yun with the accounts, proactively avoiding any conflict.

Quietly, it seemed that Zi Yan was not affected by the blatant malice of those people at all.

It seemed, but only seemed.

Song Shu Qing and Cao Yun saw it all, but they were helpless in the face of such behavior from commoners, and couldn’t find any justification to scold them or drag them into the alley for a beating.

The two could only do their best to protect Zi Yan from having to face those customers who held meaningless biases against her.

As the leaves fell and winter approached, the situation seemed to grow increasingly bleak.

Perhaps due to the weather getting colder, more and more people would choose to stop by the teahouse for a cup of tea and pastry, to sit in the warm room by the charcoal fire.

Thus, the number of customers at Houshengtang grew, and even with the three of them working efficiently, they still felt a bit rushed.

The one-armed shadow guard and Zi Yan greeted the customers, while Song Shu Qing went up to the second floor warehouse to count the inventory and refill the empty tea canisters.

“Pretty girl, please pack some of the newly arrived tea for me.” An old man handed over the copper coins and said to the woman behind the counter.

Zi Yan responded and turned around to take out some hemp rope and oil paper from the drawer. Her delicate fingers skillfully wrapped the tea brick tightly and tied it with a nimble knot.

The woman was focused on her work, her demeanor tranquil, and her hair tied up simply with a rope, without any ornate decoration.

A few strands of soft green hair fell on her cheek due to her lowered head.

Although the old man waiting was not a regular customer at the teahouse, he had visited two or three times before. Seeing the unfamiliar face, he asked curiously to Cao Yun, who was sitting next to him, “Cao Xiaodi, I haven’t seen this pretty girl before. Did you marry her?”

Cao Yun, who was manipulating an abacus, raised his head and shook it calmly. “No,” he answered briefly, as he always did.

“Oh, I see.”

The guest shrugged and didn’t take Cao Yun’s usual laconic manner seriously. As he turned to receive the tea brick handed over by Zi Yan, several men and women sitting at the round table behind him suddenly spoke up in a loud voice, “Old man, you’re really overestimating her.”

Their disdainful expression was accompanied by exaggerated joking voices, which made Zi Yan’s outstretched arm stiffen in midair.

“After all, she’s a woman who has rolled in the dust of the world.”

“Yeah, her body is not clean.”

“How could someone like her be Cao’s wife?”

Faced with such blunt remarks, Zi Yan’s hand holding the hemp rope fell weakly forward, whether it was because of the humiliation of others or her own self-loathing, she felt her blood rush up in an instant, her head hot and her feet light.

Forced to blink her hot eyes, the woman put down the tea brick she had just wrapped and consciously tried to walk back into the curtain.

After all, as long as they knew her identity, many people simply didn’t want to touch anything she had touched…

“Please be careful with your words, everyone.” Cao Yun, who was busy calculating, looked up and saw the guests at the table mocking Zi Yan. He recognized two of the young women who often visited when he was on duty, frowned and was about to speak up to stop them, but was interrupted by a loud noise.

『Crash!』

The sound of the wooden box hitting the ground startled everyone in the teahouse.

Song Shu Qing, who had come downstairs to restock, stood at the stairway, loosened her grip on the large box she was carrying, and glared at the group of young people sitting at the round table.

Her lips, which usually had a mischievous smile, were tightly pressed together, and her raised eyebrows and slightly furrowed forehead rarely revealed her true emotions, a mixture of anger and disdain.

She strode over to the table and looked down at the bewildered faces of the people below her. After a few moments of silence, she spoke slowly and menacingly.

“Do you think it’s funny to behave like this?”

It seems that she was truly enraged, with no hint of teasing or sarcasm in her tone, only seriousness.

“To irresponsibly say hurtful things about others in ignorance, thinking that you have the power to judge and evaluate others as you please…” In the corner of her eye, she saw the figure of Zi Yan standing alone in the shadow, which made her heart ache.

Clenching her fist, Song Shu Qing struggled to control herself from punching the group of people who still seemed unimpressed in front of her.

“…Do you feel proud of yourselves for doing these things?”

Without waiting for a response, Song Shu Qing slammed her palm onto the round table, leaving a mark half a finger deep on the solid wood surface.

The forceful palm wind lifted and hit the faces of several customers, who were surprised by the woman’s strength and felt an inexplicable pressure, their faces turning pale.

“Junior Sister, you can’t do this.”

Cao Yun, who grew up with the woman, also sensed her rare and intense killing intent and quickly spoke up, “Junior Sister Song! They are just ordinary people, you must not.”

Narrowing her eyes, seemingly pulled back to reality by her senior brother’s nervous dissuasion, the woman took a deep breath and suddenly laughed lightly.

“Ah Yun, don’t be nervous.”

“I don’t have any intentions to do anything.”

“That’s right. Even in the 21st century, there are still many people like them. Why should I get worked up over them?”

Scratching her chin, Song Shu Qing tilted her head and raised her usual nonchalant posture, leaning one hand on the table and scanning the group of customers who had just spoken up. “Zi Yan… is not actually Cao Yun’s wife.”

She sighed heavily, and her face was full of false helplessness. “To be honest, Zi Yan…”

After pausing for a while, the woman spread her hands, as if she had no choice but to loudly admit.

“She is actually my wife.”

Completely ignoring the disbelieving eyes and open mouths of the people, she closed her eyes, held her heart in her hands, and continued seriously, “She is my true love, too precious to melt in my mouth or drop from my hand. She is my darling wife.”

“So, for customers like you who not only are rude to our employees but also to their family members, I’m sorry…” Opening her eyes, Song Shu Qing gave a perfunctory bow, crossed her hands and made a big 『NO』 gesture. “Please forgive us for not serving you anymore.”

She lifted the collars of the two leaders and, with unexpected strength in her usually weak arms, kicked open the door and half-dragged, half-threw them out.

Then she turned back with a smile, looking at the remaining two with no room for negotiation in her tone. “So, are you going to walk out on your own or should I throw you out?”

Watching the fleeing figures that she had scared away, Song Shu Qing put her hands on her hips and closed the door with a kick.

“Junior Sister Song,” Cao Yun sighed as he flipped the abacus, pointing to the damaged wooden table. “You know how expensive old redwood is nowadays…”

“You shut up.” Song Shu Qing rolled her eyes, took a pen and paper from Cao Yun, and wrote something quickly. At the same time, she spoke to her senior brother, “Those few little fans of yours come in every day, order a cup of tea and sit for half a day, and even dare to bully Zi Yan. You don’t even care about them.”

Cao Yun, who was oblivious to this, tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What are little fans?”

“Forget it.” Song Shu Qing lifted the paper in her hand, blew on the ink, and then handed it to Cao Yun, “Help me paste this at the entrance.”

『Dogs who don’t respect the staff and people who don’t respect the staff’s family are not allowed inside』

Looking at Song Shu Qing’s messy handwriting, the man frowned, “Song Shu Qing, your calligraphy is still as bad as ever.”

“You. Shut. Up.” With a fist raised in the air, Song Shu Qing glared at her senior brother who was the same age as her. “I’m really annoyed right now, so you better not jump around on the explosives! Otherwise, don’t blame me for pouring well water on you while you sleep at night.”

As the two former shadow guards bickered, the girl named Zi Yan stood behind the counter, feeling like her brain was overloaded with information and her head was swelling.

Upon hearing the declaration of love from the one she admires, which sounded like sweet nothings, even though she knew that Song Shu Qing was just helping her out, Zi Yan didn’t know how to face it.

What have I done to deserve this?

“Miss! Miss!”

The old man in front of the counter called out to the dazed woman with a smile, “Miss, you haven’t given me the tea I asked for yet.” He seemed unaffected by the words that were exchanged earlier.

Zi Yan snapped out of her daze and quickly handed over the tea bricks that she had put down, feeling a bit apologetic. “Sorry…”

“No need to apologize.” The old man waved his hand indifferently, looking at the tea leaves wrapped in hemp rope and oil paper in his hand. He smiled and said, “You’re meticulous and skilled, much better at wrapping than Cao and Song. Even in winter, the tea won’t get damp.”

“I’ll rely on you again later, little miss.” With a playful wink at Zi Yan, the old man picked up his purchased tea and slowly walked away with his hands behind his back.

Song Shu Qing, who had finished speaking with Cao Yun, also flipped over the counter and came to Zi Yan’s side, asking with concern, “Hey Zi Yan, are you okay?”

见眼前的人只是怔怔地看着自己,宋书晴有些担心,“你先上楼休息,反正已经差不多要闭店 了。”

“…No, I’m fine,” Zi Yan replied, declining Song Shu Qing’s offer of help. The feeling in her heart was still indescribable. However, her head suddenly felt dizzy, causing her body to tilt to one side.

“Hey, hey.”

“You can’t even stand steadily. Go upstairs and rest first,” Song Shu Qing insisted, supporting Zi Yan’s shoulder with her hand. “If you really collapse later, Cao Yun only has one hand, and I’m so delicate, we won’t be able to carry you up to the third floor.”

With one hand, Song Shu Qing lifted the curtain and gently pushed Zi Yan’s back, urging her to go upstairs.

The sensation of her palm through the fabric was clear, and Zi Yan looked at the concerned expression on the shadow guard’s face. She felt dizzy and unable to say 『no』 anymore, so she obediently went up the stairs under Song Shu Qing’s gentle urging.