The morning light shone through the bed curtains. Chu Lan, who had been sleeping inside, turned over and covered his face with his sleeve, but it was no use.
He sat up angrily.
How had the night passed so quickly? Day had come again, and Chu Garden would soon be flooded with countless people.
"Servants! Servants!" he shouted furiously.
It took a long time before a young servant boy ran in, instead of the maids who usually attended him. The boy clumsily poured tea and helped him into his shoes, even putting them on the wrong feet. Enraged, Chu Lan kicked the servant to the ground.
"Where is Caifeng?" he cursed. "Has she learned to slack off now?"
The servant said pitifully, "Master, Caifeng was also taken to Chu Garden by Miss Azhao."
Chu Zhao was mobilizing the household servants. At first, the favored maids serving the master, mistress, young ladies, and young masters refused to obey her, but A Le was fierce and aggressive, directly seizing people.
A Le was strong and agile; no matter where someone hid, she could find them and drag them off to Chu Garden.
And the master and mistress dared not go to Chu Garden to demand their return.
Thus, more and more servants were taken away, leaving the master and mistress with hardly anyone to attend to them.
Even his most beloved maid had been taken, yet Chu Lan did not immediately rush to Chu Garden to demand her back. Instead, he pounded the table in frustration. "Who is in charge of this household? Who has the final say?"
The servant boy lowered his head and thought to himself, The master says a lot, but in Miss Azhao’s eyes, it means nothing.
"How long is this going to last?" Chu Lan shuffled out in his slippers and stood under the corridor, looking out. Even from behind the high walls, he could hear the commotion coming from Chu Garden.
At least Chu Garden had another entrance.
Chu Lan had previously sealed off that gate, forcing visitors to pass through the main house, so that the Chu family would appear to be bustling with guests.
Now, Chu Lan wanted nothing to do with Chu Garden. He had ordered the sealed gate reopened and the main gate of the Chu residence firmly shut.
Jiang Shi approached with a worried expression, accompanied by a maidservant.
"With so many people coming and going every day, think of how much money is being spent on food and drink," she fretted, even more anxious about this matter. "Our family’s savings are being squandered."
Chu Lan, who had no involvement in managing the household, grew even angrier at this. "Don’t those people come for the competitions?"
Jiang Shi sighed helplessly. "Not everyone is competing, and not all at the same time. Only a few people compete at a time, while the rest just watch the spectacle."
And now, more than half of the visitors were there just for the spectacle.
Since they were there to watch, they naturally took the opportunity to stroll through Chu Garden, whose beauty was widely known, and enjoy the scenery.
And if they were strolling and enjoying the scenery, they would inevitably want tea and snacks—
"Are we paying for all of that?" Chu Lan asked, shocked.
"Well—we’re not sure yet," Jiang Shi hesitated.
What did that mean? Chu Lan looked at Jiang Shi.
"The food and drinks haven’t been requested from the household," the maidservant couldn’t help but interject. "Miss Chu Zhao had them purchased from outside."
Chu Lan frowned. "Purchased? Where did she get the money?"
Chu Ling had entrusted all his money to him when he left his daughter in his care—as was only right. Had he secretly set aside money for his daughter? Was he guarding against his own elder brother? If that was the case, Chu Ling should have entrusted his daughter to someone else!
"Is she buying on credit?" Chu Lan asked.
If it was on credit, the merchants would only come to him for payment. No one would consider a young girl the master of Chu Garden.
Chu Lan was about to pound the corridor pillar in frustration when the maidservant hastily added, "Master, it’s not on credit either."
Then what was it? Had she stolen money again? Chu Lan glared.His servant eagerly spoke up: "No, it's Miss A Zhao who made them pay for it themselves, and then we go purchase it for them."
The reality was slightly more complex than what he described.
Chu Zhao had first approached the tavern, informing them that Chu Garden required food and beverages. If they could offer favorable prices, she would have people make purchases there regularly.
Chu Garden had already gained the nickname "Little Hope Spring Garden Literary Gathering" in the capital. Merchants knew how many people gathered there, recognizing this wasn't a small transaction but a substantial business opportunity, and immediately agreed.
Then Chu Zhao instructed the servants to display notice boards each day after the garden opened, listing the tea and food available that day—excluding alcohol.
"The young lady said alcohol is prohibited to maintain fairness in the competitions," the servant chattered animatedly. "But everyone knows she's actually preventing drunken disturbances. That's why no alcohol is provided in the garden, and visitors aren't allowed to bring their own."
Without wine to drink, the scholars found it somewhat dull during moments of excitement, so they frequently ordered tea and snacks instead—especially upon discovering these refreshments came from renowned capital establishments.
For just a small delivery fee, delicacies typically only available at the taverns could be delivered to Chu Garden, where one could sit enjoying the competitions while eating. It was truly an elegant arrangement.
Chu Lan and Jiang Shi listened in stunned silence. While Chu Lan remained relatively composed, Jiang Shi, being responsible for household management, instinctively turned her palm over and calculated. This wasn't a financial loss—it was actually profitable!
"Where's the money?" she blurted out without thinking.
Was it all in Chu Zhao's hands?
The servant looked somewhat wistful: "The young lady said she isn't the family elder, and Chu Garden wasn't intended for literary gatherings. Having servants work here isn't part of their regular duties, so—"
Jiang Shi clenched her hand tightly: "So what happened?"
The servant fell silent, but the maidservant beside her murmured: "The young lady distributed all the money among the working servants."
The distribution rules were simple: regardless of gender, age, seniority, or whether they were cleaning staff or personal attendants of masters and mistresses—the only principle was more work, more pay.
The distributed sums kept growing larger.
Both servant and maidservant showed expressions of resentment and envy. Miss Chu Zhao hadn't taken them away too—otherwise, they could have made a fortune as well.
When it came to capability, they were the most competent servants of the master and mistress, superior to any other servant in the household. Had they gone, they would certainly have earned the most!
Unfortunately, precisely because they were the master and mistress's most capable servants, Miss A Zhao hadn't taken them away—after all, as a junior, she wouldn't actually appropriate all the elders' personal staff.
Ah.
Chu Lan thought she must be hearing things, seemingly catching the lament in these two servants' tones.
How infuriating! So Chu Zhao was buying people's loyalty with money, no wonder her beloved maid refused to sneak back even after being taken away!
Jiang Shi clenched her hand, turning her palm over repeatedly as she calculated the profits, then recalculated how much had been distributed. Her breathing fluctuated between rapid and suffocated, leaving her speechless. She could only murmur: "How generous she is! How could she be so generous!"
Perhaps... she should take over management instead. After all, she was the true mistress of Chu Garden.
......
......
Qi Leyun lifted the carriage curtain to look ahead, her expression showing surprise as she told Chu Tang: "There are so many people around your residence."
Chu Tang also looked outside and nodded: "Not surprising."
Word had spread throughout the city. They'd heard mentions of the "Little Hope Spring Garden Literary Gathering" multiple times during their journey."Then which way do we enter?" Qi Leyun asked. "There's also a gate on the Chu Garden side."
Chu Tang thought for a moment: "Since we're here for the literary gathering, let's enter from the Chu Garden side."
Another girl looked somewhat worried, watching the scholars coming and going: "What if they don't let us in?"
The Third Prince's Spring Gazing Garden Literary Gathering doesn't allow women to enter - even the two princesses couldn't get in despite arguing with the Third Prince.
Chu Tang chuckled: "What are you thinking? This event is specifically for competing with women, how could they not allow women to enter?"
That's right, the girls all laughed, realizing they had been confused. They then got off the carriage and entered under Chu Tang's guidance.
Outside Chu Garden stood ten servants responsible for guiding guests and checking invitations - unlike the Spring Gazing Garden Literary Gathering which required talent demonstrations for entry, though confirming names was still necessary.
Upon seeing Chu Tang, the servants recognized her and quickly bowed: "Miss A-Tang."
Being women, other scholars coming and going also glanced at them, though no one made any comments.
Chu Tang said: "I'll just show everyone around casually, you don't need to mind me."
The servant hesitated for a moment, then indeed paid them no further attention, smiling as he said: "Miss A-Tang knows the way well, I won't trouble to guide you." Having said this, he promptly left Chu Tang to hurry about his work.
More work meant more pay - one less person to guide meant one less share of money to split. Besides, Miss A-Tang was family, so she didn't count toward their earnings.
Although Chu Tang genuinely hadn't planned to have servants attend to them, she hadn't expected the servant to be so blunt about abandoning her so completely.
A girl beside her burst out laughing: "A-Tang, this doesn't even feel like your home anymore."
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