Downstairs, An Yimei looked back at Zhao De. "From today onward, Zhao De is removed from his position as manager."
The sentence struck the room like a thunderbolt.
"Young Miss!" Madame Zhao gasped sharply.
"As for Madame Zhao," An Yimei continued, completely ignoring the interruption, "she insulted customers publicly, disrupted business, abused workers, and attempted to strike the owner. This tea house has no need for such people. Guards, escort them out."
Two sturdy guards who had accompanied An Yimei’s carriage immediately stepped into the hall.
Panic completely consumed the husband and wife. Madame Zhao rushed forward, tears streaming down her powdered cheeks. "Young Miss! This servant knows her mistake! Please show mercy! I’ve worked here for years!"
Zhao De lowered himself onto his knees. "Young Miss, give us one more chance! We have served this place for over ten years!"
An Yimei stood completely unmoved. "You had ten years to treat people with respect, yet you chose greed and arrogance instead."
Seeing that tears were useless, Madame Zhao’s panic twisted into vile hatred. As the guards grabbed her arms to drag her away, she thrashed wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs. "You little girl! You know nothing about business! This place is already dying! Without my husband, this tea house won’t even last another month! Keep dreaming!"
An Yimei looked directly into Madame Zhao’s bloodshot eyes and spoke in a steady, clear voice that echoed through the quiet hall.
"If this tea house fails because I lack ability, I will accept that result," An Yimei said, her gaze sharpening. "But if this tea house succeeds and flourishes once again... then it will prove that the problem was never the tea house itself. It was you."
Madame Zhao froze, the curses dying in her throat. Zhao De stiffened beside her. Neither could say another word as the guards firmly dragged them out into the street, their pathetic wails finally fading into the ambient noise of the market outside.
Silence returned to the room.
An Yimei turned around to face the remaining workers, who were standing nervously in a line, terrified of what would happen to them.
"Now then," An Yimei said gently, her smile returning. "The rotten roots have finally been removed. From today onward, those who work hard will be rewarded fairly. Those who serve customers sincerely will be respected. As long as you perform your duties honestly, you will never need to fear being mistreated again."
Relief washed over the servants, many of them tearing up as they bowed deeply.
An Yimei’s eyes then scanned the line until they landed on a young woman standing quietly near the back, holding a wooden tray tightly against her plain apron.
A faint, translucent blue screen floated beside the girl in An Yimei’s vision:
[IDENTIFICATION: LIU FANG | ROLE: TEA HOUSE SERVER]
In the original timeline, Liu Fang was the only servant who had repeatedly tried to warn An Yulan about Zhao De’s corruption, only to be dismissed and ignored.
An Yimei raised her hand and pointed directly at her. "Liu Fang."
The girl gasped, looking around in utter shock. "M-Me?"
"From today onward," An Yimei declared clearly, "you will temporarily oversee this tea house as the acting manager."
Gasps filled the room once more. Lin Xue, who was still recovering from her embarrassment, sneered again. "Making a servant girl the manager? You truly are insane!"
An Yimei didn’t even glance at Lin Xue. She walked up to the trembling Liu Fang and said softly, "Business skills can be taught, Liu Fang. But sincerity and loyalty cannot. I know you care about this place. Do you accept?"
Liu Fang looked into An Yimei’s calm, reassuring eyes. Her hands tightened around her tray, and her fear slowly melted into fierce determination. She bowed low. "This servant... will not let Young Miss down!"
"Good," An Yimei smiled. "Inspect the accounting chest behind the counter. Cross-reference the real numbers with the public ledgers. Bring me a full report of our remaining stock and debts by tomorrow morning."
Upstairs, the young man in the dark robes gave a slight, satisfied nod.
"Young Master," his guard whispered behind him. "The rumors really don’t match. They said she was timid and weak... but she just restructured an entire business in under tea-time."
"Rumors are written by fools," the young man replied softly, his voice rich and deep. "She didn’t even flinch when the servant tried to strike her."
"That’s because I flicked my teacup and broke the woman’s wrist first," the guard muttered with a quiet chuckle. "Though... the Young Miss didn’t even look up to see where the teacup came from. She acted as if it were completely natural."
The young man’s lips curled into a faint, intriguing smile. "Tomorrow is her wedding with the Bai family’s second son. Things are about to become very interesting. Let’s go."
As the two men silently turned and walked down the back staircase, An Yimei was finalizing her instructions with Liu Fang downstairs.
Suddenly, she felt a subtle, powerful presence brush past her toward the exit. She instinctively turned her head, catching a glimpse of a tall, broad-shouldered figure in dark silk robes stepping out into the sunlight.
"Who was that?" An Yimei asked casually, nodding toward the door.
Liu Fang glanced over and smiled. "Oh, him? He’s just a regular customer, Young Miss. He usually sits on the second floor, drinks quiet tea, and leaves without causing trouble. I don’t know his name."
An Yimei stared at the empty doorway for a moment, her sharp instincts telling her that man was far from ordinary.
"A handsome regular customer, perhaps?" Qinqin suddenly popped up beside her, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously. "Miss, were you secretly staring at him? Did you fall in love at first sight?"
An Yimei slowly turned her head, her face deadpan. "Qinqin."
"Yes, Miss?"
Knock!
"Ouch!" Qinqin immediately clapped both hands over her forehead, whining. "Miss!"
"Stop talking nonsense," An Yimei said dryly, turning back toward the counter. "We need to head back to the An Manor before Second Madame realizes we left."
Qinqin rubbed her head, muttering under her breath, "I knew it, he was definitely handsome..."
An Yimei raised her hand again, and Qinqin instantly jumped back three feet, hiding behind Liu Fang while the rest of the tea house workers burst into genuine laughter.
An hour later, the sun had fully set, painting the sky in deep shades of purple and ink.
An Yimei and Qinqin slipped back into the An household through the side garden gate. The entire estate was in a state of absolute chaos servants running everywhere with red silk lanterns, golden dishes, and stacks of ceremonial gifts.
In the main courtyard, An Yulan was trying on her extravagant bridal gown, surrounded by maids praising her beauty. When she caught sight of An Yimei returning in her plain, dusty clothes, Yulan sneered with deep satisfaction, assuming her sister had spent the day crying over her miserable fate.
An Yimei ignored her completely, walking straight back to her small, isolated courtyard.
Inside her quiet room, a simple, unadorned red wedding gown hung over a wooden frame. There were no golden threads, no pearl embroideries just plain red fabric.
An Yimei sat down before the bronze mirror, unpinning her long black hair.
As the dark locks cascaded over her shoulders, the cold, familiar chime of her system echoed clearly in her mind.
[SYSTEM 009 REACTIVATED]
[CURRENT STATUS: DOWRY SECURED & RESTRUCTURED]
[Territory: East Market Tea House (Under Management of Liu Fang)]
[Staff Loyalty: 85%]
[Target: Bai Zhengyu (Eldest Son of the Bai Family)]
[Target Favorability: 0% (Neutral / Unknown)]
[COUNTDOWN: Wedding Procession arrives in 10 hours.]
An Yimei stared at her reflection in the polished bronze, her lips curling into a cold, beautiful, and utterly fearless smile.
An Yulan thought she had won by stealing the "future scholar" and leaving her with a "crippled general." She had no idea she was handing over the ultimate winning hand.
"Qinqin," An Yimei called softly.
"Yes, Miss?" Qinqin walked in, carrying a basin of warm water.
"Pack only our personal belongings. Don’t touch a single thread of the An family’s charity," An Yimei said, her voice steady and resolute. "Tomorrow morning, when the red sedan chair arrives, we step out of these gates and we turn the world upside down."