Ye Chutang left the residence of Marquis Dingbei, but she didn’t go home immediately. Instead, she took Xiao Wu and made a detour to a tea house.
As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the door, a perceptive servant hurried over to greet her eagerly.
“This guest… is it Miss Second?”
The servant quickly bowed, feeling extremely surprised.
The whole capital knew that Ye Chutang had been held captive by Han Yao a few days ago and suffered quite a shock. She had been staying at home recuperating ever since, so who would have thought she would show up like this!
As Ye Chutang walked inside, she said, “I’m just passing by; I thought I’d stop by to take a look. You all go on with your tasks.”
The servant bowed in response, but of course, he didn’t dare to leave really.
— The last time Ye Chutang came here, she even chased the previous manager out!
Now, this tea house officially belonged to her. Moreover, with the support of both Marquis Dingbei’s residence and the Princess’s palace behind her, the people below naturally obeyed her orders without daring to think any other thoughts.
Besides, there really wasn’t much to do in the shop at the moment.
Ye Chutang glanced around casually; the business of this tea house seemed to have declined even more compared to before.
Indeed, after the previous manager resigned in anger, there was no one to replace him. Although Ye Chutang had posted a notice for a new manager, finding a suitable candidate wasn’t something that could be done in a short time.
So now, apart from a few servants, no one else entered the shop.
Xiao Wu rested her chin in her hand, her little brows knitting together in worry.
— If there’s no income from this tea house for a single day, they’ll suffer a big loss!
Ye Chutang didn’t hide her presence, so in no time, the news of her arrival spread. On the streets outside, people would occasionally “pass by” at a very slow pace, glancing in this direction.
— Nowadays, who in the whole capital doesn’t know the famous name of Miss Ye Second? Everyone thought she wouldn’t come out again in a while, but who would have thought she would reappear at her own tea house!
Some were curious, while others just wanted to watch for a laugh.
This tea house had been operating at a loss; it wasn’t hard to understand after some investigation. In the past three years, it had barely managed to survive relying on the occasional customers who came on their own initiative, thanks to Ye Heng’s support.
Now that the tea house was back in Ye Chutang’s hands, although it rightfully belonged to her again, there was practically no hope left for its survival.
Not to mention that Ye Chutang had previously chased the manager away, and now there wasn’t even anyone in charge to take over, which made things even more difficult.
“Speaking of which, Miss Ye Second is really unlucky. After all, this place belonged to her parents, so it’s only right for her to take it back. But after all, she’s a lady; how could she be expected to worry about business matters?”
“I think maybe it’s better not to keep this tea house open at all! Selling it off might bring in some silver!”
“That’s true, but after all, it’s something left by her parents… I’m afraid she won’t want to part with it…”
“Không nỡ bỏ đi thì làm sao được? Là một người phụ nữ, cô ấy phải nuôi sống bao nhiêu em trai em gái; lấy đâu ra tiền để chi tiêu chứ?”
Lời nói dù khó nghe, nhưng đó là sự thật.
Dù Ye Jing còn trẻ tuổi đã đỗ cử nhân và có sự nghiệp quan lộ thuận lợi, nhưng bản chất anh ta trong sáng, liêm khiết, thực sự không thể được coi là giàu có.
Đặc biệt là ba năm trước, khi Ye Heng tiếp quản, gần như tất cả tài sản đều bị chi tiêu hết; bây giờ còn lại bao nhiêu nữa?
Nói thẳng ra, họ Ye Chutang thậm chí không có đủ điều kiện để sống.
Nhưng Ye Chutang lại phớt lờ những lời đó, chỉ quay đầu ra lệnh:
“Hãy lấy chiếc ấm trà và bộ dụng cụ pha trà mà tôi mang theo trên xe ngựa lại đây. Ngoài ra, hãy dọn dẹp một căn phòng riêng ở tầng trên; nửa giờ nữa, sẽ có khách quý đến thăm.”
